Robert Kelley vs. Samaje Perine, Preseason Week 2

[freakofthesouth]

Let's first just caveat that Kelley was playing against the ones, and Perine, the twos-

 

But upon further investigation, there is much to compare and contrast, and much to learn about how this all will more than likely shake out, so let's discuss...

 

Here's a video compiled of Kelley vs. Perine from week 2 (note- much watch on youtube):

 

 

On Fat Rob's very first run of the game, we can see his indecisiveness; that stretch play was blown up by their LB #50; note the backside 'bend' is more or less there, meaning with better vision, a quicker cut could have been made here instead of running right into Lavauo's back.  That said, Lavauo was pushed backwards on the play... but he did manage to block/chip the penetrating LB.  Actually Fat Rob tries to cut back late, but then doesn't commit and ends up getting gang tackled.

 

Im not going to comment on any other of his runs, because to me, the same sort of issues are on display throughout; indecision, and lack of burst.  There were for sure some missed blocks as well, so it's not totally his fault, but he has to create where he can.  Feel free to comment on other Fat Rob runs if you guys want.  I don't think he did terrible- had some decent runs, and again, against the ones and the blocking is still coming together... but to me- love the guy- but he's a backup.

 

The last play I want to mention is- @ :27- positioning out of the backfield and the ability to pose a threat/keep defenses balanced in coverage is key.  in the red zone, Kelley goes out into the flat and Cousins is in trouble; Moses eventually handles Matthews and Cousins spins out, but at that point the play has broken down.  Fat Rob continues to 'back up' and move further away from Cousins, casing him to throw it in the ground.  That was a chance for the RB to get something positive (in the red zone) with the check down and it was UGLY.

 

Now- Perine showed up, like I knew he would.  proof is on the film- decisive, solid vision, finishes runs.  Dual threat. Looks like a pro back.

 

One play in particular, @ 4:06 in the vid, a 3rd and 2, same LB for GB on the field (#50) that blew up first run of Fat Rob.  Perine reads him and beats his angle, turning the corner and benefiting from solid downfield blocking.

 

Best run of the night though?  at 4:34, 2nd and 4, this is vintage stuff!!!  Sammy Perine sort of gets real choppy with his feet, cuts upfield and friggin PUNISHES #37.  This is what you want from your RB- to be a physical presence that comes alive at the end of the game.  Gonna see a lot of that this year.

 

I'm calling it right here- Perine is the starter by week 4.  You wanna scrutinize the run game, gotta consider RB performance...it's not just the line.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Just to the naked eye in real time it appeared Perine is the better back.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's starting come week 1.  The only unknown is whether or not he can pickup the blitz.

[crabbypatty]

My pre preseason prediction for perine was that kelley would hold him off for 2 months or so.

Now I agree with you op, after watching the two last week I don't think Kelley hangs onto the job past week 4.

 

I want to see Perine get some time with the 1's this week, if he does and shows well, then the writing will be on the wall. I like Rob, but Perine is the superior runner imo. Time will tell.

 

Personally I'd like to see him starting week 1, but I think they'll go with Rob and we'll see Perine's time gradually increase over the first few weeks.

[RandyHolt]

@freakofthesouth Good catch on the 4:38 truck. Perine just moved up my board.

[Koolblue13]

I said half way through the season, but maybe we're looking at the Bye. I'm really souring on Kelley.

[MartinC]

To be fair to Kelley he has not had a lot of running room so far. But I would agree he has not made the most of what he has had. To me he's a good number 2 back - he is decent across the board but does not stand out in any one area enough to be the feature back on a good NFL offense. 8-10 carries a game to give a feature back a rest is what his role should ideally be.

 

I'd like to see Perine get carries with the first offense this week. Lets see how he does against starters and if he can give the running game a spark. I'm nots sure he is number one type back either but I think he has more chance of becoming that type of runner than Kelley. He could be a 20 carry back who also excels in short yardage.

[TSO]

God I hope we see some semblance of a running game against the Bengals. 

 

It just feels like forever since we have. We, like, went the entire month of December it felt like without one. Maybe against the Bears in week 16 last season... but, yeah. 

[elkabong82]

I said it when he was drafted and I saw his videos, and I continue to say it now: Perine has to be our starting RB.

