One game on; one game off. That seems to be the trend of our running game this year. After a sub-par effort against the Chargers, Fast Willie Parker et. al returned to form against the Chiefs. Parker carried the ball 21 times for 109 yards and 2 TDs. On both of his scores, he showed impressive toughness, absorbing contact and staying on his feet just long enough to cross the goal line. As much as we need a short-yardage back to relieve Parker of some of the physical punishment that comes with carrying the ball in the NFL, I do think that Parker has what it takes to punch it in the endzone and to pick up critical first downs.
Is Najeh Davenport the complimentary running back that we've been looking for since the preseason? He made a strong case for himself on Sunday. Dookie carried the ball 12 times for 78 yards and a TD. He did have a run of 48 yards, so he only compiled 30 yards on his other 11 carries. Still, Davenport looked pretty good hitting the holes that were provided for him yesterday. Despite the strong effort, I still have to laugh at Dookie for getting run down on that 48 yard scamper. He lost a footrace to a DE that had to weigh close to 290 pounds!
Verron Haynes had his usual, reliable game, carrying the ball 5 times for 21 yards and catching two balls for 12 more yards. Nothing fancy, but his contributions kept several drives alive. Overall, this was a great collective effort. Hopefully we'll carry this over to next week's game against the Atlanta. Tikie Barber racked up more than 180 yards against them; hopefully we'll find similar success.
Grade: A-