Run Game Woes: Playcalling or Personnel

It’s a combo of OL overrated and RBs overrated.

For example, Marty Brown…. It’s a reason he was at North Dakota before coming here!
 
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For a personnel standpoint in the first 4 to 5 games coaches seem to be happy with the running attack, but I just think that it’s become too predictable and opposing coaches are betting their hedges that we won’t change it up
Purely speculating, but my guess is that Miami saw some concerns with their running game in the first part of the season but looked at the rest of the schedule and figured they were more than big enough to handle the ACC defensive lines.

A defensible mistake, but a major mistake nonetheless.
 
I would do unholy things to have Detroits running scheme. They way they design the run game is ****
 
It’s a combo of OL overrated and RBs overrated.

For example, Marty Brown…. It’s a reason he was at North Dakota before coming here!
Don't think any of us were overrating Marty Brown when we picked him up. We were happy to get him, but thought he would be RB3 after Lyle and Fletcher

So far, Marty has been our 2nd best Rb behind Fletcher and he's been our best RB out of the backfield as a receiver. He seldom goes down on 1st contact and typically makes positive yardage. His skillset is limited, but I think he's getting the most out of it. We overrated Fletcher and severely overrated Lyle.
 
After watching yet another pathetic attempt by Miami to run the football with consistency, especially against a team that is mostly terrible, I am left wondering if the play calling is less of an issue than the personnel. I am not trying to absolve Dawson (and Mario) and think that part of the job of any coaching staff is to recognize when you don't have the personnel and scheme up success in spite of that. But given that the same rushing attack was the best in the country last year, I am having trouble reconciling that fact with what I am watching every week.

Sure, the play-calling has been a little stale and sure, the threat of Cam Ward passing made a difference last season and sure, the lack of respect for our current passing attack (especially without CJ Daniels) allows teams to focus on the run more. But even if we ran up the A gap on every single play, we should still have been able to generate more success against ******* Syracuse of all teams.

I am just having trouble laying all of the blame at the feet of the coaching staff when we have a massive and veteran offensive line and three (probably overrated) veteran running backs. I guess we could throw in a little variety and a few more outside runs, but after watching the line and Lyle today, do we really think that a stretch play wouldn't get blown up in the backfield 5 times out of 10?

Unfortunately, the best pieces on our offensive line are probably gone next year and the recruit at running back (Mallory) looks like more of the same. I guess we can rely on Pringle a bit more but he is small and doesn't look like a three-down stud.

What is my point? I don't think we need to be calling for Dawson's head. I think we need to learn from how badly the staff misevaluated what we had upfront and in the backfield and hopefully make some corrections.
The few types that we pulled our guards with Mauigoa, we had our most explosive runs. When we try to run the ball up the middle, is when we struggle. It’s been the same thing all season long. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the running game could be way better with better play calling, and the passing game as well.
 
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Don't think any of us were overrating Marty Brown when we picked him up. We were happy to get him, but thought he would be RB3 after Lyle and Fletcher

So far, Marty has been our 2nd best Rb behind Fletcher and he's been our best RB out of the backfield as a receiver. He seldom goes down on 1st contact and typically makes positive yardage. His skillset is limited, but I think he's getting the most out of it. We overrated Fletcher and severely overrated Lyle.
The ideal scenario would be a talented FR or Rs FR to be your third running back.

I think the entire 1-3 overrated.

Haven’t seen enough of Pringle, Wheatley to include them in that comment.
 
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We don't run any play action on early downs.
I had mentioned a couple weeks ago that we need to run more play action.

Statistically we were/are running it close to 1/3 of the time last time I checked.

The reason it doesn’t register and seems like we don’t run it is because we don’t use it effectively. We use it on obvious passing downs.
 
Combo of many things:
- OL is overrated, lacks push in run game. C is bad and G's are big disappointment
- Not discussed enough - Main RB's (Fletch/Brown) lack burst and speed to break a long one so its all short gains unless they break 4+ tackles. **** even a 20 yard run is unheard of. Puts all the pressure on Beck to back defenses up and to make the explosive plays since run game cant generate them
- Lyle (supposed to be speed/homerun threat) has horrific vision and should br RB4/5
- Teams dont respect the pass and know our run tendencies since dawson lacks creativity
- Uncreative run playcalling (except last 1-2 games). Way too much A gap as has been discussed all year

Some of this cant be solved for but some certainly can. Pringle is what the staff thinks Lyle is, he should be RB2 after Fletcher. Need more PA pass and deep pass game to back defenses off. More outside runs like Syracuse game. Throw in some wildcat with Toney with reverses/passes to throw defenses off as well..
 
It's the RB's

PFF has Miami as the #3 Pass Blocking OL + #8 Run Blocking OL

Mark Fletcher
FR - 4.9 ypc
SO - 5.4 ypc
JR - 5.1 ypc

He's been pretty consistent

Jordan Lyle

FR - Averaged under 4.0 ypc in 6 out of 8 P4 games
SO - Averaged under 4.0 ypc in 5 out of 6 P4 games

He's been pretty consistent

The difference is they're just getting more carries

Marty Brown
He's a short yardage + North/South thumper. Nothing dynamic. He's a lunch pail guy.

Last year we had Martinez & Ward torching you. Defenses had to pick their poison.
This year we have Fletcher & Beck. Defenses are like "eh, we're fine dealing with either"

It is what it is
 
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Our interior o line is borderline atrocious at run blocking in this scheme. It’s hard to be an effective run blocking team when your interior o line is an issue….. it’s just highlighted even more given our run scheme.

It falls on all shoulders but the one that has been most eye opening to me is development of McCoy, Samson, and especially Coop. Hasn’t been good for the so called best o line coaches in country
 
It's 100% coaching. Here are the issues:
  • Too predictable. We always run on 3rd and 4th and short. Other teams are sitting on it.
  • Center that gets pushed back.
  • TEs that can't block.
Solutions are to not be predictable based on down and distance, stop running duo so much since the center and interior line gets blown up every play, and to get the TEs off the field and run out of the spread. All of this is coaching. The coaches need to recognize our strengths and weaknesses and adjust our strategy accordingly. We don't do that.
 
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Subpar running game and the coaches don’t have as much trust with beck throwing down the field(I dont Blame them on that). Recipe for disaster.
 
OL and RBs are overrated. RBs held Mario hostage in the offseason and prevent us from replacing Martinez with an RB1 -- and it shows on game day. Coaching + Evals + Talent = Production.
 
I got a question so stupid I’m almost afraid to ask, but I will always. Why doesn’t Dawson cover his mouth when calling plays?

Is it because nobody could actually lip read someone from Louisiana? Or is it that covering your mouth is just some old part of the game from when offensive calls were super simple?
 
Brockermeyer at C is killing the run game. Even in Duo, the OG wants to pass the DT off and climb and some plays its taking forever or not happening at all.

Since Brockermeyer has difficulty reaching that 3i DT I'd like to see more of the counter game from this weekend. Brockermeyer pins DT, Coop and Cici pull around left side. In addition to being an easier block for C, its a backside block and you are still running behind your two best run blockers.
 
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