No I wouldn't. Start Hicks and you will see what happens.
Barlow will get the scores on Sunday if there are any.
Hicks was on the practice squad at the beginning of the year. He couldn't even make the team and now everyone thinks he has value because of a couple carries.
SF sucks and they deserve to suck because of the situation they put themselves in salary cap wise. Not to mention hiring a coach that has done nothing but lose as a pro.
Come on people, are we talking about Maurice Hicks??...LOL
First off, you acknowledge, "Barlow being 25 isn't too bad since he has split carries the last few years." Have you ever thought that last year might have been a fluke, and Barlow is not good enough to carry a team. If someone is a just a decent back, they should be able to succeed even on a bad team (KJ, JJ, TJ, Tiki, LT, Sammy Morris, Martin, etc.) In fact, Hicks taking some carries, and making something out of them is much like what Barlow did last year, when he took carries away from Hearst, and won the starting job, later in the season. I think Barlow is showing why he was originally a back up before the second half of last year.
As far as Hicks being on the practice squad earlier this season, so what? All that means is the 49ers had to see more from him, before they could make a decision. They just cold dropped Jamal Robertson (a reliable backup) for him, because they had enough confidence in Hicks to make him Barlow's backup.
You can't ignore how successful Hicks has been when he has carried the ball. You can't deny the fact that Barlow has been a bust. And if it's because SF is a bad team, or Barlow's heart isn't into the game, those aren't good excuses, why a pro NFL player, plays as pitiful as Barlow has this year. He's a bust this year, and people need to come to terms with that, and if Hicks is a breath of fresh air for the stale SF offense, they will use him to freshen it up.
My understanding of most posts in these forums has to do with, what are people's opinions of players or situations, for that year, unless otherwise specified. You stated:
This is a horrible year for SF and I do admit his heart doesn't seem in it this year.
But lets be real here. Barlow is the main guy in SF. I think he will be much better next year once SF has some time to get a team together.
Barlow's value really depends on the team around him. He's certainly no LT who can excel on a bad team but put an average team together and I think he is a top 15 fantasy RB.
I wouldn't want to count on Barlow as any more than a #3 RB this year but I think he has value in keeper leagues.
Who cares what Barlow will do next year, I think the discussion was Hick's value this year. And your only logic why Barlow is better than Hicks this year is:
You can't believe what Ericson says, because he won't be around next year, and he's an incompetent coach.
Hicks was pulled from the practice squad.
Come on people, are we talking Maurice Hicks?
Thanks for your insight, I'm sure people are adjusting their rosters based on it.
I certainly hope people aren't setting their rosters based on what either one of us say.
I'm sorry if I looked to next year when commenting on Barlow. I didn't realize this would upset anyone. I am in a keeper league and will keep Barlow for next year. That is why I mentioned next year.
I would have respected your disagreement to my post alot more if you didn't insult me at the end of it.
I guess I don't understand why some people feel the need to put people down when they disagree with a post.
Maybe you know more than me, maybe not. All I know is I am 7-4 so far and right in the hunt for a division win.
I enjoy reading the posts on the site but I really don't take any of the opinions to seriously.
befo wrote:
Have you ever thought that last year might have been a fluke
There's no need to insult someone in these forums. Try to be thick skinned in here, but at the same time, you shouldn't walk away from a discussion feeling insulted. Both of you have opinions and are very valid, but let's keep everything clean in the cafe. You both agree to disagree, and that's that.
Seems to me Barlow is an excellent backup, but given the opportunity to succeed as a starter he has failed. I too play in a keeper league and for that reason alone, I have Hicks on my roster. I fully expect that the Niners will draft a RB to be their starter next year. If they don't I think Hicks has a shot to get significant playing time. He has outplayed Barlow at each opportunity this season with the same offense around him. As for his being on the practice squad, he had a serious knee injury in college and has been working himself back. Seems he had a pretty good go of it in college too.
Hicks is running behind the same OL and in the same conditions that Barlow has been.
One is being as productive as should be expected in 2004 (Hicks) and the other is timid when he gets the ball (Barlow).
I am forced to watch more 49er games than I'd care to locally... And I wouldn't hinge my franchise on Barlow if I were the 49ers. The guy just isn't that good. He complimented Hearst well... But he should never be a # 1 RB. He has proven nothing to contrary. Other RB's in the past have succeeded with little offensive talent around them. Barlow is a whiner you can't take a hit.
A lot of players he has played against seem to think so... And if you were to watch him play... it is very obvious onec he starts taking some hits how frustrated he gets.
2002 O.F.F.L. League Champs!
"Easiest way to find a needle in a haystack? Burn the Haystack." - Kareem Said (HBO's Oz)
Barlow is a talented back on a HORRIBLE team. They have a stud TE that is also being victimized by the team's extreme lousiness. You just can't count on anybody from the Niners this year, similar to the situation in Miami.
"Sometime during the Pats game last week, I decided that Tomlinson was the best overall running back of my lifetime. There's nothing he can't do: deadly receiver, tough inside runner, explosive to the outside, you name it." - ESPN's Bill Simmons
My main point is, until middle of last season, Barlow had always been someone else's backup. He broke out, and based on what he did half a season, some people still think he is a stud. He throws temper tantrums during games, plays without heart, he plays crappy on a crappy team, and yet there are RB's in the NFL, past and present, who have been very successful on teams who are worse, just as bad, or only slightly better. Now you have Hicks, pulled up from the practice squad, who has out performed Barlow, every chance he gets. My question is, if Barlow had a break out second half of a season last year, why is it so far-fetched, that Hicks, could possibily do the same thing? And/or, if Barlow's stats, while being a backup is supposed to show us how good a RB Barlow was as a backup, why is it; he stayed a backup those years, and the only reason why he was allowed a chance last season was to relieve the aging Garrison Hearst? Why is it, that people think Hicks can't put up similar numbers as a backup to Barlow? Or why can't Hicks unseed Barlow from the starting job this year? It's not like Barlow is a LT, Alexander, Green or Holmes. Those guys had shown super production for years, Barlow showed it half a season, last year.
I feel that saying, because Barlow had a stud season last year, he's a stud, and Hicks can't even carry his jock strap, because come on guys, it's Hicks. Or that Hicks isn't as good as Barlow because, Ericson is an idiot, and he shouldn't even be coaching in the pros. Ericson won't even be around next year. Ericson and Tice are the worst coaches in the league. Or that SF sucks. Are out of line, you don't know who reads these boards. Your posts take on a very negative tone, and I'm sorry that I was critical of your posts earlier (Keyser_WV), but come on, what do those things have to do with Barlow?
I'm not sure what your point is here. All it shows is that Barlow was a backup. SF has a history of playing their backup RB, in order to relieve a failing starter. And if given the opportunity, the backup RB in SF can take the starting job away from a starter.
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by Dr. Duran Duran » Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:09 pm 
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