is it not time to make him the main RB getting carries?...over a similar sample size he has almost a full 2 YARD PER CARRY AVERAGE over Cain and Lovett...that's not even close really...yes the other two RB's are better in blitz pick up and catching the ball out of backfield probably...but its not like Lee has no ability in these areas...Lee at least can break tackles and make a guy miss, unlike the other two...Lee should be the back on 1st and 2nd down and the other two split time mostly on 3rd and long to medium plays
Keyvone Lee
- Thread starter med2659
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Totally agree. Get him the ball with all called running plays and called passes to a RB, as he has shown good hands. Let Cain, etc do the blitz pickups. Lee definitely has separated himself as a runner.
Agree for the most part but putting him tells the defense we are going to run. It’s nice to keep a d off balance with first down passing. Of course, we could still do screens, quick outs, and TE hot receiver plays with him in but it hurts the deep game.
And who knows ? Perhaps with some more game experience he will make marked improvement in pass protection. Game speed is so much different than practice.... maybe he just needs experience to adjust.
Would certainly try. He should have done so last week against a weaker team to get his pass pro down. Hate to do so against a top tier team. But there I go again.....daring to question the all knowing coaches.
Noah Cain had his best game of the year IMO. Maybe he’s finally getting some of his explosion back after apparently re-injuring himself from his major injury last year ? In any case, I agree it should be K. Lee starting and perhaps N Cain getting some reps as well. No more Lovett, or Ford for now, barring new injuries to Lee/Cain
Yea, Lee is the only RB with a remotely decent per carry average (5.1 ypc). He has spent large stretches with no carries due to ball protection issues (i.e., gone games with no carries as coaches working with him in practice all week on "ball security"....). Assume if he continues to show progress in this area, he'll get more carries.
I agree that Lee is the best of the backs. While he doesn’t have that burst or next gear, he is very good about picking his way and has good vision. He also is a back that is going forward and doesn’t get many negative carries. I think where the coaches are concerned with him is ball security.
Agree but I disagree with something you said. Lee is excellent at picking up blitzes. Lovett is the only back who isn't good at it. Lee has also been used out of the backfield and while he's not as good as Lovett, he is as good as Cain.
Cain, IMHO, lacks vision. I constantly see him missing a better running lane. He never jump cuts over and never seems to run back against the grain when his primary route is covered. It isn't bad but it isn't as good as I expect a top RB to do. Lee isn't all that much better but seems to have more strength and run through defenders to pick up an additional yard or two. Cain is much worse, this year, then two years ago. Not sure why.
yes, he's levis 2.0. work something else off that set every once in awhile. might actually hit a big play. as is, the entire stadium knows what's coming.
Expect Lee to get 25 carries and 100+ yards as the Lions beat Meatchicken. Expect Cain to hit the portal in the off season.
He seems to have lost his confidence and seems unable to run on instinct.
I expect both Cain and Lee to return. Ford is obviously going to be gone, same with Holmes. I would think Lovett would be out of eligibility and will be leave even if not.
Obviously two great looking recruits coming in though.
Our RBs have been the biggest disappointment of the season along with the O-Line. If the RBs were better then the O-Line would not look as bad. They have no and I mean no ability to make something out of nothing. Yes, we need to create holes for them but it seems like unless the hole is as big as the Grand Canyon they are stuffed for losses or no gain.
I agree that Lee should be the guy. He at least looks like he has some power to break a tackle. Not great but solid. Cain has simply regressed. He showed so much promise in 2019, the Iowa game comes to mind then he comes back from injury and plays well against Wisconsin. It looked like he was the guy who could be our every down workhorse back. What has happened since? I watch him and he is incredibly slow to hit the hole or line then he seems to go down very easily. This last piece is what is frustrating, he was the guy who you could count on to produce those extra couple yards and always fall forward. I do have to laugh because he will hit the middle of the line and you see a little crease thinking he could pick up 4-5 yards slipping through then bam he is down after a 1 yard gain or no gain as some freaking weak ankle or arm tackle just drops him in his tracks. It's like the wind pushes him over.
At this point our run game is so atrocious that if we can just get someone to gain 3 yards on a first down play it is a huge win for us. Forget about any 10+ yard runs ir even 5+.
Finally, it is so disheartening when you have 4th and 1 and pretty much know we cannot pick it up on the ground. For this scUM game if we have a 4th and 1 at their 35 for example, can we just try a FG? I hate to say that knowing Stout can be so inconsistent but we just hand momentum over when we stall out a drive and can't convert a 4th and short. I get that missing a FG is a negative play or even trying a FG signals our lack of confidence but there is something about missing 4th and short that tells the other team you are soft and weak and cannot pick up critical yards when it counts.
I agree. I watched and rewatched the first half of the MD game. I was so frustrated. the team looked like they phoned it in and didn't have any life after MD embarrassed them last year. Anyway, what could go wrong did go wrong for the OL. Often they wiffed. Sometimes they missed an assignment. Lastly, they were often late or early on pulling plays. The TE's were no better. They, again, had trouble following blocking on stunts, twists and zone blitzes.
Lovett goes down easily unless there is a huge hole. He is good on screens but struggles to pass block. Cain is an excellent pass blocker but as @Marylovesthelions suggested, it looks like he is thinking too much. Key is the best of the three but still lacks that shimmy or jump cut.
