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2007 Adrian Peterson vs. 2017 Leonard Fournette


Illadelegend215

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So, from what I have seen from Leonard Fournette, I have two takeaways on him.

Aside from that one big run, he has not been able to just run over NFL defenses as advertised.  If there is a running back who you could claim is doing that, it would be Kareem Hunt.  That's not to say he's a bad running back, but he's not great, at least not yet. I wonder how much of that can be attributed to a less than stellar Jacksonville offensive line.

On the flip side, Fournette's pre-draft weaknesses have apparently been significantly overstated.  The big knock I heard on Fournette was that he was a two down back.  Similar to Peterson, he wasn't going to be a factor in the receiving game and he couldn't block.  Well, I haven't paid particularly close attention to his pass blocking, but he certainly has been a factor in the Jaguars passing offense. 

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22 minutes ago, Crickett said:

So, from what I have seen from Leonard Fournette, I have two takeaways on him.

Aside from that one big run, he has not been able to just run over NFL defenses as advertised.  If there is a running back who you could claim is doing that, it would be Kareem Hunt.  That's not to say he's a bad running back, but he's not great, at least not yet. I wonder how much of that can be attributed to a less than stellar Jacksonville offensive line.

On the flip side, Fournette's pre-draft weaknesses have apparently been significantly overstated.  The big knock I heard on Fournette was that he was a two down back.  Similar to Peterson, he wasn't going to be a factor in the receiving game and he couldn't block.  Well, I haven't paid particularly close attention to his pass blocking, but he certainly has been a factor in the Jaguars passing offense. 

I kind of disagree my friend. With a mediocre offensive line, he has found a way to push forward. Breaks tackles, turns negative gains to like 2 yard gains cause of that. Adrian had probably the best offensive line in the nfl back in 07.

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Fournette has seen 8 + defenders in the box on 48% of his 109 rushing attempts. Only Ivory (38 attempts) and Gillislee (69 attempts) are the only guys that have seen  a higher % of 8 + defenders. Not a coincidence Ivory/Fournette are #1/#3 when it comes to that. Teams stack the box to stop our run game because nobody is scared of our pass game. If the Jags ever get a real QB, Fournette will thrive even more.

His hands have been very good. Pass protection has been ok. Think he gave up a sack this past week. 

Fournette has been as advertised. 

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Leonard has been a beast, but this isn't even close. Adrian Peterson is a legendary back who took the league by storm, Fournette is a highly drafted back who has merely managed to live up to his expectations as a top 5 pick.

 

Through 1st 5 games...

AP- 607 yards on 96 carries (6.3 Y/C), 10 receptions for 175 yards, 5 TDs total

Fournette- 466 yards on 109 carries (4.3 Y/C), 13 receptions for 128 yards, 6 TDs total

 

Fournette has only topped 4 YPC once in his 5 games, and that was last week... a mark he only topped after breaking off a 90 yard run in the final minutes. A run that only showed off his speed since he just ran through a gaping hole (a point I only feel the need to make since apparently that run got his jersey in the HOF?!) I understand he's in a bad situation for a RB, but same goes for AP. Surely he was facing 8 in the box just as much, you think teams worried about Tavaris Jackson? Per FO, the Jags OL through 5 games has been better, if anything, than the Vikings OL was in 2007. Of course OL stats are tricky since you can never truly separate the OL from the RB, but neither OLs were/are on an extreme end of the spectrum. 

 

I am a Fournette fan believe it or not, he runs angry and punishes defenders the same way AP did, I think he is going to have a very successful career with the Jags and be a top back for the foreseeable future, and while he bears similarities to AP, he is not at that level. Pump the breaks a bit.

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9 hours ago, Illadelegend215 said:

I kind of disagree my friend. With a mediocre offensive line, he has found a way to push forward. Breaks tackles, turns negative gains to like 2 yard gains cause of that. Adrian had probably the best offensive line in the nfl back in 07.

Based on...?

 

According to FO, http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol2007, Vikings OL had the 5th highest stuff rate, and only were 16th in adjusted line yards, but had by far the most open field yards (which the OL has little to do with).

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AP was the best RB at w/e level he has competed at.

He was hands down the best RB at the highschool level.

He was best at the collegiate level where only a 2005 reggie bush even topped his level of play.

He was the best at the NFL level as well for quite a few years. 

Anyone watching tape on him would agree that few backs have ever been as dominant or as capable as AP has.

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The only real weakness Peterson had was staying healthy, he was injured just too many times for my liking, but as a healthy RB, it is no contest, he is right up there with the greatest of all time. Maybe his pass catching skills were not the greatest, but that wasn't unusual for the great RB's.

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15 hours ago, RandyMossIsBoss said:

Based on...?

 

According to FO, http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol2007, Vikings OL had the 5th highest stuff rate, and only were 16th in adjusted line yards, but had by far the most open field yards (which the OL has little to do with).

Well it was 10 years ago, but compared to the later years of his career, Matt birk and Steve Hutchinson cleared a lot of holes for him with the rest of the guys. Chicago Bears game when he ran for 224, his 67 and 73 yd runs only had him break secondary tackles. He got to the 2nd level like it was nothing.

I even remember ppl raving about the oline on this forum lol, but I guess statistically speaking they were average. Like I said before tho, I’m a big Adrian Peterson fan and he is the goat of runners in my eyes, but Leonard really plays the game with the same edge. Just watching the broken tackles and slight wiggles to get free are pretty amazing.

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