JJ Arrington

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

I have been saying for weeks I hope we get Arrington..he will be SOD...I just think he will make a great pro-back!!!

 

[Doc Cardinal]

I like the idea of drafting Arrington in the second round. We could take Pacman, Rolle or Derrick Johnson in the first. Arrington has all the moves plus he's fast. He is excellent receiving out of the backfield. He also can be a feature back. He led the nation with over 2,000 yards rushing. Both him and Morency will be very good backs. I'm not against taking Ronnie Brown, Cadilac or Cedric Benson in the first either. Just as long as we draft one of those five I will be happy.

Also, Arrington has very good cutback ability and is a slashing runner that can stop and start quickly. Anyone that has watched him this year can see that he is going to be a good pro. Whether we take him or not, he will be a thousand yard rusher for someone.

You just screwed up my mock Snake.

I couldn't (until now) find anyone who I could live with at RB in round 2.


Daggone you.


TSN has him at round 3 and they are usuually close.

Hmmmmmm.

 

[BACH]

I'm not that worried about drafting a RB in the early 2nd. This is a very deep draft at RB. Remember last year was a very average RB class and Kevin Jones and Julius Jones worked out pretty for not being drafted in the top 10..

I'm not sure about Arrington, but I would like us the secure Fason by moving up in the low 1st round.

Here's the bio for the three RBs worth drafting in the early 2nd (BTW, The War Room is NOT very high on Arrington):

Ciatrick Fason
RB, Florida
Overall grade: 7.809
Position rank: 4
NFL comparison: Deuce McAllister, Saints
War Room analysis

Inside running: Has good size and overall physical tools. Shows good initial burst and good change-of-direction skills. Lacks experience. Doesn't always see cutback lanes developing. Runs a bit high. Grade: 7.6.

Outside running: Has good top-end speed. Can turn the corner. Isn't overly elusive; is more of a cut-and-burst runner with good vision in the open field. Shows a limited second gear. Grade: 8.2.

Blocking: Has poor awareness and below-average technique. Is neither aggressive nor overly tough. Has good size but lacks initial pop and power. Grade: 6.9.

Hands/routes: Is an excellent receiver. Must improve recognition skills, but runs smooth routes and has excellent hands. Can adjust to poor passes. Grade: 8.5.

Durability: Didn't missed a full game or have a major injury in three collegiate seasons. Grade: 8.3.

Bottom line: After playing sparingly during his first two seasons, Fason had a great junior season. He is somewhat unpolished as a receiver and must become more physical and aggressive as a runner. He is an outstanding athlete with good top-end speed. Fason should be selected early on Day 1.

News
Fason, a junior, led the Southeastern Conference with 106.6 rushing yards per game and 1,173 yards. Fason said he entered the draft to better support his wife and their two children.

In 2004, Fason became the seventh player in Florida history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He was an Associated Press All-SEC first-team honoree and a Coaches' All-SEC second-team choice.

Vernand Morency
RB, Oklahoma State
Overall grade: 7.9
Position rank: 5
NFL comparison: Ahman Green, Packers

War Room analysis
Inside running: Shows good initial burst and explosiveness through the hole. Has adequate size but lacks strength. Must improve his lower-body power and run more aggressively. Runs too high, takes too many body shots. Grade: 7.4.

Outside running: Has excellent speed and is an explosive threat when running wide. Has a second gear and will out-run many defensive backs. Is elusive and effective when one-on-one. Grade: 8.8.

Blocking: Needs work as a blocker. Lacks great lower-body strength and power. Awareness and technique must improve. Must become more aggressive and physical. Lacks experience. Grade: 7.1.

Hands/routes: Was little used as a receiver. Needs experience and polish in running routes. Has explosive speed and can create mismatches. Hands are reliable; can catch on the run and adjust to poor passes. Grade: 8.4.

Durability: Missed most of the 2002 season with an ankle injury. A knee injury in 2004 cost him one game. Grade: 7.5.

Bottom line: Morency played minor league baseball for three years before enrolling at Oklahoma State in 2002. After a slow start because of an ankle injury in his freshman year, Morency became a starter in 2004 and had a breakout season. He is 24 years old with limited experience. He must get stronger and be more aggressive. Morency has the size, speed, explosiveness and hands to become an NFL starter. He needs work but has talent and should be an early Day 1 selection.

Dan Pompei analysis
Fast, powerful runner hits the hole hard. Has the body to be a workhorse. Bounces off tacklers.

J.J. Arrington
RB, California
Overall grade: 6.1
Position rank: 12
NFL comparison: Tiki Barber, Giants

War Room analysis
Strengths: Has good speed in the open field and flashes big-play ability. Had adequate vision and can find cutback lanes. Plays with intensity. Has good hands. Can turn a short pass into a big gain.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal size and elusiveness. Has problems holding on to the ball.

Bottom line: Arrington transferred to California in 2003 and broke out as a senior starter. His ball security issues and lack of ideal lateral mobility detract from his value, but his speed and versatility should make him a fifth- or sixth-round selection.

 

[Snakester]

You just screwed up my mock Snake.

I couldn't (until now) find anyone who I could live with at RB in round 2.


Daggone you.


TSN has him at round 3 and they are usuually close.

Hmmmmmm.

Hey Buckeye, sorry I messed your draft up It's no secret that I think Arrington is going to be special. He did so well at the combine that I think he is a lock to go in the second round. I really like Morency as well. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind taking Benson, Brown or Williams with the # 8 pick either. I just think we can get a great runner in the first or second round.

I also wouldn't mind seeing the Cards trade for Edgerrin James either. With all the running backs out there I think we have to end up with a good one.

 

[Snakester]

I'm not that worried about drafting a RB in the early 2nd. This is a very deep draft at RB. Remember last year was a very average RB class and Kevin Jones and Julius Jones worked out pretty for not being drafted in the top 10..



J.J. Arrington
RB, California
Overall grade: 6.1
Position rank: 12
NFL comparison: Tiki Barber, Giants

War Room analysis
Strengths: Has good speed in the open field and flashes big-play ability. Had adequate vision and can find cutback lanes. Plays with intensity. Has good hands. Can turn a short pass into a big gain.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal size and elusiveness. Has problems holding on to the ball.

Bottom line: Arrington transferred to California in 2003 and broke out as a senior starter. His ball security issues and lack of ideal lateral mobility detract from his value, but his speed and versatility should make him a fifth- or sixth-round selection.

The War Room is wrong on this one. I hope everybody remembers that the War Room said Arrington is going to be a fifth or sixth rounder. What a joke. I think Arrington goes in the second round. It wouldn't even surprise me if he snuck into the bottom of the first. If he was 6' foot tall he would be a first round pick.

 

[sly fly]

Draft Arrington. Don't spend the money or draft picks on James or Alexander.

The same "gurus" who are saying that Arrington won't flourish, are the same ones who said T. Suggs would be a bust.

All you have had to do was watch JJ Arrington play.

 

[JeffGollin]

Jeff G...you are the only poster with a patented color.
Actually, the color drop down menu stopped working about a week ago. So I've been hand typing the code each time I post. (Clue to anyone out there wanting to type in the code of anything - the code here is not case sensitive. You can key everything in lower-case)

Regarding whether or not the War Room is underrating Arrington - Talk to 10 GM's and, no doubt, you'll find 10 different rankings for him. We don't know how these guys stack up on Dennis & Rod's board aside from media buzz that Dennis was impressed by JJ and favorable comments from him about Brown, Williams and Benson.

Regarding "Dennis' favorite style" of RB. Remember that he got production out of LeRoy Hoard (not exactly the reincarnation of Gayle Sayers, Dave Meggett or Jimmy Brown).

Regarding #75 vs. #79 - Sorry about that - I took a guess and didn't qualify it by saying "about #79." I haven't seen any listing of all 7 rounds yet; and that order will change somewhat anyway after the supplemental picks are added in.

 

[Zeno]

It scares me that you guys want to wait until the 2nd round to address the RB postion.

Ronnie Brown or Carnell in the first please!

Scares me too but with CB being as big a need (even if we do re-sign Hill he isn't starting caliber). So unless we sign/trade for a CB or RB we have 2 HUGE needs and can only address one with our first pick.

 

[BACH]

Draft Arrington. Don't spend the money or draft picks on James or Alexander.

The same "gurus" who are saying that Arrington won't flourish, are the same ones who said T. Suggs would be a bust.

All you have had to do was watch JJ Arrington play.

The War Room had Suggs as #6 overall on their board. I remember this because it was the exact spot where we were drafting.

 

[cardsunsfan]

The War Room is wrong on this one. I hope everybody remembers that the War Room said Arrington is going to be a fifth or sixth rounder. What a joke. I think Arrington goes in the second round. It wouldn't even surprise me if he snuck into the bottom of the first. If he was 6' foot tall he would be a first round pick.

