Link: Greene a Diamond in the Rough?
Shonn Greene made Rob Rang’s list of prospects not drafted in the first round to look out for.
RB Shonn Greene, N.Y. Jets (third; 65th): Just as the Jets aggressively traded up for quarterback Mark Sanchez on the first day of the draft, coach Rex Ryan and Co. made the same decision to get the first pick of the second day and land Greene, the only running back in the NCAA to rush for more than 100 yards in every game last season. Pessimists might contend that with veterans Thomas Jones and Leon Washington in the fray, Greene won’t see the field much, but his short, thick frame is conducive to goal-line carries and running out the clock in the fourth quarter. And Jones and Washington are unhappy with their contracts.
He’s a backup plan for now, to be sure, but it’s a good one, especially when you consider the caliber of players he’s running behind. As Rang outlines, Greene might not see much of the field early on, but I would expect him to play in short yardage and late-game situations as it plays to his particular set of skills.
34 Responses to Link: Greene a Diamond in the Rough?
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Harvlis says:
I will be excited to see Jehuu Caulcrick lead the blocking for Shonn Greene, this pre-season. I think they could be the future of our backfield. Two hungry, hard hitters with everything to prove. They should be unstoppable near the goal line.
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zenlaw says:
To be honest, in my excitement about the Jets drafting Green, I hadn’t considered the impact he may have in short yardage situations. The Jets definitely need a playmaker in that category. With a short yardage run threat, the Jets will have plenty of options and should convert more 3rd downs.
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zenlaw,
We had a very good short game last year, with Richardson and TJ. Let’s just hope that Schotty calls the right plays.
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SackDance99 says:
Harvlis, agreed, especially in the snow, on the road against a weak defense.
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starz31 says:
in the snow, one the road, against a weak defense…ugh…
im having flashbacks of favre throwing across the field for an INT, all his deep balls that were underthrown, and then he makes a great throw deep middle and coles drops it….thanks sackdance -
BubbyBrister/shovelpass says:
No more shot-gun spreads…that’s for sure.
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Organized Chaos says:
I think we can all agree its a good sign if we see Shonn Greene this year at the end of games. Wear the clock down, as well as opposing defenses.
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ramble914 says:
Amen to the elimination of the empty backfield, shotgun spread!
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Pete57 says:
As long as we keep the section of the playbook that calls for double reverses and crazy pitches in poor weather.
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starz31, how about the wrong patterns? The WRs are slipping all over the place, but Favre has to hit them in stride, in the snow. Every time the receiver ran off the DB and stopped (because the DBs didn’t have the footing) our guys were wide open.
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crom says:
I disagree that the Jets had a very good short yardage game last year. It seemed like we always got stuffed when we tried to pickup a yard on 3rd and short or 4th and short on the ground.
I think Greene will give us that much needed weapon.
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AL says:
I agree with Crom I thought our short yardage stunk last year.
I also think our Offensive line is over hyped. They were good but I see a lot of room for improvement. For a team with one of the best offensive lines we didn’t convert short yardage very often and our QB got smashed alot. Pennington would have gotten injured by some of the hits Favre took.
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Scott/NY says:
This will raise a few eyebrows, but Greene reminds me of a bigger Emmitt. Not saying he’s on par with Emmitt, but they both have similar running styles. Pads low, geat vision. One difference; Greene will lower the shoulder and Truck somebody. I really look forward to watching him this season. Even more so than Jones. That’s not a dig at Jones. I’m still showing him some love. I just don’t care for his running style.
Another thing. I’ll be honest. When the Jets moved up to the first pick in the third round, I really thought and was hoping that they had their eyes on Gilbert and would take him. Glad he didn’t come to the AFC East and was drafted out of the divison.
Nevertheless, Greene is a player and I’m looking for him to start in 2010.
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Paul says:
This will be great on 3rd and short, as long as they don’t line up out of the shotgun and throw it all of the time like last year.
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The Jets struggles on 3rd and short last year I feel was largely due in part to lining up out of the shotgun all the time. I wonder how well they actually fared on 2rd and short lining up under center. I don’t seem to recall them doing that the second half of the year.
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IowaJet says:
I watched Greene at Iowa this year. You knew every game this guy had the ability to put the team on his back and carry us. He’ll be missed in IA City next year but I am VERY glad he got drafted our J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!! Sanchez and Greene are the future!
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fonzie says:
IowaJet,
How confident are you in Greene and Sanchez that they will make a definite impact this year? You say they are future but with the moves that we made to get them they must make that great of an impact for the Jets. If Sanchez is not better than Cutler (his first two years) or even on par with him then we would have wasted FIVE players (potentially four starters). If Greene is not an Adrian Peterson then we would have wasted three players that could have addressed other positions on the team that needed critical upgrading. How confident are you to say that Greene and Sanchez were worth it? I will hold you to your word.
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Scott/NY
Emmitt Smith (we are talking about the all-time leading rusher here). Emmitt was a slasher; side to side type of player not north to south /light bruiser. Greene has a totally different game. He is a similar version to Ronnie Brown without the moves to bounce to the outside. Ronnie could go the distance though, I don’t think Greene could. Greene can only benefit from the offensive line the way Thomas Jones and Washington did last year. Obviously he is going to have some holes to hit but his money is going to be worth when we need him to get the tough yards the way LaMont Jordan did when we played the Chargers in the 2004 AFC Wild Card in overtime. I truly believe we have now a better line than we did back then so he should benefit a lot more. The problem I see with Greene is where the opposing defense will stack the line forcing Greene to play man on against the opponent’s middle linebacker. If he is stopped than we will all know its he wasn’t worth trading three players for him regardless of the round he was drafted in. Just put Brian Urlacher on him and lets see who stops who first. No better yet, Jerrod Mayo from the patriots.
