This may change by this weekend, but Arian is currently leading the NFL in rushing yards and TD's almost into the halfway point...an awesome benchmark in production after 7 games in. I think Arian can continue this ranking and earn his 2nd NFL rushing title, and get over 20 TD's & this would obviously be another stepping stone to putting his legacy as a running back where he wants it to go...funny thing is, this (so far) is only his 3rd best year IMO due to slight decline in ypc, and receiving.
It's funny how you can't really see his production on the field, but his stats are there. He isn't having those huge outbreak runs, the quick steps, or the catching yards. Yet he's still leading the league!
Win a Super Bowl. Think/talk about individual achievements later. This ain't golf or tennis or a non-contending team with nothing else to root for.
Tate being slowed with his turf toe and bad hammy certainly isn't going to interfere. The carry numbers are semi-alarming. On pace for 384. 416 is the record. Hopefully Jones continues to get things down, returns Caldwell to permanent backup status where he belongs, and Newton also continues to improve. They're clearly the future of the line. The bye should do them some good. Of the remaining opponents: Bills are dead last in YPC allowed and dead last in rushing YPG Chicago 12th, 2nd Jags 24th, 29th Detroit 16th, 16th Tennessee 22nd, 25th New England 3rd, 8th Colts (twice) 28th, 26th Vikings 11th, 12th That should seemingly translate to 5 wet toilet paper run defenses, 2 rock walls, and 2 regular days at the office.
we haven't seen him involved in a lot of screens or dink and dunks this year. it seemed those play would net us huge chunks of yardage.
I can't believe he is leading in rushing. I was convinced that he was borderline average based on watching the games. Wow.
Shhh...Kubes wants teams to think he doesn't rely on that anymore. Then Boom! Arian on a 70 yd screen pass TD.
His YPA is still average. He's carrying it more than the other running backs so he has the most yards.
That's what is strange to me, too. He doesn't seem to be breaking through and/or keeping his balance as well on the lesser hits like he used to. It seemed like he would never fall down if someone swiped at his ankles...but he is this season. Those 7,8...15 yard runs aren't happening with as much frequency.
I think the question is if he can survive his rate of carries. He has 20+ more than the next guy, so his avg is pretty low. Not all that impressive when you look at it that way. On top of most of this TDs being short/goal line TDs. He's still one of the best backs in the league though, obviously. Kubes just needs to open the playbook to show his versatility.
Kubiak is going to wear him out this year but I like it. I don't care how bad/good he is playing, hand/throw that man the the ball.
Arian is basically Kubiak's Terrell Davis. And I shudder to think about that, as we know how short of a career TD had. I really don't like Arian being used as a grinder and clock eater, as it wears him out prematurely; it may be why he hasn't gone the distance this year on some of his long runs (I'm thinking of that 49 yd or so run in the Jets game specifically). I'd like to employ him in more open space plays where he is dynamic and a potential gamebreaker. But at the same time, we do have leads most of the time in games and I won't disagree with Kubiak's ball control win TOP strategy. I just hope Ben Tate will be healthy enough to share the load for the rest of the season.
Kubiak is extracting every bit of McNair's money's worth out of him, potentially to the team's detriment. Thinking back to the Green Bay game, going into halftime, the Texans basically had no intention of scoring. Green Bay was happy to go into the locker room with a big lead. Instead of taking a knee, they slam Foster up into the line for no gain twice - just utterly unnecessary to pile on him like that, and something that could haunt you in January.
Part of the reason has been our defense being able to get us in position to where we can rely on Arian to run out the close because we have a lead or we don't have to travel that far to have Foster score for us. That being said, if we maintain our winning, once we lock up a playoff spot/division, I fully expect Kubiak to ease up on Foster's work load unless Tate is sidelined or Forsett isn't getting it done. So while he is at the top for most yards and attempts now, I don't see him staying there at the end of the regular season. Touchdowns are another story however.
I'm hoping that we get to see a whole bunch of Arian's long runs off of counter plays, and screen passes in the second half of the season. Watching him glide down the sideline, then cut it back to the middle of the field is a thing of beauty. He hasn't broken a big one yet, but that just means he's due.
