The 49er fans don't deserve Glen Coffee

Totally true, it also says something about how good the 08 line was. Of course his career isn’t over, and if he doesn’t really improve we can hope he still might end up on a team that would fit him better, the Colts or Chargers come to mind, some team short on good RBs that might make better use of backs his size.

But if not, well he made the decision to cash in when he did. Hopefully he is banking his money.

I didn’t understand his decision at the time, but now it looks like a good one. The guy is barely over 200 pounds and he has a slightly ectomorphic body type. He made it a lot farther than a lot of people thought he’d make it.

that he busted it in his 3rd year at Bama. what was interesting about all that to me was that he CLAIMED it the summer before it happened. he had interviews in all the hometown newspapers where he projected he would have a great year, it was going to be something special and BOOM – hello SI cover after the Clemson game. i was hoping to hear that same fire and attitude at this level but then again, he may just need a bit more time. here’s to hoping he gets it!

When you get more carries, you are more likely to break the bigger runs. If you removed the larger runs from the stats, you would see a rather large drop in YPC among the RB’s. A good 50 yard run will do a good bit to raise your YPC. Run one of those, then back it up with 9 straight runs of 0 yds and you still end up with a 5 yards per carry average over those plays.

Which play is going to end up being that big break away is anyone’s guess. But the back with the most carries is likely going to be the one that gets it. Those times when someone misses something, or you get some good blocks etc.

Also there is rhythm from playing time. You play with the guys better, and you can better know what to except from your line and who is going to win the battles more likely to follow. If you rarely get the ball, all you can do is run the play and take what is given. Can’t really settle in and get comfortable or whatever.

And as a backup, it not only means he is coming in to give the starter rest, but he is also going to be the one who comes in on plays where a real gain isn’t really being expected.

Basically, as a backup you do not get the choice plays the starter does. The only time you see “backups” with decent stats is when you have a RB by committee and the carries are more even.

In order to have a negative YPC, it means he is getting hit in the backfield a good bit. That is OL, or a D that doesn’t respect the passing game – which is not uncommon in San Fran with Alex Smith at QB. Only time the niners opened up the passing game really was against opponents that had the worse passing defenses.

Plus, in general it is not surprising to me that Gore would do better overall with a struggling line. Gore is a big guy. He reminds me of Shawn Alexander.

I think NFL fans are still waiting for their Moneyball/Sabermetrics moment. Unfortunately, I don’t think most of them realize that football doesn’t lend itself to that sort of analysis.

I live in the bay area, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

…he’s so heavy!