09-13-2010, 11:42 AM
Spiny_Norman, w/r/t to the mystery of why Luck struggles versus some defenses while lights up others...I\'d suggest it\'s nothing more mysterious than sometimes good quarterbacks struggle--even Tom Brady isn\'t Tom Brady every game. Indeed, last year Brady had games of: 23 for 47, 11 for 23, 19 for 33 etc. (His worst YPAs were 4.6, 5, 6.5 and 6.6. Luck\'s YPA against UCLA was 6.3. Again, not that terrible a game.)
As to the running backs: their stats aren\'t great, and cumulative yards I think are a bit deceptive. That said, the per carry numbers are depressed by how the offense performed when near each end zone: there were two drives that started within our five yard line and we\'ve discussed the red-zone struggles previously. I\'d bet the running backs look a lot better when you subtract those carries and look at middle-of-the-field carries.
As to the running backs: their stats aren\'t great, and cumulative yards I think are a bit deceptive. That said, the per carry numbers are depressed by how the offense performed when near each end zone: there were two drives that started within our five yard line and we\'ve discussed the red-zone struggles previously. I\'d bet the running backs look a lot better when you subtract those carries and look at middle-of-the-field carries.