Jamaal Charles is better than Arian Foster

I wouldnt call Jamaal Charles just a speed back, he's obviously not Eric Metcalf or Reggie Bush. Charles is the same size as Chris Johnson.

We've seen this in Clinton Portis in Denver setting the league on fire, and with a LOT more TDs. When Portis became an every down workhorse in Washington, now at age 29 Portis looks ready for the glue factory.

Even though Charles isnt like Reggie Bush, I think the Bush experience has calmed people from anointing similar backs as the next best thing. Not Charles' fault but when he has his "Lendale White" in KC sharing the backfield load, it kinda works against him.

Ladanian Tomlinson is BACK! But he is really back? Since he's splitting carries and has the SAME amount of touches as Charles?

I think more and more teams in the NFL will operate in committe running back mode if they go to 18 games. There will be less 30+ carries per game backs, more of the run-share system. Plus as-is there's a lot more of the dump off passes to RBs serving in place of short yardage runs, the Philadelphia Eagles approach.

 

To answer if Charles is better than Foster? Hard to say.

I can see Charles in the Texans offense being an advanced '08 Steve Slaton, which would equal Foster's production for sure. Then is Charles a legit Bo Jackson part-time badass, or a back who's performing very excellently in his run-share?

I'll go with Foster, since Charles is a little more fumble prone

 

Jamaal Charles is cooler because he has two names! :grin:

and like another said, if you run 1 or 2 yards to a TD, then your YPC, will drop, so you can say charles is more effective and productive just because of that stat.

it would be the same with chris johnson and lendale white, CJ was used for the home run, and because of his explosiveness.

but lendale was used to score the TDs on the goal line.

 

Charles is a very good back, but there is a reason why he doesn't have nearly as many carries as Foster. There's a reason why he doesn't have as many touchdowns, like others have said. Foster is the best overall back this season, in my opinion (Foster's one downside has been his pass blocking).

 

I would also classify Charles as a specialized back, but that's out of the luxury that Jones still has some fire in him. Charles' did get a featureback's workload last season, with 20+ carries in each of their last four games. For that season since his debut (I started counting after their bye in week 8) he averaged 20 carries and 2.8 catches a game. Very similar to Arian's averages this season. Looking at KC's rushing attempts as Charles was breaking out, they just didnt' rush that much. They had Larry Johnson before hand who was on his last legs, and probably game planned away from that. JC had ~70% of their carries since their bye in that season, even if sometimes KC only rushed 26 times in a game.

Come 2010, and the pickup of Thomas Jones, they can afford to reassign him, as I think that was the plan from the start if TJ had game. I think it's a little like the Jets, where Shonn was the obvious starter, and LT was given a "prove yourself" type opportunity. Jones showed he could, and KC gets the luxury of easing the workload for Charles.

 

Random story: In June or July, I was playing golf at Babe Didrickson Zaharias Golf Course in Port Arthur. I was on tee on the 18th hole, which is parallel to Jimmy Johnson Boulevard. I hear a high-revving motor, and look up and see a Lamborghini coming up the road (a rare sight in Port Arthur). Go back to my shot, and in mid-backswing, I hear a honk. Distracts me, I look up, and it's Jamaal Charles in said Lamborghini. I think he was honking at a friend or something, I don't think he was honking at me. Great running back, but terrible golf etiquette.

 

Now this is a cool story bro!

 

5 year $32 million ($13M guaranteed) extension for Charles today.

 

That's pretty interesting considering the labor situation.

Was his contract up this year? He was still on his rookie deal, right?

 

I can't believe Charles isn't getting at least 25 carries a game -- he's a top 5 RB in the league.

 

I believe so. That's a great deal for the Chiefs though, I bet he would have gotten some much better offers had he waited a little.

KingCheetah - As a fantasy owner and UT fan, I would definitely like to see Jamaal get more carries but I think this is the best situation for him right now. Jones probably has another season or two in him so Jamaal will probably be the "guy" just as he's getting into his prime without all the wear and tear.

 

I dont get it either. Maybe they don't want to wear him down. Thomas Jones is not bad but clearly not as good.

 

I think what they're doing is incredibly smart.

JC will have plenty of healthy, productive years if they keep this split going.

 

To be fair, no running back averages 25 carries a game. Before this season, I saw some analysis that said once you hit a magic number, every running back in recent history has gone significantly downhill (I think it was 360 carries, but I'm not sure. That would be 22 / game, assuming no playoffs).

I think this is all really smart on KC's part. They keep him fresh & less likely to be injured by splitting the carries, which gives him a longer shelf life. And they can push him more in the playoffs or a critical game when needed. But so far, by starting out 3-0 and leading their division the whole time, it's given them the luxury to be conservative with him.

Their experience with Larry Johnson probably made them really wary about beating a runner into the ground as well. Larry Johnson hit that 360 mark (actually 400+!) and then has sucked ever since.

 

The most commonly stated figures are 370 carries or 400 total touches per season, in which only LJ and CJ have done recently. LJ fell off hard. I think Chris Johnson will be fine for a few more seasons because his 400+ touch season was so early in his career. The rule appears to be a huge dropoff at year 4-5 after having a 400 touch season sometime before. That is somewhat mitigated by the fact that many RB's start to drop off at year 4-5 anyway.

 

Just a random question that I didn't think was appropriate to start an entire thread about, but who do some of you guys (the older folk, preferably) think one could compare Arian Foster to as far as historical RBs go? Who is his style most reminiscent of, if anyone?

 

McFadden > Charles.

 

considering total yardage, charles's 6.4 avg has to be one of the greatest in history.

 

Its pretty darn good. Barry Sander's 97 season is the best in my opinion. He rushed for over 2000 yards a carry while averaging 5.7 YPC. Barry was also the entire offense so everyone knew who was getting the ball.