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Ben Tate of the Houston Texans is expected to be an important free agent running back this offseason. The 25-year-old is not expected to return to the Texans so he is in prime position to become a starter elsewhere.
Where Tate lands and how well he plays outside of Houston is to be determined, but the Texans must also find out who will take up his role in Houston. Even though Tate wasn't a full-time starter, he played an important role behind Arian Foster. Chances are the Texans will move to a more pass-oriented attack with whoever takes over as a new head coach because the offense has plenty of weapons at the receiver positions.
Even if Tate leaves, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Keshawn Martin, Owen Daniels, DeVier Posey and Ryan Griffin will all still be there, while Chris Myers and Duane Brown are strong lnych pins on the offensive line who would fit any type of offense. This gives the Texans flexibility in the direction they can head in.
That direction will determine what they do with the rest of their running backs. Behind Tate and Foster this season, Dennis Johnson and Deji Karim played the most prominent roles. Johnson had plenty of opportunities to lay down his claim for a starting spot, but even though he showed flashes he never did enough to pry away playing time from a fully healthy Tate. Surpassed those options, the Texans made use of Jonathan Grimes and Ray Graham in Week 17 of the regular season.
Graham barely featured, but Grimes made many plays that suggested he could have a long-term future in this league.
Grimes is 24 years of age and he went undrafted back in 2012. He initially signed with the Houston Texans, but failed to make the active roster. The New York Jets brought him onto their active roster and gave him four total touches in three games before releasing him. The Texans brought him back and added him to their active roster for six games, but he was released again so the Jacksonville Jaguars picked him up.
He was released by the Jaguars before the start of the 2013 season and wasn't picked up by anyone until the Texans came calling for the third time in December. Tate had just been sent to IR after Foster had landed there earlier in the season, so Grimes was expected to be a backup with Deji Karim behind Dennis Johnson. Johnson and Kerim played more intiailly, but Grimes was more impressive on the limited touches he received.
Another injury, this time to Johnson, meant the Texans were looking for another starter entering Week 17.
Grimes didn't have to compete for the starting spot, because Karim was also injured. This meant that Grimes was going to get the first opportunity against the Tennessee Titans, while Ray Graham was waiting in the wings to try and seize upon any poor play from the second-year player. Grimes did make one important mistake, a bad fumble, but Graham couldn't capitalize and Grimes did enough to stay on the field.
On the field, he is very slender and looks more like a receiver physically than a running back. Unsurprisingly, his greatest physical trait is his quickness which made him a good fit behind the Texans zone-blocking offensive line. Early in the game against the Titans, Grimes showed off that quickness with two long runs. However, those runs were well-blocked and the holes opened up in front of him so there was little to gain from them.
His final run of the first drive was different though.
From five yards away from the goal line, the Texans ran a stretch play to the right side. Grimes was lined up behind his fullback, with the offensive line in motion immediately at the snap.
The key block comes from the left guard as he cuts the right defensive tackle. Even though Grimes is running off right tackle, he quickly recognizes the cutback lane that and decisively plants his right foot to cut back inside.
Grimes gets three yards unopposed, but then a linebacker fills the hole. Even though he is a slight running back, 5-10 and 210 pounds, Grimes attacks the point of contact and keeps his legs moving to push his way into the end zone. This isn't the type of play that will determine how successful Grimes can be going forward, but it is a nice dimension to add to the skill-set of a quicker back.
Grimes' decisiveness and awareness making cuts behind the line of scrimmage was impressive throughout the game. He didn't predetermine where he was going with the ball and allowed his blocking to develop. He never really escaped onto the second level as a runner, but he was put in space as a receiver.
In the second quarter, on second and nine, Grimes runs a curl route from the backfield. The rest of the Texans' receivers run past the first down marker, which drags the Titans' zone coverage deep. This leaves Grimes in a lot of space before the ball is thrown to him.
Grimes has plenty of time to turn into space. The Titans linebackers are coming towards him immediately, but Grimes has space to work in. There is a linebacker to either side of him in position to prevent him from getting a first down. However, the young back plants his foot in the ground and accelerates around one linebacker to get a first down.
As he crosses the first down marker, Grimes is dragging the linebacker with him. He manages to shed the initial tackle attempt off of him, before running into another defender. He keeps his feet moving through contact again to gain an extra four yards.
Grimes showed similar traits to Arian Foster and he appears to be a perfect fit for what the Texans offense was in 2013. He clearly needs to develop and it's unclear what kind of offense the Texans will run in 2014, but his all-around ability should give him a shot at making the roster next season.
Sometimes, you expect a player to breakout. Sometimes, you are surprised but not shocked. Sometimes, it's borderline inexplicable when a former failure turns into someone who produces like a superstar.
LeGarrette Blount falls into the final grouping.
