Thoughts on Dexter McCluster
by CanuckTitan27 on Jan 27, 2010 8:47 AM CST
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PrintFor my first ever FanPost, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Dexter McCluster.
For the unititiated, he is the hybred RB/WR (as well as the heart,soul, and driving force on the offense) of Ole Miss. He's small (5'8, 165), has a checkered injury past, and played second fiddle to Jevan Snead, but had an absolutely *electrifying* year this year.
I had the good fortune of being able to watch 2 Ole Miss games (which is odd, seeing as how I'm Canadian) and my eyes were glued to this guy whenevr he was on the field. I believe comparisons to Percy Harvin and Reggie Bush are not to be snuffed at, as he is the definition of playmaker. His open field vision and cutting ability had him dancing through defenses and oppposing special teams.
I think McCluster could find a spot on the Titans roster, as a KR/PR, as well as a some kind of hybrid RB/WR. Have him run a drag or quick slant, get him the ball behind the LBs, and let him do what he does. Give him the odd pitch or let him run a wild cat series or two. I think giving him 4-7 touches a game could have big gains, as well as giving CJ a much needed rest.
I'll close with a few stats, as well as open the thread to comments. This is my first real post on here, and look forward to getting to know you guys. Constructive criticism is more than welcome!
From Wikipedia;
"Dexter McCluster's senior season was full of highlights as he set two school records against Tennessee for rushing yards in a game with 282 and all purpose yards in a game with 324. [4]He rushed for 1,169 yards on 181 attempts, a 6.4 yards per carry, and made 44 receptions for 520 yards with 11 total touchdowns that made him the only player in SEC history to rush for over 1,000 yards and receive for 500 yards in a single season. "
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I too really like him
but the Titans cannot afford to spend the pick it would take to get him on his position.
Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.
"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.
We thought that about CJ.
I’m an early bird and a night owl. So I’m wise and I have worms.
by DonFrancisco on Jan 28, 2010 11:44 AM CST up reply actions
but now we have CJ
Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.
"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.
Apples and oranges
Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.
"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.
I disagree that we couldn't afford to take him.
I suppose it has more to do with a philosophy. My preference would be to move this offense in the direction of the spread. That being the case, you need playmakers like this.
The fundamental principal of the spread offense lies in the name. It’s spreading the field. Not just vertically, but horizontally too. In that sense, WR screens are an important aspect of the offense. It’s fundamentally a run play. But, by consistently running WR screens, it forces the defense to play the receivers at the line of scrimmage, or at least respect that a pass can come behind the line of scrimmage. However, in order to do that, you need playmakers. If you watched the Vikings this year, you saw that Percy Harvin can provide that playmaking ability.
It may seem trivial because there are other glaring needs on the defensive side of the ball. A guy like McCluster could really open up this offense, though. Whereas Nate Washington is a threat to go ~20 yards on a bubble screen, McCluster is a threat to score everytime he touches the ball. Put simply, if he’s lined up in the slot and the threat of running a screen is there, the opponent is ALWAYS forced to defend not one but two home run threats. That’s an enormous amount of stress to put on a defense. It would do wonders in opening up the offense.
Bottom line is talent evaluation. If there is a phenomenal talent on the board, you don’t pass on him to fill a position need. You don’t pass on Michael Jordan, because you have a glaring need a center (Sam Bowie).
Did u say "Now we have CJ" when we drafted him?
I was there…don’t lie.
I’m an early bird and a night owl. So I’m wise and I have worms.
by DonFrancisco on Jan 28, 2010 3:21 PM CST up reply actions
I think we are confusing the argument here
My point is that we now have CJ so we don’t need another guy that does the same thing. At the time I was disappointed at the pick, but I also realized we didn’t have a dynamic offensive player on the roster.
And for the record, my exact quote was we just drafted Chris Henry again. Couldn’t be happier to be wrong.
Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.
"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.
