Peyton Hillis

Charles is a lot like Chris Johnson, a pure speed back. Johnson's already lost some of his speed even though he's still young and hasn't been injured. He looked terrible for most of 2011.

It's unlikely that Charles will be as fast as he was before he was injured, and if that's the case there will be noticeably fewer long runs, combined with a lot of carries for losses and no gains. I have faith in the Hillis Curse striking again in 2012!

Yeah but I reallly don't think there needs to be a curse for Hillis to break 1k. Charles is like Chris Johnson but Chris has a bulkier frame, even though he is listed at a smaller weight, obviously not all weights are the same. They tested Chris out his first year splitting carries with Lendale White and saw that he could handle a bigger load with no problems and made him the feature back. I think they were trying to do the same with Charles and realized that he isn't a guy that can handle 250+ carries.

Having an awesome duo for just this year might be more beneficial for Whites to break back into the position in the long run. There are a ton of smaller black scat backs that come out every year that can't handle more than a few carries a game. Pairing scat backs with a bigger back is the big thing now or a rbbc where each back can only do one thing (usually get injured). There are more Whites built to fill the role of the bigger back (even if they can do it all, being that the bigger black backs can't run to the outside, can't catch or pass block like Michael Bush, Blount etc), I just think its a problem with people accepting a White guy as the "FEATURE guy", similiar to how they can't accept a White guy as a "number 1" receiver.

But I think you are right, Charles speed will break down eventually and Hillis will produce, the obvious choice is to increase the amount of carries Hillis gets in the future. I just see it as kind of easing our way into the position so dwfs can slowly wrap their heads around it.

I think its our best shot if we ever want to see Hester and Leonard get any type of role touching the ball before they are past their prime. Things are only getting better, looking at the past few drafts there are fewer backs with the skillset to be the feature guy, almost none with teams having to make due sometimes, like with the Bucs and Blount, who is a good runner but can't catch or pass block.

We slowly made process at wide receiver with Welker originally being considered a number 3 receiver, to being the number 1 receiver last year. Hillis has proven he can be a feature back, but guys like Curtis and Bennet proved they could be the number 1 receiver. The same thing with Safety, not long ago it was just a few backups that managed to get a little time in the rotation in certain nickel and dime packages and now we have quite a few starting safeties. I think its going to be similar for the rb position, a slow transition, it is a two back league for most teams, so hopefully it works to our benefit to where we get some feature guys in.

and hopefully, dwfs will eventually start to question why are there 20+ teams that use 2 to 3 backs splitting carries, sometimes 4 and only 2 White guys in the rotation out of all of these? (Hillis and Woodhead....Gerhart only gets carries when Peterson is out). Do they really believe that Whites aren't even capable of getting 100 carries like a Pierre Thomas?

RB Peyton Hillis eager for new start with Chiefs

Now begins the restoration of reputation for Peyton Hillis.

The running back, dogged in Cleveland last year by reports that he might want to retire and even try a new career, will get a fresh start in Kansas City. Perhaps best of all, he's back with Brian Daboll, who ran the offense in Cleveland when Hillis enjoyed the finest season of his four-year NFL career.

"If I have to come here and build up my reputation again in a lot of peoples' eyes, I can do that because I know what kind of a player I am and I'm very excited about the opportunity," the versatile 250-pounder said Thursday.

The Chiefs, determined to upgrade the second-lowest scoring offense in the NFL, formally announced they had signed Hillis to a one-year contract, for a reported $3 million. He'll be counted on to provide a big-back partner for speedy Jamaal Charles, who went to the Pro Bowl in 2010 but missed almost all last season with a knee injury.
"I've never been healthier and never been more excited about playing football," Hillis said in a conference call.

Kansas City also agreed to terms with tight end Kevin Boss, who spent one year with Oakland after playing his first four seasons with the New York Giants. His deal is worth $9 million over three years.

