Jacksonville Jaguars Mid-Season Report Card – Grading the Running Backs
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the midst of arguably the most inept stretch of football in the history of the NFL. Mercifully, they have a bye this week to regroup and reevaluate some players and decide how to approach the last 8 games.
The bye week also gives us to the opportunity to grade the personnel and their performance so far. Today we take a look at probably the most underutilized position on the team – running back.
| Team | Maurice Jones-Drew | Jordan Todman | Denard Robinson | Justin Forsett | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attempts | 154 | 122 | 15 | 11 | 6 |
| Yds/att | 3.17 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 5.2 |
| YAC/att | 2.00 | 2.10 | 1.27 | 1.64 | 2.50 |
Oct 20, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Jordan Todman (30) warms up before the game against the San Diego Chargers at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
The Jacksonville Jaguars are surprisingly 22nd in the NFL in rushing attempts. One would expect the Jaguars to be closer to the bottom given how quickly the team is down big in games. The Jaguars do a good job of not completely abandoning the running game when they’re behind, but they seem to function under “run-run-pass” too often early in the game.
Obviously Maurice Jones-Drew has received a majority of the carries but he’s been a shell of himself this season. His 3.0 yds/att is tied for 40th in league with running backs who have taken 25% of the team’s snaps and his yards after contact per attempt is tied for 17th in the league. Obviously the run blocking was not as good early in the season with Marcedes Lewis out, but Jones-Drew has not shown the same explosion hitting creases and utilizing holes to make big plays.
All the other running backs have had limited carries and don’t have enough of a body of work to judge them effectively. Todman has shown some of the same shiftiness from the preseason and should garner more carries. Denard Robinson got benched for a little bit after some trouble with drops and fumbles, but he’s had a few good runs since getting back into the fold. Justin Forsett has barely cracked the rotation but he does have 14 receptions for 73 yards.
Mid-Season Grades: Running back
Maurice Jones-Drew: C-
Jordan Todman : C+
Denard Robinson : D+
Justin Forsett: C+
– Daniel Lago
Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89