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Oakland Raiders: The pros and cons of running with Justin Fargas
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Fargas might not be the best, but he’s still better than most
Alright, I can hear it now. “Give it up already! The future is McFadden and Bush!” Ok, hold on for a second. Just a second…alright give me a few minutes. Before we anoint anybody HOF status or elect them as the ‘Best Raider Runner Ever.’ let’s basque in all the realms of possibilities for a moment before the season.
This is the first in a series of articles that we’ll be bringing to you about the infamous runningback team that the Raiders have amassed. So we’ll get to DMAC and The President 2.0, as well as take some time to discuss the guys who wouldn’t mind being their caddy for the 2008 season. This is about Fargas though, so let’s get to it.When judging a runningback, what are the attributes necessary to describe him? Unlike other positions on the field, a runningback must be great at a few and good at the rest in order to be labeled great in the NFL. Only one other back in the history of the NFL had all of the talents and skills as Bo Jackson and that was the one and only Jim Brown. As history has shown, a player like that comes along maybe once every 30-50 years, depending on how you look at it.
So I ask again, what attributes do you use for grading? Let’s look at Bo Jackson as our example, since I’m sure you all know that Bo knows running. Jackson was one of those types of backs that had speed, strength, moves, and when he had the ball, he was a villain. Not a villain like you see in the movies or hear about in rap music, but a villain in the sense that he showed no mercy to any tackler and he was full bore on every play with no job too large or small for him to attack.
Blocking and pass catching are skills that must be assessed when judging runningbacks, but we’ll save that for a later date and try to keep this as simple as possible for now by only judging the runners by their main task, pounding the rock.
All the grades will be on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the best and 1 being, best be a receiver.
ANKLES
Let’s start from the ground up. You would think that a runningback’s greatest attribute would be his feet, but since that’s pretty much true for every position on the field, let’s just say that feet are negligible, but his footwork isn’t. That footwork really isn’t attributed to feet, but instead the ankles. Players like Marcus Allen, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders had ankles that would help them to practically dislocate the defender’s knees while trying to keep up.
On this attribute, my assessment of Fargas is not very positive. Fargas can break in and out of direction real nice, but he’s not allusive as Marcus Allen was which is who he most closely resembles as a runner. The resemblance fades in the open field when he’s trying to put the moves on a defensive back though. Fargas has a tendency to go for the spin move over the juke, but runners like Allen and Sanders were masters at combining the two into a nearly unstoppable measures.
The ankles allow that quick start and stop action that many runners and receivers possess, but the great ones cause defenders to lose their jobs, while the not so great get tackled quickly. A runner that can pull off a juke on a defender is at least a 3 in this attribute, while a back that can do the juke and a spin quickly enough to elude several defenders rates a 5.
Fargas can stop and start quick enough to put him in the 4 range, but his ability to juke and elude defenders moves his grade substantially down. Grade: 2
HIPS
“Hips? Are you kidding? This isn’t dancing with the stars!” Yeah, that’s true, but there’s a reason that Emmitt Smith was able to do so well on that show, and it’s not because he’s a famous Cowboy. As a tackler, you are taught to watch the hips, because wherever they, the hips, face is the direction the ball carrier is going.
“Yeah, so?” Since the runningback relies on quick moves and quick changes in direction to do his job, fluid hips are important in helping to make that all happen. The more fluid the hips, the faster the change in direction, and the more elusive the runningback becomes. This fluidity also adds to the last discussion about juke moves and spins, but the hips are basically an enhancement of those abilities and not a cause of them.
Fargas, despite his inability to be elusive, is rather shifty with the hips. This is an attribute of his that makes him such a good fit to run behind the zone blocking scheme utilized by the Raiders. With this ability, he’s able to move behind the line, looking for a hole, and then change direction and sprint through it when it finally opens up. Grade: 4
STRENGTH - LEGS
Normally when the topic of strength comes up, it’s common to automatically get a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger winning one of his Mr. Universe titles or gunning down some Rastafarian, Bob Marley look-alike, alien in some South American jungle. With a runningback, that’s not the case. There are two attributes to runningback strength, one being the arms, and the other being the legs. In retrospect, maybe looking like the Terminator does help.
Leg strength helps in many areas, such as speed, cuts, and tackle breaking. The main focus of leg strength is the runner’s ability to move a pile and break tackles. Sure, you want speed and the ability to cut on a dime, but many thousand yard rushers have dispelled the myth that those two skills are necessary for success.
