For the 'Bailey Broke Down' Mythbusters

[orangenirvana]

For those of you who think the notion that Bailey wore down as the season progressed in 2011 is a myth, Hackett disagrees with you:

"Antwon Bailey's biggest issue was there was nobody behind him, so [he] couldn't play as fast as he wanted to because he was so tired. Now there are a lot of guys, there are going to be fresh legs all doing the things that they do best. So it's an exciting time for that position."

Hmmm...

Like I was saying last week...despite Bailey's departure, the Running Back position as a whole has been upgraded.

Edit: Just realized this was posted on espn.com days ago, so my bad if this was already posted/discussed.

 

[OmahaCuse]

Interesting. What I am not understandig is that Smith was 100% healthy last year? All of the sudden he is a great option, sounds like they mis managed the position last year by only giving him 9 carries?

 

[PhatOrange]

Interesting. What I am not understandig is that Smith was 100% healthy last year? All of the sudden he is a great option, sounds like they mis managed the position last year by only giving him 9 carries?

I think Smith had more than 9 carries. Whenever they did run him though it seemed to be between the guards and he'd get stuffed in the middle of a pile.

What hurt the RB situation was PTG getting injured. The fkd everything.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Smith had 37 carries FWIW.

 

[OmahaCuse]

Gulley gone hurts but again if Smith is the man this year something does not jive. He should have had alot more carries last year, they mis used the RB position in IMO.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Gulley gone hurts but again if Smith is the man this year something does not jive. He should have had alot more carries last year, they mis used the RB position in IMO.

Smith was coming back from concussion issues as a Soph. Not sure how that effected him the prior offseason. Gulley was just showing up and got hurt. AAM was fat. There wasn't alot of confidence in RBs behind Bailey and dont know that there should've been. Collier should've been the guy along with Bailey last year as a sr and losing him killed RB depth the past 2 years.

Smith is healthy and appears much stronger. Gulley is healthy. AAM is down from fat to puffy. A year older in the system knowing the offense probably helps slow the game down a bit for all of them. Anything from Broyld and Morris is a bonus. Hopefully we see more of a rotation this year.

 

[kcsu]

I think Smith had more than 9 carries. Whenever they did run him though it seemed to be between the guards and he'd get stuffed in the middle of a pile.

What hurt the RB situation was PTG getting injured. The fkd everything.

Hack miss managed the entire season last year. PTG burning the redshirt, Slant patterns at the goal line to a rookie, you name it he had a very rough year. I see this as his first true year of being an OC so lets hope that he lives up to his press clippings. Good to see him being so well liked by players and recruits. I truly believe he would be a great position coach. Just not ready for OC yet.

 

[RMH44]

Hack miss managed the entire season last year. PTG burning the redshirt, Slant patterns at the goal line to a rookie, you name it he had a very rough year. I see this as his first true year of being an OC so lets hope that he lives up to his press clippings. Good to see him being so well liked by players and recruits. I truly believe he would be a great position coach. Just not ready for OC yet.

PTG was a soph last year. I think you mean Moore...right?

 

[rocklloyd]

Isn't this why players break down? Because they are overused? The cupboards were bare, but like others said there was smith who could have gone for more than 37 carries, AAM was out of shape but maybe could have helped more. I don't know, I dont think we were creative enough and maybe it stemmed from line play issues. Can't be creative if the defense is in face at the snap.

 

[tep624]

PTG was a soph last year. I think you mean Moore...right?

Has to be. I was going to post the same thing.

 

[SoBristol]

Smith was coming back from concussion issues as a Soph. Not sure how that effected him the prior offseason. Gulley was just showing up and got hurt. AAM was fat. There wasn't alot of confidence in RBs behind Bailey and dont know that there should've been. Collier should've been the guy along with Bailey last year as a sr and losing him killed RB depth the past 2 years.

. . . .

Smith was held back by injury issues.
It is obvious the coaches (Hackett/Marrone/Wheatley) felt Bailey (even when used a lot) was better than any other options once Gulley was out. You have to respect that judgment -- in practice, they see what the back-ups can do.

