xwalker
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Has anyone studied Michael in the NFL?
There is now a Cult of Michael and I'm curious what is the driving force behind it. I don't think it is all Texas A&M fans, but it's possible.
In the All-22 you can do a search for team, year, play type and player. I did a search to see all of Michael's runs from 2014 and I also watched his 2015 preseason runs.
Keep in mind the sample size is fairly small with only 34 carries in 2014 and 32 in the 2014 preseason.
For a player that was basically free (conditional 7th) he looks reasonably good; however, he has a similar running style to Joseph Randle. They are both what I call jump-cut runners. When watching Michael, it looked like Joseph Randle gained 10 pounds, changed numbers and played for Seattle. Michael is probably a little faster but not by a huge amount. He does not have McFadden type speed on the football field.
Much like the Cowboys current runners, if the play is blocked he'll gain yards and if it's not he probably won't. Yes, he's a little more powerful than Randle but it's not an extreme difference. He does not move the pile like Marshawn Lynch or something similar to that style.
He might be a little better in terms of going to the far outside on runs than Randle but I don't see a huge difference.
He might be a better short yardage option than Randle/McFadden but he's not Marion Barber in his prime in terms of powering through people.
On one of his very best runs, he fumbled at the end.
He did not look as good in the 2015 preseason as he did in 2014.
If he is able to outperform Randle in Dallas, it will come down to vision and decision making more than a difference in physical ability. Michael and Randle both have the required physical ability but the one that makes the best decisions is the one that will likely succeed.
Overall, Michael's 2014 season was very similar to Randle's game against Atlanta. He had some big plays and then he had a lot of minimal or no gain plays with a few intermediate gains mixed in.
I did not watch him in pass blocking. There is no way to do a search on that.
There is now a Cult of Michael and I'm curious what is the driving force behind it. I don't think it is all Texas A&M fans, but it's possible.
In the All-22 you can do a search for team, year, play type and player. I did a search to see all of Michael's runs from 2014 and I also watched his 2015 preseason runs.
Keep in mind the sample size is fairly small with only 34 carries in 2014 and 32 in the 2014 preseason.
For a player that was basically free (conditional 7th) he looks reasonably good; however, he has a similar running style to Joseph Randle. They are both what I call jump-cut runners. When watching Michael, it looked like Joseph Randle gained 10 pounds, changed numbers and played for Seattle. Michael is probably a little faster but not by a huge amount. He does not have McFadden type speed on the football field.
Much like the Cowboys current runners, if the play is blocked he'll gain yards and if it's not he probably won't. Yes, he's a little more powerful than Randle but it's not an extreme difference. He does not move the pile like Marshawn Lynch or something similar to that style.
He might be a little better in terms of going to the far outside on runs than Randle but I don't see a huge difference.
He might be a better short yardage option than Randle/McFadden but he's not Marion Barber in his prime in terms of powering through people.
On one of his very best runs, he fumbled at the end.
He did not look as good in the 2015 preseason as he did in 2014.
If he is able to outperform Randle in Dallas, it will come down to vision and decision making more than a difference in physical ability. Michael and Randle both have the required physical ability but the one that makes the best decisions is the one that will likely succeed.
Overall, Michael's 2014 season was very similar to Randle's game against Atlanta. He had some big plays and then he had a lot of minimal or no gain plays with a few intermediate gains mixed in.
I did not watch him in pass blocking. There is no way to do a search on that.
