Its easy to ride the wave of hype surrounding fourth overall pick Darren McFadden. Add to that the promise of second year player Michael Bush who is considered likely to be the steal of the 2007 draft. There is a lot of talk of a McFadden/Bush tandem tearing up the league. However, Justin Fargas emerged last season as a top tier running back. He was all but written off after having several injury plagued years following his selection in the third round of the 2003 draft. He toiled in obscurity behind a rogues gallery of backs, before finally breaking out in 2007. He did it the hard way.
Prior to the 2007 season Fargas was always one of those guys who seemed to be on the bubble, but just good enough to keep a roster spot. He had the respect of his teammates for working hard, but he could never seem to get over that hump. In fact, prior to last season, in this very space he was listed as one of “Ten Raiders in a Make or Break Year.“
Justin Fargas- Young Hugg has been hurt every season he has been a Raider. Last season was his best as a pro leading the team with nearly 600 yards rushing. He shows a lot of heart, and is a very good special teams player. The additions of Michael Bush and Dominic Rhodes to the backfield may spell the end for Justin. Its a good thing he is already branching out into rap and acting.
Well, he made himself last year. He proved the doubters wrong and ran for 1,009 yards despite only seeing significant playing time in nine games. He racked up an impressive 4.6 yards per carry, despite the opposition often stacking the box because the Raiders did not have a fearsome passing attack. He found a home in the zone blocking one cut system that was implemented by offensive line coach Tom Cable and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.
One of the chief criticisms of Fargas that have lingered, despite his stellar season last year was his lack of long runs. There was a run against Miami where he was one block away from being gone, but instead of throwing a block Mike Williams was holding up his hand in celebration.
The other criticism has been his injury history. This is a valid criticism, and one that was addressed as the Raiders now have a three headed monster at running back, so Fargas will be sharing the load which will help to keep him healthy.
With Michael Bush being essentially a rookie and coming off of a leg injury, and Darren McFadden being a rookie, both of them will likely hit that proverbial rookie wall at some point in the season. This will get pushed back by them sharing the load with Fargas, so the three headed monster will be a mutually beneficial scenario.
Of the three, Fargas has proven that he can be a 1000 yard back in the NFL. McFadden and Bush both have shown the potential to reach that level, but as of yet have not proven it. Fargas will likely be the move the chain guy who will take a slim majority of the carries. The defenses will tire from colliding with “crash test dummy” and McFadden will run around them, or Bush will run over them in short yardage situations.
Despite the additions at the position, Fargas’s success will go a long way towards setting the table for the overall success of the running game. His hit the hole fast high impact style will be the key to wearing down the defenses for the fireworks of McFadden and bulldozing of Bush.
