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Question for Dmoney regarding Lofton.

Juanmanuel V said:
Dmoney have you ever seen Lofton Carry the Ball at Practice? I get Jerome Bettis at Notre Dame Vibes when I see him with the Ball in his hands. That is a Bull Charging running the Ball.
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Watch from the 0:20 mark. He gets a direct snap on a fake punk in the Pop Tart bowl.

 
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AUcane said:
with a sprinkle of Bo Jackson.
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FrancisSawyer said:
In that case you wouldn't justify it. However there are those who feel Lofton is the best RB in the building. I don't have access to practice so I don't know either way. As a hypothetical, if we assume that Fletcher and Lyle are better RBs than Lofton, there is still that overall skill set possessed by Lofton that would behoove the coaches to integrate him completely into the offense(including the running game). What we would lose(theoretically) by giving Lofton 5 carries that would otherwise go to the other two we would gain from the type of plays Lofton could make that the others couldn't. Ultimately we don't need to justify anything. We're talking about giving playing time to a player who has done more that enough to earn it plus we are keeping the other RBs fresh for what could be a playoff run and a potentially long season.
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My gut says that he'll get some gadget plays here and there to put film out there and then he'll be used as a decoy to keep defenders eyes all over the map. But I think the likelihood is like @OrangeBowlMagic pointed out, that he won't have more than 75 touches. A lot of this likely depends on how Beck recovers and how the WRs play. If Trader for example turns into a star, I'd bet Dawson focuses more on Trader.
 
DMoney said:
All of the above. As far as touches, it would be a guess but I hope it's at least 5 targets and 5 carries a game.
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If he's our best player, that is way too low. Should be getting 8-10 carries and 6-8 targets minimum
 
grover said:
If the offense is running 70 snaps a game like last season, someone has to get the ball. I doubt Carson is keeping it more than Cam did. How would yo divvy up those snaps? If Lofton is truly the best player on the team, wouldn't you get him the ball 1 in 5 times or more?

Again, I am only going on what other people are saying. I haven't seen enough of Lofton to know he's that good. But if he is, then he should be getting a lot of touches.
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Cam didn't keep it very much at all. He only had 60 "carries", and in college, sacks count as a carry. We allowed 23 sacks as a team, so he "ran" the ball about 40 times, probably a tick less.

I think Beck will be about the same. He had 60 and 55 "carries" the last 2 years.

I think the offense will be very similar, again assuming Beck is fully healthy. He didn't come here and we didn't pay him to come here to play ball-control. Dawson is going to throw it, and throw it a lot. I do think we'll be *slightly* less throw-heavy that last year, simply because I think the pass-catcher group is going to take a small step back. So you're going to rely on Fletcher, Lyle, Lofton, and Pringle a little more now that Restrepo, George, Arroyo and Horton are gone.

I just don't really see 150 touches for a guy who really doesn't have one position, but if he's truly the best player on the team then yes they should feed him, obviously. I just struggle to see 5+ catches in every game, and how often are we lining this kid up in the backfield and running straight hand-offs to him when we have Fletcher and Lyle on the sideline?

Good problem to have for Dawson. I think Lofton will be very involved, I just don't think people realize how much 150 touches is for a kid who plays part-time running back. Again, Martinez had 161 total touches in the regular season last year. And he was the feature part of the running game for most of the season, definitely the last half. Double-digit carries in every game except Ball State.
 
Memnon said:
I don't think I've ever seen a player mythologized higher in a lead up to the season than yall have with Lofton.

He's essentially become Paul Bunyan now.
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I'd like to see Paul Bunyan's big *** work a sail concept. **** that overrated clown.
 
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I appreciate people saying he’s our best RB

If Mario had Adrian Peterson he would cap him at 8 carries a game so I can’t imagine Lofton getting a ton of reps

We got 3 backs that are gonna demand carries and we know how that’s gonna go
 
This thread is turning into a classic example of fans who think games can be called like Madden and anticipate coaches getting super creative but reality being coaches doing coach things and keeping things largely basic instead to the disappointment of the fans. I mean, guys, look at how Brashard was used by Dawson. It was largely unsatisfying.
 
Thoughtsoncanes said:
How do you see him getting the majority of his touches this year? You see him as primarily a pass catcher or you think he gets the ball out of backfield a lot as well? Also how many touches a game do you think the coaches shoot for with him?
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One can only hope for TE screens, throw backs (Syracuse favorite play), flare/wheel routes with a LB chasing him in coverage. All of these after being the lead blocker on our running plays.
 
The return of “Fullback in the flats, bro!”
 
AlexCane said:
I was going to post the same thing. The comp is weird because, well, you know, but in terms of playing style, at UF and at NE with Gronk, those teams found creative ways to get him the football.

Lofton is also like a roided up Quad Hill except teams don’t have H-backs anymore. Lofton is more talented but I remember Quad contributing in different ways.
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Yeah I was being dead *** serious w the comp playing wise.

Hernandez was a psycho, but dude was a legit Swiss army knife.
 
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supersaiyanshel said:
Yeah I was being dead *** serious w the comp olaying wise.

Hernandez was a psycho, but dude was a legit Swiss army knife.
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We obviously don’t want Aaron Hernandez level legal trouble but we were always better when we had a little bit of it

How about compromise and hope for a little Ray Lewis?
 
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It's cool that Lofton is a Swiss Army Knife but I don't think I've seen much creativity from Dawson to deploy him in ways other than A) run routes and B) take an RB dive in short yardage.
 
would you say he's more of a cross between Jerome Bettis and Rob Gronkowski, or more like a cross between John Riggins and Travis Kelce?
 
OrangeBowlMagic said:
Cam didn't keep it very much at all. He only had 60 "carries", and in college, sacks count as a carry. We allowed 23 sacks as a team, so he "ran" the ball about 40 times, probably a tick less.

I think Beck will be about the same. He had 60 and 55 "carries" the last 2 years.

I think the offense will be very similar, again assuming Beck is fully healthy. He didn't come here and we didn't pay him to come here to play ball-control. Dawson is going to throw it, and throw it a lot. I do think we'll be *slightly* less throw-heavy that last year, simply because I think the pass-catcher group is going to take a small step back. So you're going to rely on Fletcher, Lyle, Lofton, and Pringle a little more now that Restrepo, George, Arroyo and Horton are gone.

I just don't really see 150 touches for a guy who really doesn't have one position, but if he's truly the best player on the team then yes they should feed him, obviously. I just struggle to see 5+ catches in every game, and how often are we lining this kid up in the backfield and running straight hand-offs to him when we have Fletcher and Lyle on the sideline?

Good problem to have for Dawson. I think Lofton will be very involved, I just don't think people realize how much 150 touches is for a kid who plays part-time running back. Again, Martinez had 161 total touches in the regular season last year. And he was the feature part of the running game for most of the season, definitely the last half. Double-digit carries in every game except Ball State.
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100% agree with your logic. I was extrapolating on the Bluestein comment that D$ has said he hears a lot coming out of Hecht, that Lofton is the best player on the team. If that's so, we better see him touch the ball more than 10 times a game. That's my only point.

Personally, I think we need more weapons for Carson. More WRs, at least. We have no idea if Daniels will be fully recovered and no true big WR besides true freshman Moore. Daniels and Chance both are 6'2". No returning production. ... I do like the TCU TE. His name is hardly ever called. But he has some good film. But is it enough?
 
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