Jets' Breece Hall Showed He's a Superstar Against Dolphins
Back when I was growing up in the 1980s, Breece Hall would have been a top-10 pick.
It was a different era.
It was a time when much more emphasis was placed on the importance of running backs and on the ground game
That doesn't change the fact that Breece Hall is a superstar running back, though. I knew it the first time I ever saw him play last season, when he was running wild for Iowa State on game film.
It only meant the league didn't value runners the way they used to due to the evolution of the passing game.
As I watched Hall running bullishly and catching the ball out of the backfield for the Cyclones in 2021, there was one name that kept going through my mind over and over again. There was one name he kept reminding me of: Adrian Peterson.
Hall really reminded me of Peterson, the league's fifth all-time leading rusher. It was the sudden way Hall hit the holes and the acceleration he showed, once he got into the second-level of a defense that reminded me most of Peterson.
I couldn't shake the comparison and I made Hall my RB1 heading into the draft, and I did everything I could through my keyboard to urge Jets' General Manager Joe Douglas to select him. And he did.
On Sunday, all I could do was smile watching the Jets taking on the Dolphins as the unison crowd chant of "J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets" was echoing in the background of the telecast.
Hall was indeed everything I thought he would be, and it was happening right in front of my eyes.
It was literally like watching the birth of Adrian Peterson 2.0. That is the only way I can even attempt to describe it.
The thing that was most striking about Hall's performance was the determination he ran with. Whether a handoff, or a reception, Hall ran with this brute determination. It was the kind of determination that would not be denied.
Hall was giving out stiff arms to defenders like Halloween Trick-or-Treat candy, but then juking them and taking the goodies home for himself to enjoy.
Hall ran with Canton-like purpose.
Time was winding down with just under six minutes to go in the 4th quarter and this is when it was getting most fun to watch. In fact, I haven't seen anything like it in New York since Giants' running back Joe Morris used to methodically grind the clock out back in the day.
As the seconds ticked away, Jets' quarterback Zach Wilson kept handing the ball to Hall, who was appearing to be getting even stronger with each and every carry.
Hall popped up like he was shoveling cereal in his mouth.
This is the league-wide known symbolism for "Keep feeding me," made famous by Dallas' franchise back Ezekiel Elliott.
It was special watching Hall on Sunday against Miami as he came into his own. He was this mixture of determination, toughness, physicality, elusiveness, acceleration, attitude and grace.
All total, he caught two passes for 100 yards and added another 97 on the ground in what was his biggest day yet as a pro.
The Jets have something in this rookie from Iowa State.
I will close in my own words I penned 16 days before the 2022 NFL Draft: "New York has not had a back like Hall since they had Curtis Martin."
MORE:
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- What Jets' Resilience Says About New York's Roster This Season
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