Starter RB Doubt
 

Good Night, people!

I have a question, I'm a noob, so I want your opinion.

I have two great RBs, a 72/72 that is on his 3rd season and a 57/57 veteran that is in his 7th season, I had the youg back at starter, but he is strugglin, he is having a 3.67 average yards per attempt and my veteran back had a lot less touches in the ball and have the same amount of yards with an average per carry above 5, I have benched the young back and put the veteran as starter, am I correct or do I have to give some more time to my young back to develop? We are in the 12th week of the season!!!

Att

Mauricio Manzano

One thing you can look at is "where" your 7th year RB is getting his yards. If he's getting alot of carries on 3rd down when the defense is usually looking for the pass, then yes his average is likely to be high.

Just a thought to stir up some ideas of where to look for issues.

No, My 3rd down running back is my young back, and he still is, I didn't change it, the veteran back is getting his yards on 1st and 2nd downs.

P.S.: I forgot to say these statistics:

72/72 RB: 0 TD, 1 Fumble
57/57 RB: 5 TD, 0 Fumbles (All TDs were for at least 5 yards).

Maybe my scout sucks, his RB score appears as "Good".

Well, the 57/57 guy ain't no slouch. I've noticed this before, where a lesser quality backup does better than the starter. Maybe he just comes in more fresh, or it's just luck.

Maybe he rolled up some high runs and with his lower carry output, it's bringing his average up.

I remember back when Julio Jones was the starter in Dallas, Marion Barber would come in and do better as the change-of-pace guy.

It could have something to do with where your runs are going directionally too. Some backs will be better outside and some will be better inside. If they have opposing skill sets, it could be that your style of offense better suits the backup.

If the veteran has been on your team since his rookie season, then he'll be better for cohesion and play better than a newly hired 57/57 player.

Also, 72/72 or 57/57, that doesn't say all there is to me. Is the 72/72 highly rated because he has great receiving skills and the 57/57 doesn't have that? Is the veteran high on elusiveness?

As an example, on my own team, last season I had a 65+ rookie and a <40 veteran. Their running bars are very different, as the rookie is decent all over, with hole recognition being his best skill. The veteran is mostly just excellent in elusiveness and has breakaway speed to go with that. During the games, the rookie was good in getting 4 yards on almost every carry, anywhere on the field. The veteran is very inconsistent, running 10 yards one play and then 0 yards then next, doing much worse in the red zone. The veteran has a better average (5.6), but in some situations the rookie (only 4.5) was more likely to get the desired result.