Let’s face it, the position of running back in the NFL ain’t what it used to be. The old days of guys like Jim Brown, Larry Zonka and, these days, Adrian Peterson seem to be out of style, for now anyway. Running backs are surely not getting the number of carries per game that the used to get. That’s a fact.
Nowadays, the high styled, high powered passing attack is in vogue and a running back spends most of his time pass blocking or running fake-out routes. If he makes his bones and proves that he can catch a pass out of the backfield like Darren Sproles, he might just pick up some receiving yardage to add to his resume.
But it could just be just a fad. Running backs might just be coming around again and we have a trio of rookies who are just itching answer the call. After all, doesn’t every football coach teach the running game as fundamental football?
Last year it was Quarterbacks who received all the attention in the rookie class of
2012. Robert Griffin III shined with the Redskins, until he went down. Russell Wilson continues to impress as the Seahawks keep on winning and Andrew Luck is proving to be one of the most canny young quarterbacks in recent times.
The year we have an almost equally impressive trio of running backs making their bids for stardom in the NFL. Eddie Lacy with the Packers, Zac Stacy with the Rams and Giovani Bernard with the Bengals. All three of these guys are top contenders for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Eddie Lacy left Alabama when he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Lacy had helped the Crimson Tide to win two national championships and then he was drafted by one of the most storied franchises in NFL history. The down side, of course, was that he was probably going to be playing in colder weather than he had ever experienced, much colder! He is the running horse the Packers needed.
Zac Stacy is not exactly a well known name. He graduated from Vanderbilt and was drafted by the Rams in the 5th round. They got a bargain! Although Zac had to wait until week five to get his chance to shine, he has 475 yards already to his credit. In the past two weeks Stacy has rushed for 261 yards on just 53 carries.
Keep your eye out for young Giovani Bernard out of North Carolina now with the Bengals. Could we have another OROY candidate here?