Blount entered the NFL surrounded by controversy. He had been suspsended in college for punching an opponent. As a result, he went undrafted back in 2010. He joined the Tennessee Titans for training camp, but couldn't make the roster. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers eventually picked him up and he he became a fixture in their offense over the second half of the season. He finished his rookie season with 201 attempts for 1,007 yards and six touchdowns. In his second season, he started 14 games and averaged 4.2 yards per carry with five total touchdowns.
From that point onwards, Blount was limited to a reserve role in Tampa Bay. Doug Martin was drafted to be the feature back primarily because Blount was viewed as a limited player with ball security issues.
Limited players with ball security issues typically don't wind up as one of Bill Belichick's offensive staples. Belichick's New England Patriots acquired Blount from the Buccaneers for absent kick returner Jeff Demps. Blount wasn't expected to make the Patriots roster, but he quickly became a vital piece alongside Stevan Ridley, Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen in the backfield.
Blount had three fumbles this season, but maybe because Ridley was struggling to hold onto the ball also he wasn't overly punished for them. Of course, it may not have had anything to do with Ridley because when Blount was holding onto the ball he was averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Blount carried the ball 153 times for 772 yards and seven touchdowns.
He wasn't a receiving option for the Patriots, but his value as a runner was clear for all to see.
Moving into the post-season, Blount appeared to be peaking at the perfect time. He had 24 carries for 189 yards and two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills in Week 17. Throughout the four quarters of that game and throughout the season as a whole, Blount played with excellent power. He is a big back who runs decisively and keeps his feet moving through contact. This is what has allowed him to be very successful for the Patriots.
Blount is the type of big back who shouldn't be effective in today's pass-inclined NFL, but he has enough speed to make him a big play threat when the opportunities arise. Against the Bills, Blount had a 36 yard touchdown run.
On the Bills' 36-yard line, the Patriots come out with a tight end to either side of the offensive line and two receivers to the left. Danny Amendola, one of those receivers, motions behind the line of scrimmage before the snap before working back towards the slot to the left of the offense. This drags a defensive back across the field but he is moving away from the play at the snap. The Bills don't have any defender deep to the left side of the defense, meaning that there is a vast amount of space on the second level.
A huge hole immediately opens between the left tackle and the tight end to that side of the field. The Patriots are pulling their right guard across the formation towards that hole and the Bills have two defenders attacking it from deep. Blount doesn't rush to the line of scrimmage, instead he shows patience to allow his blocker get out in front of him.
Blount keeps moving to the left of the offense long enough to drag the deep safety down and engage the defenders on the right side. This sets up a perfect cutback lane to the second level. On the second level, Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso is being too aggressive against Logan Mankins, as he often is.
Alonso eventually knocks Mankins to the ground, but his effort brings him forward and to the ground. Meanwhile, Blount was too fast through the running lane for the linebacker to recover and tackle him. From here, there is no stopping Blount from reaching the vast space on the second level and the safety working across the field has no hope of closing the angle on him because he was initiially drawn to the other side of the field when Blount ran left behind the line of scrimmage.
It would be easy to paint a picture that has the Patriots replacing Blount during the offseason. However, unless his fumble issues return, it seems unlikely. Blount has been too productive and the Patriots have many other, more pressing needs that must be focused on if they are to make the most out of their offseason. Will he always be a secondary option behind Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen? Probably, but that doesn't mean there wont be a role for him to contribute.
Blount has the talent, he just needs to stay out of trouble and on the field.
Quick Thoughts:
Nate Washington always gets overlooked during draft season. He's not considered flashy and he's never been a superstar talent, but he had an outstanding season in a tough situation this year. Ryan Fitzpatrick dramatically hampered his production, so he finished the season with 58 receptions, 919 yards and three touchdowns. His consistency from play-to-play and week-to-week was simply incredible.
Nick Foles still needs to establish himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. It's not something anyone ever wants to hear, but Foles had an awful lot of luck this season. His production was largely a result of high-qualty play from his teammates and an excellent offensive design from Chip Kelly. Some caution should be explored when considering what to do with Foles entering 2014.
T.Y. Hilton had a huge game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the quality of the opposition played a big role in his and the Indianapolis Colts' production on offense. Hilton has struggled this season. He's not a number one receiver, at least not yet, so the Colts will likely need to invest in more quality at the position during the offseason unless Reggie Wayne is certain to return to full strength.
Aaron Rodgers is special, that has been obvious for some time, but Randall Cobb appears to be too. Cobb's ability to perform after missing so much time in a crucial game speaks a lot about his natural talent to ease into success. If he can avoid injury moving forward, he has the potential to be one of the very best receivers in the NFL. Often smaller receivers are overlooked when ranking the top receivers, but special talents are special regardless of their size.
Steven Jackson showed up well during the 2013 regular season finale. He signed a three year contract for the Falcons during the offseason so he shouldn't be going anywhere ahead of 2014. The only question with Jackson is his health. Much like Frank Gore, he is in incredible shape for a 30 year old back, but unlike Gore he needs to prove his durability.
