Armando Allen vs. Cierre Wood

[IrishLax]

Fun stat of the day:

AA had 107 carries for 514 yards and 2 TDs on the year.
CW had 107 carries for 522 yards and 2 TDs on the year.

Identical carries and TDs? Yardage totals within 8 yards? Crazy.

 

[Zibby32]

Armando in a heart beat!

 

[Riddickulous]

Allen has the vision that Wood is lacking, while Wood has the breakaway/home-run threat ability that Allen doesn't.

 

[IrishLax]

I just thought it was hilarious for how different they are and all the pre-season "debate" by some people that they finished as close in stats as you can possibly finish.

 

[Kingbish01]

I'd take Wood because he is a Sophmore.

 

[irishff1014]

Thats neat that they both have pretty much the same stats.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

If my memory serves me correct AA did not have the same fumble issues that Cierre has now...so I would take AA overall...however Cierre is exciting to watch....=P

 

[BestBIrish47]

I really love Armando... but he is a Senior
Cierre is a Notre Dame Soph also known as a redshirt freshman anywhere else in the country.

I think except for the fumbling, we have to be crazy excited about his upside!!

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Tough call..Allen was better at catching the ball out of the backfield. Wood became a good blocker by the end of the season. Both looked good this season.,

 

[ryno 24]

Armando helped us in the beginning of the season but Kelly loves Cierre Wood and believes in him hopefully it all works out for the best he is very talented... a changing of the guard

 

[Jerry]

I think Armando is the better runner and feel bad that he never played behind a good line in his ND career. But Cierre is a little "longer" and is probably better suited for the spread with his pass catching ability.

Actually their receiving stats were very similar as well. Cierre gets the edge in yards and with the 2 TD's against Tulsa.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Hey IrishLax what about their receiving stats?

 

[Irish Man3]

Cierre is slightly stronger and less injury prone thus far. AA was hurt an awful lot throughout his ND career. Vision and patience are something Cierre needs to work on but it can be taught. His breakaway speed and open field moves can not be taught. You either have the "it" factor or you dont. We will be able to better evaluate over the next two years.
Armando Allen became a tremendous leader and a great senior captain. Wood has a lot of maturing to do but again he is a sophmore.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Red shirt frosh lol

 

[irish1958]

Allen had undiagnosed hip injuries, perhaps from high school, that probably hampered his career at ND.
Early on he didn't block or pass catch well and he went down at the first contact.
He worked on all these problems and this year he had a great start against some tough defenses.
And he didn't leave the ball on the ground.
Wood has potential, but he needs to work on a few things, especially, ball security.

 

[IrishinSyria]

That's pretty cool. It kind of goes to show how important blocking is to a running game: get good enough blocking and my grandma could put up nice numbers.

As for this year, I'd take Armando for sure. He always ran hard, rarely put the ball on the ground, blocked very well and was a great leader overall. Cierre boosted his stats with a few long runs vs weak teams (hello Western Michigan) but showed a lot of improvement from start to finish. I'm going to miss AA (and Hughes!), but I have a lot of confidence that Cierre, Jonas and co will bring our ground game to the next level in 2011.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Receiving Stats


WOOD, Cierre 19 for 168 yards 8.8 avg 2 TDs
ALLEN, Armando 17 for 138 yards 8.1 avg. 0 TDs

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Interesting. Nice post.

I love Armando. Will never say a bad thing about him.

I do think that Wood will have some sick numbers as the line continues to improve over the next couple of years.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

I love both of these guys. Wish Armando had another year to play because I really think next year will be a better one. I am excited about Cierre and his potential. He is a better RB now than he was in the beginning of the season. I think he has learned alot and has worked his butt off to become a better back. I look for some great things from him in the future. Kudos to both Running Backs and best of luck to Armando in all of his future endeavors.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Receiving Stats


WOOD, Cierre 19 for 168 yards 8.8 avg 2 TDs
ALLEN, Armando 17 for 138 yards 8.1 avg. 0 TDs

Wow those two stats are so close.

 

[roc351w]

neither i'd take hughes for one more season with the run north and south first mentality. he's a beast that never got the full nod.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I won't do any complaining about Cierre, because he is a "junior" member of the team, and Armando a special senior leader. AAs intangibles would be what I would honor this last season---this is an unfair playing field though as Cierre has not had the chance to develop such qualities, nor probably the cred to manifest them to his mates. If Cierre shows the Man-up leadership and ferocity of AA by the time he graduates, then I'll happily compare the two.

 

[AdmiralBackhand]

Love 'em both. AA is more likely to run over someone. Look at those frickin' legs, man. Damn.

 

[irish1958]

AA reminds me of Mark Edwards.
Mark was a fumble fingers and pass dropper at the start;
He worked his butt off after the season and cought hundreds of balls a day for months. By the next season he was a reliable FB and could catch the flair out of the backfield. He also became a monster blocker.
I really hope AA gets a look in the pros as he has everything I would want in a back, with a great deal of smarts and heart.
If Wood emulates those players, he will have a great future, both at ND and with the Indy Colts.

 

[Dizzyphil]

neither i'd take hughes for one more season with the run north and south first mentality. he's a beast that never got the full nod.

Man, he was a battering ram that last drive.... Head down and pounding it through...


Diz

 

[Junkhead]

I've been an Allen fan since he committed. He's a hard worker, good receiver and blocker, and improved though often injured. Wood is a slashing runner, has better vision than Allen, but looks to be on the verge of a fumble every carry. Early on, I'd take Allen without a doubt. Cierre however, has improved his blocking, patience, and looks to be an all around back. To sum up, Cierre Wood looks to have the RB instincts and talent that I always expected to see out of Armando Allen. I can't fault Allen though, thanks to injuries and Weis.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

AA reminds me of Mark Edwards.
Mark was a fumble fingers and pass dropper at the start;
He worked his butt off after the season and cought hundreds of balls a day for months. By the next season he was a reliable FB and could catch the flair out of the backfield. He also became a monster blocker.
I really hope AA gets a look in the pros as he has everything I would want in a back, with a great deal of smarts and heart.
If Wood emulates those players, he will have a great future, both at ND and with the Indy Colts.

The Colts need some help in the running department and a guy that can catch out of the backfield for sure. Unfortunately the Line needs to play better and give the RBs lanes to run through and better protection for Peyton Manning. I wouldn't mind seeing an improved Wood in a Colts uniform.

 

[irishandy]

I'll take Wood over Allen any day. Allen's longest run at ND was 30 yards and it happened his senior year. Wood had his longest run of 38 or 39 yards. I don't think Allen ever reached his potential and he only gained approx. 2,100 yards at ND. Allen also had to deal with injuries and a bad offensive line. Give Allen a couple of years in the NFL to learn a system and he'll be good. I see Wood gaining 1,000 yards plus the next 3 years.

 

[PatsandBostonfan1975]

I'd take Wood because he is a Sophmore.

agreed

 

[chyrspchuck]

Cierre reminds me of Julius when he was young, except Julius was a bad *** return man at the time.