David Cobb emerges as Titans' best option at RB

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Our man Cobb making Gopherland proud.

By Marc Sessler
Around the NFL Writer
Published: Aug. 17, 2015 at 03:30 p.m. Updated: Aug. 19, 2015 at 01:42 p.m.

Tennessee's new-look offense extends beyond the drafting and anointing of Marcus Mariota under center.

Along with rookie size-speed freak Dorial Green-Beckham at wide receiver, the Titans also beefed up their backfield with the addition of fifth-round runner David Cobb.

The former Minnesota star made an immediate impact in Friday's preseason debut, plowing through the Atlanta Falcons for a team-leading 53 yards off 11 carries. Cobb carried Tennessee's ground game in the third quarter, with a 4.8 yards per rush average that more than doubled Bishop Sankey's ineffectual 1.9 yards per tote.

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It's just one game, but Cobb has a legitimate shot to nab the team's No. 1 role before September.

After watching Cobb, Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt emphasized that he isn't married to a committee approach, pointing directly to the rookie's handiwork as the type of play that could earn him top duties -- maybe all by himself.

"I don't think we were necessarily a running back committee in the third quarter last night (with Cobb carrying the load)," said Whisenhunt, per ESPN.com. "That was a lot of what you would hope to envision we could run the ball like."

Cobb led all Titans backs with 19 snaps and vastly outplayed the hyper-underwhelming Sankey, leading Whiz to say that Cobb "deserves" first-team reps and a chance to show "if we can have that guy, not to be cliché, that's the bell cow."

NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah raved about Cobb over the summer, calling him a "sneaky Rookie of the Year candidate," and saying: "I'm a big fan of David Cobb. He's a really good player, just a hard runner and I think his game translates very well to the next level."

Not long after the draft, it was Whisenhunt who gushed over Cobb's "impressive" tape by calling him a "three-down back." Dexter McCluster is a logical fit to see passing-down snaps, but Cobb has the tools to take on a full workload.

It's just one game, but Game Pass (and the video package below) illustrates the rookie's downhill running style. While Trent Richardson's shaky vision became a Twitter sensation over the weekend, Cobb was decisive hitting the hole. He's also powerful enough to drag defenders for extra yardage, which the Falcons learned up close. At 5-foot-11 and 229 pounds, Cobb runs low to earth and isn't afraid of contact.

"Cobb has kind of shown what we saw from him at the Senior Bowl and in college, his ability to run the football, his vision and his feet," Titans general manager Ruston Webster recently said, per the team's offical website. "If he continues along that path he can help us."

His weakness is a lack of breakaway speed. Cobb's game isn't based around jaw-dropping quickness or lateral movement, making him a better fit for a physical ground game angling to beat teams up. We're not labeling him a supreme athlete, but Cobb's power-run style fits the Titans well.

"He can step right in and play because he runs tough and he knows how to pass protect," one AFC scout told Lance Zierlein before the draft. "His offensive line was bad, too. He's a way shiftier runner than he gets credit for."

It was encouraging to see Cobb's consistency against the Falcons, as his first five NFL runs went for 8, 8, 7, 6 and 6 yards. The rookie, though, believes he barely tapped into his abilities.

"I watched film, and there were some reads I missed," Cobb said, per the team's official website. "I felt like I could have broken some more tackles, and I went down too easy. There's a lot of room for improvement. ... What I really want to do is show (the Titans) that I can be a three-down back, stay on the field and block."

In Monday's Around the NFL "Fantasy Extravaganza" Podcast, we listed Cobb as one of our undervalued running backs heading into September. Watch the film and decide for yourself, but after one game, Cobb looks like the high-ceiling option in Tennessee's work-in-progress backfield.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000511127/article/david-cobb-emerges-as-titans-best-option-at-rb?campaign=Twitter_atn
 



Never heard anyone feel our OL was bad at run blocking. Pass blocking, yes.
 





Gopherdrummer said:
I read that line and assumed the scout was talking about the Titans....

Agree to disagree with this guy?
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GopherJack said:
I too thought he was referring to the Titan's O Line
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"He can step right in and play because he runs tough and he knows how to pass protect," one AFC scout told Lance Zierlein before the draft. "His offensive line was bad, too. He's a way shiftier runner than he gets credit for."

He was definitely talking about the Gophers' offensive line. It's been discussed here before. I'm going to assume he didn't do a second of offensive line evaluation and just assumed that the line play was bad because, after all, it's Minnesota, right?
 

Gopherdrummer said:
I read that line and assumed the scout was talking about the Titans....

Agree to disagree with this guy?
Click to expand...