Three questions must be asked when grading this attribute: 1) Can you tackle him with an arm tackle? 2) Can he move the pile when there isn’t a hole? 3) Does he go down easily? Alright, so the last question can also be attributed to balance, but for the purpose of strength we’re talking about the difference between being tackled when touched or needing to be tackled decisively by the defender.
When it comes to Fargas, it’s safe to say that he’s no easy tackle. An arm tackle is only going to work if you have super human strength, he can move the pile when the holes aren’t there, and he may be the toughest Raider running back to tackle since Bo Jackson or Marcus Allen. GRADE: 4
STRENGTH - ARMS
This attribute really is less about strength and more about form and technique. In order to rate players, you have to make form and technique a given since runningbacks are all taught these things. Only when someone is remarkably good or bad, can you turn to form/technique as an answer or reason.
Two things to think about are fumbling and stiff arming. Of course, in order not to fumble and still stiff arm well, a runner needs to be able to strike a balance between the two. Strength of arms not only helps do this, but they also serve as a last resort when all of the form and technique training have been thrown out of the window. A look at Fargas, and you can see he has the guns.
While Fargas attempts to stiff arm, he has never really been known to perfect it and often gets tackled while attempting it. On the other hand, for a guy that came out of college with the label of ‘fumbler,’ he’s definitely figured out how to hold on to the ball. For his career, he has 5 fumbles in 480 attempts for an average of one fumble every 96 attempts though last year he averaged one fumble for every 74 attempts. That was still better than Clinton Portis, Reggie Bush, Willis McGahee, and Adrian Peterson as well as others. GRADE: 3
EYES AND BRAIN
This is not an indication of how smart a runner is. Though it’s always helpful to have smart players on the field, in the case of running, the eyes and brain need to be efficient and work quickly. “Eyes? Serious? Of course a player needs to see!” Yes, vision is important, but more importantly the runner needs to be able to scan the field rapidly. Having the ability to see the field and do that quickly is imperative in finding the holes in which to run through.
The ability for the runner to see things developing, his brain being able to decipher the code the eyes transmit to it, and to have the two work quickly is the difference between being a half step faster through the hole to daylight or just simply seeing nothing but the numbers on the backs of your offensive linemen.
Even when the Raiders were horrible in the running game, Fargas was always able to identify and move towards the hole. Unfortunately, before Cable was coaching the line, those holes closed so quick that even the Flash couldn’t have run through them consistently. Last year, Fargas’ mastery of finding the hole lead him to being the starter and his first 1,000 yard season. GRADE: 4
BALANCE AND AGILITY
Balance is the ability to be pushed, pulled, hit, or even tripped and maintain your feet well enough to continue the run. Agility is the ability to not only avoid big hits, but also be able to twist and turn in order to be a difficult target to line up for a hit.
Even though he’s called ‘Crash Test Dummy,’ it doesn’t necessarily mean that Fargas is not an agile runner. Some may disagree, but besides the plays in which he lowers his head to give or take a hit, Fargas is pretty good about moving his upper body helping him to avoid some of the big defenders hands trying to grab his shoulder pads or jersey.
It’s very difficult to deny that Fargas is very good at maintaining his balance. You could also make a case for him not having balance due to the fact that some of the best plays showing his balance are usually showing his lack thereof. In my estimation, he doesn’t fall in the open field. When he’s lost or has almost lost his balance, nearly every time it’s due to being tugged at while going through the line. It all becomes a wash at the end since he’s a very difficult runner to grade on this attribute. GRADE: 3
HEART (PRIDE)
I know, I know. I know that I promised to work from the ground up, but I had to save the best for last. I just had the feeling my analysis was still missing something. What really makes a runner stand out from the rest is the heart that he plays with. How do you gauge heart? It’s difficult, because it’s like judging the perfect home. You might start looking without knowing what makes a home perfect, but when you finally see it, you know that you’ve found it.
Second chances, playing hurt, and not letting up on runs are things that would cause admiration of a runningback. When Fargas runs the ball, he looks as though he wants that yard more than anyone else on the field. He works harder on the field than most, at least it looks that way. Even when he’s made a bad run, he’s never displayed quit. He continues to run the same with 11 guys hanging on to him as he does with nobody around.
