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Hall of Famer [22387]
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Our red zone struggles the past few weeks prove how badly
Oct 27, 2013, 11:35 AM
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we need a running back with size. Hot Rod had as good a game as we can hope for from him yesterday. But we still struggled in the red zone because we do not have a power back that can run through tackles when there isn't room to run around them. Boyd has been that player for us and the key to our offensive efficiency is our ability to spread you out and let him run it. With Morris holding him back due to injury, we aren't the same team. I realize our offensive line isn't the best in the world, but they are pretty good and good enough to have success in short yardage and red zone with the right back.
Some have suggested Morris does not need a power back in this offense, but needs a home run hitter. The last two years and these last two weeks prove we need a power back. Hopefully Tyshon Dye and a few others give us that next year. In the mean time, we need Boyd healthy so he can get back to doing what he does best.
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All-TigerNet [14090]
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It's not the running backs, it's the oline play***
Oct 27, 2013, 11:36 AM
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All-TigerNet [14751]
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Correct, and even when it is a rb issue it's been more about
Oct 27, 2013, 11:46 AM
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Hitting wrong holes or bouncing in/out the opposite if what's open. I've noticed this issue a lot in the open field, I know not a goal line issue. There might be a vision issue if not I'm stumped what it is. Numerous times in most games we have ball carriers making the wrong cut.
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Heisman Winner [111559]
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Re: It's not the running backs, it's the oline play***
Oct 27, 2013, 11:53 AM
[ in reply to It's not the running backs, it's the oline play*** ] |
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true, but I saw a number of plays last night where a quality back would have scored on a big gainer. There were a couple of huge holes that Mcdowell just could not get past the 2nd level because he was dancing around or got tripped up by an arm tackle. It was nice however to see him find the endzone in the second half, it was like he didn't know it was there the entire time.
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Hall of Famer [22387]
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Morris and Swinney admitted they had to run Boyd more.
Oct 27, 2013, 12:00 PM
[ in reply to It's not the running backs, it's the oline play*** ] |
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Not sure you rush for 236 yards with poor line play. Everything tightens up in the red zone. If you go back and look at the game, you will notice that once we got inside the red zone, we did not run Boyd like we have in the past. We gave it to Rod on a run or a pass. He could not make a play and there were several times where he danced and hesitated(works sometimes in the open field, but not so much in the red zone) when a power back would have made a bee line for the end zone. We ended up kicking field goals. That continued until the 4th quarter when we started running Boyd once we got into the redzone and voila, we scored touchdowns instead of field goals.
I think Morris and Swinney realize this and are trying to avoid using Boyd if they can and keep him healthy for the big games when we will need him to run to win.
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CU Guru [1250]
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Re: Morris and Swinney admitted they had to run Boyd more.
Oct 27, 2013, 1:54 PM
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Boyd is successful running the ball was as the running backs are not for two reasons: 1.) We motion the running back removing a defender from the box, or 2.) The running back acts as an extra blocker for Tajh
The problem is with the OL.
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Orange Blooded [2837]
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How big do you have to be to run through a pile of
Oct 27, 2013, 11:37 AM
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your own interior linemen?
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Hall of Famer [22387]
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Boyd weighs about 225lbs.
Oct 27, 2013, 11:40 AM
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And that seems to work pretty well.
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Orange Blooded [2837]
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You will recall that Maryland spent the entire game
Oct 27, 2013, 11:54 AM
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keying on the RB when we ran the ball.
I'm not sure how twenty or so extra pounds gets a body through three guys in red jerseys waiting for one in the backfield, but your mileage may vary.
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Hall of Famer [22387]
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Not sure what that means, but I noticed Rod ran for 163
Oct 27, 2013, 12:05 PM
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yards and we ran for 236 yards as a team, but we couldn't score touchdowns in the red zone. Rod only has the 2 rushing touchdowns on the season and Boyd has 6, so it's not like this is a surprise to anyone.
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110%er [6101]
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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Brooks is the back you need in my opinion
Oct 27, 2013, 11:46 AM
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AND the kid has hands that i wish Chad would get more involved in the short passing game. You have to have a back who runs behind his pads, commits to a hole no matter how big, has vision, and cuts into the hole and gets there violently. Brooks rarely goes down on first contact and there are no wasted hesitation steps or choppy moves. When the kid gets hit he always ends up forward for another yard. Howard shows signs too, though he runs too upright. Hot Rod to me is a good 3d down option and a change of pace. I think Brooks is an NFL back and is a heck of a football player all the way around. Get him a little bit bigger and stronger, we might be looking at an all time Tiger RB.
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All-TigerNet [14751]
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It will be dye next year and yes they need brooks more
Oct 27, 2013, 11:48 AM
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Involved in the passing game.
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110%er [6101]
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Re: Brooks is the back you need in my opinion
Oct 27, 2013, 12:26 PM
[ in reply to Brooks is the back you need in my opinion ] |
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Agree. He reminds me of Ellington. He hits the hole hard and reaches full speed quickly. Looks like a much more instinctive RB.
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Orange Blooded [3706]
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I can't remember
Oct 27, 2013, 11:47 AM
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having a FB that was used as more than a blocker since Emory Smith. I would love to see that again.
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Starter [361]
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We also never seem to use a lead blocker or a power
Oct 27, 2013, 1:35 PM
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Formation. I do,like the fact that we seem to use two back sets at times but it always seems to work into the zone read as opposed to knocking someone back
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Fan [77]
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Re: Our red zone struggles the past few weeks prove how badly
Oct 27, 2013, 11:50 AM
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Big backs usually have to get a head of steam built up before they punish people. With our O line, no back ever has a chance to build up any head of steam.
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Orange Blooded [3820]
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RED HERRING: it ain't Boyd's size that makes him effective
Oct 27, 2013, 12:19 PM
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in the red zone, it's the extra runner the defense has to account for. This is the issue with all mobile QB's regardless their size. Woody Dantzler wasn't all that big in college but he still was a great red zone runner.
Further we were #1 in the country last year yet our "big back" was 205 lb Andre Ellington. How have things changed.
Well they haven't changed in the backfield. Basically the parts are all still in place with the running game. Take out Ellington, slide in McDowell - both the same type of runner.
Our red zone problems this year are a result of not having QB-to-receiver mesh in the intermediate routes that Allen/Ford-Brown-Hopkins all excelled in. These are the 7-13 yard routes that score on "goal to go" situations and make 1st downs out of "3rd down" plays.
That's why both our 3rd down conversion % and red zone efficiency are down.
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