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Branden Oliver (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter EBF
- Start date
squistion
Footballguy
Andrew74
Footballguy
jurb26
Footballguy
Mediocre talents get replaced in the NFL. That's just the law of the jungle.Not a good night for the EBF's pet players - first Tre Mason, now Oliver.
EBF
Footballguy
Oliver had a really low dynasty ADP/ranking even before this pick.
Most people weren't assuming that he was going to be handed a starting role. If they were, he wouldn't have been RB53 on dynasty lists.
The guy getting replaced is Mathews. One first round RB out. Another first round RB in.
Most people weren't assuming that he was going to be handed a starting role. If they were, he wouldn't have been RB53 on dynasty lists.
The guy getting replaced is Mathews. One first round RB out. Another first round RB in.
Ducegonads
Footballguy
Agreed, expected.
Faust
MVP
Branden Oliver finding his groove in second season with Chargers:
http://espn.go.com/blog/san-diego-chargers/post/_/id/11983/branden-oliver-finding-his-groove-in-second-season-with-chargers
http://espn.go.com/blog/san-diego-chargers/post/_/id/11983/branden-oliver-finding-his-groove-in-second-season-with-chargers
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
The chargers were addressing the position for sure this year.
Yeah, it was totally expected (and priced in) that they would trade up to take the 2nd RB drafted in the first round in the last 3 years.
Addressing the position <> trading up in the 1st round to pick a RB.The chargers were addressing the position for sure this year.
Yeah, it was totally expected (and priced in) that they would trade up to take the 2nd RB drafted in the first round in the last 3 years.
Fireinside
Footballguy
After the first pre-season game, it's hard to give up on this guy.
Looked better than most and had phenomenal TD run... I root this kid till the end!
Looked better than most and had phenomenal TD run... I root this kid till the end!
Fireinside
Footballguy
Had to quote this from Melvin thread and add that if Melvin also has problems with pass protection, maybe and I'm just saying maybe Oliver can show what he can do!
Fireinside
Footballguy
It's not enough to be the new Peterson, but I think he showed enough to be capable of making in the NFL. How will that turn out fantasy wise is a question, but I doubt this kid will get kicked out of the league any time soon. I think producing some Sproles-type numbers is the ceiling here, but if that happens it's enough for me to keep him.
Sure, he's good enough to stick in the league, but this thread wouldn't be 20 pages long if that's all people were hoping for.
He's not much like Sproles at all, and I highly doubt that will be his role (certainly not while Woodhead is playing). He's more of an all-around back-up RB.
BoltBacker
Footballguy
That may be true and I essentially agree, but if SD had an important goal line carry right now there is no doubt in my mind that I would choose to hand the ball off to Oliver right now. He is quick and aggressive to hit the hole and this OL isn't as bad as last year so he doesn't have to fight contact AT the line of scrimmage. If watching Gordon doing the "Icky Shuffle" is frustrating in the middle of the field I can only imagine how frustrating it would be watching him mill around the backfield against a stacked front. This could be even more of a RBBC than most people realize.humpback said:
EBF
Footballguy
Big play from BO tonight:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000518132/Can-t-Miss-Play-Oliver-70-yard-Touchdown-catch
I didn't see the game, but Gordon's stats were ugly. He was also very bad in week one, which I did see. They will give him every opportunity to step up since they spent such a high pick on him, but thus far Oliver is the one who has been flashing. It's an interesting contrast between those two. Oliver is so compact with such great agility and elusiveness. His biggest weakness is that he lacks long speed (though he looked plenty fast there). Gordon is almost the opposite. Good playing speed, but long strides and suspect ability to operate in tight spaces. The NFL is not always very forgiving of guys who need space to uncoil their stride, as we saw with Andre Williams last year. I wouldn't hit the total panic button with Gordon just yet, but I have him in one league and am starting to think about offering him up for Abdullah or K White.
Looks like the Bolts will go into the year with Gordon-Woodhead as the starters and Oliver as the backup. I would expect Donald Brown to be
.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000518132/Can-t-Miss-Play-Oliver-70-yard-Touchdown-catch
I didn't see the game, but Gordon's stats were ugly. He was also very bad in week one, which I did see. They will give him every opportunity to step up since they spent such a high pick on him, but thus far Oliver is the one who has been flashing. It's an interesting contrast between those two. Oliver is so compact with such great agility and elusiveness. His biggest weakness is that he lacks long speed (though he looked plenty fast there). Gordon is almost the opposite. Good playing speed, but long strides and suspect ability to operate in tight spaces. The NFL is not always very forgiving of guys who need space to uncoil their stride, as we saw with Andre Williams last year. I wouldn't hit the total panic button with Gordon just yet, but I have him in one league and am starting to think about offering him up for Abdullah or K White.