[Dark Acre]

16 minutes ago, elkabong82 said:

I said it when he was drafted and I saw his videos, and I continue to say it now: Perine has to be our starting RB.

Weeks ago I called it from Day 1.  He will be our starting RB against Philly.

[Diehard Otis]

4 hours ago, crabbypatty said:

My pre preseason prediction for perine was that kelley would hold him off for 2 months or so.

Now I agree with you op, after watching the two last week I don't think Kelley hangs onto the job past week 4.

 

I want to see Perine get some time with the 1's this week, if he does and shows well, then the writing will be on the wall. I like Rob, but Perine is the superior runner imo. Time will tell.

 

Personally I'd like to see him starting week 1, but I think they'll go with Rob and we'll see Perine's time gradually increase over the first few weeks.

I'm with @crabbypatty.  My position is that Perine Wins the job by Week 9.  

 

Him being the better rusher isn't the issue in my mind.  The real issue is that it's going to take time for him to adjust to Pass Blocking in The Regular Season.  My only hesitation would be to have him in The Backfield on a crucial 3rd Down & him blowing a Blocking Assignment.  He needs time & Film Study to get up to snuff.  All young backs do.

 

That doesn't mean he won't see plenty of The Field.  But Starting by Week 1 would surprise me.

[Burgold]

Kelley is a great guy to root for. He's a try-hard guy and everyone loves Rudy. Still, the reason he was our starter last year was not because he the best back, but because they fear using Thompson as an every down back and he was the other guy on the roster.

 

Kelley did a great job of breaking tackles to get two yards out of nothing. In fact, he's a pretty good singles hitter, but ultimately you do want more than that in your starter. You need someone who can leg out a double and pop the occasional homer. I will still root for Kelley. I love the underdog, but there is a good reason why he's an underdog.

 

Perrine will likely be the starter once they trust him in pass pro.

[freakofthesouth]

1 hour ago, Diehard Otis said:

I'm with @crabbypatty.  My position is that Perine Wins the job by Week 9.  

 

Him being the better rusher isn't the issue in my mind.  The real issue is that it's going to take time for him to adjust to Pass Blocking in The Regular Season.  My only hesitation would be to have him in The Backfield on a crucial 3rd Down & him blowing a Blocking Assignment.  He needs time & Film Study to get up to snuff.  All young backs do.

 

That doesn't mean he won't see plenty of The Field.  But Starting by Week 1 would surprise me.

 

True- gotta be said that the main hurdle for him is pass pro- and for most rookies.  The good thing about Perine is the strength/power is there (30 bench reps) to be effective in pass pro; it's just a matter of him adjusting/learning the assignments.

 

I would add though that with CT in the mix, he won't see much time on 3rd downs anyway- though I do think he has the tools to be a 3 down back in the future.

 

And Perine starting week 1 would surprise me as well, and all the formality of it may be a moot point; all 3 RBs will be getting carries.

 

But- when he has success, it will be hard not to feed him.  Just as @Burgold is saying- "You need someone who can leg out a double and pop the occasional homer"... you need someone the opposing D has to game plan for.  You gotta say, 'watch RB pass out of the backfield', or 'contain the edge,' or 'textbook tackling or else'.

 

Too many games have been lost because the opponent wasn't put away; they would get a lot of opportunities to come back on a tired Skins defense that has been on the field for too long.  The main reason the Giants game week 17 was lost was because we simply couldn't run...

 

Also consider red zone efficiency- running the ball is crucial... look at the Titans, best team in the red zone- also one of the best running games.  I'm actually excited because Perine did a good bit of wildcat work on the goal line for Oklahoma and he was pretty surgical.

[JaxJoe]

I was impressed Perine showed such improvement from last week. That tells me he responded well to coaching - another assett. 

[RandyHolt]

How is Perine's pass pro...  I know its early but its something to watch for. That answer will tie to when he takes over IMO. For some reason I keep envisioning game 5.

 

I am still gushing over his great catch last game. It has been a long time since we had a power lead with hands. We are a different offense if we can show pass and have a back that can truck DBs in the game. CT has done well in that role but all things equal I don't want him pounding the rock between the tackles, which we seem to do with him. Who will be our best dual threat this year?

 

Sunday may be telling. I too hope Perine gets some time with the 1s. I want to see him run pass and block in 3 consecutive plays.

