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Gerhart played with true freshman Luck, but had two productive seasons with Tavita Pritchard as his QB.  It’s not that I disagree that Gerhart was a good fit for our system in a way that hid his weaknesses, but I think this analysis is too facile.  It would suggest that the 2009 underachieved in terms of its talent, but the truth is that the top players that year were freshmen (Luck, DeCastro) or new to his position (Sherman).

BC

Gerhart played with redshirt freshman Luck, not true freshman Luck, and Luck was really freaking good. According to Total QBR, Luck was the #2 QB in America that year behind only Colin Kaepernick. That season was by far Gerhart's best. 2008 - without Luck, Roman's innovation, or one of the most dominant lines in the sport - is a much more accurate representation of Gerhart's ability. Gerhart was quite good that year - #29 in the nation in rushing and #84 in all-purpose yards - but not elite. The NFL corroborated that was a more accurate reflection of his ability. It's just unfair to have Luck, DeCastro, Martin, Roman, Fleener, Baldwin, etc. as your supporting cast.

I fully agree with the point that my above analysis of most/least talented teams is flawed in how it represents talented teams where the talent was concentrated in the lower classes. 2009 is one of those that wasn't quite as talented as the analysis suggests since those same players amounted to significantly more talent, accounting for seniority, in 2011. A similar dynamic would be at play with the 1989 team.

Gerhart is a perfect example of college talent not necessarily translating to NFL talent. Gerhart was an amazing college running back. The fact that his game didn’t translate well to the NFL level where all defenders are bigger/faster/stronger doesn’t negate that fact. A list like this would discount players like Tebow, Darnold, Leaf, etc just because they couldn’t make the leap to the next level well. It also doesn’t factor in injury, for those like Bryce Love. 

No system is perfect, but that is why things that look more at college success like number of all-PAC team selections may be a better metric.

[gocard14]

Gerhart played with true freshman Luck, but had two productive seasons with Tavita Pritchard as his QB.  It’s not that I disagree that Gerhart was a good fit for our system in a way that hid his weaknesses, but I think this analysis is too facile.  It would suggest that the 2009 underachieved in terms of its talent, but the truth is that the top players that year were freshmen (Luck, DeCastro) or new to his position (Sherman).

BC

Gerhart played with redshirt freshman Luck, not true freshman Luck, and Luck was really freaking good. According to Total QBR, Luck was the #2 QB in America that year behind only Colin Kaepernick. That season was by far Gerhart's best. 2008 - without Luck, Roman's innovation, or one of the most dominant lines in the sport - is a much more accurate representation of Gerhart's ability. Gerhart was quite good that year - #29 in the nation in rushing and #84 in all-purpose yards - but not elite. The NFL corroborated that was a more accurate reflection of his ability. It's just unfair to have Luck, DeCastro, Martin, Roman, Fleener, Baldwin, etc. as your supporting cast.

I fully agree with the point that my above analysis of most/least talented teams is flawed in how it represents talented teams where the talent was concentrated in the lower classes. 2009 is one of those that wasn't quite as talented as the analysis suggests since those same players amounted to significantly more talent, accounting for seniority, in 2011. A similar dynamic would be at play with the 1989 team.

Gerhart is a perfect example of college talent not necessarily translating to NFL talent. Gerhart was an amazing college running back. The fact that his game didn’t translate well to the NFL level where all defenders are bigger/faster/stronger doesn’t negate that fact. A list like this would discount players like Tebow, Darnold, Leaf, etc just because they couldn’t make the leap to the next level well. It also doesn’t factor in injury, for those like Bryce Love. 

No system is perfect, but that is why things that look more at college success like number of all-PAC team selections may be a better metric.