Originally Posted by
jmlamerson
True. My point was that LJ's suspension and attitude were the main causes of his decrease in workload, whereas you were saying that his decrease in workload was the cause of his attitude.
LJ was averaging 19 carries a game until his suspension. He averaged 14/game afterwards. Add in a four game suspension, some truly awful games from him (Carolina, Cincinatti, 2nd SD game), and his overall bad numbers begin to make a lot of sense.
The seven players you mention all missed games for injury reasons - not for behavior reasons.
Matt Forte played all sixteen games and had 316 carries (19.8 carries/game).
Ryan Grant played all sixteen games and had 312 carries (19.5 carries/game).
LT played all sixteen games and had 292 carries (18.3 carries/game).
Brandon Jacobs played in 13 games and had 219 carries (16.9 carries/game).
Jackson played in 12 games and had 253 carries (21 carries/game).
Gore played in 14 games and had 240 carries (17.1 carries/game).
Marion Barber played in 15 games and had 238 carries (15.9 carries/game).
Look at these numbers. If LJ doesn't get suspended, he averages 18.6 carries a game, which is more than LT, Jacobs, Gore, and Barber.
As it is, he averaged 16.1 carries a game, which is more than Barber.
Look, LJ brought his problems on himself this season. The numbers don't lie.