Originally posted by 5280High:
You're right about the line but not about the rest. Can't just look at the stats. Their YPC may be similar, but their is no denying that when Hunter is in there he has done more with less. There were multiple Hunter runs where he gets hit 4 yards behind the LOS because of poor blocking but manages to get a 1 yard gain. And his 11 yard runs were through tiny holes that Gore would of gotten sucked up into. On the flip side you put Hunter in some of those situations where Gore had nice gains but then gets ran down by a LB trying to turn the corner and there isnt a doubt that Hunter gains more yardage.
And from what I've seen so far Hunter is surprisingly the better pass protector. Im biased though cause the one poor attempt on the bengal player that sacked Smith while Gore just put his head down and sulked while Smith was fighting to stay up... WTF Frank! Get in there and start chipping those guys off your QB! To me that was a defining moment in the game where his heart just wasnt in it, and I lost it. Two guys are roughing up your QB and you just stand there with your head down like a beaten puppy? Unacceptable. Then he just walked away by himself without helping Smith up or glancing back to make sure he's fine. I love Gore, he plays his heart out or at least used to, but one or two more plays with body language like that in a game this season and he should be benched.
Its not about replacing, its about sharing time. But holy hell if I see one more toss to Gore on 2nd down followed by Hunter up the middle on third... my liver is gonna hate me!
@ Philly I wanna see us with 4 wr sets (2WR, 2TE but split out) and hunter in the back field. Line up in shotgun and either force their LB's to cover DW & VD or force Mathews to try and tackle Hunter on the draw or swing passes... I dont think their LBs can do either. But our WR's are gonna get dominated with no Braylon :(.
If you've read my Play-by-Play threads, you'll know I don't just look at the stats.
There's an argument to be made both ways. Hunter has more 'wiggle', probably a bigger long-run threat. But he doesn't do much after contact. He's able to avoid contact, but once hit, goes down. Gore is much better at forcing yardage, running in traffic, breaking tackles.
I have no issue with getting Hunter more touches. I think he's proven he needs more than the 13 he's had.
I completely disagree on the blocking side of things based on the limited attention I've paid too it. Sometime I'll look more closely (unfortunately, the coaching tape is not HD, and it's tough to make out numbers sometimes, so I don't always know who is in protection. After the season they add a record that displays every player that's on the field... until that comes out, I have to hope I get a good angle to see the number or I just don't know).
[ Edited by adembroski on Sep 29, 2011 at 10:38 AM ]