SSOG said:
If the context is fantasy football, then why did you provide Williams' NFL stats? Does your fantasy league award points for having a better YPC? Does your fantasy league award points per carry? If you wanted to prove that Williams was the better fantasy back, why not just post their respective fantasy totals when both players were healthy? Also, context isn't provided by the original post, it's provided by the chain of posts to which you are replying. Go read the chain of posts you responded to. Hotlanta started it by saying that Williams was MORE TALENTED than Deshaun Foster (not better for fantasy, but MORE TALENTED). You then responded by saying "a veteran RB who the whole world can see has outproduced Stewart, and can be argued is the MORE TALENTED BACK." Hotlanta responded with "Don't underestimate Stewart. HE IS AN IMMENSELY TALENTED BACK." Jurb chimed in saying that Williams was the better back, and AZ_Prof replied that Williams wasn't the better back, he was the healthier back. That's the CONTEXT of your statistical diatribe. It seems pretty clear that, given the context, it was a discussion of actual NFL talent and not fantasy worth.
Also, I didn't cherry pick stats to show that Stewart is more talented. I used multiple stats to illustrate that Stewart is a better short yardage, red zone, move the chains RB (while acknowledging that statistics clearly show that DeAngelo is the bigger home run threat and early-down runner). That's not cherry-picking stats, that's using stats to illuminate a player's usage patterns and skill set. I also don't base my conclusions that Stewart is more talented on his rushing stats in short yardage- I base it on my eyes, which tell me that Stewart, in addition to possessing excellent vision and instincts, is the best size/speed combo at RB in recent memory, and the only guy who comes close is Steven Jackson.
I provided the stats that were found on FBG player pages, and then under the split stats for Stewart and Williams. I used these stats, because those are what FF points are based on. Yes, I could have taken out carries and YPC, but I just used the info on those pages without editing it. Also, the topic of this thread MOST DEFINITELY does provide the context. Furthermore, I never posted that Stewart wasn't the most talented back, (I did say that people could argue Williams is the more talented back), because talent is subjective. You can't accurately measure it. Making a statement that someone is more talented than someone else is, largely, opinion based.
What I did post about (and respond to) was the post that Williams' wasn't better, just healthier. That is not subjective. With regards to Stewart's FF value, (which is the context of this thread) Stewart is not better. He may one day be, but he is not there yet.
Perhaps "cherry-picked" was the wrong phrase, but you weren't entirely forthcoming with your stats. (at least not in your initial post)
You said that Williams was better on early downs, and Stewart was better on later downs. That's not accurate.
1/2 down:
Williams-33 carries for 253 yards, 7.67 YPC (I used YPC because yards would be misleading, as Stewart didn't get as many carries)
Stewart-15 carries for 98 yards, 6.53 YPC
3/4 down:
DW-241 carries for 1265 yards, 5.25 YPC
JS-168 carries for 737 yards, 4.37 YPC
How is Stewart better on later downs than Williams?
You also said that Stewart is better than Williams inside the 20.
This is true, but by not posting the stats (just saying Stewart is better), you weren't providing all the info. They're actually pretty close in effectiveness here.
Inside the 20, Stewart converted 39% of his carries into 1st downs.
That is better than Williams, he converted 37%.
Further, you said that Stewart was better in short yardage.
Again, this is true, but it's pretty close.
With less than 3 yards needed, Stewart converted 1st downs 73% of the time (19/26)
Williams converted only 67% of the time (20/30).
So Stewart is 2% more effective inside the 20s, and 6% more effective on short yardage. You feel that that negates the other areas that Williams is better than Stewart, and makes him more talented. That is your opinion, and you are entitled to it.
However, with regards to FF, Stewart is not the better back.
You compare him to Steven Jackson, but isn't the biggest negative about Jackson that he isn't able to stay healthy? That seems to be one knock on Stewart right now, as well.
Would you rather have Jackson, who was GREAT one year, but average in the others, or a back who MAY have a slightly lower ceiling, but doesn't have the recurring injuries?