TheOak

I started this as a story then put it aside and came back and lost my creative drive so here it is in a nutshell.

Ingram - 2009 Heisman, SNPoY, All American, First team all SEC, SEC OPoY
Trent Richardson - 2011 All American, SEC OPoY, First Team All SEC, SEC
Eddie Lacy - 2012 First Team All SEC,

2008 Alabama - Powerhouse Dominant offensive line
Mark Ingram -5.1 YPC 728 yards total

2009 Alabama - Powerhouse Dominant offensive line
Mark Ingram - 2009 6.1 YPC 1,658 Yards Total (BCS Nation Champions) (14-0)
Trent Richardson - 2009 5.2 YPC 751 total (BCS Nation Champions)

2010 Alabama - Powerhouse Dominant offensive line
Mark Ingram - 2010 5.5 YPC 875 yards total
Trent Richardson - 6.2 YPC 700 total yards
Eddie Lacy - 7.3 YPC 406 total yards

2011 Alabama - Powerhouse Dominant offensive line
Trent Richardson - 5.9 YPC 1,600 total yards
Eddie Lacy - 7.1 YPC 674 total yards

2012 - Alabama - Powerhouse Dominant offensive line
Eddie Lacy - 6.5 YPC 1,322 total yards

NFL
Mark Ingram - (First round Draft #28) 3.8 YPC Career
Trent Richardson - (First Round Draft #3) 3.5 YPC Career
Eddie Lacey - (Second round draft #61) 4.4 YPC (Rookie Season)


College Running Backs that spend their college career on dominant teams behind dominant offensive lines should be looked at more carefully as they have shown to be no better than average when they get to the NFL.

Those offensive lines made holes big enough to drive a truck through, which is a testament to Alabama's offensive line but once in the NFL shows that with out that dominant line these RBs are average and any expectations of dominant performances by the backs will probably lead to let down.

In regards to Mark Ingram, he is an average running back and nothing else. Lacy and Richardson had fairly similar college careers except that Lacy didn't get all of the awards... present day tale of the tape is showing they are having similar NFL Careers. Lacy is a rookie so the entire tale will not be known for a season or two, howwver thus far he is preforming a little better.

xan

So, your analysis is that we should be looking at running backs who excel in situations in which the offensive line is suspect.

I'll buy that.

TheOak

Sassy on a Monday aren't you? Personally, I wouldn't equate a lack of dominance to being "suspect"

I am not saying we should focus on RBs behind suspect lines. I am saying when we look at a RB in the draft, having a dominant o-line should be taken into account because it does seem to weigh heavily on that RBs performance future performance. It can cause an over-value situation.

Mostly I am saying Ingram and Richardson would have not been drafted when they were, or received the accolades that the did in their college careers had they run behind non dominant o-lines. Ingram's college career has weighed heavily on the expectations of the Saints organization and fans. They were superstars in College then arrived in an NFL where superior dominant 0-lines only come around once and a while.

To balance the equation, there are some un-drafted RBs in the NFL that didn't have the benefit of a superior college o-line that are achieving greater success than expected.

SaintsBro

The thing I've always said to look for in the draft is, the guys who play AGAINST the big brawny SEC or Big 10 type powerhouse teams, but aren't necessarily on the big brawny winning powerhouse teams. We are talking about a guy exactly like Pierre Thomas, who in college is running against big mean defenses without a lot of help from anybody. Illinois is not a team on everybody's lips, and their record during Pierre's time was pretty miserable, like 2-9 every year, but Pierre was out there, rushing against big, tough, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA, Michigan type teams, and grinding out 5.8 yards per carry type numbers.

So in theory I'd be more interested in a guy from a losing SEC team, who played against the big guns, and put up good or respectable numbers against a defense better than his O -- an Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri type of player -- rather than a "star" from a big name SEC team with a lot of hype and hooplah attached.

exile

I like your analysis. My only question is:

Why didn't we pick up Brandon Jacobs when we had a chance?

TheOak

I can only speculate.. Deuce? We didn't draft any RBs that year, probably due to Deuce coming off of 3 1000+ yard seasons in 2002,2003,2004.

We had McCalister, Karney, McAfee, Smith, Stecker in 2005.. Fairly deep

exile

That's true. But I was talking about when he was a free agent. He still has the legs.

Danno

You mean replace our 3.9 ypc RB with a guy who's averaged 3.6 ypc over the same time span?

No thanks.

exile

You always bringin me down Danno. But I only want him for a 3rd and 1.