Is Barlow overrated?

[FF Newbie]

Why has Travis Henry been falling in may rankings in the past two months? The obvious answer is McGahee, but what happened in the past two months to change that?

[mig28]

Why has Travis Henry been falling in may rankings in the past two months? The obvious answer is McGahee, but what happened in the past two months to change that?

This may be why. Check out "Henry & McGahee in same backfield?" at the link below.

http://www.fanball.com/fb/playerNewsBre ... m?pid=1310

Personally, this doesn't sour me at all on Henry. He's a hard runner who knows how to get across the stripe, while McGahee has yet to prove anything at the pro level.
Travis is also a great value, IMO. His stats the past two seasons put him just outside of the elite class of RBs; and because he's not a glamour or big name pick, he usually falls a round or two. I imagine the idea of McGahee cutting into Henry's carries may be the big concern.
To tie this into the thread context...if you had to choose between Barlow (unquestioned #1 with no supporting cast) or Henry (productive back who may lose carries), who would you select as a #2?

[SwiperNoSwiping]

I have a hard time differentiating between Barlow and the top rookies coming out like Kevin Jones and Julius Jones. I would put him ahead of Bennett though. Should he be considered before Julius takes over in Dallas? And scary as it sounds the Lions may score some points and put up some yards this year.

[Canacuna]

...Whoops - I forgot about Julius Jones. I'll have to remember to include him next time, because methinks he's a top twenty RB.

[9er Fan]

Well for what this is worth coming from a guy with Barlow as his avatar...

No, he is not overrated (from what I have seen, he is rated around the #12 overall RB).

- Unquestioned starter. They released Hearst, and gave him big money. Barring injury he is without a doubt, the man in SF.

- Past performance. Has always averaged well over 4 yards per carry. Last year, he averaged over 5. Scored 5 TDs in the last 4 games of the season (only 4 games he started).

- 49'ers schedule. 6 games against Seattle, Arizona and Stl. 'Nuff said.

- Offensive Line. The 49'ers lost Deese and Stone. Kwame Harris now has a year under his belt, and so far they love Smiley (G drafted in the 2nd round). So the line will probably be a little worse, but probably more noticeable in terms of pass-blocking.

- Quarterback. Garcia was very inconsistent last year. Rattay played well (but could possibly be out to start the season). One thing to watch is the following: Garcia was very mobile and stole a significant amount of goal-line carries over the past few years. Rattay/Dorsey will probably not.

- Owens gone. This is the #1 thing going against Barlow (and the main reason I wouldn't rank him in the top-10). Teams had to adjust their defensive game plan to stop Owens. Now, they will likely play 8 in the box much more often.

So to sum up, I think he's ranked about right (12ish overall RB). In any case ranking either Jones ahead of him is crazy talk IMO.

[Azrael]

The only reason I could think that Barlow would be ranked as high as 12 is because he's the unquestioned starter. Be wary of putting too much stock in the "unquestioned starter" analysis. Marcel Shipp was the unquestioned starter in AZ after Emmitt went down and he didn't do anything.

Just because he maybe all they have doesn't mean he has to do well. Losing 2 offensive lineman, a pro bowl QB, and both starting WRs does not help him. This could be the worst offense in the NFL.

He may be a solid RB (that's still unproven), but he has absolutely no help there.

[awwchrist]

Definitely agree...he obviously has no help there whatsoever.

LT has shown that backs can produce with little to no help from the defense, passing game, and offensive line. But I think he compensates for that by being an incredibly gifted runner. Plus, and this is a huge factor that is being overlooked in Barlow's case, Schottenheimer has done a great job getting him to produce when everyone and the hot dog vendor knows the opposing defense is stacking against him every down.

Barlow won't have that luxury. Dennis Erickson is no friend to the NFL offense.

Good luck Kevan.