Linehan RBs Through the Years

[Alexander]

Then what's the point? Couldn't Garrett or Callahan have done the same thing?

Obviously Garrett was displeased with Callahan's contribution and interpretation of his offense.

And since the "walk around coach" is the next step in Garrett's development as a trainee coach, they did not want to go backwards.

 

[Risen Star]

Obviously Garrett was displeased with Callahan's contribution and interpretation of his offense.

And since the "walk around coach" is the next step in Garrett's development as a trainee coach, they did not want to go backwards.

If the media reports are true, specifically Todd Archer's, that Callahan was forced on Garrett and the Linehan hire was Garrett getting some control back then I think this is a positive.

The absolute least you can do as an owner/GM is allow your head coach to surround himself with his guys on the coaching staff.

Having said that, I'm still wondering why we're seeing all this concern over an offense that was productive and good enough to compete in the postseason with a healthy Tony Romo while the defense may have been the worst the team has ever fielded.

 

[Alexander]

If the media reports are true, specifically Todd Archer's, that Callahan was forced on Garrett and the Linehan hire was Garrett getting some control back then I think this is a positive.

It is a positive only in the way Jones allowed it. I doubt it suggests any sort of drastic change that Garrett is getting Jones to back off and allow him to do his job. This was to give Garrett his one last chance to succeed.

The absolute least you can do as an owner/GM is allow your head coach to surround himself with his guys on the coaching staff.

Having said that, I'm still wondering why we're seeing all this concern over an offense that was productive and good enough to compete in the postseason with a healthy Tony Romo while the defense may have been the worst the team has ever fielded.

It is just what we do. Fix what is not exactly broken and hope that the things that are obviously broken really are not.

 

[conner01]

2006 was Linehan's first as Rams HC. Jackson Got 346 carries that year. I don't think Jackson missed games in 07 and 08, so I'm not sure how to explain the drastic dropoff in the number of carries for those years. Jackson was still averaging around 4 yards a carry in 07 and 08. He averaged 4.4 in 06.

he only played 12 games both of those years

 

[OhSnap]

That's a good thing and I think we haven't done a very good job getting the ball to Dez throughout his career. But I also want to see a balanced run game. Like it or not, Demarco Murray is one of the 7-8 best players on this team and one of the 4-5 best players on offense. It's important that we get him more involved. Almost as important as it is getting Dez more involved.

I think if the defense ever shows they can hold a 10 point lead again the running game will balance out more often than it has. I'd love to see him get 25 carries and 5 targets every game. I'm sure he'd like to bust out this year and get the early contract ext. too. He could be playing behind the best line he's had so far next year.

 

[MonsterD]

A few things I found interesting:

1. 2004 Bennett 276 yards, 2010 Best 555 yards, Morris 336 yards, and three more seasons with about 700 yards. These couldn't possibly have been the team's leading rushers, could they? I didn't think a 276 yard back could ever been a team's leading rusher.

2004 Vikings leading rusher was Onterrio Smith 124 attempts for 544 yards and 2 TDs.

2010 Lions yes Best was their leading rusher. The next highest was Maurice Morris with 90 attempts at 336 yards and 5 TDs.

2009 Lions yes it was K.Smith and the most after that was Maurice Morris 93 attempts for 384 yards and 2 TDs.

2012 Lions yes it was Leshoure, the next rusher is Joique Bell with 82 attempts 414 yards and 3 TDs.

2003 Vikings yes it was Williams the runner up was Onterrio Smith with 107 attempts 579 yards and 5 TDs.

So yeah the 2004 Vikings one is incorrect.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

2004 Vikings leading rusher was Onterrio Smith 124 attempts for 544 yards and 2 TDs.

2010 Lions yes Best was their leading rusher. The next highest was Maurice Morris with 90 attempts at 336 yards and 5 TDs.

2009 Lions yes it was K.Smith and the most after that was Maurice Morris 93 attempts for 384 yards and 2 TDs.

2012 Lions yes it was Leshoure, the next rusher is Joique Bell with 82 attempts 414 yards and 3 TDs.

2003 Vikings yes it was Williams the runner up was Onterrio Smith with 107 attempts 579 yards and 5 TDs.

So yeah the 2004 Vikings one is incorrect.

I guess it's not horrible considering they used a running back by committee, but it's still not very good. The part that is most alarming to me is the drop off in yards for Steven Jackson after his first year with Linehan. I don't follow the Rams so I don't know exactly what happened those seasons. Maybe he missed a few games, maybe he was playing hurt, who knows. But a guy as good as Jackson should get far more than just 1,000 yards. Without thinking too deeply, I'd say he might be the best RB of this generation outside of Peterson and if you want to include Tomlinson.

 

[Seven]

I duuno. The numbers, individually, tell me that when he's got a RB worth his salt he'll use him.

Something to look forward to, maybe?

 

[trueblue1687]

Tex, Stafford threw it 727 times in 2012, not 430. You probably mixed up completions (he had 435) with attempts.

727 pass attempts is the most in NFL history.

727 pass attempts is 36 more than the next closest guy in NFL history.

Stafford threw for the 5th (663) most attempts in NFL history in 2011.

Stafford threw for the 17th (634) most attempts in NFL history in 2013.

I'm not sure yet how I feel about Linehan, however, I don't think anybody should be fooling themselves that he isn't one of the most pass-heavy OCs the league has ever seen -- at least in the last 3-4 years.

I don't particularly care one way or another about him, but I dare say if any one of us had Calvin Johnson, we'd throw the heck out of it. QBs are there to throw...anyone can hand off a football and there's plenty of other players that are very intelligent and can handle a playbook, reads, etc. so, if not to throw, why not get a scrambler and JUST run?

Again, I don't attempt to champion Linehan, but he's he's not going to ignore the run game. If anything, it's my hope we see our screen game pick up. For whatever reason, we fail to utilize our backs in space, and prefer to pound up the middle more than not.

I think the old adage of "past performance doesn't indicate future results" is true in Linehan's case. I'm waiting to see what he brings. Heck, I'll take any improvement and what's the difference in 8-8 and 5-11(or worse - someone recently asked)?Maybe a higher spot on draft day.

 

[Idgit]

I don't particularly care one way or another about him, but I dare say if any one of us had Calvin Johnson, we'd throw the heck out of it.

I was thinking the same thing. If I had CJ, I'm not sure I'd ever run it.

It's tricky to look at run/pass counts from another team and to try to decide from that what an OC or play caller really wants to try to do. Linehan, for example, might think it makes sense to throw to get a lead and then to run to maintain it. On a team with a poor pass defense like Detroit (or Dallas), that might actually mean passing the whole game if you're not playing with sufficient leads. In another circumstance, this run/pass counts might look very different.

I'm not saying that's the case here. It's just a for-instance as to why it's not smart to just look at how much he's run the ball elsewhere and to draw any sort of conclusions about how much he's likely to run it here. Personally, I don't give a whit if we run it more or not. If it works, go for it. Stay out of third down situations wherever you can, and pass the ball effectively. However your running game can support that works just fine with me. Like most fans, it's fun to watch a team break off big yardage on the ground. If that keeps us from running bad pass plays, I'm all for it. I think, instead, we're going to see more passing, at least early on, though. That works for me, too.

 

[JPM]

I don't particularly care one way or another about him, but I dare say if any one of us had Calvin Johnson, we'd throw the heck out of it. QBs are there to throw...anyone can hand off a football and there's plenty of other players that are very intelligent and can handle a playbook, reads, etc. so, if not to throw, why not get a scrambler and JUST run?

How can you not want to throw it all time with CJ?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't particularly care one way or another about him, but I dare say if any one of us had Calvin Johnson, we'd throw the heck out of it. QBs are there to throw...anyone can hand off a football and there's plenty of other players that are very intelligent and can handle a playbook, reads, etc. so, if not to throw, why not get a scrambler and JUST run?

Again, I don't attempt to champion Linehan, but he's he's not going to ignore the run game. If anything, it's my hope we see our screen game pick up. For whatever reason, we fail to utilize our backs in space, and prefer to pound up the middle more than not.

I think the old adage of "past performance doesn't indicate future results" is true in Linehan's case. I'm waiting to see what he brings. Heck, I'll take any improvement and what's the difference in 8-8 and 5-11(or worse - someone recently asked)?Maybe a higher spot on draft day.

The problem with this thou, is that if you have to deal with a situation like the one in Detroit this year, then you are screwed. Johnson was hurt most of the year this year and because they relied on him so much, they could not produce in the end.

I due believe that Linehan is going to basically ignore the Running game. He believe that short passes are simply extended handoffs and that in this way, you have a running game through the passing game. I don't believe that but it doesn't really matter. It's done now and once again, the dye is cast.

 

[perrykemp]

How can you not want to throw it all time with CJ?

