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New York Jets: Chris Ivory Must Lead the Team in Carries

By Alan Schechter

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At 3-1, the New York Jets sit right behind their archrival New England Patriots in second place in the AFC East. Despite the work of Brandon Marshall, the heart and soul of the Jets’ offense has been Chris Ivory. Ivory has run like a poor man’s Marshawn Lynch, averaging over 100 yards on the ground per game, and running over a lot of people doing it. Chris Ivory has simply been dominant, playing the best football of his career.

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With that style comes injury problems, and they have for Chris Ivory. Ivory had his problems with the Saints, and he has missed one game so far in 2015. The Jets will now have 12 games in a row to finish out the season, thanks to the early bye week. Should the Jets limit Ivory’s carries to keep him healthy? Here is what Jets head coach Todd Bowles had to say about the situation last week (via The Sports Xchange):

"“It’s a long haul. After that (the Bye Week) we have 12 straight (games), so, we’re going to monitor (his touches) and make sure that he’s getting his work in, but we’re still giving him some breaks in between, here and there. We know he’s a bell-cow and everything else, but we still have two other guys that can run the ball. In a 12-week season, that’s a long time, so we’ve got to make sure he stays healthy.”"

It’s interesting that he used the “bell-cow” term, but also talked about making sure he stays healthy. I am not saying that Ivory should carry the ball 35 times per game, but if the Jets limit his carries significantly, it will be the worst thing Todd Bowles can do. Ivory is averaging 21 rushes per game. If the Jets don’t stay close to that, and go to a running back by committee, it will be a deadly mistake.

First of all, the Jets don’t have a running back by committee. That’s not their personnel. They have a clear starter, and two backups/changes of pace. With all due respect to Bilal Powell and Zac Stacy, who are nice players, they aren’t close to Chris Ivory.

Oct 4, 2015; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) hands the ball off to running back Chris Ivory (33) during the first half of a game against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

Ivory is a guy that has averaged well over four yards per carry for his entire career. He can run around you, or through you. Powell does a lot of things well, and is a nice change in passing situations, but he can’t run the football to Ivory’s level. Stacy is a nice player, but Ivory leads this rushing attack.

The Jets have tried using Ivory in a committee approach, and although he has led the team in rushing over his first two seasons with the team, it hasn’t been the same. Why? Because after a good drive, he would come out for Bilal Powell.

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A committee approach doesn’t allow the running back to get in rhythm. Ask any of the great ones, they will all tell you they get better as the game goes along. They get a feel for the action, get in rhythm, and get stronger. A complete committee approach takes that away from them.

Ivory has had injury problems. Injuries happen in football. Life cannot be lived in fear, and neither can football be played in fear. If the Jets were to worry about Ivory getting hurt, they will be blocking their own development, by hampering their best player.

Again, Ivory should not carry the ball 35 times per game. But the Jets will have a problem if he doesn’t carry it 20-25 times per game.

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