Alfred Morris

[Azrael]

Right now it's Royster - Helu - Morris on the depth chart.

[SameSongNDance]

Apparently Shanahan is now a columnist for CBS..

Source: Morris will be Week 1 factor.

News: The Redskins might not say publicly who their starting running back will be, but their choice might end up surprising you. CBSSports.com has learned through a source that running back Alfred Morris will be involved in the Redskins' plans against the Saints in Week 1. Though head coach Mike Shanahan is mum on who will start, Morris was one of two running backs held out of the team's final preseason game along with several starting players, a sign that he could get the first crack at shouldering the workload. The other running back held out of the game was Tim Hightower, who has since been released. Morris has looked good this preseason, totaling 195 yards on 39 carries (5.0 avg.) with a touchdown. He's ultimately expected to split reps with both Evan Royster and Roy Helu, both of whom also posted good preseason totals but did so mostly in that meaningless fourth preseason game and didn't have as many preseason carries as Morris.

Analysis: The 5-foot-10, 219-pound Morris ran for 3,529 yards and 27 touchdowns over his career at Florida Atlantic. Shanahan has had success turning late-round picks into 1,000-yard runners and likes what he sees in Morris as a one-cut rusher. But Shanahan also has played musical chairs with his running backs when they haven't played consistently well and that might continue. At the very least owners should feel confident taking a flier on Morris either late in drafts or off waivers since he could lead the way for Washington to start the season. We'd also recommend being cautious using Morris to begin the season since he'll probably not take every single carry. Think of him as a possible Week 1 flex option.

Yeah, that really cleared things up..

[Cowboys 4 life]

I think the sitting out the final week gives you a lot of information. Why risk him getting hurt if he proved himself and what would the benefit be in sitting him if he was not starting. I think Morris starts week 1 but I dont think he will start all 16 games.

[drhanl]

Surely, surely, Helu eventually wins this job? My main league, I own both Helu and Morris. Thinking about dropping both of them, but hoping to afford to stash them both, just in case.

[SameSongNDance]

Surely, surely, Helu eventually wins this job? My main league, I own both Helu and Morris. Thinking about dropping both of them, but hoping to afford to stash them both, just in case.

Helu is the most talented RB on the roster but has suffered from shoulder, hamstring and ankle issues in college and knee, toe and Achilles injuries in the pros. I'm betting Shanny is aware of this and plans to use him mostly as a 3rd-down back to keep him healthy. IMO, again, it comes down to Morris and Royster as to who will get most of the early down work.

[CBMGreatOne]

I was all set to tout Alfred Morris as the week 1 starter and the back with the most value on the Redskins roster, but Helu got his first preseason action in week 4 and looked like an absolute beast. Now I'm not so sure I'd start Morris over Helu @NO in week 1. Helu, if healthy, will be the most productive Redskins RB in 2012. I didn't know if the achilles injuries might bother him for a huge part of the season or not, but the last preseason game showed that if the injuries were managed that Helu could be as explosive as we saw last year.

Long story short, in the past few days I've soured significantly on Morris, while sweetening significantly on Helu. I would also give up on Royster in shallower leagues, because he has the most redundant skill set of the three. Morris is the bruiser, Helu is the one with the flash. Royster is third in line for carries for now, but we all know how quickly that can change. Morris is still worth a late round flier and Helu is still probably a bit overrated, but there will be some hay to be made from this backfield in fantasy for those willing to deal with the headache.

[Gibbs Baby!!!]

I'm copy and pasting part of this post from a dude named sspunisher on another message board. Some one broke this down earlier to me more clearly, but this is a good recap and the pattern remains..injury..

SSND, great points that the Shanny RBBC hype machine ignore. Let's take a look at Shanahan's head coaching career, and his RB stats (100+ attempts):

Raiders
1988 Marcus Allen 223 attempts/ 831 yards/ 7 TD; Bo Jackson 136/580/3
1989 Jackson 173/950/4; Steve Smith 117/471/1 (Allen knee injury)

These were teams that split starts between Jay Schroeder and Steve Beuerlein, and obviously Allen was injured in 1989. Not much of a yardstick here, but worth mentioning, as there is an obvious #1 guy in each season. And an early indication of the injury bug affecting Shanny's RB's

