Raider Nation Shouldn't Rush To Judgement

Many in Raider Nation are ready to call Darren McFadden a "bust."

They say,"Michael Bush is way better." or "We need to trade McFadden." 

Many of those same people thought McFadden was the Raider's Messiah after a week two performance against the Chiefs in 2008. And just like then, they are now rushing to judgement.

They went as far as comparing McFadden to Adrian Peterson after one game. The first thing to be said about that is that Peterson went to a better team with one of the best offensive lines in football.

This is when many in Raider Nation pull out Michael Bush. They say, "Michael Bush had a better average per rush with the same line."

That is very true, but those that truly know the position know that doesn't tell the whole story. It takes a running back 15 carries just to get warmed up.

Meanwhile, the defense is getting fatigued from running to the football on every play. It is at that point that an offensive line takes control and pushes the defense back.

After the 20th carry, fatigue sets in more for the defense and that is when mistakes are made; that is when a big run comes. Defenses can make mistakes early in the game as well, but most mistakes are made when fatigue sets in.

McFadden averaged 6.5 carries per game this season. Bush averaged 7.6 carries per game his season.

Any averages taken from that are meaningless. That is why there is a 250-carry minimum to be among the leaders in yards per carry in the NFL.

Neither Bush or McFadden have carried the ball 250 in their two seasons in the NFL. They didn't even have 250 carries combined for the 2009 season.  

Therefore, there is nothing conclusive to put Bush above McFadden. We simply don't have enough to go on.

Both Felix Jones and Jamaal Charles had better ypc averages than Chris Johnson. They were helped by being way under the 250 minimum. Do you think that either back is better than Johnson?

Are you willing to say that Bush is better than Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, and Maurice Jones-Drew? He had a better ypc average than all of them.

These men were consistent ball carriers for their teams. Consistency is what makes a player great and neither of the Raider running backs had that.

The Raider offensive line has to take a lot of the blame for that. However, I attribute most of it to the lack of commitment to the running game the Raiders had.

Bushes 4.8 yards per carry came largely from two big games he had: an 8.5 average in a 14 carry, 119 yard effort against Denver and a 7.4 ypc average in an 18 carry, 133 yard performance against the Chiefs. In 15 games, Bush averaged over 4 yards per carry five times.

McFadden didn't have that big game in 2009 like he did in 2008, so his ypc average suffered tremendously as neither of these backs get a lot of carries.

But neither back really separated himself from the other. Neither back has even had the chance to separate himself from the other.

I have them dead even until I see more.

Feel free to like them both as they are both Raiders.

Bush is 26 and McFadden is 22.

There is no need to rush to judgement.