Where Have the Fullbacks Gone?
Posted: November 29, 2005 @ 10:36 am
The Cowboys running troubles foreground the lack of a good fullback. Many teams share the Cowboys’ problem. The fullback is an endangered species in the early ’00s, as many teams have gone to one back three receiver sets, a la the Colts. College football compounds the problem as spead offenses are even more prevalent there. This means fewer fullbacks are being developed for the NFL teams that run traditional two back sets.
The trend has made the few bonafide fullbacks left valuable men. Lorenzo Neal, Mack Strong and William Henderson have learned what left-handed baseball relievers like Jesse Orosco have long known: as long as you can walk, you’ll have a job. Neal and Strong are both 13 year veterans and their teams would beg them to come back if they threatened retirement this offseason. Neal blasts holes for LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego. Strong is Shaun Alexander’s escourt in Seattle. These unsung greybeards are big reasons why Alexander and Tomlinson lead the NFL in touchdowns.
Strong and the 11 year Packers veteran Henderson will be free agents next year. Dallas might consider them despite their age. Another younger option will be 49ers’ fullback Fred Beasley. The eight year pro was Garrison Hearst’s battering ram when San Francisco was still a playoff contender. Beasley is also considered the best running fullback in the game. I’m sure he would consider leaving a 49ers team that has crumbled around him.
Imagine how effective Julius Jones and Marion Barber would be with a Daryl Johnston clone leading their way. A fullback like Beasley would be a mid-priced free agent signing who could provide a big-ticket effect.
Comments
31 Responses to “Where Have the Fullbacks Gone?”
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
-
"The Sports Doctors"
iTunes/
Winamp
Windows
Media
RealOne -
Cowboy Up
Dedicated to providing the best Cowboys analysis anywhere, our efforts are free of charge but not free of expense. Your kind donation today will keep our drive alive.
Thank you
Or mail payment to:
RV2 Enterprises
P.O. Box 150093
Austin TX 78715-0093
Advertisers
-
Fave it!
-
SiteMeter
Burst Media
A fullback is the reason our running game sucks sometimes but I’m sure with a better fullback it would be a bit better as it would with a better line and better rb. I would say a better fullback would help on the goal line but JJ doesn’t need to be on the goal line, MB should be in.
I think you have to have patient backs for the fullback blocking to work.emmitt had success because he wasn’t the fastest guy plus he had good vision finding the holes.with jj and barber i don’t think there patient enough. plus jj is to explosive
Nando,
How would you know? They have fullbacks this year, you know. They happen to be tight ends, but they are lining up as fullbacks. Show me where the running game is sputtering because the backs hit the holes too fast.
aw,
Please show how Barber is a better short yardage back than Jones. Your anti-Jones campaign has become a jihad.
Wasn’t JJs knock coming out of college his inability to break an arm tackle? Now Barber looks smaller, but I think i agree with aw.
Raf
BP said MB runs inside better than JJ. You can see that. A lot of short yardage are runs inside so that why I say it. I’m not anti-JJ. He just hasn’t done anything this year. I’m not pro MB either but I would like to see what he can do. I’m not happy with the whole offense from the line to play calling. If the line was better the running game would be better but that doesn’t change the fact that JJ is not a good inside runner.
fullback aside, i don’t think julius has been right all year….high ankle sprain is one of those things that emmitt suffered a few years ago (i think maybe 1999/2000) and everyone was saying he was done - as a matter of fact i think he had 2 high ankle sprains….anyways, my point is that i think julius is still not even close to 100% and a high ankle sprain takes a lot longer to heal than your garden variety sprain - hopefully this will improve with 10 days off…we shall see against GMEN….we need this game badly
do you remember that third down and short run by barber against the seahawks.where he should have run inside instead did not let the play develop ran outside and did not get the first.perfect example of not being patient.by the way it was in the fourth quarter that first down was crucial they could of killed some clock.
I just don’t buy the argument.
Seldom is a FB a major impact player. TE’s have been doing the job for years in Gibbs’ schemes. Most teams are better with a spread defense that comes from 3-wide formations. Just not worth the money for a premier FB.
Jason,
I am in agreement with you on JJ, although bill says he’s fine, but when you watch him run, he’s not right.I think he’s trying to play through it, but he’s not 100%. Its only going to get better with rest which he wont get until the offseason.
