Silver and Black Pride's Sunday Community Poll: The Running Back Logjam

Otherwise the carries should be even between them

However, in the business of the NFL and in the Raiders move to the future it may be time to trade Fargas while he still has mileage left in his legs. With Mc Fad, Bush, & Rankin I don’t see where he would really fit when we have that talented youth. I really like Fargas but he spent many of his best years injured. We have some young bulls back there now, and with our fullbacks, Lorenzo Neal, O’Neal, and Lawton I would think the same applies to them. Lorenzo Neal has been a great fullback and his knowledge back there should help, but if is play is not up to par I woul let him go also. I love this guys body of work, but we have real talent in this area. I would’nt be quick to release O’Neal, I’m not saying that but if he is not producing he should;n’t be safe either when is body of work was not for the Raiders.

Raider Way this is a good blog, I will need a couple of more preseason games to make a real assessment on how to proceed with our running backs. But Fargas should be considered as trade bait maybe for a run stopper. By the way, you can’t include Nick Miller in this discussion, he is more receiver than anything else.

u gotta get some special teams value from ur third sring backs not just for the raiders but on any football team u only suit up like 40 something players on game day so if hes not an integral part of the running game then he has to contribute in other ways and i dont know if he’ll be able to do that as well as rankin can…also the injury risk is something to be worried about as well as cost with out him we may be able to sign a DT of consideraby higher cost and hopefully greater production…. By the way u guys have one a great job this preseason Raider way, Kaiser, and live adam and saint thanx for making this site what it is

We have too many deficiencies elsewhere. Trading Fargas, in my opinion, is the best option. Trade him for a safety, linebacker or a defensive tackle.

for DT or LB

I don’t think we need any more DT’s or LB’s. Even if we did trade Fargas for a LB or DT, I don’t see that player being any better than the guys already on our roster. Slade Norris is my vote as the starting SLB by what he’s proven in camp and in the first preseason game. Jon Alston and Ricky Brown aren’t too bad either but shouldn’t start. Gerard Warren is a good pass rusher but we still need a run stuffer. I don’t know if we could get one for Fargas. I thought we should’ve traded Fargas before last season started because Rankin had a solid preseason. Fargas is a year older now and his trade value is gradually going down. I say get him out now while he’s still worth something and is coming off a 900 all purpose yards season.

…Hopefully they’ll give Fargas more carries in the next game so we can really judge. Regardless though, we still need a DT or anyone that can stop the run.

Funny story; watching preseason last year I was majorly upset that Bush made the team instead of Rankin. Turned out pretty good that I was wrong; I think I’ll just put my trust in the coaches on this next decision.

…also, wasn’t the only reason that we really got to see what Bush could do initially was because Fargas got injured? Groin or something like that.

Loves Fargas and won’t trade him. He is too loyal. Rankins is wonderous, but he always plays the 2nd or 3rd string defense. Let’s see him with the 1st string. I want Fargas on the team still.

and I really didn’t expect him to. When the Raiders drafted him out of USC I was really disappointed, I knew he was injury prone. And there lies the problem, Fargas has been a Raider but the bottomline he has done little to help our running game. In his first 3 seasons Fargas has 258 att for 357 yards, he’s had only one 1,000 yard season and it was 2007 when he rushed for 1009 yards, now a thousand yards is cool but Not in a 16 game schedule when you’re getting all the touches. He’s only scored 7 touchdowns in 6 seasons, period, both rushing and passing combined. I don’t see the value in really keeping him when we are stocked at running back, I want to win another Super Bowl and I just don’t see how he can help when we have Mc Fad and Bush, Rankin is a big back which offers another diminsion as well.

So as a football guy you have to look at the numbers, that’s what I do. Fargas’ time with the Raiders is really up in my opinion. With all of our backs healthy they should consider working something out in a trade, however, I don’t know that a team would trade for him unless they were looking for a back up. Al Davis tends to be loyal to players he chose and Fargas was Al’s pick, remember he ran a 4:38 at USC and Al loves speed, so he may stay on the roster after all, however, I would let him go for the younger Rankin.

And the saga continues, He is a great guy no doubt and that is a valid point, when he came into the league we had Tyrone Wheatley and Charlie Garner. He is going to stick anyway, and you never know they may keep both backs, the Raiders are known for finding ways to keep players, maybe put Rankin on the practice squad if he doesn’t make the 53. At the end of the day, we should find a way to keep both.

It’s unfortunate, but I think it’ll be so. Fargas is getting far more than what a 3rd-string back would be paid, so unless he’s going to be farther up the depth chart than RB3 (which I doubt), then he should be traded for needed depth or draft considerations. If a suitable deal can’t be reached, then waive him; someone will pick him up there and the team will receive at least some compensation for him, rather than just releasing him and getting nothing. I appreciate all he’s done, don’t get me wrong, but all things considered (good, young talent, Fargas’ injury situation, his age, and his pay scale), we need to let him go.

“PRO SET” aka “SPLIT BACKS”

The last team I can remember running split backs on a regular basis was the Kurt Warner led Rams with Marshall Faulk and others. Of course, Marshall was the man, but the split backs allowed ST Louis to utilize more weapons on the field at once. Also, considering J-Moneys comfort in the shotgun, I would imagine we will see a combination of DMC-Bush, DMC-Fargass, and Bush-Fargas in the backfield a lot this season.

Heck, I could see all three of them on the field at once if DMC is split out wide. Why not?

OakFoSho

I have been back and forth on Fargas, however it is the business of football that may not let him stay with the team, but again Al does what Al wants and he is known for keeping guys an extra year or two just based on loyalty if they can contribute. I am going to be watching to see what happens….

I’m all with how Fargas has been a good loyal Raider. No arguing that, however, for the amount of $$$ he’s due to make this year, well, you just don’t pay 4th string RB’s that kind of dough. If he’s willing to re-structure his contract or something of that nature then he may stay. The longer the pre-season goes on the more likely somebody loses a RB for an extended period and the higher Fargas’ trade value goes.

Personally, I think he’ll be traded but it won’t happen for a month or so.

no sense getting rid of him until mcfadden has proven he can stay healthy for a full season. start mcfadden, use fargas & bush as the situation dictates. no need to get rid of him right now

I knew it could happen read my post here on Aug 16th. The Raiders cut Neal to add some strength in the defensive backfield. Our running game has shown up and I am ok with this move. As you all know we need better tackling at Safety, not just hitting, but tackling and hopefully Baker can provide help in that area. There are going to be other casualties as well very soon, and I must say I am happy to see moves are being made to make the team better. There will be plenty of D Tackles available soon, some teams are stacked, and many times a released player would make another team if he wasn’t on a team stacked at his position. So, the saga continues….Lets whip on these 49ers Saturday, we need all the preseason wins we can get to build momentum.