sbk92
2
- Messages
- 12,134
- Reaction score
- 6
Posted by nickeatman at 7/15/2011 10:21 AM CDT on truebluefanclub.com
Too often when we judge running backs, it’s only the rushing yards that are factored in. Most of the time, that’s the only thing that really matters.
You see the rushing leaders and scroll down to Felix Jones and see 800 yards, good for 23rd in the NFL last year. No one really cares about the number of touches he had or the total yards from scrimmage. When it comes to backs, they are, and always have been, judged by the amount of rushing yards they get.
And I have no real problems with that. Trust me, in three years I think it’s safe to say Felix Jones’ career has been somewhat disappointing because we expected more of the big plays that he produced in college and from what we saw in his first three games of his career. And then think about how many other really good running backs like Chris Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Ray Rice and even his college teammate, Peyton Hillis, were taken behind him in the 2008 class.
So believe me when I say this isn’t a campaign for the Felix Fan Club.
But I think we must not forget everything that comes to the table. I was looking at the stats just the other day and noticed a player like Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson, who rushed for 1,111 yards last year on 321 carries. On the surface, a 1,111-yard rushing season compared to 800 seems much superior. But when you factor in just 178 receiving yards for Benson and 450 for Jones, now we’re talking about similar seasons.
Benson had 1,289 yards on 349 total touches while Jones had 1,250 on 233 attempts.
Now that’s just one example with Benson. Most of these guys have a decent amount of receiving yards to go with their rushing totals. Although Jones did rank 10th among the running backs last year with 450 receiving yards with the fourth-highest average of 9.4 yards per catch.
All I’m saying is, if you think of Jones as an 800-yard back that’s fine. He did produce 1,250 yards last season in a somewhat limited role.
Ask yourself this. If he rushed for 1,200 yards and had just 50 yards receiving, would you think of him any differently?
Too often when we judge running backs, it’s only the rushing yards that are factored in. Most of the time, that’s the only thing that really matters.
You see the rushing leaders and scroll down to Felix Jones and see 800 yards, good for 23rd in the NFL last year. No one really cares about the number of touches he had or the total yards from scrimmage. When it comes to backs, they are, and always have been, judged by the amount of rushing yards they get.
And I have no real problems with that. Trust me, in three years I think it’s safe to say Felix Jones’ career has been somewhat disappointing because we expected more of the big plays that he produced in college and from what we saw in his first three games of his career. And then think about how many other really good running backs like Chris Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Ray Rice and even his college teammate, Peyton Hillis, were taken behind him in the 2008 class.
So believe me when I say this isn’t a campaign for the Felix Fan Club.
But I think we must not forget everything that comes to the table. I was looking at the stats just the other day and noticed a player like Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson, who rushed for 1,111 yards last year on 321 carries. On the surface, a 1,111-yard rushing season compared to 800 seems much superior. But when you factor in just 178 receiving yards for Benson and 450 for Jones, now we’re talking about similar seasons.
Benson had 1,289 yards on 349 total touches while Jones had 1,250 on 233 attempts.
Now that’s just one example with Benson. Most of these guys have a decent amount of receiving yards to go with their rushing totals. Although Jones did rank 10th among the running backs last year with 450 receiving yards with the fourth-highest average of 9.4 yards per catch.
All I’m saying is, if you think of Jones as an 800-yard back that’s fine. He did produce 1,250 yards last season in a somewhat limited role.
Ask yourself this. If he rushed for 1,200 yards and had just 50 yards receiving, would you think of him any differently?
