USC's loaded backfield and how it relates to us
First read this:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/pac10/0-9-157/D-j--vu-all-over-again--USC-s-…
I'll admit before reading this article that I thought "If I was an RB, I WOULD want to go somewhere I could be #1" and while I still think that, this article does a good job explaining the other point of view.
Relative to us, would you rather see this year
1) Pure MINOR RAGE (i.e. Minor getting 25+ carries a game this fall, 10 touchdowns, and around 1400-1500 yards on the season)
OR
2) The Triple Threat (Minor, Carlos Brown, and Mike Shaw) with maybe Minor getting 12-15 touches, Brown getting 10, and Shaw getting 6-7
I like option 2 better because, for the sake of whoever the freshman QB is, he needs to be brought along slowly a la Pryor, who was asked to throw about 12 times a game last year while they eased him into a role.
Minor's good, but not a homerun threat. Shaw and Brown are fast, but not every-down backs. Together though, they form.....(Michigan backfield 2009 needs a nickname)
Let's see what they can accomplish before we start bestowing some heady nickname on them. I do agree that the second option is best, though. I think that the days of Chris Perry's 53 or whatever it was carries vs. MSU are probably done.
Pryor is an athlete playing QB while Tate is a QB who is an athlete. IMO best situation for Pryor last year would have been a redshirt to work on his mechanics. Tate is far more advanced as a QB with mechanics, release, and reading Ds. You are talking 28-32 running plays a game not including any by the QB or slot. Early in the year I think the O will be structured more toward the run as Tate adapts to the speed of the college game.
Given RichRod's history I don't think one back will be getting all the carries especially if Brown and Shaw are healthy.
I'm not so sure we can say that of Pryor anymore, if we ever could. His numbers weren't Texas Tech aerial assault awesome, but 61% completion and a 12:4 TD:INT ratio as a true freshman leads me to believe that he is, in fact, a quarterback playing quarterback.
when teams aren't loading the box to stop Beanie. 7 of his 12 TDs were against Troy and Northwestern and his last two games he was 10 for 26 with 2 TDs and a pick.
Well....that's actually a good point.
bosshogg, optimus prime, and the sundance kids
I definitely think rr prefers option 2 but at the same time if one of them is having a great game, he will be the feature back. However, I disagree with your assessment that the freshman qb's wont throw the ball. Bringing a guy on slowly doesn't necessarily mean running more. from what I saw in the spring game, we are going to be throwing much more than last year since we finally have a real qb.
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I think it's pretty silly to consider minor not a "homerun threat." I don't feel like looking up the stats, but his TD/carries was pretty rediculously high, I think.
He does have legit speed, and I think as long as he can stay healthy, I would rather have Minor touching the ball on any given carry than any of his backups.
In this offense, if it is executed correctly, any competent running back is a home run threat because of the one-on-one matchups it creates in the secondary.
I like the committee approach. It would be great to see Brown and Minor both make it through an entire season without getting hurt. Lining up a few small slot guys in the backfield as a change of pace would be great, too.
I hope that we will get a few pleasant surprises this year as the offense is able to execute better. I won't pretend to know which WR's, slots, or RB's will step up and perform, but I am pretty sure that we will see a lot more talent on display than we did last year.
And I am sure that by the end of the season there will be some new "household names" at UM that nobody expected.
any competent back is a homerun threat in this offense because of one on one it creates in the secondary?
On most plays, as with any offense, your going to have to make 2 or 3 people miss either by breaking tackles or making their pursuit angles near impossible. You'll have to make a combination of the FS, SS, one of the LBs, or CB miss to break it. You can't just plug in any running back and expect him to break 50 yd TDs because you supposedly have a "schematic advantage".
Look at how NDs doing with Charlies Weis' schematic advantages. Like Urban Meyer said when asked about Percy Harvin and route running, your putting way too much into scheme and not enough into personnel.
When I say homerun, I'm talking about a 50+ yarder
Minor has never done that, except for once against MSU in 06 I believe. Brown is the faster player of the two
I didn’t think minor looked all that great least year myself, but I think that was mostly because defenses stacked 8 in the box. Defense will probably do the same thing again this year b/c I don’t think RR is going to throw our qbs to the wolves just yet unless they prove themselves in a game. That being said I think a change of paces in the backfield is the best thing they could do. It also might prevent ware and tare on our rbs.
about overall team stats. If Minor gets 200 yards/game and no other backs get any or 7 guys combine to get 200 yards/game, I don't care. I want the aggregate to be high though. Last year the best rushing team in yards per game was Navy at 292. I expect with RR's offense to get over 200 ypg, which would put us in the top 18 rushing teams based on last years stats. (stats per ESPN)
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