16 rushes for 19 yards.

[Fox0r]

We had less rushing yards than flags thrown in the game.

Wow.

 

[nwHawk]

Hahahahaha. Glad this front office improved the tranches!!!

 

[James in PA]

Embarrassing. Just disgusting.

 

[Fox0r]

Hahahahaha. Glad this front office improved the tranches!!!

So can our new MLB run block? Asking for a friend. Oh, weird. Their RB had over 100 yards rushing. I don't even know anymore. Need more dirtbags.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Now you know why we pass so much.

 

[nwHawk]

So can our new MLB run block? Asking for a friend. Oh, weird. Their RB had over 100 yards rushing. I don't even know anymore. Need more dirtbags.

New player in a premium position surrounded by new teammates… give him a few weeks.

The Hawks offensive line issues are John”s to own. This team needs better guards.

 

[SeAhAwKeR4life]

It's games like this that make me see K9 as a less than average running back. What's so special about him? He breaks one now and then like a blind squirrel gets a nut, but in general shows nothing.

Other teams with bad O lines, but good running backs still get production out of their backs.

K9 is average at best. It's time for the fanbase to accept that.

 

[oldhawkfan]

It's games like this that make me see K9 as a less than average running back. What's so special about him? He breaks one now and then like a blind squirrel gets a nut, but in general shows nothing.

Other teams with bad O lines, but good running backs still get production out of their backs.

K9 is average at best. It's time for the fanbase to accept that.

It’s the line

 

[Maelstrom787]

It's the line, but the reason that it's the line is the coaching.

It's amateur hour. No one is moving in synergy with everyone else. They can't run any of the running plays cleanly - you'll have guys doubling the wrong bodies, you'll have WRs screwing up and letting a DB blow up the edge, and the timing on motion is so screwed up that it's actually a detriment more than it's a utility.

I'm sorry, but installing the offense is on the coaches. We've got ENOUGH talent to run the ball. Williams is a proven competent blocker. Tomlinson is a vet who has always been average at WORST. Bradford was always sloppy in pass sets but he's a strong ass road grader. Cross is... actually pretty damn good. Barner and Brown are both plus blockers at TE. K9 is a legit talent at RB.

There is no earthly reason that this personnel should be STOPPING us from running the ball successfully. The truth is that we have an extreme void of experience on the staff, the installation of the offense has been fairly obviously botched, and there's no one there to right the ship with an experienced steady hand. Grubb and Co. are in a sink/swim scenario without an old pro to lean on.

This offense is the same one that we saw as a potential juggernaut based on 2022 and 2023. A capable offensive coach would have them looking like a fairly dangerous unit. We'll have to wait and see whether or not Grubb has what it takes, but early returns are far from reassuring.

 

[pittpnthrs]

It's the line, but the reason that it's the line is the coaching.

It's amateur hour. No one is moving in synergy with everyone else. They can't run any of the running plays cleanly - you'll have guys doubling the wrong bodies, you'll have WRs screwing up and letting a DB blow up the edge, and the timing on motion is so screwed up that it's actually a detriment more than it's a utility.

I'm sorry, but installing the offense is on the coaches. We've got ENOUGH talent to run the ball. Williams is a proven competent blocker. Tomlinson is a vet who has always been average at WORST. Bradford was always sloppy in pass sets but he's a strong ass road grader. Cross is... actually pretty damn good. Barner and Brown are both plus blockers at TE. K9 is a legit talent at RB.

There is no earthly reason that this personnel should be STOPPING us from running the ball successfully. The truth is that we have an extreme void of experience on the staff, the installation of the offense has been fairly obviously botched, and there's no one there to right the ship with an experienced steady hand. Grubb and Co. are in a sink/swim scenario without an old pro to lean on.

This offense is the same one that we saw as a potential juggernaut based on 2022 and 2023. A capable offensive coach would have them looking like a fairly dangerous unit. We'll have to wait and see whether or not Grubb has what it takes, but early returns are far from reassuring.

The Hawks were the 28th worse rushing team last season. They stink once again this season. Two complete different coaching staffs. What's the common denominator here?

 

[Boycie]

Hahahahaha. Glad this front office improved the tranches!!!

It's overvalued!

 

[James in PA]

The Hawks were the 28th worse rushing team last season. They stink once again this season. Two complete different coaching staffs. What's the common denominator here?

Oooh! I know! I know!

He played Bo on The Dukes of Hazzard!

 

[CouchLogic]

Hahahahaha. Glad this front office improved the tranches!!!

They didn't though? I can't name a single offseason move that helped the OL...

They made lateral moves at best, so why on Earth are people shocked the OL is terrible?

 

[pittpnthrs]

They didn't though? I can't name a single offseason move that helped the OL...

They made lateral moves at best, so why on Earth are people shocked the OL is terrible?

I don't think anybody is. There was and still is a lot of holes to fill. The Oline is just the biggest one. Going to take time.

 

[bileever]

The problem is obvious. Since we have such a terrible rushing offense, the defense can't practice stopping the run. Since we have such a terrible rushing defense, the offense doesn't get to practice running the ball. LOL.

 

[Shane Falco]

The Hawks were the 28th worse rushing team last season. They stink once again this season. Two complete different coaching staffs. What's the common denominator here?

I agree. The line was bad last season too. Cross had a sophomore slump + got injured, Lucas was injured and looked horrible when he did try to come back. And the interior was never great. I'd say Damien Lewis probably looks like an all-pro compared to these current guys, but still not great.

We we're having the same issues all last season as this season. In fact, it's mirror image if you ask me. Getting dominated in the trenches by the best teams. That's why the ups and downs.

 

[bileever]

We are now 29th in rushing offense. The 49ers are 3rd, using running backs named Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo.

 

[Maelstrom787]

The Hawks were the 28th worse rushing team last season. They stink once again this season. Two complete different coaching staffs. What's the common denominator here?

I don't like being this reductive when it comes to identifying root cause issues.

The starting line now is almost entirely different than it was the majority of last year. The coaching staff is entirely different. Why would I try to reduce my conclusion into an exercise in finding a correlation and then forcing myself to think of it as causation?

There IS a common denominator that I think is the biggest cause of their troubles though, and that's overall poorly coached and poorly developed offensive linemen. I think the last good line coach we had was Solari, and we ran the piss out of it when he was here. To great result. Without premium investment on the OL.

 

[knownone]

The Hawks were the 28th worse rushing team last season. They stink once again this season. Two complete different coaching staffs. What's the common denominator here?

In what metric? In 2023, they were 14th in Rushing EPA and 15th in SR. Currently, they are 29th in EPA and 28th in SR.

I've been eviscerated on Discord all week as the resident Grubb defender. He's done great things in the passing game for Geno and DK, but I haven't found a good argument for the dramatic decline in rushing.

 

[sutz]

The problem is obvious. Since we have such a terrible rushing offense, the defense can't practice stopping the run. Since we have such a terrible rushing defense, the offense doesn't get to practice running the ball. LOL.

It's far from unusual. If you look around the league, teams that can't run well can't stop the run very well either.