BlueTalon":2lkzfjik said:
Serious question. I know people have raved about Earl's range, but I'm wondering how that translates to speed. Earl is also mentioned as one of the fastest guys on the team, but...
I'm wondering if he is somehow faster when running at someone toward him than when he's chasing someone. When Gore broke that run, both Earl and Sherman pursued him, and it looked to my eyes like Earl couldn't gain any ground on Gore while Sherm overtook him eventually. Last year, when Adrian Peterson broke his long run, it was Browner that chased him down, not Earl.
Am I missing something?
No offense, that play is a poor example.
Thomas was running with steam at Gore before Gore made that ridiculous and gorgeous cut pretty much forcing Thomas to make a sharp turn and locking up his hips for a moment, stalling much of his momentum.
Sherman on the other hand was already facing the way Gore was running as a product of a big hold on Vernon Davis. Sherman didn't have to make an ankle breaking cut upfield to recover so he was able to run full stride before Thomas could. Which is why they started out about the same but Sherman was able to gain more ground. Sherman has a much bigger stride than Thomas, and that was the difference. That and Thomas losing his momentum on Gores's cut.