Ford better than Perine?

[Tear Down This Wall]

Remember this ridiculous discussion from last week.

If so, riddle me this: why did our offense go in the tank after Perine was injured?

[Eielson]

Ford got hurt, too...

Ford averaged 10.1 ypc and Perine averaged 5.6 ypc. Ford also had a couple of crucial 3rd down catches. I don't know why you think this game proved anything.

[SoonerMarkVA]

Ford got hurt, too...

Ford averaged 10.1 ypc and Perine averaged 5.6 ypc. Ford also had a couple of crucial 3rd down catches. I don't know why you think this game proved anything.

Confirmation bias.

[LostCreekSooner]

Remember this ridiculous discussion from last week.

If so, riddle me this: why did our offense go in the tank after Perine was injured?

Our offense wet into the tank well before Perine was hurt.
We can't throw the ball, so other teams bring everyone into the box and attack us. Our line is good still good enough to allow us to score some points. If we had a quarterback and some receivers we would have killed people. Sucks at OU to have such a great line and no talented people around!

[SoonerForLife92]

Ford got hurt, too...

Ford averaged 10.1 ypc and Perine averaged 5.6 ypc. Ford also had a couple of crucial 3rd down catches. I don't know why you think this game proved anything.

This..

Also OP you really don't know how to read

[bluedogok]

I think the O-Line was much like the most of the team, not as good as advertised. They were huge, which seems to work in the Big 10 and some in the SEC, it doesn't work too well with the smaller, quicker defenses that tends to dominate the Big 12. They looked great against the people they were supposed to dominate but below average against good teams. The averages look good when you happen to pop a big run. I thought the backs did fairly well for an average line and when everybody knew they were running.

[8timechamps]

Ford was not at 100% Saturday. So, I can't take the results Saturday into account, but it's close.

Perine is an animal, and he's younger than Ford, so it's absolutely possible he will surpass Ford's ability this off season. The only downside I see in Perine's game right now is that he still gets a little impatient when he's bottled up at the LOS. It was pointed out by one of the announcers Saturday, he wants to bounce it outside if the hole isn't open when he's get to it...that's pretty common for high school backs. They're used to being faster to the edge, or in Perine's case, being able to run over high school corners. He has gotten better about it as the season has progressed, so I have no doubt that he'll continue to learn and get even better.

Ford's vision is still just a bit better than Perine. Again, he's seen more time at the college level (even if it was just practice). So that's to be expected. However, Perine's vision in incredibly good for a freshman. Ford also hits the hole better than any of our backs, and when healthy I think he's a bit faster than Perine in the open field.

Personally, I don't care which one is labeled the "better one", I'm just glad they are both Sooners.

Joe Mixon will be in the conversation next year...and it's possible incoming freshman Rodney Anderson is included. If there's a bright spot on this team, it's the running back corps. In fact, we are so loaded I'm not sure we will hang on to the all.

[EatLeadCommie]

I was in the Ford camp before Perine ran for 400 something yards. Perine has earned the starting spot, but Ford brings something that Perine doesn't, which is versatility out of the backfield and speed. I didn't know he wasn't at 100%, but that explains why he didn't break that long one all the way to the EZ.

Our offense went to crap when Perine went out because Josh panicked and decided to start passing. Once he went back to the run, Ford busted through for that long 60 yarder. But I do think the OSU D was happy to see him go out because they were tired of trying to tackle the guy. Maybe that gave them a little hope. Who knows...

[BoulderSooner79]

That 60 yard run was an aberration and a bust by the OSU defense. Ford would have had to make a total bonehead move not to go for 60. The plays called after that were a nice mix to get us the score, then they stoned us on all the series after that once they adjusted to Perine's absence.

[beached_sooner]

Perine is good, but he got caught from behind on his long run. What's up with that. (How many times was AD caught from behind?)

Ford had a long run, even though he's never been 100% all year. I believe he was headed off at the pass and stopped by guys in front of him. I believe Ford may be a better receiver also.

[8timechamps]

Perine is good, but he got caught from behind on his long run. What's up with that. (How many times was AD caught from behind?)

Ford had a long run, even though he's never been 100% all year. I believe he was headed off at the pass and stopped by guys in front of him. I believe Ford may be a better receiver also.

The only knock on Perine (if you can call it that) coming out of high school was that he didn't have "long" speed (meaning he was less likely to break a long TD run without getting caught). So, that cost him an extra star with the recruiting services. He's made some long scoring runs, but he does look just a tad slower than Ford (when he's 100%).



This is a nice problem to have...which of your very good backs are better?!

[BoulderSooner79]

Comparing Perine and AD is silly, they are very different style backs. AD had incredible power for his size at 217, but could never display the kind of brute force Perine does at 243. Likewise, Perine is not going to run a 4.37 forty like AD has done.

Maybe Ford runs better routes, but I don't recall Perine dropping a pass and in fact looks to have soft hands.

[Eielson]

Comparing Perine and AD is silly, they are very different style backs. AD had incredible power for his size at 217, but could never display the kind of brute force Perine does at 243. Likewise, Perine is not going to run a 4.37 forty like AD has done.

Maybe Ford runs better routes, but I don't recall Perine dropping a pass and in fact looks to have soft hands.

It's also a ridiculous comparison because Adrian Peterson is the best RB since Barry Sanders while Perine may not even be the starting RB next year for his unranked college team.

[SoonerForLife92]

Ford was not at 100% Saturday. So, I can't take the results Saturday into account, but it's close.