Hillis has rushed for 2,161 yards and 20 touchdowns in four seasons, and has caught 101 passes for 805 yards and three scores. While Charles was rushing for 1,467 yards and leading the NFL with 6.38 yards per carry in 2010, Hillis, under the tutelage of Daboll, was rushing for 1,177 yards and 11 TDs.
Daboll left to become Miami's offensive co-ordinator in 2011 and Hillis' fortunes sank, along with much of his health and dignity. Slowed by injuries, he appeared in only 10 games while rushing for 587 yards. A bad year was made even worse by reports he had threatened to retire and was mulling over a career as a U.S. spy.

Just how true those reports were, Hillis isn't saying.
"Well, you can't please everybody," he said. "What was said in the past, nobody will ever know. It's pretty much one person's word against the other. But I have no fallbacks there. I really enjoyed my time in Cleveland. The CIA talks and retirement talks were just horrendous."

Hillis, a seventh-round draft pick from Arkansas in 2008 who has played both running back and fullback, could even start at running back if Charles' knee surgery has not sufficiently healed at the beginning of the year. That could be up to Daboll, who became KC's offensive co-ordinator in February.
"Coach Daboll and I have a really great relationship," Hillis said. "I know the playbook and I know what he represents and it seemed like a perfect fit."

It was Daboll's confidence in him that brought out his best, Hillis said.

"I think it was just the point he believed in me and believed what I could do. And what he does, works," he said. "I think he's proved out wherever he's been. I'm very excited about this and very excited about being a Chief."

Apparently rebuffed in their admitted desire to pursue free agent quarterback Peyton Manning, the Chiefs needed to move quickly to start improvements on their offense.

"We are happy that Peyton decided to join us," head coach Romeo Crennel said. "Peyton is a big, strong, physical back with a lot of talent and he should fit into our system well. We are looking forward to working with him and adding him into our offense."

Hillis reportedly had trouble with teammates last season. He sat out Cleveland's game on Sept. 25 against Miami with a bout of strep throat and missed a treatment for his ailing hamstring when he left during a work week to get married.

Making his year even more topsy-turvy, he changed agents more than once and even said at one point that the entire year had made him "believe in curses."

Now, he says, he feels no need to rebuild his reputation.

"Not at all. I think how I played in the past and where I've been, it can speak for itself and I feel like everywhere I've been I've produced and I've done well with the opportunities I've got and it will be the same here," he said. "And I know that. I play for me, myself and my family, and for the Chiefs. I'm very excited for the opportunity and hope everything works out.

"I think that a lot of people wanted to show that I could prove myself again and if that's the case, I'm more than happy doing it. I saw this as an opportunity to be reunited with coach Daboll and with (general manager) Scott Pioli and coach Crennel because they're great people."


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AlY3Gy9PreUckNuhkG9Y3xX.uLYF?slug=capress-fbn_chiefs_hillis-17365573

as long as they don't sign Tolbert who would definitely get some touches, stealing them from Peyton!

i'd be really pissed if that happened.

also, on a positive note, Chiefs got Kevin Boss so at least there'll be three white skill players on the offense (with Cassell). Boss can block as well, so that helps!

I wish Peyton Hillis the best with the Chiefs and that he ends up being The Man in KC!

Colonel_Reb said:

I wish Peyton Hillis the best with the Chiefs and that he ends up being The Man in KC!

Click to expand...

We'll have to see how Brian Daboll uses Hillis and Charles in the offense. If he does something similar to a couple of years ago when Charles and Jones essentially split carries, and both had well over 200 touches, it would be awesome.

FootballDad said:

We'll have to see how Brian Daboll uses Hillis and Charles in the offense. If he does something similar to a couple of years ago when Charles and Jones essentially split carries, and both had well over 200 touches, it would be awesome.

Click to expand...

Yessir, I'd settle for that as well!

As I recall, Daboll was very unpopular here on the board two years ago because of his stale play calling and scheming, and among Cleveland DWFs too for that matter. Kansas City had the second worst offense in the NFL in 2011, so we'll have to wait and see if it's much better this season or not.

Don Wassall said:

As I recall, Daboll was very unpopular here on the board two years ago because of his stale play calling and scheming...

Click to expand...

Only because we didn't realize how bad Shurmur would be in comparison.

