And in those first 12 games he scored six touchdowns – yards are nice, but you need your stud running back to be scoring some points when it matters. What difference does 85.6 yards per game mean when you’re losing seven of 12?

I think it is just as impressive that he was putting up 150 yards in games that really didn’t matter. I can think of a few players who wouldn’t have bothered to show up.

Great. Not saying he has to carry the team on his shoulders. I’m questioning whether or not he’s earned the right to sit out when he hasn’t maximized his potential and his team has ranged from average to terrible during the years he has been there.

When he has a season like he did in 2006 while putting up the numbers while his team is in something resembling a playoff race then I’ll consider rewarding a guy with a big contract. That combo has happened exactly zero times.

My point is that your strategy of awarding only players who carry the whole team on their shoulders seems a touch flawed. And to put a different spin on his numbers, separating out the last four games of ’06 and noting the injury in ’07 means he broke 1,000 yards twice with less than a full season of play.

And if it comes down to letting him walk I’m sure they are capable of not making the playoffs just as well without him as with him.

Maybe they can let him walk and put that $50 million to use hiring a couple of tackles. And then let them leave because the offensive line doesn’t take the team to a Super Bowl.