McClain a possibility?

[TekeRam]

I didn't know this previously, but apparently Baltimore's RB/FB hybrid McClain is due to be a free agent as long as we're under previous CBA rules. I know I'm one of the few banging the drum for a big back as opposed to a little 3rd down guy, but what would everyone feel about him as a pickup?

One, he's a better fullback than we have currently, and has a track record of success when he gets the opportunity to tote the rock.

Two, he wants to touch the ball more (he's 3rd in Baltimore), but isn't in line for either a starting job or money and would probably be happy being a primary backup.

Three, he's a guy I wouldn't mind handing the rock to 20 times a game if we had to if Jax got hurt.

I think he'd fit just about everything we could want, including ability to share the backfield with Jax, ability to carry the load if need be, and provides us with one extra roster spot in essence.

[KoaKoi]

haven't seen a ton of his work, but I've liked what i've seen of McClain, he seems like a solid runner. didn't know he was a possible option depending upon the terms of a new CBA. I'd take him over a lot of the other options that have been thrown out there. For instance, he fits my liking much better than Jerome Harrison would. I'd def take a look if I were GM

[TylerBishop]

I think he will end up staying in Baltimore, even though they seem to go back and fourth on that.

I think Willis Mcgahee is a more likely to not be a Raven next year, and I would rather have him as a backup.

[laram0]

I don't know who or whom we are going to bring in but it better be somebody that has more talent than we presently have backing up the Beast!

[ZiaRam]

I don't know who or whom we are going to bring in but it better be somebody that has more talent than we presently have backing up the Beast!

Lol at backing up the Beast!! Amen to that!!

[sb2sb2sb]

I would love to see McClain as a backup. Don't know how viable he is as a 3rd down back and a different style though. He has the same style of running. However, I would prefer using the Beast during 3rd downs anyway.

[Shan the Ram Man]

These are some of the reason I'm advocating for a scat back with speed and not another big power back.
First S.J. is the best power back in the league. I just wish he would run more like Jerome Bettis than trying to be Marshall Faulk with all the quick cuts and making people miss. S.J. is to big of a RB for all that.
SJ dose't have the speed to turn the corner. A speed back that could turn the corner would give the Rams "O" another option to confuse the "D".
I would just love to see a smaller RB with 4.3 speed and nifty moves catch the ball in the flat. One miss and he's gone.
That would keep S.J fresh the entire game.
Let S.J. be that power back that you want. If he would just run like one. Let him pound the rock between the tackles.

Just my observation and my opinion.

[TekeRam]

Shan, that's where we very much differ in our observations and opinions based off of those. To start out, yes, Jax is a bigger back than Marshall was, and no, is not as good as he was as a receiver. I fully admit that. There will be only one Marshall Faulk, that's why he got MVP and is in the HOF. However, I would say that he is the MOST complete back in the league because he is better than every 1st/2nd down back in the receiving game, and is bigger than all of the 3rd down scat backs.

To just use Jax on 1st and 2nd down and then bring in a specific scat back on 3rd down is wasting Jax's abilities. Yes, he'll catch balls on 1st and 2nd, but Jackson is the BEST 3rd down back in the NFL because he can do it all. He can catch the ball just as well as Chris Johnson(just not as fast), and he can pound the rock through the middle like Peterson(just not quite as well). On 3rd down he's a total threat that needs to be accounted for in blitz pickup, running, and catching both primary and checkdown routes. On 3rd and short, he's a matchup nightmare. If we bring in a scat back like Sproles or Bush, for example(we'd probably bring in a tier 2-3 guy), then we give up the credibility of the power run and possibly of blitz pickup. More than that, Jackson is NOT "too big" to catch the ball in the flat or a checkdown in open field and do something with it. That's why he's one of the best backs in the league, if not the best. No, Jackson is not the fastest guy out of the backfield in the league, but he's faster than the guys his size, and he's bigger than guys as fast or faster than him. As he showed in 2006, he is a monster in the pass game and to rob him of that by bringing in a receiving back is criminal. If Jax got 390 touches this year, 300 runs and 90 catches(like 2006), Steven would be up in the 2200 yard from scrimmage range again, guaranteed.

This is why I want McClain or another bigger back, where he can play on the early downs when Jax needs a breather, and so that Jackson doesn't need to be the dam buster all of the time. Yes, he can do it, but I wouldn't say he's the best at it. Peterson, Greene, McClain, Jacobs, and a handful I'm not thinking of can go through a crowded middle better than Jackson can. But none of those guys have the hands that Jax does, which is why, save for Peterson, they come out on 3rd down in favor of LT, Rice(well, actually McGahee comes out, McClain is being used more as a FB) and Bradshaw.

Why do you want Jackson to run more like Bettis, when he could be so much more?

If Jackson goes down, are you going to be more comfortable with Sproles and Darby, or are you going to be more comfortable with McClain and Darby? Who's going to get the short yardage in either scenario? If we had a big back to backup Jax on the roster, I'd be fine upgrading the scat back. But we don't, which is why we need to bring in a bigger guy and let Jax do the damage he's shown he can do on 3rd down against nickel and dime defenses.