Who would have thought that a 3rd round player with all the running backs taken in the first round would even have a shot at it right? maybe even being the best running back out of the draft. He is the 3rd leading rusher among rookies, both Matt Forte (107 carries for 385 yards) and Chris Johnson (85 carries for 381 yards) and Steve Slaton (57 carries for 285 yards) the leading 2 have not had their bye week yet. Which is why they are almost 100 yards ahead. Look at Forte though 107 carries, thats 3.6 and slaton is at 5.0 YPC if Slaton had a 107 carries right now he would be at 535 yards right now. I'm hoping his Carries don't diminesh with Ahman Green back. Slaton has also yet to fumble the football, which is a good thing for texans fans. Shannon Sharpe Said last week on AFC playbook that he thought Slaton was the best back with the lowest mileage on his legs, coming out of the draft. I know its a little early but watching slaton run reminds me of the great Barry Sanders the way he can bounce off tacklers. Here's to hoping that we found a diamond in the rough!!
A good measure of how excited I am about Steve Slaton is my reaction to the plays run on the field. Before this year, it didn't matter who the running back was, when a run play was called, I was generally disappointed prior to seeing any result of that particular play. I just prefer to see passing. With Slaton, that reaction has reversed itself. I can't wait for the QB to hand off to him because I just feel like something great is going to happen.
I like him. But to this point, I'd have to go with Forte. The guy has carried the *entire* load from day 1. One of the very few backs in the league that isn't in any kind of legitimate timeshare. And he's helping his team to success, though I don't give that much weight in football. Now, there's a big questions as to whether Forte can keep it up over an entire season without hitting the rookie wall... and whether Slaton will continue this production (and whether Ahman will take too many carries from him). Honestly, I expect Forte to hit the wall and Slaton to not get enough carries.. and I think Chris Johnson will take it. But hey, a #1 back in round 3 would be amazing regardless..
At least somthing great is going to come out of this season: Steve Slaton I like this kid hes got a TON of up side.
Is that a joke? He's not an every down back.. he comes in as a change of pace. He is electric.. but a guy that hits some homeruns here and there and sits on the bench a lot is not a rookie of the year. But he's gonna be good..
Yeah and Slaton hasn't shared any carries himself with the other two backs. Felix Jones will see more playing time and he's already won rookie of the week twice maybe???
There's a huge difference.. Slaton is the primary back going forward, and he has been so for 2 weeks already (16, 22, 18, and 17 touches in 4 games). Felix is clearly the backup to Barber, and he will be that all year barring an injury (9, 3, 7, 0, 10 touches from scrimmage so far). I'm not factoring in his return game, but maybe I should be..
What's your point? Just because Felix isn't the every down back he is somehow inferior? If this was baseball and one rookie had the same stats as another but did so with less at-bats you would say that its comical to imagine him being awarded rookie of the year? And dude is not hitting home runs "here and there", he hits them EVERY GAME. Your point makes no sense.
A joke? Have you seen him play!? He was just voted Rookie of the Week for the third time in five weeks. http://www.nfl.com/partner?partnerType=rookies Posted: 2 hours 13 minutes ago Jones voted Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week NFL.com Voters on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless service have made their choice. Felix Jones of the Dallas Cowboys is the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for games played on Oct. 5-6. Jones rushed for 96 yards on nine carries, including a 33-yard touchdown, in the Cowboys' 31-22 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Jones was selected from among five finalists through fan votes on NFL.com/rookies and via Sprint wireless service. The other finalists were offensive tackle Jake Long of the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, running back Steve Slaton of the Houston Texans and running back Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers.
Felix Jones plays for a good team, and plays sparingly... Steve Slaton is at times single handedly keeping the Texans from sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
The award is Ryan's if the Falcons even get close to a playoff berth.... Yes, all my ATL friends constantly talk noise about how they got rid of their bootleg QB (Schuab) and drafted a better one.