Perine is an animal, and he's younger than Ford, so it's absolutely possible he will surpass Ford's ability this off season. The only downside I see in Perine's game right now is that he still gets a little impatient when he's bottled up at the LOS. It was pointed out by one of the announcers Saturday, he wants to bounce it outside if the hole isn't open when he's get to it...that's pretty common for high school backs. They're used to being faster to the edge, or in Perine's case, being able to run over high school corners. He has gotten better about it as the season has progressed, so I have no doubt that he'll continue to learn and get even better.

Ford's vision is still just a bit better than Perine. Again, he's seen more time at the college level (even if it was just practice). So that's to be expected. However, Perine's vision in incredibly good for a freshman. Ford also hits the hole better than any of our backs, and when healthy I think he's a bit faster than Perine in the open field.

Personally, I don't care which one is labeled the "better one", I'm just glad they are both Sooners.

Joe Mixon will be in the conversation next year...and it's possible incoming freshman Rodney Anderson is included. If there's a bright spot on this team, it's the running back corps. In fact, we are so loaded I'm not sure we will hang on to the all.

Could not agree more. If Ford never got injured, he stays better than Perine at least until next year.

[BigTip]

The only downside I see in Perine's game right now is that he still gets a little impatient when he's bottled up at the LOS.

Blake Bell needs to take him aside and give him a lesson. I still marvel at the "Belldozer" success. He would pause, look, then go.

Ford does have that over Perine I think. Finds the holes better. Perine makes the holes. Both are fun to watch.

[BoulderSooner79]

I don't even get what you guys are watching. It is obvious to me that the big improvement in Perine over the course of the season is vision and patience. He only lowers his shoulders and plows over people when that's all that's left to do. I like Ford, but the poor guy just hasn't had enough reps this year do much evaluation. He certainly looks very promising in many ways when he hangs onto the ball (which he did Saturday). Running, blocking, catching all look very good. I think he can have a great year next year if he stays healthy.

Perine had a ton of carries and ran for 1600+ yards as a true freshman. He's proven to be a special player and will most likely get better.

[Eielson]

I know I'm probably more responsible for this than just about anybody, but I kind of hate this debate.

I love that we have Perine, and I love that we have Ford, and I love that Mixon may well beat them both out at some point next year.

I don't know if you guys noticed, but Perine averaged 6.6 ypc, Ross averaged 6.6 ypc, and Ford averaged 5.7 ypc. As a TEAM we averaged 6.1 ypc, and that includes all the times our QB was sacked, so it's a little lower than it should be. In the last 10 years, we've never had a single RB, let alone a team, average over 6.0 ypc. Even in Adrian Peterson's best season he only averaged 5.7 ypc (our statistically worst RB), and the team only averaged 4.8.

I'm not saying that Perine and Ford are better than Peterson and Murray. I strongly believe the opposite, but we're finally running an offense (and the line is making the blocks) that allows us to run the ball effectively, and I don't think this O-line is extraordinarily talented. Our RBs are also all underclassman, so it only appears we're going to get better at that position.

This is great news, because all the defenses in the Big XII (and everywhere else except the Big 10) are switching their defenses around to stop Baylor-type passing attacks. I don't see any reason for this running trend to end, and it will take a lot of pressure off of our QB. Can you imagine Landry at QB if we were a run-dominant team, and we never forced him to make plays?

[8timechamps]

I don't even get what you guys are watching. It is obvious to me that the big improvement in Perine over the course of the season is vision and patience. He only lowers his shoulders and plows over people when that's all that's left to do. I like Ford, but the poor guy just hasn't had enough reps this year do much evaluation. He certainly looks very promising in many ways when he hangs onto the ball (which he did Saturday). Running, blocking, catching all look very good. I think he can have a great year next year if he stays healthy.

Perine had a ton of carries and ran for 1600+ yards as a true freshman. He's proven to be a special player and will most likely get better.

No question that he's improved over the season, but he's still doing a couple of things that he could (and will) improve on: He's still, at times, hesitant when he gets to the LOS. I think some of that is him over thinking it, instead of hitting whatever small hole is there. The other is what I mentioned above, he still wants to take it outside when the hole isn't there. He did it a couple of times Saturday, and he's done it in every game he's played (although it is getting less and less). Those are two things that Ford is much better at (at this point).

It's not shocking to think Ford would be ahead on what amounts to game speed adjustments. Perine is (was) in his first year at the collegiate level. His talent is that he's making those adjustments much quicker than an average freshman. I'm not questioning his vision (which is already very good), I'm just saying that Ford seems to hit the hole quicker and runs more north-south than Perine...at this time.

This, of course, is nitpicking as they are both phenomenal. However, for anyone to say that one is light years ahead of the other is just crazy talk. They're both different enough in their style that it's hard to make a complete comparison, but similar enough to see they are both excellent runners.

[msteudem]

Perine has better ball security. Only fumble came on his last carry with the injury. And even that according to Mike Perreira sp? wasn't technically a fumble.

[BoulderSooner79]

Perine has better ball security. Only fumble came on his last carry with the injury. And even that according to Mike Perreira sp? wasn't technically a fumble.

No it wasn't. His forward momentum had long been stopped and he driven back a couple of yards before the ball came out. Not reviewable, unfortunately. His only fumble IMO was the one against the Vols where he was called down by the refs and replay called it inconclusive. So I guess the refs giveth and taketh away. But heck yes - great ball security over many carries.