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The Evolution of Mark Fletcher

Bro balled out in the playoffs, it was a shock to see. He has transformed into a legitimate NFL back especially with his blocking. Keep him fresh this season and I believe he’s a top 100 pick next year, maybe even sneak in that late 2nd rd range depending how the rb class shakes out.
 
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These threads be killing me. Its the price of success. Lol. I think its when they started letting him run downhill. It can be effective but i hate running from the shotgun. But especially with a big 6'2 RB. The defenders already have momentum when u get the ball. Its a different thing when you already picked up speed. Fletcher needed to improve, the running scheme needed tweaking and some of yall need to give players some room to grow before writing them off. It all comes together.
 
supacane said:
These threads be killing me. Its the price of success. Lol. I think its when they started letting him run downhill. It can be effective but i hate running from the shotgun. But especially with a big 6'2 RB. The defenders already have momentum when u get the ball. Its a different thing when you already picked up speed. Fletcher needed to improve, the running scheme needed tweaking and some of yall need to give players some room to grow before writing them off. It all comes together.
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Fletch has always had success running from shotgun its him at the 2nd level thats been an issue. Scheme matters but the film shows he would get the same looks and make bad decisions at the 2nd level
 
E1k said:
Fletch has always had success running from shotgun its him at the 2nd level thats been an issue. Scheme matters but the film shows he would get the same looks and make bad decisions at the 2nd level
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Having success to being elite in the playoffs is a big difference.
 
bshaw28 said:
Interesting interpretation D$ - considering all off season I was confidently saying Fletcher would be our best RB this year & I was trying my best to warn you about Lyle.


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I'd say I was dead on about Fletcher:

- His open field running the first 33 games of his career needed to change/improve.

- He finally changed in the playoffs - and everyone saw the results.

Now the question is - has Fletcher changed for good or will he revert to some of those bad habits?
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Robert Garcia GIF by GIPHY News
 
bshaw28 said:
The rules are simple:

1. If you're small, be fast. If you're slow, be big.
2. Average 5.5 YPC

Do that and I don't care - you can be 200 lb. Travis Homer, 215 Deejay Dallas, or 230 Damien Martinez.

Fletcher averaged 5.5 last year - but he needed 4 huge playoff games to get there.

Just produce. I want to win.
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3. If you need to get fed, get fed.

In the 5 regular season games where he got 15+ touches, he averaged 5.3 ypc, 3 times over 100 yards.
In the other 4 power 4 games he had 12, 8, 6 and 10 carries and averaged 3.3 ypc or less, in each game.

In the playoffs, Fletch's averages:
A&M
1st Half- 5.1 ypc
2nd Half- 13.6 ypc

OSU
1st Half- 3.7 ypc
2nd Half- 6.6 ypc

****
1st Half- 3.7 ypc
2nd Half- 8.4 ypc

IU
1st Half- 2.9 ypc
2nd Half- 10.6 ypc

Playoffs
1st Half- 3.8 ypc
2nd Half- 10.0 ypc

With the above, there's no disagreeing he ran with more of a purpose in the PO's.
I do acknowledge our Oline wear-down factor as well.

With that same purpose and the Mensah (Ward) affect, we'll see 6+ ypc in '26.
 
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E1k said:
Because he started making better decisions at the 2nd level
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This was my biggest gripe about Fletcher.

He always gives great effort every play. He's going to get those tough yards most of the time in short yardage situations. He's not a speedster, but he is plenty fast for a big back. When/if he gets to the 2nd level, he will most likely get ran down by faster defenders. I understand that and am ok with that. I realize he is not a burner out there.

What would perplex me was some of his decisions when/if he made it to the 2nd level. Felt like he would run towards the defenders or just not pick the path of least resistance in general. Wide open field and he would run towards contact. Kind of reminded me of when Henry Parrish would get to the 2nd level. They were both just awful. That seemed to change for Fletcher this year. Felt like he would try to avoid contact with the defender until the very last second. This allowed him to maximize his runs. As a freshman and sophomore, he would try to truck the defender as soon as he saw the defender in his area, leaving yards on the table.
 
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