Jahvid Best

Even before Kevin Smith's knee exploded like he stepped on a landmine late in the season, there were serious questions about his ability to handle the load as the Lions premier running back. After a promising rookie season that saw me compare his numbers to those from Emmitt Smith's rookie campaign(I am nothing if not bold, hyperbolic and completely ridiculous), Kevin Smith struggled mightily, finding himself stuffed and stuffed time and time again behind the Lions putrid line.

Aha! The line. That is what everyone will say when they look at Smith's sophomore struggles, and while the line certainly wasn't very good, pointing at them as the primary culprits for Smith's curious decline is, frankly, bullshit.

Smith averaged only 3.4 yards a carry for the Lions. Compare this to his backups, Maurice Morris and Aaron Brown, who averaged 4.1 ypc and 4.9 ypc respectively. Now, we can probably leave Aaron Brown out of this. After all, he only carried the ball 27 times so sample size is an issue. But Morris carried the ball almost 100 times and came away with almost 3/4 of a yard better than Smith every time he carried the football.

So those are the numbers. They tell a story of a starting running back who, for whatever reason, could never quite get on track, and of a backup who came in and managed to be an effective replacement for said starter, all while running behind the same shitty offensive line. When you throw in Brown's playmaking - sample size aside - it looks even worse for Smith.

There are some obvious reasons for Smith's struggles - the line wasn't very good, he played with a rookie quarterback, allowing teams to load up to stop him, and he battled numerous injuries throughout the season before his knee committed suicide - but really, the injury bug is the only one which holds a lot of water when you take into account Morris' performance and to a lesser extent, Brown's. So what we're left with as an excuse for Smith's struggles is the million different injuries which he suffered throughout the season. It seemed like every part of his body was beaten up and left for dead, and while that does count as a legitimate excuse, it's also troublesome for a player whose biggest asset is his consistency and his ability to carry the ball 300+ times during a season. If you take that away, then really, what's left?

It's not his speed. The numbers above tell a large part of the story but they don't tell all of it. All you had to do was watch Smith game after game to see what the real problem was. The dude simply doesn't have that extra gear to turn 3 yards into 7 or 7 yards into 15 or 15 into a touchdown. He can't do it. There were many, many runs during the season when he would seem to break free only to be swallowed up or tripped at the very last second. Bad luck? Maybe a little. But the more obvious reason - and the more sobering one - is that Smith simply can't turn it on when he needs to.

So, with all that said, going into the draft, the Lions knew that they probably needed help at running back. Not only was Smith injured, and injured badly, but he wasn't all that effective when he was healthy. Many people figured that the Lions might be looking at a short-term solution, someone to carry the ball until Smith returned to full speed, but they already have that guy in Maurice Morris. If they were going to take a running back, it would have to be someone who would play a larger part in the grander scheme than just temporary fill-in. The Lions were looking for a new starting running back.

Enter Jahvid Best. I have already referenced Jim Schwartz's, uh, gushing admission that he got sprung over Jahvid Best highlights on Youtube, and I won't devolve into a bunch of senseless barbarism about Coach Schwartz's masturbatory habits again, but I want to bring that back up if only to show just how much Schwartz and the Lions loved Jahvid Best.

You see, there are a lot of people who think the Lions reached for Best, that they should have just stayed put with the 34th pick instead of trading up for the 30th pick. They felt that either Best would have slipped to the Lions at 34 or, if he was snatched by another team, they could have just drafted the best available cornerback, linebacker or lineman. That's fine, except it ignores an obvious truth that has come out since the draft ended, and that's that the Lions really, really wanted Jahvid Best.

This was not a case of a team realizing they had a hole to fill, panicking and trading up to fill that hole. No, this was a case of a team identifying a player who they were in love with and making the move they felt like they needed to make in order to get him. There is a crucial difference there. It is the difference between need and want, and it is a vast chasm that often separates the bad from the good.

A team that drafts a player just because they need him will do so regardless of fit, even if they aren't exactly sure how they will use him. He's good, he plays a position that they need someone to play, so hell, draft him. But a team that drafts a player they want does so knowing exactly how that player will fit into their plans. They already know how to use him, how to accentuate his strengths and mask his weaknesses. They are a million little steps ahead of that team that grabs a guy just because they need him.

