Much has been made about LSU's running game and their ability to simply pound the ball. Their season numbers are great. They have run the ball an average of 44 times a game with a 4.9 yards per carry. A closer look though shows that they have only been over that average in three games. In those three games they are averaging 6.8 yards per carry. In the other nine games they average only 4.22 yards per carry, a sliver under Georgia's season average of 4.26 yards per carry. Those three teams have an average rank of 87th in the country in yards per carry allowed. That shows that LSU can be slowed down a bit in the run game. When playing a solid defense.
The bad thing, for Georgia, is that LSU's three best running games have come in the past three games. Is that a matter of simply playing weaker teams against the run or has LSU's run game improved that much? One thing that LSU has done all season long with their running game is to be persistent. They have run the ball 40 or more times in 10 of their 12 games. The other two games they ran the ball 36 and 38 times.
Being persistent in the running game has paid off for them in the form of wearing teams down. In the first quarter LSU averages 8.5 carries a game for a 4.14 ypc average. In the second quarter they average 9 carries a game for a 4.45 ypc average. In the third and forth quarters they average 13.1 carries per game each quarter for exactly the same average of 5.31 yards per carry.
The way I see it is that LSU uses its deep group of running backs and stout offensive line to wear other teams defenses down over the course of a game. Teams might slow them down for a quarter or two but over the course of the game they are going to get their 44 carries for over 200 yards. Georgia will need to rotate defensive linemen and linebackers as much as possible to keep them fresh for the second half. The good news is that at the nose Jenkins and Geathers have both started and each plays about the same number of snaps. Tyson being able to come in and give them some snaps at end will be important coming off his ankle injury last week. The linebackers started out as a thin group but injuries forcing guys to play has turned out to be a major plus once everyone got healthy. Jones, Herrera, Ogletree, Washington, Robinson, Gilliard, Drew and Vasser have all played big roles at some point this season. The ability to rotate them should help keep them fresh and give them the chance to not wear down against the relentless LSU rushing attack. Of course that is easier said than done.
Showing posts with label run defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label run defense. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Boise a lot like the Colts?
Yesterday morning on my way home from work I was listening to Mike and Mike and one of the guests (I don't remember which one) was talking about the Colts. They were basically saying the Colts built not only their offense but also their defense around Manning. They are a small fast defense that almost concedes that power teams can beat up their defense IF the Colts offense allows. The idea is for Manning to get them out to a sizable lead allowing the defense to then only have to play pass defense. Their run defense is their offense.
Last year Boise State ranked as one of the top defenses against the run. The question is how often that was a result of teams being behind early against Boise and forced into playing catch up. Boise has a disciplined defense that is also fast but undersized. The problem is very few teams have been able to take advantage of their size because they are often playing catch up and can't fully commit to the run.
Looking at Boise's stats against the run it they only give up a super impressive 2.93 ypc against. Compare that to Georgia’s 3.7 ypc allowed and it is a fairly significant difference. However when you take the sacks (and yardage lost which goes against rushing for statistics in college)for each team out of the equation it changes quite a bit with Boise giving up 4 ypc and Georgia increasing to 4.26 ypc allowed. That closes the gap quite a bit and when you consider the level of competition there really is no significant difference.
Even though Boise played a close game against Virginia Tech last year VT played from behind and therefore threw the ball much more often than is their style. The Oregon State game was not a blow out but early on Boise jumped all over them taking the Beaver's running game. Even in their one loss Boise State jumped out to a big lead when playing Nevada. The difference is that unlike other teams Nevada never gave up on the rushing game and when their defense started to get stops Boise was unable to stop the running game and gave up 269 yards rushing to Nevada (that is with the sacks subtracted). Every other game was a blowout from start to finish.
Does this mean Boise can't stop the run in a close game? No. It does show though that very few teams have been able to fully commit to running the ball against Boise for four quarters. To neutralize what Boise does best, rush the passer, Georgia needs to run the ball and stick to it even if they are down early in the game. It will be even more effective if Georgia can keep it close or even play with a lead early in the game. That will allow Georgia to mix in pass and run and force Boise's defense to do something it doesn't have to do very often, play the run. Georgia must test Boise with the run in order to truly take advantage of their size.
Last year Boise State ranked as one of the top defenses against the run. The question is how often that was a result of teams being behind early against Boise and forced into playing catch up. Boise has a disciplined defense that is also fast but undersized. The problem is very few teams have been able to take advantage of their size because they are often playing catch up and can't fully commit to the run.
Looking at Boise's stats against the run it they only give up a super impressive 2.93 ypc against. Compare that to Georgia’s 3.7 ypc allowed and it is a fairly significant difference. However when you take the sacks (and yardage lost which goes against rushing for statistics in college)for each team out of the equation it changes quite a bit with Boise giving up 4 ypc and Georgia increasing to 4.26 ypc allowed. That closes the gap quite a bit and when you consider the level of competition there really is no significant difference.
Even though Boise played a close game against Virginia Tech last year VT played from behind and therefore threw the ball much more often than is their style. The Oregon State game was not a blow out but early on Boise jumped all over them taking the Beaver's running game. Even in their one loss Boise State jumped out to a big lead when playing Nevada. The difference is that unlike other teams Nevada never gave up on the rushing game and when their defense started to get stops Boise was unable to stop the running game and gave up 269 yards rushing to Nevada (that is with the sacks subtracted). Every other game was a blowout from start to finish.
Does this mean Boise can't stop the run in a close game? No. It does show though that very few teams have been able to fully commit to running the ball against Boise for four quarters. To neutralize what Boise does best, rush the passer, Georgia needs to run the ball and stick to it even if they are down early in the game. It will be even more effective if Georgia can keep it close or even play with a lead early in the game. That will allow Georgia to mix in pass and run and force Boise's defense to do something it doesn't have to do very often, play the run. Georgia must test Boise with the run in order to truly take advantage of their size.
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