Running game concerns

[imahobgoblin]

Every time Sony stepped in, they packed the box with 8 or 9. I think the Pitt game plan was to play last year's playoff team and kill the run. We are not that team. There was a ton of discussion leading up to this game about a lack of film to prep. "You just go out there are do what you do better than the other team because you cannot film prep." BB said he would not argue with that because that is hogwash. You gameplan on what you know. Tomlin planned for last year's playoff team. BB gave him a totally different team that went back to the pass after a poor first drive. Tomlin did not adjust.

Pitt committed and bit on every play action, even in the second half. That is not Sony's fault. Couple that with a new Oline and no Gronk/Allen leading the way and you have Sunday night. That does not mean Sony got put on the shelf or played poorly. He opened the passing game on play action when he was in. Burk and White were just better weapons for this D. His area of improvement will be the passing game. He was a 1 dimensional threat. A few passes where he rips off Burkhead type plays will give him less in the box.

 

[SBLIII]

Trent Brown 6'8 343 Lbs
Isaiah Wynn 6'2 310 Lbs
No Gronk

That has a lot to do with it.

not really. Their game plan was to stop Michel.

Plus Wynn is a terrific run blocker.

 

[SBLIII]

Along with the Steelers defensive gameplan a major reason was that Mason and Cannon weren't good in that aspect against PIT and you expect them to be good.

That said, they will bounce back.

This won't be a longterm issue.

 

[TommyD4207]

They ran for 100 yards against a top 10 rush defense, a good bit of that against loaded boxes, and completely obliterated the Steelers on playaction.

But by all means, thank you for your concern.

 

[Teej]

not really. Their game plan was to stop Michel.

Plus Wynn is a terrific run blocker.

.

Brown and Gronk are top shelf NFL blockers, Wynn and Izzo are not currently in that class and that has to affect the running game as opposed to last year. We'll see how it improves with time.

 

[SBLIII]

.

Brown and Gronk are top shelf NFL blockers, Wynn and Izzo are not currently in that class and that has to affect the running game as opposed to last year. We'll see how it improves with time.

Brown is a very inconsistent run blocker.

The overreactions are funny. Our run game will be more efficient than last year. When we average 5 ypc over the next 6-7 games people will revert back.

 

[Arialgg]

Given the problems on the OL and at the TE position, plus the embarrassment of riches at WR, we're going to throw a lot more this year.

I'm fine with that.

I want to see 3 WRs out there at all times.

I suspect they are going to keep James White cloaked and healthy until later in the year when he becomes a hue weapon in the offense.

Considering that he had 5 receptions for 56 yds (some of those being crucial conversions)
& 4 carries for 26 yds, I’d say we already uncloaked him.

 

[Biffins]

Cognitive dissonance?

No. An out of context quote. I said the first game was discouraging from a run game perspective. Clearly I am super excited that we thrashed the Steelers and the passing game and defense clicked so well.

 

[Nunchucks]

Until Sony forces teams to respect the pass when he is in there, he will continue to see loaded boxes. When Burkhead or White is in there, teams are thinking pass, both are excellent receivers.

Sony needs to run some routes, catch the ball in space and make teams pay....or Brady needs to do what he did on Sunday, play action for big pass plays. Either is fine with me.

 

[PatsFan2]

Until Sony forces teams to respect the pass when he is in there, he will continue to see loaded boxes. When Burkhead or White is in there, teams are thinking pass, both are excellent receivers.

Sony needs to run some routes, catch the ball in space and make teams pay....or Brady needs to do what he did on Sunday, play action for big pass plays. Either is fine with me.

And they said Sony improved his pass catching over the summer would like to that exhibited. You can tell Damien Harris is already accomplished in that area can't wait to see him.

 

[Nunchucks]

And they said Sony improved his pass catching over the summer would like to that exhibited. You can tell Damien Harris is already accomplished in that area can't wait to see him.

I wonder if they left it out of the game plan against the steelers because the the steelers have a very good pass rush and defense. We might see Sony have a big game against Miami.

The Sony we saw in preseason looked electric.