That is a joke!!!!

 

[1SG fan]

I hope they draft a running back instead of trading for one.....brown or cadillac in the first,or Fason in the second. keep the position young!
I'm an SEC fan, if you can run down here it speaks of your quality.
I'm not knocking other conferences just believing what I see down here.

 

[Bobcat]

The thought of JJ Arrington as a primary ballcarrier for the cardinals scares the hell out of me. I don't think he'll be able to do it in the NFL.

Convince me that I'm wrong. Why would be be able to carry the load on his shoulders?

He is a BARRY SANDERS type of runner in size and moves.

Bobcat

 

[slanidrac16]

I would feel much better if we obtained a running back before the draft like Bennett. I don't think Benson fits our style and I think he will be the only one of the big three left when we get on the clock.

Even if I was wrong about that, having Bennett would not stop me from selecting Williams or Brown IF they were still there. we need 2 speed backs, unless you believe that Josh Scobey is about to emerge.

 

[Stan C]

The main thing that scares me about all those reveiws is their ability (or lack of) to block. That's Kurt Warner in the backfield, not Micheal Vick.

 

[Pariah]

If he was 6' foot tall he would be a first round pick.

Too bad for him he's 5'9, then.

If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, everyday would be Christmas.

 

[Russ Smith]

Yes I did watch him, and the top 3. There is no comparison. Especially with Arrington playing against notoriously horrible PAC 10 run D's.

He has good to great speed, but doesnt have the quicks, lateral movement, or elusiveness needed at his size. He is a north south runner and at his size that doesnt cut it in the NFL, it did in College but not the pros. He needs to learn that out running everyone just wont work in the NFL. He had a average week of practices at the senior bowl and a horrible game.

Not saying the guys sucks, becuase he has a ton of heart, determination, and smarts to go along with his great speed and catching ability, but he is not comparable to the top 3.

Ok I keep seeing this "notoriously horrible run defense" stuff so I figured it's got to be true right?

So how come Arrington rushed for 2018 yards this year(counting bowl game) and the next best number by a Pac 10 RB is 1144 by Terrrence Whitehead of Oregon? How come Lendale White and Reggie Bush and and Maurice Drew aren't even within 1000 yards of the total Arrington put up this year?

I mean Arrington plays on a notorious passing team that has everyone panning the QB because he's a system QB, yet somehow he rushed for almost more than 1000 yards MORE than ANY OTHER PAC 10 RB and people want to blame that on the weak defenses?

He's smaller than Brown and Benson, and he isn't as good at breaking tackles as Cadillac, I have no issue at all with them all being rated ahead of him, but to say his success this year was because of the conference is flat out wrong and easily proved by the fact he did essentially TWICE as well as any other RB playing against those same weak defenses.

 

[BigRedFan]

I would be perfectly happy with one of the top 2 cornerbacks in round 1 and Arrington in round 2. Then do a modified BPA the rest of the way. (Best player available unless its a stocked position)

 

[joeshmo]

Ok I keep seeing this "notoriously horrible run defense" stuff so I figured it's got to be true right?

So how come Arrington rushed for 2018 yards this year(counting bowl game) and the next best number by a Pac 10 RB is 1144 by Terrrence Whitehead of Oregon? How come Lendale White and Reggie Bush and and Maurice Drew aren't even within 1000 yards of the total Arrington put up this year?

I mean Arrington plays on a notorious passing team that has everyone panning the QB because he's a system QB, yet somehow he rushed for almost more than 1000 yards MORE than ANY OTHER PAC 10 RB and people want to blame that on the weak defenses?

He's smaller than Brown and Benson, and he isn't as good at breaking tackles as Cadillac, I have no issue at all with them all being rated ahead of him, but to say his success this year was because of the conference is flat out wrong and easily proved by the fact he did essentially TWICE as well as any other RB playing against those same weak defenses.

You want to bring up all of those RB's as if it means a whole lot yet fail to mention that Arrington also had 80+ more carries then the next highest guy, Wright. 128 more carries then Drew, 146 more carries then Bush, 89 more carries then Whitehead. Take that into account and Arrington would still be on top but no where near as dramatic as you are making it, and prove just how bad the PAC 10 run D's are. All 5 of those guys including Arrington would be over 1500 yards. The only team worth anything is USC who was ranked #2 in the nation everyone else is #55 or below

Arrington is a 2nd round RB that is not in debate but your argument about the PAC run D's Has more holes in it then Swiss cheese. Not all of his success came from being in the Pac 10 but it was a contributing factor and to completly discredit that shows nothing more then some sort of bias or homerism.

