Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan benefits from a new era in football where he is encouraged to showcase all his skills.
Maybe it's just me, but I find this part of the game to be a fairly simple concept. Running the ball helps to set up play action. The play action helps to draw in the safeties and THEN you take the shot downfield against single coverage with no safety help. Teams with very good running backs continue to fail to get their playmakers going. Now for some fans, it is exciting to see this new phase of the NFL because it gives the feeling that anything can happen if you throw the ball. The grind of the simple rush just isn't as appetizing anymore. But, if some teams implemented the run more often, a couple of them would have significantly better records. Haven't noticed a change? According to ESPN, in the 2010 regular season, a total of seven players (Michael Turner, ATL; Steven Jackson, STL; Arian Foster, HOU; Rashard Mendenhall, PIT; Cedric Benson, CIN; Chris Johnson, TEN; Ray Rice, BAL) eclipsed the 300 rushing attempts total for one season. Jacksonville Jaguars running back, Maurice Jones-Drew, missed the mark by one attempt. In the 2011 regular season, a total of two players (Jones-Drew and Turner) surpassed 300 rush attempts. Are you kidding me!?! Only two!?! What caused this drop off of 300-plus carries?
The 2012 season is no different. So far this season, six players are on pace to break 300 attempts.
Player Carries Through Week 7 Carries On Pace For
Arian Foster (HOU) 168 384
Marshawn Lynch (SEA) 147 336
Alfred Morris (WAS) 138 315
Adrian Peterson (MIN) 136 310
Steven Ridley (NE) 135 309
Jamaal Charles (KC) 115 307
* Has had a bye week
Houston Texan running back Arian Foster is leading the league with 168 carries.
Seriously, how many of these guys do we expect to get 300 carries? Anyone could get hurt tomorrow. Some could lose their starting jobs. I'd say Foster, Lynch, and Peterson are locks at this point. Ridley plays on a team with a guy by the name of Tom Brady. Because of that, I don't think he has a shot. Alfred Morris has been playing really well. But is that enough for Mike Shanahan to stick with him the whole season? We all know how he likes to switch things up on us. Jamaal Charles's totals are a tad bit bloated as 64 of his 115 carries have been in two different games.
Having said all of that, other players such as LeSean McCoy (PHI) and Chris Johnson (TEN) could certainly break the 300 mark. But, let's just say for the sake of argument that four players this season break 300. Remember, in 2010, seven players eclipsed that mark. In the past two seasons, we would still have one fewer player reach 300 than in 2010. Clearly, we are in the midst of a passing era in football.
For more ESPN season statistics click the links below...
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/rushing/sort/rushingAttempts/year/2010
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/rushing/sort/rushingAttempts/year/2011
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/rushing/sort/rushingAttempts
