Running game concerns

[Double TE]

The play action with a fake to Sony worked every time and froze the LBs and DBs. So the teams do respect Sony's ability. That is what matters. The yards and TDs will come. Burkhead and White ran well.

 

[50-yard-line]

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.

Exactly right.

Michel had 14 yards on 15 attempts.

Other than that, the Pats were 85 yards on 14 attempts (or more than 6 YPC).

For the game, they averaged 3.9 YPC - againt a fast and very stout front 7.

IMO, they used Michel to set up play action, and it was beautiful.

 

[luuked]

IMO, they used Michel to set up play action, and it was beautiful.

Bingo. Look less at boxscores or stats and try to see the intent behind usage more.

 

[patchick]

Maybe I'll become concerned if the Patriots actually fail to convert a 3rd down with <5 yards to go. That didn't happen once vs. Pittsburgh.

 

[PatsFan2]

Exactly right.

Michel had 14 yards on 15 attempts.

Other than that, the Pats were 85 yards on 14 attempts (or more than 6 YPC).

For the game, they averaged 3.9 YPC - againt a fast and very stout front 7.

IMO, they used Michel to set up play action, and it was beautiful.

James White got seven targets Rex Burkhead got eight it's no secret that both might be Brady's Second and Third reads through his progression when they are in there. They are a easy five yards at least every-time apart from when they are assigned to block. My point the D thinks pass ever-time they are in there which leads to easy cross-ups in the run game. Both had positive yardage in the running game.

 

[oldrover]

Bad YPC against the Steelers... I’m thinking it’s the O-line turmoil and lack of TE’s, plus Pitt does have a decent front line. Michel had some tough runs, and Burkhead looked solid later.








FYI... this is a certified AB-free thread... so...

https://imgflip.com/gif-maker ...don’t even think about it.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Sorry rover, was looking at your post between texting back and forth with my brother. He was bragging with pictures of new jerseys framed and I was jokingly trying to discredit his lucky photos

 

[fightingirish595]

Nope. Early in season. Steelers have good d line and solid linebackers

 

[supafly]

Actually, all of the RBs aside from Michel had good YPC averages, but the 15 carries for 14 yards from Sony messed the figures up.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

I think I saw this thread days ago.... It's been one game and they won!!!!!

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Having AB on the outside will open up the running game. He can also do reverses with his speed.

 

[Uptown]

Not
At
All

 

[JMC00]

no

 

[patsrj]

Just one game.. It will be alright..

OL and TE getting in sync will also help the running game

I'd like to see Michel more involved in the passing game, it would create more unpredictability and help his running.

 

[BobDigital]

No but it won't be as good as last year.

Not having Gronk will be a bit of a blow. He was one of if not the best run blocking TE in the NFL. They simply can't replace that. Also while I had my issues with Trent Brown over the course of the year overall he was a very good run blocker. Wynn is probably already a better pass blocker than him but Trent was a huge and strong guy. You can't coach size.

Wynn's big selling point in college was his pass blocking. His run blocking while pretty good may be a downgrade from last year. Particularly in the playoffs/end of the year when Brown was absolutely balling.

All things being equal i'm not concerned about the running game, but i do expect a small step back. Hopefully the passing game can pick up the slack.

 

[dtbrks]

I think I’ve seen this thread before too.

 

[holyredeemer]

Michel had no chance. When he was in the game, it was too predictable. You could see he was very frustrated. White and Burksy had more success, and I don’t think it’s because they did anything different, they just got different looks. When we needed some tough 1 yarders, Sony got ‘em! Not worried at all. Didn’t we have nearly 100 yards rushing??

 

[Soliel]

I’m not concerned so long as the backs stay healthy.

 

[Ross12]

Michel had no chance. When he was in the game, it was too predictable. You could see he was very frustrated. White and Burksy had more success, and I don’t think it’s because they did anything different, they just got different looks. When we needed some tough 1 yarders, Sony got ‘em! Not worried at all. Didn’t we have nearly 100 yards rushing??

The sooner Sony can start catching some passes, the better. It was probably a good game to showcase some passes to him so future defenses have to prepare for that, though perhaps they also may prefer to catch some unsuspecting team by surprise in the future.

 

[PP2]

It wasn't a focal point of the game. It was only used to keep the defense honest and open up the PA which we killed them with. IIRC, most of our points were scored off PA's.

On the drive which ended with Dorsett's first TD, we called 3 PA's in a row.