Running Back Controversy

What was a controversy in the first few weeks of the season, seems to have resolved itself. The battle between Moore and Bennett took a turn towards conclusion last week with Moore winning the day.

Moore Rushed for 101 yards in the Vikings big win last week. While the numbers are somewhat impressive, this is not the reason Moore should win the starting position.One can argue that Moore had more carries last week than Bennett. Hence he would naturally have more yards. In fact Moore had about 13 times more carries than Bennett. One can argue that Bennett could have gained just as many yards had he gotten the ball more than twice. If your looking strictly at the numbers, it does appear that Moore had a better oppurtunity to prove himself last week and Bennett is just being shelved with out being given a chance. BUT . . . numbers mean nothing. Daunte Culpepper could throw for 400 yards in a big loss, that does not mean he did a good job. What really defines the quality of a player is heart. Moore showed great heart last week, Bennett seemed almost bothered by the idea that he had to go to work on Sunday.

Case in point #1 - Moore's great effort in breaking a 9 yard run out of what should have been a 4 yard loss. The guy never gave up. What should have been a great stop for the Saints defense, turned up netting the Vikings 9 very valueable yards. This indicates one thing . . . heart, and tons of it. The guy sitting next to me in the bar said he looked a little like Barry Sanders. I will not go as far as Barry Sanders, but Moore showed that he really wanted to play in this league.

Case in point #2 - The guy hit the hole with authority all game long. More than once I thought Moe Williams was in the game. Moore was not looking to just run with the ball, he was looking to hurt people. It almost seemed as if he was going out of his way to hit a defender, just to make him look silly. I swear I saw flames come out his nose right before he hit the line. He was a man on a mission. . . the mission to cause as much destruction and pain in the Saints defensive line as possible. I would not have cared if the Vikings had lost the game last week, I justed loved to see Moore bring out the whoopin' stick. It brings out the inner caveman in all of us.

Case in point #3 - While Bennett only had a few rushes all game, he did nothing with them. I am not entirely sure, but I think Bennett had 2 rushes and 2 yards. It may be true that the line did not open up great holes for Bennett, but they didn't for Moore either. It may have been true that Moore recieved better play calling than Bennett. But the end result was Bennett striding up to the line of scrimage, finding the hole with the greatest number of defenders, and then falling down. He showed absolutely no effort in either of his rushes, no desire, no drive, and no motivation. He had no heart.

Coach Tice probably made the decision to run with Moore the majority of the game before weeks end. Bennett thus had 2 choices, one was to give an all out effort to accomplish the most out of every oppurtunity, or two, he could give up, whine and pout, and give a half assed effort. Bennett chose the latter of the two options. Moore on the other hand had to prove himself, of which he did.

Heart and motivation not only affects how an individual player does, but it also has a great effect upon a team and the fans. Do any of you remember how excited you got after Moe Williams laid out a Bronco defender a few years ago? I wanted to rape and pilliage the nieghborhood. I am pretty sure the Vikings also recieved a great boost of moral from such a fine example of heart. It is for this reason that I am now switching my alliance from Bennett to Moore. Bennett does not inspire respect, Moore demands it. Dare I say that he looked a little like Chris Walsh last week? Keep it up Moore, keep looking for people to hurt.

Moore for running back in '05'

Mr. Weatherstone