Don Wassall said:

As I recall, Daboll was very unpopular here on the board two years ago because of his stale play calling and scheming, and among Cleveland DWFs too for that matter. Kansas City had the second worst offense in the NFL in 2011, so we'll have to wait and see if it's much better this season or not.

Click to expand...

I think Mangini was overriding him, surrounding talent or a combination of both. He was in Miami last year and managed to get 1,000 yards rushing out of Reggie Bush. Thats not an easy task and he got around 600 out of Daniel Thomas who doesn't look to have an impressive skillset. The offense he was running looked totally different than in Cleveland. But yeah it was frustrating to watch him line up 4 receiver sets, not one the guys a threat to get seperation and have Hillis run straight up the gut. It might have been similar in Miami as well because the week after they fired Tony , Bush put up 200 yards rushing.

They said Tony had become distracted around the second half of the season which is when they went 5-3, and the last part of the season is when Bush put up his big numbers and the offense looked better.

I know Mangini was known to be a little more conservative on offense. It was weird, in beginning they were running a variety of plays, inside zone, stretch, toss play Hillis doing well on all of the play calls.
and then after a while it just became straight up the gut almost every carry. It was like what happened to the creativity like they had against the Saints? All I know is that Mangini has a job on tv and Daboli is still coaching, so I will remain optomistic.

Miami's offense improved from 30th to 20th with Daboli as coordinator, so a similar situation in Kansas.

He will have a similar set up with the Chiefs. He has Bowe, similar to Marshall, big physical receiver, except his hands are even worse, but hes good for some big plays. McCluster could be put back into the slot and fill the role Bess had.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him have Hillis run the wildcat with Charles lined up at tailback. That would be a great game to watch if they used that against the Broncos.

Chiefs signed former Texan right offensive tackle Eric Winston to a contract today....that's after signing Peyton Hillis, Kevin Boss and Brady Quinn over the last few days.....I'll be watching me some Chiefs this year!

Lilja, Wiegmann and Winston are going to be starters on o-line along with Brendan Albert (is he any good?) and someone else, if i am not mistaken. that bodes pretty well for Peyton.

can anyone say Alstott? Say whatever you want about Browns, they haven't once played him as a fullback last season... here we go:

Peyton Hillis - RB - Chiefs

Coach Romeo Crennel indicated that "all-purpose back" Peyton Hillis' role will be game-plan specific this season.

"He's shown he can do everything. He can catch. He can run. He can block," said Crennel. "He might line up at fullback, he might line up at running back. There might be times where he'll be in the backfield with Jamaal (Charles) or Dexter McCluster." While the signing makes plenty of sense for the Chiefs, the fantasy values and consistent production of Hillis and Charles will both suffer in 2012.
Related: Jamaal Charles

Source: Kansas City Star

I wouldn't worry too much, the same thing was said when he went to the Browns with Holmgren saying that he would be a hybrid fb/rb. He did line up at fullback, including last season but the only reason was to either pass block or run a route. The only benefit I can see in this is having both him and Charles on the field at the same time. They will realize that Peyton isn't a great run blocker at the NFL level and his only value in that spot is to be a decoy or to run routes. I wouldn't mind seeing them run the old split back sets. The last time a team did that a bunch was the Saints in 2006 with Deuce McCallister and Reggie Bush.

Hillis is much better than Deuce and Charles is much better than Bush. McCluster is a backup rb at best. He is a guy that can fill in case of emergencies but he should not be taking carries away from either guys. He should probably focus on his original slot receiver role and get the route running down, as that will be his best way to play. He can't pound it up the middle and has no homerun ability. He is a guy that will get you 10 to 20 yards if you give him a bunch of space.

Another way to get Hillis and Charles on the field at the same time is to run the wildcat, which Daboli is sort of known for running. It was mentioned on here I believe that the original wildcat was designed with Hillis in mind, he has shown he can throw. They don't have a ton of faith in Cassel and want to make it as easy as possible on him from what I have read.

I think his role will be determined on how much say Daboli has. I can see Crennel screwing him over. In an interview Peyton mentioned that Daboli saw him as a fullback type when he first got to Cleveland but soon realized he was more of a featured back. Crennel might let the color of Peyton's skin affect what he sees.