 

[PatsFan2]

I wonder if they left it out of the game plan against the steelers because the the steelers have a very good pass rush and defense. We might see Sony have a big game against Miami.

The Sony we saw in preseason looked electric.

The Ravens put up 59 Lamar Jackson 17-20 with 158QB Rating also Mark Ingram 107 on the ground. Yeah I think Brady and Sony can best that.

 

[luuked]

.

Brown and Gronk are top shelf NFL blockers, Wynn and Izzo are not currently in that class and that has to affect the running game as opposed to last year. We'll see how it improves with time.

I just assume that you were not comparing Gronk to both Wynn and Izzo but only the latter because it is laughable to suggest Gronk is a better blocker than a LT.

And in terms of Brown he was not a particularly great run blocker. He often took bad angles and missed his fair share of blocks because moving in space with that big body is not easy. Especially on screens he looked very uncomfortable.

 

[Teej]

Brown is a very inconsistent run blocker.

The overreactions are funny. Our run game will be more efficient than last year. When we average 5 ypc over the next 6-7 games people will revert back.

The Pats bread and butter at the goal line last year was running left where Brown was. I doubt they'd do that if he was inconsistent.

 

[Teej]

I just assume that you were not comparing Gronk to both Wynn and Izzo but only the latter because it is laughable to suggest Gronk is a better blocker than a LT.

And in terms of Brown he was not a particularly great run blocker. He often took bad angles and missed his fair share of blocks because moving in space with that big body is not easy. Especially on screens he looked very uncomfortable.

If you can read.... I said a LT and a TE in both instances. It's not rocket science. BTW, Wynn was terrible leading the play downfield on Edelman's pass. He didn't block anyone when he could have. Watch the video. He completely whiffed on a WR screen in the preseason too. Both times the tackle was made behind him because he failed to make a block.

 

[luuked]

Until Sony forces teams to respect the pass when he is in there, he will continue to see loaded boxes. When Burkhead or White is in there, teams are thinking pass, both are excellent receivers.

Sony needs to run some routes, catch the ball in space and make teams pay....or Brady needs to do what he did on Sunday, play action for big pass plays. Either is fine with me.

What makes you think that the team is not using him exclusively on runs on purpose to play with the opponents perception of whats coming up ?

I have pointed it out in the rewatch thread already but all big Edelman gains over the middle came on play action passes where Michel's presence sucked up the LBs and created the space for Jules.

Given how detailed obsessed the coaching staff here is I doubt a lot that they are not aware of the run tendency with Michel on the field. Hell I am sure they are banking on the opponents noticing it.

Having a tendency or tell is only a bad thing if you are not aware of it. If you know it you can use it as a weapon as much as being unpredictable.

 

[luuked]

If you can read.... I said a LT and a TE in both instances. It's not rocket science.

I can read but you are writing so many things that you somehow pulled out of your ass like claiming Brown was an "elite" run blocker that I didn't want to make the assumption that your words make sense.

 

[Angelpats]

I thought our run game was ok. They game planned to stop it but we still had 100yards and scored 33. It’ll only get better. The Steelers really have a good defense and team, don’t let the game fool you. They will likely win their division.

 

[PatsFan2]

If you can read.... I said a LT and a TE in both instances. It's not rocket science. BTW, Wynn was terrible leading the play downfield on Edelman's pass. He didn't block anyone when he could have. Watch the video. He completely whiffed on a WR screen in the preseason too. Both times the tackle was made behind him because he failed to make a block.

Wynn learned from the Master Brady at Blocking both whiffed at air on that particular play. Surprised Brady jogged that far during a game.

 

[luuked]

The Pats bread and butter at the goal line last year was running left where Brown was. I doubt they'd do that if he was inconsistent.

Oh and by the way here are the run locations of Sony Michel in 2018.

Out of 207 runs in total:

left           70
middle         69
right          68

when looking at redzone runs (< 21 yards to go):

left           10
middle         13
right          18

and finally goalline situations ( < 5 yards to go):

middle          6
right           6

This is data directly from the NFL.com JSON API.