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RB Austin Ekeler, WAS (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Ketamine Dreams
- Start date
Absolutely Nothing
Footballguy
With the near dud (saved by a late game winning catch), I'm not sure what to expect on a week-to-week basis. GB looks a little juicy, and Gordon hasn't done much to force Ekeler out of timeshare, but I would be starting Ek with a little more confidence if they didn't just play the Bears. For now, I'll be tossing around the idea of starting him over Jaylen Samuels and praying he gets RB/WR designation in ESPN.
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[scooter]
Footballguy
When has ESPN ever changed a player's designation 9 games into a season, let alone changed a player's designation when the team itself has not changed the player's official position?
Absolutely Nothing
Footballguy
IIRC, Ty Montgomery got the designation of RB midway through the season back in 2016.
I think he ended up just converting for them, but with Ek's usage, a man can dream. Like the opposite of the Jimmy Graham debate from a few years back.
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It's funny, Ekeler has been getting a ton of love this week yet, if it wasn't for that late TD his line would have been complete garbage. I could have seen Ekeler owners throwing in the towel if that TD didn't happen.Absolutely Nothing said:
Rodgers is on fire. Gotta think GB gets up in this one so maybe Ekeler gets his share. That said, GB a little soft in the middle so this could be a Gordon game.
Absolutely Nothing
Footballguy
Last week was a tough game for everyone on the LAC offense. The week before, he showed that even with garbage rushing, he can be an RB1 with his receiving share. This is a team that will throw a LOT, and dump it off a lot. Especially if Gordon continues to struggle, Ek isn't worth giving up on.
Mario Wario
Footballguy
In my opinion, this is the week Gordon has to show up. Everything is lining up to say that he should be solid this week. But if he fails again, and Ek performs better and/or the offense plays better with him in, the hot hand approach might be used going forward, or rather Ek gets the nod very soon. Overall, I am really curious to see on how this backfield will go after this weekend. Someone needs to control this backfield eventually, right?
(I’m staying neutral with the Ek vs. Gordon debate; eventually one party will be victorious...hopefully.)
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aggie_dave
Footballguy
In full admission, I didn't watch every snap of today's game. However from what I did see, I thought Ekeler looked considerably better on his touches than did Gordon despite Gordon's superior stat line. Can any homers enlighten me why the Chargers aren't using this guy at least as much as the guy who held-out who didn't seem interested in making LAC his long term home?
Ekeler had a chance to get a rushing TD - he got 2 carries inside the 5 bringing it to the 1, but on 4th down Gordon got the call and the TD. Gordon looked good today, broke some tackles, but Ekeler does look more explosive. It's a good 1-2 punch. They don't want to wear down Ekeler.
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
Workhorse
Footballguy
He had two targets last night.
My issue is the coaching: How in the world are you not getting Ekeler more involved? I understand that Gordon was productive last night but this doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. What about a 2 RB set or using Ekeler in the slot? It makes zero sense to me that they're barely using this guy.
TVT 0 N S T A
Footballguy
Spoken from a true Ekeler owner. I am a Gordon owner and if the season is lost... this favors Gordon more than Ekeler. Gordon is going to be on someone else's roster next year, which means you should run him into the ground. The only thing hampering M. Gordon is the outcome of these football games. Generally speaking, they are in passing situations late in games where Ekeler is the clear favorite for the Chargers.
Through my eyes, Melvin Gordon is clearly the better back and anyone asking for more Ekeler volume is an Ekeler owner hoping for his Start of Season production.
Tau837
Footballguy
Rivers completed a pass to Ekeler from the slot for 23 yards on the first play from scrimmage... then no other official target until the late TD. That said, he did catch 2 other passes, but those plays were both negated by defensive penalties.
Interestingly enough, the Chargers decided to accept a 5 yard penalty to get in 2nd and 8 rather than decline to keep the result of an 11 yard catch by Ekeler that would have put them in 3rd and 2. Not sure about that decision, but that was the drive that ended with Ekeler's TD, so it worked out.
The problem is that Gordon played well and had 23 touches and Allen played well and had 15 opportunities. Ekeler had 10 opportunities, which was next highest.
Workhorse
Footballguy
Yards per touch in 2019:
Ekeler: 6.1
Gordon: 3.9
Over the past 3 games as Lynn has largely phased Ekeler out of the offense, the Chargers offense has posted their 2 lowest yardage games. Is it a coincidence that in both games, Ekeler received under 10 touches per game, his 2 lowest totals of the season?
joffer
Footballguy
TheWinz
Footballguy
Ekeler is not as good of a runner as many are making him out to be. He is a receiving specialist, who was thrust into a workhorse role to start the season. In each of his 4 games without MG, he masked his average-at-best running (3.9 YPC) with great receiving stats. He had more yardage receiving in all 4 games. He is the James White of the Chargers. This is coming from an Ekeler owner. I don't mind that he is losing carries - that was expected upon MG's return. I do think he needs to be more involved in the passing game though. In the first 5 games, he had no less than 5 catches and 45 yards. In the last 5, he only hit either of those numbers once.
