cool Gus Edwards stats

[JimZipCode]

I just don't see any gaping flaws in Edwards game.

He didn't offer much out of the backfield as a rookie, but he worked on it last year and seemed to improve. (a perfect 7 catches on 7 targets this year)

Doesn't have the talent level Ingram does. On the other hand, he's not over-30 like Ingram is, either.

[Bhcforlife]

Ingram is going to be 31 this year, I highly doubt Edwards roster spot is in any jeopardy for 2020, and honestly think they'll re-sign him pending cost when the time comes. Hill is probably who they want to be "the guy" post Ingram but they'll still need/want a power guy too.

[HotInHere]

He didn't offer much out of the backfield as a rookie, but he worked on it last year and seemed to improve. (a perfect 7 catches on 7 targets this year)

Meanwhile Ingram caught 26 of 29 targets for 250 yards and 5 TDs. Ingram is much more of a weapon in the passing game than Gus. (Ingram is also great in pass pro.)

I love the stat in the OP, but it definitely has to be in context. The other players in that list were dominant. Fast guys who were almost impossible to tackle with power and/or sick juke moves and sudden burst. Gus, OTOH, gets every yard that is there to be gotten, and usually one or two extra ones. And that is very much a compliment.

But seriously, what does the board think? If Gus was the Tennessee or Dallas starting running back last year, would he have put up the same numbers as Derrick and Zeke? And if not, how close do you think he would get?

He is a low-variance RB, which is HUGELY valuable in this system, and I’m glad we have him. But he seems more Olandis Gary than Jim Brown to me.

[JimZipCode]

Meanwhile Ingram caught 26 of 29 targets for 250 yards and 5 TDs. Ingram is much more of a weapon in the passing game than Gus.

Oh of course.

he seems more Olandis Gary than Jim Brown to me.

Agreed.

Although he did look better this past season than I expected. Slimmer/faster, with no loss in power.

[Bhcforlife]

But seriously, what does the board think? If Gus was the Tennessee or Dallas starting running back last year, would he have put up the same numbers as Derrick and Zeke? And if not, how close do you think he would get?

He put up 130 yards against the Steelers, who had a great defense last year, with backups on the line and RG3 at QB. And it's not like there was any fooling the Steelers on what we wanted to do that day, either, given who we had at QB, what the game meant to us (nothing), and the weather. Maybe he wouldn't lead the league in rushing, but if he had 300 carries on one of those teams, I think he would have easily topped 1200, 1300 yards. That's reducing his 5.3 YPC by a full yard. 300 carries on this offense? 1500+ yards.

Gus is the most underrated player on this roster IMO. Dating back to when he was a rookie and beasting in the PS, he was called a camp body or PS guy. Last offseason half the board wanted to cut/trade him to keep Ken Dixon of all people. People still seem skeptical this year. I don't think he's some great, transcendent back but I think he's a lot better than some here give him credit for being. He seems to have great vision, and that along with his power seem to make up for his athletic limitations.

[lobachevsky]

OK, I stand corrected. This is the first I've ever heard of an exclusive RFA (when the F did they dream that one up?) so I plead ignorance (=/= stupidity). I guess that's why I didn't see any particular urgency to sign him.

Still like to know why the team seems to have so little confidence in him that they'd limit him to 3 touches in a playoff game in preference to an obviously injured Ingram. (At least it was obvious after his first couple of touches.)

[Brtnder81]

Or if someone else offers him a contract that the Crows won't match. Lots of teams out there can read the same stats the OP posted; a few of them have people who can actually understand them. And with 31 other franchises on the hunt for talent, there is (almost) always at least one that sees player X on the Ravens' RFA list as the answer to their burning need & has the cap flexibility to pay him more than the home team will. EdC seems to have imbibed or inherited Ozzie's fondness for collecting draft picks, so the cut point may not be that high - as a former UDFA, not sure what Gus would bring on an "original round" tender, but even that is likely to be >$2M, a lot more than he's costing now, & a 2nd-round tender upwards of $3M.** Hard to believe Eric wouldn't just let Gus walk.

Which confuses me about as much as it confuses (some of) the rest of you - what's the weakness in his game that makes Harbaugh so unwilling to use him (3 carries vs TEN??) &, by all appearances, the team so apparently uninterested in re-upping him before it gets to the Tender Trap? Is he less-than-optimal at pass-catching out of the backfield, or selling Lamar's ball fakes, or blocking, or what? Is he a "locker-room cancer" (or maybe just an irritating rash)? Youth wants to know, & old age is pretty damn curious as well...