The Lions got a guy they really, really wanted, and I see no reason why people should complain about that. But, ah, I can already hear you saying that the Lions could have still gotten Best at 34. I think that's a wild assumption, though. If the Lions made the deal, then it stands to reason that they didn't think they could get him there, and that one of the four teams ahead of them wanted Best. The Lions targeted Best, saw that they could get him and did what they had to do to ensure that they would. Wouldn't it piss everyone off a lot more if the Lions wanted Best but just stood around passively waiting for him only to see some other team snatch him up? The Lions were decisive and aggressive and I fail to see how that should be looked at as a bad thing.

But just why did the Lions covet Best so damn much? Well, again, refer to the image of Schwartz rubbing lotion on his hands in front of his computer. Got it? Sorry. More importantly, though, is what Schwartz would have seen once he sat down to watch those highlight tapes.

What he would have seen was a guy with explosive speed, speed described like so by David Syvertsen of New Era Scouting:

Has top notch stop and go ability. Can reach his top speed in a blink and explodes through the smallest of windows. Has the advantage even when a linebacker has the initial angle on him in traffic.

and . . .

Has been clocked under 4.4 in the 40. Big time speed once he breaks free in to the second level. Has the extra gear in the open field that makes it very difficult to catch him from behind. Homerun threat every time he touches the ball, has several long touchdown runs.

That stands in stark contrast to Smith's decided lack of game breaking ability. Not only is Best fast, but he's elusive and he sees the entire field. Again, from Syvertsen and New Era Scouting:

Sees the field exceptionally well. Does not have tunnel vision that a lot of backs possess. Can turn a broken play in to a big gain because of his ability to see the entire width of the field. Reads blocks and knows when to run north-south or east-west. Has such a smooth running style with no wasted motion as a result of his tremendous balance.

Sounds like the total package, no? Well, there are some concerns too. Virtually every scouting report that I have read on Best(and believe it or not, I do read them)points to not only his game breaking speed and elusiveness but also to his lack of size and toughness. Unfortunately, in that respect he also seems to be Smith's polar opposite.

But in those strengths and those weaknesses we can begin to see how Best fits in with the Lions plans going forward. Obviously, he gives them a dynamic that they haven't really had in a long time. Sure, they have Aaron Brown, but he's still way too raw to be counted on as anything other than an occasional diversion. Best is that explosive home run threat that other teams must respect every time he is on the field. That will open up the field not only for the running game but for Matthew Stafford and the passing game as well.

But it also means that there is a place on this team still for Kevin Smith, or at least a Kevin Smith type, someone who can get the tough yardage that Best probably won't get. Best is going to fall down when you hit him. Smith will drag someone a yard or two. That combination is vital here. Smith and Best will make each other better, or at least make each other look better. They complement one another perfectly, and people will be less likely to jump on them for their weaknesses when they know that the other one is picking up the slack. Each one has a role to fill and each one is now perfectly situated to fill that role.

Jahvid Best brings something to the Detroit Lions that we haven't had in a long time. He brings explosiveness and speed and rockets attached to his feet and the ability to dance into the end zone, laughing at the poor sad bastards who try to chase him down. We saw some of that in Aaron Brown last year. But Best is a rich man's Aaron Brown, an Aaron Brown who can be counted on to produce regularly. New Era Scouting, which I have referenced numerous times in this post(And by the way, that's not my usual style, although I should probably do it more. But I like to read everything and then synthesize it all into my own unique voice and style. I'm not a journalist and, really, I barely consider myself a blogger. I like to think of myself as a writer and a fan, and I like to frame things from that perspective, instead of from the cold and clinical, slightly detached view of the journalist, and, increasingly, the blogger. But that is a whole different topic for a different day, one that I could probably ramble on about for a million words, and so I'll force myself to stop now, and I apologize for the incredible length of this parenthetical break. Okay.), compares Best to Brian Westbrook, and the thought of a young Brian Westbrook running wild alongside Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson for the next decade is one that makes me smile. Yes, yes it does.

