Why can't we run the ball?

[LouBrown]

It will also add the team's we've played thus far are on the upper end of run defense:

Ranked yards per game allowed #6, #7, #11, & #12

I think Houston was the best run defense with a light box, coming into the game.

 

[Risen Star]

I wont say why, but to dismiss losing one of the best interior lineman in the nfl is foolish. You can not lose a player of that caliber and think you wont miss a beat.

Bottom line:

Through the first month of the 2026 NFL regular season, the top 5 scoring offenses by average points per game (PPG) are :

1. Buffalo Bills – 31.8 PPG
2. Dallas Cowboys – 30.5 PPG (tied)
3. San Francisco 49ers – 30.5 PPG (tied)
4. Carolina Panthers – 30.3 PPG
5. Detroit Lions – 29.8 PPG

and that is with our atrocious line and below avg TE......smh

You apparently missed the part where they ran the ball really well with Bass replacing Smith last year.

 

[BlindFaith]

Tendencies -
We introduced a new offense and new run game concepts last year. Defenses have picked up on the tendencies. We are too predictable.

Play Action - Dak doesnt like being under center. Most run plays are out of shotgun. Much easier for a defense to see the ball. No illusion of a pass.

Offensive philosophy - Shoddy says he wants to run. But I think hes much more about passing. Especially now he has Lamb and Pickens.

Dak - Changing out of designed run plays. And I think defenses bait him into doing it now.

And to be fair, as mentioned, our first 4 games were against some salty D lines.

Oh, and play calling - Shoddy gets to cute with 4 or 5 plays a game that never seem to work. Gets us behind the chains.

 

[Stash]

I want to see more of Goodson. He’s got some juice to his game.

I was surprised not to see him yesterday.

 

[BlindFaith]

I was surprised not to see him yesterday.

He played. Had 1 nice run. The other 3 or 4 were mostly no gains or a loss.

 

[Gonzomandela01]

The big boys upfront are getting a push, a faster back would be sprinting through them. Javonte is good but the D has keyed on him, they know his tendencies and pace, sprinkle in more Goodson to disrupt them.

 

[McKDaddy]

Tendencies -
We introduced a new offense and new run game concepts last year. Defenses have picked up on the tendencies. We are too predictable.

Play Action - Dak doesnt like being under center. Most run plays are out of shotgun. Much easier for a defense to see the ball. No illusion of a pass.

Offensive philosophy - Shoddy says he wants to run. But I think hes much more about passing. Especially now he has Lamb and Pickens.

Dak - Changing out of designed run plays. And I think defenses bait him into doing it now.

And to be fair, as mentioned, our first 4 games were against some salty D lines.

Oh, and play calling - Shoddy gets to cute with 4 or 5 plays a game that never seem to work. Gets us behind the chains.

Nice Post!!

 

[BlindFaith]

The big boys upfront are getting a push, a faster back would be sprinting through them. Javonte is good but the D has keyed on him, they know his tendencies and pace, sprinkle in more Goodson to disrupt them.

Yeah, more or less.

Most teams use a zone blocking scheme the majority of time. Defenses have figured ours out. Those cut back lanes arent there and they dont respects Williams speed enough to play honest on the back side.

 

[Reid1boys]

You apparently missed the part where they ran the ball really well with Bass replacing Smith last year.

apparently you missed the part that Smith is one of the best in the NFL. Why not release smith since we dont or shouldnt miss him?

 

[Stash]

He played. Had 1 nice run. The other 3 or 4 were mostly no gains or a loss.

Oh. I’m not sure how I missed that.

Thanks

 

[HonoluluCowboy]

3.3 a carry yesterday for our lead back. Struggled in 3 of the 4 games to get the run going. Why? You can't say it's the Tyler Smith injury. We had very productive rushing performances with Bass filling in last year.

We have good run blockers across the board.



I know the OC is a run specialist too. I would immediately point to the running back but we ran it well last year with him.

I can't figure out why it has been such an issue this year.

Williams is severely Overrated . Their was a reason he was a bargain pick up. Fluky numbers last year .

 

[Kwyn]

It was discussed by some posters in the off season but it was an unpopular opinion.

Williams had a career year and was unlikely to repeat. The offensive line brought everyone back and while Book and Guyton can show incremental improvement, Bass, Beebe and Steele are average or worse.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise that they are struggling but hopefully once Smith returns they can do a bit better.

 

[gtb1943]

The running game was better yesterday than the raw data shows. Williams' average got killed by all those goal line carries that got stuffed before he finally got in. His yards per carry would have been closer to 5 if not for all those.

it is the fact that we got stuffed so much in short yardage that shows the problem