Scarlett's exceptional play, especially in the 4th quarter, raises some interesting, if not original, theories. The first (which I tend to believe) is that the coaching staff badly handicapped the offense by going with the 4 headed monster the first half of the season when they should have allowed Scarlett to be the bell cow, spelled by Perine. Conventional wisdom says that RBs need consistent carries in order to develop a rhythm and feel for the game. Saturday was a good example of that. It was 3 yards and a cloud of dust for the better part of 3 quarters, but Scarlett kept churning and got stronger as the game wore on. Had that been established early in the season, we may have developed a much tougher identity and it may have been easier to have the run set up the pass.
The second theory is that Scarlett's (and Perine's) Lynchian 4th quarter runs were made possible precisely because the early committee approach has them fresh and getting stronger at the end of the season. If that's the case, I look forward to seeing Scarlett own and destroy the criminoles next week. I give a lot less credence to this one (I still expect Scarlett to dominate next week though). These kids are young and should be able to carry the load the entire season between 2 of them and still close strong.
Regardless, going into next year with Scarlett and Perine running behind a steadily improving line has me optimistic for next year. I expect ups and downs with Franks/Trask, but the two backs should take a lot of pressure off of whoever is under center.