Good post, and you make good points. I'm not all that concerned about a rookie fumbling the ball though. Our coaching staff can clean that up.

I'm one thinks Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory can coexist and complement each other well. Thomas, Bush, Ivory, and fill-in-the-blank (I like Jones) are a formidable backfield.

Idk, Ivory is tearing it up, but he does not run smart, he just relies on brute power, which will inevidibly lead to injury. He is fine as a back to keep on to use until this happens, but we need to find another back to compliment him and groom to be the feature back.

Another thing to consider, yes Ivory reminds me of Duece, but how many seasons did Duece play every game? I agree, with that running style, you are going to get hurt, alot. I am on board the Ivory bandwagon though, the guy is a stud. Just hope he can stay healthy. Duece had to retire way before his time.

As far as Bush goes, Lance can pick up the slack, if Bush decides to bail. He runs the routes, knows the plays, and has a nose for the ball. Bush leaves? I'm not going to cry.

It would appear Coach Payton agrees with you. This coach likes run by committee. Having said that I'm just glad we don't have ditka or some other doofus as a coach anymore.

Drew is our only feature. Payton likes it like that, and so do I. Interchangeable pieces is what allows us to survive trades, FA, and injuries during a grueling season. Payton also has a knack for drawing up plays to match players strengths. A feature back would limit our versatility and Payton's creativity. I just hope he never has to go to a ( LSU ) QB by committee.

Bear with me because I have to make a few assumptions based on your reply. This is not just to you, a lot of people keep saying the same thing.
From what I read your saying our inability to run an effective screen this season is because of the absence of Pierre Thomas. I will have to assume that you are basing our screen effectiveness on last years games?

I have an alternative reason for our inability to run a screen this year. Our Offensive Line is preforming no where near the way it did last year. A screen is more about good blocking than it is good running. We are getting tackled in the backfield on screens, that has nothing to do with the back.

This year:
Drew has been sacked 17 times for 133 yards in 12 games.
16 interceptions by week 13. <=== not enough time in the pocket.
Drew has been hit 50 times by week 13

Last Year:
Last year he was sacked 20 times for 135 yards in 16 games.
At this point in the season he had been sacked 15 times for 99 yards..
Drew had a total of 11 interceptions. <===When he has time in the pocket.
Hit 52 times in 16 games.



Also another comment to all. I wish some people would make up their mind, instead of trying to justify PT man love.

Ivory: Runs to hard, only a vertical runner, no field of vision, gets hurt too much, fumbles, too many yards.... Too much like the greatest back that everyone would love to have back Deuce!

Bush: Does not run hard enough, does not run vertical, needs to stop reading the entire field and dancing through his run, does not gain enough yards....

Thomas: Perfect, we can pass to him more... <== Give me a break! We need to put the ball in the air more about as much as La. needs Eddie back as governor.

Who do we fear the most? Who does the most damage to our Defense?
Thats right... The Peterson's, Turner's, Johnson's, Gore's of the league.. Not the Pierre Thomas's

If we have dreams and aspirations of being more than a one and done never to be heard from again Super Bowl champ, we need a North to South back that can chunk out 4-5 yards a carry to burn up clock.

You scream at the radio when they try a screen? I scream at the radio when we fly down the field in 35 seconds of game time passing and score leaving our opponent 2+ minutes of game clock to come back, score and beat us. If we spent more time grinding it out we would be in a lot better shape. We score so fast most of the time our opponents Offense never looses rhythm.

we need to keep either bush or pt

This! When Ivory is in the game you know he will be carrying the ball if he touches it at all. He's not great pass blocking and he definitely is not effective catching the ball. He may be our best north/south runner, but he simply does not have the full skill set that Thomas gives us.

The Sean P era coaching staff has always kept a stable of a few running backs. They seem to love the run by committee attitude. I like it too. Four words. Fourth Quarter Fresh Legs.

Bush, Thomas, Ivory.

The BTI committee. Two dat.