Yomar Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 If things don't go smoothly with Ramsey, we have the offensive line to allow us to switch to more of a conservative power attack and still win ball games. We don't have Davis anymore, but Betts should be able to fill the role behind Samuels, Jansen and Thomas. But is it Fun 'n Gun or bust for us, will Spurrier be willing to deviate from his wide open attack if it isn't working? Just wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 I think our line is more in the Denver mold than the Dallas of old mode. It's not a big, power-blocking group. It's a skilled group, but it's a little lighter than most. The strength, I would imagine, would be more in zone, trap blocking, to utilize relative quickness and athleticism along the line. I'm not overly concerned with the running game simply because last year the passing game certainly wasn't pretty and we still wound up with the 13th best running game in terms of yardage. I think Spurrier presents enough of a threat with his formations and looks that we'll be capable of running well enough for it to be a capable group. I do not think we could resort to a straight smashmouth style though. We, I think, are built more for misdirection and deception than anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsThug Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Spurrier would rather lose than go to a smashmouth running game. Forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Originally posted by SkinsThug Spurrier would rather lose than go to a smashmouth running game. Forget it. Any evidence points to the contrary (for example, last year against the Rams). However, he will sometimes stick to the passing game when its not working while he'll quickly abandon smash mouth. I've also noticed that he strongly believes that when the chips are down, its the passing game that'll get you out of trouble. But, if opponents agree with SkinsThug, we'll see lots of running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 I think that if we dance Trung around enough even when Betts is in there....maybe as a decoy....every once in awhile....you let Betts just run right up the middle. That OL not matter what is better than the one from last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorEye Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Spurrier? Smashmouth? You weren't attempting to put those two words in the same sentence were you? :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle red Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Originally posted by SkinsThug Spurrier would rather lose than go to a smashmouth running game. Forget it. Not true, although he does sometimes seem to forget that the running game is there. Passing is definitely his bread-and-butter, but Spurrier would rather chew off his own arms than lose a game, so this comment makes no sense. He will do whatever he thinks is necessary to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Not true, although he does sometimes seem to forget that the running game is there. Passing is definitely his bread-and-butter, but Spurrier would rather chew off his own arms than lose a game, so this comment makes no sense. He will do whatever he thinks is necessary to win. Hate to disagree with you uncle red, but we lost a few of those games because SS decided to pass instead of run. We had crap for a passing game, and a great run game, but it was still pass first, and run 25th. With Shane and Danny at QB we just sucked, and with Patrick at QB we were too inexperianced. Yet he still tried over running. He did sometimes, and we usually won with the running game. However, when we passed the ball last season for 45 + attempts, we usually lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle red Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Originally posted by Symbol Hate to disagree with you uncle red, but we lost a few of those games because SS decided to pass instead of run. We had crap for a passing game, and a great run game, but it was still pass first, and run 25th. With Shane and Danny at QB we just sucked, and with Patrick at QB we were too inexperianced. Yet he still tried over running. He did sometimes, and we usually won with the running game. However, when we passed the ball last season for 45 + attempts, we usually lost. I am not denying that SOS made mistakes - the Jacksonville game is the one that stands out to me most as one we could have done more running in. But saying that we could have won a significant amount more games by sticking with the running game is just an easy criticism, and a false one. Our interior line was crap and teams loaded up the box with defenders and dared us to pass. There were games where we passed a lot and lost that the outcome would probably have been worse if we had been running the ball all the time - the Giant game in NY comes to mind, where we were averaging about 2 yards per carry. I stand by what I said, and that is that Spurrier hates to lose more than he hates to change his offensive strategy - although he is a firm believer that passing wins games. I have seen him change his offensive philosophy in order to win - UF vs. Penn State in the Outback Bowl in '98 (21-7 UF victory). He called 16 passing plays and over 40 runs that day, because the Gators had no experienced QBs and Fred Taylor at RB. He is stubborn, and he is not perfect, but he will do what it takes to win. IF he believed he could win more games by playing smashmouth, he would do it. But it is just not his style. I also don't get why folks get on his case about having such an unbalanced offense. We ranked 12th in the league in pass attempts and 15th in rush attempts last year - seems pretty balanced to me. Also, both SB teams last year ran less and passed more than us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Brasi Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Originally posted by Symbol Hate to disagree with you uncle red, but we lost a few of those games because SS decided to pass instead of run. We had crap for a passing game, and a great run game, but it was still pass first, and run 25th. With Shane and Danny at QB we just sucked, and with Patrick at QB we were too inexperianced. Yet he still tried over running. He did sometimes, and we usually won with the running game. However, when we passed the ball last season for 45 + attempts, we usually lost. There were many more factors involved with those games than Spurrier just giving up on the running game. As you mentioned, during those games the passing game wasn't working, so defenses were selling out to stop to the run. The run really wasn't working either, so it was more or less our entire offense that was getting shutdown. And it doesn't make much sense to run the ball when you're down by 21 points or more. The media took that opportunity to blast Spurrier as a fool that would rather pass and lose than run and win. If you believed that, then you weren't paying much attention during the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanbu Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 You'll see smash mouth in the fourth quarter of games that SOS's Fun & Gun has produced a 14 - 17 point margin. At UF, most of the running yards came late in the game. He used Graham, Taylor, Rhett as his big backs and let them run over people in the fourth. If Patrick can score early, he'll be handing off in the fourth! HTTR, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimster Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 that's the thing-I think we have more balance this year. the problem last year is we often got behind and HAD to pass to try to catch up-due to turn-overs alot of the time. Spurrier has even admitted that running the ball is more important in the NFL than it was in college. I think if an opponent has a week run D - we will run, alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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