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How good of a season is the washed-up, soon-to-be-cut, not-worth-re-signing, old, overpaid, grumpy, disloyal Marshawn Lynch having?
Let's find out. Not a lot of text today. Mostly, showdowns. Nine of them! Against the guys who've accumulated the most yards so far this year. With a winner declared at the tail end of each chart. I'm all bout that head-to-head statction boss.
Beast Mode vs. DeMarco Murray
| Category | Lynch | Murray |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 1233 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 5.1 |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 7 |
| Receptions | 23 | 36 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 0 |
| Total TD | 12 | 7 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.44 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 47.0 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 24.6 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | 10.3 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 51 |
| DYAR | 231 | 277 |
| Winner: | Murray |
Observation / boxing analogy: Lynch keeps it quite close in the advanced category but Murray is just killing it in yards per carry. It's a close decision, maybe even a split decision, because of the touchdowns, but Murray wins on points. Especially because it's a dead heat in raw power (after-contact yards and missed tackles).
Beast Mode vs. Arian "Can't This Thing Go Any" Foster
| Category | Lynch | Foster |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 822 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 5.1 |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 7 |
| Receptions | 23 | 26 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 3 |
| Total TD | 12 | 10 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.12 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 40.9 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 21.7 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | 4,1 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 33 |
| DYAR | 231 | 141 |
| Winner: | Lynch |
Observation / boxing analogy: Foster's having a very nice year, with 10 TDs and a 5.1 average, but Lynch destroys him in six out of seven advanced stats. Lynch wins a split but noncontroversial decision here.
Beast Mode vs. Justin "The Roommate" Forsett
| Category | Lynch | Forsett |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 721 (!!!) |
| YPC | 4.5 | 5.4 (!!!) |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 5 |
| Receptions | 23 | 31 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 0 |
| Total TD | 12 | 5 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.17 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 41.4 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 26.3 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | 9.4 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 17 |
| DYAR | 231 | 91 |
| Winner: | Lynch |
Observation / decent boxing analogy: What a fist half for Justin. Leads the league in non-Russell Wilson yards per carry. But he can't quite beat out his beastly once twice teammate. After something close to a draw in traditional stats, Lynch comes out a little bit ahead in the advanced category, mostly due to his physicality, so a split decision victory for the Seahawk.
Beast Mode vs. Matt Forte
| Category | Lynch | Forte |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 616 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 3 |
| Receptions | 23 | 61 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 3 |
| Total TD | 12 | 6 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.34 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 47.0 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 26.5 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | 5.1 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 2.2 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 16 |
| DYAR | 231 | 81 |
| Winner: | Lynch |
Observation / bad boxing analogy: Forte isn't just a nifty fantasy pickup -- he's really versatile and efficient, as the 61 receptions and 26.5 first-down percentage attest. Both are top marks among RB with 100 carries. He's having a good-to-great season, and against another back, he coulda been a contendah. Advantage Lynch, though, and another unanimous decision for Beef Moe.
Beast Mode vs. Le'Veon Bell
| Category | Lynch | Bell |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 747 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 1 |
| Receptions | 23 | 55 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 2 |
| Total TD | 12 | 3 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.94 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 45.0 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 21.0 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | 11.6 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 26 |
| DYAR | 231 | 75 |
| Winner: | Lynch |
Observation / too-detailed boxing analogy: Touchdowns, receptions, missed tackles and DYAR are the four only categories with substantial gaps here, and Lynch comes out on top in the three most important ones. A unanimous decision for him again, albeit a very close one, with some 115-112 scores probably.
Beast Mode vs. LeSean "Used 2B Real" McCoy
| Category | Lynch | McCoy |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 641 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 3.7 |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 2 |
| Receptions | 23 | 23 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 0 |
| Total TD | 12 | 2 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.10 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 38.6 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 20.8 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | -8.6 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 2.1 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 26 |
| DYAR | 231 | -5 |
| Winner: | Lynch |
Observation / obvious boxing analogy: So far, 2014 looks nothing like 2013 for the Eagle, who gets knocked out cold in the fourth round by the Hawk.
Beast Mode vs. Jamaal Charles
| Category | Lynch | Charles |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 689 | 533 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| Rushing TD | 9 | 6 |
| Receptions | 23 | 20 |
| Receiving TD | 3 | 2 |
| Total TD | 12 | 8 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 0.85 | 0.50 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 42.3 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 23.0 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 13.4 | 2.7 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 2.2 |
| Missed Tackles | 43 | 13 |
| DYAR | 231 | 135 |
| Winner: | Lynch |
Observation / somewhat redundant boxing analogy: fun to include Charles, since he's the opponent this week. Also he's having a pretty good year. He's played eight games to Lynch's nine, so the traditional stats are close to identical if you prorate them. Slight edge to Lynch on the advanced list, so both men shake hands vigorously after a fight full of respect, which ends with a Lynch unanimous decision.
For "Fun," Beast Mode 2014 Projected vs. Shawn Alexander Actual 2005
| Category | Lynch | Alexander |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 1225 | 1880 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 5.1 |
| Rushing TD | 16 | 27 |
| Receptions | 41 | 15 |
| Receiving TD | 5 | 1 |
| Total TD | 21 | 28 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 1.51 | 1.14 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 45.3 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 28.9 |
| PFF Grade (I know) | 23.8 | N/A |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | N/A |
| Missed Tackles | 76 | N/A (not 76) |
| DYAR | 411 | 453 |
| Winner: | Alexander |
Observation / incongruous boxing analogy: Shaun TKO's Shawn in the eighth round. Those touchdowns. That first-down percentage. That DYAR. Shit, man.
For Perspective, Beast 2014 Projected vs. Beast 2013 and Beast 2012
| Category | Lynch 2014 | Lynch 2013 | Lynch 2012 |
| Traditional Stats | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Rushing Yards | 1225 | 1257 | 1590 |
| YPC | 4.5 | 4.2 | 5.0 |
| Rushing TD | 16 | 12 | 12 |
| Receptions | 41 | 36 | 23 |
| Receiving TD | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Total TD | 21 | 14 | 13 |
| Advanced Stats | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| WPA | 1.51 | 1.09 | 0.76 |
| Success Rate (%) | 47.4 | 43.4 | 44.3 |
| 1st down % | 24.8 | 22.6 | 21.6 |
| PFF Grade (yeah) | 23.8 | 15.3 | 12.2 |
| Yds after contact/att | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| Missed Tackles | 76 | 75 | 58 |
| DYAR | 411 | 185 | 361 |
| Winner | This guy |
(Credit to the websites for compiling these stats:
Advanced Football Analytics link
Shaun Alexander's pro-football-reference.com link
Marshawn's pro-football-reference.com link
Final observation / no boxing analogy: This last table is my favorite. Beast Mode 2012 prevails, but really only just barely, and you have to choose to weigh the traditional stats heavier than the advanced ones to get there. This year's Lynch is as good as the 2012 version in many ways, better in some. While running backs' production is known to decline sharply after age 29 (citation really, really not needed) it's apparent that as he approaches that precipice, Marshawn Lynch has never been better at his job.
He turns 29 on Earth Day, 2015.
Next year might bring disappointment, transition, success, falling off proverbial cliffs, new highs, failure, injury, titles, dominance, and quite certainly regression one way or another. Or several of the above. Meanwhile, 2014 is bringing nothing but the best Marshawn Lynch that has ever existed. And maybe, just maybe, depending on how the final seven games play out, the best all-around running back in the National Football League.