(06-22-2022, 06:40 PM)Predator Wrote:

(06-22-2022, 04:26 PM)mikesez Wrote: In a fair world both Lynch and Taylor get in.

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I agree completely.  Fred did his best with the opportunities that the game plans gave him.  The goal line substitutions were noted and complained about at the time because they really screwed with fantasy football.  
As for guys like Eddie George and Tomlinson getting Pro Bowl nods ahead of Fred, yes, the stats for those years say they deserved that.  Perhaps they should get inducted before Fred is.  But Fred should be inducted.

Taylor wasn't a very good short yardage runner. He was a boom or bust guy.

Fred would get stuffed at the line of scrimmage far to often to be relied on in short yardage situations.

Fred got his YPC by getting stuffed, stuffed, and then breaking one for 20 yards.

Taylor wasn't pulled in goal line situations because coaches wanted to ruin his stats. People like Stacey Mack and MJD were just better in short yardage situations. Fred took yardage in chunks. These guys were better at getting the tough yards.

I've heard that criticism before.  Unfortunately, it can't really be shown from stats. No one keeps track of median yards per carry, and people disagree about if it would even be useful.
But we can see 1st down efficiency in the stats.  That's about as good of a measure of "boom or bust" as you're going to get.  Fred's 1st down efficiency was about 0.21 first downs per carry.  It's not the best number, but Marshawn Lynch was about the same.  Fred definitely deserved more goal line nods than he got, and even so, his touchdown total is respectable.

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