Thread: Vikings rookie RB Toby Gerhart gaining yards,trust

Originally Posted by "snowinapril" #1080767

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

How many of you still don't like him? Comeon, be honest. Again, I remember who you are and can go dig up a post or two.....LOL

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

Which NFL player to you see him most like in 3 years? Like Mike Alstott?

As long as AD is here, he will get minimal touches, we will see.

I don't see him as a FB. I really see him as a pure RB.

Unless you play on the Pats, everyone else continues to go with the "Bigger, stronger, faster" path of selecting players. Toby falls into that catagory.

On a side note, as he gets more reps/comfortable reading what the OL is going to do in thier blocking handovers, I think you will see him break a few.

Long story short, dude is big, but not slow.

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

How many of you still don't like him? Comeon, be honest. Again, I remember who you are and can go dig up a post or two.....LOL

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

I don't mind him, but I still hate the pick we used to get him.

Originally Posted by "HEY" #1080778

Originally Posted by "snowinapril" #1080767

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

Which NFL player to you see him most like in 3 years? Like Mike Alstott?

No offense, but I'm sick of people comparing every white runnningback to Mike Alstott. Whenever a runningback who is white and runs fairly physically comes in to the NFL, he immediately receive "The Next Mike Alstott"-stamp. It's ridiculous!

First of all, Mike Alstott is unique. I love power runningbacks and Alstott has the greatest combination of lower body strength and balance that I've ever seen, combined with a never-say-never mentality. When I think of Alstott, I picture him carry a couple of defenders on his back for several yards.

Toby Gerhart is not that type of running back. He's physically, but I've seen a tendency of him bouncing off defenders after he lowers his shoulders. Alstott would definitely deliver the blow, but he always continued the force all the way through the impact and to the point where he was forced out of balance.

With that being said, Gerhart looks promising. He shows good blocking skills and receiving skills when you take into account that he rarely had to do that in college and he had to learn a lot in a very short time. As for the running part, I see strong running between the tackles with good resiliency and vision.

... but when compared to Adrian Peterson, it's like watching the game in slow-motion. The difference in speed and quickness is really apparent on tape. Of course, it's perfectly natural as Gerhart is bigger than Peterson and there's also the fact that it's Adrian Peterson we're talking about. The man has the craziest combination of speed and power at the runningback position of the last decade. Almost everyone would look slow compared to him.

Another excellent post out of my good friend Hey......

Couple of quick questions......Did you see the questions I put in the "Teach the Infidel" thread for the RB's this week? I would be interested to see your answers if you get to see the game.

.....Seems that you don't give Toby much credit for speed/ability to get outside. I can remember some youtube runs and scout comments that he had the speed to get to the outside at the next level.

Am I wrong in my belief that he can be a breakout runner. Not to the extend AD is, but right there with your above average back.

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080783

Originally Posted by "snowinapril" #1080767

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

How many of you still don't like him? Comeon, be honest. Again, I remember who you are and can go dig up a post or two.....LOL

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

Which NFL player to you see him most like in 3 years? Like Mike Alstott?

As long as AD is here, he will get minimal touches, we will see.

I don't see him as a FB. I really see him as a pure RB.

Unless you play on the Pats, everyone else continues to go with the "Bigger, stronger, faster" path of selecting players. Toby falls into that catagory.

On a side note, as he gets more reps/comfortable reading what the OL is going to do in thier blocking handovers, I think you will see him break a few.

Long story short, dude is big, but not slow.

I think he is doing ok. He has good hands, good instincts, and blocks pretty well. But he sure looks slow to me. I don't see him breaking many long runs off, but he should be very effective in the short passing game as well as between the tackles.
He's no Alstot but does have some power and leg drive.

I agree with IBP, he was taken too high.

Originally Posted by "i_bleed_purple" #1080785

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

How many of you still don't like him? Comeon, be honest. Again, I remember who you are and can go dig up a post or two.....LOL

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

I don't mind him, but I still hate the pick we used to get him.

He wasn't gonna be there much later by all accounts.

Mix in that he was probably the only one who really fit he bill/matched the scheme.

If I was gonna be upset about a pick, I would be about Cook. Don't get me wrong, I like him, but there 3 or 4 others that probably could have been taken later allowing us to go DT in that spot.

I think most now agree that we are really hurting in that area this year. Much worse than we would have been at the CB right now.

I have never had a problem with Gerhart, even during the early part of the season, because he was not getting enough touches to really judge.
Running backs are very difficult to judge without a fair amount of carries. I think that we saw he can be very effective. I am not sure he could be a superstar type back, but he could be a solid 1,000+ yard bruiser type in the right spot and I think he fits in very well here.
Why not start and move toward a VERY heavy run offense featuring Adrian and Toby. I could easily see an AD 1,400+ yard season combined with a Toby 800+ yard season in a few years.

Originally Posted by "jargomcfargo" #1080788

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080783

Originally Posted by "snowinapril" #1080767

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

How many of you still don't like him? Comeon, be honest. Again, I remember who you are and can go dig up a post or two.....LOL

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

Which NFL player to you see him most like in 3 years? Like Mike Alstott?

As long as AD is here, he will get minimal touches, we will see.

I don't see him as a FB. I really see him as a pure RB.

Unless you play on the Pats, everyone else continues to go with the "Bigger, stronger, faster" path of selecting players. Toby falls into that catagory.

On a side note, as he gets more reps/comfortable reading what the OL is going to do in thier blocking handovers, I think you will see him break a few.

Long story short, dude is big, but not slow.

I think he is doing ok. He has good hands, good instincts, and blocks pretty well. But he sure looks slow to me. I don't see him breaking many long runs off, but he should be very effective in the short passing game as well as between the tackles.
He's no Alstot but does have some power and leg drive.

I agree with IBP, he was taken too high.

Again, I can't see how you guys think he is so slow. Just cause he hasn't really been getting to the outside doesn't mean he can't. It just means they haven't sent him out there yet.

FYI, From one of the articles I had on him for my mock.....

"As a white running back you get stereotyped," Gerhart says. "When I tell people I play football, they say, 'Oh, you're a fullback.'" But Gerhart runs more like Glyn Milburn—the shifty former Stanford great he passed to become fifth on the school's alltime rushing list—than like former Cardinal bruisers Tommy Vardell and Brad Muster. During Stanford's Sept. 26 win over Washington, Todd Gerhart heard a Huskies coach shout, "He's not fast enough to turn the corner!" A few plays later Toby ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run.

Tunnel Vision


40 times.....4.5 (High 4.4/Low 4.6)
NFL Draft Scout

Can't remember for sure but I think AD's were in the 4.3/4.4 range.

Originally Posted by "midgensa" #1080799

I have never had a problem with Gerhart, even during the early part of the season, because he was not getting enough touches to really judge.
Running backs are very difficult to judge without a fair amount of carries. I think that we saw he can be very effective. I am not sure he could be a superstar type back, but he could be a solid 1,000+ yard bruiser type in the right spot and I think he fits in very well here.
Why not start and move toward a VERY heavy run offense featuring Adrian and Toby. I could easily see an AD 1,400+ yard season combined with a Toby 800+ yard season in a few years.

Agree on all counts.

If, big if, AD does go down, I don't worry about the offense going into next season. I think the reps he is getting this year will go along way in that regard.

Doesn't mean I am comfortable this year though but last weeks performance sure makes me feel a bit better.

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080796

Originally Posted by "i_bleed_purple" #1080785

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080761

How many of you still don't like him? Comeon, be honest. Again, I remember who you are and can go dig up a post or two.....LOL

I for one, liked the pick and really like how he is growing. Can you guys/gals imagine what kindof back he will be in 3 years?

I don't mind him, but I still hate the pick we used to get him.

He wasn't gonna be there much later by all accounts.

Mix in that he was probably the only one who really fit he bill/matched the scheme.

If I was gonna be upset about a pick, I would be about Cook. Don't get me wrong, I like him, but there 3 or 4 others that probably could have been taken later allowing us to go DT in that spot.

I think most now agree that we are really hurting in that area this year. Much worse than we would have been at the CB right now.

My only problem with Cook is if you trade down why go CB. We could have had Patrick Robinson who I think would be a better fit for the team. So why not just pick Robinson if you were going CB.

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080786

Did you see the questions I put in the "Teach the Infidel" thread for the RB's this week? I would be interested to see your answers if you get to see the game.

I will most likely see the game, but I did not see the question. What was it?

Originally Posted by "Marrdro" #1080786

eems that you don't give Toby much credit for speed/ability to get outside. I can remember some youtube runs and scout comments that he had the speed to get to the outside at the next level.

Am I wrong in my belief that he can be a breakout runner. Not to the extend AD is, but right there with your above average back.

I don't believe Toby Gerhart is slow, but compared to Peterson he looks significant slower. However, people need to remember (besides that AD is a freak of nature) that Toby is heavier built than Peterson as he weights over 230 pounds. Approximately 15 pounds heavier than Peterson.

Gerhart looks fast enough to move the chains and can pick up some good speed when he gets his feet rolling. Do I think he's a breakout runner? No, I don't. Adrian Peterson is the big play-maker with runs like 2,0,16,3,1,12. Gerhart is instead a type of back who will look to move the chains in my opinion and it's nothing wrong with that.

Also, similar to Adrian, Toby seems like the type of back who loves to be the workhorse and gets better with every carry. If Peterson is not able to play, I would not hesitate with feeding the rock to Gerhart a little. Especially considering the circumstances. Peterson need to be 100 % when it really matters. If the Vikings can't beat the Bills without Adrian, then something's wrong.

By the way, did you know that Gerhart modeled his game after Peterson in college?

"I remember when I first started college, Adrian Peterson was the man in college," Gerhart said. "I remember saying I want to emulate my game after him. I want to be as good as he is. The opportunity to go there, to play with him, to learn under him and complement him is really a huge honor and a dream come true."

From a productivity standpoint, Gerhart was right on par with Peterson's electric career at Oklahoma.