Derrick and Jason
JJ wasn’t doing much before he got hurt, he is running the same now as he has been all year.
fighter,
When your guard larry Allen wiffs on his block and polite misses his block in the hole to set JJ or barber free, that pretty much kills any running play.That has happened quite a few times this year. Witten has had a few games where he missed a few blocks.
Fighter 15,
TEs can do the job. They’re not doing it in this offense. Dallas uses lots of two TE sets but lines up one of them in the backfield a lot. When the ’90s Cowboys had the Moose, they would often line him up wide as an H-back.
The point is that those teams had a guy who could block backside or at the point of attack consistently. This team doesn’t.
I don’t care if it’s a FB or a TE. They’ve got to find one or preferably two of them.
And a FB is not a big ticket buy. Fred Beasley would probably cost what Dan Campbell did, maybe a little more.
Nando,
That mistake was due more to Barber’s immaturity than impatience. That was what, his first, second game as a pro? He’s not making that mistake any more, is he?
Rafael,
As stated by many people, the problem is with the O-line. No FB in history can make up for those deficencies.
You’re right about FB or TE being able to do the job equally, but I can’t place the blame on them in this case. They’re going after a planned person but often have to make up for someone else’s mistake.
Fighter 15,
I think you’re wrong. The line has it’s problems, but the FB is ALSO a problem. I consider them part of the o-line, in that the FBs job is to block most of the time in this scheme.
In the Denver game, the TEs and the FBs were blowing more blocks than any lineman, with the possible exception of Petitti.
RAFY I DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAUGHT SOME OF THE SAN DIEGO WASHINGTON GAME.DID YOU SEE LT WAIT FOR HIS BLOCKERS OR WAIT FOR HOLES TO DEVELOP AND THEN HIT THE HOLE.JJ AND MB ARE RUNNING HOPING THERE’S A HOLE THERE .THERE SEEMS TO BE NO STRATEGY TO RUNNING THE BALL.
Raf,
If a case can be made that WR is not an important position for a championship team, why are we overstating the value of a fullback?
The player at FB needs to passs block, run a pattern from time to time, and run block. And run the ball maybe once a game. Your TE can replace all that but the single carry. Won’t it be easier to develop and procure TE’s than FB’s?
By the way who blocks for Tiki?? Or is it the fact that the QB is somewhat mobile, and has bigger threats to pass to that defenses don’t stack 8-9 in the box and daare them to beat him.
…him to beat them
RAFAEL MAYBE WE SHOULD HIRE RON DAYNE AS RUNNING BACKS COACH.
“where have all the fullbacks gone?”
- they either learned to run the ball or learned to catch the ball and play TE. Thats where the money is.
- Bringing in a Mack Strong or Fred Beasley brings a ton of experience. They would do wonders with our young backs. Parcells will go out this offseason and get one.
# 20 Jim Finn is the FB on the Giants roster, to how much clearance he provides Tiki I can’t attest.
#2 back in the league, Edgerrin James flies solo or by H-back.
Last year the Pats signed an UDFA out of Navy I beleive. They later cut him and he was signed by the Dolphins. His name is Kyle Eckle. I think he has to serve his millitary time before playing in the NFL. But I have never seen a FB run and block so well at the collegiate level. He had 3 straight 1000 yard season, I beleive. This is a guy the Boys should seriously look at for the future. He wont be around for a few years, but if he comes back safe and healthy he could be a star.
It’s a shame that Jamar Martin didn’t pick up his assignments well. He was better suited than Polite to be a road grading FB. He dented Khary Campbell’s helmet and shoulder pads.
Was he a 4th rounder or a 3rd? Either way, good work Parcells and Campo.
AlanTdot,
It may be easier to find TEs. However, if you want a power running game, you’re going to need a FB. Notice all the trouble Dallas is having running in goal line? A big reason is that Marcus Spears is not a dependable blocker.
Can’t blame our 5th-worst yards per carry average on just the FB. And that’s a stat that must improve dramatically to reach Super Bowls.
So is FB a weak spot? Yes. But for this team and this running game to take off, our O-Line needs to be better than average–they need to be top 10. How many linemen do we have who fit that description?
