Thinking Skins Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 Our running game looked a whole lot better. I mean Davis got 16 yards on 4 carries. Thats a nice average. I know its not great, yet, but at least he looked nice. Then betts came in and ran twice nicely. Even Kenny Watson moved the chains. I was pretty impressed with our running game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsThug Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 I would like to see more of it. Our O line needs practice on the running plays, plus I suspect Spurrier loves nothing more than safeties cheating up towards the line. :high: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlito Sway Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 When we did run, they looked well planned and called at the right time. Stephen looked all kinds of fired up. We'll see plenty of that in the regular season; can't afford to get someone hurt when there are all those wideouts to evaluate and all those QBs to indoctrinate. I think we'll run for yards, albeit less frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 Oh, I actually thought we might have won the first half if we'd run more. (Granted, I almost always think that). To me, if your QB's having problems developing getting settled, and the defense is starting to drag, and the opposing defense is getting inspired, a couple of rushing first downs can make everything better. I can see a good reason for not running more (The idea here is to give the passing guys some reps. Steven Davis doesn't need them.) but in a real game, thnat's what I would have wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorEye Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 Originally posted by blakman211 Our running game looked a whole lot better. I mean Davis got 16 yards on 4 carries. Thats a nice average. I know its not great, yet, but at least he looked nice. Then betts came in and ran twice nicely. Even Kenny Watson moved the chains. I was pretty impressed with our running game. It's hard to tell if that was meant with a hint of sarcasm. I think Davis got about 8 or 9 yards on one run and the rest he didn't gain more than a yard or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggoDrill Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 I think the running game will be alright, though not immediately. I think it will be negated somewhat early in the regular season, as Spurrier traditionally hasn't used too many running plays ... mostly traps, draws and counters, from what I've read. I don't think that will fly too long in the NFL. It's pure speculation, but I think Spurrier will endure a bit of a learning curve, and at some point he will see the value of power running with a FB lead through all of the gaps and pulling guards on sweeps. My hope in this lies in the fact that S2 is a smart, adaptable guy, and he won't be stubborn or inflexible if it means the difference between winning and losing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesome Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 Originally posted by blakman211 Our running game looked a whole lot better. I mean Davis got 16 yards on 4 carries. Thats a nice average. I know its not great, yet, but at least he looked nice. Then betts came in and ran twice nicely. Even Kenny Watson moved the chains. I was pretty impressed with our running game. Your kidding right??? Granted, the Steeler's D is killer, but they totaled mauled our O line, except for maybe four plays, when we tried to run. I can't see how our running game can be seen as a positive from last night, no way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy-the-Greek Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 There are many positives. How about this one. The Steelers did not score a single touchdown when our first string line was playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 It's hard to tell if that was meant with a hint of sarcasm. I think Davis got about 8 or 9 yards on one run and the rest he didn't gain more than a yard or so. Rushing plays: ("Rushes" by QBs shaded) Down-Dist Gained (1st Q) 1-10 4 Davis 3-2 1 Wuerful 1-17 2 Davis 1-10 0 Davis (2nd Q) 1-10 10 Davis 1-10 3 Betts 2-7 16 Betts (next play) I think I'd agree, kind of spotty (but with only 4 attempts, it's unlikely not to be). But, if you (like me) consider any rush of 4 or more to be a success, then Davis was 2 of 4 For contrast: Pitts Rushing plays: (1st Q) 1-10 1 Kordell 1-10 1 Bettis 2-9 1 Bettis (next play) 1-10 5 Bettis 1-10 6 Kordell 2-4 0 Bettis (negated by holding) 2-14 4 Batch 1-10 6 Bettis 2-4 6 Bettis (2nd Q) 3-1 0 Batch 1-10 2 Bettis 1-10 19 Bettis (Negated by holding) 1-10 32 Randle El (Reverse from Bettis) 2-10 -2 Zereoue 3-12 11 T Martin (I assume a scramble) 4-1 1 T Martin (He's got guts, considering why he's playing so soon) 1-10 1 Zereoue 3-9 1 T Martin Using the same standard (how many times did he get 4 yards), Bettis was 3 of 6 (or 4 of 8, if you count the two that got called back). I don't think their running performance was that much better than ours. Does that mean we successfully negated their running game? Or should we assume that they just aren't verry good at it? Their defense last year was #1 against the run, but we ran just as well against them as they did against us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 I think a real big positive was that nobody was injured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted August 20, 2002 Author Share Posted August 20, 2002 Your kidding right??? Granted, the Steeler's D is killer, but they totaled mauled our O line, except for maybe four plays, when we tried to run. I can't see how our running game can be seen as a positive from last night, no way On the contrary, we had one play for zero yards and everythign else was in the plus. I agree with you if you're saying that we should run more, but we were down 24-0, its only so much you can run with that being the score. I know you dont want to revert back to Marty's we live by the run and die by the run. I kinda like the ability to come back and win games. I think what we saw Sunday is that the rushing game can work under SS. SD averaged 4 yards per carry. If we wouldn't have had those penalties or those drops, then he would have seen teh ball more and our running game would have probably been better. And as somebody else pointed out, we were going against Pittsburd, the best defense in the league last year. I dont think its too unrealistic to be happy to know our RB's could move the ball against them. Remember Kendrll Bell was injured on a SD run when he and another Pitt player were trying to tackle him. I think we will have another dominant running game this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVskinsfan Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 Originally posted by blakman211 Our running game looked a whole lot better. I mean Davis got 16 yards on 4 carries. Thats a nice average. I know its not great, yet, but at least he looked nice. Then betts came in and ran twice nicely. Even Kenny Watson moved the chains. I was pretty impressed with our running game. Like to see more of it however! Balance! is the key :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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