Looks like the Bolts will go into the year with Gordon-Woodhead as the starters and Oliver as the backup. I would expect Donald Brown to be
.bulger2holt
Footballguy
3 headed monster. Not liking the situation at all
Tau837
Footballguy
I think they should cut Brown, provided they have a good candidate for a 4th RB, though I'm not aware of who that would be at this time. They will not go with 3 RBs this year, not after last year when at one point they had lost their top 3 RBs.Big play from BO tonight:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000518132/Can-t-Miss-Play-Oliver-70-yard-Touchdown-catch
I didn't see the game, but Gordon's stats were ugly. He was also very bad in week one, which I did see. They will give him every opportunity to step up since they spent such a high pick on him, but thus far Oliver is the one who has been flashing. It's an interesting contrast between those two. Oliver is so compact with such great agility and elusiveness. His biggest weakness is that he lacks long speed (though he looked plenty fast there). Gordon is almost the opposite. Good playing speed, but long strides and suspect ability to operate in tight spaces. The NFL is not always very forgiving of guys who need space to uncoil their stride, as we saw with Andre Williams last year. I wouldn't hit the total panic button with Gordon just yet, but I have him in one league and am starting to think about offering him up for Abdullah or K White.
Looks like the Bolts will go into the year with Gordon-Woodhead as the starters and Oliver as the backup. I would expect Donald Brown to be
Furthermore, the current GM signed Brown, and he came from Indy. And the coaching staff have consistently had nothing but positive things to say about Brown. It is also true that Rivers is the most important player on the team, and Brown is the best of the RBs on the team at pass blocking. He may not (hopefully will not) play much, but I would be quite surprised to see him cut.
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
Gordon looked fine in the first preseason game. I wasn't able to watch tonight's game so I can't comment; I'll have to watch the replay later this week.Big play from BO tonight:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000518132/Can-t-Miss-Play-Oliver-70-yard-Touchdown-catch
I didn't see the game, but Gordon's stats were ugly. He was also very bad in week one, which I did see. They will give him every opportunity to step up since they spent such a high pick on him, but thus far Oliver is the one who has been flashing. It's an interesting contrast between those two. Oliver is so compact with such great agility and elusiveness. His biggest weakness is that he lacks long speed (though he looked plenty fast there). Gordon is almost the opposite. Good playing speed, but long strides and suspect ability to operate in tight spaces. The NFL is not always very forgiving of guys who need space to uncoil their stride, as we saw with Andre Williams last year. I wouldn't hit the total panic button with Gordon just yet, but I have him in one league and am starting to think about offering him up for Abdullah or K White.
Looks like the Bolts will go into the year with Gordon-Woodhead as the starters and Oliver as the backup. I would expect Donald Brown to be
It would be beyond stunning for Oliver to cut into Gordon's playing time significantly. They had an entire season to watch BO up close and evaluate, and the FO decided to trade up for Gordon based in large part on that evaluation.
Of note is the Chargers OLine having new face or places for 4/5 starters. In time the line should be much improved, but the coaching staff has admitted in recent days that it is going to take time for them to gel and for guys to get comfortable at new positions.
Now is the time to buy Gordon, not sell.
EBF
Footballguy
Every team has a plan for its first round pick, but only a fraction of those guys live up to the expectations. I agree that Gordon is highly likely to be the workhorse this year, but at the same time this is the NFL and if you think things always go according to plan then you're mistaken. You don't have to look far to find guys who weren't handed starting jobs out of college, yet eventually found success. Players like Arian Foster, CJ Anderson, Alfred Morris, Justin Forsett, and Joique Bell (all top 15 FF backs last year) were, at one point or another, all major underdogs to become starters based on what was "supposed to" happen. Almost half of last year's top 25 RBs were lightly-regarded as prospects (add Ellington, Bradshaw, Ivory, Asiata, and Fred Jackson to the list). Some guys outperform their draft slot and some guys underwhelm.
It would be absurd to write off Gordon after ~15 preseason carries. At the same time, the reason why I pay attention to these games is to try to get a jump on things. If someone looks better or worse than what I expected, I always make note of it. In Gordon's case, there are other guys in his dynasty ADP who I'm bullish on (namely K White and Abdullah), so it's not necessarily about bailing on him as much as it's about potentially getting someone that I think is even better. FWIW, I haven't pulled the trigger on any offers yet. Just thinking about it. These windows can open and close quickly, one way or the other.
Fireinside
Footballguy
I think so too. At the same time, Oliver did excel last year in real games and has improved. So the question is, do you write Oliver completely off or do you believe he can deliver at some point.
For me this guy is a keeper, but on the other hand we have really large rosters in our league, but still I like his talent level and believe that he's in a good spot to get some contribution even this year.
For me Gordon hasn't shown anything yet to get me to dump this guy. I'm on a wait and see tactic and firmly stand with Oliver till the end. If Gordon explodes, that don't make Oliver a guy that sucks. Expectations between Oliver and Gordon are totally different and if you talk about price, Olivers price is at the moment more intriguing than Gordons.
