Farmer
By Dave Reardon
Jason’s feature today is on one of my all-time favorite Warriors, Dave Farmer. He came in as a walk-on four years ago from Santa Cruz, Calif. Every year other guys would be touted as the running backs who would get playing time, and every year, Farmer would find himself in the mix getting a good share of the playing time because of his hard-nosed blocking. People who talk about his lack of ability as a ballcarrier obviously haven’t watched him run. He’s not as slow as they think, and he’s actually got a little shake and bake.
November 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Sorry Dave,
You’re way off on this one. Farmer IS quite slow and is a poor Division I RB. He’s a decent Fullback and a tremendous blocker as we all know. Good person too I’m sure.
Just don’t let him carry the ball. It rarely turns out well. I’d rather him catch short passes than take handoffs.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:30 am
No apology necessary for a dissenting opinion.
But Jon, come back with some facts if you want to call someone a “poor Division I RB.” There’s more to it than breakaway speed, which you even admit in your post.
Define “quite slow” and “rarely turns out well.”
I’ve watched him for four years, and his good plays carrying the ball far outweigh negative outcomes … for a running back, I consider a gain of less than four yards or less (unless it results in a first down), a loss or a fumble a negative outcome. I remember one play this year where he slipped and fell, but otherwise not bad. In his limited carries he’s averaged 3.9 yards per attempt over his career; not outstanding but where do you get “rarely turns out well” from?
He’s not as fast as the other backs, but again, when you say slow, what do you mean? I’ve seen him pick up good yardage on many draw plays and short passes in the past four years because the defense was not expecting him to get the ball. Yes, if he were faster he’d be able to exploit those openings for bigger gains. To me, a “poor” player is a player who is not useful to his team, and Farmer has proven to be useful for four years.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
just curious?
just how much football did you play jon?
i’ll bet on a bad day farmer could out run you on your best days.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I don’t think we have seen Farmer run the ball enough to call him a poor D-I RB. As far as his value to the team, I think goes unquestioned. Just ask Colt and any other QB’s that have benefitted from his blocking. Who’s to say that in a different offense or at a different school he wouldn’t have had a succesful running back career?
November 28th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Yes, Dave Farmer……..deceptive speed and jooks. The bottom line is that he gets the job done. I take a guy like this on my team any day.
BIK
November 28th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Dave you said less than 4 yards on a carry is a negative outcome. He averages less than that. And if you take away a couple of his longest carries, his average is even less.
I’m not disrespecting the guy, as I said, he is a tremendous blocker and has been super useful for the offense. He’s not bad on screen plays as well but I stand by the statement that he is a poor Division I RB overall. I mean really, how many Division I teams would he start for at RB? Most of them would turn him into a TE.
And Jabba, by the way, I am as slow as they come but played a lot of football including some in college as a Tackle.
I certainly agree he’s useful, I’m just saying that he’s not much of an offensive threat with the ball.
November 28th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
By “quite slow” I meant he’s slower than any other RB we have and doesn’t have the abilty to run away from defensive players.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Dave Farmer is one of my favorite players. He rarely gets to carry the ball but his average is over 4 yards a carry. He is not the speed back. There are other players that fill that role. He is the big back that that fits in with what UH wants to do with its offense. He is the solid kind of team player that every squad needs to be successful. He is also a special teams player.
Like BIK said he gets the job done. I hope he gets more PT.
November 29th, 2008 at 6:47 am
The thing about Farmer is that he seems to be a solid guy to go to when the other speed demons are out with injury. He seems to be a consistent performer at least when he gets playing time.
Overall, still good to know he can be called upon and although not the fastest, but still there when needed.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:33 am
IMO Farmer has proven over his UH years a good and valuable D-1 RB pass blocker, good hands (catches well and rarely fumbles), makes few mistakes, knows his plays, durable, good mentor to other RBs on our team, and seems like one of great character.
November 29th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
OK, this is a little tricky, and I don’t like overanalyzing stats, but it makes sense: He averages 3.9 yards per carry for his career. Less than 4 yards on a single carry is 3 yards. My reasoning for saying less than 4 yards on a carry being a negative outcome is that you don’t get a first down in three downs going 3 yards a crack. However, 3.9 x 3 is enough for a first down. It comes down to whether you would average a first down in three downs or not. For this intent and purpose, 3.9 is the same as 4. If you go down to 3.3 …
Again, I don’t want to get all mathematical, but the point is 3.9 will get the job done.I should have been clearer that when I said less than 4, I meant 3, not a fraction short of 4.