ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post - Chiefs Is it the line, or the running back?

Chiefspants · 04-08-2020, 08:54 AM

While many argue he isn't a true #1, Damien Williams footwork is truly elite. This skill truly stands out with what he's asked to do in Andy's offense, and Damien's overall effectiveness increased proportionally to when we solidified the offensive line at the end of the season. I've been beating this drum all over the place, but I would be curious to see Damien as our #1 with a solid IOL for the course of the season.

Andy, for one reason or another, loves running in the interior line. When the interior line is in shambles, it's going to be hard for most running backs (outside of Jamaal Charles) to be very effective. With that said, in another thread I took Damien's statistics since starting for Kareem Hunt in 2018 and compared them with Kareem's 14 starts in 2018.

In that span Damien has played in 19 games and started 14 times. Since Damien split the load in the majority of those starts, I decided to compare his numbers to Kareem’s final season and last three full starts in 2017 (excluding Denver, where he only had one carry).

Damien
Car Yards AVG TD Rec Yards TD Games Starts
226 1056 4.67 14 65 427 7 19 14

Kareem
245 1102 4.49 10 40 449 8 14 14

Honestly, even with a bad IOL line, his injury and all, Damien holds his own in an impressive way here. I think Kareem wouldn’t have fared any better (if not a bit worse) than Damien with this line this season (especially after missing 8 games). The final thing to consider is that Andy Reid's offense asks RB's to offer different skillsets as the #1. Effective blocking, chipping and checkdowns out of the backfield become paramount, while being able to carry the rock when asked becomes even more important. Williams played a #1 back in Andy's scheme to perfection in the playoffs. Funnily enough, he tends to take guff around here for his stats against the Titans, but this is unfair. Damien ended up getting the ball 7 times in a critical 7 minute drive in the 3rd quarter against the Titans that allowed the Chiefs to turn the Titans game against them. The Titans were so petrified against the pass that Andy trusted Damien to be able to carry the rock against the Titans - and it worked. While his final line doesn't jump out (17 carries, 45 yards, 1 TD w' 5 catches, 44 yards) Damien had around a 4 YPC against a stout running D until the last drive, when the Titans were able to load up the box to stop him (he had 4 carries for -5 yards on that drive, tanking his stats).

What's unarguable, though, is how dominant he was in the Super Bowl. Baldy breaks it down far better than I can here.

#Chiefs #DamienWilliams saved his best for the big stage. He did it all in #SBLIV and what a day he had. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/vA2di1T8Ar
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) February 4, 2020

At the end of the day, with Williams history I think you draft a #2 back to wait in the wings in case Damien can't carry the load after a full season -- but everyone should be saying "Kareem who?" after the postseason. Damien was that good, really. We don't go all the way without him giving us a franchise RB performance. For that reason I think you go all in on shoring up the Interior O Line while grabbing a RB to develop in the mid-later rounds (an Andy Reid special).

04-08-2020, 08:54 AM	#18
Chiefspants World's Best Boss Chiefspants's Avatar Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bronco Country	While many argue he isn't a true #1, Damien Williams footwork is truly elite. This skill truly stands out with what he's asked to do in Andy's offense, and Damien's overall effectiveness increased proportionally to when we solidified the offensive line at the end of the season. I've been beating this drum all over the place, but I would be curious to see Damien as our #1 with a solid IOL for the course of the season. Andy, for one reason or another, loves running in the interior line. When the interior line is in shambles, it's going to be hard for most running backs (outside of Jamaal Charles) to be very effective. With that said, in another thread I took Damien's statistics since starting for Kareem Hunt in 2018 and compared them with Kareem's 14 starts in 2018. In that span Damien has played in 19 games and started 14 times. Since Damien split the load in the majority of those starts, I decided to compare his numbers to Kareem’s final season and last three full starts in 2017 (excluding Denver, where he only had one carry). Damien Car Yards AVG TD Rec Yards TD Games Starts 226 1056 4.67 14 65 427 7 19 14 Kareem 245 1102 4.49 10 40 449 8 14 14 Honestly, even with a bad IOL line, his injury and all, Damien holds his own in an impressive way here. I think Kareem wouldn’t have fared any better (if not a bit worse) than Damien with this line this season (especially after missing 8 games). The final thing to consider is that Andy Reid's offense asks RB's to offer different skillsets as the #1. Effective blocking, chipping and checkdowns out of the backfield become paramount, while being able to carry the rock when asked becomes even more important. Williams played a #1 back in Andy's scheme to perfection in the playoffs. Funnily enough, he tends to take guff around here for his stats against the Titans, but this is unfair. Damien ended up getting the ball 7 times in a critical 7 minute drive in the 3rd quarter against the Titans that allowed the Chiefs to turn the Titans game against them. The Titans were so petrified against the pass that Andy trusted Damien to be able to carry the rock against the Titans - and it worked. While his final line doesn't jump out (17 carries, 45 yards, 1 TD w' 5 catches, 44 yards) Damien had around a 4 YPC against a stout running D until the last drive, when the Titans were able to load up the box to stop him (he had 4 carries for -5 yards on that drive, tanking his stats). What's unarguable, though, is how dominant he was in the Super Bowl. Baldy breaks it down far better than I can here. #Chiefs #DamienWilliams saved his best for the big stage. He did it all in #SBLIV and what a day he had. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/vA2di1T8Ar — Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) February 4, 2020 At the end of the day, with Williams history I think you draft a #2 back to wait in the wings in case Damien can't carry the load after a full season -- but everyone should be saying "Kareem who?" after the postseason. Damien was that good, really. We don't go all the way without him giving us a franchise RB performance. For that reason I think you go all in on shoring up the Interior O Line while grabbing a RB to develop in the mid-later rounds (an Andy Reid special). Last edited by Chiefspants; 04-08-2020 at 09:59 AM..
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