Melvin Gordon: The road to redemption

After an impressive showing at the University of Wisconsin, HB Melvin Gordon entered into the 2015 NFL Draft with a plethora of praise from NFL Analyst and football experts.

Melvin Gordon was deified for his 408 yard rushing game against the Indiana Huskers in 2014 that broke FBS records. A 400 yard rushing game at any level isn’t to be undermined, but his Gordon’s showing in the NFL has been sub-par at best thus far. In Gordon’s rookie season with the San Diego Chargers, he registered a 3.5 yard average on 184 carries, 5 fumbles and 0 touchdowns.

Now, this  isn’t any reason to jump ship just yet (in my opinion), or that Gordon’s potential to mature into a Robert Smith like prototype in the future is hopeless. It does though make exclamatory that in a league where pity-parties are rarely thrown, he ought to be seeking prayer and intensified training this off-season.

Now it would be ignorant to disregard the obstacles Gordon faced in attempt to gain tread for his respected team in 2015.  The fact that San Diego Ranked an NFL’s inferior 31st in rushing doesn’t just depend on the abilities of the HB Melvin Gordon in the backfield. Game circumstances, play schematics and offensive lineman all played their role in the unsuccessful running attack for the Chargers as well.

Seeing that San Diego Chargers gave up a heaping 44 touchdowns, 24.9 points per game and nearly 5 yards per carry to opposing offenses, it’ll be practical to process that the Chargers  offense played many contest fighting an uphill battle that focus primary on passing the ball. To be exact, QB Phillip Rivers attempted exactly 661 pass attempts last season. Only the Baltimore Ravens and Saints attempted more passes than the Chargers last year.

This of course caused Gordon’s involvement in the offense to dimension down the stretch of the season as the Chargers utilized the more agile HB Danny Woodhead in Gordon’s stead. The lack of downhill running plays just may have done a disservice to the evaluation of Gordon’s attributes as a tail back in the NFL. He doesn’t have the heady power like say a HB Todd Gurley, nor does he have the agility of a back like Darren Sproles. I sadly say, the lack of Gordon’s adaptability has to be a dissatisfaction for the Chargers organization in the NFL thus far.

In the 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft the Chargers selected FB Derek Watt who played alongside Gordon at the University of Wisconsin. A collective effort of 6-7 HB led the Wisconsin Badgers to 1,954 yards rushing season in 2015. The rendering was around 600 yards shy of HB Melvin Gordon’s 2,587 yard season for the school in 2014.

Nevertheless Gordon must solidify himself as the primary back for San Diego going forward. If he believes expectations were heavy for him last year, the decision to acquire his former teammate will only further the pressure on Gordon to produce this year. In the AFC west where the #1 ranked Denver defense is looking to lay a lick on opponents, a heavy dosage of the weight room better be apart of Gordon and Watt’s communion in San Diego.

The Chargers also acquired G Donavon Clark from Michigan State and C Max Tuerk from USC in the 2016 NFL Draft.  Along an attempt to redeem a horrid rushing attack, QB Phillip Rivers would probably like to taste the grass a little less this season. The Chargers gave up 32 sacks in 2015. The only reason they didn’t give up more is because defenses weren’t blitzing in the second half of games due to the sizable margin they’d established.

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