Arian Foster - How long will he remain elite?

Look at the stats for the last 4 years.

 

I only care about now and the last two he's been about average.

 

Then you are not very smart. Look again.

 

6th in the league in rushing last year with the most carries and only 200 receiving yards. Not very elite.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/rushing/sort/rushingYards/year/2012/seasontype/2

 

Elite is not being a One year wonder....by the way. It is consistency. Look at the stats.

 

13th fastest guy to get 5000 yards. Tied with Emmitt Smith. Got it in 57 games

 

Arian looks much better this season than last, he's playing great. Hopefully he has 2+ more years of great in him. Then 2 of good. Would be a borderline HOF.

 

Ben Tate looks like Steve Slaton 2.0, he could get yards, but fumbles the ball too much.
So I prefer Foster over him.

 

Lets see ..Foster is now second in the league in rushing at the moment....has a 4.54 ypc....still has definite TD ability....I think those stats remind us Foster is still freaking elite...lol...

 

In 2012, he was 6th in rushing, excluding QBs Foster lead the regular season in touchdowns. Currently he is 2nd among RBs in rushing yards and has been the most consistent player on the offensive side not named Andre Johnson. Seriously how is that not elite?

 

I think even the casual fan can see that he does not have elite break away speed so they rather save the elite tag for guys like AP or McCoy.

 

Foster is elite in all aspects of the game except for speed. His speed for a RB is average at best.

 

McCoy has speed...thats it. Look at his stats over the last 4 years. He can't stay healthy.

 

I agree. Point is the casual fan can see McCoy's elite athletic ability on display during any given game. You will never see Foster break a long one again.

Foster gets tough yards and maximizes his skill set but i see him more in the mold of a Shaun Alexander (not elite) rather than an LT or AP (elite).

Shaun Alexander was great and racked up TDs like nobodies business but some of it was a product of the run blocking, the offense and all the redzone touches. Very similar to Foster's career here in Houston. If Foster where in Tenn. he would be considered an average RB.

Foster racks up elite numbers here in houston but i don't think he would do the same elsewhere.

 

I think the question needs to be not how long will he be "elite" but is he looking to be on track for the HOF? ....13th fastest RB to 5000 yards, tied with Emmit Smith ....that's big and if he has the ability to have a long career we could see it.

 

So we are saying because McCoy can occasionally break out a 60 yard run once every couple of seasons he is elite despite Foster consistently outside of his first year 2009, where he only played 6 games but still wracked up nearly a third of McCoy's number that year, has had more yards on the ground and almost as many receiving. Because McCoy is likely to break a big one more often.

That is like saying Percy Harvin or Dez Bryant are elite and Anquan Boldin or Demaryius Thomas are not because of the chance of taking it to the house. Elite isn't just showing up on highlights it is about production and aside from Adrian Peterson, not many Running Backs have been as productive as Arian Foster.

 

Look I agree but i think your selling McCoy short. Not only does he have elite speed and elite juking ability he also has a 4.7 career ypc average and put up 1600+ yards from scrimmage his first two years as a starter. Last year the wheels fell off in Philly but this year he's on pace to put up 2000+ yards from scrimmage. He's only had one injury riddled season (last year)

 

Being used a lot but not being efficient doesn't make you elite. Last year, he got yards simply by being given the ball a whole lot. But his per-carry average wasn't even in the top 20 of running backs.

This year, certainly, he is back to showing much more explosiveness and efficiency, and he's been getting better week by week.

 

Foster is still the second best back in the league. He has heart and is beasting again.