11-19-2023, 12:12 AM
(11-18-2023, 11:44 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I mean, year 4 of Mixon (with Joe Burrow) looked an awful lot like year 1 of Mixon, and not terribly far off year 6 of Mixon.
So I think at this point, in his 7th year, we can comfortably say that the Mixon of 2018 was the anomalous outlier.
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You say he "figured it out" in 2019 after 8 games, but the reality was he just played the Browns twice, who had the 30th ranked rushing defense in both yards and yards per carry. Also had a good game against the Patriots in a game the Bengals lost by 21, which defenses will happily let you run if you're getting crushed because it keeps eating up clock and ends the game sooner. Prior to that, he averaged 3.5 yards per carry the first 12 games of the season, dead on his 2017 number and .1 below his 2018 number.
The 4.9ypc Mixon of 2018 was just a mirage that kept you expecting and hoping for more. His other 6 years all tell a pretty consistent truth.
I also want to say it's funny you pointed to year one and 4. Because year 1 he did get dinged up but that year I believe we also figured something out as far as the blocking scheme he excels in. I remember saying to a friend that I just didn't like the way he runs. But then at the end of the season it changed dramatically. Then it carried over to 2018. So when Taylor took over in 2019 I thought well atleast we have the run game figured out which is more than some coaches get. Only to be left scratching my head the 1st 7 games. So maybe the truth is we have a football staff that keeps trying to put a square peg in a round hole. I know which one I think is more likely.
