issue 26 // volume 40

sports // 19

Don't go running

 

» The decline of the ballcarrier

Eric Wilkins

Sports Editor

“sports
@theotherpress.ca

 

wy |
he NFL is increasingly becoming a passing
league—few will dispute that. The years of 4,000
yards passing being a milestone for quarterbacks are
over. With this shift the roles of certain positions have
changed. Tight ends, for example, are used far more
often in the passing game than they used to be. The

especially financially, is running back.

Running backs will always be the bread and butter
of the NFL, but they’re becoming devalued. It’s not as
if a good back can be plucked off the street a la Mike
Shanahan all the time now, but teams are refusing
to pay the massive sums the position has become
accustomed to receiving. Ben Tate, who many have
been waiting for ages to get out of Houston and land
his own starting gig, signed a two-year, $6.2-million
deal in his free agent debut. Toby Gerhart, a more
intriguing option emerging from Adrian Peterson’s
shadow, got $10.5 million over three years. Knowshon
Moreno, who's coming off a season where he had over

$3-million contract. And, albeit he’s near washed-up,
Maurice Jones-Drew got $7.5 million over three years.
All of these backs are starting-calibre players but
they’re making a fraction of what the position used to
make.

Here’s some more names: Sebastian Janikowski,
Robbie Gould, Josh Scobee, Stephen Gostkowski,
Connor Barth, Matt Prater, Dan Bailey, Graham Gano,
Phil Dawson, and Nick Folk. What do they all have
in common? For starters, they’re all kickers. More
importantly though, each one averages over $3 million
a season. In other words, these kickers make roughly
the same as some starting running backs. If one were
to say a decade ago that a kicker, let alone a number of
them, were making as much as a starting ballcarrier,
you'd have been laughed out of the room. Now it’s a
frightening reality.

Part of the reason for the decline of running backs
can be traced to the college level. The NFL, as everyone

: knows, is a copycat league. If one team is doing

: something and finding success with it, it won't be long
: until someone else tries it. The trick though is that the
: NFL takes a number of cues from college teams. Many
: teams in college employ spread offences and operate

: out of the shotgun constantly; the system works well

: for quarterbacks inflating their stats. Due to
: many colleges employing this system,
: running backs aren't given as much

: of achance to shine. If poor Billy

: isn’t getting the workload to get

” > : that 1,000-yard season, how are
position most heavily influenced by the change though, : teams going to know how good
he is? Asa result, in this year’s

: NFL draft, there isn’t a single

: back expected to go in the first

: round, and some would argue there
: isn’t one in the second either.

related note, many teams have
: been sharing the workload
: a great deal more than

: before. One back will still
: get the lion’s share of the

: Carries in most cases,

: : but his backups will see
1,500 yards from scrimmage, received a paltry one-year, : pore of the ball than
their predecessors did. The
: shift to a running-back-by-
: committee approach has eased the

: need for one star. Also of note is that :
: ina pass-heavy system, a bell-cow =~
: back isn’t as necessary, and having ia i
: the versatility to release out of

: the backfield a display of soft

: hands is a trait coaches and GMs
: increasingly look out for.

NFL goes through phases.
: Running backs won't be on the
: back burner forever; they will

: have their heyday again. For
: now, however, ballcarriers

: will have to adjust their

: financial expectations.

back to mama

   
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
   
 
  
 
  
   
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
   
 
  
   
  
 
   
 
  
 
  
 
   

Along with that college-

i

At the end of the day, the

Toby Gerhart // By www. jakestakeonsports.com