Smith Loses Battle of Rookie C-USA Backs

Losing has become something that Kevin Smith needs to get used to as long as he’s in Detroit. The former UCF Knight hasn’t experienced a professional victory in his rookie season as his Detroit Lions are now the only winless team in the NFL.

Although his team is experiencing virtually no success on the field, and it’s been a circus off the field with the firing of General Manager Matt Millen, Smith has still put together solid numbers as a rookie, playing behind a porous offensive line. Although “24K” gained just 37 yards Sunday, he scored his fourth touchdown of the season, and Smith has gained better than 300 yards this year, despite getting just 70 carries. He’s also added 162 yards receiving.

In Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, Smith had to go against a stingy Bears defense while Chicago rookie runner, former Tulane back Matt Forte prospered against the soft Detroit defense. The results for Forte were 126 yards rushing on 22 carries, and a 27-23 Chicago victory.

Forte is getting plenty of national notoriety, and rightfully so, as he has gained 641 yards rushing on the season with a 3.8 yards per carry average. Forte is helping the Bears to a 5-3 record and a share of first place in the NFC North division, but is he really better than Detroit’s Smith?

It’s tough to measure up a couple of rookie running backs when the personnel around them are so different. The Bears haven’t been mentioned as a Super Bowl contender, but few would argue that Forte is certainly surrounded by much more talent than Smith. The Bears offensive line is more established, and they have received surprisingly good play from the quarterback position in Kyle Orton, although he will likely miss time with a knee injury.

Smith is playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in football, with a quarterback in Dan Orlovsky that has played in just a handful of games in his career. On the opposite side of the ball is what is statistically the worst defense in football, which allows teams more than 400 yards per game and gives up nearly 30 ppg. With the Lions usually down early and often, Smith’s opportunities have certainly been limited.

Still, Smith is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, more than half a yard better than his Chicago counterpart (Forte), and has as many touchdown runs as Forte in nearly 100 fewer carries. Smith’s yards per carry average leads all NFC rookies.

Chicago’s Matt Forte may be prospering now, but the jury is still out on who the better rookie running back is. If Detroit can ever fix their offensive line, and the franchise as a whole, the new “34K” could prosper and have statistical success as well as a few victories. Smith and his Lions will try to get their first victory of the season next Sunday as they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team which allowed the formerly winless Bengals their first victory last Sunday.