Game Tape: Ryan Torain

[NLC1054]

Has anyone ever noticed that Mike and Kyle's praise of Torain always seems kind lukewarm?

In the interviews I've seen about Torain and Keiland, it always seemed to me that they liked Torain, but they really liked Keiland, because Keiland fits that mold of "one cut" more than Torain does. The Bears game probably was his most impressive game, but his other games were against subpar run defenses.

He just doesn't fit the kind of "one cut mold" the way Shanahan likes. He's still productive, but he actually kind of seems like he'd be a better Joe Gibbs back, in a weird way.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by NLC1054

Has anyone ever noticed that Mike and Kyle's praise of Torain always seems kind lukewarm?

In the interviews I've seen about Torain and Keiland, it always seemed to me that they liked Torain, but they really liked Keiland, because Keiland fits that mold of "one cut" more than Torain does. The Bears game probably was his most impressive game, but his other games were against subpar run defenses.

He just doesn't fit the kind of "one cut mold" the way Shanahan likes. He's still productive, but he actually kind of seems like he'd be a better Joe Gibbs back, in a weird way.

why did they play him more than Williams then? GTripp pointed it out that they only gave the ball to Williams when Torain et al were hurt.

[NLC1054]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

why did they play him more than Williams then? GTripp pointed it out that they only gave the ball to Williams when Torain et al were hurt.

Because despite him not fitting the typical "Shanahan running back" mold, he was still more productive. Torain had the hot hand, and a lot of his big runs came after contact or breaking a tackle. Keiland wasn't going to run through anyone like Torain did.

But Keiland still displayed better field vision and was a better pass catcher and pass protector than Torain.

It's hard to argue with production, but I just seem to remember a couple interviews with Mike and Kyle where they weren't as free flowing with their praise of Torain as they were with Keiland.