Run game

[fenderbender123]

Although Geno showed he can lead us to victory in the passing game, I have to wonder how long play action passes will continue to work without the threat of busting long running plays.

I think Walker will need to continue to get touches, to prove that he is a threat to break a tackle or two and bust a long one on any given play. If we stop feeding him, the passing game may suffer.

Our run game was "okay" yesterday. However we more or less abandoned it late in the game, which was especially confusing when our goal was to just run out the clock.

 

[AgentDib]

Walker continues to be a high variance back in part due to his patience. There were a few plays where he could have gotten a bit more if had hit the hole more quickly, but that was more than offset by the plays where his vision and hesitation turned nothing into something. He's what you want in a first down back.

Situationally, Walker had 19 yards on 14 attempts in the A gaps, C gaps and right side B gap. He rushed three times in the left B gap (between Forsythe and Lewis) and picked up 24 yards. That's too small of a sample size to draw conclusions from but it's still interesting that he had more success where our run blocking appeared weaker.

I liked what I saw from Charbonnet but I wish they'd mix him in a bit more. He ran hard on his handful of carries but also had some very solid pickups in pass protection.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

I think a rotation of Charbs and Walker will end up being key for the next few games. THey do need to get them both touches and not concern themselves about stats. That will come with them getting touches. 8 minute drives keeps the defense on the field for the other team and that leads to more scores than they have.

I guess you cant win it in the 4th quarter no more. LMAO

 

[Dvl Dug]

That's an 82 yard effort I can live with.
Hawk's could punch the all through the middle of Detroit's line for short yardage when they needed it.
Both TD's would have gone for a lot more yardage if they had happened in the middle of the field.
These traits become more valuable later in the year as it gets colder.

 

[kidhawk]

It's definitely not the run game we had with Lynch, but I was happy with short yardage gains when needed. I have to think that having 2 back up tackles and a mid-game replacement at Center would make it more difficult for the running backs. The best running backs know how their line blocks and they know what to expect. It must be nearly impossible to get a proper read with 60% of the line being guys they rarely run behind.

 

[sutz]

Run game is not where I hoped it would be this season...yet. I'm willing to be patient, though. As long as we're winning, I can deal with some soft stats in some areas. I think they'll get there. Losing our starting tackles didn't just hurt the pass protection.

 

[Lagartixa]

Although Geno showed he can lead us to victory in the passing game, I have to wonder how long play action passes will continue to work without the threat of busting long running plays.

It's been shown in multiple studies that play action is effective whether or not the team's running attack is good, and whether or not the team has been running a lot. One of the best studies showing this was on FootballOutsiders, but FO has died, so I can't give you a link to it.

This article has a little bit of info.

 

[fenderbender123]

Interesting. Good read.

RIP Football Outsiders

 

[Mad Dog]

There is ample analytics evidence that play action is effective even without a standout run game. All you have to do is show the defense a willingness to run. Once you abandon the run, then teams are less likely to bite.


Edit: I guess I should have read Lagartixa's post first. What they said.

 

[knownone]

I've mentioned this before; the evidence suggests that—in most cases—it doesn't require an effective running game to get players to bite on the fake. However, if you can't run the ball, and a defense knows you can't, it becomes a coachable issue. That's why teams like the Niners aren't getting abused by PA regularly. And one of the reasons coaches—that lean too heavily into the analytics of PA—get shut down by good defenses (I'm looking at you, Stefanski).

 

[LTH]

I've mentioned this before; the evidence suggests that—in most cases—it doesn't require an effective running game to get players to bite on the fake. However, if you can't run the ball, and a defense knows you can't, it becomes a coachable issue. That's why teams like the Niners aren't getting abused by PA regularly. And one of the reasons coaches—that lean too heavily into the analytics of PA—get shut down by good defenses (I'm looking at you, Stefanski).

I dont think that stone's strength is the run game nor Curhan...so I think until they getcross back or Peter's the run game is not going to be as good as it might be otherwise but it really doesn't matter short term as long as they keep running the ball those play action passes will still be effective IMO


LTH