If Rico stays on Luepke heels, he probably scores

[blueblood70]

Yeasss
Maybe get injured, move to IR
Retire a cowboy offseason

Open a spot

maybe scores a touchdown with no drama and fumble.... i've seen him knock people back into the end zone. that's what he was supposed to be here for or hunter.. but you wishing him get hurt is ridiculous..

 

[Creeper]

No. Steelers No. 92 slipped his block and would have nailed Rico.

IDK about that. I think if he cuts outside he can cut behind Martin and score or he can cut it outside and score. 92 did get in there but he was going down. I don't know if he could have gotten to Rico. But, we'll never know. It is all moot now.

 

[blueblood70]

He wastrying to jump and reach past goal line , but rookie move having ball as loaf of bread,to be knocked out.

he was not holding that like a loaf of bread... you do realize you're contradicting yourself.. right as he was attempting to pull it up and out to reach for the line a torpedo shot out from six feet and hit right on the ball..thats fumbled by nearly any ball carriers. perfectly timed and position hit. that why you try and slide and follow the FB/OL they knock them out of the way,,

 

[Roadtrip635]

... I dont know what he was thinking. On that fumble, if you look on replay. Instead of following Luepke's block.
He changes direction and drives into a wall. Was he trying to jump? Or bulldoze his way in?

...Check out replay. What do you see? Start at 2:20

Beebe got beat off the line and his man got penetration which really blew up the play. Luepke actually sidestepped that defender looking for his original blocking assignment, the LB and Watt was also getting past Ferg and Luepke ended up "blocking" Ferg which really freed up Watt. The only chance Rico had, the way the play developed, was to bounce it really wide and head for the pylon and I don't know if he would have gotten there. Rico, of course made the worst decision and without any momentum decided to try and leap in from 3 yds into the teeth of the defense.

Steelers did a great job on that play and that initial penetration threw the whole play off. Instead of sidestepping the penetration, Luepke could have sealed that off(2:46) and that might have also helped shield off Watts which would have given Rico a chance 1 on 1 vs a DB at the GL or to bounce it out wide.

 

[tyke1doe]

Nah, that guy was just lunging from his knees. Easily goes around him if he follows Leupke.

I disagree. But we'll never know because it didn't happen.

 

[links18]

He just doesn't have great vision.

 

[Hawkeye19]

or better yet ezekiel elliott should have got the carry..

This. Or why have Zeke on the roster at all if they aren’t gonna use him in short yardage situations? Lol

 

[gimmesix]

I don't think Rico is good at following a lead blocker because he's done this a few times, if I'm not mistaken.

Smart thing to do is get a jumbo lead blocker in front of Luepke, and the TDs roll in. Also, guys hold on to Luepke's fumble like it's career defining, I mean sheesh, he didn't get the handoff proper...it's not like he blowed up like Rico.

Smart thing to do is QB sneak from the 1, but if you are not going to do that, either run Luepke or Elliott. Worked out for us, though. We got to run a couple more plays and more time off the clock.

 

[Risen Star]

Had Hitler's Army followed Luepke into Russia we'd all be speaking German right now.

 

[Flamma]

Rico has not so good vision and I think he was just trying to take the shortest route to the EZ. But I agree that Luepke and Martin sealed off the hole well enough. Next time go where the play is designed Rico! All is well that ends well, but if #4 and #1 hadn't connected I'd prolly be raising hades.

He scores easily behind Martin and the FB. I was watching this at work on my phone, and when I saw the replay I was sick. On my little phone I could see it. If he got right behind the FB, he also avoids the launching Steeler.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

if you study enough RB pays you can see them missing the right hole quite a bit.

 

[plasticman]

While Rico is our best option carrying the ball right now, he is still below league average. Dude is a tough runner and doing his best, but he really should be a second or third option.

Why we simply did not go and sign an NFL starter like Zach Moss for 2 years $8mil like the Bengals did is beyond me.

They pretty much ignored the position for three straight drafts. That was teh insane part.

Jerry jones has always been a trend-follower when it comes down to the actual football operations. unfortunately, he catches on pretty close to the end of that particular trend.

All the really cool GM's were "devaluing" the position. That wasn't good enough for Jerry, he practically discontinued the position. It was the role of the RB in the offense that was losing value due to the increased sophistication of the passing game.

However, teams still need the running game under certain important conditions like running out the clock or keeping a good opponent offense off the field.

There was criticism for drafting Zeke, a RB, in the first round in 2016. Interesting how RB's were still drafted in the first round in six of the eight seasons since Zeke's was drafted.

 

[DogFace]

Yes. If he follows Hunter he scores for sure. Maybe standing up.

 

[blueblood70]

This. Or why have Zeke on the roster at all if they aren’t gonna use him in short yardage situations? Lol

because the same reason we have a practice squad and dalvin cook hasn't been used all year. Insurance.. Which is not Ezekiel elliott's fault and he's starting to complain a little in a nice professional way he's like if you're gonna bring me on game day active then use me and I agree with him the problem is not being on the roster it's being active game day and not being utilized and once again that's big Mike's problem big Mike is really terrible about rotations...

The whole running back by committee thing is failing because Mike doesn't do that well... If you need any proof just look at the debacle last year with the run game he used Rico and Tony completely opposite look at the nonsense that he can't figure out a way to make Turpin more of a weapon more often it takes some six games every season to start using misdirection in motion I mean hardly ever see any aggression like bringing dudes over the top into the red zone before you get inside the 20 I mean Ezekiel Elliott has more to offer he should be on the roster but he should not be active any more than Vaughn should be when you don't have to use a guy or if you don't intend to use him enough just deactivate him deactivate him.., period..

He played like dirty snacks but he only ran what 3 or 4 times being used heavily as a blocker but yeah in that situation that's on Mike everyone in the stadium and watching that game was thinking Ezekiel Elliott hunter was getting the ball there and you give it to Rico what happens and I know it's not on him that was a massive hit greatly timed but he fumble almost cost us the game maybe this game is the one where he wakes up and uses Elliott more if he's gonna be active...

 

[Thomas82]

I'm pretty sure the entire offense had an opportunity to review this earlier in the week.

I don't know how much good it does to review game video as a RB. I've always thought of the position as requiring more instinct. certain things can't be learned.

I could be wrong. I'm sure someone out there at some time was a RB on a high school or college team and could enlighten us.

I get the feeling they were a little more concerned about the fumble.

That particular play should have gone to Zeke. He's more experienced in these situations, it doesn't require speed, and he has always been one of the more reliable ball-carriers in the league.

Do I remember correctly that Luepke also fumbled a ball near the goal line at some point in the preseason or regular season?

You might be thinking about last year when Luepke fumbled at the goal line against the Dolphins.