You can add up the contributing causes: lack of a running QB to share the load (UConn ran its back-up QB to beat us; Daniels of USF is better than having a second RB; Cincy's back-up QB got yardage running the ball against us); the available wing backs (Kobena & Graham) weren't effective as runners on counters or end-arounds; Rene too small; our FB was OK on swing passes but not effective as an inside runner; Gulley's injury; in recruiting, coaches whiffed on RBs (Timbers? Smallwood? Broyld to Milford; AAM too hefty); coaches did not bring in a JUCO RB once Collier's issues were known.

We seem to have better depth now -- but barely. An injury to Smith would leave us with a hole.

 

[Czar]

Smith was held back by injury issues.
It is obvious the coaches (Hackett/Marrone/Wheatley) felt Bailey (even when used a lot) was better than any other options once Gulley was out. You have to respect that judgment -- in practice, they see what the back-ups can do.

And yet they still burned AAM's redshirt.

 

[SmilinBob]

In my orange world I'm hoping that Smith will do well and backups will push hard for playing time because they are hungry and playing well in practice. I really do feel that one of the 4 rbs Smith, Gulley, Moore or Morris...will surprise us and play very well, not solid but really put up some good numbers. Sometimes it just takes getting some reps and confidence and I think we saw a touch of that with Gulley just before he got hurt. The defense will get the offense the ball more often this year and these guys will get their shot at proving to us they are good college rb's.

 

[SoBristol]

And yet they still burned AAM's redshirt.

Do you feel that will make a lot of difference in 2015? By then, I would hope that we will have recruited over AAM or at least matched him as we upgrade recruiting.
For 2012, it didn't hurt that AAM was pushed to be ready last season, even if only for a few carries in the back half of the year.

 

[SoBristol]

In my orange world I'm hoping that Smith will do well and backups will push hard for playing time because they are hungry and playing well in practice. I really do feel that one of the 4 rbs Smith, Gulley, Moore or Morris...will surprise us and play very well, not solid but really put up some good numbers. Sometimes it just takes getting some reps and confidence and I think we saw a touch of that with Gulley just before he got hurt. The defense will get the offense the ball more often this year and these guys will get their shot at proving to us they are good college rb's.

Yes -- there is talent in that list of four backs, and you can add Broyld. If they all stay healthy, we should be OK. I expect to see a lot of formations where we use two RBs in the backfield, with Smith and Moore being the inside runners; and Gulley, Morris & Broyld adding flexibility as wing-backs.
When you break it out that way, we have some depth but not a lot. We have been lucky in recent years that Brinkley, Carter and Bailey stayed free of injuries.

 

[orangenirvana]

Interesting. What I am not understandig is that Smith was 100% healthy last year? All of the sudden he is a great option, sounds like they mis managed the position last year by only giving him 9 carries?

Well, fwiw, JSmith was the team's leading rusher in the final game of the season (Pitt). With 8 less carries than Bailey (10 to Bailey's 18).

So he probably struggled with injuries throughout the season and maybe was finally healthy in November?

 

[Millhouse]

he went 27 carries for 135 the 2nd to last game of the year.

i guess he broke down, got healthy, and then broke down again.

this is just spin. we don't have a clear starter at running back. the coaches are going to talk that up like it's some kind of benefit. if we share the ball no one will break down! i don't blame them for saying this

 

[SoBristol]

he went 27 carries for 135 the 2nd to last game of the year.

i guess he broke down, got healthy, and then broke down again.

this is just spin. we don't have a clear starter at running back. the coaches are going to talk that up like it's some kind of benefit...

I agree with some of that -- Bailey was effective most of the year, so "broke down" is a big overstatement. On the other hand, the team's running game would have been more effective (my opinion) if we had a running QB, a back-up to Bailey, and a wing-back who could contribute several carries per game. Mix it up -- give Bailey an occasional breather.
For this season, Smith is the clear starter. As long as he and Gulley are healthy, we are in good shape, we have more in reserve than last season, and a weapon in Broyld. Don't see where that is spin. But, at the same time, it just approaches the depth that most rivals have.

