Running backs are scurrying from city to city in free agency’s game of musical chairs.
The Broncos have decided they like Travis Henry better than Tatum Bell. The Ravens acquired Willis McGahee to replace Jamal Lewis. The Bears seemed as pleased to subtract Thomas Jones as the Jets were to add him.
The Packers didn’t seem any more worried about losing Ahman Green than the Bills were about losing McGahee, even though neither team has much of a clue yet about who its next feature back will be.
The question is whether it will make any difference. The aforementioned six backs gained between 990 and 1,211 yards last season, a difference of 14 yards a game. They averaged between 3.6 and 4.5 yards per carry. They scored between two and nine touchdowns. They range in age from 26 to 30.
Basically they are a dime a dozen, or in this case a nickel a half dozen, even though their multimillion-dollar signing bonuses in the first week of free agency don’t reflect it.
None of them is among the elite category of runners: LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, Tiki Barber, Steven Jackson, all 1,500-yards-plus producers. Gore, Tomlinson and Barber averaged more than 5 yards per carry.
Barber retired, leaving the Giants with only Brandon Jacobs, so they joined the initial rush of rushers Friday by acquiring journeyman Reuben Droughns from Cleveland, which two days earlier signed ex-Raven Lewis.
The Patriots released Corey Dillon and thus joined the Bills, Packers, Titans and Bears as teams that lost their No. 1 rusher and have not yet added a replacement, although the Patriots have Laurence Maroney and the Bears have Cedric Benson already on their rosters.
The Super Bowl champion Colts watched Dominic Rhodes leave for Oakland, breaking up the effective Super Bowl duo of Rhodes and Joseph Addai that ran over the Bears. The Colts got along just fine without star running back Edgerrin James last season, so they don’t seem concerned even with a below-average crop of running backs expected out of the April 28-29 draft.
What looked like a developing NFL trend toward shared running duties is at least temporarily sidetracked with Jones leaving the Bears, Rhodes leaving the Colts and Dillon leaving the Patriots.
Jones and Benson didn’t like sharing the load, and no team can afford top dollar for two runners. But rookie Leon Washington led the Jets in rushing with 650 yards in 151 carries, almost identical to Benson’s 647 in 157, so it’s probable that Jones will be asked to share duties again. His new $12 million signing bonus will help him accept it.
Only 10 backs in the league carried more than 300 times last year: the five 1,500-yarders plus Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker, Cincinnati’s Rudi Johnson, Arizona’s James, Baltimore’s Lewis and Minnesota’s Chester Taylor.
Larry Johnson set a record with 416 carries, but Colts coach Tony Dungy believes that was an aberration.
“It’s really the bigger, stronger defensive players you’re running up against,” Dungy said. “For a guy to carry the ball as much as Larry Johnson carries it, you’ve got to be extremely strong, you’ve got to be fortunate. Most people don’t have a guy like Larry Johnson who is that physically strong, so you get guys you can keep fresh.
“For us, it was knowing that we had a good player in Dominic and we wanted to have Joseph Addai going well in the playoffs and we didn’t want him to have 300 carries in the regular season when he’d been a 180-carry guy in college.
“So it was kind of by necessity for us, but I really think it works well that way. Edgerrin James was a freak to be able to carry the ball as much as he did (averaging 360 carries over his four healthiest seasons in Indianapolis) and block as much as he did. He conditioned himself very well, he was very strong. Guys like Larry Johnson and Edgerrin James don’t come along very often.”
Benson averaged 278 carries over four years in college, so the Bears obviously believe he can carry a full load, but it would be surprising if Adrian Peterson doesn’t get a whole lot more than the 10 carries he got as a third-stringer last season.
Who is ahead?
The first flurry of free-agent activity revealed some early leaders and laggers.
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Most Improved:
1. Patriots. In Baltimore linebacker-pass rusher Adalius Thomas, they landed the consensus best player available, a nice fit for a defense that thrives with active linebackers. They traded for Wes Welker, who led the Dolphins in receptions, punt returns and kickoff returns. They added blocking tight end Kyle Brady from Jacksonville to help offset losing Daniel Graham to Denver. They acquired backup running back Sammy Morris (92-400) from the Dolphins to offset the loss of Dillon.
2. Broncos. They traded for Lions cornerback Dre’ Bly to play opposite Champ Bailey. They believe Henry is an upgrade at running back over Bell. They outbid Seattle for Graham and signed Patrick Ramsey to replace Jake Plummer as Jay Cutler’s backup.
3. 49ers. With the most money to spend, about $38 million under the enormous $109 million cap, they made Buffalo cornerback Nate Clements rich with a promise of $80 million over eight years. They got rid of problem receiver Antonio Bryant and replaced him with lesser problem Ashley Lelie from Atlanta. After losing out on Adalius Thomas, they took New England’s versatile linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, and they added Philadelphia safety Michael Lewis and Baltimore nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin, both potential starters.
4. Rams. Tennessee’s leading receiver Drew Bennett replaces the expected loss of Kevin Curtis. A trade for Lions defensive end James Hall and the signing of Bears safety Todd Johnson helps a defense in need. Dolphins tight end Randy McMichael is still productive.
Least Improved:
1. Titans. They have lost their leading rusher (Henry) and their top two receivers (Bennett and Bobby Wade), and they still have Pacman Jones.
2. Vikings. They cut ties with veteran quarterback Brad Johnson, linebacker Napoleon Harris, cornerback Fred Smoot and tight end Jermaine Wiggins, so this looks like a youth movement. All they need is some youth. They signed Wade and gave him a five-year, $15 million contract, baffling many, including the Bears, who once cut him.
3. Bills. Rebuilding the offensive line with Derrick Dockery, Jason Whittle and Langston Walker was the priority, but they lost top cornerback Clements, leading tackler and interceptor London Fletcher-Baker and traded away top running back McGahee. Like others, they obviously aren’t done.
4. Giants. Another apparent youth movement as they watched Barber retire and let linebackers LaVar Arrington and Carlos Emmons, tackle Luke Petitgout and kicker Jay Feely go before acquiring 758-yard rusher Droughns.
Two trades
It didn’t seem like the Bears got much for Jones, as they moved up only 26 places in the second round, swapping their 63rd pick for the Jets’ 37th. General manager Jerry Angelo said it was the best offer and the Bills’ subsequent trade of McGahee to Baltimore confirmed it, as the Ravens gave up third- and seventh-round picks this year and a third next year.
These deals are more scientific than you may think. Most teams operate with a “trade chart” that assigns points to every draft choice. By one such chart, the Jets gave up 254 points to the Bears for Jones. Projecting the Ravens for the 29th spot in each round this year as well as next for purposes of comparison, they gave up 259 points to the Bills for McGahee.
Good picks
The Bears now have the 31st and 37th picks. Last year they got Danieal Manning 42nd and Devin Hester 57th. The last six 31st picks: cornerback Kelly Jennings, defensive tackle Mike Patterson, wide receiver Rashaun Woods, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, linebacker Robert Thomas, tight end Todd Heap. The last six 37th picks: cornerback Jimmy Williams, defensive tackle Shaun Cody, linebacker Teddy Lehman, offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb, center-guard Andre Gurode, safety Idrees Bashir.
Only Woods was a total flop. All others became starters, with eight of the 12 starting for their original teams last year.
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