OK, he fumble(s)d, but can we talk about Cook's season, historically, please?

[dollars 2 donuts]

 

There has been (33) 1,000 yard rushing seasons by Bills backs in their 66 year history.

 

Currently, James Cook has 1,308 yards, which is good for 9th all time for the team.

 

He is 8 yards from passing Thurman Thomas' 1,315 yards in 1993 for 8th...

 

He is 49 yards from passing Travis Henry's 1,356 yards in 2003 for 7th...

 

...and long story short, it looks like he is going to pass OJ Simpson's 1976 total of 1,503 for 3rd place all time.* 

 

I know what you are thinking..."But Dollars, you gentlemen adventurer and warrior poet**, OJ did 1,503 in only 14 games and Cook gets 17."

 

I hear you, fellow anonymous board member other than the name that is by your avatar.  However, don't think of it as games as much as carries.

 

OJ ran for 1,503 on 290 carries.  Cook has 1,308 on 249 attempts.  

 

If...IF you were to grant James his 5.3 yards per carry average over 41 more attempts it would put him at 1,525 yards on 290 carries.

 

We are still in the hunt for the division...hell, we are still in the hunt for the conference, as well.

 

However, let us not forget the amazing individual achievements that are taking place besides what Josh does on a weekly basis.

 

Go Bills!

 

 

 

(* He won't pass OJ's '75 1,817 yards or 1973's 2,003 yards)

 

(** Yes, I stole it from Rooster Teeth...but what is true, is true)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by dollars 2 donuts

[DrDawkinstein]

But, is he... worth it? 

 

side note to Beane: going forward, pick more players who contribute to National Championships. This aint rocket surgery

[J-Bo]

36 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

But, is he... worth it? 

 

side note to Beane: going forward, pick more players who contribute to National Championships. This aint rocket surgery

 

Rocket surgery? Since when did rockets start having surgery? Did it heal well?

[MJS]

I was against giving him the money he was demanding. And the Bills didn't, so I was all good with the signing. And he has been a slam dunk this year, despite the fumbles. He needs to clean that up. He almost lost the game because of that fumble. But he has been awesome overall.

Edited 2 hours ago by MJS

[NewEra]

He’s a superstar, game breaking RB and I  couldn’t be happier with his play and his contract.  I’m glad that we got the fumbles behind us in the regular season as he should be making ball security his priority 

Edited 1 hour ago by NewEra

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

2 minutes ago, MJS said:

I was against giving him the money he was demending. And the Bills didn't, so I was all good with the signing. And he has been a slam dunk this year, despite the fumbles. He needs to clean that up. He almost lost the game because of that fumble. But he has been awesome overall.

 

The pittsburgh one he lost was just so absurdly fluky its hard to fault it as a "ball security" issue.  Diving for the pylon isn't great unless you're superman with massive hands, but its hard to coach that out of a player.  The one at the 2 was inexcusable though.  

[BuffaloBill]

31 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

The pittsburgh one he lost was just so absurdly fluky it’s hard to fault it as a "ball security" issue.  Diving for the pylon isn't great unless you're superman with massive hands, but it’s hard to coach that out of a player.  The one at the 2 was inexcusable though.  

Cook is absolutely vital to the success of this team and as a help to Josh Allen. He just needs to not try to do superhuman stuff like reaching for the pylon. Keep the ball and go down at the 1/2 yard line. This is what helps your team win.

 

Keep in mind if it were not for Benford’s pick 6 this game statistically was looking like a loss.  We all get to celebrate the W but like JA has had to learn, there is a time to be Superman and there a time to simply be a super human. If Cook learns the latter quickly he will be a phenomenal back. 

[Buffalo Ballin]

Cook needs a rebound game this Sunday.

[hondo in seattle]

45 minutes ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

 

...and long story short, it looks like he is going to pass OJ Simpson's 1976 total of 1,503 for 3rd place all time.* 

 

I know what you are thinking..."But Dollars, you gentlemen adventurer and warrior poet**, OJ did 1,503 in only 14 games and Cook gets 17."...

 

OJ ran for 1,503 on 290 carries.  Cook has 1,308 on 249 attempts.  