 

[sutomcat]

For those of you who think the notion that Bailey wore down as the season progressed in 2011 is a myth, Hackett disagrees with you:

"Antwon Bailey's biggest issue was there was nobody behind him, so [he] couldn't play as fast as he wanted to because he was so tired. Now there are a lot of guys, there are going to be fresh legs all doing the things that they do best. So it's an exciting time for that position."

Hmmm...

Like I was saying last week...despite Bailey's departure, the Running Back position as a whole has been upgraded.

Edit: Just realized this was posted on espn.com days ago, so my bad if this was already posted/discussed.

I for one agree that Bailey didn't really break down last season. He just didn't get the job done well all season long. I have a lot of respect for him, great kid, clearly worked his butt off and got everything he could out of the talent that was given to him.

IMHO, a big objective of the offense last year was to get the ball to Bailey in space and give him the opportunity to make plays. He had a lot of touches and a lot of good opportunities to make big plays and he ocassionally did. But far more often than not, he was not able to beat his man one on one and got a modest gain instead of a big gain. He just did not have the speed or the strength to beat defenders one on one and that really hurt the efficiency of the offense.

One of the biggest factors that will determine if the offense works this year is whether we can find a RB (or RBs) who can make plays, who can consistently beat someone in front of them to turn 5 yard plays into big plays. The same applies to the TE position. Provo had many chances to play big plays if he could just beat one safety or linebacker in the open field and just could not do it. WRs too.

One last thing: throw the ball to Lemon. A lot. He was almost ignored in a bunch of games last year...that can't happen this season. He is way ahead of the other WRs on the team and the play calling should reflect that.

 

[Aweart23]

he went 27 carries for 135 the 2nd to last game of the year.

i guess he broke down, got healthy, and then broke down again.

this is just spin. we don't have a clear starter at running back. the coaches are going to talk that up like it's some kind of benefit. if we share the ball no one will break down! i don't blame them for saying this

That was after a bye week...and is exactly the point...Ant wore down

Its amazing what two weeks off and fresh legs will do for a running back

 

[RMH44]

I for one agree that Bailey didn't really break down last season. He didn't get the job done well all season long. I have a lot of respect for him, he clearly worked his butt off and get everything he could out of the talent that was given to him.

IMHO, a big objective of the offense last year was to get the ball to Bailey in space and give him the opportunity to make plays. He had a lot of touches and a lot of good opportunities to make big plays and he ocassionally did. But far more often than not, he was not able to beat his man one on one and got a modest gain instead of a big gain. He just did not have the speed or the strength to beat defenders one on one and that really hurt the efficiency of the offense.

One of the biggest factors that will determine if the offense works this year is whether we can find a RB (or RBs) who can make plays, who can consistently beat someone in front of them to turn 5 yard plays into big plays. The same applies to the TE position. Provo had many chances to play big plays if he could just beat one safety or linebacker in the open field and just could not do it. WRs too.

One last thing: throw the ball to Lemon. A lot. He was almost ignored in a bunch of games last year...that can't happen this season. He is way ahead of the other WRs on the team and the play calling should reflect that.

I agree with most of this. Bailey has better than average straight line speed but he lacks the "wiggle" in space that leads to big plays whether it's YAC or a running play. He played with tremendous heart and got the most out of his abilities...and he is a great young man to boot. Best of luck to him!

 

[orangenirvana]

"Broke down" was a poor choice of wording on my part. My fault. He didn't break down. A more accurate term would be "wore down."

 

[All4SU]

And yet they still burned AAM's redshirt.

Don't redshirt anyone. Except maybe linemen. Get everyone out there. You've got 4 years. Tell a kid "You're in the mix. You're not going to be redshirted. Work hard and earn some playing time." When our roster is loaded with 4* and 5* recruits, then we can worry about redshirting guys.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

One last thing: throw the ball to Lemon. A lot. He was almost ignored in a bunch of games last year...that can't happen this season. He is way ahead of the other WRs on the team and the play calling should reflect that.

This is true.

 

[BORZAK]

Yes, in a couple years I would like to think we recruit player better than we have why red shirt any skill guys.