Re: Can we get a RB with 4.35-4.45 speed please

rncox · 2022-12-09T15:08:59.720Z

I don't care if he is 4'5" - Want to get back to seeing our RB's able to take it to the house on any given play. Just the threat will open up the offense. Wonder if Trevor Etienne is in the market for transfer portal.

Dude, guys like Travis Etienne and CJ Spiller do not just fall off of trees. There's a reason both of them were first-round draft picks at a position that doesn't usually produce first-round draft picks because the half-life of a RB in the NFL is so durn short.

Honestly, the guy Shipley most reminds me of is Andre Ellington, maybe even a little more physical. He's a complete back who's good in pass-pro, catches extremely well out of the backfield, slashes it north-south between the tackles, and sees the cutback lane extremely well and knows how to use blockers to set him up. And while he can hurt you with his speed, exactly like Ellington he looks like more of a sub-4.5 guy than a sub-4.4 guy, which are...rare. And Mafah reminds me of any number of guys I've seen come out of Alabama, or Nick Chubb at Georgia.

We've got two really, really good RB's who are going to be playing Sundays. Ask 99% of teams in America if they'd take a stronger version of Ellington and a guy like Nick Chubb, they'd absolutely take it.

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Dec 9, 2022, 1:15 PM [ in reply to Re: Can we get a RB with 4.35-4.45 speed please ]

Ellington ran in the low 4.4 range.

He was that fast in high school in the 170 lb. range, bulked up in college and maintained that speed.

Quozzel I absolutely respect your analysis but I think you have missed the boat big time on this one with the comparison of Ellington and Shipley.

First, Ellington never got run down from behind. He had multiple kick return TDs and TD runs of 50+ while at Clemson. Further speaking to his speed, he continued to do the same thing in the NFL. Ellington was a step slower than but most comparable to Chris Johnson as a runner. One cut and go with a style much more aligned to using quickness and vision to avoid tacklers rather than breaking tackles (Shipley) or juking guys (Spiller). While Ellington had the speed to take it to the house on any play, his defining characteristics were his vision and quickness. He played faster than his 40 time.

Shipley is a much more physical style runner than Ellington. He frequently gets run down. He struggles to beat any angles even by linebackers. Shipley does not have the balance of Ellington either. If Shipley breaks a tackle it is because somebody hit him above the waist. Any contact to his legs has a good shot to take him to the ground. He also inexplicably trips in open field far to often. I know people rave about it, but I am not sold that Shipley has great vision either. He often seems that he has to actively search for his path rather than seeing the field instinctively. He plays slower than his 40 time.

I'm not sure who I would compare Shipley to. He has a big back running style but in a smaller package than most guys who run that way. If you forced me to pick a name I would say maybe Josh Jacobs. I think in a timed 40 Shipley will probably outrun Jacobs, but they both seem to run with a contact over space mentality.

In saying all of this, Shipley is a good back and Clemson is lucky to have him.

With that said, Clemson desperately needs a home run in the back field or in the WR room soon!

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Can we get a RB with 4.35-4.45 speed please