Run Game

[NativeTheory]

Why is it that we can't seem to get our run game going?

 

We have two talented backs, high draft picks on the line, an experienced QB who should be able to change plays based on defense, a formidable passing game to force defense to not stack box. Yet our run game seems to be the worst I have seen in recent years. Not going anywhere this year if we can't rush for more than 40 yards a game. 1st and goal should have been an auto 6 points yet it isn't. 

 

 

[WRAPradio]

It's tough when there's constantly pressure up the middle. Teams know Bodine can't block and that's one less place they have to focus defending the run.


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[Madieu Superstar]

A big part is Bodine but it's really PA. There is no physically on this line. At the end of runs, look at where the lineman are once the tackle is made. Most often they are behind the line of scrimmage when all is said and done. Now look at Pitssburgh's o-line and see where they are at the end of runs. PA just has to go. Pittsburgh's line was trash for awhile and look how it was fixed with good coaching and drafting.

[Dautcom08]

Hewy has played 16 snaps over two games.  Seems Zampese has the same forgetful tendency that The QB Whisperer had when it comes to Hewy getting on the field.

[TimKrumrieFan]

Bad matchups the first 3 weeks for our run game, especially with a major weakness at center. I don't expect to start seeing the running game contributing much until week 4.

[Madieu Superstar]

37 minutes ago, TimKrumrieFan said:

Bad matchups the first 3 weeks for our run game, especially with a major weakness at center. I don't expect to start seeing the running game contributing much until week 4.

If that's the case, I guess this team will never win a playoff game. If all it takes is a defense playing shell coverage to stop our offense, then it's one and done again this year. 

[-GoBengals-]

the random drummed up BS reasons are going to start flooding in...

already saw someone on the bengals facebook say horrible playcalling..

here we go... AGAIN

PS: that mediocre WR marvin jones is averaging 100 yards a game.. and 17 yards per catch....  

[-GoBengals-]

also, everyone pretends the screen pass game isnt the run game. gio caught 9 god damn fucking passes yesterday, thats the run game. 

we threw 54 "passes" yesterday... and the RB was the leading receiver... thats the run game.

same shit for 6 years.

[TimKrumrieFan]

2 hours ago, Madieu Superstar said:

If that's the case, I guess this team will never win a playoff game. If all it takes is a defense playing shell coverage to stop our offense, then it's one and done again this year. 

The offense is a shell of itself without a top 3 TE in the NFL in Eifert. Plus the rain helped ruin the offense yesterday. We had guys dropping passes, Dalton having balls slip out of his hands. Weren't trying to go deep at all due to the rain. The Stealers are a more powerful offense than we are and they struggled. I doubt everyone is bitching a fit about it. Ben was really bad yesterday. Brown couldn't do shit. They only moved the ball significantly when they got away with blatantly obvious holds that prevented hits or sacks that would have thrown off the play.

 

They are trying to gel a new RT who basically had no training camp/preseason without the 2nd biggest threat on the offense and have a major weakness at center. Hard to overcome all 3 of those things especially when teams are focusing on shutting the run down. Eifert will make defenses be a lot less run focused aggressive as the threat of him up the seam is much more deadly than Kroft or CJ Uzomah and even both of them have had some success. The only complaint I have about the offense right now is I expect better redzone efficiency than they had yesterday. Even without Eifert. That is the one area they could/should have done better. It was partially execution, partially play calls. I said before the season started that the run game would suffer until week 4 or 5. I still think that and also think they have tried to use the short passing game to be the "run game" in the mean time.

[BengalFanInTO]

4 hours ago, GoBengals said:

also, everyone pretends the screen pass game isnt the run game. gio caught 9 god damn fucking passes yesterday, thats the run game. 

we threw 54 "passes" yesterday... and the RB was the leading receiver... thats the run game.

same shit for 6 years.

I agree with you. Gio Bernard is by MILES the Bengals best option at RB. He can run the ball but is also very effective in the passing game. The Bengals knew the traditional run game was not working so they found a way to get him the ball in space. This kid should be on the field for at least 70% of the snaps and they should ensure he's getting 20+ touches a game.

