Eric Shelton

Yea if you read his draft report from last year it stands out above about everyone in this year's draft besides Bush. It is funny last year they said he reminds some of Jerome Bettis this year they say that about LenDale White. I guess they say it about every big running back.

I just hope they have been able to coach him so that he learns to run lower. They say that is a hard habit to break though. We need to split the carries on our offense anyway since we run so much. If we bring in a Chester Taylor and let Shelton work his way up slow that might be for the best.

 

Just out of curiousity. When a player comes out with all the tools and all the good things that scouts like to see IE: Shelton. If that player fails, who gets the blame. I mean we on this forum generaly like to scrutenize our past draft picks over and over and grade them a decade later. If Shelton becomes a stud we will all be thrilled and talk about what a great draft Fox & Hurney had presumedly even after they are gone, so who gets the blame if he busts?

Just curious is all. I don't watch college ball much so I didnt have a lot of preconcieved ideas about Shelton other than draft hype. From what I had read he seemed like a great pick at the time and hopefully a decade later we can discuss his first ballet HOF potential.

 

they say he reminds them of Bettis because he's a big back. How many other big backs have been that successful in the last few years?

Granted, his scouting reports, much like my own feelings about him, showed no real trace of being unable to lower the shoulder. A few noted his ability to bull through tackles and the like, which he did lower the shoulder and take on a defender in the open field on a pass play, which I liked.

Right now, I feel like he could be successful in this league, I just don't think it's from base running yet. He does a lot of things like Foster, with a little less shake, and a little less acceleration. But he's got some homerun ability still (my pre-season worries that running away from guys like Peppers would be hard were, unfortunately, somewhat right at this point, even though I got ragged for saying it), and used as a 3rd down guy, he could be somewhat productive while he attempts to become a tougher runner.

It's odd, but that's what I saw him as in preseason. He just isn't a pile mover right now, and I don't know why. But he looks like he can play; it's just more as a 200 lb back than his actual 250 weight suggests.

 

try disavow

 

Thats one I use some.

 

. . .Some precedent

Once upon a time, the "experts" said Sean Alexander, coming out of college, ran far too high to be an effective NFL running back. He seems to have done pretty well. Of course, if you want to take it back 45 years, two of the preeminent NFL scouts of that time told me while sitting in a little tavern on Morehead Street that Gale Sayers could never play in the NFL because he was a "tweener" and there couldn't possibly be a position for him to fit in.

 

i seem to remember him not being as big as i thought he would have been.

 

A guy who is 250 pounds is not going to make a living in the NFL by avoiding contact and playing finese ball. He needs to be able to ram the ball through the hole and punish defenders. He does not have to be Jerome Bettis but a little John Riggins would be nice. I really do not think he can make it as a 3rd down type back. He either learns to play his size or he washes out. Maybe all that time watching Steven Davis in practice helped him?

 

I thought he started to look good at the end of the Seattle game.

However, I don't know if that was Shelton coming into his own, the Seahawks playing loser on Defense, or the Panthers starting to get over the early game jitters.

 

WTF???