Stafford excited to have Ameer...
- Thread starter HBK4life
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Pretty cool to be putting some offensive skill players in the NFL again. Helu, Burkhead and Ameer as RB's. Bell, Enunwa and Niles Paul. WR in college, TE in NFL. Cant think of last time NU had 3 WR's and 3 RB's on NFL rosters at same time. WR's especially.
I wasn't aware of that. I suppose their complaints were based on "value" and that some "experts" had him going in the third round or maybe that the Lions should have went with another position at that point in the draft. But, bottom line, Ameer can make plays and he will help them score points. He was a pretty safe pick too.
If I weren't a Nebraska fan, I could understand questioning the pick. Based on his size and the fact that he doesn't have breakaway speed, it would look like an odd pick. And those 2 numbers/measurements are what most casual fans care about. But, I/we've watched him play for 4 years and know the rest of his game.
I was watching ESPN the other day and they were discussing impact RBs for this upcoming season and they listed Ameer as one of the top 5. They placed him 4th, right ahead of Gurley.
1. LeSean McCoy
2. Marshawn Lynch
3. Frank Gore
4. Ameer
5. Todd Gurley
Stafford must not be the only one excited about Ameer.
1. LeSean McCoy
2. Marshawn Lynch
3. Frank Gore
4. Ameer
5. Todd Gurley
Stafford must not be the only one excited about Ameer.
Teryl Austin: Trying to tackle Ameer Abdullah like “grasping at air”
Posted by Josh Alper on August 9, 2015, 12:38 PM EDT
The Lions took running back Ameer Abdullah in the second round of this year’s draft in hopes that he could provide them with more offensive punch than they got from recent high picks Mikel Leshoure and Jahvid Best.
Count defensive coordinator Teryl Austin among those who think that Abdullah has what it takes to fulfill those hopes. Austin said Saturday that his unit has found it difficult to stop Abdullah during training camp practices.
“We can’t even tackle that guy,” Austin said, via the Detroit Free Press. “We can’t even touch him. He’s like grasping at air.”
Running backs coach Curtis Modkins took a more reserved stance on his charge, saying that while Abdullah shows “unique ability” there is a difference between impressing in practices and impressing against opposing defenses on Sundays. That’s certainly true and Abdullah says he has “so much I have to improve” before he’ll thrive in the NFL, but the team wouldn’t have used a second-round pick on him if they weren’t confident he could do so.
With Joique Bell still working his way back to practice after knee and Achilles surgeries, Abdullah should get plenty of opportunities in the preseason to show whether his ability to make people miss translates beyond friendly competition with the Lions defense. His first crack comes against the Jets this week.
- A lost point in the draft decision is that the Detroit area probably has one of the largest Muslim communities in the country. I guess maybe just old and cynical but I suspect that played at least a small role in their draft decisions. As far as his skill set goes, Ameer is going to make at least some older Lion fans remember Barry Sanders.
You think the muslim community has/had some sort of leverage or impact on their decision to draft him? I'm not sure about it, but it's an interesting perspective I hadn't heard before.
I doubt it played a huge role, but pro teams want to sell tickets. The Twins gave Mauer more money a few years back than anybody else would at a time when historically they traded their high dollar free agents. He's a local guy with huge PR value and he sells tickets. The Chiefs have drafted and signed former Huskers at a higher rate than their value might warrant at times. They sell tickets to Husker fans. If all other things are equal you sign and keep a guy that might connect with the local ticket buying public. Ameer in addition to being a good player is a good fit with their community which coincidentally includes a large number of Muslim Americans. When its all said and done, I think Ameer's play on the field is going to validate the pick no matter why it was made.
What's stopping you?
Treat it as a comedy and hope your college team doesn't suck.
As a lifelong Lions fan, fans bitched because there were other, more important needs than RB. Lately, teams have had some success with grabbing a RB in the 3-5 rounds. The Lions still needed a DT something terrible at that point, so that's what most fans were hoping for.
Amazingly fans don't always know best on draft day. They were never going to replace Suh in the 2nd round. With the injuries and departures, they really needed a quality RB and they got one. You see no name guys come in and play well seemingly out of nowhere and I don't think they saw great value in a DT with that pick or they would have taken one.
Ameer Abdullah had arguably his best day of training camp on Tuesday and drew a lot of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd almost every time he touched the ball. One thing I cannot stress enough is how much better Abdullah is at catching the ball than Reggie Bush ever was. I don't think I've seen him drop a single pass yet. We'll see what happens during some actual preseason action. There was a specific play where Abdullah caught a short pass from Stafford during a red-zone drill and completely faked DeAndre Levy out before proceeding to dive into the end zone for a touchdown.
How about this on Ameer from the Detroit Free Press!
Outside of All Pro wideout Calvin Johnson, the former Nebraska star has been "the most eye-popping player" in training camp, per Dave Birkett, "and it isn't particularly close."
Outside of All Pro wideout Calvin Johnson, the former Nebraska star has been "the most eye-popping player" in training camp, per Dave Birkett, "and it isn't particularly close."
They still say that the Lions will employ a RBBC mentality. Gotta believe that Ameer will have the majority of the touches as the year progresses, and maybe even right away. Joique Bell just seems to be a one trick pony.
Bell was a pretty good back for them last year. I would bet they stay pretty close to 50/50 or 60/40 on touches.
Abdullah grew up in Alabama, the youngest of nine children, in a family where education was stressed. "Every time I explain this to people, they think that my parents were cracking the whip," Abdullah said. "But they were pretty laissez-faire. Hands off. They let us be our own people. We just respected so much how they were their own people, and we wanted to follow in their footsteps."
You just don't get many football players that are as physically talented as Ameer, that are that hard-working, good team leaders, who also can use "laissez-faire" correctly in a sentence. Going to miss him this year.
You just don't get many football players that are as physically talented as Ameer, that are that hard-working, good team leaders, who also can use "laissez-faire" correctly in a sentence. Going to miss him this year.
Exactly. Who are the "leaders" on offense who will replace these characteristics?
I think we have a lot of "hard-working, good team leaders"...we'll find out if they are as physically talented. One additional factor is maybe we had some talent that wasn't used or being used properly that could help. New talent (Gates, Morgan, Alston, Stevenson, Snyder) might help too.
GBR
GBR
I think Peterson is going to have a great year. No one wants to face an angry and determined AD.
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