Monday, April 28, 2008

Dom Rhodes Cut Loose

Kenton Keith is having a baaad week. The Raiders have cut Super Bowl XLI hero Dom Rhodes. I'm not saying we are going to resign Dom, but I think the Colts have to at least consider bringing him in to camp. Alcohol issues make Dom an even dicier proposition than Keith (whose actual misdeeds are still very much in question and far less serious than a DUI), but then again Dom wouldn't have turned a simple dump pass into a game changing goal line pick.

It's interesting. That's all I'm saying.

Demond Sanders: If this was Edgerrin James then there would be dancing in the streets of Indianapolis tonight. Still, I think you have to at least consider picking Dom back up for another stint. He knows the offense. He protects Manning well. Is he a better player than Kenton Keith? At one point early in the 2007 season I might have said no, but looking at Keith's entire body of work I'd prefer Rhodes. Keith was a full yard per carry better during the regular season, but only grabbed 13 receptions compared to Dom's 35 catches in 2007.

The real difference is their playoff performances. Dom got much better during the Super Bowl run, once Addai became the starter. Dom has the build to punish tired defenses late in games. Keith isn't that type of player. Keith had a terrible playoff performance against the Chargers (4 carries, 7 yards) low-lighted by a dropped pass that was picked off. I hold onto hope that someday Edge will be back, but that may be a year away. For now I think you ask yourself is Rhodes better than what you currently have on the roster?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Forget Rhodes. He's history. The future is the one-two punch of Addai and Hart, baby! Rhodes couldn't make it with the freakin' RAIDERS! How could he possibly make it back with the Colts?

Demond Sanders said...

I think you can make the argument that the Raiders had/have a better group of backs. . .

and it clearly didn't help that he was forced to miss a bunch of time with a suspension.

Deshawn Zombie said...

Seriously, you have to assume that McFadden/Fargus is a better 1-2 than Addai/Keith (by a wide, wide margin).

Bob M. said...

I suspect Dom will find a home with someone this season, maybe even someone willing to pick him up for four games (I think that's the minimum) to get an inside read on the Colts O. SD could use a seasoned backup. Part of the problem may be price and pride. Indy will not pay him what he wants for what he offers (unless we have a few injuries of our own).

I agree that there would be dancing if this was Edge, but it is too soon. I don't think even he would be worth more than $2M a year. But I do hold out hope that one day, even if for only one day, the man Peyton called the best teammate he ever had, is in blue and white once more. I might fly in from Seattle for that retirement party.

Here's hoping Mike Hart and Peyton go on a week long camping trip together with a stack of playbooks and a bag of footballs.

Bob M. said...

Since it's draft season, here's a link to an amusing, but generally prescient Peter King SI piece on manning vs leaf from winter 1998, before their fateful draft.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1012545/1/index.htm

Bill Walsh comes across as not as astute as we might imagine him (Pass on Manning, take another position player, and then Griese as your QB in the 2nd round). Not a bad idea, but certainly not the best one either.

Way back when, Peter King was actually coherent and never once mentioned his coffe preferences.

Anonymous said...

Go to youtube and look at the Mike Hart videos. You will forget about Rhodes and Keith. Hart never fumbles, he is the Wolverines all-time leading rusher. So he ran a bad 40 and fell to the 6th round of the draft... he's going to be amazing for us.

Bob M. said...

bd, no question, When I heard Hart went 1,005 rushed between fumbles (he had about 1,015 rushes total, meaning he fumbled basically in his first and last games and never again), I was mighty impressed. I am a strong supporter of production over 40 times or reps or broad jumps. I was thrilled with the pick. But I also have to add: the professional evaluators have to know something more than I do. I'd be very happy with 13 touches and 60 total yards a game (10 runs x 4 YPC and 3 catches x 7 YPR). That would put him near 1,000 yards in total offense--plug in about 1,400 for Addai and that's some good RB production. More importantly, keep Manning off the turf.

Anonymous said...

bob m, thanks for the link. Here's another article I love from the vault. I found two versions of this article in there; this is the longer. It's about Peyton his junior year at Tennessee.

Deshawn Zombie said...

Thanks for that one. I had read many of the others, but somehow skipped that one. You know, the talentless guy who works his ass off to become great is one thing, but when someone who has it all still has the drive, it's really special. By the time it's all said and done, he'll go down in history as the best. That means another two Super Bowls. I think that LXIII seems like a good place to start.