Running Blind

When Jamaal Charles went down in the second game of the regular season with a torn ACL, the number one rushing offense of 2010 was suddenly in a deep amount of trouble. Not only was our best (player) running back out for the season, but what we were left with was a group of guys with mixed assets and either too much or too little experience.

Thomas Jones: The player brought over from the Jets before the 2010 season, is our veteran back that was about to show all Chiefs fans why he was constantly listed as the starter over Charles. He was originally brought in to be a bruising complement to the fast-as-lightning Charles, and was coming off a 1,000 yard season with the Jets. Last year, he wore down as the season progressed and Charles started getting more and more snaps, but he still finished with 896 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Before this year, fans were worried that Jones would resemble the player he was at the end of last season, but it shouldn't matter because Charles was supposed to get the majority of the carries. Well, with Charles gone, Jones is getting the majority of snaps, and through four games has 111 yards and no touchdowns. What's worse than his yardage is that he is only getting 2.8 yards per carry.

When Jones first came over, I immediately thought of how it resembled Marcus Allen coming to Kansas City. They were both at the end of their careers, but they both still wanted to play. While Jones has had more 1,000 yard seasons in his career, and gained more yards last year for the Chiefs than Allen ever did in a single season in Kansas City, Jones' lack of effectiveness this season has lead many fans to question whether he should get any snaps. You don't last long as a running back in this league with that low of a yards per carry

Dexter McCluster: A rookie wide receiver in 2010, he was officially moved to the running back position this offseason. With McCluster's speed, one would think that he would be handed the reigns of Charles' plays; that, however, has yet to happen. Whether it's his size or the fear of injury, the Chiefs have relegated McCluster to mostly screens and draw plays.

Don't get me wrong, McCluster has been asked to run the football, but not nearly as many times a game as Charles would have. Todd Haley has even said he would like to get McCluster 10-14 touches a game but doesn't want to overuse him. "Dexter is his own worst enemy because he’s 160 pounds and he is a tough guy."

McCluster is definitely the best running back option the Chiefs have at this time, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on 28 attempts, having 164 yards through four games. He also has 52 yards receiving. If Bill Muir wishes to try to pick up where Jamaal Charles left off, then McCluster is where he needs to turn. However, McCluster is injury prone and limiting his carries might be best for his longevity.

Le'Ron McClain: Brought in during the offseason, the former Raven was told he would be used first and foremost as a full back. But now that Charles is done, McClain could start to step into the role more and more with each coming week.

When Willis McGahee went down with injury in 2008, McClain was asked to become the main runner. McClain delivered with 902 yards on 232 carries, a 3.9 yards per carry average. Although McClain has yet to be asked again since to be a featured back, we know he is capable. "I’m excited about him and I just think you’ll see more and more of him," said Haley. "Number one as a fullback, but he’s a versatile guy – he’s a good pass catcher, he’s a talented runner and he’s a good blocker."

At 6'0" and 260 lbs., McClain has the physical tools to move the pile and carry some defenders with him. Yet, so far this season, McClain only has seven attempts for 15 yards, a 2.1 yards per carry. This is too small of a sample size to tell if McClain can be a factor in the run game, and I'm not sure he'll get the carries to prove that he could be.

Jackie Battle: Finally, I arrive at Jackie Battle. The fourth year player has had limited opportunities while with the Chiefs. He has backed up Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles, and has never really gotten all that many chances in his NFL career. But, desperate times call for desperate measures, and Battle might just get his chance.

I say this because there is a rumor floating around that if Thomas Jones doesn't get the ball rolling against the Colts this Sunday, then the Chiefs will use the bye week following the game to get Jackie Battle in as the featured back.

So far this season, Battle has 10 attempts for 37 yards (3.7 ypc), including a game sealing first down against the Vikings last week. Would Battle's move to premier back be a bad one? I'm not sure yet. I've never seen enough out of Battle to say how good or bad he would be in this situation. But keep this in mind, there has to be a reason he's never been given the chance (he couldn't beat out Kolby Smith in 2008 and was relegated to the practice squad).

“He’s like a lot of other guys on this team," Haley said. "He’s a young, developing player that is big and fast. He had a couple qualities, attributes that made him noticeable early on and then you saw some of his other attributes like toughness and mental toughness show up through his time here ... He knows he’s going to get more and more opportunities here and he’s kind of known that here as this year began, so I think he’s just all about trying to seize those opportunities and help our team win.”