Dirtbag359 Presents The Preseason Battle Poll

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Well if you look at just preseason Bett's is averaging more yards per carry and he has faced D's in the 1st and 2nd quarters of the game. Mason while he's look impressive has made most of his yards against scrubs and what would happen if he had to be the starter for a few games? Thats what we don't know about him but we do know that Bett's can carry the load. No way we get rid of Bett's.

I'd say Mason's value as a starter would be determined by his blocking and receiving.

If our line is run-blocking well, Mason can get just as many yards as Betts. There is nothing about Betts' running style that is better than Mason's, IMO.

As for the average: Betts is 6.8 with 11 carries; Mason is 5.4 with 43 carries. That's not much of an argument. Mason has had 4 times as many carries as Betts, so the odds are working against him -- and he's still averaging 5.4. Also, he started the HoF game, so he's seen similar competition as Betts this preseason (he got 98 yards in that game, btw).

Let me be clear: I'm not saying Mason is better than Betts. I'm just saying that as a #2 RB, who is equally capable (IMO, w/o regard to blocking), Mason is a better fit because he has more upside and is cheaper/younger.

If we lost Portis, Betts would come in and do well -- but I think Mason would too. Betts isn't all that special, he just runs into a hole -- Mason can do that too.

Can somebody help me out with blocking critique? I haven't seen Mason's blocking abilities...