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The young RBs and blitz pickups

Marcus

Marcus

Windmill cancer survivor
Contributor's Club
Putting the dance shoes away
The coaches plan to give two backs a lot of carries in the regular season unless one emerges as the clear-cut winner in the competition to excel in the system Kubiak and Calhoun brought from Denver.

"I envision us playing more than one guy," Kubiak said. "We'll play two for sure. We might play three. We'll definitely have a system where we'll rotate so we're not wearing out one guy."

To be one of those backs, a runner has to block, especially on blitz pickup. If the back can't help protect quarterback David Carr, then he won't be on the field.
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Well since the Rams are reportedly going to blitz like crazy on Saturday night, we will get a good look at how far along the young backs are picking them up. If Carr ends up on his butt, don't point a finger at the OL until you at least watch the replay. And see if the back gets yanked out of the game afterwards also.

This is a pet peeve of mine because I thought the OL got way too much blame for all the sacks last year, and not enough blame went to the running backs.
 
"Rookie Wali Lundy, a sixth-round pick from Virginia, will start against the Rams because of his performance in the 24-14 victory over Kansas City. Lundy had nine carries for 59 yards and a touchdown."
**********************************
Lundy's preseason performance exceeded Reggie Bushs because his rushing
total equaled ESPNs favorite celebrity and he also scored a TD but Bush never sniffed the EZ. Funny though, all I've seen this week on ESPN is Bush but with nearly a mention of Lundy's name ?
I dunno, but based on his strong effort against the Chiefs is this now Lundy's job to loose ?
 
nunusguy said:
I dunno, but based on his strong effort against the Chiefs is this now Lundy's job to loose ?
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I think that too much will be made by the term "starting running back". I believe Kube will be going with a rotating 'running back by committee' format, as alluding to in the article.
 
as much as i want domanick out there starting, i believe that eventually lundy or maybe even morency will be getting the starting role. i just have this gut feeling that domanick will not stay healthy. prove me wrong. i hope davis can stay out there and contribute.
 
Marcus said:
Putting the dance shoes away

Well since the Rams are reportedly going to blitz like crazy on Saturday night, we will get a good look at how far along the young backs are picking them up. If Carr ends up on his butt, don't point a finger at the OL until you at least watch the replay. And see if the back gets yanked out of the game afterwards also.
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The new system that David is playing in will have David on the move more. This will help out both the backs and O-line. Moving him out of the pocket and giving him the option to run or throw is going to create problems for the linebackers. If you do send the blitz, two things could happen, you hit your open TE, or as we saw last week, Moulds breaks his route and comes back to the ball for a completion. If you don't send the blitz then you have your receivers take the defender with him giving Carr more room to run.

I really think Kubes could turn this team into what the 49er's were of the 80's/90's.

Of course that is just my opinion.
 
Blitz pick up was probably the weakest thing in DDs game, he couldn't do it for squat. I hope one of the young guys can do it well.
 
Lundy got knocked on his tail once I remember last Saturday trying to make a block, but hey at least he got in front of the guy and made an attempt.
 
edo783 said:
Blitz pick up was probably the weakest thing in DDs game, he couldn't do it for squat. I hope one of the young guys can do it well.
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Blocking a blitzer is as much about the RB's attitude as anything else. Kubiak has made it clear that aspect of an RB's game is important to him. Maybe these guys will make the mental adjustment.
 
TexanFanInCC said:
as much as i want domanick out there starting, i believe that eventually lundy or maybe even morency will be getting the starting role. i just have this gut feeling that domanick will not stay healthy. prove me wrong. i hope davis can stay out there and contribute.
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I have a feeling that even if DD comes back 100% and ready to play by the 1st game of the regular season, that Kubes is still going to utilize all of his backs alot. And, I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps 5 running backs for the season. Kubes knows how much punishment rb's take and that most (especially DD) are going to have some kind of injuries during the long season. So, I think he's going to keep as many "fresh horses" in the stable as possible. It should also save wear and tear on DD and the rest of the backs, and if your main "stud" does go down, you have another one ready to go! JMHO! :cowboy1:
 
Marcus said:
I think that too much will be made by the term "starting running back". I believe Kube will be going with a rotating 'running back by committee' format, as alluding to in the article.
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I agree. I expect to see a platoon system of runners, to keep them fresh and agressive, as well as keep opposing defenses on their toes and guessing. If an RB is hot, then he'll probably get more game time. But that does depend on his blitz pickup, as well, because I believe that this coaching staff has put protecting the QB as a no. 1 priority (and not just in lip service).