He dishes out punishment while running and that often will lead to injury, but even after straining his knee last season, he stayed on the field to get the touchdown that he said he could ,”smell.” I’m not alone in my assessment of him as his teammates voted him the Ed Block Courage Award and the Commitment to Excellence Award. The Ed Block Award is for players who best exemplify courage on the team while the C.T.E. award is for players that ‘best exemplifies the pride, poise and spirit of The Oakland Raiders.’ GRADE: 5
Fargas might not be the best runningback on the team, and he’s not the best in the league either. He’s a guy with a good amount of talent, the right amount of skill, and an abundance of heart. If I was to start a team, I’d hope to have a guy like him in my backfield. While not great and still injury prone, his will to succeed and determination to win his matchup make him better than most. OVERALL GRADE: 4
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41 Responses to “Oakland Raiders: The pros and cons of running with Justin Fargas”
May 28th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Great analysis, Rob.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Impeccable Job, Rob!
Raider Till Death!
May 28th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Yes i think he’s the most raider player we have. One of the places we have that is full of silver and black heart. I hope he gets a good shake with our full back-field.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Good analysis, I enjoyed reading this well thought out article. I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to disagree with you on one aspect; I think you graded Fargas too high on his vision (eyes). I think this is his weakest attribute and the main reason that he takes such huge hits. Vision for a runningback goes beyond identifying the hole and hitting it. It goes to seeing what’s beyond the hole and being able to avoid the second layer of tacklers. That’s why Fargas rarely breaks off a big run. He’s good (not great) in the zone blocking system because he can make one cut and go. A back with great vision (McFadden? - hopefully) will make that one cut and go, then give a little wiggle to avoid the LB or safety he SEES coming up and be gone. Vision is the attribute that separates the good backs from the great ones, and unfortunately, it’s what keeps Justin Fargas from being a great back.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Fargas has always been a fan favorite, and deservedly so. Even when several “me first” players are blatantly giving up around him, he always seems to give it his all. It’s players like him that make the bad years tolerable, and the good years great!
May 28th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Rose colored glasses. Hips and leg strength are one maybe two grades too high. Completely correct on heart. If the other guys could have half his heart that would be great.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Farags is an outstanding blocker especially in blitz pick-up, a must for any back. He runs hard and has excellent speed, no mater what Kiffin says. I wish he were more comfortable catching the ball. Fargas would be even more effective and take far fewer big hits if he ran behind his pads at a much lower pad level. Being lower whould help Fargas be more shifty and harder to tackle becasuse his center of gravity would be lower.He reminds me a lot of Robert Smith ( Vikings.) Smith had a very upright running style . He got much better as he learned to run lower. I hope coach Rathman can change this area of Fargas’ game.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:57 am
yes he is a deserved starter, and should remain that way until proven otherwise, yes bush and dmac… but theyre not proven yet so… HUGGY BEAR JR ALL DAY BABY!
May 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am
and btw… nice article rob.. very well written!
May 28th, 2008 at 8:37 am
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May 28th, 2008 at 8:54 am
good read i like fargas alot i think we should keep hime to add to the run!! and i’m with tony he always plays hard when the guys around him are quiting!!
May 28th, 2008 at 8:55 am
He’ll do well ’til he gets hurt!
May 28th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I like the depth of analysis, I just don’t think that much of Fargas, except for his heart.
He gets tripped up frequently by arm/shoestring tackles because he has no balance due to his narrow frame and upright running style. Any speed he had coming out of college is totally gone. He has no vision in the open field, no ability to make people miss, and is only a good fit in this system - one cut and go. I don’t see him moving the pile through strength either. Here’s my analysis:
Justin Fargas is an overachiever who plays with a total disregard for his body and runs at full speed every play until he gets touched, at which point he goes down, but usually forward for an extra 1-3 yards. He hits the appropriate hole almost everytime at the line of scrimmage and just continues to run straight until he’s knocked down. He’ll always get the mimimum yards every runningback should get on each play (which says a lot because a lot of running backs can’t even do that), but nothing more. He is dependable, hard working, and has more heart than anyone on the team, and he’s up there in the league as well.
The reason we drafted McFadden is because Fargas’ skill set will work well against against inferior teams and good enough against the good ones, but against elite NFL run defenses, he’s not going to make plays out of nothing, or hit a homerun on the rare occassion an elite D breaksdown which is what we need to be a SB contender. Additionally, Fargas doesn’t offer much in the pass catching department because his open field running skills, speed, and vision simply aren’t there. But he will get you the ideal minimum, and he’ll do it 100% of the time with 100% effort and sacrafice his body to do it. I’d have him on my team any day of the week, and if McFadden and/or Bush don’t work out, we can all be happy we have Fargas ready to go.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I don’t think that Fargas is the answer at RB. To make it in the NFL you have to be elusive and I feel that Fargas is more of a straight ahead runner that is blessed with speed. I think he is a great second option but that might not be the case with Michael Bush coming out. However, with Mac, Fargas and Bush we have a good 1-2-3 punch and we should be able to give opponents a lot of different looks. Go Raiders
May 28th, 2008 at 9:34 am
no one is saying he’s the answer to the raiders problems people… he’s THE WORKHORSE NO MATTER IF YOU LIKE HIM OR NOT!
