Because the argument is generally framed around those terms. Someone looks at his numbers, says he sucks, and then people use numbers to say he doesn't.
Numbers don't tell the full story.
Whining about another man's money sounds like jealousy.
Incorrect. It normally starts with people saying he is the best simply because he had the most yards.
I couldn’t care less about how much money he makes if there wasn’t such thing as a salary cap but there is and it effects the entire team. Some people think we should pay whoever whatever, without any thought of future repercussions. That won’t work for long and some positions are more valuable than others. RB’s are towards the bottom as they should be. It’s almost as if no one has any recollection of how recently we were financially handcuffed due to over spending or making poor spending choices.
Dropping that much money on a RB who can’t play at a high level or be a difference maker without a dominant O line is not a wise decision IMO. When we can’t resign certain players or sign needed FA’s at key positions then people may look back at this contract as one of the bigger mistakes in recent team history. That’s why I care about the money he got, it sure as hell isn’t jealousy. If I cared that much about money I wouldn’t have turned down several promotional opportunities in my career.
Numbers don’t tell the full story but when you put enough of them together, taking into consideration other factors, it tells a good portion of the story.
6 fumbles last year is a strong indicator that Zeke doesn’t hold on to the ball well. When you can visibly see that he is significantly slower than his rookie year and that is backed up by the decreasing amount of 20+ yard runs he has and see he is being chased down easier it tells a good part of the story. Those are just a couple of examples where numbers are meaningful.
Some things like broken tackles are a little more subjective without taking into account the O line as is flaunting most yards without mention of most carries or O line quality or lack there of.