Good thread for discussion, man. :thumbup
 
michaelm said:
Not questioning this as fact, but where does this info come from?
I haven't heard it, and would be interested in reading any info on it...
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The Rams blitzed the Colts enough that their poh-poh's hurt and they complained. Folks are just expecting the Rams to continue the same.
 
infantrycak said:
The Rams blitzed the Colts enough that their poh-poh's hurt and they complained. Folks are just expecting the Rams to continue the same.
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Cool... didn't know that.
Should be a good test, and good preseason experience.
 
I can't wait to see Morency in this scheme. This article was about Vernand but everyone seems to be sleeping on him.
 
texan279 said:
Lundy got knocked on his tail once I remember last Saturday trying to make a block, but hey at least he got in front of the guy and made an attempt.
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He still took the man out of the play!!!

:redtowel:
 
Vinny said:
I can't wait to see Morency in this scheme. This article was about Vernand but everyone seems to be sleeping on him.
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I can't wait to see him either, It will be interesting to see if Vernand can actually DON'T do in game conditions what Kubes doesn't want him to do.

Schucking the shake and bake habit might be more difficult than he realizes. It should be interesting to watch, and will be REAL interesting to watch Kubes' reaction if he does do it.
 
Vinny said:
I can't wait to see Morency in this scheme. This article was about Vernand but everyone seems to be sleeping on him.
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That's because he's been on the roster before. No one is as good as the guy who has never taken a snap - they are brand new and haven't disappointed us yet.

But you already knew that.
 
michaelm said:
Not questioning this as fact, but where does this info come from?
I haven't heard it, and would be interested in reading any info on it...
Click to expand...

Here's one:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/rams/home.htm
—Colts general manager Bill Polian was surprised at the number of times the Rams blitzed in the preseason opener and by the multiple defenses employed. He made those comments on the air during halftime of the team's radio broadcast.

The following day, Colts coach Tony Dungy said, "That's the way those guys are going to play; we knew that going in. You can't ask them, 'Don't run your defense.' We usually like it when people blitz us."

Said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, "The days of staying vanilla in the preseason are long gone. I was talking to (former Cowboys quarterback Troy) Aikman before the game and he was saying when he played preseason, everybody played basic zone defense. The Rams blitzed seven guys on the first play and did it again a couple of plays later and, really, throughout the game."

When told of Polian's comments, Rams coach Scott Linehan said, "You didn't see 85 percent of coach (Jim) Haslett's blitzes tonight. That's how we play. Some teams are a vanilla-type of team and we're going to be multiple.

"We're not where these other teams are with their teams. We've got things we've got to work on things. We've got to get better at it in our preseason games. We've got to use them for that reason."
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Interestingly, the first part of that article is about Ragone. :)
 
"That's a hard habit to break because that's the way he's been running for so long," Kubiak said. "Vernand's very athletic, and he can make people miss. But once he saw what we wanted from our backs, he started to adjust."
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I'm really looking forward to seeing how Morency responds to this style. I always liked him last year, but he did have that tendency to dance. I thought it was due to the line not creating any holes more than anything.

The coaches plan to give two backs a lot of carries in the regular season unless one emerges as the clear-cut winner in the competition to excel in the system Kubiak and Calhoun brought from Denver.

"I envision us playing more than one guy," Kubiak said. "We'll play two for sure. We might play three. We'll definitely have a system where we'll rotate so we're not wearing out one guy."

To be one of those backs, a runner has to block, especially on blitz pickup. If the back can't help protect quarterback David Carr, then he won't be on the field.
Click to expand...

I need to keep this article for these statements alone. To me, it gives us the answer to "The Bush Question". We do not need an expensive RB in this system.
 
Double Barrel...good point about Bush. I think that Kubes clearly sees things in a similar manner since he was part of the decision process that let Clinton Portis go in exchange for a top defensive player. Hey! that scenerio seems strangely familiar...
 
Reggie's style of play goes against almost everything this system is about. You aren't going to Reggie throwing big blocks on pass plays. You aren't going to see Reggie making just one cut to get through the line most of the time. Kubes doesn't want to spend first pick money on a guy that isn't playing nearly every down of every game, and running backs just don't get that kind of exposure in his game plan.

