Brooks vs Smith

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gophers141

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I love Rodney, he works his tail off and is a great RB but Brooks needs to lead this team in touches every game for us to have the best chance to win.

Every play Brooks can rip off a 30+ yd run. Smith will fight for the extra yards but he just isn't as special as Brooks.
 

Smith catches the ball well. I would put him in more as a slot receiver because I think he can stretch the field. With Still out we have no deep threat.
 

I'd imagine that Brooks is still working back to full speed. Having a plate in your foot probably isn't optimal, so I'm sure that would limit his touches a bit. That said, yes, he is the clear home run threat, but Rodney has played very well also. Even Kobe brings something to the table. I don't think this is a huge concern, Rodney is probably better in pass pro which is why he's getting more snaps.
 

Tough one, love 'em both.

Force my hand, I'll take Brooks. A bit more physical, and has the speed to "run away" once in the open.
 

gophers141 said:
I love Rodney, he works his tail off and is a great RB but Brooks needs to lead this team in touches every game for us to have the best chance to win.

Every play Brooks can rip off a 30+ yd run. Smith will fight for the extra yards but he just isn't as special as Brooks.
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Agree 100%. I love RS1, but as good as he is he is not as good as SB23.


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Maybe I've missed it, but have we had many plays with both guys in the backfield? I thought we were thinking about doing that this year.
 

Agree with those that would give a slight nod to Brooks. Both are solid but Brooks has that extra gear where it just feels like there is a chance he might house one at any moment. Don't get that same sense when Smith runs the ball.

As a duo they remind me a little of what we had with Maroney and Barber. Smith/Barber are the more complete backs, can do most things well, while Maroney/Brooks have that extra something that makes it exciting when they touch the ball because you get the sense something big could happen.
 

Spoofin said:
Agree 100%. I love RS1, but as good as he is he is not as good as SB23.


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Has it been difficult for you to transition from SB8 to SB27 to SB23? RS24 to RS1? How do you keep up?
 

I bet this is the week that Brooks will start to get more touches per game. I guarantee opponents would rather tackle Smith than Brooks.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Agree with those that would give a slight nod to Brooks. Both are solid but Brooks has that extra gear where it just feels like there is a chance he might house one at any moment. Don't get that same sense when Smith runs the ball.

As a duo they remind me a little of what we had with Maroney and Barber. Smith/Barber are the more complete backs, can do most things well, while Maroney/Brooks have that extra something that makes it exciting when they touch the ball because you get the sense something big could happen.
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I could be way off, but I don't think there is any speed difference. I think Brooks just finds the open lanes better and is a little more sudden and explosive in his cuts.
 

Donovan said:
Maybe I've missed it, but have we had many plays with both guys in the backfield? I thought we were thinking about doing that this year.
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Every time I've seen them both out there for a play one of them is playing in the slot or out wide. Small sample size so far as Brooks is just getting back in the rotation.
 

Section2 said:
I could be way off, but I don't think there is any speed difference. I think Brooks just finds the open lanes better and is a little more sudden and explosive in his cuts.
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It isn't as extreme as it was between Barber and Maroney where Maroney had that elite speed, and maybe it is just perception but Brooks seems faster and to be more of a big play threat. The Barber/Maroney comparison isn't perfect because they were both very different backs but I can see a parallel between the RB duos and the way they perform on some levels.
 

#5 from things you need to know...
Shannon Brooks has rushed for nine career touchdowns (has also passed for one career touchdown, 42 yards to Drew Wolitarsky at Iowa last season) and has covered 281 yards while doing so. That means the sophomore averages 31.2 yards per touchdown. His seven scores last year came from 75, 71, 40, 38, five and three yards (twice) and he has scored from 37 and nine yards this season. A year ago, he became the first Gopher since Laurence Maroney in 2005 to have four touchdown runs longer than 35 yards in one season, as Maroney had scoring runs of 93 yards (Wisconsin), 73 (Tulsa), 67 (Tulsa) and 38 (Florida Atlantic). For his career, Brooks has 146 carries for 894 yards and a 6.1 average.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
#5 from things you need to know...
Shannon Brooks has rushed for nine career touchdowns (has also passed for one career touchdown, 42 yards to Drew Wolitarsky at Iowa last season) and has covered 281 yards while doing so. That means the sophomore averages 31.2 yards per touchdown. His seven scores last year came from 75, 71, 40, 38, five and three yards (twice) and he has scored from 37 and nine yards this season. A year ago, he became the first Gopher since Laurence Maroney in 2005 to have four touchdown runs longer than 35 yards in one season, as Maroney had scoring runs of 93 yards (Wisconsin), 73 (Tulsa), 67 (Tulsa) and 38 (Florida Atlantic). For his career, Brooks has 146 carries for 894 yards and a 6.1 average.
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Smith's longest TD run is 6 yards. Even Rodrick Williams managed to rip off TD runs of 54 and 37 yards.
 

MNVCGUY said:
It isn't as extreme as it was between Barber and Maroney where Maroney had that elite speed, and maybe it is just perception but Brooks seems faster and to be more of a big play threat. The Barber/Maroney comparison isn't perfect because they were both very different backs but I can see a parallel between the RB duos and the way they perform on some levels.
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I see Brooks running in the open field a lot, and rarely see Rodney in the open field. How they got there is the question, speed? I think it's something else. I think Brooks is just quicker in his cuts, Rodney is more of the spin move, subtle move kind of guy.
 

Section2 said:
I see Brooks running in the open field a lot, and rarely see Rodney in the open field. How they got there is the question, speed? I think it's something else. I think Brooks is just quicker in his cuts, Rodney is more of the spin move, subtle move kind of guy.
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I think Brooks sees the field better, and is better at waiting for blocks to develop in front of him. I don't think he's faster either. Also, it seems Rodney gets tripped up in the hole some, that almost never happens with Brooks.
 

Donovan said:
Maybe I've missed it, but have we had many plays with both guys in the backfield? I thought we were thinking about doing that this year.
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Let's throw in McCrary and run the wishbone.

Seriously though, coaches are too enamored with spread formations to implement a two tailback set significantly.
 

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