Why I'm Not a Mahe Fan
i've been thinking about this a lot lately. reno mahe is another one of those classic overachiever cases that everyone should love. he's an underdog, who through grit and determination, has gotten himself onto and stayed on an nfl roster. what's not to like? he's a decent blocker, he catches the ball well, he's smart, he's likeable. why don't people like him?
i've decided that it's big red's fault. if mahe was a 5th running back on a team who rarely played, people would love him. i would love him. the problem is that he's the 2nd or 3rd running back on this team (completely big red's call), and everyone and their brother can see that he's not 2nd or 3rd running back quality.
he has no difference making skills. so with his baseline marginally above zero, *any* negative play that he makes pushes his performance into the negative. take tonight's game for instance. mahe does basically nothing while he is in there and then fumbles. with someone like westbrook, you can forgive the occasional fumble because he's going to make up for it with more than his share of dynamic plays. mahe cannot afford to make those mistakes because he doesn't make up for them in other ways. this is why every mistake he makes is amplified, and ultimately, why i find it difficult to root for him.
it's not reno's fault though. andy's the one who's set the situation up. reno is not skilled enough to play as much as he does and that's not reno's fault, but unfortunately, reno's the one who deals with the ramifications. sorry reno.
i've decided that it's big red's fault. if mahe was a 5th running back on a team who rarely played, people would love him. i would love him. the problem is that he's the 2nd or 3rd running back on this team (completely big red's call), and everyone and their brother can see that he's not 2nd or 3rd running back quality.
he has no difference making skills. so with his baseline marginally above zero, *any* negative play that he makes pushes his performance into the negative. take tonight's game for instance. mahe does basically nothing while he is in there and then fumbles. with someone like westbrook, you can forgive the occasional fumble because he's going to make up for it with more than his share of dynamic plays. mahe cannot afford to make those mistakes because he doesn't make up for them in other ways. this is why every mistake he makes is amplified, and ultimately, why i find it difficult to root for him.
it's not reno's fault though. andy's the one who's set the situation up. reno is not skilled enough to play as much as he does and that's not reno's fault, but unfortunately, reno's the one who deals with the ramifications. sorry reno.
Labels: football
posted by The Mean Guy at 9:59 PM
3 Comments:
Pete....you are a frigging sage.
You are dead on with this assessment.
While I won't take Bumble's "the bridge has exploded and the water is going to flood the town" approach, I did see some things (I only caught parts of the third quarter)that I didn't like....well one thing....Koy....he looks like he would struggle in a men's rough touch Sunday game....how about the intentional grounding....uggh. I remember going to an Eagles v. Cardinals game in the late 90s and it was a late season, Eagles out of the play-offs tilt and Koy looked decent (he started)....he looks freaking horrible now. Not that it matters with Don and Garcia, but he can't make any passes and the team looks extremely mediocre with him at the helm.
Even though I missed the first half, I am not going to get too upset with this game....the Ravens are a solid, play-off caliber team with McNair and they do it the right way too....immense lines, pounding the ball on the ground and a competent, but not great QB who is a proven winner and who the team is going to rally around...plus they have Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. And they have Derrick Mason. Too bad Billick is the coach.
I can understand how you both feel about Reno. Is he a number 2 or 3 back maybe not. But in stating the obvious he is one of the only running backs that stays healthy. He doesn't miss practice and he knows the Eagles complicated offense. Just last week Bill Parcells explained if you don't practice you don't play! And what happened to T.O.? He is not playing on Monday night. The point is Reno puts in the work, and Andy Reid throws him a bone. Besides Westbrook which one of the running backs can play special teams, make tackles on special teams and return punts? Nobody as far as we have seen. This is a trust factor Reno rarely makes mistakes, he did fumble against the Ravens so no exscuses there. As an Eagle fan who would you trust?? Buckhalter that guy gets hurt eating a hamburger at McDonalds. Bruce Perry just is not consistent.
The point I am making is Reno has made it this far, and why is that? It's something we all can take a lesson from. It's hard work and he is reaping the benefits of it. Not to mention my friend, Reno led the NFL in punt return average last year at 12.8 yds. a return. Do you want the the glitzy returner who returns 1 or 2 of them back for T.D.'s and fumbles 5 times or the consistent return man who never fumbles and always keeps the ball safe. If your a football guy you know just as well as I do, the most important thing for a Punt returner to do is catch the ball, as long as he does that anything after that is a plus. So give some love to Reno and watch and be amazed by his simple yet productive year!!!!!!!
Not to mention my friend, Reno led the NFL in punt return average last year at 12.8 yds. a return.
i'm waiting to see if he can repeat that because he had the least impactful "league leading punt returner" season i can remember. i don't want to shortchange him, but in my mind i have it categorized as a byproduct of small sample size (since he only had 21 returns all year).
i hope he proves me wrong.
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