OT: Trent Richards in mid season form

He was following the pulling guard, that's what he's supposed to do. If he cuts back there, he'll be met by an unblocked LB, with a safety charging in to mop up if needed.

Richardson has Stevie Wonder-esque vision, but this is not a good example of it.

Oh Trent Richards.

wpdougie2180 said:

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That video is a good example of how little many people know about football. If I remember correctly from watching the video earlier, the guy said something like "He's supposed to follow the center". Which is in most cases incorrect when you have a pulling guard. That's the guy you usually follow.

Of course. What really sets apart running backs like Trent Richardson, and guys like AP, Jamaal Charles, and other really good RBs is that they might decide that the cutback and going 1vs1 on the LB is the best option there, instead of going towards the struggling OL on the right. The really good RBs will find new holes that open up on the line. Guys like T-Rich will go where it's drawn up on the playcheet, and won't adapt to the situation.

Yeah... Richardson can't just suddenly instantaneously change direction and go the other way. The LB followed him, if he tried cutting back the other way he would've been met pretty quick by the time he got there.

The man that two teams traded for and each wasted a first round pick. Richardson will go down as a special first round bust.

I give the Browns credit for getting someone stupid enough to give up a first rounder when they realized he was a bust. Not too much credit because Ryan Grigson hasn't met a first rounder that wasn't a first overall pick that he wasn't willing to throw away.

Rob0729 said:

The man that two teams traded for and each wasted a first round pick. Richardson will go down as a special first round bust.

I give the Browns credit for getting someone stupid enough to give up a first rounder when they realized he was a bust. Not too much credit because Ryan Grigson hasn't met a first rounder that wasn't a first overall pick that he wasn't willing to throw away.

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Ryan Grigson is the most overrated GM in the league. His draft selections have sucked outside of TY and falling into drafting Andrew Luck. His defensive FA signings have all sucked and literally without Luck he'd have a mediocre roster and would be on the hot seat.

While Richardson is terrible and has worse vision than an 80 year old without their glasses, I can't really get on him for this. The left guard pulls and it's a preseason game.

Just remember, thats they guy the Dolts traded a 1st rd pick on...

Now let's laugh at their stupidity!!!

I understand what you guys are saying but it was 5 yards and a HUGE hole, the linebacker would met him in the 2 yard line and Trent Richards could get another yard in the impact (or lose).

Difference between Browns and colts.

Browns - Spent 1st rounder, got 1st rounder back.

Colts - Spent 1st rounder, stole 1st and 4th from pats.

varjao said:

I understand what you guys are saying but it was 5 yards and a HUGE hole, the linebacker would met him in the 2 yard line and Trent Richards could get another yard in the impact (or lose).

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Sorry, but that's simply not true. It was not a huge hole at all. There was an unblocked linebacker reading him, and if he cuts there, that linebacker fills the gap and he gains maybe 1 yard before he's tackled by either the LB alone or LB + safety. If he had better burst and elusiveness, sure, he could maybe identify a 1 on 1 vs. a linebacker in space as his best opportunity, but he's not Shady McCoy. He's Trent Richardson, so that's a no-go.

If you really want to single out a goat on this play, point at the LG. He pulls across the formation, only to run past two guys and block nobody. If he executes his block, Richardson is 4 yards downfield before he's touched, and has a decent shot at a TD just by following his blocks.

Let's put it this way: when they're reviewing film this week, nobody will take issue with what Trent did on that play. He made the right call. Had he freelanced, he would've picked up a minimal gain at best. By following his blockers, pretty much every possible outcome is better than that.

Here's a gif of the play in question, which should clear things up:

https://gfycat.com/SlightLoneIndochinesetiger

If he cuts back, he's slowing down to try to lumber into a gap where #54 would be filling with forward momentum and meet him on the 5-4 yard line. Richardson just isn't elusive enough for that, 54 would stop him for a 1 yard gain most likely. Even if 54 doesn't bring him down, he'll slow him enough for 38, 63, and maybe even 47 to have a play on him.

The only reason why this is even a discussion is because of one deceptive screenshot and Gabe Jackson (#66) missing badly on his block.

BradyFTW! said:

Sorry, but that's simply not true. It was not a huge hole at all. There was an unblocked linebacker reading him, and if he cuts there, that linebacker fills the gap and he gains maybe 1 yard before he's tackled by either the LB alone or LB + safety. If he had better burst and elusiveness, sure, he could maybe identify a 1 on 1 vs. a linebacker in space as his best opportunity, but he's not Shady McCoy. He's Trent Richardson, so that's a no-go.

If you really want to single out a goat on this play, point at the LG. He pulls across the formation, only to run past two guys and block nobody. If he executes his block, Richardson is 4 yards downfield before he's touched, and has a decent shot at a TD just by following his blocks.

Let's put it this way: when they're reviewing film this week, nobody will take issue with what Trent did on that play. He made the right call. Had he freelanced, he would've picked up a minimal gain at best. By following his blockers, pretty much every possible outcome is better than that.

Here's a gif of the play in question, which should clear things up:

https://gfycat.com/SlightLoneIndochinesetiger

If he cuts back, he's slowing down to try to lumber into a gap where #54 would be filling with forward momentum and meet him on the 5-4 yard line. Richardson just isn't elusive enough for that, 54 would stop him for a 1 yard gain most likely. Even if 54 doesn't bring him down, he'll slow him enough for 38, 63, and maybe even 47 to have a play on him.

The only reason why this is even a discussion is because of one deceptive screenshot and Gabe Jackson (#66) missing badly on his block.

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God, that really is an awful block by the pulling guard. He succeeds in running past three guys, who are all within 2 by 2 yards. That's impressivly bad blocking.

Marinlik said:

God, that really is an awful block by the pulling guard. He succeeds in running past three guys, who are all within 2 by 2 yards. That's impressivly bad blocking.

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If nothing else, he probably should have made a block by accident. There were too many guys in too small a space for him to just miss everyone, you'd think. But he found a way.