McCluster doesnt have to be the same as CJ
McCluster could be used as a slot guy , occasional RB, and hopefully a KR/PR.(at least one of them) If McCluster can be Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson like he was against Tennessee, then he would be worth it. I havent graded him out or anything and I dont know if he is a middle first rounder. All I know is CJ got the ball way too much last year. The Titans need someone who can help on offense. Obviously, the first thought is a big bruising back to counter CJ’s running style. I dont think it has to be that way though.
I look at Vikings O who had good years from Peterson(granted, he is more of bruiser than CJ-also more of fumbler), Harvin, and Rice. I would love to see the Titans with 3 dynamic playmakers like CJ,________, and Britt. I realize DE, LB, and DB are all bigger needs, but if McCluster grades high enough as a Harvin-type player and can fill some KR/PR needs then I say go for it.
I’m an early bird and a night owl. So I’m wise and I have worms.
by DonFrancisco on Jan 28, 2010 4:14 PM CST up reply actions
If we did draft McCluster first round
Would his impact on our offense be enough to knowingly pass up first round talent we need for our defense?
I don’t think so.
Especially with no second round pick. I really think this is a moot argument.
Official MCM Hater!
Yes.
All that depends an a TON of variables. First of all, you can’t really “knowingly pass up first round talent” in the sense that none of us, including the front office, knows for sure how these guys are going to develop.
If the ratings on a Defensive End are equal to McCluster on the draft board, then I don’t have a problem with taking him. That makes sense. My point is, he could possibly do a lot for this offense. If he’s rated extremely high on our draft board, like CJ likely was, you have to take him, regardless of other needs.
In a nutshell, if there is a big disparity in ratings between the top player on the draft board and the next guy on the board, take the top one regardless of needs. The only three caveats here would be QB, RB and LT. CJ and VY already take up so much playing time that it probably doesn’t make sense, and it’d be too expensive to carry another 1st round LT.
This is a little ambiguous. To be clear...
If the ratings on a Defensive End are equal to McCluster on the draft board, then I don’t have a problem with taking him. That makes sense. My point is, he could possibly do a lot for this offense.
Should read:
If the ratings on a Defensive End are equal to McCluster on the draft board, then I don’t have a problem with taking the DE. That makes sense. My point is, McCluster could possibly do a lot for this offense.
I definitely would not take a player rated much much lower than McCluster over him
But I think with our draft standing this season, our first round pick is even more important since we gave away our 2nd for a tight end who caught 8 passes.
If we had a second round pick this year, I would be all on board with a "best available" strategy. But we have got to get a pass rush. And I don’t think we can wait until the 3rd round to do it. But maybe we can.
Hell, knowing how crazy our FO is, we will probably draft Tebow in the first round. I wouldn’t be more surprised if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet.
Official MCM Hater!
I want defense.
People are enamored because everyone wants to see highlights. We have enough highlights to get by. We need defense.
Ain't no time for hesitatin'
All you got to do is groove
by BonzosMontreaux on Jan 28, 2010 6:22 PM CST up reply actions
It has nothing to do with that.
If this season has taught us anything, it’s that all things equal, a better offense prevails. The rules are continually getting more difficult on the defense, and geared towards airing it out. That’s what puts butts in the seats, and drives ratings. It may not be right, but I think the days of winning with a nasty defense and ball control are gone.
That obviously doesn’t mean you turn your back on drafting defensive players. It just means that if a unique talent is available that will allow you to be more dynamic on offense, you have to give that serious consideration. Especially in the earlier rounds, I think the draft strategy has to be more focused on offense than it was as little as 10 years ago because the athletes are so much better in the early rounds.
I don't support running the spread in the NFL.
I know you are bias because of your college loyalties, and i’m bias because of my mostly NFL watching.
That being said, we never truly lost solely because of our offense this year. I want defensive talent.