He just needs to be horrible at run blocking. He won't be able to pull a Michael Bush or Mike Bell with the short leash he has. And from I have seen of his run blocking, its not the greatest, not even on Hester's level. And why should he be? he is a runningback. He can throw an occasional block but to expect him to leveling linebackers to create huge holes for Charles like Mike Karney or Jed Collins is living in fantasy land.

Weenieworld thinks Hillis will have difficulty making a single cut:

New Chiefs RT Eric Winston revealed in a written interview with SI.com's Peter King that Kansas City will run a zone-blocking scheme in 2012. Tackles Winston and Branden Albert are plenty athletic for the system, and LG Ryan Lilja has zone-blocking experience from his Indianapolis tenure. "Going in I wasn't expecting to hear that the Chiefs would run a zone-blocking scheme, but that's exactly what I heard," Winston said of his K.C. visit. "That was like icing on the cake." The Chiefs have a good enough line to spring Jamaal Charles for long gains as a one-cut runner. We're not sure newly acquired Peyton Hillis, a power back, fits quite as well.

Typical of Rotowuss.
Like most pseudoscouts in the age of the football blogger, they read some terminology and decide to make use of it without fully understanding it. They don't even know what zone-blocking is, but they're confident that only a scatback can run in it.
For their information, this video shows plenty of zone-blocking after the two minute mark. And Peyton picks up yardage just fine.
They apparently forgot that he was the starter for part of a season in a one-back offense in Denver.

yep, typical rotoworld

this is great news. Hillis excels in a zbs. Cleveland used zone blocking quite a bit in 2010, pretty much every team does a little bit now. The only difference was that Cleveland used a fullback, but the Texans do to at times. The only problem he had with it was his first two starts for Denver, he lacked patience and would just spring to the line, running into his own lineman at times. That isn't surprising since he was used to getting carries at fullback for a long time. Plus they ran mostly inside zone. By the Jets game he was patient, waiting for the hole to open up, great vision and explosion and they ran a variety of plays, he had 3 runs go for 19 yards. I think with the weight he lost during the offseason those would have been much longer (he looked ripped with the Browns compared to 2008 with the Broncos, probably beefed up to block)

I don't know how this is a surprise to any player, they were already running a mixture before hand. Charles had his best runs with zone blocking as well, but the difference was his best plays came with 6 linemen instead of 5, more potential gaps to cut back into depending on what the defense is doing. I don't know if they will be doing that this year.

I was reading up on the Browns line for 2009 and 2010, I thought they didn't run the stretch play enough because they thought Hillis was better just going straight up the middle. Apparently the RG and RT sucked at the stretch and were only good for inside zone because they were the same way with Harrison in 2009 as well.

This move fits Hillis just as much a Charles. I don't know what they ran last year, but they mostly ran inside and outside zone in 2010.

Here's a nice article.

Kansas City Chiefs' Running Back Peyton Hillis Will Become Instant Fan Favorite

Mar 28, 2012 - The Kansas City Chiefs have been more active during the free agency period this year than anytime in Scott Pioli regime thus far. So when they went out and signed running back Peyton Hillis, a former standout of new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's offense when they were in Cleveland together, fans had a right to be optimistic about the move.

Despite any rumored tension that may or may not have existed between Hillis and the Cleveland Browns' front office in regards to a multi-year contract that he was seeking while playing there, all that can really be said is it's their loss and our gain at this point for not getting it done. One thing is going to be very obvious from the moment that Hillis walks out of that tunnel at Arrowhead Stadium and the first time and the first time he carries the ball for the Chiefs next season, the fans at Arrowhead are going to love this guy. They're going to love the way he plays and the energy he brings to the field. The atmosphere at Arrowhead Stadium, which is already described by many as being one of the best in the NFL, will feed off the energy Hillis brings on every play.

