Everyone in the Kansas City area knew that Jamaal Charles was a good running back. After this season, everyone in America should know that Charles is a great running back.
Jamaal Charles is in his third year in the league. He started his career as a third round draft pick in 2008 (I will be talking about this draft class more in the future) by the Chiefs for the purpose of providing the compliment of speed to the power of starting running back Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson was fresh off a record-setting contract that made him the highest paid Chiefs player of all time (covering 6 years for 45 million dollars). But in the middle of a struggling year (not a single rushing touchdown until week 10 and that was by Charles) , dislike for the new regime of the Chiefs, homophobic slurs via twitter, and incidents at places in Kansas City (strip clubs), Larry Johnson was released (I'll have more to say about LJ later) during week 9 of the 2009 season. The rest is history.
Jamaal Charles rushed for 1,120 yards, 7 touchdowns, and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. In the final game of 2009 against the Broncos, he rushed for 259 yards (Chiefs single game rushing record) on 25 carries for 2 touchdowns. That's 10.4 yards per carry average for the game. Charles became the only player in NFL history to rush for 1,100 or more yards on 200 or less carries.
But as impressive as the 2009 season was for Charles (because he wasn't the starter until week 10), this season has just gone on to prove just how good he is. Through 14 games he has 1,303 yards rushing, with a 6.42 yards a carry average. In case you didn't know, that's the highest in NFL history by a player with at least 200 carries. Here's a chart that shows the other players on the list of highest averages.
And don't take my word for it (rarely do I say that). Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders, the leading authority on statistical analysis in football (baseball has had it for years so I'm glad that football is breaking into indepth statistics), says Charles has been the best running back in the NFL this year. This determination is made by DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. DVOA breaks down every single play of the NFL season to see how much success offensive players achieved in each specific situation compared to the league average in that situation, adjusted for the strength of the opponent. To read more about this statistical anaylsis and better understand it, here's the link.
But even his impressive numbers don't impress me as much as the kind of person he is; and the St. Louis game gave us great insight into his personality.
Charles went down in the game after a run. He took off his helmet and looked like he was pointing to his knee. He was then escorted to the sideline by the medical staff. He would then return to the game later, break off an 80 yard run and get tackled at the 2-yard line. He would then have to be helped off the field again. The only reason he was caught is because he was clearly not 100%. But he still wanted to be out there, he still wanted to play. Charles is a true competitor and thank god he wasn't seriously hurt in the game.
Now why does his toughness impress me? Why is him going back out on the field after being escorted off a reason for praise? Because on December 11th of this year, Charles signed a five-year, 32.5 million dollar extension with the Chiefs (which is a sign that he has bought into what Haley is selling). Before the contract he was getting paid his 2008 3rd round draft pick rate.
I bring his contract up because do you remember what happened with Larry Johnson after he signed his extended contract? He was never the same. This seems to happen with a lot of running backs that sign extension contracts; they don't play as hard. They are trying to protect their bodies instead of leaving it all on the field. I'd say LJ suffered from that problem.
Seeing the toughness of Jamaal Charles and his willingness to put it on the line and go back out there to play on Sunday, I saw a running back that didn't suffer from that problem. I saw a player that is a true competitor, I saw a player that played just as hard after his contract as he did before his new contract. I was impressed.
So some ask the question, "When is he going to get the full-time job?"
The way coach Haley is handling Charles is the way Charles should be handled. He's not the big back like LJ was (he's also not the cancer in the locker room LJ was). Even when LJ was let go, Charles shared time with Kolby Smith. Charles is doing great with the number of snaps he is getting. He is also not wearing himself down. Having the compliment of Thomas Jones (212 carries, 828 yards) is good for Charles and is keeping him fresh late into the year. Besides, even if he doesn't get the start, he's usually the one that steals the show.
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