So was Xavier. Stars don't always equal college success. You should know that. No doubt he has talent, but some thought of him as God after his SECCG and Sugar Bowl performance. The O-line opened huge gaps for him, it's all on film.
That logic is ridiculous considering JV had more than one looong run. That can easily account for his two more yard per carry.
I'll post this again in case you missed it. Here are the rushing stats from 2003. If Vincent was only the product of the oline, then why weren't the yards per carry of the other backs anywhere close to his. It's not like it's a small sample size. Addai, Broussard, and Carrey all had between 78 and 114 carries. 2003 Rushing Stats for LSU: -J. Vincent: 154 carries; 1001 yards, 6.5 yards per carry -J. Addai: 114 carries; 520 yards; 4.6 yards per carry -A. Broussard: 85 carries; 389 yards; 4.6 yards per carry -S. Carey: 78 carries; 338 yards; 4.3 yards per carry Vincent vastly outplayed all of the other LSU backs. It was not just the OL!
Are you kidding me? Addai had over 100 carries. A couple of long runs put Vincent 2 YPC ahead?! That's insane. Even if it was because of long runs, why aren't the other backs breaking off long runs as well? YPC tell alot about production.
I wasn't trying to imply that they do. I was just trying to show the kid obviously had some talent. I am not discounting the OLine in his production. A strong O-line is important for any RB. However, as Lil Jules points out - that doesn't explain it all. It is only a part of it. The O-line gave Vincent opportunities, and he took advantage of them better than any of the other backs (including a 1st round NFL draft pick & what many once considered another 1st round material RB).
1. because we blew out most the teams before he started (ULM, Arizona), so everyone on the roster played, so the stats were even, whereas once everyone got hurt, he was all we had, so he had to get it every play. 2. The o-line progressed as the year went on; much like the entire team did. If you would actually look at the film, like myself and the other poster noted, it'd be obvious to you what we mean.
I've seen the film, and I went to most of the games. I don't discount the fact the the line was very good, but, like CParso said, Vincent did a much better job of taking advantage of the holes provided. As for the Oline progressing as the season went on, I guess they only blocked well for Vincent. Here are the stats from our last regular season game--against Arkansas: Vincent- 18 carries for 112 yards Addai- 10 carries for 25 yards VINCENT WAS GOOD!
I'm going to bed now, that wine is kicking in and I don't feel like debating anymore at this point. Goodnight to all...
Picking and choosing games you want is misleading, because in the SECCG, Vincent got 11 a carry, as that was the game of his life, but Addai got 7.5 also. Since we are deciding that 1 game decides everything, who averaged more against Ole Miss? Who averaged the most against Bama? The thing you are picking up as you look through the links of all the games is that we had 2 and sometimes 3 backs averaging 6-7 yards a pop in those games. I am not taking anything away from JV. I just think there is a method behind his madness, and that method was Peterman, Reed, Wilkerson, and the rest