just like that kid the other week that pointed out that he only had 4 100+ yrd games… YES HE DID 4 OUT OF 7 GAMES STARTED THIS YEAR HE GOT OVER 100 YARDS… AVG’ING 4.5 YPC GETTING 1009 yrds … HOW IS THAT NOT EFFICIENT AS A RB?
i realize that’s from 333 carries… and with a last place passing game, that tells you this is all the raiders know how to do well (thus being in 6th place rushing) … but you cant neglect the fact that the man was the reason why we had 6th place rushing last season, HEALTH PERMITING.. he can do it again.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Thanks to everyone for coming by and reading. I appreciate the time you took out of your day to give it a look.
Another Derek - It’s more than fine for you to disagree. When doing grades such as this, I expect it. I did think of the things that you brought up with his vision, but what has me convinced that his vision is worthy of that grade is the number of times I’ve seen him go through a pile with very little space and still come out on the other end of it. As far as the second tier, that usually goes back to the ‘wiggle’ you described. Thanks for your input.
JediRaider - As I said above, I realize that we may see it different. I also thought about the tripping, but then realized last season he was much better at running out of that stumble and staying upright, sometimes to the detriment of a big hit. Last season, he was able to stay upright in a pileup and push forward for a few extra yards and his speed hasn’t declined to the point where you could call him slow yet. I like your analysis. I can’t deny that to this point in his career, he’s not a game breaker, but so few really are. Where he loses out to DMAC or Bush is the pass catching, but I’ll be going through that later, before camp starts. Thanks for stopping by and giving this a look.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Well written and thoughtful article on Fargas. I happen to agree with JediRaider, though. Fargas has all the heart you could want in a back, but doesn’t have a #1 back skillset. He maximizes what is blocked for him, but doesn’t have the ability to make things happen on his own. If the blocking on a play breaks down, Fargas is done. To help Russell develop, we need a homerun threat to keep defenses honest. While teams respect Fargas’ game, no one fears it or gameplans to stop it. We need someone who can change the way defenses strategize against us to loosen up the field for Russell if he is going to develop into a top tier QB.
Ironically, the thing that makes Fargas solid is also what will keep him best suited to be a part time player. He runs at 120% each carry, like Zack Crockett used to on short yardage. But you can’t run like that 20-25 times a game and hold up over a whole season. And, if he lets up, he’s not effective. So he’s forced to run that way all the time, knowing full well his carries are numbered. That’s why he’s best suited as a platoon back, which is why it’s good that Bush and McFadden are around to lighten the load.
But the fact remains - Fargas is not a feature back, while Bush and McFadden BOTH MIGHT be. They have yet to prove it, so we’ll see. If either EARNS the top spot, they should get it, even if it’s close, because while I hope Fargas ends his career in Silver & Black, he’s not the #1 we need.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to get juiced watching Fargas smash into the line for 4 or 5, making people pay for bringing him down, and getting the O-Line, fans, and the team pumped up from his energy on the field.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I agree with most of the assesment other than Balance…I’ve seen Fargas off balance way too many times..I’ve seen a couple of times him try to cut while he’s off balance and he just falls down…much of that is due to his reckless style, but I think you need to lower his balance grade. Marcus Allen had the best Balance I’d ever seen that was why he always looked so smooth…and if there’s one thing Fargus isn’t it’s smooth
May 28th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Until Mcfadden or Bush prove what they can or should be Fargas is my guy. Everyone always grades stuff and has there rop that guy a point for this and that, but they tend to forget this is a game of punishment, drive, and never giving up. Fargas is that guy. Mcfadden I hope is that guy too.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Al should get what he can for Fargas before he drifts back into oblivion. He didn’t do anything his first 4-5 yrs. He was on a last place schedule. He can’t catch, he can’t break one loose, and he can’t score TD’s! Yes, he runs hard, but he also get hurt doing so. Do you reward a locker room guy/special teams guy with 12 million dollars????
