Maurice Clarett in Purple and Gold?

[The Miner Part 2]

Onterrio Smith has been given plenty of opportunities and still hasn't impressed anyone, including the Vikings coaching staff. Don't confuse fantasy numbers with NFL production either. Onterrio Smith is nowhere near a top-20 NFL back, much less top-5.

he's been given plenty of opportunites?! 107 rushing attempts his rookie season and 124 attempts last year is plenty of opportunity? and he's averaged 4.9 yards a carry for his career. give the guy a chance and he is a definetly an eliete back.

[deluxe_247]

smith is the most talented of the vikings backs IMO. i think he would be solid if they would just give him the rock.

[SwiperNoSwiping]

I think Smith could prove to be very good if given the chance there to be the fulltime feature back.

I also think he is the most talented out of the bunch. Now if that translates into stud material, or just being the 'tallest midget' I don't know.

But I do think he is the most talented out of the bunch, and they don't need to take another back.

[maddog60]

Clarrett may only be worth a 5th or 6th rounder, but after he finally showed up and impressed scouts, I think someone will take him too early in the 4th just to make sure they get to take a chance on him.

[chaindog35]

clarett is never going to be a rb in the nfl. He's a fb at best. He's too slow to play rb. I'm an OSU fan, and he did well for us, but he doesn't have NFL talent to be a rb. Name the last great big ten rb, besides eddie george, there aren't many.

[Free Bagel]

No way Smith is anywhere close to a top 5 NFL back. NOT EVEN CLOSE. If that was the case he would've won the starting job by now for sure. People don't just take top 5 RB's and relegate them to a 4-man RBBC.

4.9ypc? Big deal. You'd have to be handicapped not to run for 4 and half yards per carry in that offense. They've got a mammoth offensive line and a vertical passing attack that keeps defenses way back on their heels. Unheard of rookie Mewelde Moore ran for 5.8ypc on that squad.

[mtryanks12]

No way Smith is anywhere close to a top 5 NFL back. NOT EVEN CLOSE. If that was the case he would've won the starting job by now for sure. People don't just take top 5 RB's and relegate them to a 4-man RBBC.

4.9ypc? Big deal. You'd have to be handicapped not to run for 4 and half yards per carry in that offense. They've got a mammoth offensive line and a vertical passing attack that keeps defenses way back on their heels. Unheard of rookie Mewelde Moore ran for 5.8ypc on that squad.

yeah, in terms of ypc last year, moore led the NFL with a 5.8 number, but he only had a few carries. does that number make him a great RB?? no, it means he just got lucky ebacuse he hasn't proven himself yet. the same goes for smith. he hasn't carried the ball enough to prove himself a good.bad player. personally, I don't think he'll ever be an elite RB, but he could be solid as a starter in the future. I just don't see why you guys are saying things like "Oh, he's so elite when he grows up" and things like yet. none of us have seen him get 200+ carries in a season yet, and that;s when we'll be able to tell.

[Bennett4prez]

clarett is never going to be a rb in the nfl. He's a fb at best. He's too slow to play rb. I'm an OSU fan, and he did well for us, but he doesn't have NFL talent to be a rb. Name the last great big ten rb, besides eddie george, there aren't many.

How about Michael Bennett?!?!

I can't believe you would say something like that in a post that I started...

For shame

[FF Newbie]

he's been given plenty of opportunites?! 107 rushing attempts his rookie season and 124 attempts last year is plenty of opportunity? and he's averaged 4.9 yards a carry for his career. give the guy a chance and he is a definetly an eliete back.

Umm...yeah. Considering he was suspended for 4 games and benched a couple of others, 124 carries over half a season is "plenty of opportunity." If he was so great, don't you think he'd be able to beat out a late-round rookie, career 3rd-stinger, and a guy on one leg? 4.9 yards per carry in that offense is nothing to write home about for the reasons Free Bagel already pointed out. The notion that Onterrio Smith even approaches "eliete" status is laughable.

[portisfan24]

I think the Vikes are best to go with just Bennett and Smith. It would be a good combo with Bennetts speed and Smith's power, much like Dunn and Ducket in Atlanta.