When you talk about a team and a player being a good fit for each other, it's usually intended as a compliment. Usually. But then there's the Giants signing Jonathan Stewart and the Lions reportedly close to signing Frank Gore. Both fits look "good," but for the wrong reasons.
A year ago, those two teams had two of the league's worst ground games. The Lions averaged a league-worst 3.4 yards per carry, while the Giants were at 3.9 (better than only eight teams).
| TEAM RUSHING, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Kansas City | 405 | 1903 | 4.7 | 12 |
| New Orleans | 444 | 2070 | 4.7 | 23 |
| Cleveland | 384 | 1714 | 4.5 | 11 |
| Dallas | 480 | 2170 | 4.5 | 18 |
| Green Bay | 386 | 1724 | 4.5 | 13 |
| Philadelphia | 473 | 2115 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Atlanta | 430 | 1847 | 4.3 | 12 |
| Carolina | 490 | 2102 | 4.3 | 15 |
| Jacksonville | 527 | 2262 | 4.3 | 18 |
| LA Rams | 454 | 1953 | 4.3 | 17 |
| Chicago | 422 | 1788 | 4.2 | 13 |
| New England | 448 | 1889 | 4.2 | 16 |
| Oakland | 370 | 1554 | 4.2 | 13 |
| Buffalo | 487 | 2017 | 4.1 | 12 |
| Denver | 457 | 1852 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Houston | 448 | 1842 | 4.1 | 8 |
| San Francisco | 408 | 1662 | 4.1 | 15 |
| Tennessee | 443 | 1833 | 4.1 | 18 |
| Baltimore | 460 | 1856 | 4.0 | 14 |
| NY Jets | 427 | 1702 | 4.0 | 13 |
| Seattle | 409 | 1629 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Miami | 360 | 1388 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 501 | 1957 | 3.9 | 15 |
| NY Giants | 394 | 1549 | 3.9 | 6 |
| LA Chargers | 419 | 1595 | 3.8 | 10 |
| Pittsburgh | 437 | 1667 | 3.8 | 12 |
| Indianapolis | 451 | 1661 | 3.7 | 11 |
| Tampa Bay | 389 | 1450 | 3.7 | 8 |
| Cincinnati | 377 | 1366 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Washington | 401 | 1448 | 3.6 | 10 |
| Arizona | 409 | 1386 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Detroit | 363 | 1221 | 3.4 | 10 |
So the solution is...to bring in a couple of ineffective veteran running backs?
Gore has been an awesome NFL running back; he's had a great career. Stewart has also been pretty good. But they're pretty long in the tooth now (especially Gore) and neither one seems to have very much left. Their performances last season were among the worst in the NFL.
A year ago, 35 different running backs rushed for at least 500 yards. Only one of those backs rushed a for lower yards per carry than Stewart (3.4). Only six were less effective than Gore (3.7).
| RUNNING BACK YARDS PER ATTEMPT, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 120 | 728 | 6.1 | 8 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 180 | 896 | 5.0 | 6 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 272 | 1,327 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 230 | 1,124 | 4.9 | 12 |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 133 | 644 | 4.8 | 3 |
| Alfred Morris, Dall. | 115 | 547 | 4.8 | 1 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 279 | 1,305 | 4.7 | 13 |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 212 | 973 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 196 | 865 | 4.4 | 7 |
| LeGarrette Blount, Phil. | 173 | 766 | 4.4 | 2 |
| Orleans Darkwa, NYG | 171 | 751 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Marshawn Lynch. Oak. | 207 | 891 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 178 | 772 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 176 | 744 | 4.2 | 5 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 276 | 1,122 | 4.1 | 9 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 245 | 1,007 | 4.1 | 3 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 242 | 983 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 206 | 853 | 4.1 | 2 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 321 | 1,291 | 4.0 | 9 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 287 | 1,138 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 156 | 628 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 284 | 1,105 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 268 | 1,040 | 3.9 | 9 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 240 | 938 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Latavius Murray, Minn. | 216 | 842 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Javorius Allen, Balt. | 153 | 591 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 150 | 570 | 3.8 | 3 |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 238 | 888 | 3.7 | 3 |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 261 | 961 | 3.7 | 3 |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 184 | 659 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 153 | 556 | 3.6 | 4 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 178 | 626 | 3.5 | 4 |
| Samaje Perine, Wash. | 175 | 603 | 3.4 | 1 |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 198 | 680 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 165 | 552 | 3.3 | 4 |
It's not all on the back, since offensive line has something to do with it. But it's strange that either of these poor rushing teams thinks that either of these backs is going to turn those poor running games around.
--Andy Richardson