I actually have to think the staff put in a bunch of plays off the RPO but when the QB can run the RFP, the option guy simply tackles the RB because the QB ain't gonna run it! I think that has blown up our running game and the entire offense is suffering for it.
(What are the stats on Tyler Warren? It seems like more often than not when he is inserted in the backfield, everyone knows he is getting the ball. He was initially successful but has been getting stuffed now that defenses are prepared for him getting the ball.)
go back and watch that play from Maryland game. Rasheed just got beat bad inside and warren was forced to cut back to his left. Wilson pulled on the play and the end was inside of walker and he couldn’t get there. It was so clear that Wilson was five yards downfield and never touched a defender.
go back and watch that play from Maryland game. Rasheed just got beat bad inside and warren was forced to cut back to his left. Wilson pulled on the play and the end was inside of walker and he couldn’t get there. It was so clear that Wilson was five yards downfield and never touched a defender.
I hope SC can run more on Sat. When he runs we are certainly better and it keeps the D guessing. However, even if SC cannot run much we should be better. To your point we have a weak O-Line missing assignments and the TEs are bad at blocking. No excuse for that.
I was wondering if Franklin cans Trautwein at the end of the season? I know that sounds ridiculous but assuming Franklin is back, he has a history making changes on his staff every off season. If we finish 7-5 he will want to make changes. Maybe Yurcich's offensive philosophy does not mesh with Trautwein's? I don't know but something is off. If Trautwein is retained then he clearly has to produce next year. Do you think there is merit to this thought that Trautwein is recruiting meaner and nastier guys and that is taking time to fully get them into the program? I heard we like to and have recruited athletic O linemen with long arms but that means they suck at run blocking? Apparently Trautwein will change that or is changing that? I don't follow the O-Line recruiting close enough to have an informed opinion. All I know is we are embarassingly weak in this position group.
I was wondering if Franklin cans Trautwein at the end of the season? I know that sounds ridiculous but assuming Franklin is back, he has a history making changes on his staff every off season. If we finish 7-5 he will want to make changes. Maybe Yurcich's offensive philosophy does not mesh with Trautwein's? I don't know but something is off. If Trautwein is retained then he clearly has to produce next year. Do you think there is merit to this thought that Trautwein is recruiting meaner and nastier guys and that is taking time to fully get them into the program? I heard we like to and have recruited athletic O linemen with long arms but that means they suck at run blocking? Apparently Trautwein will change that or is changing that? I don't follow the O-Line recruiting close enough to have an informed opinion. All I know is we are embarassingly weak in this position group.
I think the issue is that Cain is the best RB in terms of pass pro and blitz pickup, while Lee seems to have been better actually running the ball. Also didn't Lee have some fumbling issues early in the season? That, along with the fact that none of the RBs has really stood out so much as to cement themselves as the leader at the position is just continuing the use of a committee. I still have no idea what's up with Cain, he was a really tough, physical runner before the injury and appears to have lost all confidence and rarely breaks tackles now.
Problem with all the RB's, no one has break away speed. I thought Ford would be that person. If Ford stays wonder if he becomes a slot receiver next year. What's the scoop on RB's coming, I know highly rated but any top end speed?
Is Ford even healthy now? He looked like he had some burst but I have not seen him since he left at Iowa.
Not sure about Ford but he was not doing much for us pre injury or whatever. Also, fully expect Holmes to hit the portal at the end of the season. All these guys were solid 4 stars and none of them are close to performing like some of the good RBs from previous years. Weakest group of RBs in a while.
I agree. Defense can cheat against the run because there is no fear of a RB breaking a long run.
I have felt for weeks that Lee should be the guy. No matter what, please pick somebody and let him have more one series in a row. I don't think it's helpful using a different RB every series. You can't keep everybody happy and you shouldn't try.
Is the lack of breakaway speed really a problem when we struggle to get past the LOS?
Lee is better at running but way worse in the pass game. He also fumbles. The staff thinks that’s important.
I know he fumbled (but it always seemed to be a matter of trying so hard for extra yardage). I also someone not named Lee fumbled on the opening drive vs osu.
Michigan will be going hard for the strip, so whoever lugs the rock better cover it up well. And if I see Lovett running the ball on Saturday i'm going to lose it (and he can feel free to make me eat crow by actually showing he CAN run the ball lol).
How much do we even try to run it on Saturday? Sad to think about but maybe we come out and just sling it all over the yard including to RBs. If not that then a short fuse on trying to establish the run. All hinges on SC's health and mobility. If he is mobile enough to have designed run plays then we could run it a little with the backs.
Zwinak could actually break tackles. I agree we are pathetic. If we get a 3 yard gain it is time to rejoice.
Over/under on run plays against scUM resulting in no gain or lost yardage? Do not count QB sacks. It could be 10, maybe higher?
It’s not just about break away speed. It’s about seeing a hole and exploding through it. It’s about making people miss because you accelerated past them. It’s about using speed to set up a guy and fake him out.
From game one, I didn’t see any great acceleration. These guys are slow to the hole and slower to be through it. Many times it seems like a hole is there and see it close rapidly.
Thinking we abandon it at some point but that may be giving Franklin too much credit. What is the definition of insanity?
Agree to a point.. the 2 new guys are arguably top 5 and top 10 talent. The other (on roster) guys were 4 stars but nowhere near 5 stars... the incoming both are close to 5 star talent. One of them pans out.
imo, of course
100% concur. It's all about SC... if he's mobile and healthy, this is a very different team. If not, god bless.
