SOME of you hating on Hurd...

[Bauce]

His title sets up a straw man for him to tear down. It's intentionally divisive and dishonest.

That said, I loved watching the duo yesterday do work. We definitely missed Hurd in some 3rd down situations.

Liked that we ran under center more often yesterday and wish we'd see more of that with Hurd on the backfield.

I liked what you said because you used the logical fallacy of strawman correctly.

 

[JDOG]

Why does it have to be either or?

Put HURD & KAMARA on field at same time

Then take what the opposing defense gives us. WHATEVER HELPS TEAM WIN

Use kelly to spell which ever needs a blow

Why is this so hard for Jones & Volnation to understand.

 

[AlumniChase]

EVERY player, at least to some degree, is a product of the system they play in. For example, Tom Brady will be a hall of fame player, but he may have washed out of the league 10 years ago if he'd not have ended up the team he's with.

Hurd and this system don't ideally mesh. JH could be getting spoken of in very similar ways to Fournette had he found himself in the right system. He's that talented. But he's not ideal for the UT offense. AK and JK aren't better players. They're just better for the 2016 Tennessee offense.

Really bad example with Brady. Washed out of the league?....lol SMH.

1,300 yards and 12 tds a few months back in the same offense. Crazy how it changed so quickly...

 

[NUMBER1VOLFAN]

With Hurd, Kamara AND Kelly- get them all on the field- at the same time. Wouldn't that mess with their DC's mind? Then throw a pass to Jennings. Mix it up. We have lots of weapons now, use them. And play 4 qtrs this Sat.

 

[Ertel]

Hurd was missed on third and short and he will definitely be playing on Sunday. Hating on ANY Vol is completely unacceptable .

ive yet to see a single person actually hating on hurd. Critiquing a player and his limitiations isnt a slam or hating its just football forum discussion. Kamara and Kelly are better fits for a zone blocking scheme because they have better vision and more burst. Thats not a knock on hurd its just a fact. Hes a little limited athletically because of his upright running style, again not a knock. Hes a powerful straight ahead runner who probably will go down as our alltime yardage leader but hes gotten there mainly through sheer volume and being the only option early on. Hes as passionate and dedicated as any player weve had but hes not an alltime UT running back. And like others have said, using our offensive line as an excuse doesnt work. Thats evidenced by Kamaras ypc advantage over the past year and a half. Also look at other running backs whove still looked dynamic at schools with worse lines than ours like boom williams at KY or Webb at vandy.

for reference heres some stats
Hurd- 568 attempts, 4.6 ypc, 2591 yards 19 tds
Kamara- 163 attempts, 6.1 ypc, 990 yards 9 tds
jamal- 487 attempts, 5.5 ypc, 2677 yards 17 tds
T.Stephens 488 attempts 4.8 ypc 2336 yards 21 td
Foster 650 attempts 2964 yards 4.6 ypc 23 td
stewart 531 attempts 2890 yards 5.4 ypc 35 tds
cobb 445 attempts 2360 yards 5.3 ypc 26 tds
webb 239 attempts 1392 yards 5.8 ypc 15 tds
Neal 444 attempts 2163 yards 4.9 ypc 19 tds
marlin lane 382 att 1772 yards 4.6 ypc 9 tds
Houston 501 att 2634 yards 5.3 ypc 17 tds
Graham 540 att 2609 yards 4.8 ypc 25 tds
Riggs 383 att 1893 yards 4.9 ypc 10 tds

even dobbs whos been behind the same line and loses yards for sacks, which hes had many of has similar YPC
Dobbs 370 att 1653 yards 4.5 ypc 25 tds

 

[TWVol]

Hurd just doesn't fit the system. He will be a great pro with a real line.

 

[Vol865]

I don't remember Hurd running all over App State or Ohio. Hurd is a good back, but I do believe Alvin Kamara has earned his first start. and need to see Hurd and Kamara in the game at the same time. John Kelly has earned himself more time also.

Hard to run anywhere when your center gets blown off the ball all day.

 

[FightingScott]

smh....Look at any teams stats. NFL, College heck high school that's almost always the case when you have a talented fast back behind a big bruiser. Do not get me wrong, both Kamara and (especially) Kelly are better fits to our offensive scheme. The thing is Hurd is just such a freak of nature that he is still better all around. The same comparison you made could be said of Chubb and Sony Michel or the starting Bama RB and whoever his backups are. Kamara is a high risk high reward back Hurd is money in the bank.

Hurd is going to consistently get you that 4.5. Yeah we see the times he gets stood up in the backfield but more often than not he is gonna get you those 4.5. Kamara's numbers are inflated by his higher number of long runs and his real value is actually as a receiver. Hurd is consistently gonna chug out yards and tire guys out and block like a maniac. The 2 guys actually compliment each other perfectly and make each other better because team has to prepare for such different guys AND Dobbs.

Here is where the big deal is. Fumbles. Between the 2 of them they have about the same number but when you put that number in context vs number of touches it is a different story. Hurd is less likely to put the ball on the ground. At least part of this is because of the nature of how he runs N/S vs. E/W. We know

Lastly Kamara taking 20+ touches is likely a bad thing because of the fact that would hurt his contributions as a receiver and returner. I honestly think that they should get a similar number of touches/targets but not running the ball. This team is at its best with Hurd starting and Kamara playing the role he does. I do not think Kamara has been allowed the number of touches he deserves to this point yet but... I think anyone that thinks a healthy Hurd is not our number 1 back is beyond silly.

The 2 of them remind me most of Darren Mcfadden and Felix Jones as opposed to Lendale White and Reggie Bush. Or maybe, just maybe, they turn out like Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders.

Career stats
Hurd 568-2594 19td's 4.56ypc
Kamara 163-990 9td's 6ypc
Kelly 56-272 3td's 4.85 ypc

The thing is...John Kelly seems to fight for yards a little harder than Jalen does, at least around the LOS. Jalen is tough to bring down in space, but he takes a little longer to get going, it seems. Again, it would help tremendously if we could line up in I-formation a few times a game and put Wolfe or someone in front of him as a lead blocker, but I guess that just isn't part of Jones' system. :hi:

 

[MikeVol44]

Alvin was a SuperStar last night...

and...

John Jelly ran like a full grown damn man!

Well....except for forgetting to hold onto the ball....

 

[n_huffhines]

I think we beat TAMU with Hurd. Yeah, maybe we don't get as many yards but I still think he has a good day and Kelly was involved in 2 very costly fumbles. Kamara, another. If Hurd is available, it's likely 0-1 of those fumbles happen.