re: Jacksonville Jaguars releasing Leonard Fournette

Football Metrics (whatever they call it) ranked him #39 in the league in running backs...with his "value per play" and "total value."

I'm sure the football guys do the Billy Bean these days and analyze all this stuff about value...and it sounds like he had little trade value.

All those metrics don't watch Jags games and see him getting hit by 3 DL as he takes the handoff at least 10 times a game. His runs for under 3 yards are in large part due to the worst OL play I've ever seen. Literally the whole OL caves in.

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New came out in an article today. While the coaches were on the edge and wanted to get ride of him. Players the jaguars locker room went to the higher ups and told them about fournette and also wanted him to go. This made the coaches decision much easier.

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Hmmm. This is interesting and obviously troubling for Fournette and his fans. He’s a hard player to figure out. Dude has been getting a shite ton of carries/touches since he was in 8th grade, and almost always on teams where he was clearly the offensive focal point. He may hold the record at all 3 levels (high school, college, and NFL) for running into stacked boxes. And though he obviously has been relatively inefficient per touch at the NFL level, and quite honestly a bust, his durability is a valuable asset/skill.

He is so big, strong, durable, AND fast (he’s still registering the NFL’s best mph, I think), that his inefficiency is baffling. It MUST be that he simply lacks vision and the ability to be creative with the ball in his hands and make things happen. And this will be a “duh” take, but I think he would thrive behind a good offensive line and running through bigger holes. If he could just get a decent seam and hit the hole the play is designed for, he could be devastating. Every NFL caliber back would obviously be more successful with better lines providing bigger holes, but I think he could turn what might be a 20-25-yarder for most backs, into a 50, 60, 70 yard one if he could just get north and south quick and long enough to get his uniquely powerful momentum going.

He’s cut from a cloth that would have thrived in the NFL of 20, 30, 40+ years ago. His skill set just doesn’t translate to the football offense of present day. But it could for particular teams. I’m a Saints fan and don’t want him. But a team like the Saints is where he could resurrect his career—give him a team with an OL that can not only pass block, but is athletic and strong enough to create holes for him to put a foot in the ground and get going north/south almost immediately. Combine that with a competent passing game to prevent teams from stacking the box to stop him and even adding playing on turf to take advantage of his speed, and he may turn into one of the best offensive weapons in the NFL.

But that’s too many stars that would have to align. Even though I am convinced he’s good enough to be able to fully take advantage of a system similar to that which I just described, there’s just as good enough of a chance he’s out of the league in 2 years as well.

Damn what a bust

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Him and Trent are two of the worse RB picks of the last 20 years.

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I wouldn’t go that far for Fournette