May 28th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I know a 1000 yard season isn’t what it used to be, but that is what he is getting payed for. Drop Fargas….now, then what if bush or mcfadden can’t cut it? Hey, maybe Tui could run the ball?!!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Jedi - I would disagree that Fargas is not fast anymore. He is very quick. Maybe not as quick as McFadden, but he certainly looks it hitting the line. Also, most any back today that gets big yards is due to a good Oline and some help with downfield blocking. Unfortunately I have not seen a Walter Payton or Barry Sanders type runner for years that could litterally make something out of nothing. Yes, a certain degree of elusiveness is needed downfield and yes, Fargas does not appear to have this elusiveness downfield, but I would not say he only gets the minimum either. If there is some semblance of a whole, he seems to make the most of it. Ideally him and McFadden are a good combo or tag team as most backs can not take the beatings for a whole season and for many years. If we have a couple of similar type backs that can share the load and then a Bush type that can be utilized as Bettis was, we may have all 3 for a number of years to come. Guys on defensive are getting so big and fast that RB’s have a very short lifespan and if Kiffin can utilize both Fargas and McFadden we should be set for some time to come.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Like the analysis alot. But being a sucker for numbers, I found your average based on your grades to be a 3.57, so I can go for the 4 overall. Just playing with you on that, good write.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
You are all forgeting that if you don’t give Bush or Mcfadden a shot will never know. Let Fargas be the #2 and switch off the other two.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Dan - I agree that we have to know what we have in Bush and McFadden, but I say switch off McFadden and Fargas as they are similar in style where as Bush is more of a bruiser. In fact, why not have both McFadden and Fargas in together. That would really give defenses something to think about as they would have to do more than key off one RB. With that set up Defenses will be on their heals every play as they would have no clue what to expect as McFadden can catch and pass as well. I hear Bush can catch very well…but can pass too. Wow..possibilities.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I need to make two points here.
1. When evaluating a running back or any position really, you have to look at durability. Fargas has been plagued with injuries his entire football career. He proved last year when he took over the starting job and couldn’t finish the season. Durability is just as important as ability (ask bo he knows).
2. Great running backs find the endzone. I don’t care about how great his ankles or hips are if he can’t figure out a way to score touchdowns. Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson scored touchdowns. This is why DMac and Bush have been brought in.
After growing up and watching Marcus and Bo run, my expectations for a great Raider running back are pretty high. This year is the first year in a long time we actually have a legitimate quarterback and two potentially great running backs.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Where were all you ralleying for Fargas when he was riding the bench with Jordan, Wheatley, etc running the ball? He ran on a last place schedule against terrible defenses. Yes, we have some bad one’s this year too, but I can not believe that either Bush or McFadden will choke in the NFL. Fargas can’t catch the ball, he can’t pound it in the redzone, so he’s a decent RB between the 20’s. After that he’s a liability, so lets look to our future and Huggy JR isn’t the future.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Not as bad as you said, although you seemed to make the case that his hips were not a strenght and inexplicably gave him a 4 there. Saying he is a 3 is probably generous, but I think you may have underrated his balance/agility, which by the way should be two different stats, in which case he would be a 4/3.
I still feel the Raiders wasted this pick for the big splash–Mac won’t be the best back out of this draft, and it was one of the few positions at which the Raiders did not need help. Al is a moron.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
How can Raider fans not like Justin “Huggy Bear” Fargas… RaiderKC why do you reward a guy like him? Well thats a STUPID question… but ill answer it for you… number 1… Fargas runs hard every play, number 2… he’s the type of guy that can play through an injury and still run hard… number 3… you know Fargas will not go down easily it’ll take 3-4 people to take him down… number 4… Fargas will hold on to the ball… number 5 he’ll help you tire out a defense at the beegining of a game… and last(6) but probably most important he can help you put a game away with a lead and you need a 1st down Fargas will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS FALL FORWARD FOR THAT EXTRA YARD… AND LIKE I PREVIOUSLY STATED HE’LL HOLD ON TO THE BALL… i thought he received a $12 million contract but i might be wrong and belive it or not 15 million dollars with some extra insentives… well wether you agree with me or not you have to want Fargas on your squad… And Al Davis, Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable, etc must like something in Fargas and it’s probably not the fact he’s a good rapper… I dont belive Darren McFadden or Michael Bush can be starters when they havent played a game in the NFL…
GO RAIDERS!!!
May 28th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Hahaha MJ i would’ve agreed with you before the draft but now we have a home run hitter… something we havent had in a long long long time… someone reliable that can catch the ball out of the back field consitently… someone who can bail JaMarcus Russel out when he’s in trouble… someone that defenses will have to respect at catching the ball as well as runnig it… so i understand why we picked Dmac… and MJ i dont think Al’s a moron…
GO RAIDERS!!!