Workhorse
Footballguy
When Ekeler has 9 or more carries in a game this season (5 games, including last week against the Packers), he's averaging 4.3 ypc. Again, the issue here is the dramatic drop in snaps. Having Ekeler off the field more often than on it is a losing strategy and he's been averaging less than 50% snap rate over the past five weeks. That's just terrible coaching.
Absolutely Nothing
Footballguy
Started Ekeler over Jaylen Samuels- not disappointed in the 10-odd points I got out of Ek but I'm wondering if I made a misplay. The trend is definitely heading downward, but this feels like a trap where as soon as I bench Ek, he'll go off on my bench like week 7.
Weebs210
Footballguy
They lost last night because they stopped running the ball with Gordon in the second half.
TwinTurbo
Footballguy
TheWinz
Footballguy
Don't you think it says something when you basically cherry-picked, and still only came up with 4.3 YPC? 47 RB's currently are averaging at least 4.3 YPC, without having to remove their bad games.
Just for the heck of it, let me cherry-pick this stat for you - in all games where Ekeler had less than 8 touches, the Chargers are 1-0, and it was easily their best game of the season.
matttyl
Footballguy
Was questioning that decision myself. They ended up with 3rd and 3+ if I recall.
Workhorse
Footballguy
I think it speaks to sample sizes and opportunity. His YPC on the season are still better than Gordon's.
Workhorse
Footballguy
Andrew74
Footballguy
Workhorse
Footballguy
Agreed. So why all the workload for Gordon over Ekeler is clearly a much better weapon in the passing game?
Actually, just looked it up: Ekeler is 3.8. Gordon is 3.5.
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TVT 0 N S T A
Footballguy
Understandable, but that is taking into assumption all teams are equal. Chicago is a top 10 run defense for yardage allowed. Tennessee is top 15.
There are variables not being factored into the production/usage change. Injuries to the line and quality of opponent have changed. With that being said, look at the Dolphins game. Ekeler averaged 3.3ypc and was saved by a couple touchdowns. If you thought this production was going to continue after Melvin Gordon's holdout ended... you are more optimistic than I am.
If you look at the games both runners have played in... the statistics are not much different. YPC are similar and Ekeler does not have the body type to bang between the tackles 20-30 times a game for 16 games. If I owned Ekeler, I would have been looking to unload him for someone (assuming you were smart enough to draft Ekeler has a RB2 or RB3). Sell them when they're performance has surpassed expectations.
Side note: I thought Gordon looked decent running behind a line that couldn't stop a 4 man rush.
Workhorse
Footballguy
I don't think this is a Gordon vs. Ekeler thing. It's an Ekeler vs. all the other options in the passing game.
Lot of mouths to feed. Earlier in the year...no Gordon, No Williams, no Henry.
Ekeler was split out often, but Rivers has a ton of targets.
Donny Loved Bowling
Footballguy
Not exactly. I was able to package Ekeler with Darnold (!) earlier this week, to get Winston and Gallup. Maybe I hopped off a little late, but I enjoyed the ride.
Mario Wario
Footballguy
Side note: Ekeler’s snap percentage last night was 45% vs. Gordon’s 62%. Last week it was 34%, which shows he’s still a fine option. Next week is KC and he had a good game against them last year. The second meeting, though, he missed due to being hurt.
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Absolutely Nothing
Footballguy
I think you have to work with a contingency plan, even if they like Ek as a starter with Gordon gone. They recognize they can't give him a workhorse load for a full season and should probably bring in a pounder vet to compete for early down snaps.
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
I own both. I'll disagree here. Perhaps Gordon is currently looking better but it's too small a sample (I'll say the last 2 weeks) since he's been in true game shape again. Regardless I don't think there's been anything clear cut that I've seen that says one is superior to the other, unless you're going to separate rushing from receiving where IMO there is a clear difference.
He’s a RFA so ekeler may not stay in LA either, most likely the chargers match but there is some chance he lands somewhere else and you can hope for production like the first half of the season.
Like Just Win said of ekeler is back next year they would still have justin Jackson and a combo of Jackson and ekeler would be solid. Ekeler probably gets 65-75% of the work just like earlier this year. Definitely hard to judge his future value tho, could be a steal if he is used right (Top 10 back in PPR) or he could fall back to more of a flex play every week
VikingFrog
Footballguy
Can we compare him to the likes of Coleman? Similar role in Atlanta with solid production per touch but never got to be the guy other than a few injury replacement games.
Went to San Fran to seemingly be the man, and sort of piled into a big timeshare but still producing and proving he can be an RB1 in the right scenario.
Absolutely Nothing
Footballguy
Ekeler looks good when this offense looks works. He’s a startable pass-catcher alone, even without the rushing yards. He’s clearly a large part of this offense still. Love him as a high floor RB2.
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Tau837
Footballguy
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
He's a monster. Blessed to have him. I hope they can keep the passing plays coming to him even after Rivers is gone cause he can do it all.
