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Interesting Harris/Pendergrass Comparision

Buttermaker

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Checking out the ESPN.com preview of the Clemson game, I see that Pendergrass now has more carries this season than Harris. Not completely surprising I guess in light of the past 3 games.

Pendergrass averages 3.9 yards per carry to Harris' 4.3 ypc. Think about the number of long runs Harris had this year, particularly against FSU, and how few Pendergrass has had. That suggests to me that, throwing out all runs for each over 20 yards, Pendergrass has a better average per carry than Harris. Yes, he lacks the "home run" threat of Harris, but perhaps he is better between the tackles. Not a new debate, but maybe supported by the stats. For what it's worth. And for the record, I am a big fan of both players.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/preview?gameId=313160228
 
Except throwing out all the 20+ yard carries would be the dumbest thing you could do when comparing RBs. The whole fucking point is to get 20+ yard carries.
 
Except throwing out all the 20+ yard carries would be the dumbest thing you could do when comparing RBs. The whole fucking point is to get 20+ yard carries.

Exactly. We don't win against FSU without the two long runs by Harris that both set up TD's.
 
I agree. What you suggest makes literally zero sense.

The question is which back do you want if you need 4 yards.

All the more reason why median yards per carry and percent carries over 4 or 5 yards would be a better stat.
 
20+ yard runs are great, but consistent 3-4 yard runs are better for moving chains. The preference between the two has to come down to your offensive philosophy and how much trust you put in "big" plays.
 
I'm with Texas there. I'd rather have a back who can get 4 yards each time than one who will get a 20+ yard run every 30 carries. Where ND really killed us was their last drive... no matter when/where we hit their RB, he fell forward another 2 yards.
 
But we don't have that kind of O-line. Harris keeps the d honest because if he breaks through that first line of tacklers you are in big trouble. With pendergrass if he breaks thru it is not as big of a deal.
 
Well, we should have that kind of O-Line. It's the biggest O-Line we've ever had. SMH
 
The question is which back do you want if you need 4 yards.

All the more reason why median yards per carry and percent carries over 4 or 5 yards would be a better stat.

How many yards do you think Grobe and Lobo were looking for on JRoc's TDs at VPI last year?
 
Except throwing out all the 20+ yard carries would be the dumbest thing you could do when comparing RBs. The whole fucking point is to get 20+ yard carries.

I disagree. The point is to make first downs. Gaining zero yards or losing three running wide hampers that effort. Gaining 3-4 yards per rush helps that effort. Of course everyone wants to see a 70 yeard TD run. But long runs of any kind have been pretty few and far between, even from Harris. Thus, somone who can pick up positive yards and help keep the chains moving is of value.
 
I agree. What you suggest makes literally zero sense.

All I'm suggesting is BP may be better at picking up 3-4 yards repeatedly than Harris, particularly on runs between the tackls. How does that make zero sense to you?
 
All I'm suggesting is BP may be better at picking up 3-4 yards repeatedly than Harris, particularly on runs between the tackls. How does that make zero sense to you?

I'd still disagree. Our O-line gave him the best blocking of the year against UNC and that was his best game so far.. averaging about 7.6 yds/carry with a long run of 30.

However... the fact remains that in half the games he's been asked to carry the load (2 of the 4 since Harris went down), he has averaged 2.9 and 2.8 YPC (against Duke and Notre Dame, respectively). That's abysmal.

In Josh Harris' 2 worst games (when healthy) he averaged 3.0 and 3.2 YPC.
 
I'd still disagree. Our O-line gave him the best blocking of the year against UNC and that was his best game so far.. averaging about 7.6 yds/carry with a long run of 30.

However... the fact remains that in half the games he's been asked to carry the load (2 of the 4 since Harris went down), he has averaged 2.9 and 2.8 YPC (against Duke and Notre Dame, respectively). That's abysmal.

In Josh Harris' 2 worst games (when healthy) he averaged 3.0 and 3.2 YPC.

All I can take from this is that our running game is atrociously bad.
 
I don't know what games some of you are watching. BP plays hard so you don't want to criticize him, but he and Harris aren't on the same level. Harris isn't just more likely to make a big run, he's less likely to take a loss.

But the biggest differences are in pass protection and the way defenses play us. Even when he wasn't necessarily producing a lot of yards, defenses respected our running game when Harris was in -- it hasn't been the same since he got injured.
 
This debate is gonna be moot when my BOY popcorn reynolds dominates this weekend.
 
The only real comparasion that matters right now is BP is healthy and JRoc is not. BP is a tough, dependable runner and I'm just glad we've had him this year with Harris's hamstring issues.
 
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