 

If...IF you were to grant James his 5.3 yards per carry average over 41 more attempts it would put him at 1,525 yards on 290 carries.

...

 

 

Dollars, my good gentleman adventurer and fellow warrior poet, I'm appreciating what Cook is doing but you can't compare him to OJ for a few reasons.

 

Let's start with the quarterback.  Clearly the defenses we face today fear Allen far more than they fear Cook.  So we see, for example, teams line up in a two high shell and then put a spy on Allen.  Teams don't put spies on Cook.  I'm sure they respect his talent but he's not their primary worry.  

 

OJ's usual QB was Joe Ferguson.  Fergie eventually became a good QB but in his early years, his job was simply to give OJ the ball.  For example, in 1973 when OJ ran for 2,000 yards, Ferguson passed for less than 1,000 despite starting every game.  Defenses were fully, entirely keyed on OJ with spies matching his every move.  And they still couldn't stop him.  

 

Now let's look at defenses.   Nowadays, most teams use the 4-2 as their base defense.  In the 1970's, the 4-2 was called a "pass prevent" defense and was only used, reluctantly, at the very end of halves.  Most defenses then, including the "Purple People Eaters" and the "Dallas Doomsday Defense," used the 4-3 and were intensely focused on smothering running backs.  

 

LBs back then were not the quick, rangy guys of today with good coverage skills.  They were freaking lunatic killers like Dick Butkus, Mike "Mad Dog" Curtis, Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert who hit you like a freight train and counted any day they hospitalized a back a good one.  

DEs were different, too.  Forget today's sack artists with superior bend, spin moves, and ballet-like grace.  The DEs of the 1970s were hulking giants who pounded the snot out of RBs and made them cry.  

 

Cook is a good back, and I like watching him work.  But he wouldn't achieve the stats he's attaining now on the 1970s Bills versus 1970s run-first defenses.  

[dollars 2 donuts]

11 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Dollars, my good gentleman adventurer and fellow warrior poet, I'm appreciating what Cook is doing but you can't compare him to OJ for a few reasons.

 

Let's start with the quarterback.  Clearly the defenses we face today fear Allen far more than they fear Cook.  So we see, for example, teams line up in a two high shell and then put a spy on Allen.  Teams don't put spies on Cook.  I'm sure they respect his talent but he's not their primary worry.  

 

OJ's usual QB was Joe Ferguson.  Fergie eventually became a good QB but in his early years, his job was simply to give OJ the ball.  For example, in 1973 when OJ ran for 2,000 yards, Ferguson passed for less than 1,000 despite starting every game.  Defenses were fully, entirely keyed on OJ with spies matching his every move.  And they still couldn't stop him.  

 

Now let's look at defenses.   Nowadays, most teams use the 4-2 as their base defense.  In the 1970's, the 4-2 was called a "pass prevent" defense and was only used, reluctantly, at the very end of halves.  Most defenses then, including the "Purple People Eaters" and the "Dallas Doomsday Defense," used the 4-3 and were intensely focused on smothering running backs.  

 

LBs back then were not the quick, rangy guys of today with good coverage skills.  They were freaking lunatic killers like Dick Butkus, Mike "Mad Dog" Curtis, Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert who hit you like a freight train and counted any day they hospitalized a back a good one.  

DEs were different, too.  Forget today's sack artists with superior bend, spin moves, and ballet-like grace.  The DEs of the 1970s were hulking giants who pounded the snot out of RBs and made them cry.  

 

Cook is a good back, and I like watching him work.  But he wouldn't achieve the stats he's attaining now on the 1970s Bills versus 1970s run-first defenses.  

 

 

Outstanding, Brother Hondo.  Outstanding!

 

Bravo!

 

BTW, for years...years,e ver since I was a kid I always remembered that Fergy didn't throw for a thousand yardds all year in the 2003 odyssey season.  Hilarious.

 

BTW, you want another little trivia/stat for the pipe?

 

When Josh Allen throws for his next 301 yards he will pass Joe Ferguson for 57th on the NFL's all time passing yards list (29,817).