[snowy]

7 hours ago, Dautcom08 said:

Hewy has played 16 snaps over two games.  Seems Zampese has the same forgetful tendency that The QB Whisperer had when it comes to Hewy getting on the field.

Nail. Head. Hit. Put Hewitt in front of Hill, where it works, and let Gio do what Gio does best. I have some reservations about Hewitt: mostly that he's gotten too big too fast, and lost some quickness, but that could work in the Bengals' favor. What Zamp is doing now sure isn't working.  QB Whisperer, that's hilarious, and my new fav nickname.

[Madieu Superstar]

3 hours ago, TimKrumrieFan said:

The offense is a shell of itself without a top 3 TE in the NFL in Eifert. Plus the rain helped ruin the offense yesterday. We had guys dropping passes, Dalton having balls slip out of his hands. Weren't trying to go deep at all due to the rain. The Stealers are a more powerful offense than we are and they struggled. I doubt everyone is bitching a fit about it. Ben was really bad yesterday. Brown couldn't do shit. They only moved the ball significantly when they got away with blatantly obvious holds that prevented hits or sacks that would have thrown off the play.

 

They are trying to gel a new RT who basically had no training camp/preseason without the 2nd biggest threat on the offense and have a major weakness at center. Hard to overcome all 3 of those things especially when teams are focusing on shutting the run down. Eifert will make defenses be a lot less run focused aggressive as the threat of him up the seam is much more deadly than Kroft or CJ Uzomah and even both of them have had some success. The only complaint I have about the offense right now is I expect better redzone efficiency than they had yesterday. Even without Eifert. That is the one area they could/should have done better. It was partially execution, partially play calls. I said before the season started that the run game would suffer until week 4 or 5. I still think that and also think they have tried to use the short passing game to be the "run game" in the mean time.

We had Eifert last year (along with Jones, Sanu, etc.):

Sunday, November 1st, 2015

Bengals at Stealers

Bengals averaged 3.4 yards per carry (78 yards)

Stealers averaged 6.1 yards per carry (116 yards)

 

Sunday, December 13th, 2015

Bengals averaged 4.0 yards per carry (64 yards)

Stealers averaged 3.0 yards per carry (84 yards)

 

Saturday, January 9th, 2016

Bengals averaged 3.8 yards per carry (91 yards)

Stealers averaged 5.8 yards per carry (167 yards)

Sunday, September 18th, 2016

Bengals averaged 2.6 yards per carry (46 yards)

Stealers averaged 3.4 yards per carry (124 yards)

Last year (with Eifert, Jones, Sanu) against teams with a winning or even record last year, here is how the Bengals fared in yards per rush:

4.8

3.5

4.0

3.4

3.7

3.5

4.0

3.3

3.8

So once all year did the Bengals average more than 4.0 yards per carry against a team that finished 8-8 or better. 6 out of 9 times, they ran for less than 4 yards per carry

 

Stealers against teams with a winning or even record last year, here is how the Bengals fared in yards per rush:

5.4

4.4

4.8

6.1

4.1

4.9

3.0

1.4

5.8

4.5

So twice all year did the Stealers average less than 4.1 yards per carry against a team that finished 8-8 or better. 8 out of 10 times, they ran for more than 4 yards per carry.

Our running game stinks whether Eifert is around or not.

[Madieu Superstar]

5 hours ago, GoBengals said:

also, everyone pretends the screen pass game isnt the run game. gio caught 9 god damn fucking passes yesterday, thats the run game. 

we threw 54 "passes" yesterday... and the RB was the leading receiver... thats the run game.

same shit for 6 years.

Gio had 4 catches (and accumulated nearly half of his yards) on the second to last drive when Pittsburgh basically allowed Dalton to dump the ball off in exchange for the time clock to keep running. To say that Gio was some sort of stud yesterday is patently false. He padded his stats when the other team was begging the Bengals to complete short throws. 

