Tracking the Trenches

[Primus Porcus]

Or maybe his touches in the 4th quarter have dropped because we often times are playing from behind, and in need of multiple scores and/or quick strike points? I don't know about you guys, but I seem to remember Morris being the ice type player when we had our run in 12'. He would grind out a 4th quarter damn near by himself in 4 - 6 yard chunks when the line was completely stacked and the defense knew what was coming. He's a rhythm back. This has been said multiple times on this board, he will struggle mightily if he's seeing sporadic carries. If you look at the games while we've had him, I'd bet were somewhere >.500 when he touches the ball more then 20 times, and even better as that number goes up.

The problem with that is when the defense over the last 2 seasons has crumbled before fans finished their first beer, getting him going is almost impossible. This year Gruden likes RBBC, which in it's own right can be effective. It can be effective if Morris carries the ball 3 times for 12 hard yards, and Jones come in on 1st down to spell him, or Morris has 5 carries on a drive, and you bring Thompson in on 3rd... I don't agree with this, 'give each guy 2 - 3 carries and see who's hot' nonsense because it's slowing down any sort of offensive rhythm we have. He knows more about football then I do, just not the way I personally would be running this offense.

 

[Om]

I haven't read all the posts on the subject, so apologies if I've missed it. Is anyone else watching Morris run so far this year and wondering if he's not the same guy we saw a year or two ago? I see a lot of people saying he needs to keep getting the ball in order to get into a rhythm and be effective ... and I get that in theory. But I'm not seeing the same burst, power or relentlessness I got so fond of in him early in games, either. Few sharp cutbacks, few broken tackles ... less yards after contact.

Anyone else?

 

[Goaldeje]

Just you. I thought he looked great against the Fins and then Gruden started batting his eyelashes at Jones.

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[Elephant]

I haven't read all the posts on the subject, so apologies if I've missed it. Is anyone else watching Morris run so far this year and wondering if he's not the same guy we saw a year or two ago? I see a lot of people saying he needs to keep getting the ball in order to get into a rhythm and be effective ... and I get that in theory. But I'm not seeing the same burst, power or relentlessness I got so fond of in him early in games, either. Few sharp cutbacks, few broken tackles ... less yards after contact.

Anyone else?

I gotta say, beside the Dolphins game, I have not seen him get as many yards after initial contact as we've seen in the past.

 

[MikeSr619]

He just isn't getting the carries.

against STL he got 18 and Jones got 19....again, split
against NYG he got 6 and Jones got 11
against PHI he got 17 and Jones got 7
against ATL he got 8 and Jones got 11

so, outside the Philly game he really hasn't been featured and had to split time with another back.

 

[MikeSr619]

In the 4th quarter against the Iggles when it was 20-16 Philly

Morris from the 26 for 16 yards
Morris again for 6 yards
Morris again for 13 yards
Morris again for 3 yards

We scored the ball and won the game there. we started on our own 26 and Morris got 38 of the 74 yards.

 

[Om]

Just you. I thought he looked great against the Fins and then Gruden started batting his eyelashes at Jones.

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Are you legitimately suggesting Gruden is knowingly playing a lesser player due to some personal consideration?

 

[Henry]

He just isn't getting the carries.

against STL he got 18 and Jones got 19....again, split
against NYG he got 6 and Jones got 11
against PHI he got 17 and Jones got 7
against ATL he got 8 and Jones got 11

so, outside the Philly game he really hasn't been featured and had to split time with another back.

And maybe I'm just crazy, but this is what I don't like. I really do understand when you have two backs they should both get touches. But I don't like how varied the distribution is in these games. Morris and Jones have alternated getting the most carries literally every single game this season. How can either of these guys get a feel for their role if they are alternating getting more carries like that?

Like I said, if it's Jones, so be it, but then pick Jones.

If it's 60/40, so be it. But pick a guy to be 60 then.

The whole thing seems very disjointed to me. And Gruden's answer to the question does little to suggest that this is actually all part of some Grand Plan I just don't understand. Maybe that's nitpicky, but it bugs me. Sorry.

Hopefully we'll dominate on the ground the rest of the year and win some games and none of it will matter.

 

[Rymanofthenorth]

there must be a balance between allowing guys to get in a rhythm and keeping guys fresh, we also have to be more efective running the ball, I want higher YPC and less attempts, not lower YPC and more attempts, thats the measurement of a good run game.

 

[Goaldeje]

Are you legitimately suggesting Gruden is knowingly playing a lesser player due to some personal consideration?

Are you suggesting that's out of the realm of possibility? How many times at your job does the person with the best qualifications/experience/resume get picked for the promotion? Often I would hope bit every time? Probably not.

I have no clue what Gruden is thinking. About anything. But given how things went down with Griffin and Cousins, I'm not ruling that scenario out.

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[Om]

Are you suggesting that's out of the realm of possibility? How many times at your job does the person with the best qualifications/experience/resume get picked for the promotion? Often I would hope bit every time? Probably not.

I have no clue what Gruden is thinking. About anything. But given how things went down with Griffin and Cousins, I'm not ruling that scenario out.

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Well, few things in life are "beyond the realm of possibility." So no, that's not what I'm saying.

What I am saying is that it strikes me as very, very improbable. Like every head coach in the NFL and every other professional sport, Jay Gruden is paid to win games. He wins, he gets paid. He gets glory. He gets recognition. He gets women.

He loses, he ends up looking for another job.

The idea that he would jeopardize his own best interests by not playing his best players, for anything other than performance-based reasons, simply flies in the face of common sense.

My opinion.

