Adam Robinson - Two observations

B

BQuastU

Well-Known Member
1. He is probably the slowest starting RB in the Big Ten, but is also one of the best - as a sophmore, no less.

2. If its true that he was effectively a throw-in recruit to get Jordan Bernstine, who was reportedly his close friend in HS, its funny how the recruiting process ends up playing itself out, as Robinson is indispensable to a team shooting for the Rose Bowl and Bernstine is an afterthought.
 
Well, that would be interesting if true, and he is a slow back but does a nice job of letting blocking develop and is good at breaking tackles we sure need him for sure.
 
He is probably as fast as Royster, and I doubt that recruiting story is true as Adam is a year younger.
 
A lot of assumptions and premises I don't agree with.

BQuastU said:
1. He is probably the slowest starting RB in the Big Ten, but is also one of the best - as a sophmore, no less.

2. If its true that he was effectively a throw-in recruit to get Jordan Bernstine, who was reportedly his close friend in HS, its funny how the recruiting process ends up playing itself out, as Robinson is indispensable to a team shooting for the Rose Bowl and Bernstine is an afterthought.
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I have no idea if Robinson is the slowest RB in the Big 10. It doesn't really matter to me. On what basis are you saying he is "one of the best"? He's 6th in the league in rushing. At this point of the season it's impossible to say who the "best" is, given the huge games that some backs have put up against inferior opponents. Take a look 4 games into the conference schedule, look at conference games only, and then you'll have a more clear picture of who the best back is.

To your second point, I have never heard he was a throw-in to get Bernstine. Iowa doesn't usually operate that way. Way to relagate Bernstine to an afterthought. As a true freshman, he played in all the games and on special teams (as are some of the true freshman this year). Then his sophomore season he was the nickel back, on the field a lot, playing behind Fletcher (now in the NFL) and Spievey (in the NFL). Then just as he was ready to start in 2009, he breaks his leg in camp and has to sit out the whole year. Now he's back, but my guess is he's not yet back to what he was prior to the injury. He plays on many of our special teams and will likely make a very good safety next year in Greenwood's spot and is very good depth this year. I dislike it when fans dismiss players as failures when outcomes aren't what we think they should be.
Does Robinson become "indispensable" if Jewel Hampton never gets hurt in 2009 camp and then again this year? Or of Wegher doesn't go through goodness knows what and basically leave the team this year? Maybe he would have emerged anyway, but sometimes there is some fortune involved in whether or not a player gets the chance to shine. Kudos to Robinson for being ready when called upon. He doesn't fumble, always lines up in the right spot, has good patience/vision for this system. He doesn't have elite speed, but he is what he is, and I'm happy to cheer for him.
 
Gotta love the backhanded compliments. I was thinking about posting the week after Jewel went down and how everyone (including me) thought the sky was falling, looking to Coker, Rogers, Johnson, etc. BQuastU, you're right, Robinson is probably one of the best in the Big 10, and is tied for #9 RB in country for most touchdowns...not too shabby for a slow ;) guy.

After reading posts, it made me stop and think, "What if ARob gets on here and reads these posts?" There wasnt much love floating around for him...granted he didnt have a great Arizona game, but just put yourselves in his shoes. You have some of the best fans in the country, and instead of rallying around our #1 guy, we (myself included) were looking past him. I know that would p*ss me off, so ARob, if you reading this, HAwkeye Nation is SO PROUD (insert paul rhoads humor) you're our #1. Go kick some Nittany Lion butt.
 
I don't think Shonn Greene was the fastest guy in the world either, but he was patient, let his blocks develop, hit the holes hard and was rarely brought down by one tackler. I would even suggest that A-Rob is more of a threat as a receiver that Shonn was too, so I love the way A-Rob plays this position...especially as a sophomore!
 
Re: A lot of assumptions and premises I don't agree with.

DodgerHawki said:
I have no idea if Robinson is the slowest RB in the Big 10. It doesn't really matter to me. On what basis are you saying he is "one of the best"? He's 6th in the league in rushing. At this point of the season it's impossible to say who the "best" is, given the huge games that some backs have put up against inferior opponents. Take a look 4 games into the conference schedule, look at conference games only, and then you'll have a more clear picture of who the best back is.

To your second point, I have never heard he was a throw-in to get Bernstine. Iowa doesn't usually operate that way. Way to relagate Bernstine to an afterthought. As a true freshman, he played in all the games and on special teams (as are some of the true freshman this year). Then his sophomore season he was the nickel back, on the field a lot, playing behind Fletcher (now in the NFL) and Spievey (in the NFL). Then just as he was ready to start in 2009, he breaks his leg in camp and has to sit out the whole year. Now he's back, but my guess is he's not yet back to what he was prior to the injury. He plays on many of our special teams and will likely make a very good safety next year in Greenwood's spot and is very good depth this year. I dislike it when fans dismiss players as failures when outcomes aren't what we think they should be.
Does Robinson become "indispensable" if Jewel Hampton never gets hurt in 2009 camp and then again this year? Or of Wegher doesn't go through goodness knows what and basically leave the team this year? Maybe he would have emerged anyway, but sometimes there is some fortune involved in whether or not a player gets the chance to shine. Kudos to Robinson for being ready when called upon. He doesn't fumble, always lines up in the right spot, has good patience/vision for this system. He doesn't have elite speed, but he is what he is, and I'm happy to cheer for him.
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Saginawbay,
It seems to me we already know about Robinson and Big Ten stats. Last year gave us a pretty good picture of what he is and where he stands. 4th in the league in rushing (834 yards) as a redshirt freshman who also missed considerable time. And when listening to the good captain you hear how he has improved from last year. I think we need to look at other things beyond yards. His blocking is solid, he never fumbles the ball, and he can catch the ball coming out of the backfield well. If he is not one of the best backs in teh Big 10 then the Big 10 has an amazing number of great backs. Who is the best in your opinion?
 
