Holy Schneikes
Footballguy
I admitted he had good production in between those years. My point was just that for well more than half of the time he has been in the league, his team-mates (backups) have produced better than he has, and some of them have produced very well overall. That doesn't indicate a "bad line" or a "bad scheme". That indicates bad play. He's had his moments, it's just that most of them were three or four years ago. Since then, other, mediocre backs have been considerably better than he has.I find it ironic that you went back to 2009 but skipped over 2010 and 2011. You know, the years when Hue Jackson was the Offensive Coordinator and then Head Coach of the Raiders. McFadden averaged 5.4 and 5.2 yards per carry and had his best and most healthy season to date in 2010. Granted, he got hurt in 2011, which has almost always been his calling card.The terrible line that allowed Rashad Jennings to rush for 4.5 this year (McFadden 3.3)? Marcel Reese 4.6 last year (McFadden 3.3)?ThisIf I were a Bernard owner, I wouldn't be happy about this.McFadden to the Bengals is very likely.
You've already got Hugh calling him his "little guy" and there's no indication that he'd be willing to turn the keys over to an undersized RB on a run-first offense. That's not to say his role would decrease, but I don't see it increasing either.
Combine that with Hugh's history with and his faith in McFadden that he's already expressed, and the fact that a healthy McFadden has already shown high end ability, and that would have RB-by-committee written all over it in order to keep both healthy.
A healthy McFadden is a more talented running back than Bernard, but it's anyone's guess as to how often he'd be healthy. I know Bernard is this board's favorite and all, but I think he's highly overrated around here and I think a lot of people who've been burned are severely underrating McFadden's impact wherever he signs. Especially in Cincinnati.
Bengals have a very good oline (that McFadden has never experienced).
Could be a good fit. However if I was a Dmac owner I would still want the Jets or Browns and his landing place
Even as far back as 2009, Michael Bush was running for 4.8 and McFadden was running for 3.4. Granted there some impressive stretches in between there, but when you look at the overall body of work, there is NO indication to me that he's more talented than Gio. If you look at the combined stats for all the backs that played for Oakland while McFadden has been there, they all turn out to be roughly the same in terms of effectiveness. And they've all been better than the average for 2013 Cinci by the way. Gio has been solid, but of course BJGE has been atrocious overall.
McFadden seems to be the kind of back that needs to be healthy first of all (and good luck with that), but ALSO requires his usage to be exactly right. He's fairly clearly not the kind of back that will flourish in any good system. Either his injuries have sapped him of what made him good, or he just wasn't that good to begin with, but fell into a great situation for a stretch.
As a Gio owner, I would welcome McFadden to Cinci with open arms. The perfect backup.
It's no secret that McFadden's performances have been inconsistent and he hasn't played well through injuries. It's had an effect on his numbers for sure. But for you to say he can't flourish in any good system is innaccurate, especially when he's already flourished in the system of the Offensive Coordinator who's in Cincinnati. A healthy McFadden would most definitely be a huge threat to Gio, and personally, I'd see a timeshare between them and give the edge to McFadden because his size and history with Hue... with all the normal injury caveats.
It may never even be relevant, but it really seems like a logical spot if he becomes a free agent as expected.
What I often like to look at are first down runs. That tends to take out a lot of the situational elements. Reese and Jennings combined for about the same number of 1st down carries as McFadden over the last two years, and their combined average has been MUCH higher than McFadden's over that period. Throughout much of that time, McFadden was ostensibly "healthy", and one of those years was a contract year. How does that guy hold an advantage over one of the most dynamic young RBs in the league with a very promising first year under his belt?