Is Bernard Pierce the next Adrian Peterson?

[landshark52]

Just had this thought come too mind. First of all, Does anyone see similarities with what is happening with Pierce and Rice and what happened with Rice and Mcgahee? I'm not saying Rice is done, but at the time Rice started taking over, Mcgahee was a consistent and I believe underrated 1,000 yard back (always been a fan of Mcgahee) and I've seen similar things with Pierce seemingly performing better as a runner than Rice. Pierce has a top tier average yards after contact while Rice is near the bottom of that stat and Pierce has better vision. Pierce also outperformed Rice in the playoffs by a wide margin.

I have heard some comparisons between Pierce and Adrian Peterson. Even The Ravens running backs coach called Pierce a Poor Man's Adrian Peterson and hand picked him from all the running backs in the NFL combine last year. He may not become the next Peterson, but he will be a star.

[leachisabeast]

Comon man, he looks like a great pick, but lets not just throw him a parade just yet. Adrian Peterson is a future HOFer, and Pierce is still a rookie. Pierce has a long way to go, and before people start calling for him to being a better back than Rice, you have to remember that Rice has five consecutive productive seasons, and has had to put up with stacked boxes all through his career, not to mention the fact that Rice has no injury history what so ever, and Pierce was hurt quite a bit all through college and got hurt a lot this season, and that's only with just over 500 yards of production too.

[ActualSpamBot]

You need two backs these days. Did we maybe pay a bit too much for Rice? Potentially... Certainly an argument could be made to that point, but the idea that we should look to moving on from him for Pierce anytime in the next three years (barring unforeseeable injuries) is more than a little premature.

[landshark52]

Lol he probably will not be Adrian Peterson, but I could see the situation pan out like it did with Rice and Mcgahee with Pierce as the number 1, except Rice is used more than Mcgahee because of his pass catching skills and Caldwell understanding how to use personnel. Still, you can't not get excited by picturing Pierce running behind KO and Yanda for years to come.

[leachisabeast]

Lol he probably will not be Adrian Peterson, but I could see the situation pan out like it did with Rice and Mcgahee with Pierce as the number 1, except Rice is used more than Mcgahee because of his pass catching skills and Caldwell understanding how to use personnel. Still, you can't not get excited by picturing Pierce running behind KO and Yanda for years to come.

Until the next new guy comes along.

RB is such an under appreciated position. I'd hate to be a back in the NFL in this day and age.

[JoeCool5]

He does remind me of AP a little bit -- hard, tough runner, difficult to bring down. Pierce hits the hole hard, too. He's got a little Arian in him as well. He HAS to see the field going forward. My one hope is Caldwell designs some two-back plays.

[Paintballguy]

We are going to have a nasty offense next year. Since Caldwell took over the controls, we've been unstoppable on offense. The combination of Rice and Pierce is going to be great to have.

[leachisabeast]

I see Arian Foster in him, I don't see Adrian Peterson.

[landshark52]

I see Arian Foster in him, I don't see Adrian Peterson.

Yea that makes a lot of sense with his vision, style, stiff arm and mouth guard lol

[leachisabeast]

Yea that makes a lot of sense with his vision, style, stiff arm and mouth guard lol

Zone stretch runners with size. Ability to run over a pile, but better used in stretch zone schemes because of their explosiveness. Adrian Peterson can do it all, and just has something that barely any backs in this league has ever had, the ability to do anything at such a high level. Neither Foster, Rice, or Pierce are that good, simple as.

I still wouldn't pay him 100 million though like the Vikes did, purely because you can find so many good backs out there.

[bmorecareful]

Agree with others that Pierce is more Arian Foster than Adrian Peterson, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Pierce is VERY talented and a superb fit for the zone blocking offense. He's a better fit for that blocking scheme than Ray Rice, who would be much better in a power/man-blocking scheme.

I've been on record for a while now saying that as a pure runner of the football, Rice is not an elite/All-Pro talent. His complete game is elite though primarily because he is absolutely money in the passing game. I think he needs to be used even MORE as a pass-catcher, and less as a runner. Let Pierce take more of the carries while Rice is used more as a souped-up 3rd down back.

I'm not upset about the amount of money the Ravens have invested in the RB position. Even if Rice has been overpaid, if Pierce continues to develop and play at a very high level through his rookie contract, we will have basically paid "elite back" money for 2 Pro Bowl level backs... which comes out as a wash, at worst. It's a really good situation for the Ravens to be in, and I hope they maximize the unique talents of each player.

[iggyman555]

Just had this thought come too mind. First of all, Does anyone see similarities with what is happening with Pierce and Rice and what happened with Rice and Mcgahee? I'm not saying Rice is done, but at the time Rice started taking over, Mcgahee was a consistent and I believe underrated 1,000 yard back (always been a fan of Mcgahee) and I've seen similar things with Pierce seemingly performing better as a runner than Rice. Pierce has a top tier average yards after contact while Rice is near the bottom of that stat and Pierce has better vision. Pierce also outperformed Rice in the playoffs by a wide margin.

I have heard some comparisons between Pierce and Adrian Peterson. Even The Ravens running backs coach called Pierce a Poor Man's Adrian Peterson and hand picked him from all the running backs in the NFL combine last year. He may not become the next Peterson, but he will be a star.

is tandon doss the next jerry rice?

[leachisabeast]

is tandon doss the next jerry rice?

hahahahaha

[JoeCool5]

Jacoby says Doss can catch a BB with one hand in the dark...just sayin'

[lobachevsky]

Rice with the ball in space is a defensive nightmare. How many backs in the NFL take a 2-yard outlet pass & convert a 4th-&-29? The problem is how to get him there. Once or twice a game he'll spurt through the line & break a half-dozen defenders' ankles on the way to a 30+-yard gain, but the other 12-15 carries you're looking at 2, 3, maybe 4 or 5 yards.

Pierce is the kind of runner that is more likely to get you 4-6 yards when there's nothing much there, but he doesn't have the elusiveness--when he hits a cutback seam he'll gain 10-20 yards more often than 30-40.

(NB the above is just conjecture based on my impressions of their styles in general.YMMV)

Baseball fans might think of R2 as a Frank Howard or Dave Kingman type: homers in bunches but an average in the low .200s & a lot of Ks. Pierce is more like the .300 hitter who hits fewer home runs but more doubles & rarely gets embarrassed at the plate. You need both types to win ballgames--it's a nice quandary to be in.

[lovefootball]

Would be nice! Ravens offense would be a total nightmare for opposing teams. But Flacco's passing stats would suffer and what will the talking heads say then. Still not elite is what they would say.

[73doubledown73]

rice has one year left with the ravens...imho.

[Paintballguy]

rice has one year left with the ravens...imho.

No way. The dead money from cutting him would be crazy.

[alien bird]

is tandon doss the next jerry rice?

No, he's better than that. He's more like Randy Moss.

[Sirdowski]

No, he's better than that. He's more like Randy Moss.

Woah.