RonnieT24
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I never got why we don't run Zeke out of wide formations instead bringing the extra TEs in to clutter it all up. Both would be nice, etc.
Actually it's the other way around.. We run Zeke out of shotgun spread TOO much. It has been over 40% of his carries coming into yesterday's game. The reason it doesn't work is simple.. When he's in the game the defense doesn't believe you're going to do anything EXCEPT give him the ball. So they all run to him the minute the ball is snapped. When Pollard's in the game and we go spread the defense is thinking pass and playing pass. When we give it to him in those formations the defense is far less likely to be run blitzing, affording him more opportunity to get to the second level untouched. I mean the TD he went untouched.. Not one defender even got a finger on him. The one guy who could have apparently had a brain freeze and stood flat footed as Pollard ran by. The problem with bringing in all those TEs is that none of them is really any great shakes at blocking. In fact they kinda suck at it. So all bringing them in does is clog things up. They often completely whiff on their man forcing Zeke to beat a man the second he takes the handoff. I think our most successful runs come out of one TE sets.. We also don't have "great" blockers at receiver either. Lamb did a good job on Pollard's run but generally our receivers let the guy go too soon and their man makes the tackle ..