Blount has Highest YPC in Pats Franchise History (min 400 carries)

[archstanton543]

Doesn't that just prove that the Pats haven't been a historically good running team (this is going back to 1960...the recent run of success is a fluke when held of the futility of the bulk of Patriots history)?

 

[IllegalContact]

dude's awesome

 

[AtomicDawg]

Michael Felger is not the voice of the fan, imagine that.

With the amount of carries, winter time running (Bills game, Colts playoffs games, hell ALL Colts games) and cap space allocated Blount to me is the perfect running back (not pass catching back) for this team. Too many people who expect us to have the best in the league at every position is how we get memes like this.

 

[Froob]

Blount's an odd one, sorta like a better Maroney. Big finesse back, sucks at short yardage but, when he gets a head of steam 5-6 yards down the field he's a bulldozer. Also, aside from Brady and maybe Edelman, is there a guy out there who has more fun playing football? Truly a joy to watch.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Doesn't that just prove that the Pats haven't been a historically good running team (this is going back to 1960...the recent run of success is a fluke when held of the futility of the bulk of Patriots history)?

I appreciate the article sticking up for Blount. That said, I think some of the YPC stats are simply cases of truncating the data. That is to say, most of our best backs played their entire careers (or most of it) with the Patriots. They retired/were cut because they weren't good anymore. Those carries factor into overall YPC. Think Corey Dillon in 2006.

Blount's not at that point yet, his YPC is being determined while he is still good and does not include any of his decline. There are only a few Patriot lead running backs who left while still in their prime; Curtis Martin, Robert Edwards (ugh), Law Firm, Stevan Ridley (in theory; his major injury happened at the end and didn't count in his YPC stats with us). Everyone else generally has one year+ of being cooked factored into their stats. It does say something that Blount's YPC is better than Martin's. Curious to see where his stats land once he hits the wall.

 

[Dagg]

I really like Blount since I am a fan of big backs. I really hate the design (or lack therof) of much of our running plays overall. Not to mention our OL isnt exactly designed to be a group that really paves the way as some other teams have. That said yes the guy needs some space in order to get going this is true of about 95% of the RBs in NFL history. If you give him a few yards to get going is very effective.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

I appreciate the article sticking up for Blount. That said, I think some of the YPC stats are simply cases of truncating the data. That is to say, most of our best backs played their entire careers (or most of it) with the Patriots. They retired/were cut because they weren't good anymore. Those carries factor into overall YPC. Think Corey Dillon in 2006.

Blount's not at that point yet, his YPC is being determined while he is still good and does not include any of his decline. There are only a few Patriot lead running backs who left while still in their prime; Curtis Martin, Robert Edwards (ugh), Law Firm, Stevan Ridley (in theory; his major injury happened at the end and didn't count in his YPC stats with us). Everyone else generally has one year+ of being cooked factored into their stats. It does say something that Blount's YPC is better than Martin's. Curious to see where his stats land once he hits the wall.

Martin had 958 carries in his three season here, including 368 his rookie year, Blount is going into year 4 to hit 400, so you really can't compare the two. Blount's avg would certainly go down with more carries.
Blount averaged 5 YPC while splitting time with Ridley (which is how I believe he is most effective), 4.4 in 2014, then 4.3 last year.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Got me looking deeper - Blount's career YPC is good for around 10th among active RB's and easily puts him in the top-50 all time:

NFL Career Yards per Rushing Attempt Leaders | Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

[PF_SU]

Speaking of that, I'd be really curious what numbers Blount could put up if he were the primary back for the Dallas Cowboys and their offensive line.

 

[zydecochris]

1. Barry Sanders was "up to speed" pretty much even when standing still
   
2. Quickbacks are "up to speed" in 1 step
3. Normal backs are "up to speed" in about 1.5 steps
4. Big backs who use momentum (i.e. Blount) generally take 2 full steps to get "up to speed"
5. A guy like Jerome Bettis, who was a big guy with normal-to-quick back "up to speed" requirements, are not quite unicorns, but they are endangered species level rarities

Deus, this was a really nice post. Concise, and obvious in retrospect (as is all good writing). You have perfectly described Blount, he has a good top end speed so he can be a bear to bring down in the secondary, but he takes a couple of steps to get up to speed so he can get stood up at the line.

I spent last year watching the personification of what you are describing in Derrick Henry of Alabama. He had an upright running style and, as you say, took a couple of steps to get up to speed, so he got stood up at the line of scrimmage more often than one would think (just like Blount). The reason he ended up gaining 2219 yards is that he is strong as an ox and never tired so he could batter the defense until he broke into the secondary and when DB's saw that 246 lb ball of muscle barreling toward them at top speed it was all over.

Blount is a similar runner (although not as strong or as fast as Henry), but Blount has managed to re-invent himself a bit by learning to run with lower pad level with the Patriots, it remains to be seen if Henry will be able to do something similar. Anyway, great post.

 

[ALP]

I think a worthwhile comparison would be a split of the 400 carries, between those in winning games and those in lost games (obv one of those numbers will be much higher than the other) and the respective YPC

 

[Ivan]

I'm surprised by The numbers.

 

[letekro]

Wonder what CD or CM would have averaged in this offense, in their primes, getting 10 or 15 carries a game. 6.5? 7? 8?

 

[FCB02062]

If a RB is getting stopped behind the line then more than likely it's not his fault. AP wouldn't get positive yardage with some of our OL blocking.

When he's given a decent hole he's more than capable of getting to the second level and churning out some yardage. The cutback he made on the 3rd and 11 run was one of the key plays of the game on Sunday.

not saying it's his fault, but what is "his fault" is his complete inability to make a guy miss when they get penetration. Blount is an adequate back, but we've seen as in last year's Denver playoff game, he's not a guy who can make a negative play into a positive....

 

[PF_SU]

I think a worthwhile comparison would be a split of the 400 carries, between those in winning games and those in lost games (obv one of those numbers will be much higher than the other) and the respective YPC

You can look that up on Pro Football Reference.

 

[Crononaut]

Deus, this was a really nice post. Concise, and obvious in retrospect (as is all good writing). You have perfectly described Blount, he has a good top end speed so he can be a bear to bring down in the secondary, but he takes a couple of steps to get up to speed so he can get stood up at the line.

I spent last year watching the personification of what you are describing in Derrick Henry of Alabama. He had an upright running style and, as you say, took a couple of steps to get up to speed, so he got stood up at the line of scrimmage more often than one would think (just like Blount). The reason he ended up gaining 2219 yards is that he is strong as an ox and never tired so he could batter the defense until he broke into the secondary and when DB's saw that 246 lb ball of muscle barreling toward them at top speed it was all over.

Blount is a similar runner (although not as strong or as fast as Henry), but Blount has managed to re-invent himself a bit by learning to run with lower pad level with the Patriots, it remains to be seen if Henry will be able to do something similar. Anyway, great post.

Agree with everything you and Deus posted. It seems like most carries from Blount are either 3 yards or less, or he breaks through the initial wall and is gone for at least 8 yards plus. You don't see too many 5 or 6 yard runs.

Because of his slow acceleration and our questionable o-line, it can make him look pedestrian on many plays, but once he has his speed he's one of the hardest backs to stop period.

 

[TBR]

Vereen averaged 4 YPC? WTF.

 

[JMC00]

Speaking of that, I'd be really curious what numbers Blount could put up if he were the primary back for the Dallas Cowboys and their offensive line.

Before he got injured last year he was on pace for 1000 yards. Which would have been a heck of an accomplishment if he did it behind that injury ravaged line last year.

 

[TBR]

In fact, it seems like a lot of people hate him.

It’s a strange condition, this, the visceral hate for a running back

This writer is on crack.

 

[bbobbo]

1. Barry Sanders was "up to speed" pretty much even when standing still
   
2. Quickbacks are "up to speed" in 1 step
3. Normal backs are "up to speed" in about 1.5 steps
4. Big backs who use momentum (i.e. Blount) generally take 2 full steps to get "up to speed"
5. A guy like Jerome Bettis, who was a big guy with normal-to-quick back "up to speed" requirements, are not quite unicorns, but they are endangered species level rarities

Of course RBs can't create their own holes. Maybe it was badly phrased by me. The issue with Blount is his slow acceleration, which means that the offensive line has to hold a hole a bit longer for Blount to find it and get through. He just doesn't have the same explosion as a David Johnson for example whose ability to accelerate out of those jump cuts was really impressive. But then again, if Blount had a better acceleration he probably would get a bigger contract and thus not be here.

got it, that makes sense.