Good discussion. This is what I want to get to.
IMO Blount is a bit more nimble & quicker than Gray. He is also bigger, breaks tackles better and more experienced. I think their speed is the same and maybe Blount has a little more straight line. Those are the reasons Blount > Gray.
Catching, blocking, etc I agree aren't major reasons he is behind Blount.
With that said, I think Gray can be a 1000 yd guy in this offense. Hell if BJGE can, so can Gray.
That does not mean he is the next Corey Dillion.
Couldn't agree more. None of these guys are Corey Dillon. Hell, none of these guys are Stevan Ridley. Blount has more wiggle, for sure, and he's obviously quite a bit bigger than Gray.
Maybe that alone is why he starts? I dunno. Experience, maybe?
But again, it's not like any of these guys are superstars, they're not - but in this offense they don't have to be.
I'd like them to be a bit MORE than Benny and his 3.3 ypc. But they don't really have to be.
Did you know Jonas Gray led the team in rushing last year? And that Edelman outrushed Sudden Binky Brandon "JAG-on-my-best-day" Bolden?
Only Bolden rushed for less than 4.0 ypc last year - and I think that's all they're really looking for. As a team, they ran for 1727 yds last year and 13 TDs (a 3.9 avg) and were actually 9th in the league in rushing yards. Nobody had even 100 carries.
So to me, these are actually minor quibbles. But that said, anyone who's attached to the Jonas Gray train at this point, are the same ones who were attached to the Blount Train, the Benny Train, etc etc.
There has been one RB with legitimate RB "skills" since Corey Dillon here, and that's Stevan Ridley. And yes, he's gone, and there was no way the Patriots were going to sign him for any sort of money. But he'll emerge as the starter for the Jets if he's healthy, and he's going to have a good year - and probably at least one good game against us.
It's not the end of the world, they can obviously patch it all together with JAGs no problem. But there's no need pretending that Jonas Gray is any more than that, either.