If was playing with the 2nd teamers, yeah thats the way I read it.

Just read DPo's comment above, doesn't change how I read it.... Preserves my homeristic view of my gophers.
 



dpodoll68 said:
"He can step right in and play because he runs tough and he knows how to pass protect," one AFC scout told Lance Zierlein before the draft. "His offensive line was bad, too. He's a way shiftier runner than he gets credit for."

He was definitely talking about the Gophers' offensive line. It's been discussed here before. I'm going to assume he didn't do a second of offensive line evaluation and just assumed that the line play was bad because, after all, it's Minnesota, right?
Click to expand...

Dude. I recognize this was before the draft. Just commenting that without coffee and upon first glance, I processed the quote as being about the Titans during their preseason game. Upon reading the quote a second time I see he was talking about the gophers and decided we could all probably agree to disagree with that scout's overall opinion of our OL.
 

you guys really think Limegrover has trotted out anything above an average offensive line? They were about as average as could be last year, and there wasn't one OL'man who could even sniff an NFL locker room. Campion will get a shot with a practice squad after this season, but Limegrover has yet to development an offensive lineman that is considered good enough to get run in someone's training camp; that really speaks for itself. They had an average line last year, at best, a scout who watched good players for a living would look at that line and call it bad because there wasn't a single player that was "really good".
 

sonnygarcia said:
you guys really think Limegrover has trotted out anything above an average offensive line?
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Who are you arguing with? No one has said anything different.

sonnygarcia said:
They were about as average as could be last year, and there wasn't one OL'man who could even sniff an NFL locker room.
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Not true. Epping was invited to Vikings minicamp, so I'm assuming he set foot in the locker room at least once or twice. He and Olson were the only departing starters, and Olson almost immediately started cutting weight and didn't even make an attempt to latch on somewhere. So, I'm not really sure what you're talking about. Even an average Big Ten line is not "bad", whatever the scout said. For one thing, scouts are human beings and are just as fallible as any of us. For another, like I already said, I'd bet dollars to donuts that he didn't even evaluate the line play (why would he, there were no legit NFL prospects, right?) and simply assumed that the line was bad because it's Minnesota.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Not true. Epping was invited to Vikings minicamp, so I'm assuming he set foot in the locker room at least once or twice.
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Yeah, but is there proof he was breathing when he was in that locker room? He may not have had a sniff after all. :)
 



dpodoll68 said:
For another, like I already said, I'd bet dollars to donuts that he didn't even evaluate the line play (why would he, there were no legit NFL prospects, right?) and simply assumed that the line was bad because it's Minnesota.
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When these scouts watch tape on RBs they pay attention just as much to how their line is blocking and performing to get an idea of how the RB over/under performs relative to what they perceive his line is giving him. So, to answer your question, if the scout evaluated Cobb, he definitely was evaluating the line as well.
 

Spoofin said:
Never heard anyone feel our OL was bad at run blocking. Pass blocking, yes.
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I've been saying it since last year. Maybe not 'bad' but they certainly weren't all that good. Cobb earned his yardage and there's a reason why our other backs didn't have much success
 

oleboy41 said:
I've been saying it since last year. Maybe not 'bad' but they certainly weren't all that good. Cobb earned his yardage and there's a reason why our other backs didn't have much success
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I thought it was because they have far fewer carries.
 

Not to get off topic, but the oline has been nothing more than average the last couple of years. It has come a long way since Kill got here but that is more of a reflection of what it was.

Cobb is a hell of runner and if he stays healthy he will have a nice NFL career, comparable to Barber.
 

It is overused by many in football, but David Cobb is a warrior. These days RBs generally pull themselves after several tough runs or a long one. Cobb did not. He wanted to carry the ball all day.

IMO opinion, he is the best back the Gophers have had since I started paying attention (early 90s so missed Darryl Thompson).
 


Zeppelin Gopher said:
WOW! I love Cobb too, but that's a bold statement considering MBII and LM22.
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It is bold but I can't get beyond the fact that Redmon, Terry Jackson, and Amir Pinnix all had thousand yard seasons. MBIII and LM22 were the best but all the backs produced in those days.

if you look at the 2003 team it had three ball carriers who played in the NFL (Barber, Maroney, Tapeh), one back who never saw the field who had already had a 1,000 yard season as a Gopher (Jackson) and one who would go on to a 1, 000 (Pinnix). It also strong receivers including one who would play in the NFL (Payne, although he was a frosh in 2003) two TEs who played/ play in the NFL (Utecht and Spaeth), an OT who would play in the NFL (Setterstrom) and a center (Eslinger) that gets mentioned in discussions of the best college linemen of all time. That was a dominant offensive team.

