A look a the season of Arian Foster
Oct 13, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) rushes past St. Louis Rams defensive end William Hayes (95) during the second half at Reliant Stadium. The Rams won 38-13. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
The 2013 season for Houston Texans running back Arian Foster resembles a roller coaster with all the ups and downs of his season and the season of his team.
After 117 carries in six games, Foster has totaled 531 yards for 4.5 yards per carry. He has two 100-plus yard games, both resulting in losses for Houston.
His best game of the season for the Texans (who are 2-4 overall) came this past week with 141 yards on 20 carries, for an average of 7.1 yards per carry against the St. Louis Rams. He also had his longest run of the season at 23 yards in the loss.
Foster has finally reached the point of the season where he’s recovered from his preseason injuries as he’s totaled 341 yards in the past three games. Along with the Rams game, Foster has a 102 yard rushing effort against the Seattle Seahawks and 98 yards vs. the San Francisco 49ers on a total of 68 carries.
In his first three games, Foster had a total of 49 carries for 190 yards. In that span his longest run in splitting time with Ben Tate was 16 yards against the Tennessee Titans, in week two. The Texans won two of their first three games for their only wins of the season thus far.
In the past three games Foster has not only improved his rushing yardage, but his receiving yards as well, collecting 146 yards on 14 receptions. For the season, Foster has totaled 22 receptions for 183 yards.
Last week, Foster had four receptions for 57 yards, an average of 14.3 yards per reception.
With all the struggles the Texans’ offense is currently having, my suggestion for the team is to RUN THE BALL MORE. Not only run the ball more, but run the ball more with Foster. Just get the ball in the hands of Foster any way possible.
I’ll admit, before the season I wasn’t sure about Foster, but I’ll admit when I’m wrong, and I was wrong in thinking he would take a step back this season with his preseason injuries.
Foster is proving why he is still one of the better running backs in the NFL, and when he runs the ball for over 100 yards in a game the Texans usually win … except for this season. Weird. This season when Foster rushes for 100 yards or more the Texans are 0-2.
If history shows anything (again, except for the season) when Foster rushes for 100 yards or more the Texans win. Coach Gary Kubiak should call more rushing plays for Foster if they want to buck the recent trend of losses that is currently at four.
The Texans need to win and win now, and to do that the Texans should run the ball more and run the ball with Foster. It is that simple.