May 28th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
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May 28th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
mj,
looking at the raiders rb’s on roster before the draft of course you wouldn’t think they needed another. but if you really think about it fargas and jordan are injury prone. rhodes never got a shot and he’s kind of old. that leaves michael bush who hasn’t even set foot on nfl turf. plus, jamarcus is going to need all the help he can get. what do you think about that?
May 28th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Another Derek……Great post:
Good article, very in depth, lots of details and that made it an enjoyable read.
I agree with “Another Derek.” He’s right on point. We like Justin and wish him and all our Raiders runners a big season, but Justin’s vision is lacking when it comes to those secondary tacklers as pointed out by Another Derek.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Fargas is the poster boy of what hard work with marginal skill can accomplish. I wish more of our guys we like him. He’s not great at anything, but he makes up for it by going all out while other people are going half- a##. You just can’t dislike him. Is he an great back, no, but I wouldn’t trade him. If his work ethic rubs of on McFadden, watch out NFL.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:06 am
It didn’t seem that anyone noticed that Fargas runs with both hands on the ball! He doesn’t fumble. However, nobody runs as fast or as shifty doing that. Maybe, he should see if he can go back to running with the ball under one arm, and watch him use his speed and elusiveness that everyone thinks is gone.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Also, if he had one arm free, he could use a stiff arm to avoid tacklers. It would open up his speed, elusiveness, and balance. The down side is, will he be a fumbler again as he was earlier in his career?
May 29th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Great read and commentary to follow! I thought everyone here had some constructive criticism of not only the article but the subject itself which is Fargas and the RB position of the Oakland Raiders. I just have a few things to add to this mix and that is lets not loose fact that our RB’s whom ever they be need to fit our blocking scheme, which super seeds other skill sets like the elusiveness a lot of you are referring to. Would Bo Jackson or Jim Brown be good fits in our system? I don’t know, I would like to think they would still find a way to score even if that meant running over your own blockers to get in. Back to our discussion. If Fargas is so mediocre than imagine what the O-Line can do with lets just make this simple and say a Fargas who is stronger, faster & can catch the ball. BTW to fit that description would require both Bush & McFadden. Its really nice to see Fargas get the Raider love from us fans. But if you ask me the number one reason we are running well is because of the work that is being done at the FB position, Griffith and O’neal are both studs. I just hope that coach Cable’s gamble with the O-Line and more specific the left tackle position doesn’t throw the chemistry off or retard the progress of our run game.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:37 am
pat T,
Come on B, where you when he was on the pine? Where you championing him then to replace Jordan or Wheatley? Fargas does run hard to make up for other down falls as a RB, but that’s what hurts him. Runs with abandon and gets hurt. Never finished a season not being hurt. His breakout year was on a last place schedule (i.e.-Russell pick) and he still got hurt! It’s a business and if he can’t produce where it counts and he is of trade value then I say again get what we can for him now! Please, McFadden or Bush can’t start as rookies and produce as well or better than Fargas. Did you not see the Vikings at all last year??? You need to look at this with your head and not your heart. Fargas was one of the better surprises of last year, but again he did it all on a last place schedule and only after Jordan went down. I’m tired of last place schedules.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Man, I apprecuate Fargas as much as the next guy but too many of you give him too much credit. He has a good year yes, but Lamont Jordan led the league in rushing through week 6 even though his last start was week 4. Ahhh the magic of the ZBS. Like many before me have said Fargas is good between the 20’s but he only scored 4 td’s all of last year and has 6 for his career, Lamont had 3 tds through week 4. Ahhh the magic of the ZBS. One poster pointed out that Fargas often ran with 2 hands on the ball, that could be to his past fumbling promblems that kept him on the bench. The bottom line is that Fargas has no vision or wiggle and because of that he leaves hundreds of yards on the field and several scores as well. His lack of hands really restricts our offense and Kiffins playcalling. With him in the backfield we are only playing with a half a deck of cards.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Great analysis, but in order to be great, you have to play and health is a major issue with Fargas. You have to include that in your grades
May 30th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Remember that nice run at the end of the game against the Chiefs to put them away, instead of our usual turn the ball over and hope they dont score on that fuking anoying prevent D, and you think, how didnt he get more than one carry the first time they met? Well since then I’ve been a believer in Fargas…I dont think he should lose playing time unless his production drops off, McFadden shouldnt be the featured back until that happens.
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