Still very concerned with our ground game......

[thekimmer]

Have not been able to run the football despite having a VERY good all-SEC, 2 year Heisman candidate, 5th year Sr, dual threat QB. Say what you will about Shump and Holloway. Dak's inability to run is very troubling.

On the other side of the ball we have proven we can be gritty and tough but very slow to get up to speed against good competition and struggle staying focused. .

Both of these results in an alarming time of possession deficit averaging almost a full quarter per game that will take its toll in fatigue and injury.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

Join the club about the running game. You still can't expect even an awesome athlete to be able to run if the OL can't block. Dak ran well against Texas A&M, so we have the ability, just haven't been consistent whatsoever.

The time of possession is very troubling. Troy had it for 40min. Some of that was bc the punt return, defensive TD and also they had a loooong drive to open the 3rd Q, but it mostly does come down to our inability to run the ball. Texas A&M shows you don't have to win TOP to win. They openly say they don't give two ***** about TOP.

Back to Dak, I heard he may have a reaggrevated sports hernia. I heard Bo Bounds mention it a few weeks back, but haven't heard anyone on here say anything about it. I'm not in the camp saying he's a bad runner this year. I haven't really even seen him try to run very much. He runs into a mass of humanity when he tries bc the OL can't block. I'm not gonna say he's not a good runner yet, but the hernia speculation could have some legs to it?

 

[Sutterkane]

In lopsided games TOP doesn't matter. It basically means that the other team had the ball a lot because you're scoring quickly on bigger plays.

 

[patdog]

I'm even more concerned after last Saturday. Considering who we were playing, that was about the worst performance I've seen of running the ball.

 

[patdog]

We scored quickly on a lot of plays, but we had 6 possessions of 5 or fewer plays and 16 or fewer yards. That's WAY too many against a team like Troy.

 

[ShrubDog]

33 rushes for 125 yards against a scrub team is terrible. We tried to run and could not get a hole. The shotgun formation has eliminated the good ol toss sweep.

I like what LSU does with the quick toss instead of handing it off when under center...but that is LSU.

2 of 10 on 3rd down is terribleness. We have absolutely no muscle to get it done on short yardage 3rd-4th and 1's.


Running Backs

21 rushes for 71 yards

 

[patdog]

Throw out the meaningless last play of the game and it's 102 yards on 32 rushes.

 

[fishwater99]

Our OL can't run block very well. They do okay in pass protection.
We need to put Shump in at FB to block, and run the ball with another back, this would really help our running game out.
The problem with that is that it's not Dan's offense, and he won't adapt to fit the players he has.
Why not?

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Our OL looks like they're a second behind on run blocking. Our WRs do better run blocking than our OL.

 

[CoastDawg18]

Have not been able to run the football despite having a VERY good all-SEC, 2 year Heisman candidate, 5th year Sr, dual threat QB. Say what you will about Shump and Holloway. Dak's inability to run is very troubling.

On the other side of the ball we have proven we can be gritty and tough but very slow to get up to speed against good competition and struggle staying focused. .

Both of these results in an alarming time of possession deficit averaging almost a full quarter per game that will take its toll in fatigue and injury.

Just accept it and move on. It won't change this year.

 

[ShrubDog]

I wonder if we have to many academy players on the OL.

 

[drt7891]

Dak can't be productive running when we don't have a running back a defense respects. Our offensive scheme is built squarely on the read option. When you eliminate an option (don't have a good running back that forces a defense to respect), it completely eliminates the running game.

Put like this... As a defense, why waste your time worrying about a running back if he likely can't beat you, anyway? Dak is the cog in the wheel, so emphasis is put on pressuring him. To date, he's done remarkably well, I think. But it's why he hasn't been effective running this year.

 

[ShrubDog]

I see what your saying but when its 3rd and 1 you can through all of that out the window. Its muscle on muscle and we cant gain an inch.