[TimKrumrieFan]

1 hour ago, Madieu Superstar said:

We had Eifert last year (along with Jones, Sanu, etc.):

So twice all year did the Stealers average less than 4.1 yards per carry against a team that finished 8-8 or better. 8 out of 10 times, they ran for more than 4 yards per carry.

Our running game stinks whether Eifert is around or not.

Extremely impressed with the research, well done and good points. I wasn't fond of Hue Jackson and him giving us a good running game. He's a passing focused coach. I have a belief that Zampese will do better with a full deck and as our RT and RG get accustomed to each other. The running game won't carry us as long as Bodine is our center but with Dalton/Green/Eifert we shouldn't expect or want it to; we just want it to be effective which currently it isn't. The trend could easily continue but I believe Zampese is much more interested in an effective running game than Hue ever was.

[Madieu Superstar]

37 minutes ago, TimKrumrieFan said:

Extremely impressed with the research, well done and good points. I wasn't fond of Hue Jackson and him giving us a good running game. He's a passing focused coach. I have a belief that Zampese will do better with a full deck and as our RT and RG get accustomed to each other. The running game won't carry us as long as Bodine is our center but with Dalton/Green/Eifert we shouldn't expect or want it to; we just want it to be effective which currently it isn't. The trend could easily continue but I believe Zampese is much more interested in an effective running game than Hue ever was.

Not to mention, since 2011, in Bengals vs. Stealers games, the Bengals have lost 11 fumbles, while the Stealers have lost 5. That's actually insane. The law of averages believes this should not be possible. 

[T-Dub]

8 hours ago, GoBengals said:

also, everyone pretends the screen pass game isnt the run game. gio caught 9 god damn fucking passes yesterday, thats the run game. 

we threw 54 "passes" yesterday... and the RB was the leading receiver... thats the run game.

same shit for 6 years.

 

Bratkowski is that you? Andy Reid maybe? Screen passes aren't a run game.  It's a pass with pulling linemen.  It doesn't knock DT's on their ass and it doesn't slow the pass rush.  It doesn't set up PA, convert a 3rd & short or punch in a go-ahead TD when a PI penalty hands you a gimme from the goal line. How are we on 3rd down & in the redzone? I don't even care how often we run the ball so long as we're able.  It's not like the OL has been lighting it up in pass pro, either. 

   

[T-Dub]

45 minutes ago, Madieu Superstar said:

Not to mention, since 2011, in Bengals vs. Stealers games, the Bengals have lost 11 fumbles, while the Stealers have lost 5. That's actually insane. The law of averages believes this should not be possible. 

 

Officiating

[Madieu Superstar]

I hate the Stealers, but how can you not marvel at how they transformed their line in a couple of years time. It was a weakness and now it's one of the best in the league. They brought in Munchak and made it a priority. Meanwhile, the Bengals draft 2 OT's in the first two rounds last year and neither has shown that they can play in this league yet. Not to mention that passing on Decastro was a mistake. He has surpassed Zeitler. 

[TimKrumrieFan]

On 9/20/2016 at 8:55 AM, Madieu Superstar said:

I hate the Stealers, but how can you not marvel at how they transformed their line in a couple of years time. It was a weakness and now it's one of the best in the league. They brought in Munchak and made it a priority. Meanwhile, the Bengals draft 2 OT's in the first two rounds last year and neither has shown that they can play in this league yet. Not to mention that passing on Decastro was a mistake. He has surpassed Zeitler. 

He was hot garbage until last season. Zeitler is just as good. I'll take Zeitler with the extra draft pick from moving back over Decastro all day long, would have done it then and definitely now with hindsight.

[T-Dub]

On 9/20/2016 at 8:55 AM, Madieu Superstar said:

I hate the Stealers, but how can you not marvel at how they transformed their line in a couple of years time. It was a weakness and now it's one of the best in the league. They brought in Munchak and made it a priority. Meanwhile, the Bengals draft 2 OT's in the first two rounds last year and neither has shown that they can play in this league yet. