RiverDog":35rbj5zz said:
themunn":35rbj5zz said:
RiverDog":35rbj5zz said:
It's not clear to me how we can be the #2 ranked rushing team and the #10 overall offense with an OL that is rated #31. Sure, Lynch is one of the best YAC backs in the league and Russell is one of if not the best scrambling quarterbacks in the league, but even if you factor all that in, #31 seems really low.
Wilson has 233 yards and Lynch 410, it's quite clear Wilson's scrambling ability is inflating our rushing yardage somewhat (which the O-Line can take a little credit for but not much).
Furthermore, Lynch is averaging 4.3 YPC which is pedestrian in this league (18th among RBs with 30+ carries), yet that's despite his ridiculous yards-after-contact figure (which I can't find off hand). Lynch is playing as hard as ever, so the blame has to come down to the O-Line.
It's not surprise really that both Turbin and Lynch's YPC has taken a roughly 1ypc drop this year from last.
I understand that. But 31st in the league? Second worst, worse even than the Jags? We're 4-1 with an offense that's ranked 10th in the league and 7th in points scored. Are offensive lines that inconsequential?
Like I said, I fully agree that our OL is not up to snuff. But there's far too many gaping holes our backs have had run through and we've won too many games, two of them by wide margins, for our offensive line to be ranked 2nd worst in the league. You could talk me into a ranking in the high 20's, but not second worst. There's too many bad teams out there ranked above us for me to buy a ranking like that.
OK, how about this, in 3rd and 4th and less than 2 situations, Lynch has yet to convert a 3rd of 4th by rushing.
221 of Lynch's 410 yards have come from his 11 10+ yard carries, which means that he is averaging 2.2 YPC on rushes less than 10 yards (last year it was 3.2, a full YPC more).
But the most telling of all - one of the major reasons for our success in the run game over the past 2 years has been the fact that our O-Line can wear down the opponent and we can pile up yards in the second half. Over half of Lynch's yards have come in the first QUARTER, where he is averaging 7.7 YPC. In the remaining 3 quarters after that he's averaging 3.0, 2.5 and 3.1 YPC. Simply put, we're not wearing down the opponent any more, just our running back. He has 108 yards on 39 carries in the second half. Now here's the amazing part - 4 of those runs went for more than 10 yards - 14, 14, 17 and 18 - which means that on his rushes less than 10 yards, he's averaging less than 1.3 YPC.
That's also the reason for the playcalling going away from the run against Indy in the second half