Why? Because good teams can stop that. Frankly, I've said it before here on CZ what I see with Stafford and CJ reminds me a lot of the early 1990s Packers where Brett Favre threw it to Sterling Sharpe on 1st down, 2nd down, 3rd down, and half the time on 4th down.

Sharpe was a big time HoF caliber WR, but the offense was limited because of it -- although Sharpe put up huge numbers.

The year AFTER Sharpe incurred his career ending injury is when Favre when on a to dominate the league and win 3 straight MVPs.

Yes, I do believe it is possible to throw too much to a great WR -- even Megatron -- and I think the Lions far exceeded the number of passes they should have been throwing to him.

 

[Idgit]

Why? Because good teams can stop that. Frankly, I've said it before here on CZ what I see with Stafford and CJ reminds me a lot of the early 1990s Packers where Brett Favre threw it to Sterling Sharpe on 1st down, 2nd down, 3rd down, and half the time on 4th down.

Sharpe was a big time HoF caliber WR, but the offense was limited because of it -- although Sharpe put up huge numbers.

The year AFTER Sharpe incurred his career ending injury is when Favre when on a to dominate the league and win 3 straight MVPs.

Yes, I do believe it is possible to throw too much to a great WR -- even Megatron -- and I think the Lions far exceeded the number of passes they should have been throwing to him.

The example I had in my head was Culpepper/Moss in 2004 (?). I'd have done what they did and just wear it out until it stops working.

 

[DFWJC]

A few things I found interesting:

1. 2004 Bennett 276 yards, 2010 Best 555 yards, Morris 336 yards, and three more seasons with about 700 yards. These couldn't possibly have been the team's leading rushers, could they? I didn't think a 276 yard back could ever been a team's leading rusher.

2. Two of Steven Jackson's three seasons were barely over 1,000 yards. For one of the best running backs of the past decade, I find this alarming low.

3. None of this really impresses me. Only four seasons over 1,000 and three came from Steven Jackson, plus one fluke year from Bennett who later went on to for a high of 276 yards.

So what is the point of this thread? To show how Linehan is good or bad with running backs?

Not sure, but I think he may have been trying to show that he has not had good RBs most of the time.

As for SJax. He missed 4+ games in each of those two seasons where he only had 1000 yards rushing.
The year he had 1500+ rushing, 800+ rec, and 16 TDs was the only year he played 16 games with Lineham.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Not sure, but I think he may have been trying to show that he has not had good RBs most of the time.

As for SJax. He missed 4+ games in each of those two seasons where he only had 1000 yards rushing.
The year he had 1500+ rushing, 800+ rec, and 16 TDs was the only year he played 16 games with Lineham.

That makes sense. I guess if you want to spin this into a positive, he has experience working with one-back systems and back-by-committee systems. I still think a solid #2 RB is essential for this team considering Murray's health issues.

 

[DFWJC]

That makes sense. I guess if you want to spin this into a positive, he has experience working with one-back systems and back-by-committee systems. I still think a solid #2 RB is essential for this team considering Murray's health issues.

x2

 

[Kevinicus]

One thing I noticed is that Linehan's teams are usually in the top 10 in the league in number of offensive plays ran, often in the top 5. That's definitely something I'd like to have in Dallas.

 

[DeaconMoss]

A few things I found interesting:

1. 2004 Bennett 276 yards, 2010 Best 555 yards, Morris 336 yards, and three more seasons with about 700 yards. These couldn't possibly have been the team's leading rushers, could they? I didn't think a 276 yard back could ever been a team's leading rusher.

2. Two of Steven Jackson's three seasons were barely over 1,000 yards. For one of the best running backs of the past decade, I find this alarming low.

3. None of this really impresses me. Only four seasons over 1,000 and three came from Steven Jackson, plus one fluke year from Bennett who later went on to for a high of 276 yards.

So what is the point of this thread? To show how Linehan is good or bad with running backs?

SJ got hurt alot

 

[jujoboys]

I looked at the running stats for Linehan's years as OC & HC and removed running stats by the QB and his team's averaged 1630 yards a year rushing the ball with the high being 1923 yards and the low being 1475 yards.

I looked at the running stats for Garrett's years as OC & HC and removed running stats by the QB and his team's averaged 1619 yards a year rushing the ball with the high being 1998 yards and the low being 1216 yards.

I had to remove the QB rushing because Linehan had Daunte Culpepper for 3 years in Minnesota and Culpepper had a total of 1437 yards rushing in those 3 years as QB. We all know that Romo is not going to rush for 500 yards next year.