Interesting point regarding the Henry/McGahee situation...

[lordofgun]

Found this quote elsewhere on the internet...

McGahee did in one game what Henry couldn't do, break 100 yds. And before you say he played Miami look at the ypc that each D is gving up.


Henry:
Jacksonville 3.8 ypc, Henry gets 3.26
Oakland 3.9 ypc, Henry gets 3.19
New England 4.3 ypc, Henry gets 4.08
NYJets 4.1 ypc, Henry gets a solid 2.95


McGahee:
Miami 4.0 ypc, McGahee gets 4.27

So not one time did Henry at least get what a defense was giving up on average!

[Ed]

And if you take away Henry's rushes, all those ypc averages only go up. That is interesting, but I don't think it's any secret Henry has been underachieving.

He started out slow though, last year too. Only 80 something yds against the Pats, 26 yds against the Jags, and then missed most of the Miami game and all of the Philly game because of his ribs. I can't remember what he did against the Bengals in week 5.

I'd love to see Willis start again, but I think Travis will bounce back. It'll take a few more games to be able to make better comparisons though.

Nice find.

[Drewpac]

Jacksonville 3.8 McGahee 3.4
Oakland 3.9, McGahee -1.5
Jets 4.1, McGahee 5.3

Can't count the NE or Miami games since both RBs didn't play in those games. McGahee had one game that was considerably better than Henry (vs. Jets). But he only had 8 carries in that game and remember that he benefited from a tiring 4th quarter Jets defense.

Don't get me wrong, I think McGahee's for real and I have no problem with him starting over Henry; but those stats mean nothing because of the small sample size and the differing circumstances they were compiled under.

[lordofgun]

Jacksonville 3.8 McGahee 3.4
Oakland 3.9, McGahee -1.5
Jets 4.1, McGahee 5.3

Can't count the NE or Miami games since both RBs didn't play in those games. McGahee had one game that was considerably better than Henry (vs. Jets). But he only had 8 carries in that game and remember that he benefited from a tiring 4th quarter Jets defense.

Don't get me wrong, I think McGahee's for real and I have no problem with him starting over Henry; but those stats mean nothing because of the small sample size and the differing circumstances they were compiled under.

And how many carries did McGahee have against Jax and Oakland??

[Ed]

McGahee's #'s against Oakland are a little misleading considering one of his runs was a 10 yard loss that got blown up before he even got the ball.

I think taking games where Henry got a decent amount of carries and where McGahee got a decent amount is a better comparison.

[Drewpac]

Exactly. Proves my point that stats like these don't mean anything and are easily manipulated. Sure, Henry was seemingly underperforming against those teams but things didn't drastically change when McGahee was thrown into those games. Also, McGahee was great but remember that he only had around 50 yards leading into the last drive against the Fins. Henry hasn't really had the opportunity yet to finish off a game when we are leading like McGahee did.

[lordofgun]

Exactly. Proves my point that stats like these don't mean anything and are easily manipulated. Sure, Henry was seemingly underperforming against those teams but things didn't drastically change when McGahee was thrown into those games. Also, McGahee was great but remember that he only had around 50 yards leading into the last drive against the Fins. Henry hasn't really had the opportunity yet to finish off a game when we are leading like McGahee did.

The only way to make a fair comparison is to look at the numbers of the starter (or the guy who got the bulk of the carries). I don't see the flaw in this logic. These stats absolutely mean something. It means that McGahee was much more effective than Henry.

What doesn't mean anything is to throw out McGahee's YPC average in the first few games since he had VERY FEW carries.

On a side note, I was at the game (with great seats thanks to dozer ) and I saw something you don't get to see on TV. The Miami D actually respected the play action like I haven't seen in a long time against the Bills! McGahee was THE reason for that.

[EDS]

I have to agree with Drewpac on this, McGahee looked great against Miami but it was just one game. Plus, if McGahee does not uncork that 20+ yarder on the last drive his yards per cary is 3.X. I am not saying McGahee can't play or one back is better then the other, just that every back has a good game now and then and you can't use that to say someone is better then the other. If that were the case, then the Bills are in trouble against Baltimore because Jamal Lewis is out, which means Chester Taylor, who has a higher average yards per carry is in and will give us fits.

Is Chester Taylor a better back then Jamal Lewis? I doubt it, but it just shows you need more then one game to make a decision.

Again, I want McGahee to succeed and would love it if he turns into a franchise caliber back, but it is way way too early to make generalizations. Henry was arguably the Bills best player the past two years so I am not going to give up on him just yet.

[ArcticWildMan]

Plus, if McGahee does not uncork that 20+ yarder on the last drive his yards per cary is 3.X.

OK, who let WYS in here?

[Earthquake Enyart]

Interesting point regarding the Henry/McGahee situation...

Sorry. This isn't that interesting.

[lordofgun]

What is the fascination with taking away a player's longest run/pass/catch??? I don't get it!

[EDS]

What is the fascination with taking away a player's longest run/pass/catch??? I don't get it!

It was mostly to illustrate the point that using Henry and McGahee's ypc so far this season as an indication of their talents is not a fiar representation because the season is still young and the statistical sample too small.

Again I love what McGahee showed against the Dolphins and hope that he can turn into a world beater, but it just seems that people forget too quickly the quality work Travis Henry has done for the Bills over the past several years.

[mybills]

stats schmats.

[lordofgun]

It was mostly to illustrate the point that using Henry and McGahee's ypc so far this season as an indication of their talents is not a fiar representation because the season is still young and the statistical sample too small.

Again I love what McGahee showed against the Dolphins and hope that he can turn into a world beater, but it just seems that people forget too quickly the quality work Travis Henry has done for the Bills over the past several years.

What has Trav done for me lately???

[finsrclowns]

Henry's going to be fine. The coaches have talked him into wearing spikes on his shoes for this week's game. Should make a big difference.