 

 

[GASabresIUFan]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

side note to Beane: going forward, pick more players who contribute to National Championships. This aint rocket surgery

I’ve thought that for years.  Philly won a Super Bowl with UGA’s defense.

[SoonerBillsFan]

I want to see his production pulled back a little and more Davis to spare him for the playoffs.  Look the fumbles are because teams are now aiming at him, a slight technique  change carry wise and he will be fine. He just needs to be a little more mindful of they are coming for the ball.

[dollars 2 donuts]

2 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

I want to see his production pulled back a little and more Davis to spare him for the playoffs.  Look the fumbles are because teams are now aiming at him, a slight technique  change carry wise and he will be fine. He just needs to be a little more mindful of they are coming for the ball.

Sooner, I kind of agree with you and that is a great point

 

but

 

we still need him to cook.  We are still in the division and conference hunt.

 

i will not give that up until we are out of the picture and right now I am not a game by game guy.

 

…I am in 100 percent Run The Table mode.

[GASabresIUFan]

3 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

I want to see his production pulled back a little and more Davis to spare him for the playoffs.  Look the fumbles are because teams are now aiming at him, a slight technique  change carry wise and he will be fine. He just needs to be a little more mindful of they are coming for the ball.

The Cin fumble was a bad personal decision in redzone short yardage.  In the cold and snow, you leave the ball with the 6-5 240 lbs QB/Monster named Josh Allen vs the 5-11, 190 non-bruising RB. 

[hondo in seattle]

9 minutes ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

 

 

Outstanding, Brother Hondo.  Outstanding!

 

Bravo!

 

BTW, for years...years,e ver since I was a kid I always remembered that Fergy didn't throw for a thousand yardds all year in the 2003 odyssey season.  Hilarious.

 

BTW, you want another little trivia/stat for the pipe?

 

When Josh Allen throws for his next 301 yards he will pass Joe Ferguson for 57th on the NFL's all time passing yards list (29,817).

 

 

 

Brother Dollars, thanks for the kind words! 

 

I don't think Fergy passed for more than 3,000 yards his first 6 or 7 years with the Bills.  But he played a long time and eventually had a couple of productive seasons.  But in the beginning, it was all OJ, all the time.  And since our D was usually poor, the entire game plan of the opponent was SLOW OJ DOWN.  If they could do that, they'd win.  

 

Well, in 1974, we were invited to play on Monday Night Football (a big cultural phenomenon back then as you might recall) for the very first time.  Our opponent would be the Oakland Raiders who were good enough to get several MNF games and had won them all.  This was, btw, the first and only Bills home game I would see in person at the Ralph.

OJ was off to a good start, though frustratingly he seemed close to breaking one but hadn't yet.  And then he got hurt right before half if I recall correctly.  The game was basically over.  We couldn't win without OJ.   

 

But Fergy threw a 13-yard TD strike to Ahmad Rashad with 13 seconds left to win the game 21-20.  As it unlikely as it seemed at the time, it was Fergy, not OJ, who was the hero of our first MNF victory.   Although I'm glad to see Allen rising ahead of him on the passing yards list, Fergy will always hold a hallowed place in my old heart.   

[DrDawkinstein]

1 hour ago, J-Bo said:

 

Rocket surgery? Since when did rockets start having surgery? Did it heal well?

 

We'll bill your HMO

[Doc Brown]

Stop ***** fumbling.

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

OJ had a quarterback that never threw the ball.

 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

I was against giving him the money he was demanding. And the Bills didn't, so I was all good with the signing. And he has been a slam dunk this year, despite the fumbles. He needs to clean that up. He almost lost the game because of that fumble. But he has been awesome overall.

Same. Now i realize that he’s the key to a ring. Josh is playing near his potential finally. Add a RB performing at an All Pro level and the sky is the limit. The defense just needs to be decent this postseason and cut out those long back breaking drives. 

[MJS]

16 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Same. Now i realize that he’s the key to a ring. Josh is playing near his potential finally. Add a RB performing at an All Pro level and the sky is the limit. The defense just needs to be decent this postseason and cut out those long back breaking drives. 

For much of this season Cook has been even more important than Allen, honestly.