That 37 to 30 game was in ford field. And the Packers rested most of their starters in the 2nd half. Fun game, but not outside. The Tom Kennedy TD pass was epic
At the time I thought the win cost us Hutch… Thank goodness the Jags passed.
If Jemar Jefferson is called up I expect him to run the ball.
Did you see Scottie Montgomery’s Media session?
When asked about players to spread the carries around to replace D-Mo he skipped over Reynolds and Vaki to bring up JJ unsolicited.
He indicated JJ had performed better and that Vaki was still new to the position.
Ben Johnson also mentioned JJ before Vaki when speaking on the RB’s.
Both seemed to suggest that JJ would get an opportunity this week.
Vaki is a much better Special Teams player and the 3rd & 4th RB has to be a plus ST player.
The Lions have a lot of good ST players in Turner, Nowaske, Nieman, Brandon Joseph, and Vildor
If JJ is up it won’t be to add to the Special Teams unit.
If JJ is up, it’ll be because they don’t trust Vaki to run the ball. At all.
I don’t buy all this ‘he was the most explosive guy’ in camp talk. If that’s the case, why has he been on the PS for 3 years without seeing the field? Why is Craig RB3 and not JJ? We’ve just been sitting on the most explosive guy in camp all year because…reasons? This team has always been the best guy sees the field. So either, it’s true and he has serious deficiencies in other areas of his game (like pass protection, MAs, etc) or they’re blowing smoke up our butts.
I’m not saying the coaches the lying necessarily, but it comes across as coach speak. I don’t expect anything less than them to pump up a guy who has a chance to come in and play. But I’m not buying into the JJ is a revelation we’ve just been stashing for 3 years.
JJ has had 2 injuries that have held him back over the last 3 years. When I’ve watched JJ, he has a very good first cut and power lean. He’s more likely to get that tough 2-3 yards between the tackles than anyone not Monty, which is needed right now. Doesn’t have break away speed.
Craig hits the hole well and can break arm tackles but doesn’t have a ton of shake to his game.
Vaki seems to have a cut and power to his game but is likely raw and may telegraph or do something the coaches feel is a liability if full-time. They’ve used him a handful of plays and he gets 5+ almost every time.
Gibbs is incredible with few weaknesses but you don’t want to run it 30+ a game and he’s not a move the pile kind of guy (by this I mean stacked up lineman - he can move the pile in open space)
I don’t think the coaches are lying, I think the comparison excludes D-Mo and Gibbs.
The 3rd best RB on an NFL roster is not worth anything if he can’t play Special Teams.
The Lions generally only play 2 RB’s on offense in a game and almost always just one on the field at a time.
NFL teams only dress 47 players on gameday so there are few players besides the backup QB that are active on don’t play.
So essentially, if the player doesn’t start he has to be able to play Special Teams.
Most teams will have the 4th or 5th best RB on the roster as opposed to the 3rd best, if the 3rd best is unplayable on ST’s and the 4th and 5th best are plus ST’s players.
My guess is that JJ is more explosive than Reynolds and a more polished and professional RB than Vaki.
The staff really TRUSTS Reynolds.
Reynolds can do everything from return kickoffs, block on kickoffs, play on punt and punt return teams. Reynolds knows the playbook, can run the ball, lead block and pass protect, go out for passes.
Vaki is just learning all this RB stuff and is mostly playing on instinct. It’s also hard for him to get a lot better in-season, there are just not a lot of reps for the #4 RB. JJ gets more reps than Vaki because he is the #1 Scout Team RB.
If JJ is called up I think Gibbs gets 60%-75% of carries and the other 3 split the rest.
If someone gets a hot hand he will get more work.