[sebestian]

I could not agree more. I never liked Kelly as RB.  Here's to hoping Perone stars and is effective from week one and on.  

 

Re. Picking up the blitz, that will come with time and willingness.  I have faith, plus I like the way he runs. 

 

I was was just thinking how good Portis w as a picking up the blitz and to that point how much he liked drilling guys coming on the blitz. My favorite I believe was against the Giants.  Absolutely destroyed a guy. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

They should bring in Portis to teach Perine how to block rushers.  No RB did it better.

 

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I think most of us on draft day saw Perine as the back who hopefully will win the job.  It was kind of hard to get a total feel for him, I mean the highlights we see often have him running into gaping holes. But we know what Rob Kelley is and that is a backup.  Perine is smaller and faster than I thought, I saw another Marion Barber but clearly he has more speed and less power than that dude.  The quick move to the right on the guy who had jumped into the hole sold me on the guy, I hope he is the starter from week one.

 

 

[RandyHolt]

Yes I have shiny new toy disease, but I am thinking that a pass catching Perine may eat into some of CTs targets if he keeps making catches like he made last week.  We all know CTs only draw back is his size, and thus needs to have his snaps managed somewhat.

 

My thinking, what if Jay really wants to go pass happy (hardly a stretch), or we are losing big etc it sure would be nice to not burn out CT because we are getting blown out. Or wave the white flag to save him for another day. The era of passing is well upon us, and it seems archaic to have a lead back with no hands, or only have one hands back on the entire roster. Kirk can audible to a power run up the gut with a Perine in the game, but not so much CT.

 

Shhh. I think Perine super secretly has great hands. The only reason he probably didn't get more press about it is the sheer lack of targets, and losing his job to a better back. Why pass to him when he can run through gaping holes? His college coach Riley said he has a good amount of versatility... and cited Perine's improvement as a receiver and in pass protection. He did tear up his ankle in the orange bowl which may have led to Mixon challenging him more.

 

I often look at NE for guidance. Belly had White and Lewis. 2 hands are better than 1. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

[Warhead36]

I'd like to see Perine start in the 3rd pre season game. Physically he is just a lot more talented then Kelley.

[Koolblue13]

Perine, and I said this after the draft but I think it still holds true. I think he's the kind of back who is going to have an excellent 10+ year career, but is rarely going to be the feature back. Maybe down the road, but for a while he's just going to be a cog in the machine.

 

He might be a starter for us, but that says a lot more about Rob, Mack and Matt. I do think he'd be great pairing with CT.

[RandyHolt]

10?  I am glad to see I am not the only one liking our shiny new back. to Club Perine.

[TimmySmith]

The most impressive thing about Perine is that he rebounded so nicely from a horrible game 1.  Tis obvious the Skins want him to be the man, and he looked like it.

[OVCChairman]

Perine had 2 bad series to begin the preseason, and has seemingly got his legs under him... dude looks legit.  Watching that video, he looked way ahead of Kelly in burst, and decision making.  Like others have said, it's going to come down to Pass Pro.. if he can even big adequate at that, i dont see why he's not getting more 1st team reps by week 1... maybe not full on starter, but solid contributor. 

[RandyHolt]

I know I am probably in the minority, but I call bunk that RBs need a heavy workload to be able to be expected to have a good game. Otherwise, no backs would ever do good to start games. Any early success would have to be attributed to luck. It sounds like code to not bench me. 

 

Yeah they want a heavy work load until they break one.  We are going on close to 2 years now of just a handful of 100 yd games.  I understand they need to see how the defenders defend etc, but if it ain't working, eventually it should be deemed it won't work. Jay wants to run more, fans want him to run more. I want him to run different players, and try different plays, when things aren't working. Around half time, consider a new plan.

 

Point being, I don't want Jay to watch Kelley carry NTs on his back, muck his way through defenses for a month before deciding to give Perine a first half carry.

[MartinC]

2 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

They should bring in Portis to teach Perine how to block rushers.  No RB did it better.

 

 

 

I don't think Perine struggles with the physical aspect of blocking pass rushers, he's a gym rat, strong as an Ox and very physical in his style of play. I think the issue is knowing who to block in the various protection schemes against the multiple fronts and disguises that an NFL defense will show you in the regular season.

 

One missed read can put your starting QB in the hospital.

 

He has to earn the trust he is reliable in that respect to get onto the field consistently..