CallMeDragon said:
I don't think Shonn Greene was the fastest guy in the world either, but he was patient, let his blocks develop, hit the holes hard and was rarely brought down by one tackler. I would even suggest that A-Rob is more of a threat as a receiver that Shonn was too, so I love the way A-Rob plays this position...especially as a sophomore!
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I hate to get in this thread because I do like Robinson as a RB in this system, but Greene showed the ability to pull away in the open field while Robinson seems to get caught from behind. But in a year like this when we have homerun threats at both WR positions, I don't think we necessarily need that RB that can break on the 70 yard run to the house. What we need the RB who can consistently get us 3-4 yards on first and second down so that we have manageable 3rd downs, and that is exactly what Robinson is.
 
jfwolfe said:
Saginawbay,
It seems to me we already know about Robinson and Big Ten stats. Last year gave us a pretty good picture of what he is and where he stands. 4th in the league in rushing (834 yards) as a redshirt freshman who also missed considerable time. And when listening to the good captain you hear how he has improved from last year. I think we need to look at other things beyond yards. His blocking is solid, he never fumbles the ball, and he can catch the ball coming out of the backfield well. If he is not one of the best backs in teh Big 10 then the Big 10 has an amazing number of great backs. Who is the best in your opinion?
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I think it is easily John Clay. He's a beast, I hate that he chose Wisky over Iowa, but he's a beast. Saine from OSU is pretty good too, but all the hype goes to Pryor, so Saine doesn't get much notice.
 
-The slow comment is ignorant without some evidence to back it up, no offense but don't just say conclusory statements like that

-The recruiting story is just ridiculous. Does anybody think Kirk would give a scholarship to a guy he didn't really want just to land another player? Players dont dictate to Kirk what he does, if that was said by Bernstein then Kirk would have wished him good luck and moved on.
 
hawkinn3 said:
-The slow comment is ignorant without some evidence to back it up, no offense but don't just say conclusory statements like that

-The recruiting story is just ridiculous. Does anybody think Kirk would give a scholarship to a guy he didn't really want just to land another player? Players dont dictate to Kirk what he does, if that was said by Bernstein then Kirk would have wished him good luck and moved on.
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The most recent evidence I would point to is his great run after catch last week when he got caught at the goal line. He is clearly not a fast running back.

I have no idea if the recruiting story is true, but have heard it thrown around since he broke in last year.

Its not an insult, back-handed compliment or negative statement to state that Adam Robinson is one of the best running backs in the Big Ten while at the same time not being fast. Some of you are very sensitive, but that's okay.
 
Hey, if he is he is, I don't really care but I just don't have any evidence to say. Is he the fastest? That run you described would say no, but is he the slowest? No way to know.
 
CallMeDragon said:
I don't think Shonn Greene was the fastest guy in the world either, but he was patient, let his blocks develop, hit the holes hard and was rarely brought down by one tackler. I would even suggest that A-Rob is more of a threat as a receiver that Shonn was too, so I love the way A-Rob plays this position...especially as a sophomore!
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for whatever reason Greene gets more credit for being a bruiser rather than a speedster. Greene is very fast.

And, credit to the previous poster stating the simple fact that Robinson was in a class one year after Bernstine.
 
Robinson really came on this year as a running back. His blocking, cuts, pass catching are all better, but he is slow. The trick with him for D backs is wait till he passes then chase him down.
 
hawkinn3 said:
-The slow comment is ignorant without some evidence to back it up, no offense but don't just say conclusory statements like that

-The recruiting story is just ridiculous. Does anybody think Kirk would give a scholarship to a guy he didn't really want just to land another player? Players dont dictate to Kirk what he does, if that was said by Bernstein then Kirk would have wished him good luck and moved on.
Click to expand...

i believe it was more a case where they were recruiting bernstine and through that process they had an opportunity to see what adam had to offer. not like it was a package deal, but he was not as heavily recruited as jordan. this is my impression of the situation. i believe it was similar to ed hinkel and bob sanders. i may be wrong, but i think they discovered bob through recruiting ed. if true, very interesting how that can work out.
 
This was intended to be a pro-Adam Robinson thread.

Maybe an analogy will help:

A guy observes: "My wife is one of the best looking chicks in the neighborhood, even if she isn't very tall."

What is the guy really saying? That he appreciates that his wife is babe or that he wishes she were taller?
 
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