As you can tell by my screen name I wanted the Texans to deal the first pick away, but only if the price was right. Looking back I think they did the right thing. This team was going nowhere without some serious defensive help. The jury is still out on Williams, but Bush just wasn't a good fit here and I think time will tell that Young is an average, at best, NFL quarterback.:stirpot:
 
Trade'06pick said:
Reggie's style of play goes against almost everything this system is about. You aren't going to Reggie throwing big blocks on pass plays. You aren't going to see Reggie making just one cut to get through the line most of the time. Kubes doesn't want to spend first pick money on a guy that isn't playing nearly every down of every game, and running backs just don't get that kind of exposure in his game plan.

As you can tell by my screen name I wanted the Texans to deal the first pick away, but only if the price was right. Looking back I think they did the right thing. This team was going nowhere without some serious defensive help. The jury is still out on Williams, but Bush just wasn't a good fit here and I think time will tell that Young is an average, at best, NFL quarterback.:stirpot:
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Actually, Bush fir the most part is a 1 cut and go back with a great burst off the cut and he played in the same zone blocking scheme at USC that we have, however I am not jumping on the "we should have drafted Bush" bandwagon. I just can't see spending 61 mil on a RB when we can get a DE. And as we know great DE's don't come around as often as great RB's.
 
This will be an interesting game to watch. If the rams blitz as much as avertised, im thinking that (hoping) that our TE's will have a huge night.
 
MAN OH MAN!!! can you imagine DD and Wali in backfield running in and out, with defense looking like they did a 100 yard sprint uphill with a Buick on their back. 1st we pound you with DD, then Wali comes in and pounds you again. Then because defense begs for help safeties come up, Carr hits Moulds deep 1 on 1...TD:francis:
 
:whip: :texflag: :headbang: :piano:
BigDTexansFan said:
MAN OH MAN!!! can you imagine DD and Wali in backfield running in and out, with defense looking like they did a 100 yard sprint uphill with a Buick on their back. 1st we pound you with DD, then Wali comes in and pounds you again. Then because defense begs for help safeties come up, Carr hits Moulds deep 1 on 1...TD
Click to expand...
 
Morency was a stud in college. In the top 3 in rushing through half the season until he got hurt. Then came back strong again. He's tough, a very good blocker and if he gets the one cut scheme down - I think he'll be the replacement for Davis. Looking forward to tonight !!!!
 
I was reading the quotes by the coaches and Peyton that Pencilneck put out there and had a little chuckle. At the very beginning of that game, didn't the Colts line up for a kickoff and then onside kick it ( a little trickery) to get the ball right away? Just found it a little funny.
 
Well, so far it looks like Morency is ahead of Lundy regarding blitz pickups. Lundy needs work on this, and Jameel Cook was terrible.
 
Marcus said:
Well, so far it looks like Morency is ahead of Lundy regarding blitz pickups. Lundy needs work on this, and Jameel Cook was terrible.
Click to expand...

Interesting comment from Kubiak (from the presser):

Also, one of the things I was impressed with was that he struggled with pass protection in camp and understanding schemes, understanding protections and blocking schemes. He’s had some mistakes, he was mistake-free in that department in the game. I thought he was very aggressive cutting people, very aggressive on a couple of blitzes.
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Light bulb went on for Morency--let's hope it goes on for Lundy as well.
 
Kubiak (from the presser)

“Formation-wise we had him (Lundy) in a tough position to block that edge blitz,” Kubiak said. “I wouldn’t say he missed his assignment. He just didn’t do a very good job off the edge; on David’s sack he could have done a better job. But David could have gotten the ball out quicker, we could have gotten our eyes around the route, there were a lot of cutters there. It all goes together but that’s something that our backs will have to do better.”

Meanwhile, Morency not only verified his ability to run, but he also demonstrated that he’s paying close attention to what Kubiak has been asking from him.

“I like the way he got the ball downhill,” Kubiak said. “It’s something we’ve been preaching to him. One of the things I was impressed with, he’s struggle with pass protection at camp, understanding schemes and protections and blocking schemes, he’s had some mistakes. He was mistake free in that department of the game. That’s always very aggressive, cutting people on a couple of blitzes; you got to be able to do that at the back. He did some good stuff, he wore down a little bit, we want him to be able to go all day. But it was encouraging to see him play well.”

Kubiak is expecting to continue the rotation with two or three running backs next week against the Denver Broncos. Who the official starter will be depends on who engages the most on the complexity of the assignments.

“People are going to come get you in this league,” Kubiak said. “A back has got to step back and take on a linebacker, sometimes they got to go back and cut a defensive end. But they got to hold up long enough to get that ball going and not only holding up, but being smart enough with all the fronts and stuff that you get understanding their assignments. You got to be the total package when you go back there.”
 
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