Raiders’ McFadden needs more chances on the ground

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, December 03, 2008  |  Comments( 15 )

Oakland Raiders
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There are still plenty of questions out there surrounding Oakland Raiders rookie running back Darren McFadden.

Can he stay healthy? Can he be a full-time NFL running back? Is he a good enough blocker? Can he carry the Raider offense for four quarters?

Well, there’s all of four weeks remaining in McFadden’s rookie season, and not many of those key questions have been answered. Scattered injuries and a coaching staff that refuses to put McFadden on the field have kept the former Arkansas standout on sidelines.

The 21-year-old has just 405 yards rushing this season -- second on the team behind veteran rusher Justin Fargas, who has 629 yards -- on just 87 carries. Not surprisingly, at 4.7 yards per carry, McFadden leads the team’s halfbacks in that category. Yet, with so few rushes this season, it’s not all too clear how well he’d fare if he was the team’s every-down back.

The Raiders’ head coaches (both of them) have been very picky about when and where to use McFadden. The 210-pounder averages fewer than 10 carries per game, despite the Raiders rushing nearly 30 times each contest.

Among all NFL rookie halfbacks, McFadden ranks sixth in total yardage gained, despite being the first back taken and being selected by a predominantly rushing team. Even worse, he ranks ninth in rushing touchdowns among all rookies, eighth in carries and ninth in first-down rushes.

Certainly, when the Raiders used the fourth overall pick on McFadden, everyone expected him to explode onto the scene. At the very least, 1,000 yards was expected. Now, it looks as if he’ll gain somewhere close to 600 yards.

In the nine weeks he’s played, McFadden has been the game's leading rusher only one time. And the Raiders didn’t learn from that experience.

After McFadden cut up the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 for 164 yards and a touchdown to earn the Raiders their first win of the season, McFadden was limited to just 13 yards rushing in last week’s lost against the Chiefs. In Week 2, McFadden carried the ball 21 times; in Week 13, he carried it seven times. Why McFadden wasn’t used more in the rushing game was a true head-scratcher.

“I’m more than ready for it,” McFadden said before the game last week. “Missing three games was hard, having to sit there and watch, but now I’m back out there and looking forward to playing them (Kansas City) again.”

McFadden has now only rushed for more than 50 yards in a game one time this season, and has double-digit carries in only three games. In two of those games, the Raiders won. In the other (Buffalo), they lost by a point on a last-second field goal.

“(Defenses) have to account for him” coach Tom Cable said of McFadden last week.

“It’s just his ability -- his explosiveness. In a sense (he’s) a true playmaker.”

So why not give the playmaker the football and let him run around with it?
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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CommentsComments: 15  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
11:33 AM
12/03/2008
correct AC, to me it looks like they use him more as a decoy, let the defense worry where he lines up and then give the ball to...
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No.2
Raidehz		11:40 AM
12/03/2008
The more I read A.C's articles, the more I believe he's a Raiders fan. Anthony & myself often think alike & most here would...
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No.3
Raidehz		12:24 PM
12/03/2008
1st off, you can't say that Lane Kiffin was wrong in keeping Darren out of the starting lineup in the first couple games. Last...
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