LenDale White has been the target of pundits and bloggers (including me) for the past few years. First he was too fat, then he wasn’t any good, then he was still fat, then the Titans drafted another RB and then..oh no!..he’s still too fat. While all this abuse was being heaped on him, he rushed for over 1100 yards. Damn, how'd that happen?
Yeah, that’s right, 304 carries for 1108 yards and seven touchdowns. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I’d be happy to take that from one of my fantasy RBs and if I drafted White I’d be pretty confident of getting numbers like those again this season.
The ever-present potential of Vince Young aside, the Titans still don’t have much of a passing offense. Everybody in the league knows that, which contributed to White’s low 3.6 yard per carry average. It’s not easy to grind out 1100 rushing yards when everybody in the stadium knows you’re going to run the ball. The addition of Justin McCareins and Alge Crumpler should improve the passing game and open things up for White a little bit, but this is still a run-first offense. Rookie Chris Johnson is fast and sneaky, but he’s not going to get more than 8-10 carries per game. Johnson is getting some good press, but this team is still focused on LenDale White.
I like White a lot as an RB2 – a solid, consistent (he had five 100+ rushing yard games last season) runner who is going to get 20 carries every game. Add in two (slightly) improved receivers, the chance that VY takes a big step forward and a change of pace back to keep him fresh, and White could turn out to be more than just another RB2 this season.