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
This is the part I disagree with. Oliver played well at times last year, but overall his YPC was 3.6. He didn't really "excel", and the coaching staff and FO thought so much of his overall performance that they traded up in the 1st for a RB. The Chargers had several holes on the roster, so spending the 1st rounder on a RB indicates they thought there was a huge hole there.
jurb26
Footballguy
Yeah, lost me there. Oliver in no way excelled last year. He was a poor starter and thus replaced by SD this offseason, trading up for a guy they hope becomes a bellcow. Oliver is a replaceable talent and he was replaced.
EBF
Footballguy
SD had a need at the position with Mathews gone. I think they obviously want Gordon to be the guy, but that doesn't mean the other guys are automatically trash. To give you an example, the Texans spent a second rounder on Ben Tate the year after signing Arian Foster as a UDFA. The Bills spent a first round pick on Marshawn Lynch the year after they signed Fred Jackson. The Saints drafted Mark Ingram a couple years after signing Pierre Thomas as a UDFA. I think that even when a UDFA has shown flashes of talent, there's still a lingering lack of trust in the player due to the fact that nothing was expected of him when he was signed.
I don't think Oliver did well enough in 2014 to make the team feel comfortable with the idea of him as a starter. His numbers were pretty mediocre or even outright bad. However, in almost every game of his that I've watched (preseason and regular season), he has shown up and made plays. He has a knack for finding yards that he wasn't supposed to get. I think he will prove to be a pretty valuable player to have on the roster. I don't think he will blow up ala Foster, but I could see something like a Fred Jackson/Pierre Thomas type of career where he kind of refuses to go away and finds a way to be useful even though he's never an outright unquestioned starter.
While I don't expect a monster HoF type of career, it's worth pointing out that LaDainian Tomlinson also had a 3.6 YPC as a rookie for San Diego. A player is not locked into his rookie numbers. Some guys improve with experience. If Oliver had been a top 10 draft pick people would probably be emphasizing the positives of his rookie year and projecting improvement instead of only looking at the negatives. He had some very good moments mixed in with the struggles. Personally, I don't see BO as a top 20 back in the NFL, but possibly top 40. If Gordon comes in and thrives then there will be no role for him, but if Gordon struggles then it opens the door for some type of messy committee.
I don't think Oliver did well enough in 2014 to make the team feel comfortable with the idea of him as a starter. His numbers were pretty mediocre or even outright bad. However, in almost every game of his that I've watched (preseason and regular season), he has shown up and made plays. He has a knack for finding yards that he wasn't supposed to get. I think he will prove to be a pretty valuable player to have on the roster. I don't think he will blow up ala Foster, but I could see something like a Fred Jackson/Pierre Thomas type of career where he kind of refuses to go away and finds a way to be useful even though he's never an outright unquestioned starter.
While I don't expect a monster HoF type of career, it's worth pointing out that LaDainian Tomlinson also had a 3.6 YPC as a rookie for San Diego. A player is not locked into his rookie numbers. Some guys improve with experience. If Oliver had been a top 10 draft pick people would probably be emphasizing the positives of his rookie year and projecting improvement instead of only looking at the negatives. He had some very good moments mixed in with the struggles. Personally, I don't see BO as a top 20 back in the NFL, but possibly top 40. If Gordon comes in and thrives then there will be no role for him, but if Gordon struggles then it opens the door for some type of messy committee.
EBF
Footballguy
Pretty good receiver. The issue there is that SD already has a specialist in that department with Woodhead.
Fireinside
Footballguy
Gordon finds bench.
Hoping Oliver gets a start next week
Hoping Oliver gets a start next week
Gr00vus
Footballguy
I can't see current management letting that happen unless Gordon continues to fumble twice a game. They (stupidly) invested too much into Gordon to bench him for Oliver.
ConnSKINS26
Footballguy
Oliver getting the start today? Obviously Woodhead will have a nice game, but I imagine Oliver will get a lot of work, and he seems to always look good.
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raying:
hankey2mlh
Footballguy
Mojo56
Footballguy
Looking like Gordon will be inactive but I'm not rushing to get Oliver in any of my lineups. I remember him torching Oakland last year on the road but this is a different year. SD's offensive line is a mess. They have done a noble job protecting Rivers but their run blocking is not up to par. Additionally the Raider D has been very good against the run this year. At $4,700 on FD Oliver could be a punt in a GPP but I would avoid in cash games. YMMV.
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
With how shallow RB is, giving him a chance in a couple leagues. Should have a good total yardage day.
ConnSKINS26
Footballguy
I'm starting Oliver with Lewis out in one league. Over Heath Miller. Ton of byes and injuries in that league.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
In over Abdullah.
