12th Man Rising
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Can Marshawn Lynch be in full Beastmode for the Raiders, and should it matter to Seahawks fans?

By Todd Vandenberg

BELLEVUE, WA - NOVEMBER 13: Seattle Seahawks Running Back Marshawn Lynch attends an in-store appearance for the launch of BEASTMODE x PSD at Champs at Bellevue Square on November 13, 2015 in Bellevue, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images for PSD Underwear)
BELLEVUE, WA - NOVEMBER 13: Seattle Seahawks Running Back Marshawn Lynch attends an in-store appearance for the launch of BEASTMODE x PSD at Champs at Bellevue Square on November 13, 2015 in Bellevue, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images for PSD Underwear) /
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30 Jan 1994: RUNNING BACK EMMITT SMITH OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS SCORES A TOUCHDOWN DURING THE COWBOYS 30-13 VICTORY OVER THE BUFFALO BILLS IN SUPER BOWL XXVIII
30 Jan 1994: RUNNING BACK EMMITT SMITH OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS SCORES A TOUCHDOWN DURING THE COWBOYS 30-13 VICTORY OVER THE BUFFALO BILLS IN SUPER BOWL XXVIII /

Only 11 men have run for 1,000 yards at the age of 31 since 1990

Player Age Team Year Att Avg Yds TD
Curtis Martin 31 NYJ 2004 371 4.6 1,697 12
Tiki Barber 31 NYG 2006 327 5.1 1,662 5
Thomas Jones 31 NYJ 2009 331 4.2 1,402 14
Ricky Watters 31 SEA 2000 278 4.5 1,242 7
Emmitt Smith 31 DAL 2000 294 4.1 1,203 9
Fred Taylor 31 JAC 2007 223 5.4 1,202 5
Warrick Dunn 31 ATL 2006 286 4.0 1,140 4
James Brooks 31 CIN 1990 195 5.2 1,004 5
Ricky Williams 32 MIA 2009 241 4.7 1,121 11
Frank Gore 33 IND 2016 263 3.9 1,025 4
Emmitt Smith 32 DAL 2001 261 3.9 1,021 3
Mike Anderson 32 DEN 2005 239 4.2 1,014 12

You may have noticed that only one of them repeated their 1,000 yard performance in their following season. That would be Emmitt Smith, who dropped from nine touchdowns to three in 2001. Curtis Martin‘s phenomenal season just about wiped him out. The J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets rode Martin to a 10-6 record in 2004. In 2005 he carried the ball 220 times for less than half the yardage and half the touchdowns.

One other thing stands out, and this is in Lynch’s favor. All eleven of those players were legitimate studs. Marshawn Lynch is certainly in that category.

The question for the Oakland Raiders is this: with over 2000 punishing carries on his 31 year old body, has Marshawn Lynch already taken too much of a pounding to be a star running back? The consensus from NFL Total Access seems to be that he’ll be solid in 2017.

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