Redskins Blogger Talks About Ladell Betts

by Dave Cariello on Aug 17, 2010 10:46 AM CDT

I had a chance to have a very quick chat with Kevin Ewoldt who runs SB Nation's Washington Redskins blog, Hogs Haven, about Ladell Betts just to get a basic understanding of what the Saints are getting with the veteran running back. Below are his answers to my three brief questions:

Dave Cariello: Why did the Skins part ways with Betts?

Kevin Ewoldt: Ladell was put on IR week 11 last year after tearing his ACL. When the Shanahan regime came in, after slimming down Portis and adding Larry Johnson, WIllie Parker and Ryan Torain, there wasn't any place for Betts. Not surprising since he is about to turn 31.

Dave: What do Redskins fans think about Betts?

Kevin: It'd be a hard task to find a Redskins fan that does not like Betts. He is an excellent special teams player, but was the ultimate teammate when Portis was continually asked to carry the load. Both Joe Gibbs and Jim Zorn were one feature back type of guys, so that explains why Betts has low mileage with only 776 career rushing attempts. He doesn't have blazing speed, but he can get through a hole and has decent hands. I question his productivity coming off an ACL this late in his career...certainly Deuce McAllister was never the same.

Dave: What can the Saints expect from Betts now?

Kevin: With Portis out with injuries over several times in his career, Betts did okay as the feature back. If you're looking for a home-run threat, this is not your guy, but he can get yardage in chunks. The key thing to look for off this injury is if he has any burst off the first cut. He is a fantastic locker room guy.

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im worried about his knee

betts helped me win a fantasy championship back in 06. and i agree that he doesnt have very much mileage, so his age is irrelevant. but it takes time to come back from a knee injury. how serious was it?

NEVER QUIT!

by DrewBreesManCrush on Aug 17, 2010 11:06 AM CDT reply actions

mileage doesnt matter with an ACL tear

very serious injury. I’ll be surprised if he can come back from it

by Andrew Juge on Aug 17, 2010 7:49 PM CDT up reply actions

well then, it's even worse

He tore both the ACL and the MCL.

Tell me lies later, come and see me
I'll be around for a while.

by stujo4 on Aug 17, 2010 9:39 PM CDT up reply actions

"He is a fantastic locker room guy"

…which was probably the deal-closer. Anyone know his number yet? The Saints’ website doesn’t have it yet.

It was worth the wait.

by MtnExile on Aug 17, 2010 11:08 AM CDT reply actions

40

by realheavyd on Aug 17, 2010 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions

The Saints are far from being a "one feature back type" of a team under Payton...

…and that is why you can’t look at Betts’ limited career touches as too much of an indication of what type of a player he could potentially be in a Sean Payton schemed offense.

He has a career average of 4.1 yards per carry. If he can keep pace with that this season (if he makes the team, that is), it will be a win-win situation for all involved in New Orleans. The big questions are: 1) how much gas is still left in the tank and 2) how will his running mechanics respond in a shared-time role in the Saints’ offense after rehabbing from ACL surgery the end of last year?

I still doubt that the Saints’ FO has shut the door completely on veteran RB’s who still might be considered after all 31 other teams make their final 53-man roster cuts before the start of the regular season.

by realheavyd on Aug 17, 2010 11:12 AM CDT reply actions

Number 40

by realheavyd on Aug 17, 2010 11:13 AM CDT reply actions

I hope Betts is the answer

and am missing Bell right now.

by xen-cuts on Aug 17, 2010 11:27 AM CDT reply actions

And Betts could be the answer

To our 3rd and short struggles. As long as he stays healthy I think we’ll be in good shape. I agree, I do miss Bell too.

by Jricky70 on Aug 17, 2010 12:03 PM CDT reply actions

Here's a clue for all you aspiring database designers out there

Don’t take NFL.com as your cue.

You can’t find Ladell Betts by searching under “Players.” I assume that’s because it only searches through a single table: active roster. Any unretired but unsigned free agent (or even recently-signed…can’t find Samkon Gado, either) is simply an Unperson far as the NFL webmaster is concerned.

They say the definition of crazy is doing things the same way and expecting a different result. I keep expecting large, rich corporations to be able to handle simple tasks, and they always let me down. Does this make me crazy?

It was worth the wait.

by MtnExile on Aug 17, 2010 12:54 PM CDT reply actions

As much as “large, rich corporations” have lots of moments of incompetence that make you wonder how the hell they manage to survive, I wouldn’t blame this on them. I’d blame their programmer. I’ve worked with a LOT of programmers who didn’t belong working with computers at all, much less as an actual programmer. It’s a tough job that takes a special person to do it right, and because of the demand there are a lot of people who have those jobs who really shouldn’t, because they suck at it.

by FriarBob on Aug 17, 2010 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions

Amen!!!

'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

by Ponysaints on Aug 17, 2010 1:19 PM CDT up reply actions

I art one

Speaking to that fact on programmers, I having done it for the last odd dozen years or so, find more of them want to be writing code than bothering to think about what that code needs to be doing. Either they require a good keeper, or someone to tell them very clearly what needs to happen, which is a damned shame. I have found more often than not the term “senior developer” just means “managed not to get fired for not doing the smart thing yet”.

by theprogrammerman on Aug 18, 2010 6:56 AM CDT up reply actions

i think that the forums at espn.com are the example of how not to do it

agree about nfl.com too

NEVER QUIT!

by DrewBreesManCrush on Aug 17, 2010 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions

yeah, their search sucks...

type “ladell betts nfl.com” (without quotes) into Google and you get the page you’re looking for…

or use the Google toolbar to “Search Within Site” while you’re at nfl.com.

Want to go to the Saints vs. Cowboys game? I've got an extra ticket.

by Dan Kelly on Aug 17, 2010 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Hmmmm

Shows that since his monster year in 2006 (which included 119 yards against the Saints), Betts has averaged only 3.6 yards per carry. That’s less than Mike Bell averaged last year. Maybe it’s because he was used mainly in short yardage…but then, so was Bell, and he was statistically better. Come on, Tusk.

It was worth the wait.

by MtnExile on Aug 17, 2010 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions