tashard choice

[foozball]

just watched some tape of him. he's alot better than i originally thought. i dont think he has a whole lot of upside, and his production will be very dependent on the OLine (moreso than other guys like mendenhall or kevin smith) because he has average speed and isn't very elusive, quick, or powerful. he's a very average running back who could really do well in a ZBS if the system is executed properly. if we pass on a RB in the 1st and 3rd, Tashard Choice will be the pick in the 4th.

if we pass on Choice in the 4th, Cory Boyd will be the pick in the 5th. he's a perfect fit for a 2 back system with Walker and Boyd splitting carries.

[outofhnd]

I like Choice a lot as well Cory Boyd is a little too upright for my taste but a 5th round pick im not going to nitpick his style.

[foozball]

chron says dayne is gone, so we need a power guy in the mix

[HoustonFan88]

There are some football guys on my track team who played Choice, Forte, and Rice this last year. While they said Choice was and Rice were good, Forte was the game-breaker.

[Coach]

let me tell you about tashard choice...this kid made a dumb move when he was a senior in high school...he decided to go to OU to compete with Adrian Peterson...out of high school Choice was still a 4 star recruit...heavily recruited...had a ton of talent and still does

the best thing about choice is that his skills match the zone blocking scheme perfectly...he's not affraid of contact...he runs great between the tackles...he's not a sit there and juke you guy...he'll make that one cut and go...and he has terrific vision...this guy is really underrated...i have him rated as high has ray rice and just a notch below jonathan stewart...in fact due to our system here is my top five for RB's

1. rashard mendenhall
2. jonathan stewart
3. tashard choice
4. ray rice
5. jamaal charles

i've left off guys like darren mcfadden, felix jones, and chris johnson because i don't believe those backs are one cut and go guys...those are the guys who try to either bounce it outside which won't work in our system (see reggie bush) or i think they'll spend too much time dancing in the backfield...forte is starting to win me over and beat out charles for that fifth spot...just like charles's homerun speed

[foozball]

what about kevin smith? the guy is tailor made for the ZBS. he's a little faster than choice, just as big and physical, and he's a little quicker and more elusive. just as good of vision and instincts.

[Coach]

kevin smith to be honest i haven't seen that much tape on him yet...i know he performed well beyond expectations at the combine...i know he was highly productive this past year...and i will try and get some tapes on him...but as of right now i'd just like to rank the players i've actually seen tape on

[Otisbean]

I like Choice quite a bit as well. I have only seen Smith play once and he looked terrific. Either guy in the 3rd or 4th would be a good choice.

[O.G.]

let me tell you about tashard choice...this kid made a dumb move when he was a senior in high school...he decided to go to OU to compete with Adrian Peterson...out of high school Choice was still a 4 star recruit...heavily recruited...had a ton of talent and still does

the best thing about choice is that his skills match the zone blocking scheme perfectly...he's not affraid of contact...he runs great between the tackles...he's not a sit there and juke you guy...he'll make that one cut and go...and he has terrific vision...this guy is really underrated...i have him rated as high has ray rice and just a notch below jonathan stewart...in fact due to our system here is my top five for RB's

1. rashard mendenhall
2. jonathan stewart
3. tashard choice
4. ray rice
5. jamaal charles

i've left off guys like darren mcfadden, felix jones, and chris johnson because i don't believe those backs are one cut and go guys...those are the guys who try to either bounce it outside which won't work in our system (see reggie bush) or i think they'll spend too much time dancing in the backfield...forte is starting to win me over and beat out charles for that fifth spot...just like charles's homerun speed


I can agree with that list Coach, I like the first two for the simple fact that they can be 3 down backs with a mixure of a pass receiving back on certain situations.

[O.G.]

BTW, what are Choice's measurables?

[LORK 88]

BTW, what are Choice's measurables?
5'11" 215, 4.54 40 time, 34" vertical, 6.88 3 cone time

[Otisbean]

Those are very solid numbers for a RB.

[Coach]

well like i've said before 40 times don't mean squat to me since they don't run in pads...if you watch choice run...his legs never stop moving...i really do think that's the key to being a successful RB in the NFL...you can always see guys who stop their feet and their legs...they don't break tackles and they get hit...backs like choice, mendenhall, stewart, and rice don't stop their feet

[foozball]

from what ive watched, he can be a solid back for us if we execute the ZBS properly. he's not gonna be a pro bowl game changing RB....ever most likely, but with his vision and ability to hit the holes and with his solid speed, he should easily crack 1000 yards. he's got decent strength and power, so he'll be able to break few tackles, but i dont see him being elusive enough to make alot of big plays. now that i think about it, he's a bigger stronger version of darius walker. very similar tools and intangibles.

[Otisbean]

Would you be happy if Choice ended up being a healthy version of Domanick? I would be very happy with this and I would be even happier if we could get him in the 4th.

[ubecool454]

Would you be happy if Choice ended up being a healthy version of Domanick? I would be very happy with this and I would be even happier if we could get him in the 4th.

I've seen this guy play and he is ok at best. If he is going to be another Domanick Davis for us then I really don't want him..I never liked Domanick Davis in the Texans Backfield. Mendenhall , Stewart, Matt Forte or Kevin Smith are the only RBS for us.

[TexansFan03]

I've seen this guy play and he is ok at best. If he is going to be another Domanick Davis for us then I really don't want him..I never liked Domanick Davis in the Texans Backfield. Mendenhall , Stewart, Matt Forte or Kevin Smith are the only RBS for us.

Mendenhall , Stewart, Matt Forte, Ray Rice, or Kevin Smith.

FIXED...

[O.G.]

Mendenhall , Stewart, Matt Forte, Ray Rice, or Kevin Smith.

FIXED...

Yeah I saw lil Ray Ray at the Texas Bowl in Reliant two years ago. Definitely worthy of being on that field.

[O.G.]

from what ive watched, he can be a solid back for us if we execute the ZBS properly. he's not gonna be a pro bowl game changing RB....ever most likely, but with his vision and ability to hit the holes and with his solid speed, he should easily crack 1000 yards. he's got decent strength and power, so he'll be able to break few tackles, but i dont see him being elusive enough to make alot of big plays. now that i think about it, he's a bigger stronger version of darius walker. very similar tools and intangibles.

Kind of like how Dominque Davis (Williams) was. Hell, I would be happy with him for those first few years we had him now you know.

[Otisbean]

I've seen this guy play and he is ok at best. If he is going to be another Domanick Davis for us then I really don't want him..I never liked Domanick Davis in the Texans Backfield. Mendenhall , Stewart, Matt Forte or Kevin Smith are the only RBS for us.

Now don't get me wrong, I like all the RBs you mentioned better but I think they are going to go LT or CB in the round 1 and I am not sure any of the guys you mentioned will be there in the 3rd for us - I could be wrong. I thought DD was an above average RB, especially with regards to pure running ability. I am not sure what his pass blocking was like, but he ran the ball well. If choice turned out to be that good I would be happy.

[foozball]

tashard choice's 10 yd split....1.50 seconds...compared to dmac at 1.51 and 1.57 for mendenhall

[BIG TRAV]

I look at the intangibles sp? over the measurables and this kid has some heart and love for the game. This is a video i found on youtube and it gives me goosebumps everytime i watch it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jAOkxgvboPk&feature=related

[LORK 88]

I'd take him in a heartbeat if he was the version of Domanick Davis who has cartilage in his knee. Davis had 1776 yards rushing/receiving in one season for us and had our running game ranked the highest it's ever been. As for Choice though, one thing I really like about him is that he's a smart and hard runner. He won't wow you with speed or isn't incredibly strong, but he knows where he's supposed to go and can get yards after contact. Probably my favorite thing about him is that he is very shifty with his cuts and will do them at all levels of the defense. He will duck out of bounds when he knows the run is over with or make incredible cuts to gain more yards. If we get him in the 3rd or 4th I'll be happy, he could really help our team and from what I've seen he's a good team leader.

[Otisbean]

I know what you are saying, I also liked the vision and balance I saw in the Senior Bowl. Admittedly that is the only time I saw him play but I was very impressed. I am officially on the best CB/LT in rd 1 and Choice in rd 3 band wagon.

[foozball]

i think we should be able to get him in round 4. he's at best the 9th rated RB. the last time a RB draft was this deep, the 9th RB went at the top of round 4. thats assuming he's the 9th RB. most will have him 10th, but i have chris johnson rated lower than most. then steve slaton might also jump up there. making choice 11th.

DMC
Mendenhall
Stewart
Forte
Smith
Rice
Jones
Charles
Choice
Johnson
Slaton
Boyd

thats my RB rankings, but theyll probably go more like...

DMC
Mendenhall
Stewart
Jones
Forte
Johnson
Charles
Smith
Rice
Choice
Slaton
Boyd

[foozball]

more info on choice

measured in at 5'10 5/8 at the senior bowl and weighed in at 210lbs...he measured in 215lbs at the combine. ran somewhere between 4.50 and 4.52 at the combine. if he drops back down to 210lbs, he'll probably be able to shave a few hundredths off, but i like him at 215lbs. he's got good footwork and timed 6.88 in the 3 cone.

im starting to like choice in the 4th over smith in the 3rd.

[Otisbean]

Also, according to the scout on LZ's blog there are character issues with regard to Smtih. Alittle tid bit for you, I am a strength and conditioning coach and if you see a guy with a good VJ then I can almost guarantee he will have fast 10 and 20yd splits which I think is important for a RB. If you check out texantalk I mentioned this about 7-10 days ago. On LZ's blog this morning the scout mentioned that Choice did indeed have very quick 10 and 20 yd splits. Choice also put up good numbers in the agility drill, which is also a good indicator of his change of direction ability. I am really hoping this is our guy.

[foozball]

Tashard Choice / G.Tech: "My sleeper. He runs a 4.5 but his 10 and 20 yard splits are very quick. He had an injury that really hampered him. He looked tremendous when healthy."

Kevin Smith / UCF: "I like the player but not the person. He's got some potentially character issues. I still think he's a good back worthy of a 3rd or 4th, but I like Choice better."

Scout's view from LZ's blog

[ubecool454]

Tashard Choice / G.Tech: "My sleeper. He runs a 4.5 but his 10 and 20 yard splits are very quick. He had an injury that really hampered him. He looked tremendous when healthy."

Kevin Smith / UCF: "I like the player but not the person. He's got some potentially character issues. I still think he's a good back worthy of a 3rd or 4th, but I like Choice better."

Scout's view from LZ's blog

Can you expound on these "character issues"?

[foozball]

i really dont know what they are. maybe something to do with his intelligence? he doesnt strike me to be the smartest person around. but i havent heard anything as far as trouble with the law.

[Coach]

after watching some of the coaching tapes i got on kevin smith i still have choice ranked above him...i think phsyically they are pretty equal as far as talent but i do believe choice has better vision

that being said i also believe smith has better agility

smith's character issues are unknown to me at this time

[foozball]

i like smith a bit better. he has a bit better burst through the hole and better top end speed. id be happy with either. both seem to fit perfectly