Hillis is going to make an already loud stadium even louder with the kind of physical football that created the Arrowhead mystique in the first place. The players of the past like Christian Okoye, Will Shields, Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith brought a smash-mouth, we're-going-to-throw-you-around-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it attitude. This is the attitude that fans adopted while watching this kind of football years ago in Kansas City. They'll see this brand of football resurrected with not just the Hillis signing, but with Eric Winston and Kevin Boss as well. It was all three of these signings that showed a couple of things as to what the Chiefs are going to try and do next year.

The Chiefs are going back to their bread-and-butter of 2010 and they're going to pound the rock early and often. While most of today's NFL has become pass-happy and these spread offenses have become the newest fad, there's still something about the physical nature of running the football that gets the crowd on their feet and screaming. Sure, it's cool when your quarterback is chucking it all over the field and defenses can't stop you from passing the ball. But it's a whole different kind of animal when you can see the offensive line and running backs just physically dominating the line of scrimmage. At that point you're not leaving any doubt as to who won the game, and who beat-down who.

For all of those Chiefs fans that are lucky enough to see the first few carries that Hillis has inside Arrowhead Stadium this upcoming season, try and remember to check the decibel levels the first time a poor-little defensive back tries to get low and take Hillis down. It's going to be one of those goosebump type cheers that sticks with you long after the game is over.

Hillis will be a fan favorite before they even head to halftime their first game in Arrowhead. Bank on that Chiefs fans.

http://kansascity.sbnation.com/kans...eyton-hillis-will-become-instant-fan-favorite

Hillis Ready to Help Chiefs However He Can

Peyton Hillis signed with the Chiefs almost two months ago, and he’s still unsure what he will do in their backfield or how much he will play.

That’s fine with him, for now at least. Hillis has survived for four NFL seasons mostly without a clearly defined role.

“I couldn’t really say,†Hillis said. “But I have an open mind and I’m willing to do whatever. You know, for the past seven years I’ve had seven different head coaches and seven different playbooks. So when it comes to something like that, especially a guy like me that’s bounced around playing different positions throughout college and my professional career, really in your head and in your heart you really just can’t say, ‘Hey, this is what I’m going to do.’

“You’ve got to have an open mind. That’s what I’m going to do, and whatever role they’re going to give me, I’m going to try to be good at it and try to succeed.â€

The Chiefs like Hillis’ versatility, so he will probably share time as the featured running back with Jamaal Charles and perhaps also play some fullback.

Whatever he does, the Chiefs obviously have something in mind for Hillis, the first player they signed after free agency began in March.

“I can do a lot of things pretty good (but) not great,†he said. “But, then again, you want to be that guy that can play a lot of different positions so they can need you in a lot of different roles. Once that happens, once they see that, I think you’ll be used for a lot more things.â€

Hillis began his NFL career as a fullback with the Denver Broncos in 2008. Injuries to several other runners left the Broncos no choice but to make him their featured back for part of that season — and he played well.

Two years later, he was traded to Cleveland. The Browns initially weren’t sure how to use him, so at first he did a little of everything.

“When I came out of college to Denver, I was a starting fullback, and then seven running backs got hurt and they were like, ‘Well, I guess we’ve got to use you,’ †Hillis said. “They didn’t really want to. After that, I was playing running back. My second year in Denver came around and I was a third-string running back.

“Then, when I got traded to the Browns, they started me off playing a little running back, a little fullback, and once Jerome Harrison got hurt and got cut, I was the running back.â€
One reason Hillis signed with the Chiefs was to be reunited with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Hillis had his best NFL season in 2010 for the Browns with Daboll calling the plays. He rushed for 1,177 yards, caught 61 passes and scored 13 touchdowns that year.

“I know what his scheme presents, what he can bring, and I know he can use me in a lot of different situations,†Hillis said. “I also know we have another great back here in Jamaal Charles, and you know, having a complementary back like me come in there and help him, it’s not as fun when you take all the beating and all the pounding. So when you have a guy in there that you know is just as good, if not a lot better than you are, that’s really good, too.â€

Hillis went into last season in the final year of his previous contract. He was hoping to have a fine season that would set him up for a big offer. But injuries limited him to 10 games, and he was ineffective when he was in the lineup.

So Hillis settled for a one-year contract with the Chiefs.

