Of course you're right, how does any running back get into that mode when your getting lil here, some there...You need that #1 back...
somehow they had some great idea that this would work
balance!!!
Bingo. No matter which RB on this roster carries the ball the results will be similar. We have a bunch of below average RBs that are going to give us below average production. McCarthy keeps trying to establish a running game but that is hard to do when you have JAGs at RB and a rebuilt, inexperienced OLine that is struggling.
I'm sure I don't need to remind you of probably 30-40 games we watched Emmitt finish the first half of games with like 12 carries for 25 yards. Barely 2 ypc behind arguably the best line of all time. You know what the Cowboys did in those games? Hint, they didn't abandon the run and decide "Emmitt just don't have it today. So Troy we need you to throw it 50 times." Nope.. they handed it to him 15 more times in the second half. But that team was built to play smash mouth football AND they had a defense that would let them hang in there until the offense got untracked. This team is similarly built on offense at least up front with a bunch of massive dudes blocking but it absolutely does NOT have a defense that can hold up if the offense isn't scoring or moving the ball early. That aspect of how things play out for this team gets glossed over far too often IMHO. McCarthy seems to panic the instant he sees the defense dropping its pants to the opponent and the run game is discarded. This line is young, man. What is it like one starter over 25? They need time to get in sync and to get in sync with the backs. They aint there yet but I have hope that they can get there with reps.
RB by committee is a GM admitting he failed in the off season. RB by committee is stupid football strategy and takes up unnecessary roster spots parting out roles to different bad RBs that one decent young RB could handle alone.
Hmmm… think this was a top 5 offense last season and it didn’t really start humming until week 5 or 6.
Don't need Zeke at all. Luepke does everything Zeke does only better. Don't need Vaughn at all either. Both should be released. Dowdle starts (even though he isn't starter material), Luepke starts at FB, and sign a PS RB somewhere to be the relief back for Dowdle. That's all we need, and we gain +1 roster spot.
He can't admit something he wanted to happen, or neglected on purpose
why do we have to wait
And yet practically the whole league has gone to it!
It's what a majority of the league does these days. There are very few "bell cow" running backs in the league today.
I said this team is similarly built .. not similarly talented. I firmly believe and stand by my assertion that this group is built to play smash mouth football though. And no, no one on this current roster is as good as Emmitt. There have been maybe 20 backs in the history of football as good as Emmitt. But the point remains, this team is not playing to the strength of its offensive line and running backs and the results speak for themselves. The line is huge and both main backs are primarily power backs. I just hope we get a few games that don't get away from us so we can give the running game a chance to get going. This business of running the ball 4-5 times a quarter and spreading even that paltry load among four different guys is asinine and is never going to be effective.
90% of the time I can tell a run play is coming based upon our formation, down and distance and lack of motion (except motion of a TE or WR shuttles to a blocking position).
To be fair I suspect if you look at other teams this is true for most of them. The difference is the good running teams seem to be able to open actual holes unlike the 15 people all smushed up together look we see on most of our run plays. We need to come with some counters, traps, double teams whatever it takes to create space at the point of attack and gets the backs the the second level with some momentum instead of their having to push the pile. I don't know how you do that.. I was a running back not a lineman.. but there are guys getting paid millions to devise ways of getting it done.. and I guarantee you if I was one of them, I'd figure out ways of opening some holes for our backs.
