I don't really understand the built up anger from posters on here towards John Nguyen. There's arguments for and against him but honestly he's the best well-rounded back we've got. As you look at it:
1. Posters argue that he fumbles too much / muffs too many punts. Think he put the ball on the ground once last season and I can't recall directly but maybe just once or twice the season before. His Sophomore year I don't recall but it seems people still hang on a particularly bad spring game he had in 2014 or 2013. Or they carry over opinions of his brother towards him. If we want to worry about fumbles we should be worried about he QBs and WRs who had more than the RBs I believe.
2. His punt returning decisions are mostly good yet people will hang on the couple of times he lets the ball roll and get pinned deep. Meanwhile they choose to ignore the times when he lets them roll and they go out the endzone for a touchback. He's not the perfect punt returner and maybe we just got spoiled with Marc Mariani, but in his last two seasons he's been pretty good, even has 1 return for a TD doesn't he?
3. Anyone that says he gets run over or can't pass block simply isn't watching him play. He's the best pass blocker of the RB corps and as AZ points out he saved Brady many times from getting destroyed by a blitzing back. I believe Nguyen is currently the best in the weight room with squat weight vs body weight or something along those lines (he was last year at least). His lower body strength and leverage makes him a vital blocker in a pass-heavy offense.
4. He's the best pass catcher of the backs at this point... hell he's the most accomplished returning pass catcher on the whole team right now!
5. People point out he got tackled too quickly/wrapped up too quickly. He had a 4.6 yard per carry average! Additionally as AZ also stated, it's not necessarily his fault if two or three tacklers get through the line and meet him in the backfield. Hardly any running back is going to have success there.
6. Yes, he can't hold a top speed. Chase Reynolds did, Jordan Canada and TraVon Van could... but Nguyen can't. He's good for 25-30 yards at full speed. It is what it is for 2016 and his upside is worth what's lost once he gets 30 yards downfield, IMO
1. Posters argue that he fumbles too much / muffs too many punts. Think he put the ball on the ground once last season and I can't recall directly but maybe just once or twice the season before. His Sophomore year I don't recall but it seems people still hang on a particularly bad spring game he had in 2014 or 2013. Or they carry over opinions of his brother towards him. If we want to worry about fumbles we should be worried about he QBs and WRs who had more than the RBs I believe.
2. His punt returning decisions are mostly good yet people will hang on the couple of times he lets the ball roll and get pinned deep. Meanwhile they choose to ignore the times when he lets them roll and they go out the endzone for a touchback. He's not the perfect punt returner and maybe we just got spoiled with Marc Mariani, but in his last two seasons he's been pretty good, even has 1 return for a TD doesn't he?
3. Anyone that says he gets run over or can't pass block simply isn't watching him play. He's the best pass blocker of the RB corps and as AZ points out he saved Brady many times from getting destroyed by a blitzing back. I believe Nguyen is currently the best in the weight room with squat weight vs body weight or something along those lines (he was last year at least). His lower body strength and leverage makes him a vital blocker in a pass-heavy offense.
4. He's the best pass catcher of the backs at this point... hell he's the most accomplished returning pass catcher on the whole team right now!
5. People point out he got tackled too quickly/wrapped up too quickly. He had a 4.6 yard per carry average! Additionally as AZ also stated, it's not necessarily his fault if two or three tacklers get through the line and meet him in the backfield. Hardly any running back is going to have success there.
6. Yes, he can't hold a top speed. Chase Reynolds did, Jordan Canada and TraVon Van could... but Nguyen can't. He's good for 25-30 yards at full speed. It is what it is for 2016 and his upside is worth what's lost once he gets 30 yards downfield, IMO
