Is Polite around?

[tepop84]

Furthermore, as I already said, having Polite on the team makes it easier to go down the field on 3rd-and-short, because the opponent needs to heavily prioritize stopping him.  So I'm not sure what point you're even trying to make.
90% conversion rate over the last three years looks pretty unique to me, given that he's the only one in the league doing it.
 

[Spider-Dan]

Yeah, I already posted that link two pages ago.  I am interested in hearing why you would cite that link to support the conclusion that a 2-yard-gain on 3rd-and-1 is not an acceptable goal, given that said link rates teams SOLELY on a pass/fail basis of gaining the first down, and does not factor how many excess yards they gained AT ALL.

Additionally, you seem to cite that link above as "proof" that Polite's percentage is "not that good."  I can only see two reasons why you could infer that:

1) one team in the league (HOU) posted a 94.7% conversion rate with 1 yard to go, which is better than Polite's 93.3% conversion rate with 1 yard to go (meanwhile, thirty-one teams posted a worse rate, and over half the league was worse than 70%)
2) Miami's overall conversion rate was only 70%, which means Polite couldn't have been that good

1) is too absurd to be worth discussing.  So let's talk about 2).

In 2010, on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1, here are the first-down statistics for the Miami Dolphins:

Lou Polite- 14/15, 93.3% conversion rate (link)
all other Dolphins combined- 0/5, ZERO PERCENT CONVERSION RATE (Miami was 14/20, according to the link you just posted)

What else needs to be said?

[MikeO]

No, I was comparing your argument to the virtually identical one that critics of Bettis have put forth over the years.

Bettis was a GREAT player, one of my all-time favorites. In no way am I implying that Polite is even remotely close to his level.

You compared Polite to Bettis....no spinning out of that. No Spin

[Spider-Dan]

I compared Polite to Foster.  Who cares?  What does it matter?

If you can compare Mark Sanchez (4-2 playoff record in the last two years) to Tom Brady (0-2 playoff record in the last two years), you can compare Polite to Bettis.  I'm certain that Polite's conversion rate with 1 yard to go is better than Bettis' was at any point.

[Guru-In-Vegas]

I don't get some people.  Whenever I see Polite in on short yardage situations I feel it's guaranteed we're converting for the first.  What the hell is not to love about that?  He doesn't run for 80 yards after converting everytime?  He sucks because he only gains 2 yards at a time when teams are expecting run 99.9% of the time?! 

Go be a 2001 Rams fan, please. 

[tepop84]

Lou Polite- 14/15, 93.3% conversion rate (link)
all other Dolphins combined- 0/5, ZERO PERCENT CONVERSION RATE (Miami was 14/20, according to the link you just posted)

the link i posted was in november, so the whole season wasn't done yet, but great use of polites whole yea numbers to make the rest of the team look bad.  Polite is not a very good blocker, he isn't a pass catching threat and can't carry the football. His 90% conversion rate is not worth starting him over a different fullback when it barely adds 2 extra first downs a year over the league average.

[Sunstroke]

Polite ... can't carry the football. 

When he's converting those short yardage carries with insane consistency, what is he carrying? A pineapple?

[JVides]

His 90% conversion rate is not worth starting him over a different fullback when it barely adds 2 extra first downs a year over the league average.

But is it enough to keep him on the roster so he can be placed on the field on thrid and fourth and one?  Is that skill worth a roster spot?  Of coursde it is!

[Spider-Dan]

the link i posted was in november, so the whole season wasn't done yet, but great use of polites whole yea numbers to make the rest of the team look bad.

Good point; those stats are through week 12.  So I actually looked through the play-by-play of every Dolphins game last year.  Here are the stats for 3rd/4th-and-1:

wk1- 1/1 (Polite run)
wk2- 2/2 (Polite run)
wk3- 2/2 (Polite run, Henne pass [TD])
wk4- 2/2 (Ricky run, Henne pass)
wk5- bye
wk6- 0/2 (Polite run, Ronnie run)
wk7- 1/2 (Polite run yes, Ronnie run no)
wk8- 2/3 (Henne pass yes, Henne pass no, Polite run yes)
wk9- 1/2 (Ronnie run yes, Henne pass no)
wk10- 2/3 (Polite run yes, Ricky run "yes" [fumble recovered by MIA], Henne pass no [INT])
wk11- 0/0
wk12- 1/1 (Polite run)
wk13- 1/2 (Henne run yes, Henne pass no)
wk14- 1/1 (Polite run)
wk15- 1/2 (Polite run yes, Ronnie run no)
wk16- 3/3 (Polite run)
wk17- 1/1 (Polite run)

So then, let's update those numbers:

Lou Polite- 14/15, 93.3% conversion rate
all other Dolphins combined- 6/13, 46.2% conversion rate

In other words, if you remove Polite's contributions, Miami's conversion rate is among the worst in the league.  That doesn't sound like someone you should be cutting, until you have a proven replacement.

Polite is not a very good blocker, he isn't a pass catching threat and can't carry the football. His 90% conversion rate is not worth starting him over a different fullback when it barely adds 2 extra first downs a year over the league average.

Who is talking about Polite starting?  He doesn't need to start to make the team; he needs to displace a 3rd TE, a 6th WR, a 5th DB, etc.

[Spider-Dan]

Oh, and tepop, for all of your talk of Polite's supposed ineffectiveness at the goal line, would you care to guess how many plays Miami ran from the opponent's 1-yard-line in 2010?

That's right, ZERO.

I guess it's his fault that he didn't successfully convert in situations that didn't exist?

[Cathal]

I think you've thoroughly invalided their argument Spider-Dan. It's just embarrasing now.

[Guru-In-Vegas]

^ But very entertaining.

Plus this -

When he's converting those short yardage carries with insane consistency, what is he carrying? A pineapple?

 

[miamid45]

We were 2nd behind Houston in 3rd DOWN Coversions?

WHO THE HELL CARES>>>>WE MISSED THE F&*&*^N PLAYOFFS!

WE NEED PLAYMAKERS< NOT 1 or 2 YARD gapmakers.

LJ stays and Polite goes, this staff needs to take some chances and create depth on our RB  squad. 

[Tenshot13]

I swear, some of you are crazy.  Polite has way more value than any one player at the bottom of the roster.  No way we should cut him.

[MikeO]

All of you Polite lovers can eat some crow now. He was just cut!

Told ya he had no value!