Running vs. passing

[ibleedred]

 If runing is the best way to win this year, why would a coach listen to idiotic fans who want an instant west coast,no huddle offense? sure we need to be more balanced but Damn!! the Hogs strength right now is at running back and Run blocking. if you can lead the Sec in rushing 3 out of 4 years you are pretty damn good at that aspect. enhance and add to your game plan yes, but go totally opposite and expect to be good. Crazy!!!

[DEVICEHIGH]

Balance.

[hogfan4life56]

against utah state, 4 times we had 3 and outs, every time mcfadden didnt touch the ball. he should get it 25 times a game.

[Love those Hogs]

Like I 've said all along, running is our strength.  We just need to be effective in ouor passing game to allow our running game to open up more.  Once teams start playing us with some respect, we will be able to move the ball on the ground and through the air.

[Old Tusk]

We have won the rushing title the last two years, and have had zero wining seasons. Have we gotten to the point that leading the league in rushing means something? Do they give a trophy for that?

[CiriusPorker]

Your question implies you can only go with one or the other.

[WestMemphisHogFan]

I couldn't vote for either one.  I truly believe that we need to be more balanced and run the offense out of the spread.

[hogfan4life56]

we have a freshman quarterback, we also have a running back that is as good as any back in the country, you have to give it to him a lot to keep the pressure off our quarterback, thats the only way we're going to be successful

[RebelliousHog]

I couldn't vote for either one.  I truly believe that we need to be more balanced and run the offense out of the spread.

I completely agree. We have led the SEC in rushing, yet we have 2 loosing seasons in a row. Something is missing. What? Better D, more balance, better coach(s). I'm game to try something new.

[silvertip]

If runing is the best way to win this year, why would a coach listen to idiotic fans who want an instant west coast,no huddle offense? sure we need to be more balanced but Damn!! the Hogs strength right now is at running back and Run blocking. if you can lead the Sec in rushing 3 out of 4 years you are pretty damn good at that aspect. enhance and add to your game plan yes, but go totally opposite and expect to be good. Crazy!!!

I'm not aware of anybody advocating "go totally opposite."

[sidvicious]

i agree with you.  running is where our strengths lie.  however, we do tend to be too one dimentional. 

remember when we had lucas and eubanks catching passes? 

one of the things we're after is a sense that a series of passes is a rule rather than an exception, but not to the exclusion of a sound running game.  the following analogies is NOT designed to start attacks on coaches.

we've had some decent hands, but we've had problems getting them the ball through the air.  but remember when james sheibest was a player?  the guy could catch anydamned thing, and in those days we could have gotten him the ball.  but hatfield wouldn't throw it to him.  in those days, 10-12 passes a game was an air assault.

but don't worry, because the run will, and should, be part of our game.  what we need and hope that GM will  deliver is different ways to deliver the run, and of course, the pass.

as many have said throughout this forum, balance is the goal and indeed it is.  there are so many examples where one style of the game opens and compliments the other.  remember witherspoon at houston?  he ran all over defenses all the while the qb's were chunking the ball left and right, and downfield.

i think that we're on the path to building a system and mindset of confidence within the offense.  the qb's will KNOW FOOTBALL.  so will everyone else.

think of it like this.  one of the reasons MJ was limited as a qb was because he would generally only throw to a receiver when he was open.

sounds smart, eh? 

maybe, but that limits your options. 

a good and even great qb throws the ball BEFORE the guy is open, but knows he'll be open when the ball arrives.

this kind of skill is where it's at, and this is what we're striving for when we throw the ball.

[ibleedred]

You got to be kiddin me ,ther was a riot when it was reported we were goin to run the ball against utah state.Some fans think if you getr a prep genius at OC and his quarteback then we will hit the ground running and be all that in the passing game.GET REAL, if you want us to go that direction then be tolerant of the process, cause we will lose for a while.

[rushin boar]

Has it ever occurred to you we lead the conference in rushing because it is very nearly all we have done offensively the last 6 seasons.  2 to 1 run to pass plays in that time.  No one else is dumb enough to be so heavily invested into one aspect of their offense the way we are.

[hogtheball]

We were also first in the SEC on kickoff returns, but that doesn't mean we want to necessarily return more kickoffs.  I will say that with all the fuss over our offensive problems, Herring seems to be getting a free ride despite our 9th place overall SEC performance on defense last year. 

[Talon]

Like I 've said all along, running is our strength.  We just need to be effective in ouor passing game to allow our running game to open up more.  Once teams start playing us with some respect, we will be able to move the ball on the ground and through the air.

Before this thread turns into a love fest for our running game I'd like to point out that this "effective" passing game a few of you speak of can't be had without the people to do it and those people with the skills to do it won't come to this school unless they see both a strategy and coaches that are supporting a passing game... supporting it to the point where said WR's, QB's and TE's can develop their skills enough to be competitive to be able to advance to the NFL.

Do I need to point out that the reason Mitch, DWill and the other highly rated WR's that were in last years class came here is because they were led to think that the strategy had been changed to give them that opportunity to be in a quality balanced offense.  Screw these guys over and the pipeline will dry up even worse that it was.

The message that HDN sent last Saturday night was heard loud and clear by all QB, WR and TE prospects.  The best strategy for the long term health of the program is to let Gus put his offense in place as rapidly as possible.  If that means a few lumps along the way, so be it.  I can live with that.  What really really annoys me is when I see HDN mucking with things.  I've never seen any organization be successful when there are too many cooks in the kitchen.