Broncos
1995 Terrell Davis 237/1117/7
1996 TD 345/1538/13
1997 TD 369/1750/15
1998 TD 392/2008/21
1999 Olandis Gary 276/1159/7 (TD ACL/MCL injury)
2000 Mike Anderson 297/1487/15 (Gary knee injury, TD stress fracture)
2001 Anderson 175/678/4; Davis 167/701/0 (both suffered various injuries that season)
2002 Clinton Portis 273/1508/15
2003 Portis 290/1591/14
2004 Rueben Droughns 275/1240/6
2005 Anderson 239/1014/12; Tatum Bell 173/921/8 **
2006 Tatum 233/1025/2; Mike Bell 157/677/8 **
2007 Travis Henry 167/691/4; Selvin Young 140/729/1 (Henry various injuries)
2008 no one meets criteria. 3 headed monster of Michael Pittman, Young, and Peyton Hillis rack up 205/966/10. Coincidentally, Shanahan fired after this season.**

14 seasons - 11 with a #1 RB surpassing 1,000 yards, 3 with "true" RBBC (not forced by injury **)

Redskins
2010 Ryan Torain 164/742/4 (season opening start Portis plagued by abdomen and groin injuries)
2011 Roy Helu 151/640/2 (Helu, Hightower, Torain all got the injury bug last year)

That's 18 seasons coached, 14 with a clear #1 RB. I consider only 3 season have true RBBC numbers. But, there's 7 years where there is a definite injury problem.

All this being said, I like Morris's chances for a big year. Unless the Shanahan injury curse hits. Then he's a bust.

[SameSongNDance]

I'm copy and pasting part of this post from a dude named sspunisher on another message board. Some one broke this down earlier to me more clearly, but this is a good recap and the pattern remains..injury..

SSND, great points that the Shanny RBBC hype machine ignore. Let's take a look at Shanahan's head coaching career, and his RB stats (100+ attempts):

Raiders
1988 Marcus Allen 223 attempts/ 831 yards/ 7 TD; Bo Jackson 136/580/3
1989 Jackson 173/950/4; Steve Smith 117/471/1 (Allen knee injury)

These were teams that split starts between Jay Schroeder and Steve Beuerlein, and obviously Allen was injured in 1989. Not much of a yardstick here, but worth mentioning, as there is an obvious #1 guy in each season. And an early indication of the injury bug affecting Shanny's RB's

Broncos
1995 Terrell Davis 237/1117/7
1996 TD 345/1538/13
1997 TD 369/1750/15
1998 TD 392/2008/21
1999 Olandis Gary 276/1159/7 (TD ACL/MCL injury)
2000 Mike Anderson 297/1487/15 (Gary knee injury, TD stress fracture)
2001 Anderson 175/678/4; Davis 167/701/0 (both suffered various injuries that season)
2002 Clinton Portis 273/1508/15
2003 Portis 290/1591/14
2004 Rueben Droughns 275/1240/6
2005 Anderson 239/1014/12; Tatum Bell 173/921/8 **
2006 Tatum 233/1025/2; Mike Bell 157/677/8 **
2007 Travis Henry 167/691/4; Selvin Young 140/729/1 (Henry various injuries)
2008 no one meets criteria. 3 headed monster of Michael Pittman, Young, and Peyton Hillis rack up 205/966/10. Coincidentally, Shanahan fired after this season.**

14 seasons - 11 with a #1 RB surpassing 1,000 yards, 3 with "true" RBBC (not forced by injury **)

Redskins
2010 Ryan Torain 164/742/4 (season opening start Portis plagued by abdomen and groin injuries)
2011 Roy Helu 151/640/2 (Helu, Hightower, Torain all got the injury bug last year)

That's 18 seasons coached, 14 with a clear #1 RB. I consider only 3 season have true RBBC numbers. But, there's 7 years where there is a definite injury problem.

All this being said, I like Morris's chances for a big year. Unless the Shanahan injury curse hits. Then he's a bust.

Thank you! I feel like I've been living in the twilight zone with everyone ignoring the injury history. It's good to see this broken down this way.

[Gibbs Baby!!!]

SSND, I wanna dust off this week old thread so we can all see whether we're right or not. Feel free to pummel me if we're wrong!

[shawngee03]

i will be starting him week 2. w RG3, looks like a dynamic offense. if he gets 75% of the carries it could be WW gold