Hubbard says he might have rushed back

[Mr. Scot]

We theorized this was possible...

[Khyber53]

Rico deserved his garlands, the guy flat out played lights out when we had to rely on him. Chuba, we seemed to forget was also a steady, sturdy running back himself, and when he didn't come back and set the world on fire, a lot of folks were basically calling him a bum for it.

Let's be honest, though, we've got two excellent running backs and 11 weeks into the season they have had their bumps and bruises. Goes with the game. We've got the latest bye game possible and we're rotating them, so maybe down the stretch when the cold wind blows those two guys can just keep pounding the opposing teams into submission.

 

[OneBadCat]

Chuba looked a lot faster last week. His burst might be back.

[TylerDurden]

Yeah, Chuba looked better against ATL.  He had some more burst.  He looked slow and heavy the weeks prior.  And interestingly enough, Rico didn’t look quite as sturdy or explosive against ATL, as he came into it banged up.  I hope they both feel better going into the San Fran game, as they’ll have an extra day of prep, and then I hope they both get back to as close to in-season 100% as possible after the bye week.  We need them.

[Donald LaFell]

8 minutes ago, OneBadCat said:

Chuba looked a lot faster last week. His burst might be back.

Yeah he has a “springy” quality when he’s at his best. I’m always really impressed how he navigates traffic. Dowdle will always be faster but when a team is really loading the box I wonder if a healthy Hubbard might be more effective. 

[PootieNunu]

I already knew this, he was scared of job security because of the numbers Rico was putting up. 

Can't say I blame him but it hurt the team. 

[cranky]

The best part is they compliment each other. Chuba is a more patient runner, patiently waiting for gaps to form while Rico is more explosive.

I wish they would use Rico more like McCaffery was used - getting him the ball in space to take advantage of his explosivness and violence. Then have Chuba pound the middle for the tough yards.

Edited November 19, 2025 by cranky
too wordy

[Swaggasaurus]

I don’t care. He’s got bricks for hands and consistently fugs up drives because of it. So does JT Sanders. So does bi-weekly Legette.

[Bear Hands]

At the end of the day, I doubt either are even here in 2 years. Hope they can crush it together the remainder of the season

[PleaseCutStewart]

Chuba's problem for the games he looked bad is that he looked hesitant and didn't know where to run. He actually seemed to be thinking less and just running Sunday, which helped.

[Samppson]

I know teams have been selling out to stop the run, but Ricos kind of fallen off a cliff.. not sure if hes hurt or just worn down but even when theres a hole he doesnt look anything like he did those few weeks prior.

[Bear Hands]

5 minutes ago, Samppson said:

I know teams have been selling out to stop the run, but Ricos kind of fallen off a cliff.. not sure if hes hurt or just worn down but even when theres a hole he doesnt look anything like he did those few weeks prior.

We have one of the better run OLs in the league and played susceptible run defenses. He took full advantage. While Chuba was coming off injury.

Part of the reason I wasn’t getting excited about a soon to be 28 year old back.

Just gotta take it a week at a time and see how the rest of the year unfolds. It’s the RB position so we really shouldn’t get hyped about it unless we’ve got a Gibbs or Taylor situation on our hands.

 

[kungfoodude]

1 hour ago, PootieNunu said:

I already knew this, he was scared of job security because of the numbers Rico was putting up. 

Can't say I blame him but it hurt the team. 

Nah, that "hurting the team" is on Dave Canales. An NFL team isn't an egalitarian entity. Dave should be the one recognizing this sort of thing.

TBH, his cycle of realization typically seems to be measured in days and weeks and never in real time during a game. 

He is gonna have to fix that or his future as an NFL HC will be very bleak.

[kungfoodude]

Just now, Bear Hands said:

We have one of the better run OLs in the league and played susceptible run defenses. He took full advantage. While Chuba was coming off injury.

Part of the reason I wasn’t getting excited about a soon to be 28 year old back.

Just gotta take it a week at a time and see how the rest of the year unfolds. It’s the RB position so we really shouldn’t get hyped about it unless we’ve got a Gibbs or Taylor situation on our hands.

 

New Orleans and Atlanta were some of the worst rush defenses too 

Everyone is just selling out as hard as possible because of how bad Bryce Young has been.

If the team wants to open it back up at the LOS, it's going to take Bryce taking what they give him week in and week out.

Case on point, after that insane performance Sunday, his game CPOE was -0.7%.

Translation: He basically took the opportunities given to him. He wasn't threading it into tight windows or making bananas throws. He was just simply taking advantage of the Falcons lack of faith in his ability to throw. That has to continue.