The Most Controversial Topic in Football

After seeing the eternal hype bestowed upon Alabama in the media, I decided to take on perhaps the most controversial topic in football for my first post: Gurley vs. Yeldon.

As a Georgia fan, I knew there would be quite a hurdle to jump to convince me that there is a better RB in college football than Todd Gurley. So how do you be objective and non-biased? Well, I went to the game film.

I decided to break down what I personally saw in each RB by category.

Speed: 
This was a tough one. I am not a big "40 time" person, so that doesn't interest me. What I wanted to see was "game speed." What I see in both backs is a very impressive high top-end speed for their size. I would give a slight edge to Gurley in top speed, but what stood out as a difference to me was acceleration. Yeldon seems to have a bit more acceleration than Gurley, but I also think part of it was the gaping holes Yeldon had whereas Gurley had to be a more patient runner. Edge: Yeldon.



Power:
This is a freebie for Gurley. I suspect Bama will beef up Yeldon at the sacrifice of speed to fit more with their offensive style so this may change, but as Freshmen, Gurley wins. I reference the Top 10 plays videos (Yeldon v. Gurley) as a quick comparison for yourself. For most of Yeldon's big plays, he was basically untouched. Yeldon is a strong back, but Gurley is hands down more powerful both in the gap and the open field. You have to ignore runs against FAU, Buffalo, etc. for both backs. The proof to me is in the Bama game. No running back has been so hard for Bama to bring down as Gurley. Edge: Gurley.

Vision: 
This is another tough one. On one hand, you have Yeldon who is impressively quick to the hole and getting into the open field. He finds the gaping holes in Bama's All-American front like Barry Sanders! On the other hand, you have Gurley. His holes were much harder to find, if existent at all. Yet he still managed to break into the second level as much, if not more than Yeldon. The tie-breaker comes down to patience. If you watch Gurley run, he has the patience and vision you would expect out of an All-American senior RB or NFL RB. This is not easily taught and will be the main reason Gurley will excel as a RB. Edge: Gurley.

Cutting Ability:
Must I say it again? Another tough one. For Yeldon, he certainly has a little more of the PS3 moves often leaving defenders grabbing for air. It certainly looks more impressive to the untrained eye. But again, the reason Gurley lead the league in rushing is because he knows how this game is played. When you watch Gurley closely, you can appreciate the ability to change direction, as well as putting defenders on unstable footing. While Yeldon is more likely to make a defender whiff, Gurley has the ability to maintain downhill running and cutting enough to put defenders off balance and unable to muster the strength to bring him down. This is a tough choice to make, but I am going to lean to Gurley. The reason is that Yeldon looks impressive, but this is not a skill that will work against the best defenses, and certainly not in the NFL. We will see Yeldon modify his game over the years to mimic this skill of Gurley. I feel Gurley's style is more NFL ready and will allow him to keep banging out yards on a consistent basis. Edge: Gurley.

Receiving:
Well, Yeldon wins this one by a mile! He is utilized much more in the passing game than was Gurley. With Keith Marshall in the backfield, I don't imagine that will change much this season. Yeldon has shown he can excel in the screen game, but hasn't shown any downfield ability up to this point. The edge here has to go to Yeldon since we haven't seen much of Gurley in the pass game. Edge: Yeldon.

Durability: 
Easy one. Gurley. Yeldon excelled in his role as 2nd string to Eddie Lacy. Gurley was the workhorse for his offense and proved he can be an "every down" back in the SEC. I suspect Yeldon will probably show similar durability this season, but as a true Freshmen, you have to appreciate what Gurley was able to do. I don't look at number of carries as the main factor here. Gurley and Lacy were the main backs for their team. They carried the rock against the fresh leg defense and in critical game situations the majority of the time. Big difference than coming in fresh against a gassed defense. I will expand on this further in a minute. Edge: Gurley.

Big-Play Ability: 
For a pair of Freshmen, Yeldon and Gurley demonstrated impressive big-play ability. Whether it was pounding out a critical first down, powering through the nation's top run defense in the red zone, breaking the screen pass for a crucial game winner, or taking the long road to the house. To choose one in the category would truly disgrace the amazing things these guys did on the field for their teams as true Freshmen. Edge: Tie.

Summary:
So who is the best back? Well, you can see from my opinion that Gurley still wins out overall at this point. Both RBs have work to do and a lot may change, but after a Freshmen year in the SEC, Gurley deserves the title of best RB in the SEC (and the nation). His combination of power, speed, vision, and durability has not often been seen at such a young age. His skill set is not easily taught and will carry him far. Yeldon is not very far behind! He shows the talent level to be one of the best to have played in the SEC, but I think he still has some modifications to his game if he wants to excel at the next level.

I think the real "X Factor" in comparison is not related to their skill sets at all. As we all know, Yeldon ran behind one of the best OL in the history of the game. He had big run after big run where he was hardly even touched. Gurley, on the other hand, had a very inexperienced line that made it much more difficult on him to hit the second level. The next argument is that Gurley was the workhorse for UGA while Yeldon was 2nd string. People want to make the argument that if Yeldon had as many carries as Gurley, his yardage would be similar or better. I think this is a statement by people who don't really know football. Yeldon had the advantage of running mostly against a gassed defense. If you don't believe this matters and this is your argument, I will direct you no further than UGA's own backup RB who averaged more YPC than Yeldon. If you believe this logic, then Keith Marshall is the #1 RB in the country, not Yeldon or Gurley.

In summary, the SEC hasn't seen a trio of Freshmen RBs as dominant as Yeldon, Gurley, and Marshall in a long time (if ever). It is hard to pick between Yeldon and Gurley because they each have some pros and cons. We can all agree that they are both studs. Based on Freshmen performance, all things considered, I think Gurley deserves the recognition as the better. This certainly could change in the future, but I don't think it will be different in the Sophomore campaign. My point to all of this? The media bias towards Bama gets a little old and they should give respect where respect is due. Maybe for once, Bama only has the second best running back. Get over it! I will give them the edge for performance, defense, offensive line, coaching...but not running back! Not this time!