How much will Derrick Green Improve Next Season?

Submitted by MGoVoldemort on

I'm curious as to how much everyone thinks Derrick Green will improve next season? 

 

 

 

ifis

February 5th, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^

D. Smith only had 4 carries in that game.  My impression was that Al Borges played smaller, faster backs and threw screens/ran reverses in order to compensate for the lackluster interior o-line play.  Power running wasn't going to work even if we had Jim Brown at tailback.  It wasn't a bad plan, and it is not an indicator of Green's play.  Its worth noting that I have felt both Drake Johnson and D. Smith are underrated and I wouldn't be surprised if either wins the RB competition because they are that good (rather than Green being that bad).

a2_electricboogaloo

February 5th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^

Hopefully a lot.  It all depends on if the O-line can improve much though, because even the best running backs will struggle if they don't have holes to run through.  If the interior O-Line can improve a lot, and the tackles not be awful, he could have a very good season.  Otherwise though...I'm not sure he can reach his potential.  He would still probably improve, but not by a ton.

sammylittle

February 5th, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^

My hope is that we have a base run play that all of our O-linemen and backs know well and can execute.  I think Green will have easier time this year because the offense in general will be more coherent and will be better able to showcase his talents.

lbpeley

February 5th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^

I'm no offensive guru but our O seemed disjointed and lacking any sort of cohesion or coherence the past 2 years. Kind of seemed like they were throwing shit against the wall and seeing what stuck. If it was a trick play, they'd do it a few more times till it blew up. If it was a "regular" play, like a screen, we'd never see it again. Weird shit, man.

reshp1

February 5th, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^

I hate to be Debbie Downer here, but I'll believe it when I see it. Borges didn't run a hoge poge because he wanted to, he did it because the personel issues dictated it. He probably did a shitty job of adapting, sure, but on the other hand I don't think it's as easy as bringing in a new guy and having him install a new system that all of a sudden makes sense. Nuss will probably still have an OL that'll struggle to do basic things well, consistently. Magnuson being out for spring ball certainly doesn't help.

StoneRoses

February 5th, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^

He has all the potential to be an Eddie Lacey clone if our oline and quarterback play are good enough to enable us to run the ball. You also have to factor in Smith's potential to keep the ground game going given the above two factors hold up their end of the bargain. We saw what they could do against ohio st. we need that effort twelve times this year.

MgoRayO3313

February 5th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^

Assuming he stays injury free and can make it through the entire offseason without serious injury I believe he could become a serious contributor in our run game coupled with smith and Johnson. Those three should push one another (I do not foresee Hayes doing much here but then again that's what I said about Rawls, V. Smith, and Hayes before) and between the presumed three gain no less then 1500. If we can't run the ball then Funk is a goner no matter how young our line is.

a2_electricboogaloo

February 5th, 2014 at 10:48 AM ^

Until he transcends his physical form when his skill becomes too great for mortal minds to comprehend.  After this point, any person who tries to view any of his tape will suffer the most Lovecraftian of deaths, as their eyes burn out of their head and their mind melts at the pure awesomeness of his talent.

991GT3

February 5th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^

It appears he has no vision or the coaches are coralling him to run to the planned hole even though there is none. They need to teach him to view the line in its entirety and run to daylight where there is one. This takes patience on his part and a huge amount of coaching.

RobM_24

February 5th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^

The numbers come before the category. That +5 goes with kicking power. I heard he killed it on the FG drills. He's always had monster legs. With improved conditioning and a leaner core, his foot swing will be much more powerful and accurate. I expect him to be the emergency kicker ... similar to Suh kicking XP's in a pinch. It's a bit dangerous though, because Green is a toe-bash kicker. It puts his big toe at risk. Brady will have some tough decisions to make if it comes down to it.