 

[Smoot Point]

there must be a balance between allowing guys to get in a rhythm and keeping guys fresh, we also have to be more efective running the ball, I want higher YPC and less attempts, not lower YPC and more attempts, thats the measurement of a good run game.

A few reasons, I think:

1) teams are keying on the run after the 1st two games...
2) Lauvao went down, a brief failed experiment with LeRibeus, and now Long seems to have settled in at RG.
3) No consistent/healthy WR to stretch the field vertically, so no reason to play WRs deep
4) Related to #3, Cousins has a pretty low YPA... His YPA is 1.3 yards less than Robert was in 9 appearances last year. It's like the whole offense has gone extremely conservative or risk averse. No teams are afraid of our deep game.

 

[Goaldeje]

Well sure. I admit it's nowhere near certainty or really anything close to that. But I also think NFL history is littered with coaches who got overly attached to potential instead of paying attention to production in front of them. Brad Johnson could certainly fit that paradigm during his time here.

Again, given how I perceive the Griffin decision to have gone down, I have no problem believing Gruden is smitten with Jones and/or Thompson.

Doesn't strain credulity at all for me.

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[Smoot Point]

Jones has physical traits beyond Alfred Morris... However, Morris is still the best at setting up blockers with patience, using good vision, and then sticking his foot into the dirt violently and moving downhill, carrying would-be tacklers. Morris is going to have a really good career, and I hope it's here. However, I can't really fault the Redskins for moving on rather than paying Morris top RB $$$ (which he would deserve). If Jones is getting more PT, it's probably about seeing what they have next year to replace Morris with... I have no problems with it. It sucks for Morris, and for the team, since I think Alfred is better at this point. However, we have to make a decision concerning RB for next year.

 

[MikeSr619]

Well, no need to move on because we assume he wants top dollar when he's here, under contract, and trying to play.

I'm not so sure he will try to command top dollar. He may just want fair value for his skills...it seems like the kind of guy he is.

 

[stevenaa]

I don't know. He seems late to hit the holes and cut backs to me. Maybe it is a rhythm thing. I suppose you could analyze his first 10 runs vs. the remainder of runs in a game where he's had 20 or more runs. Or whatever cap seems statistically relevant. As far as the rotation, it may be an attempt to find the hot hand for the day, though I'd prefer we pick one and stick with him from the start of a game.

 

[TomE]

We could be seeing an entirely different O line than the one projected to start against the Jets at the start of training camp.

Arena League vet Ty Nsekhe might replace Pro Bowler Trent Williams, Center Kory Lichtensteiger also missed practice because of a finger and shoulder injury. He, too, might have to miss Sunday. If he can’t play, then Josh LeRibeus would start.

According to Keim

 

[Om]

No one wants to hear about injuries ... you bring them up and get the standard cliché replies ... that's just an excuse ... every team gets injuries ... you have to overcome them ... we all know the drill.

Truth is the Skins have been decimated this year. Not all injury seasons are created equal. In preseason I remember writing that the key to 2015 might well be whether we can stay healthy enough to have a realistic shot to compete in this rebuilding season. Through week five, it's not looking so good. Less than halfway through the season and we're a patchwork.

 

[TomE]

Yep, rebuilding also includes getting hold of quality second and third tier talent to come in and hold down the fort for the primary guys.

We're going to get a look at a lot of them this year, they'll get some live action time on the field and develop.... or not.

Not sure of the exact numbers but roster turnover just this year is probably close to 50%, Gibbs always expected in the range of 30%, mostly through attrition of older guys and young lesser talented guys getting bumped by new guys coming in.

Add the injuries into the mix and that 50% turnover spikes up even more.

 

[Knightingale]

I'm kinda frustrated with the Running situation at the moment.

Count me on the side of the peeps who would just like to see some stability at the position. And for the record I think it should be Alfred. I was on board with using MoJo as a 1-2 punch, with Jones spotting Morris for a change of pace.

But now the position just seems inconsistent from week to week with just who is the number one back.

Is it coincidence that since Jones started 'sharing' the starter spot, that the production has been inconsistent too? And now we have 3 backs in the mix? And last week seemed to be the worst week yet! More coincidence?

My personal feeling is that it's a mixture of things.

1) The RB's have no defined pecking order and I'm not sure how that plays mentally to them.
2) Our offensive line is changing from week to week as injuries take a toll. So not only does the 'new' line need to get reps playing together, the backs need to get used to it too. And no sooner do they start to get used to it than it changes again. I know the schemes are the same, but different players have different abilities and there must be some differences in play on the line, not to mention a drop off as we play the reserves rather than the originally projected starters
3) AS mentioned previously, we can't stretch the field at the moment so we're playing short and everyone knows it...
4) And as we've been very vocal about being a smash mouth run first team, and all our opponents are well aware of the limitations of Kirk Cousins, they're all keying off the run. This is kinda one of the reasons I still wish they'd put RGIII behind this line. Seeing this line in action I think we could have protected him better than last year, and I like his intangibles. No promising he'd have worked out of course, and I'm happy enough with Cousins but I just feel that I know what we have in him as a game manager. He is what he is. I've no doubt he'll get better at being what he is, but I feel like the limits of his abilities are pretty well established. I do wonder how having RGIII (limited though he is after injury) might have changed things in regards to how we're being played. Just my own opinion, not trolling.

I'd like to see them stick with Morris as the main back and allow him to get some rhythm, I'd like to see them try and stretch the field on occasion (Kirk can throw long from time to time, we saw it last week. Even without DJ, just air it out sometimes to Ross to keep the defense honest). We're just too predictable an offense and that needs to change.