Losing Martavious Odoms and its impact on the running game

Submitted by Huntington Wolverine on

Has anyone run the numbers to see how/if losing Odoms against MSU impacted our run games?  Specifically I'm thinking of how we lost on his open field blocking (rumors on here suggested he was one of our best blocking WR).

zguy517

December 1st, 2010 at 2:32 PM ^

It's tough to do though, since we lost him when we were starting to play some of the better defenses as well. Can't really tell if the drop off is from the defenses or losing Odoms, or even something else.

michgoblue

December 1st, 2010 at 2:33 PM ^

First off, a WR (or even a slot receiver) will generally provide down field blocking.  So, for that blocking to become relevant, you need the RB (or QB) to penetrate the LOS and often break through the second level. 

If you look at where our running game faltered, it was usually the result of being caught behind or shortly after the LOS - i.e. downfield blocking by a receiver would not have an impact.

Now, if someone runs the numbers, I would bet that they will show that our running game declined sharply around the time that Odoms went down.  But, I think that much of that was a function of the level of competition (the largest factor), teams somewhat being able to figure out Denard over the course of a season, injuries to Denard and Denard's regression from super-human to an exceptionally good soph QB. 

Logan88

December 1st, 2010 at 2:34 PM ^

I think the drop in run production over the 2nd half of the season can be attributed to three things:

  1. Better competition
  2. Denard's ever mounting list of injuries
  3. Loss of Tay Odoms

Now, determining the amount each of those factors played into the drop is something I am way too lazy to attempt, but I think it is fair to say that the running game was impacted by the loss of Odoms. Conversely, the passing game may have experienced a bump as Tay has never been a "big play" WR and his absence allowed Hemingway and Stonum to be on the field at the same time.

MichiganMan24

December 1st, 2010 at 3:08 PM ^

I think that his blocking was mostly missed in breaking off long runs since WR's dont usually have a role in blocking near the line of scrimmage. It definitely seemed like we had fewer long runs after he got injured, but that might just be because we started playing higher quality competition after that.

chelsea dad

December 1st, 2010 at 4:05 PM ^

If he did not get injured Gallon may not have been given so many opportunities.  Odoms and Stonum might have been the primary returners if we had the depth at WR.