Ain't no time for hesitatin'
All you got to do is groove
by BonzosMontreaux on Jan 28, 2010 7:50 PM CST up reply actions
It has nothing to do with college loyalties. Only what I think is best for the team.
Out of curiosity, what do you consider the spread? And, what current, successful teams do you think aren’t running a version of it?
The argument can be made that those games that were lost could have been dramatically turned
around with a more explosive offense.
A quick search online has brought to my attention that the Saints and FatHumps are playing for the league championship with the 25th and 18th ranked defenses.http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense/seasontype/2
Conversely, those two teams also seem to present the 4th and 5th ranked overall offenses.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total
Just food for thought
by CanuckTitan27 on Jan 29, 2010 10:56 AM CST up reply actions
I think that may be flawed on the second link
That link goes to Postseason rankings. In the Regular season New Orleans was 1st and Indy was 9th, but regardless in the NFL these days you’ve got have a good offense to do well. Seven out of the top ten offensive teams made the playoffs.
That’s my mistake. I had multiple tabs open and i must have grabbed the wrong link. I apologize.
by CanuckTitan27 on Jan 29, 2010 3:03 PM CST up reply actions
hmmm
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/seasontype/2
This is the new link regarding offenses. Saints ranked 1, Fat Humps ranked 9.
by CanuckTitan27 on Jan 29, 2010 3:08 PM CST up reply actions
I want the best players
Defense may be the biggest need, but the Titans need the best players regardless of position.
Also, I think its good we dont have a 2nd rounder. We havent had good success with those lately.
I’m an early bird and a night owl. So I’m wise and I have worms.
by DonFrancisco on Jan 28, 2010 8:51 PM CST up reply actions
I hate Alex Burrows.
Graphic Designer/Researcher/Writer at Music City Miracles.
Official Graphic Goon of On The Forecheck.
by Aditya T (smashville) on Jan 27, 2010 10:57 AM CST via mobile reply actions
I don't know where they have him going.....
if we could pick him up in the later rounds, great…but we have to use the first 3 picks to shore up our defense …..or what’s left of it :-(
by titansfan4ever on Jan 27, 2010 12:30 PM CST reply actions
Does this change things?
With the likely addition of a high 3rd round compensatory pick, does this change thigns when it comes to McCluster?
first round picks are so important and such a gamble
You really got to do your due diligence.
While I agree with superhorn completely that guy guy like him would complete our offense and turn it into a dynamic, unstoppable force.
BUT does anybody here know what kind of guy he is? Character is just as important as talent. I’m not presuming anything, but we can’t afford another pacmanesque flash in the pan.
The guy is also really small. Is he gonna stay healthy?
In theory, if none of the right defenders are left on the board, go for it. But none of us have enough info to make the call with certainty.
by T the D on Jan 28, 2010 7:04 PM CST via mobile reply actions
If I was going to draft a RB, I would draft another C.J….Spiller that is.
Media - "How does it feel to be that fast?"
CJ - "It feels real good."
by nathangouge on Jan 29, 2010 5:11 AM CST via mobile reply actions
welcome to the club
but on mccluster, he looks like a watered down version of CJ. I’ve been watching him since late last season, but we have no need for him unless he wants to exsclusively take back kicks (which we could REALLY use). we have CJ, we have javon ringer who made the most out of his very few carries and in a pinch could offer a spot starter in case of injury. I still feel he’s at least worth a look.
http://draftdayencyclopedia.wordpress.com/
spread the word please!
by danielreese05 on Jan 31, 2010 6:03 PM CST via mobile reply actions
plus
this draft is all about defense, the O is dynamic enough.
http://draftdayencyclopedia.wordpress.com/
spread the word please!
by danielreese05 on Jan 31, 2010 6:05 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Desean Jackson
That is who he reminds me of is Desean Jackson with his speed and size and nack for the big play. If we took him in the 3rd or so I would be very happy with the pick but I want either a DE or CB in the 1st round.
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