scutterhawk":1cire5dv said:
With a skimpy roster of RB's on the Seahawks last Season, and Pete's determination NOT to get caught with his pants down again in 2017, Pete has gone heavy on stacking RB's, because he knows that injuries play into the equation, Yes, I do believe that he has addressed the necessity of hedging his bets...ALL STARTING RB's in the League are susceptible of sustaining an injury... VIRTUALLY ALL OF THEM.
We weren't calling 2016's group of RBs "skimpy" at this stage last year, heck, many were saying we might have one of the best groups in the league. We were looking at 40 times and verticals, and saying if this guy comes back from his injury, if this guy can stay healthy, if the light comes on for this guy, IF, IF, IF, then we'll be great, then the pads went on.
I think we have the same number of RBs as last year, the difference being we filled one spot with a proven commodity.
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Of course anyone can be injured, but some are more susceptible than others, some a LOT more, and some a LOT less.
Ask Herschel Walker or Emmitt Smith and their 10+ year careers.
Way more to injuries than just bad luck. Two things at work, genes and running style.
Some RB's bodies just hold up to the pounding better and heal faster, but the real key is simply good running instincts, running with your eyes, seldom taking a solid hit, hard to get a angle on.
Guys that rely purely on speed and quickness rather than real running skills are eventually (probably within 100 carries) going to get caught the wrong way, and the defender will have a clean shot to cream the crap out of them. Or they will over- extend an ankle or leg somewhere trying to do too much.
When you find a fast, quick (enough) RB, who uses his instincts/eyes FIRST, (runs smart) AND has a body that can hold up well to the grind, then you've got a RB who can start 5+ years and be counted on to produce week in or week out.
I think overall we LOOK to be in better shape at RB in '17 than at this stage in '16, but I still think we have a couple of guys who will never be more than spot players, really good spot players, but spot players, that's their ceiling.