Time to sit LenDale

at this point those guys are just names. both of them(more alexander) are coming under fire because they aren't producing, but somehow lendale is getting praised because he can run into the back of his offensive line with the best of them.

 

We really aren't seeing many stops at the line for lendale this season...

For example....

Last week, he had six rushes for less than 2 yards. One was the fumble which was recovered, which meant the loss was a result of the bouncing ball only. The week before, he also had 6, and two weeks ago, he only had 5.

Consider the situation. He's facing stacked lines, and he's had short or no gain 16/83 rushes... That's just under 1/5. I'll take that any day.

 

footballoutsiders has a stat that examines the trade off between negative runs, short runs and long runs...

called success rate....

lendale white has a success rate of 46%....which is 23rd best in the NFL.....

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/rb.php

 

IMO, the best aspect of LDW's running is his ability to fall forward for 1 or 2 yards on most plays....

with our anemic passing game, every extra yard on 1st and 2nd down means the world....

 

another interesting stat regarding LDW....

only marshawn lynch as more carries....

 

I think Brown is a much better RB than White. Brown's problem is staying healthy which those stats don't consider but if Brown could stay healthy LW wouldn't even be on the team right now because we would have draft Hester instead and signed Brown to a long term deal because he would be one of the best RBs in the league.

I still think some of the back and forth is getting ridiculous. White isn't as bad as some argue nor is he as good as some argue. I do think White has improved and he is the guy we are going to have to ride the rest of the season. However, we should all hope Brown can also stay healthy because a healthy Brown can run up 175 yards on teams, something I doubt LW will ever be able to do.

 

Theoretically this is the Fisher philosophy. If he can consistently get 3+ yards on 1st and 2nd down and get a 3rd and 4 or less he thinks we can be successful. LW isn't a bad back if that is what you are willing to settle for and if VY could get on track he can convert most of those 3rd downs either with his legs or arm.

 

My only problem with Lendale is that sometimes he doesn't pick up his feet and can get tripped up too easily when he's got open field in front of him. He's making very nice reads most of the time, showing great patience behind his blockers, and when he puts his head down he's really hammering his tacklers. It's been a long time since we've seen someone move a pile like he does.

I don't get too caught up in YPC or total yards - watching the game tells you all you need to know about a player. When we need it most he's been getting the yards - you can't capture that in a stat... to stats one play is just as important as the next, but we all know that's not true.