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 Verfasst am: 13.03.2018, 15:32 Titel:
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| MIAMI -- Hark the unheralded running backs. Air max 270 Italia .Fifth-round picks, an undrafted rookie and a player who was out of the NFL for three seasons are among those bursting into the clear this year, leaving defenses and fans wondering the same thing: Where did they come from?The surprising success by such low-profile rushers as Jay Ajayi, Jordan Howard, Robert Kelley and Tim Hightower speaks to the challenge of evaluating running backs.Its not like it used to be, said Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen, an NFL assistant since 1996. When I first came in the league, youd watch a tailback in college, and they all had a fullback in front of them, and they all got their 25 carries a game, and you compared them to each other. Now theyre coming out of spread offenses, and there are a lot of good running backs out there who play for teams that dont run the ball as much. Its a lot harder comparing them now.Some of the most frantic scrambling this season has been by teams seeking someone to carry the ball, with the high injury rate at the position creating openings for under-the-radar runners.Ezekiel Elliott, DeMarco Murray and LeVeon Bell are having big seasons, as expected. But other Pro Bowl backs -- Todd Gurley, Doug Martin, Adrian Peterson , Chris Ivory -- have struggled or been hurt this year.Four-time Pro Bowl rusher Arian Foster retired from Miami in October, the day after Ajayis second consecutive 200-yard game for the Dolphins. Even coach Adam Gase was surprised by the way the job was seized by Ajayi, a fifth-round pick in 2015.When we were going into the season, we felt like we were going to get four guys involved in what we were doing, Gase said. So we didnt know if wed really have enough touches to say a guy was going to have a 1,000-yard season.Ajayi is 44 yards from the 1,000 mark, and one of 11 players on pace to reach the milestone. Six did it last year.Cowboys rookie Elliott leads the league with 1,392 yards.Weve all seen how the league has gone as far as trends with the running backs, Gase said. It seems like rushing is coming back a little bit. Youre seeing teams like Dallas, and obviously were feeling pretty good about what weve got going on. There are other teams that are leaning on the running back a little more now.As a result, players like Kelley are obscure no more. Nicknamed Fat Rob, he has rushed for 587 yards while making six starts for the Washington Redskins, and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry.In his best season at Tulane, he rushed for 420 yards -- one reason he went undrafted.As a free agent, we didnt see a whole lot, coach Jay Gruden said. He didnt get many carries at Tulane.Kelley, listed at 6-foot and 220 pounds, has a rugged running style and rarely goes down on the first hit.Im happy with how far I came, he said.Ditto Howard, a rookie fifth-round pick from Indiana. Hes one of the few bright spots this season for the Chicago Bears, rushing for 969 yards with a 5.0 average that ranks third in the league.NFL teams often find their best running back in unlikely places, and tend not to devote high draft picks to the position. Elliott was the lone rusher taken in the first 44 selections of this years draft.In 2015 the Arizona Cardinals found a gem from Northern Iowa in the third round, and now David Johnson leads the league with 15 touchdowns and 1,830 yards from scrimmage.Hes basically their team, Ajayi said.In Green Bay, Eddie Lacy has been out since Week 6, which left the Packers shopping for replacements during the season. Lately theyve been using James Starks, waivers acquisition Christine Michael and converted receiver Ty Montgomery, who has made three starts.Were a team that has gone through a lot of injuries, coach Mike McCarthy said. Its about creating opportunities for all of these guys.Hightower waited a long time for an opportunity after spending 2012-14 out of the NFL following a knee injury. He has become an effective backup to Mark Ingram with the New Orleans Saints, rushing for 453 yards and catching 18 passes for 178 yards.Hightower said the nature of his position sometimes allows low-profile players to break out of a depth chart scrum.Running back I think is an easier position -- just being honest -- to come in and play right away, he said. As long as you understand the blocking scheme and how to protect the quarterback, the schemes are similar to college and even high school. The learning curve isnt as great, so a guy can come in from off the streets, or from anywhere.---AP Pro Football Writer Howard Fendrich and Sports Writers Genaro C. Armas and Brett Martel contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine Air Max 270 Nike .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Air Max 2019 Uomo . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. http://www.airmax270italia.it/epic-react-flyknit-nike-scarpe.html . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. PITTSBURGH -- All Marc-Andre Fleury ever wants to do is give his team a chance to stay in the game.The Pittsburgh Penguins goalie did that and more on Thursday against the New York Islanders.Fleury had 31 of his 35 saves through two periods, keeping the game close and allowing Sidney Crosby to score the tiebreaking goal late in the third to lead the Penguins to a 4-2 victory over the Islanders.We were under a lot of pressure, we were on our heels and he made some huge saves that allowed us to keep the lead, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. He was terrific.Fleury faced just five shots in the third period while starting for the eighth straight game. Fleury won for the 19th time in his last 24 home starts and has given up two or fewer goals in five of the first six home games.I know the guys are trying hard, Fleury said. Im just trying to keep the score close and keep them ahead.Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel also scored -- each getting his third of the season -- to help the defending champion Penguins win for the third time in four games and improve to 5-0-1 at home.Crosby, playing for the second straight game after missing the first six with a concussion, scored with 2:25 left as he caught a pass from Scott Wilson at the top of the crease and quickly turned to his forehand to put the puck behind Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak.Crosby, who also scored in his season debut on Tuesday, now has points in 10 straight regular season games dating back to last season.Kessel added a power-play goal to cap the scoring 32 seconds later.Travis Hamonic and Shane Prince scored for the Islanders, who fell to 0-3-0 on the road. Halak finished with 31 saves.Malkin broke a 1-1 tie with 7:12 left in the third as he took a pass from Kessel and pulled up ahead of Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg before placing a shot between Halaks pads.Prince, playing for the first time after missing five games with a lower-body injury, tied it again with 4:22 remaining. Fleury left the net to play a shot into the zone but the puck caromed off the boards to Prince, who put it into an empty net.I felt bad because I shouldnt have come out of the net, Fleury said. If I wouldve stayed in the net, we wouldve been fine. I was happy to see Sid bury that one.Pittsburgh won three of four against the Islanders last season, the eighth time in nine years the Penguins won the season series. Nike Air More Uptempo Shop Italia. The Islanders played the second half of a back-to-back after falling at home against Montreal on Wednesday.No one is going to feel sorry for us, Hamonic said. Frustrating result the past two games, but you move forward. We have to keep going. Thats all we can do.Hornqvist opened the scoring with a power-play goal 46 seconds into the game. Pittsburgh has scored a power-play goal in all six home games.Crosby, standing at the left post, set up Hornqvist on the opposite side during a slick passing sequence that also involved Kessel.Fleury kept it a one-goal game with three saves in succession on Nick Leddys point shot, Thomas Hickeys redirection and a blocker stop on Josh Bailey. Prince later hit the post to the left of a sprawled Fleury on a breakaway.The Islanders tied it late in the second period on their 28th shot. Hamonic finished a 2-on-1 from Prince, beating Fleury to the blocker side.Were giving up more shots and chan |
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