Note to Garrett: Did you see NE's RB lined up as Wr

[links18]

Originally Posted by Risen Star

There's just no excuse to fail to exploit defenses with Lance Dunbar.

Or Phillip Tanner.....

[joseephuss]

Originally Posted by ninja

I often wished RBs Dunbar and Murray would have been used a little like that. I especially thought Dunbar was also a good receiver and would have liked to see some ingenuity from Garrett. I don't remember Garrett doing anything like that with the RBs.

We have an OC who doesn't do anything creative. But on the bright side, at least we no longer have a defensive coordinator (Wade) who counters a quick RB lined up as a WR with a slow LB.

Putting your players in a position to succeed.

Perhaps if Murray could stay healthy and practice every week then they could do more with him.

A lot of teams split either a linebacker or safety out to cover a running back lined up out wide. It depends on who else is the defense has to account for in the formation. You can't put a DB on every body unless you sub out a LB or two. You do that and then the offense just shifts into a running formation to attack the smaller DBs.

[links18]

Both Felix and Murray were purported to be excellent receivers coming out of college, who could line up wide and create mismatches. But we have almost never used either player in this fashion.....

[WV Cowboy]

These posts all show why we need a new, innovative OC here.

I think Garrett is trying to do it the way we did it in the mid-90's. Won't work with the guys we have.

Things have changed, the NFL has changed, and our roster certainly has changed.

[CATCH17]

Originally Posted by links18

Both Felix and Murray were purported to be excellent receivers coming out of college, who could line up wide and create mismatches. But we have almost never used either player in this fashion.....

I'll never forget Felix's Rookie year and how we struggled to get him touches.

[hra8700]

In training camp we tried both murray and jones flexing out as receivers...my guess is neither were particularly effective at it.

[AbeBeta]

Originally Posted by links18

Both Felix and Murray were purported to be excellent receivers coming out of college, who could line up wide and create mismatches. But we have almost never used either player in this fashion.....

A big part of this is that neither have been healthy. Last year Felix's shoulder was so bad that he couldn't even lift his arm. Is that the guy you want trying to catch a long pass?

[AbeBeta]

Originally Posted by hra8700

In training camp we tried both murray and jones flexing out as receivers...my guess is neither were particularly effective at it.

And they were both hurt for large chunks of the year.

And when they were in on passing downs, it seemed pretty important to have them in the backfield to provide a little more protection

[links18]

Originally Posted by AbeBeta

A big part of this is that neither have been healthy. Last year Felix's shoulder was so bad that he couldn't even lift his arm. Is that the guy you want trying to catch a long pass?

Yeah, Felix has been on the team since 2008. Dez played receiver with a busted finger. If they are excellent pass catchers, throw them ball once in a while.....

[AbeBeta]

Originally Posted by links18

Yeah, Felix has been on the team since 2008. Dez played receiver with a busted finger. If they are excellent pass catchers, throw them ball once in a while.....

Being an excellent pass catcher from the RB position doesn't mean you can line up wide.

Oh yeah, Felix has 127 receptions in 67 games. Murray has 61 catches in 23 games. Both are clearly getting the ball thrown to them

And Felix's injury -- as very widely reported -- kept him from being able to raise his arm.

[joseephuss]

Originally Posted by links18

Yeah, Felix has been on the team since 2008. Dez played receiver with a busted finger. If they are excellent pass catchers, throw them ball once in a while.....

When Felix is healthy, they do throw the ball to him. He caught 48 passes in 2010, which was probably his healthiest season.

[links18]

Originally Posted by AbeBeta

Being an excellent pass catcher from the RB position doesn't mean you can line up wide.

Oh yeah, Felix has 127 receptions in 67 games. Murray has 61 catches in 23 games. Both are clearly getting the ball thrown to them

And Felix's injury -- as very widely reported -- kept him from being able to raise his arm.

So Felix is getting the ball thrown to him roughly twice a game and Murray three times a game? How many are dump offs as compared to designed pass plays? Felix has had injury problems, but that doesn't change the fact that he hasn't been utilized as hyped coming out of college.

[links18]

Originally Posted by joseephuss

When Felix is healthy, they do throw the ball to him. He caught 48 passes in 2010, which was probably his healthiest season.

If I remember correctly, we actually threw a lot of screens that year with Kitna. How many times was he lined up as a WR to create a mismatch?

[Galian Beast]

Originally Posted by joseephuss

When Felix is healthy, they do throw the ball to him. He caught 48 passes in 2010, which was probably his healthiest season.

LeSean McCoy has 282 targets in 58 games. Felix Jones has 157 targets in 64 games.

Thats 4.9 targets a game compared to 2.5

[AbeBeta]

Originally Posted by Galian Beast

LeSean McCoy has 282 targets in 58 games. Felix Jones has 157 targets in 64 games.

Thats 4.9 targets a game compared to 2.5

So what? For several years McCoy was the only RB getting any touches. We've regularly used 2 RBs throughout the game. McCoy would get spelled but he wasn't rotating. Felix and Murray had 60 catches between them this year. Vickers had 13 and Dunbar 6.

We are obviously throwing to our RBs