Is Henry our best back. ?

I think that your most dangerous back, by far, is Drake. He fumbles too much, and he seems to be in Saban's doghouse all the time. I m not sure why he is constantly in Saban's doghouse, but it is obvious. I thought that he had turned that around when he got the start yesterday. I thought that Yeldon and Henry being nicked up might get him a shot at proving himself again - and then he fumbled the ball on his second touch.

I agree that Saban should have put him back in to prove that he has confidence in him, but I don't know everything that has gone into his relationship with Saban. I can't help but believe that Saban has his reasons, and that they go beyond his fumbles.

Drake can be great, but he needs a clean slate.

Bamabuzzard said:

Yeldon has fumbled just as much over the last few seasons.

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Drake fumbles about twice as often as TJ does. TJ has better ball security and it's not really debatable.

oldtimetider said:

Like SIP, I wonder why he gets less leeway...I'm thinking that he's not doing something that he's coached to do in terms of ball protection..or maybe he puts in on the ground in practice more than the other guys...must be something like that..

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Sip made the comment that TJ has fumbled more than Drake, but he also had probably 3 times more touches. Drakes touches are way less than TJ's, and now Henry's, yet he has more fumbles.

I think they are all great. Florida came in to stop the run and held up for most of the game. I think they got tired especially in the 4th. The holes were opening up and we were getting to their second level with blockers. This opened up cut backs. Henry started it and yeldon continued it. I believe that having fresh legs is what allows us to finish the game with gashing runs. If we had a one work horse he would also be gassed by the end of the game.


IMO


Henry - Best at up the gut with cut backs.


Yeldon - Best at waiting on blockers right off tackle.


Drake - Best at outside of tackle with speed cut backs.

Lets just not start to have a rb controversy lol.

CoachJeff said:

Drake fumbles about twice as often as TJ does. TJ has better ball security and it's not really debatable.

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Exactly.

Bamabuzzard said:

Yeldon has fumbled just as much over the last few seasons.

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I am not sure who has more fumbles/carry, but Yeldon's have generally come when Alabama has been down at the goal line, and at times in the game in which points were critical. He reminds me of a kicker who is automatic from any distance when the game is decided, but is questionable when the game is still in question. Both Yeldon and Drake will have to fix this, but they will still get they chance to do so in the NFL. They are better than David Wilson, and he was able to solve his fumbling problems once he got to the NY Giants (with some help from their coaches, I assume).

What this board needs is a thread to discuss your real heros yesterday - your offensive linemen. Did you see how they dominated the Florida front seven? That is a great defensive front, and your o-line dominated them from the first snap of the game.

TJ has 439 carries and 34 catches in career. Drake has 156 carries and 16 catches.

You are saying a guy with 473 career touches "probably fumbles as much as" a guy with 172 career touches.

I know that most teams would be lucky to have just one of these guys, but we have all three!!!

It's hard to be critical about anything from yesterday (other than the fumbles), but I'd like to see Derek Henry with the ball on short yardage (3 and 1 or 2) situtations more often. I know the wild cat worked with TJ on short yardage, but I'm not a huge fan of it.

And DH has great ball security!!!

We need to feed the beast with the ball more often!!!

One other sidenote: I think DH not playing as much in the first half might have been part of the gameplan....and then to use him later in the game...seemed to work to perfection....especially when UF got tired/winded in the second half!!!

Coach25 said:

Lets just not start to have a rb controversy lol.

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Well the QB "controversy" is over, so we have to fight about something!

BamaMoon said:

One other sidenote: I think DH not playing as much in the first half might have been part of the gameplan....and then to use him later in the game...seemed to work to perfection....especially when UF got tired/winded in the second half!!!

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I agree - though Henry is bigger, Yeldon runs more like a power back. Yeldon punishes tacklers - reminds me a lot of Trent. Henry is more effective in space, and some of that space is created because defensive players become leg weary as the game progresses.

Alasippi said:

I'd bet that T.J. has fumbled many more times than Kenyan. I don't understand why Coach Saban benches Kenyan for a fumble when he has continuously allowed T.J. to fumble in critical situations without any penalty at all.
I don't have the stats in front of me, but, again, I'd bet that T.J. has turned it over way more than Kenyan.
sip

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I think they're neck and neck but Drake has more fumbles-per-carry than Yeldon. Drake hardly played at all in 2012, and Yeldon had significantly more carries last season. I think Yeldon has one or two more fumbles lost than Drake. But statistically speaking, Drake is more likely to fumble.

As of right now, I think Henry is the best back of team. Yeldon's patience, normally his strongest quality, doesn't help him when the OL doesn't get that push. Henry is a guy I think can perform better when the OL isn't winning at the LOS. He also has some magical ability to hold defenders in place that really amazes me. Defenders seem very inclined to just stand there and watch him do his moves. But look at the stats. 111 yards for Henry, over 5 a pop. I think it's time for him to start.

bamacpa said:

It seems to me DH has been north/south this year than TJ, as TJ waits on those holes which haven't always opened up. They both seemed more aggressive in the 2nd half.

Drake has the jets. When he caught that first pass, he was even with a Gator safety. He beat him to the end zone by at least 5 yards.

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TJ hasn't looked like that this year up until this game. TJ has been hitting hole harder than Henry all year, but I think the hamstring was bothering him in this game. OTOH, Henry has been dealing with banged up shoulder, so that may have something to do with that. Either way, the BYE week is probably right on time.

Bamabuzzard said:

Yeldon has fumbled just as much over the last few seasons.

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Went to SI's site to find out just how much each one really fumbles...this is career stats...

Drake has 156 carries, 6 fumbles and 5 fumbles lost, that is a fumble every 26 carries and a fumble lost every 31.2 carries.

Yeldon has 439 carries, 8 fumbles and 6 fumbles lost, that is a fumble every 54.875 carries and a fumble lost every 73.17 carries.

Drake fumbles and loses fumbles over twice as frequently as Yeldon.

OTHO, White has fumbled a grand total of 3 times in his career, losing 2 of them on 66 receptions...a fumble rate of 1 per 22 receptions.

Cooper has 150 career touches (147 receptions, 3 rushes) and if this info is accurate he has never fumbled? Impressive...

http://www.si.com/college-football/player/amari-cooper/stats

So to recap, Yeldon may have fumbled "just as much" over the past 3 seasons but he fumbled far less frequently seeing how he has almost 3 times the carries as Drake.

RTR

oldtimetider said:

originally put this comment in the post-game thread:
With great performances by Cooper and Sims...and White to compliment them...and Henry...it's easy to forget about Drake. In terms of pure athletic ability, he may be the most gifted of all....fumbles aside, that young man can arguably do more things on a football than any of them...Here's hoping he has a great year....
Like SIP, I wonder why he gets less leeway...I'm thinking that he's not doing something that he's coached to do in terms of ball protection..or maybe he puts in on the ground in practice more than the other guys...must be something like that..

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Maybe because he's had off-the-field problems as well? Anyway, on Numbers Never Lie they were discussing the fact that a back is least likely to fumble immediately after he's fumbled and that it's pointless to bench a player because he fumbles and that it makes his fumbles worse because the lack of confidence shown. I tend to agree with that line of thinking. Has benching a player after a fumble ever made him least likely to fumble?

TideFan in AU said:

Well the QB "controversy" is over, so we have to fight about something!

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Lol that is so true. Without controversies, it wouldn't be us. Your post made my morning lol.