Michael Keaton never ran a sub-4.5 40

by user Mdc

In every season in which he's started at least 11 games, Ahman Green has rushed for a minimum of 1059 yards. Other than 2005, when he played only five games due to injury, Batman has carried the ball at least 259 times every year since 2000. These are good numbers. However, given the chatter around the league that he is "washed up," the following comparison really stood out:

2000 season: 263 carries for 1175 yards

2006 season: 266 carries for 1059 yards

That is some remarkable consistency¹ and it is something that the Texans have needed for a while now. If he can just continue to get those kind of numbers, he will make life easier on the entire offense. From the news coming out of OTAs, the importance of Batman is not lost on the other players.

I'm blocking for 1.8 seconds and the next thing I know I see a flash with a 3 and a 0 fly by and that helps a lot as an offensive lineman,' says Ephraim Salaam. [...] Last year we didn't have that explosiveness, Ron Dayne came on late in the end, but we needed those big chunks, instead of 15 and 20 yards we needed 40-50 yard touchdowns and I think we have that with Ahman.

That might be the first time "explosiveness" and "Ron Dayne" have ever been equated.² Salaam is correct, however--Green's longest run last year was 70 yards; Dayne's longest was 19. Wali Lundy's was 35. Sam Gado's was 34. Chris Taylor's was 17.

Yuck.

I realize that Batman is never going to be an 1800 yard back again. That's not the model of Green we are expecting, though, so such realizations do not concern me much. What concerns me is Kubiak getting Ahman 250+ carries and Houston finally having a running game that defenses need to respect when gameplanning for the Texans.

Hello, Vinny. It's your Uncle Bingo. Time to pay the check!

[Author's note: I also realize that his fumble "problem" is greatly overblown. He put 4 on the ground last year and lost 2 of them. Steven Jackson did the same. Larry Johnson lost 2 as well. The most Green has ever lost in a season is 5 (in 2003, when he also had 355 carries and 1800+ yards); Tiki Barber had back-to-back seasons with 6.]

¹ It is "remarkable" sort of by definition, as I am remarking on it. Still, you know what I mean.

² Outside of an all-you-can eat restaurant context, of course.

DNLLegend

921 days ago

Score 0

"Lost" fumbles is a non-issue -- the RB has no say in who recovers the ball. So I think Kubiak is going to have someone else have the ball near the goal line. Also, the Packers had a great offensive line in 2005. So I think you'll see a fall off that way.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

921 days ago

Score 1

OK, so he dropped 4. Even his worst year, when he dropped 7, that was with 355 carries. That was also when he switched to a different forearm pad to alleviate the slippage. Four fumbles is still not a problem that would necessitate a different back. I mean, who are they going to bring in, Ron Dayne? He's shown numerous times that, girth aside, he's not a goalline back. Also, the Packers' line in 2005 is a non-issue; Green only played 5 games due to a severe knee tendon injury. In '06, I wouldn't go so far as to call their line "great." I also don't agree that the Titans have a horrible O-line. It's young, but it's far better than commonly assumed.

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MdcSoccer Kid

921 days ago

Score 1

That's my comment. Forgot to log in. Poop.

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