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FernandoQ says:
Scott,
I was with you, I absolutely thought Gilbert was the pick because I thought with Ellis getting older and Keyon being traded it was the area of need but a solid back with everydown potential was hard to pass up and now I am happy they made this choice! Still high on Gilbert but higher on what Shonn will mean to this team if potentials are met.
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Bent says: Fonzie –
The guy was a third round pick. It’s unreasonable to compare him with Ronnie Brown or Adrian Peterson. Those guys are earning 5 times as much money, for one thing.
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Harvey H says:
Greene may work out fine, especially for short yardage situations, but what are they waiting for in terms of giving Washington a new contract? He’s getting paid zilch and is their most explosive runner-he needs to be kept and a new contract for more bucks should be their main priority before the season begins.
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Boy, everyone is ga-ga over Greene. Caulcrick is the man you want in those situations but no, we gotta play the new guy.
I hope they cut Caulcrick and he goes to a team where they will use him.
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Bent,
You never know in the nfl. Look at Willie Parker.
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Bent,
I am not here to argue money with you. It seems like you are an extension of Tannenbaum on this blog. You don’t have to tell me who is getting paid more because both backs (Smith and Peterson) have displayed what they can do. I am more concerned what player Greene really is so I can compare him to the likes of Brown and Peterson from their running game styles.
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Fernando Q,
Did you really think what a blow to the defensive line can to the defense let alone the entire team? Just think of an ineffective Kris Jenkins or an unproductive Shaun Ellis can do to this team. Remember the team is only as strong as its weakest link. Greene’s potential can only do so much to the team. The trenches is where HUGE games are won.
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Bent,
I hold Tannenbaum in this case for trading three players for Greene. It seems as if they were drafting their franchise running back. Forget money I more worried about how the team will grow and in what direction. By trading three players to a one-dimensional running back (who we don’t even know he will be a starter this year or next year or the next if he doesn’t beat out Thomas Jones) we are sacrificing talent in more needed areas.
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Bent says:
“It seems like you are an extension of Tannenbaum on this blog.”
Why do you say that? If you think I support every move Tannenbaum ever makes then that’s inaccurate. In fact, I’ve been quite critical/weary of some of his recent moves.
The reason I pointed out their draft position was because the 3 players given up for Shonn Greene were equivalent to a 3rd round pick. Therefore, saying it was a bad move if Greene falls short of being one of the best runners in the league simply isn’t fair. If he’s anything close to Peterson it was a GREAT move.
Having said that, I agree with your point about giving up picks when they had already sacrificed depth to get Sanchez (a guy I am not sold on). In addition, I don’t think they needed a RB so badly. As Jets fans, you just have to hope these guys are as good as they must believe, but expecting a Junior to come in and outperform Cutler within 2 years and a 3rd rounder to outperform Peterson is unrealistic.
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Bent,
Regardless of what you say you cannot aruge that Tannenbaum wanted a runningback desperately. He had two in house already capable of pulling the load this year. When you give up three players (ALL WHO HAVE UNIQUE TALENT!!!!!) for one player it means you believe that the position you are filling is more important and the player that is filling it will make that much more of an impact than the three players would if they were drafted. Therefore HE SHOULD be compared to Adrian Peterson and the magnitude he would display on the team. Your unfair/fair rubbish is really getting annoying. You can’t hold onto anything here because Tannenbaum knows he needed leverage at that position. Nothing is holding Greene back and that is why I hold IowaJet on his word that he is the future runningback of the Jets and how great his college days were in Iowa. Lets get a little bit realistic here Bent. Why was Woody Johnson and only Woody Johnson so high on Sanchez?? He was sold after an interview and dinner with him before the nfl draft. Sanchez was drafted as a franchise quarterback the same as Cutler. Both quarterbacks displayed similar “quarterback traits “, great arm, intangibles, football knowledge, leadership qualities, ect. Tannenbaum made all the moves in a very short draft class. He has two players that need to perform this year Bent.
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Bent,
You can even say that Sanchez is behaving the same way Cutler did when Denver acquired him in his first year. He studied countless hours, worked with all the units of the offense and spent time with Shannahan and Jake Plummer. Sanchez claims he met new friends at the new training complex (janitors) and he has worked with Shotty and Clemens. Come on now he is clearly comparable to Jay Cutler and should produce like him.
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Bent says:
I’m sorry you find me so annoying. I won’t bother to respond to any of your comments in future.
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wil says:
Jets draftniks hit it out of the park on this guy. They got him in the 3rd round so the rookie money will not hurt them. I watched the Iowa-Penn St game last year and he absolutely mauled JoPa’s defense. I feel that TJs contract will continue to be a thorn and he will be history after awhile, which will open the door for Shonn. Once that happens, AFC East defenses will be in BIG TROUBLE. This guy is a tad smaller than Brandon Jacobs and just as fast, just what the Jets need when Nov & Dec arrives at the Meadowlands. I hope the Jets get a deal done for Leon because if the Jets add a goto receiver, Sanchez, Greene, Washington, and that goto receiver will be known as the QUADRUPLETS for posterity, as Aikmen, Irvin, and Smith were known as the triplets.
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There are some who feel that the Jets offensive line is not all that. That may very well be, as of right now, but the building blocks are in place for that line to be formidable in a year or 2. It took the Giants line roughly 4 years to become the force it is today, so don’t count D-Brik and the boys out so soon. They have the potential to dominate and after they have been in the system awhile, the Meadowlands in general (AFC & NFC) will not be a hospitable place for defenses.
Thats great to see he made that list… Ive actually read in a lot of places that he is the best PURE running back to come out of this draft so im hoping we use him more then there saying we will cause the guy is just a wrecking ball….He doesn’t go down after the first hit EVER