Many of you know that I hate it when journalists - or "pen pushers," as Joey Porter likes to say - try to make a point but lack any kind of proof or use poor statistics to attempt to prove their theory accurate.
Well Armando Salguero is at it again. He attempts to prove that rookie LT Ryan Clady is better than Jake Long - at least right now. And while it's true that Long has surrendered more sacks (which alone can be a deceiving stat), Salguero's attempt to prove Clady has been a better run blocker is disgusting and shows a lack of research.
In fact, the truth is that Jake Long has been damn good through his first 7 career games. ESPN's KC Joyner - or the "Football Scientist" - talks about Long in both a blog post for the NY Times and in an ESPN.com chat. First, an excerpt from the post:
The metrics show that both tactics have worked extremely well. Miami has gained 122 yards on 13 counter plays in the last five games with Long at the point of attack, and Long was beaten on only one of those blocks.
Moving on, here's what Joyner says about Long's play as a whole so far in the chat:
Miami runners have gained 243 yards on 45 carries his way, which is just over 5 YPC. He also has a block win percentage in the mid 90s, which is fantastic.
Is there still any question that the Dolphins made the right choice with their #1 overall pick?