Biggest worry bead - Run game

[GoSU96]

Justin Pugh ain't walking through that door.

They need to figure out a way to get more success on first down. They've been great in the redzone, very productive, but overall it's still less than 4 yds per carry for the season. They should have been able to run it down Wagner's and Tulane's throat and they didn't end up above 5yds per in either game.

Hopefully the Hunt can play very well and that lossens things up, but if they don't get more production running the ball, they aren't going to make it to six or seven wins.

 

[javadoc]

Any sense on how good a coach our new OL guy is? Going from two good coaches down to one, whose quality we don't really know, could be an issue.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Jerome Smith.

I'm still not even sure how good the guy really is. I just think he's been underutilized running the ball so far.

 

[OrangeTarheel]

I agree about the run game but I can't tell where the problem lies. I thought we were more successful running between the tackles last year but I could be wrong. To date I think the blocking by our WR's and TE's has been solid.

 

[upperdeck]

i think we are struggling to run more than people want to admit.. winning 2 games is hiding the avg running game.

 

[RF2044]

i think we are struggling to run more than people want to admit.. winning 2 games is hiding the avg running game.

Our OL isn't nearly as strong as it was last year. I've been pleasantly surprised by Foy--but he is a step down from what Hickey was at RT last year. And Hickey is a step down at LT than Pugh was last year.

Room for improvement, to be sure. Glad we have two weeks to iron out some kinks.

 

[Chip]

Justin Pugh ain't walking through that door.

They need to figure out a way to get more success on first down. They've been great in the redzone, very productive, but overall it's still less than 4 yds per carry for the season. They should have been able to run it down Wagner's and Tulane's throat and they didn't end up above 5yds per in either game.

Hopefully the Hunt can play very well and that lossens things up, but if they don't get more production running the ball, they aren't going to make it to six or seven wins.

Seems like we're improving when running on the perimeter. But between the tackles, nada. Not sure if there's a quick fix other than the OL having the game of their lives in 2 weeks. Maybe mixing in more Hunt keepers on the option to keep the defense honest.

 

[upperdeck]

after watching the 2 DE's for clemson last week i hope we have some play calling that helps. I dont see clemson being so out of position on WR sweeps and that was most of the NC st offense.

 

[supp]

Any sense on how good a coach our new OL guy is? Going from two good coaches down to one, whose quality we don't really know, could be an issue.

Past experience has told me to be wary of guys that wind up in the CFL! They don't look dysfunctional. We're not running as well as we did last year but that may be more because teams want to make the untested QB throw. So far so good. If Hunt keeps it up, we should be able to run better by default. I can't tell if they're employing new blocking schemes or not with this new offense.

 

[GoSU96]

Any sense on how good a coach our new OL guy is? Going from two good coaches down to one, whose quality we don't really know, could be an issue.

Perles is a career journeyman who didn't have a job last year.

One thing I've been very happy with is the pass protection. It was solid against PSU and NW and obviously the last two weeks no real pressure to speak of. And again, you can't say enough about the turnaround in the close redzone.

I'll admit part of my perspective is based on expectations from the second half of last year. First six games last year they averaged 127 yds per game and less than 4 yds per carry in five of six.

After Rutgers they flipped a switch and the snowball caught fire. They averaged 238 yds per game running the ball the last seven game. I was expecting something closer to that then what we have seen so far.

 

[RF2044]

I'll admit part of my perspective is based on expectations from the second half of last year. First six games last year they averaged 127 yds per game and less than 4 yds per carry in five of six.

After Rutgers they flipped a switch and the snowball caught fire. They averaged 238 yds per game running the ball the last seven game. I was expecting something closer to that then what we have seen so far.

I'll give you three guesses what was the main cause of that difference, and the first two don't count.

 

[sutomcat]

Justin Pugh ain't walking through that door.

They need to figure out a way to get more success on first down. They've been great in the redzone, very productive, but overall it's still less than 4 yds per carry for the season. They should have been able to run it down Wagner's and Tulane's throat and they didn't end up above 5yds per in either game.

Hopefully the Hunt can play very well and that lossens things up, but if they don't get more production running the ball, they aren't going to make it to six or seven wins.

True. If you are looking for reasons for hope, I think Trudo has been banged up pretty badly so far this year. Has had to leave games several times this year, has not been moving well.

Hoping that he can get healthy over the bye week and will be ready to go for Clemson. I think his health is one of the keys for a successful running game this season.

 

[anomander]

True. If you are looking for reasons for hope, I think Trudo has been banged up pretty badly so far this year. Has had to leave games several times this year, has not been moving well.

Hoping that he can get healthy over the bye week and will be ready to go for Clemson. I think his health is one of the keys for a successful running game this season.

I had a feeling something was wrong with him. I was expecting a break out year, but he has been pretty disappointing. We usually try running to his side, and he hasn't been good at the point of attack at all. He is better when he is pulling, but he can't seem to get any push straight ahead.

Surprisingly I was expecting this group to be more of a road grader type, but it's been the opposite. This group is actually very good in pass protection, but have struggled opening up holes, especially between the tackles.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I think the fact that we didn't run all that well on Wagner and Tulane leads me to believe that the issues may be personnel as well as scheme when it comes to the running game, tough to overcome both. The zone scheme not hitting home? Who knows, we will need to run the ball better to beat decent teams for sure