LT (Flozell): 50% of the time
LG: Yes, but for how much longer?
C: No
RG: Maybe (?)
RT (Petitti): Not yet.
So I hope the coming offseason includes early drafts and free agents to fill up this line with athletic run-blockers. The defense is very good now. It’s the running that must improve.
I think this view from Peter King on the SI website supports the contention exactly, using a rather recent painful example for his offensive player of the week:
“Denver FB Kyle Johnson. Strange pick, you think. Yes, it’s a bit odd, but let’s give credit to one of the unheralded blockers for once. Go back to the terrific game between Dallas and Denver on Thanksgiving night. The game has gone back and forth, back and forth, and one big play’s going to win it for somebody. On the first possession of overtime, Jake Plummer hands off to a revitalized Ron Dayne, who squirts through a hole at the left side of the line. And now there is a moment of truth. Dallas safety Roy Williams is there, squaring his shoulders, ready to stop Dayne for a three-yard gain. But here comes Johnson, the 6-foot, 242 third-year blocking back from Syracuse. Boom! He levels Williams, erasing him from the play, and springs Dayne for a 55-yard run to the Dallas 6. Jason Elam’s field goal on the next play wins it. Dayne gets the headlines for a 98-yard clutch game and he deserves kudos. But it could well have been a 46-yard day without glory were it not for Johnson’s block”
FB’s can clearly be difference makers.
The Titans never recovered from letting Lorenzo Neal go - good things happen to RBs wherever that guy goes.
Where’s Moose?
Yes, we need a true fullback, but I think our biggest problem is the o-line!
I agree wholeheartedly with you Rafael!! I have been making this case since the beginning of the season, although I didn’t think anyone was agreeing with me because everyone’s so hung up on WR’s. I used to play tailback and I can tell you that the fullback position is one of the most important on the field.
The reason why is simple: as a tailback, when you take the handoff you are usually at least 3-4 yards behind the line of scrimmage (depending if you are running a blast between the guards or a power off-tackle play), taking the ball that deep means that you have a moment to see where the hole is, and even a mediocre O-lineman can run block good enough to open at least a small hole to burst through for at least a yard or two. The FB is a much bigger deal to the success of the run because if he does his job right he is going to take out the middle/inside linebacker, thus springing another hole that a quick tailback should be able to get through for at least a 3-5 yard gain. Without that block from the FB, the tailback is going to get blown up or at least slowed down by the LB…period. Yeah, he can try to stiff-arm him, or drop his shoulders and try to drive him, but it won’t matter because he will have been slowed down enough for another LB or a DB to get there and tackle him for a 1-2 yard gain at most. It is all about the timing, and the FB’s block is what keeps the tailback moving at a fast enough pace to get the yards before the rest of the defense gets there to help.
I have also seen some very successful running plays by fullbacks that went for pretty good yards. You can really keep a defense off balance by running inside trap handoffs to the FB, not to mention they are great for dumping off flare passes to out of the backfield on 3rd and 5.
Personally I like Cory Schlesinger in Detroit a lot. He has been totally misused in that horrible offense, but he is a great blocker and a tough ballcarrier. I think if he played in a more run oriented offense he would be a Pro Bowl FB. Maybe all the turmoil in Detroit could allow Dallas to get him in the off-season, it would pay off big time.
Also, the whole thing about using tight ends as blockers from the fullback position is a big mistake. Most tight ends are 6′2″ or taller, and are great at blocking from the edge on off-tackle or pitch plays, but are not so good at getting through a hole fast and standing up a middle/inside linebacker. They end up slowing down the pace of the play and merely getting in the way of the LB instead of squaring up and taking him off his feet. Tight ends are usually better at blocking defensive ends or outside linebackers, who tend to be taller than middle/inside linebackers.
A good fullback is usually a bit shorter and stockier (the best are built like fire plugs), have enough quickness to scurry through the hole quickly, and have a low center of gravity so they can explode into the linebacker and spring the tailback.
My favorite fullback was Robert Hewhouse. He always seemed to do everything he was supposed to do really well. I think Tony Dorsett would agree.
The Cowboys on Thursday worked out fullback Jamar Martin.
so maybe we get our runblocking fullback :-)