 

[msstate7]

Dak vs aTm...
18 carries 110 yards 1 td

I'm very frustrated with our running game Saturday, but we ran for over 200 the week before vs an sec team. I'll watch a few more games before I freak out, but I am concerned to say the least

 

[fishwater99]

Dak vs aTm...
18 carries 110 yards 1 td

I'm very frustrated with our running game Saturday, but we ran for over 200 the week before vs an sec team. I'll watch a few more games before I freak out, but I am concerned to say the least[/QUOTE


Dak is our only real running game right now, and that is not good.

 

[drt7891]

This goes much deeper than Dak. Dak has done what he can do so far, and no one is griping about his production (including me). I'm concerned that he has zero help from someone else in the running game. We can't win games when Dak is getting twice the yards as the next guy whose lone job is to carry the football.

Our offense is built on balance (not just run/pass, but in the rush attack, too). We don't have that. I'm actually pleasantly surprised our passing attack has been as productive as it has been, but you can't be consistent without a run game. Dak needs help and someone has to step up. So far, no one has.

 

[Seinfeld]

Pretty much. When Holloway is in the game, it typically opens things up a bit, but it is painfully obvious that teams have zero respect for Shump, and why should they have any? Even when the entire LB group is blitzing or spying Dak, the D line barely has to slide over and bump into Shump in order to take him off his feet and even if he does somehow break one into the secondary(which is a rarity), a safety can close a 20 yard gap on him in about 2 seconds, stopping him for an 7 yard gain. It's a risk vs reward situation for an opposing defense, and there is virtually zero risk when he is in the game.

 

[drt7891]

Exactly. If Holloway can get to the outside, he's dangerous, but he's pretty useless between the tackles. Shump is just not good anywhere. At all. No one has to account for him beating them, so they don't have to concern themselves with it. The biggest difference in last year and this year is J-Rob. You could count on him getting enough yards to keep us ahead of the chains and keep defenses on their heels. It also opened running lanes for Dak. This year, we are forced to go through the air to get those yards, and it changes things quite a bit because now, the only way Dak can really beat anyone is with his arm.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I think it's o-line and Dak never keeping it on the read "option". Can't count the number of times he's given to the back and watched him run into a pile while Dak headed toward open space. Opponenets seem to collapse on the running back plenty often. Since Dak doesn't keep it any more I think he's given less attention at this point in the season.

 

[drt7891]

I don't think it's oline as much as you think. Not having a decent running back that can threaten a defense is killing the offense. Without a running back, it's pretty easy to decide who to go after.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I think that you'd just see a FB running into the back of our O-line and a RB running into the back of a FB instead of just a RB running into the back of the OL. We could technically gain less yardage per play by the amount of one fullback's width or length!

This explains why Mark Ingram looked awesome at Alabama, he was running behind a line that cleared the first 4 yards of every run. There is almost always a reason that a cliche saying exists and "it's won in the trenches" is one of those that has merit.

 

[KeyserSoze1999]

Right now we should go with some wide option plays with Holloway and Dear. Use their speed to turn the corner and use our Big WRs to block the DBs.

The only way we can run inside the Tackles at the moment is with a pulling Guard and a Lead Blocker---and I nominate Shumpert to be the Lead Blocker and anyone NOT named Shumpert or Holloway to be the Ball Carrier when running inside.

 

[BAurelius]

Yes! This could win atleast 2 more games and keep Dak healthy. I nominate Keyser to step in as O coordinator - please!

Right now we should go with some wide option plays with Holloway and Dear. Use their speed to turn the corner and use our Big WRs to block the DBs.

The only way we can run inside the Tackles at the moment is with a pulling Guard and a Lead Blocker---and I nominate Shumpert to be the Lead Blocker and anyone NOT named Shumpert or Holloway to be the Ball Carrier when running inside.

 

[KeyserSoze1999]

Coordinator going rate is about $100,000 to $500,000 per Google---and most run Suck arse Offense.

Just pay me $55,000 with some health benefits, little office, and a close parking spot---I guarantee I could Suck arse just as much as the $500,000 OCs for 1/10 the price.**