The 2014 Gophers had Maxx Williams and Cobb and a non-existent rushing game from 2006-2013.
 

Schnauzer said:
I thought it was because they have far fewer carries.
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They had far fewer carries because only Cobb was good enough to be successful in that situation. Kirkwoodland, Nugget and Berk are all one cut, hit the hole guys. How many times did they run into walls last year? Seemed like Berk and Kirkwoodland in particular got hit in the backfield on half of their carries last year. Cobb was a patient, cut back, wiggle his way through the hole type and consistently got yardage where there wasn't a ton available. It was rare last year where it truly felt like the OL was consistently controlling the LOS or the game. For as good as Cobb was and as much as we ran the ball our running numbers were very average across the board
 

"Cobb will be a low priority FA signing if that. May just be best to call it a career.

He will very likely run 4.70+ with poor shuttle and three-cone scores. He unfortunately doesn't have NFL chops."

--- Jshowers

I don't mean to pile on, JShowers (whoever you are), but I wanted to revisit your scouting report from last fall that left so many GHers flabbergasted.
 

Actually, yes I do believe our O-line was above average last year. We had a First team Big Ten OG and two more honorable mentions last year plus 3 HM's in 2013. Also, and take this FWIW, but BTN, ESPN's big ten blog and Bleacher Report have all projected our O-line to be the best in the west and/or 3rd in the whole conference.

I've visited Titan's message boards and they all like to think that our O-line "sucked." I think it's comforting for them to think that and it seems to me that most NFL fans tend to say that when they draft an RB.
 


sonnygarcia said:
you guys really think Limegrover has trotted out anything above an average offensive line? They were about as average as could be last year, and there wasn't one OL'man who could even sniff an NFL locker room. Campion will get a shot with a practice squad after this season, but Limegrover has yet to development an offensive lineman that is considered good enough to get run in someone's training camp; that really speaks for itself. They had an average line last year, at best, a scout who watched good players for a living would look at that line and call it bad because there wasn't a single player that was "really good".
Click to expand...
So far agreed but I would say its been the biggest project since kill and co took over. Campion was part of kills first class. Its taken awhile but his guys have finally risen through the program and with it will be better results
 

my sleeper pick in fantasy. Gonna stash him in the 6-7th round.
 


This is why I kind of wish Jeff Jones was getting more run at running back than S.WR

oleboy41 said:
They had far fewer carries because only Cobb was good enough to be successful in that situation. Kirkwoodland, Nugget and Berk are all one cut, hit the hole guys. How many times did they run into walls last year? Seemed like Berk and Kirkwoodland in particular got hit in the backfield on half of their carries last year. Cobb was a patient, cut back, wiggle his way through the hole type and consistently got yardage where there wasn't a ton available. It was rare last year where it truly felt like the OL was consistently controlling the LOS or the game. For as good as Cobb was and as much as we ran the ball our running numbers were very average across the board
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Looking forward to seeing David Cobb play for the Titans, they will find out what Gopher fans already know he is a tough running back
that gets you the yards.
Nugget, Berkley Edwards and Brooks they are all one cut runners with a burst, not something this Gopher O-line is particularly strong at blocking and maintaining for a long period of time. They are good at sealing holes in the middleand edge but it is for shorter periods of time than some of the backs would need.
Jeff Jones may not have the burst of those guys, what he does have is the shifty, cut back vision, and wiggle his way through holes and strength that David Cobb has, at least a younger less experienced form. I think the coaches would find that out about Jeff Jones, that he is a lot more like David Cobb was as a runner and what our O line is comfortable blocking. Nugget hits the edge good and has that burst, he should be given first shot if your trying to hit those home runs, but if you want to work the clock, milk it really and you want the Chemistry Cobb had with the O-line,your going to have to have a stronger cutback runner like Jones who will find the small crease and get you that 4 to 7 yards extra on effort you need. Don't just be fooled by the pass catching ability, you give the kid a chance Jeff Jones will find that crease and get you a first down. He is your stout workhorse if you need to burn clock in my opinion.
 

bemidjigopher said:
So far agreed but I would say its been the biggest project since kill and co took over. Campion was part of kills first class. Its taken awhile but his guys have finally risen through the program and with it will be better results
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This. I think OL takes the longest to develop, overhaul, etc. With the recruits we've signed recently and will sign this year, we should see a big improvement once these guys become upperclassmen. A big reason Wisconsin's OL is so good year after year is because they are able to redshirt and develop.
 

Cobb got a lot of extra yards on his own and made something out of nothing quite a few times. He has great vision, patience, and ability to cut. A treat to be able to watch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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