Another key point Rudy made:
Teams are playing heavy cover 2 man because they're confident they can rush Brad with 4, and they know he's not a threat to take off. Richt is trying to run teams out of the two deep look so Brad can see more single-high coverage, but we're not really making teams pay. It's forcing WRs to beat press coverage and Brad to make tight throws. The results have been inconsistent.
He suggested we use Njoku/Hernon on more deep routes, as well as going to some 4 and 5-WR sets to get some favorable one-and-one matchups and get the ball out quick.
I thought his analysis was on point, especially the part about cover 2 man.
I didn't listen to the interview, but this is exactly what I see as the issue.
Against the more talented defenses, we don't consistently win the battle at the LOS to force another defender down. And teams are better able to defend our passing game with 2-high.
Teams play us with single high when they blitz, and they're getting there fast enough to throw our timing off. So, we don't make them pay by breaking pass plays.
Rick is letting teams tee off on us by constantly getting us in 2nd and 3rd and long and by not testing defenses deep often enough to keep them honest. He can also put more WRs on the field to get defenses out of that phone booth.
I feel like a broken record, but maybe we wouldn’t be in these 2nd & 3rd and long situations if we weren’t giving the ball to Walton so **** much.
Walton over the last 4 games:
- 69 Carries
- 46 Carries (67%) have gone for 3 yards or less
- 3 Carries (4%) have gone for 10 yards or more
Yikes