KC RBBC new situation. QA w/Vermeil

[Cleveland Steamers]

Q&A with Vermeil

How would you ultimately like to use Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson?

VERMEIL: “I don’t know; I really don’t know. I don’t know if there’s a scientific way to do it. I think there’s an impulsive way to do it. You see someone who’s breathing a little hard, who’s carried the ball three times and got whacked pretty good; boom, you send the other guy in.

“But I have never been in a position where I’ve had two running backs with comparable skills. Not many coaches have. I think we’ll learn how to use it best as we go along and may have specific things in each game plan for each guy.

“I’ve never really liked to run running backs by committee. But I’ve never had two guys like this before. It’s not a problem. It’s better to be that way than have only one guy.”

Q: Is there one thing that you see that Larry does better than Priest or that Priest does better than Larry?

VERMEIL: “Well, they both have differences. Larry has more top-end speed. Priest can probably make a little bit more out of nothing. When things break down at the line of scrimmage he can make all those darting cuts, ricochets, and with his smaller body and shorter legs and a shorter center of gravity he can make more things happen in that area. But he’s not as fast once he gets into the open and isn’t as strong in the legs as Larry is. But Priest is very strong in the shoulder pads because he gets his pads down and can use them as battering rams where a taller guy uses the power in his legs. So, they’re two different styles. It’s an unbelievable one-two punch.”


http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/08/29 ... vermeil25/

[Mercer Boy]

I hope someone else can confirm this, but last night before the preseason game I thought I heard John Clayton say something about a 70-30 split.

Sounds almost like an Ahman/Davenport/Fisher situation to me...

[maddog60]

Just a reminder for those who forgot, during the Chiefs 13-3 season, Priest barely ever played at all in the 4th quarter, sometimes hardly any in the 3rd quarter, depending on how badly the Chiefs were curshing their opponent. And he was still the man in fantasy football, so splitting carries 70-30, doesnt sound like the end of the world to me.

[GreatestShowOnEarth]

dang it you guys serious??? i have the third pick in an upcoming draft this sure istn sounding good.

[Flux]

Just a reminder for those who forgot, during the Chiefs 13-3 season, Priest barely ever played at all in the 4th quarter, sometimes hardly any in the 3rd quarter, depending on how badly the Chiefs were curshing their opponent. And he was still the man in fantasy football, so splitting carries 70-30, doesnt sound like the end of the world to me.

70% of the Chiefs running stats would still probably be #1 pick worthy (if he stays healthy). Its not like other players really get 100% of the workload

[BigMusky]

I was considering trading down my first pick to the third pick, but I dont want to be a part of the KC world anymore. I feel that this pushes Priest into the 2nd Tier. Of course he could be the top fantasy back again, but from a drafting point of view you can not expect that.

[Cowboys 4 life]

I read this at the beginning of the season in one of the mags and now Vermiel confirming it.

I still think Priest warrants a 3-4 pick because last time I remember 70% of close to 30 td's is still over 20 td's. And to be honest it might help him stay healthy for 16 games.

[maddog60]

Note to self: While fantasy world wide KC RBBC panic ensues, pick up Priest really really cheaply via trade.

All this means to me, is that getting the LJ handcuff will be harder because his value rises.

[mrider]

LJ will be less important in the offence then everyone thinks. He will get the occaisional TD but mostly just yards. And if Priest is losing 30 yards a game but still is getting his old TD success he is still worth a 3rd pick.

[Kensat30]

I've been dropping Priest and bumping up LJ in my cheatsheets in the past couple weeks due to preseason play. Currently I have Priest getting slightly more than a 60% share of the carries and LJ slightly less than 40% share of the carries.

Priest is now my #2 RB behind LT:
290/1250/20, 50/450/0, 290 FP

LJ is now my #22 ranked RB right below Warrick Dunn
180/900/9, 30/300/0, 174 FP
----

I see a declining KC running game due to Priest losing a step. If LJ were to manage a quick takeover, he would score higher than Priest in the starting role. No other RB can score double digit TDs as easily as the KC RB though, very valuable combo...