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Obviously depends on team and league specifics, but I don't see you getting a RB upgrade in that range this year at all. WR maybe. Given the current dynasty RB landscape Matthews is worth more than even an early 1st this year IMO.
Mathews 285 carries, 1255 yards, 6 TD's 26 rec, 189 yards, 1 TD = 212.4 PPR pts (#17 PPR RB)
Who is better than Ronnie Brown and being payed a ton if the plan is to not play him in the rotation. SD proved last year that the best performing back matters little.
Pretty sure we just disagree strongly on Matthews, and that's OK. But Donald Brown just sucks man. Yes, he was better last year, in a part time role, but that doesn't outweigh years of sucking in my book. It took injuries to both Ballard and Bradshaw plus Richardson's epic failure for Brown to even get part time carries last year, and Indy didn't want him back at any price. He's terrible.
$3.5 million isn't a ton at all -- it's the same deal essentially that Tennessee gave Shonn Greene last year to back up Chris Johnson, and for the same reason. When Matthews went down in the playoffs last year, SD had nothing to offer. And Matthews and Woodhead are both UFA after this season, so Brown is insurance for both those things. Yes, he's overpaid IMO.
No real insider information, but Brown tweeted a goodbye and thanks to Indy back in mid-January, which strongly suggests to me that the Colts had no interest in retaining him. It wasn't a "test the market and maybe come back cheap" thing -- it was a month and a half before he was even allowed to talk to another team. Brown is a smart guy -- he wouldn't have done that unless he knew he was 100% gone, which means IMO that the Colts basically just told him good luck and goodbye.Re: SD's plans for Matthews, I personally don't see a receiving uptick either, but nor do I see a significant change from the last ten games of 2013 as far as carries go. Matthews got a ton of carries, did well with them, and carried the team to wins and into the playoffs. If it ain't broke and all that. Matthews was RB10 last year over the last 10 games without much receiving work, and I think he can be on the RB1 / RB2 border again this year. He's talented enough to be a true 3 down workhorse, and who knows, he might get that opportunity as a UFA next offseason, but given Woodhead's presence, it's unlikely in SD in 2014.
Right, which severly handicapped his upside in the rushing game and made him a risky play week to week. That is without a recieving threat like Woodhead which is where CJ got a third of his yards and 40% of his TDs.
CJ was unreliable due to him declining and the Titans offense being meh, neither of which apply to Matthews IMO. Johnson was still on a 300 carry pace in the 10 games he played with Greene @ 18.9 carries / game. Further, as a power RB Greene actually does serve as a complement to Johnson's home run style -- I don't see anywhere that Brown is better than Matthews personally. That's based on the fact that I see Matthews as a very strong talent and Donald Brown as a bag of dog crap, so YMMV of course.
Lifting a dancer like Chris Johnson at the goal line for the pounder in Shonn Greene =/= lifting Matthews for junk like Donald Brown. C'mon man...
The Titans have used GL backs in other seasons as well, White, Harper, Battle...Greene had 4 rushing TDs last season. I guess I should have said signing Greene as a backup RB didn't have any effect on Johnson's normal feature back role.Slapdash said:
Zero chance of that. He showed the whole team what he's about. I can bring up several articles including "management". And more importantly teammates praising his work ethic/ gritting it out and how chargers win when Mathews gets 20 carries.cstu said:
It's possible that they don't bring him back at 27/28 - but his GM just spoke positively on his behalf in response to the Brown signing.
Agree that there's a good chance that he's not back, but how much does that really say about Matthews himself vs. the fact that signing a non-elite RB to an expensive 2nd contract is generally bad business in the NFL right now? I like what SD is doing on offense right now, but as a Matthews owner in a bunch of PPR leagues, I won't be too upset if he lands elsewhere next year -- he might go to a team that actually takes advantage of his well above average receiving ability.
I understand the concern -- but there was definitely a major change in Matthews usage right before the mid-point of the 2013 season. They started feeding him 20 carries / game, including goal line, and they won games and made a playoff run. Matthews' team mates voted for him as their offensive MVP over Philip Rivers, who also had a fantastic year. Mike McCoy is no fool -- I'm sure he knows the value in getting a very good RB like Matthews into that 20 carry rhythm where he can pound defenses into submission. It worked like a charm last year. I guess we'll see what happens, but IMO the Brown signing merely extends the already great but low window for a player that was hugely under valued in the first place.They did it with a washed up player like Ronnie Brown and it cost them a gameCoeur de Lion said:
Not sure how this is coach speak. It's fact actually when Mathews got 20 carries more often then not they won. Mathews just had almost 1300 yards rushing with a slow start. Also had as many 100 yard games as any back. But yeah coach speak, they will be benching that production in favor of Donald Brown.
I never said they were going to bench him, I expect him not to be re-signed and for them to draft another RB.
Chicken/egg scenario. There were games where they controlled the clock with the run and they won, like the Denver game. But there were also games like the Giants game where they built up a big lead and gave Mathews a lot of clock killing carries. And there were some losses where they were down a lot of points, and Mathews didn't see the field much. I think his usage affects that stat a bit. It's possible they become a run-first team now that they have 3 decent to great RB, but I guess I'm in "see it when I believe it" mode about that possibility.
2 years ago, he was a borderline 1st round startup pick. He broke 2 collarbones...then last year had over 1400 yards and is 26. Now he's the plague...it's not like he's DMC who's done literally nothing the last 3 years.
He's being treated like he's Frank Gore or DMC...the point is he produces...he's not valued the same way.
Which is why I stated "the point" it's not over context of age or a stat....it's value
A bit of circular reasoning. You're looking to ship him but you'll gladly keep him since you can't.