HOW HE FITS WITH THE LIONS

Best should be the starting running back, but he won't be a 300+ carry kind of back. Unfortunately, the Brian Westbrook comparison also fits here. Best simply isn't built to take the pounding that most feature backs get. The good news is that his superior elusiveness means that he will avoid much of that pounding. The bad news is that, like Westbrook, Best seems to be injury prone when he does get hit. Most famously, and the one that gave fans and scouts alike the most pause, was the hellacious hit he received going over the goal line against Oregon State, a hit that left his brain with the consistency of pudding.

Obviously, the concussions are a concern. One more knockout blow like that and Best might be spending the rest of his life chasing butterflies and having the drool wiped away from his mouth by friendly nurses. But we are gentlemen and lady gentlemen and we are optimists in our hearts and we will not fear such things.

Still, Best is obviously not built for the long haul, and this will mean that Kevin Smith should still get plenty of chances to show that last season was an aberration. Best will probably get the majority of carries this year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get slightly less than 200 carries while Smith picked up somewhere north of 100 carries and Morris grabbed another 50. Best is dynamite, but sometimes dynamite blows up when you don't want it to. It will be important that the Lions know exactly how and when they want to use that dynamite to their advantage. Thankfully, they drafted Best because they wanted him, not because they needed him, as I explained earlier, and so I think they know exactly how and when to use him.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE FUTURE

Not only will Best give the Lions the true game breaker they have lacked ever since St. Barry drifted out of town on a river of tears(And really, even Barry wasn't all that fast. He could be caught from behind.), Best should also have an effect on the game in other ways.

His speed will force teams to key on him, which should open the field up for every other skill player. The Lions can now effectively use misdirection to make things happen. A playaction pass using Best as a decoy will get teams to freak out and jump at him, opening up the field for Matthew Stafford. A pump fake to Best coming out of the backfield on a swing route or on a screen will have an even more devastating effect. Further, Best gives Stafford a serious weapon as a safety valve out of the backfield. If a play is covered, Best should be there to give the Lions not only an outlet, but also a chance to make something happen.

Just by virtue of being on the field, whether he gets the ball or not, Best's speed and ability will make the Lions offense much more dangerous and much more diverse. He could be the key that opens this whole offense up.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR THIS SEASON

Well, it means that the Lions have another weapon that defenses must respect. And since Smith will likely not be 100% right away, it means that Best will get the chance to hit the ground running. Let's just hope he keeps on running once he starts.

I think more than anything, Best will signal to the rest of the league that the Lions are not a team that you want to play anymore. Along with Stafford and Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew and Smith and Tony Scheffler and Nate Burleson, etc., the Lions have opened up the field in a way that they haven't had since the mid-90's when St. Barry was running wild while Herman Moore and Brett Perriman were hauling down passes.

But those weapons will take time to mature. This season will be about seeing how they mature and evolve together, so that hopefully, by the time the 2011 season rolls around, they will be ready to run wild on the league.

EXTRANEOUS BULLSHIT FOR WHICH I APOLOGIZE BUT WHAT THE HELL, WE'RE ALL FRIENDS HERE, RIGHT?

By the way, one quick note before I get the hell out of here: this is probably the most subdued post I have ever written about the Lions. I'm not sure whether to be pleased or dismayed by this. Perhaps this is an internal dialogue that I should just keep to myself, but I like to keep you all informed of my state of mind while writing these things. It keeps it honest. I want to be able to discuss things in a rational and intelligent way from time to time, but I don't want to become detached and lose whatever small thing it is that makes me unique here. I think I'm a pretty good writer. I think I have something to say and I like to say it. The language may be a little bizarre at times, the imagery wild, but beneath it all, there is a dude who loves stats and other nerdery. It is a strange dichotomy, one that at times can make my writing appear a bit bipolar. Sometimes you get thoughtful anaylsis and sometimes you get digressions about blowing werewolves and Hitler wrestling polar bears. It is what it is. I just wanted to be clear about these things.