 

[Bellingham Mike]

You want to bring up all of those RB's as if it means a whole lot yet fail to mention that Arrington also had 80+ more carries then the next highest guy, Wright. 128 more carries then Drew, 146 more carries then Bush, 89 more carries then Whitehead. Take that into account and Arrington would still be on top but no where near as dramatic as you are making it, and prove just how bad the PAC 10 run D's are. All 5 of those guys including Arrington would be over 1500 yards. The only team worth anything is USC who was ranked #2 in the nation everyone else is #55 or below

Arrington is a 2nd round RB that is not in debate but your argument about the PAC run D's Has more holes in it then Swiss cheese. Not all of his success came from being in the Pac 10 but it was a contributing factor and to completly discredit that shows nothing more then some sort of bias or hom erism.[/QUOTE

If Oregon St had a kicker the Pac-10 would be 7-1 against the mighty SEC
recently,so they must play some "D"

 

[Cheesebeef]

He is a BARRY SANDERS type of runner in size and moves.

Bobcat

this is utter BS - if he were a Barry Sanders type runner is size and moves(and he DOES have Barry Sanders speed) - he'd be a top three pick. Talk about hyperbole.

 

[insider1]

alot of great backs are and were under 6 feet. actually i remember alot of scouts saying they don't like backs to be much taller than 6 feet. barry sanders,curtis martin, emmit smith,walter payton, priest holmes arent all those guys under 6 feet . especially if the guy is over 200 pounds . it is not like we are talking about a guy who is 185 190 like warrick dunn and he is still a very productive back

 

[BigRedFan]

And if Im not mistaken, hes not any smaller than Barry Sanders.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Sanders was 5'9"/210lbs with legs like tree trunks....

 

[Russ Smith]

You want to bring up all of those RB's as if it means a whole lot yet fail to mention that Arrington also had 80+ more carries then the next highest guy, Wright. 128 more carries then Drew, 146 more carries then Bush, 89 more carries then Whitehead. Take that into account and Arrington would still be on top but no where near as dramatic as you are making it, and prove just how bad the PAC 10 run D's are. All 5 of those guys including Arrington would be over 1500 yards. The only team worth anything is USC who was ranked #2 in the nation everyone else is #55 or below

Arrington is a 2nd round RB that is not in debate but your argument about the PAC run D's Has more holes in it then Swiss cheese. Not all of his success came from being in the Pac 10 but it was a contributing factor and to completly discredit that shows nothing more then some sort of bias or homerism.

You think Bush's average might slip if USC ran the ball more and didn't spread out defenses? Same with all the others.

Drew had less carries because he couldn't stay healthy, very talented RB but smaller than Arrrington and nicked up every game.

And in case you didn't notice, Arrington had a HIGHER YPC than any of those guys despite carrying the ball more.

I'm not saying the kid is Jim Brown I'm just saying am I the only one that notices people are dismissing Rodgers as a system QB and Arrington as a system RB and forgetting they play in the SAME system? Tedford should be posing for a statue outside the stadium if he can design a system that makes QB's AND RB's look that much better than they really are.

 

[Russ Smith]

alot of great backs are and were under 6 feet. actually i remember alot of scouts saying they don't like backs to be much taller than 6 feet. barry sanders,curtis martin, emmit smith,walter payton, priest holmes arent all those guys under 6 feet . especially if the guy is over 200 pounds . it is not like we are talking about a guy who is 185 190 like warrick dunn and he is still a very productive back

This is where I get "upset" about people knocking how small Arrington is. JJ Arrington LOST 10 pounds between his junior and senior year because his coach, and "scouts" said he'd be a better player if he were a bit lighter, that he needed to be quicker, and show backs he was more than just a guy who ran between the tackles with power. Now he runs faster than just about any RB at the combine and suddenly people are saying he's too small?

I also keep seeing the fumble thing, can someone please produce the fumble numbers for Arrington in college? He DID fumble a bit early in his career that's one reason Echimandu got more carries last season than JJ did, but many of the people knocking JJ are also advocating getting Henry whose fumble problem is a matter of public record.


Seriously Tedford should be in the HOF today if he can keep putting out these juggernaut offensive teams without ANY talented players?