Two Back Attack is the norm... Who's got the best? (1 Viewer)

[DownWithDisease]

I was scanning over the article on the front page of SR, and it got me thinking... More teams have the 2 back attack than teams that don't. Now, not all of them have Deuce and Reggie (which is the best IMO) but the majority of teams now have at least two RBs that see a good amount of time in each game. So that brings me to this question, who's 2 back attack is the best?

NYG - Barber and Jacobs (before Barber retired of course)
Dal - M. Barber and J. Jones
Philly - Westbrook and Buckhalter
Wash - Portis and Betts

Chi - Jones and Benson
Det. G.B. and Minn. don't have it.

N.O. McAllister and Bush
Car - Foster and Williams
T.B. - Williams and Pittman
Atl - Dunn and Norwood

Sea. St. Louis. S.F. and Ari don't use it.

N.E. - Dillon and Maroney
NYJ - Washington and Houston and Barlow
Mia - Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams (when he's not in Canada)
Buff - don't have it.

Pitt. - Nope
Cincy - Johnson and Perry (if Perry could ever stay healthy)
Cle. - nope
Balt. - Lewis and Smith

Indy - Addai and Rhodes
Jax - Taylor and Jones-Drew
Hou. Nada
Tenn - Henry, Brown, and White

Den - Bell and Bell
S.D. - Tomlinson (and Michael Turner, but they don't use him enough)
K.C. - don't use it.
Oak - sucks, but you could say Jordan and Fargas.

 

[Loose Cannon]

1. New Orleans
2. Miami (if RW comes back)
3. Washington
4. Jax
5. Dallas

 

[CargoJon]

If Marshall Faulk actually comes back for the Rams and doesn't suck, they're going to have the best duo.

 

[DownWithDisease]

1. New Orleans
2. Miami (if RW comes back)
3. Washington
4. Jax
5. Dallas

Good rankings, but I'd have a hard time leaving the duos in Chicago and Indy out of that.

 

[jlam]

N.O. (slightly homer)
Washington (if Portis is healthy)
Indy
Jacksonville
N.Y. Giants (given the above condition)

I think N.E. is up there too when you consider that they also rely heavily on Kevin Faulk, especially in 3rd down situations, and seems to come through more often than he is given credit for. Also, although they may not be worth noting, Houston also relies on the running back by commitee approach with a slew of RBs last year (Dayne, Lundy, Taylor, Gado, and with Davis/Williams hoping to come back this year).

 

[Loose Cannon]

Good rankings, but I'd have a hard time leaving the duos in Chicago and Indy out of that.

IMO, Jones is an okay RB, and Benson has not proven that he is anything special yet.

Rhodes is mediocre and a product of the system.

 

[DownWithDisease]

Also, although they may not be worth noting, Houston also relies on the running back by commitee approach with a slew of RBs last year (Dayne, Lundy, Taylor, Gado, and with Davis/Williams hoping to come back this year).

Yeah, I thought about Houston, but all of those guys are turds besides Davis... and he was hurt all year. I almost put Dominack Davis and Adrian Peterson for next year, because that's who I think they'll draft.

 

[Loose Cannon]

I wouldn't consider a two-back combo to be "very good" or "great" unless both backs were at least average or above average.

1. NO - Deuce (way above average), Reggie (above average now, major potential)
2. Miami - Brown (above average), Ricky (above average to very above average)
3. Washington - Portis (way above average), Betts (above average)
4. Jax - Taylor (average), Jones-Drew (slightly above)
5. Dallas - Jones (average), Barber III (slightly above)

You could make the case for NE. Dillon is about average and Maroney is probably slightly above, as of now.

IMO, these teams don't qualify:

Chicago - Jones (average or slightly below), Benson (below average)
Houston - Not a single above average RB.
Denver - Ditto

 

[DownWithDisease]

I wouldn't consider a two-back combo to be "very good" or "great" unless both backs were at least average or above average...

LC, how familiar are you with S.D.'s Michael Turner? He doesn't get used very much because of the fact that L.T. is an absolute BEAST, but IMHO, he's a very good back. Good enough to be the featured back for teams like Denver, the Jets, Houston, and a handful of other teams. He's powerful and fast... I think he's "above average" even though his resume is somewhat limited.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Turner is real good in his role now, but the carries were not distributed equally enough to really consider it a "two back attack". LT got about 90% of the carries. Turner's carries came mostly in garbage time, with a few on third downs.

I think Turner is a RFA. I'll be interested to see if he leaves San Diego, and how his career takes off. He will definitely garner interest as a feature back. If Chester Taylor can get a team to pay him a decent amount of money and lock in as the #1 back, surely Turner can.

 

[DownWithDisease]

I think Turner is a RFA. I'll be interested to see if he leaves San Diego, and how his career takes off. He will definitely garner interest as a feature back. If Chester Taylor can get a team to pay him a decent amount of money and lock in as the #1 back, surely Turner can.

He is... If he ends up Denver, I think he'd be a stud in their system. I'd draft him for my fantasy team.

 

[rjackson57]

I wouldn't consider a two-back combo to be "very good" or "great" unless both backs were at least average or above average.

1. NO - Deuce (way above average), Reggie (above average now, major potential)
2. Miami - Brown (above average), Ricky (above average to very above average)
3. Washington - Portis (way above average), Betts (above average)
4. Jax - Taylor (average), Jones-Drew (slightly above)
5. Dallas - Jones (average), Barber III (slightly above)

You could make the case for NE. Dillon is about average and Maroney is probably slightly above, as of now.

IMO, these teams don't qualify:

Chicago - Jones (average or slightly below), Benson (below average)
Houston - Not a single above average RB.
Denver - Ditto

Nice post. Would disagree with you regarding Jax; however, due to Fred Taylor's production (when he is healthy). I would consider him above average and Jone-s Drew slightly above average.

For what it's worth, Jim Brown was asked who stood out today (regarding today's backs) and his response was Fred Taylor. Says that he has all the skills and his only problem is staying healthy.

Also, based on their production in the post-season, I would say that the Bears duo is average to above average.

My list would look like this:

New Orleans: The perfect backfield.
Washington: Betts demonstrated that he could carry the load in Clinton's absence.
Jax: A healthy Fred Taylor is above average and Jones-Drew gave the O huge boost.
New England: Corey Dillon, Maroney (and K. Faulk). Maroney was a surprise and possibly a rising star.
Chicago: Where would Chicago be without the duo of Jones and Benson? Grossman would have had a poor season without this duo's production.

 

[longtime lurker]

The Saints have the best 1-2 punch...and that's even with my Saints glasses off.

 

[kewee]

1. Saints

2. Redskins

3. Jacksonville

4. Colts

5. Chargers

 

[Neekie2212]

ATL should be disqualified because they've got 3, Dunn, Norwood, AND Vick...IMO