Don’t know how to agree with you any more than that!!

I just made this point on another thread: if Deuce is on the active roster, he should play. Someone that we might be able to use is not on the active roster because Deuce is. Let him pull his weight, or make him inactive if you think he can’t.

We don’t need him to do more than he did last week. I’d rather see him used in the RIGHT situations than at random. Last week was the first time that they used him correctly—also in short line red zone situation from previous week. That’s where we need him the most.

True. We have to have balance between the 3 offensive phases (Drew, Reggie, Deuce/Pierre). When anyone would throw a pass in the first quarter, my dear late father would yell “You’ve got to establish the run first!!”

We lost last week. The week before he carried the ball 20x and we won. Any RB needs multiple touches to get rhythm and play his best. Now you can give the ball to Reggie and what you get is a career 3.6 yards per carry or you can give it to P Thomas (4.0 yards per carry career) or Stecker (4.0 pds per carry in his last 7 seasons) or to Deuce (4.3 yards per carry career). The stats don’t lie. Reggie has a huge value, and he is exciting but statistically he doesn’t get the boring job of moving the chains consistently done. If you wonder why we have failed on 3rd and one in some key instances this situation, I will profer to you that some of the teams with better records than us got the first down before they got to 3rs and 1!! If your RB averages 4.3 yards per carry, you are going to be closer, on average, to a first down after tweo carries than an RB who averages 3.6 yards and gets two carries. If you look around the NFL, you will find the stars and the starters, the Pro Bowlers and the feature RBs avg 4.0 per carry or better and the 2nd tier backs who average less get replaced. It’s like golf, you either make the cut or you don’t. It doesn’t matter if your name is Mickleson or Els. Flat out stats. Crap, even Corell Buckhalter, TJ Duckett and Michael Pittman average above 4.0 yards per carry. You just can’t sustain an offense with a RB who averages 3.6 yards per carry. You can blame the running game on the line, but we have to find out what would happen if we change one position, because we can’t change the whole line. Keep Reggie involved- but don’t feature him. Give him some handoffs, screen plays, swing passes, etc. bur don’t feature him as a running back. He hasn’t earned it from scrimmage .

Also, surprisingly, Reggies longest runs from scrimmage are (2006) 18 2007 (26) 2008 (22) . There is a lot of hype for a breakaway big play runner whose longest run in 2.5 years is 26 yards. Duece’s longest runs of the season (before the last two years) were like 71 yards, 74 yards, 57 yards , 62 yards, 74. If he is over the hill I want to find out.

I couldn’t agree more with everything said here. Monday night, I think Payton strayed too far away from the run game. Yes, The Vikings D has a good rep for stuffing the run, but when you go almost completely pass-happy, any defense will constantly bring the pressure and blitzes to shut that down. After the first Saints drive when they pretty much just strolled into the endzone, the Vikings figured out the offensive game plan and turned up the pressure at the line, which interfered with the timing and threw off Drew’s effectiveness in the air. Plus, they focused on Carl Nicks and and later Zach Streif and were able to get by them on several plays.

I didn’t expect Payton to give a boatload of carries to Deuce, but a few more might have helped slow the Vikings pass rush a bit. Deuce did single-handedly pick up a 3rd and 1 play even after being hit behind the line. He also had a nice run up the gut for about 8 yards later in the game. He could have been more effective if he had been used more effectively. I expect him to get many more carries against the Raiders.

Still, I can’t fault Payton’s Monday night game plan too much. It was the player mistakes (i.e. dropped passes, penalties, lining up wrong, poor ball security, low field goal kick, poor blocking, etc.) that led to that loss. The players just weren’t focused on winning the game, which is something Payton as the head coach would get the ultimate blame for.

You’ve got to give a bruiser North/South running back a rhythm. Get the D guessing on what’s going to happen to open up the pass game and give more confidence to a #2 and #3 receiver. They need to feel like they are just playing and not saving the day, that’s why so many dropped balls. It’s not rocket science. My opinion is, it’s Payton saying he can get it done without Deuce. Bottom line we need Deuce and we need him early in the game very simple.

In the backfield. If I had to critique Payton on anything it would be his lack of identity with the run. He doesn’t let any of his guys establish a rhythm. 3.6 for Reggie is no good when he’s getting 12 carries a game and same for Deuce. I mean I’m all for being a passing team but dang!!! Joseph Addai got 20 carries a game last year and Indy is a passing team. But I have to say, I want to see what PT can do to. I don’t know, but Deuce looked a little stiff last game, like he was constricted by that knee. So, I guess I’m with Phillinwood (despite his disdain for Reggie). Payton needs to take what works and go with it. Last game he had a couple pitchouts to Reggie and they worked great but he doesn’t do that enough. I liked Deuce coming in to get the 1st down too on 3rd and 1. I would like to see what he can do in Oakland so we can see if he’s over the hill or not.

PT – I like the guy, he is a great story, and I’m not suggesting that he never touch the ball. That being said, I’d MUCH rather give Thomas’ touches to Reggie, Deuce, etc, etc. We only get so many snaps and when you want to get touches for Colston, Shockey, Bush, Deuce, etc, how many are really left for Thomas? Realistically, I think he should be getting about 6 touches (give or take a few) per game.

Deuce – I feel like I’m the resident Deuce naysayer, and I’m not. I’m all for Deuce getting touches, but how many is reasonable? As I was saying earlier this week, Reggie looks to me like he is figuring “it” out and need to touch the ball 30 times a game (including kicking game). That isn’t leaving too many touches for Deuce. I also believe, that Deuce and Reggie need to be on the field at the same time, so Reggie can counteract the obvious lack of fear that Deuce is inspiring in defenses at the moment – that will probably open up soem space for him, I also agree with Taydigga (even though I’m convinced he’s Bush’s agent) that Deuce didn’t look that great Monday. Hopefully it was a combo of the vikings D and his being a little off.

Not his agent. But you’re totally right SaintBevo, I’m not a Deuce hater but I hold the same sentiments you do about him. Secondly, what people fail to realize, is there are two ways to break tackles. Bulldoze over people or juke your way out of them. I just read an article with one of the Raiders guys saying that Reggie breaks tackles and not just one guy can tackle him. So they are going to have to be ready (I guess they plan to punt to him too) Deuce is a dozer and that’s what you guys mean by breaking tackles. But it isn’t the only or best way. Reggie is a juker, some one grabs him and his speed and agility doesn’t let them get a good hold. Both work at different times just as they fail at different times. Lets not make sweeping statements. I like the 3rd and 1 Deuce execution. But I also like the 4th and 1 Reggie execution. They both highlight different styles. They need to be used to complement each other.

found the exact same post on another web site, don’t know if its you or not but her is the link to check it out:

http://deuceandreggie.com/