New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Saints Nation: The Only Thing Holding Chris Ivory Back is Ball Security

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utah_Saint (Post 457803)

Ivory's a beast. I love to watch him run. I don't think I'll forget the way he trucked Dunta Robinson and don't think Robinson will forget it anytime soon either. Ivory's the most fun and exciting rusher we've had in a long time. Those are my opinions.

But this article is spot on. The facts are Ivory's fumble percentage is one of the worst in the league. That's not opinion, that's fact.

He has fumbled every 59 times he's touched the ball
By comparison
Ingram has fumbled once for 209 touches
Thomas has fumbled once for every 193 touches
Sproles has fumbled once for every 316 times he's touched the ball.

Arian Foster fumbles every once for every 113 times he gets the ball.

Adrian Peterson had a reputation as a fumbler and he only fumbles once every 79 times he gets a touch. Almost one and a half times better than Ivory.

Ryan Mathews is far and away the best back in San Diego and he's been benched for a fumbling percentage similar to Ivory's and they didn't have the quality options that the Saints had.

Again, those are the facts.

My opinion is...

I think the Saints coaches have done exactly what they should have given the circumstances. They've got 4 quality backs to choose from so they've chosen to go with the safest ones. We heard reports that Ivory had more fumbling trouble in training camp this year. I don't blame them at all for the choices they made.

That being said, the Saints run game was an epic failure over the first 7 games. Sproles injury opened up a roster spot so they took the opportunity to shake things up a bit and give CI a chance. Ivory has stepped up in a huge way. I'm glad he's gotten the chance to shine and his production has raised the level of the entire offense. Ivory's fumbling percentage is based on a fairly small sample size so maybe his fumbling was a statistical anomaly. I'd like Ivory to have a long and productive future with the Saints.

The problem with playing Ivory is that he has been prone to fumble. This preseason and so far this year at practice he's been doing just that. I was replaying the game and literally cringing watching him sling the ball around for balance. The team is getting better and could possibly afford a turn over, :bng:but I'm not so sure and neither are the coaches.
With out a doubt he sparks this team with his running and his attitude.
He is a restricted free agent next year and by then he will either have trade value or the coaches will do their job and coach him up. We need to remember that the coaches see him run more than we do and should be able to evaluate him better.
Sproles broken hand sounded bad at the time but may be a mixed blessing.:cool: