Kelly the Dog Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 he was playing arena league and nfl europe and such before he was in the NFL so it's not like he was living in a time capsule for those few years preserving his body Already been discussed in the thread that counting all those carries in those three years he still has less than half of Emmit's and Curtis Martin's at this age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 ive said this a jillion times so i guess this is a jillion and one: you could put a rb on a shelf feeding him nothing but milk and honey until he was 30 and he will STILL hit the wall very soon afterwards. your body continues to age and degrade no matter how little 'wear and tear' you get, so that argument is utter bullcrap love me some freddie but i agree, this is his last shot at elite production, and frankly i wouldnt be at all surprised if the wall smacks him in the face this very season. very close to time to transition him to the third down/specialty back, if it hasnt happened already players at almost every other position and every other sport have ways they can adapt to their declining physical abilities. quarterbacks become smarter, goalies improve precise positioning, pitchers learn more precise placement. but rb is such a simple formula that theres really no way to adapt - you can either accelerate, cut on a dime, and plow through arm tackles or you cant. not much chance to adapt with those straight forward requirements Interesting contention - the bit about "putting a running back on the shelf and feeding him milk and honey and he would still hit the wall". What evidence do you have for that? -It's pretty well established that runners peak in their mid to late 20s, and then the decline to the times they were able to achieve in their teens takes them into their 50s or 60s (!) if they train and take care of their bodies. See, for example, this topic in the book "Born to Run" -Running backs aren't all alike. There are power runners who plow straight ahead, and then there are runners who are elusive and glide through small holes. Freddie would be in that latter category, and I find it hard to envision that understanding of the game/knowledge of how the "frogs" on the other team are likely to jump doesn't improve this latter ability. If running backs can't improve through experience and refined technique, why does CJ seem better last year and this year than he did as a rookie? -I do believe that the sheer physical punishment takes a toll that can't be compensated for - but your contention was it would be the same if they were on a shelf, being cherished so to speak. Where is the evidence that your contention is anything but bull-hockey? -And if it's sheer physical punishment, others have pointed out that even adding together Arena league and NFL Europe with his NFL reps, Freddie is still running about 1/2 the carries of the other backs cited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QB Bills Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Some great evidence put out by the posters here about Fred being near the end, but I'll put my money on the guy who continually overcomes the odds to do it once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 lmao what evidence? how about the evidence the op provided? Your contention was that # of hits don't matter, that a running back "kept on the shelf and fed milk and honey" would still decline after 30. What evidence do you have of that? The evidence that the OP provided was of RBs who were featured backs for 8 years or so by age 30, with >3000 carries. Freddie is at ~1500 carries even including arena and europe with nfl. So which is it? Either carries matter - which I believe- in which case Freddie is a unique case, a "late bloomer" who has hit 30 without as many carries - or age alone matters - in which case isn't it fair to ask you what your evidence is for that - but RBs who were out there grinding don't support your contention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I was just thinking about his age earlier today. He doesn't have the wear and tear, but you still lose it with age. That said I dont think we will see dramatic reduction this year and I think he has a few good years ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) Freddy has the NFL wear and tear of a guy 5 years younger. That's why stats like this mean nothing. That's what I was going to say. Edited September 9, 2012 by Buffalo Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCELL DAREUS POWER Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 ummm, walter payton had a great year at 31, so did marcus allen, there are others... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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