“Whenever you’re having a down year, it’s always tough, especially when you expect a lot from yourself,†Hillis said. “Some bad things happened, but you move on from it. That’s what I’m taking for my mind-set this year — to come out here and do the best I can and help this team win. That’s what I’m most enjoying — just coming out here, having no pressure, coming out here to just play.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anybody just because I feel like if I just go somewhere and I get to play, I’m going to do my best and I’m going to be OK. As far as proving to everybody else, in my mind-set, I’m always hardest on myself. I come out and prove stuff to myself more than I prove stuff to everyone else.â€

To reach Adam Teicher, call 816-234-4875 or send email to ateicher@kcstar.com. Follow him at twitter.com/adamteicher

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/03/3592302/hillis-ready-to-help-chiefs-however.html#storylink=cpy

I wish Peyton the best and hope he gets significant playing time for the Chiefs. If the coaches are smart, they'll use him early and often.

So much for Hillis's "swelled head" and problematic ego. Gee, to those of us familiar with the Caste System, he sure sounds like every other "aw shucks" white player.

I don't like Hillis's comments here, obviously. It sounds like they are greasing the skids to move him back to his "proper" position, and make him a blocking dummy again. The fact that Jamal Charles is one of the legitimately good running backs is going to make things even harder on Hillis. Hopefully, Dabol being there will work in his favor.

Seriously, reading Hillis's comments, how could HE have been the reason for all those different agents, or for the Browns inability to sign him to a new contract?

I don't think he will be blocking for Charles. When he came to Cleveland they thought he would be a hybrid fullback/halfback. Daboli realized he couldn't run block at an NFL level but he could run at an NFL level. The only person we have to worry about is Crennel, he has this same fullback/halfback idea that the other guys had before seeing him in person. I think hybrid means that he will line up as a fullback in certain passing situations to run a route or stay behind to block while Charles runs a route, he would have to block a few times a game to keep defenses guessing though. However, Charles has never been the "featured back". In his breakout season Thomas Jones got 245 carries to Charles' 230, and Charles was averaging 6.4 ypc while Jones averaged 3.7 and didn't even come close to 1k. Before that Charles led the team in carries with 190 with 5.9 ypc, Larry Johnson had 132 with 2.9 ypc so there has to be a reason they don't trust him with a full load with his talent, the following year with Jones declined even more, the only game Charles was healthy for the entire thing he received 10 carries and 5 receptions, so there is something holding him/team management from giving a full workload. You would think they would've planned on it after he proved he could handle 230 carries in 2010 but the first game like I said, 10 carries. Plus he is coming off a knee injury, one of his bests attributes was his agility, for the first year backs usually don't trust the knee to cut. Hillis is a major upgrade over Thomas Jones or Larry Johnson and any scrub they have on the roster. Techincally they have extremely poor versions of Charles if he is injured in McCluster, but the drop off his huge. They have a real fullback on the roster right now, Shane Bannon 6'3 245 pounds out of Yale, don't know much about him, not sure what type of zbs they will run. In Denver under Shanahan they didn't, but the coach in Houston who worked under Shanahan uses a fullback quite a bit. Either way Hillis doesn't fit the mold.

This line put my mind at ease
"The Chiefs like Hillis’ versatility, so he will probably share time as the featured running back with Jamaal Charles and perhaps also play some fullback." It sounds like they are less sure of the fullback thing rather rather than the sharing time with Charles. I think it depends on how he looks in camp, so hopefully Hillis hasn't improved his run blocking.

i like your optimism, bud. let us hope and pray! ****, if i knew human sacrifice would help, i'd be tempted to find a volunteer...

Like Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles sounds overly eager to play as soon as possible. It may or may not have to do with Toby Gerhart and Peyton Hillis being ready and able to be workhorse backs if they're not ready. Maybe one or both will come back too soon and re-injure themselves. Oh that's right, it's not kosher to hope for that to happen.

Jamaal Charles (ACL surgery) guaranteed Wednesday that he will be medically cleared for the start of training camp. "When they let that cape off me, I’m ready to go," he said. "I’m ready to put my cleats back on and punish everybody in my way." Charles says he feels so good about his recovery that he could "play in a game today." Charles will head for a medical checkup on June 18, at which point he anticipates receiving clearance. He sounds likely to be a full-go on day one of training camp.

Well, Charles has seemed positive about Hillis being there. At least from what he I have read and what he has said himself. I think a workload split is a good deal for Hillis this season, if it works out like 2010 he can break 1k, regain his reputation, show that his production isn't a fluke and show that he is a team player and afterwards they can either give him an extended contract and have the best rb tandem in the league or another team can pick him up and make him a feature guy again.

This is one interview I remember reading:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...s-sees-peyton-hillis-as-another-thomas-jones/

“I feel like he’s the same as Thomas Jones,” Charles said. “He’s going to come in and get all the tough yards and all the power and I feel like that was the same thing when Thomas was here. I don’t really care, I’m not a selfish player, and I just want to win. If he can contribute to the team and put points on the board, why not? I don’t care about how many yards; I feel like every week if we win the game, I don’t have any complaints. He came in, we brought him in to win games. We didn’t bring him in to compete with each other, but we’ll compete with each other in a certain way. But I don’t think he’s on this team, I’m on that team, I want to beat him up. I want to train with him and be his best friend.”

I know Thomas Jones doesn't seem like the best compliment to compare someone to but the guy has had a productive career, and Charles is mostly referring to the 2010 season when Jones received more carries than him (245 to 230). If they split the carries up in a similar way than Hillis has a shot of breaking 1k, Jones averaged under 4 ypc. I think Charles knows he can't handle a full workload, he is 6'1 and 190 pounds, and I think the 190 is exaggerated a little bit, probably by about 10 pounds. Either way he can't pick up tough yards and it helps keep his name in the elite category with people citing his 6.1 career average which would be lower if he had to be in more of a featured role.

Either way his comments have made me remain optimistic, at least just for the sake of knowing that Hillis is going to stay at halfback.

Honestly I think its probably the best situation he could have ended up in this year, with Daboli who saw him as a feature guy and gave him a huge workload before. I know he is on a team with another elite guy but after all of the bs that has been spread he was going to have to split carries with someone, I don't think any team was going to make him a feature guy for 2012, so it might as well as be a 180 pound scatback that couldn't even handle a full workload before his knee injury. Hopefully it will lead to him being a featured back in the future but I can deal with splitting carries as long as he is getting enough to break 1k.

Charles did injure himself at the beginning of last season so he might be one of the few affletes that doesn't mind splitting carries with a White guy even its in a "yeah let him do all the grunt work" type way, time will tell because it could definetly change once Hillis actually gets to play and Charles realizes that Hillis is no Jones, he is going to get the first down and then some and win over many fans with his running style, where Jones was not a flashy player at all. Charles might change his attitude when Hillis is in the spotlight just as much.

As far as Peterson, he can run himself into the ground. He has had multiple injuries since Gerhart arrived and has tried to play through all of them. Amazing that he went from 18 fumbles in 2 seasons to just a few once Gerhart arrived. Playing on those injuries and coming back too soon is just going to shorten his career. It happens to White players all the time, except they don't do it for the same reasons as Peterson, they do it because most usually aren't allowed to miss any time without having to worry about being replaced, or in the case of Hillis last year, getting bad press from the media every time he missed a practice for a legitimate hamstring injury. Peterson doesn't have to worry about job security, the Vikings are going to give him every opportunity no matter how well Gerhart does, but if he wants to be an idiot I am all for it, more opportunities for Gerhart to shine.

Here is a positive I found while looking up that article, predictions for production in 2012 for Hillis and Charles

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ions-for-jamaal-charles-peyton-hillis-in-2012

Jamaal Charles
Rushing: 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns on 220 carries (5.2 YPC)
Receiving: 420 yards and three touchdowns on 45 receptions (9.33 avg.)

Peyton Hillis
Rushing: 1,024 yards and eight touchdowns on 256 carries (4.0 YPC)
Receiving: 169 yards and one touchdown on 26 receptions (6.5 avg.)

the ypc and yards per reception seem low for Hillis but overall nice prediction.