Come On Buffalo…Where Is The Love For Fred Jackson?

With the firing of Dick Jauron, the only question I have is; when will Buffalo unleash Fred Jackson?  Jackson who is now relegated to trick play and kick return duties was a top 5 Fantasy football back and one of the better all purpose yards leaders in the NFL when Marshawn Lynch came back from suspension.  Since then, Marshawn has been given back the role of starter and has yet to even come close to measuring up to the bar that Jackson had set so high during the first 4 games of the season.

Currently Marshawn is boasting a very impressive (you can’t tell but I am oozing with sarcasm) 3.2 yards per carry.  While Jackson does not have a rushing TD, he at least does have a 4.1 ypc average.  Also, Marshawn only has one rushing TD to his credit.  While Perry Fewell has made changes at the QB position and has decided to start Ryan Fitzpatrick he needs to go one step further and start Fred Jackson as well.  Jackson has shown he can handle the work load and also succeed when given his touches.  All Marshawn has shown is an ability to run into tacklers.

Marshawn has the ability to battle for extra yards, but he is a product of his own poor running and can’t do much else.  Fred Jackson also has the ability to battle for extra yards, but he has one thing that Marshawn does not, he has the ability to make tacklers miss.  Fred Jackson is great at making people miss but also at finding and hitting the best running lane and exploiting it.  Buffalo has not given Trent Edwards a far chance to succeed this year, why is Marshawn Lynch being given more of a chance than Edwards?

I have pointed out time and time again that Marshawn is not the future of the Buffalo Bills backfield.  While many point to Jackson’s age as the major deterrent to him becoming the full time starter, let’s not forget that Priest Holmes became a dominant force at running back after leaving Baltimore and was 28 at the time.  Holmes dominated the running back position for three and a half years for the Chiefs before injuries derailed his run.  Jackson is at the same age as Holmes was and has the talent to do well.  Buffalo needs to find out what they have in Jackson before season’s end as it is obvious as to what they have in Lynch.  With Lynch what you see is what you get.  Up until now, it really hasn’t been all that much.

Tags: Buffalo Bills, Dick Jauron, Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Perry Fewell, Priest Holmes, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Trent Edwards