**I haven't been able to dig up the official numbers, sorry. If anyone's got 'em or a link to 'em, post 'em.

He only has 2 years in the league, so he can't be extended yet, and he can't negotiate with other teams. I think he should get more carries, but I don't think he would be as good in just any system. He is very much a north/ south runner, he doesnt make people miss, and he doesnt catch the ball out of the backfield (9 catches in 2 seasons). I can see one more year with Ingram as the starter, but he is getting older, and it would be very smart to give him less carries and give Gus more.

[NC Raven]

His YPC is even more impressive when you factor in the 17-56 (3.29 YPC) in garbage time in the 59-10 win vs Miami when they were mostly running basic dive plays with backups in the game, and 14-55 (3.93) in similar situation in the 45-6 blowout of the Rams. That's 31 of his 133 carries on the year.

Take those out and he's at 5.88 ypc. I know you can't just pick and choose like that, but I think it's fair to point those out since we can pinpoint a reason why his numbers were so poor in those games. They don't reflect what he does in competitive situations with the 1's on the field.

It's terribly disappointing to me he only got 3 carries in the playoff game. All it tells me is the Ravens want a different guy. They're OK with him for now as a backup, because you can't have exactly everything you want everywhere on the roster all the time. But for whatever reason, they don't want the ball in his hands in any kind of meaningful situation. I don't understand it.

So I don't see him being a Raven much longer. One more year at the most. He'll do very well somewhere else I'm sure. I love his speed and power but whatever the case, neither that nor his production is moving the needle for this coaching staff. It's really puzzling to me.

Only thing that comes to mind is in 2018 there were some mesh issues with him and Lamar; stat-wise those fumbles were all charged to Lamar, as I'm only seeing 2 career fumbles for Gus in 279 total touches. Is that really to blame? Two charged fumbles? I would think the mesh issue would have been fixed over this past offseason; I don't remember seeing it come up in 2019, and Lamar actually fumbled less times in 2019 than 2018 despite obviously playing a hell of a lot more snaps.

I don't understand it at all. But don't fall out of your chair shocked if we take another back in round 4-5. No matter what the depth chart may "officially" say, the reality will be Ingram, Hill, New Guy, Gus, in that order.

[PTORaven]

OK, I stand corrected. This is the first I've ever heard of an exclusive RFA (when the F did they dream that one up?) so I plead ignorance (=/= stupidity). I guess that's why I didn't see any particular urgency to sign him.

Still like to know why the team seems to have so little confidence in him that they'd limit him to 3 touches in a playoff game in preference to an obviously injured Ingram. (At least it was obvious after his first couple of touches.)

no worries, it doesn't happen too often. i think it can only happen for undrafted players, cause drafted players are on their rookie deals throughout the ERFA three-year window. i could be wrong, i'm not a big NFL contracts guy. plenty of others here can chime in to confirm or disconfirm

[DelaWhereRaven]

I agree 100%, especially after his work in the last game vs. the Steelers (21 carries for 130 yards/6.2 YPC). Both he and Hayden Hurst should have seen more action in the Titans game... Bc

The crazy part to me is the Steelers knew what our gameplan was. Gus Edwards down your throat......and they couldn't do anything about it. That was such a satisfying game.

[JimZipCode]

Still like to know why the team seems to have so little confidence in him that they'd limit him to 3 touches in a playoff game in preference to an obviously injured Ingram.

It's terribly disappointing to me he only got 3 carries in the playoff game. All it tells me is the Ravens want a different guy. ...
So I don't see him being a Raven much longer.

I don't get the rush to judgement on personnel. We had 59 pass attempts on the day, and 9 rush attempts by people not named Lamar. Couldn't it just be that the game got away from us? Rather than that the Ravens are done with Edwards?

[NC Raven]

I don't get the rush to judgement on personnel. We had 59 pass attempts on the day, and 9 rush attempts by people not named Lamar. Couldn't it just be that the game got away from us? Rather than that the Ravens are done with Edwards?

I didn't frame it as an absolute metaphysical certainty. Just said "don't be shocked." If the coaches *really* "like our guys" they don't throw 59 times.

First, they tried feeding a half-crippled Mark Ingram. When that predictably failed, instead of just running the same offense they ran all year, only with Gus as the #1 back, their Plan B was a USFL game plan from the 80s.

Anything but feeding the Bus.

Sometimes things are so obvious, so right in front of our faces, we don't want to see them.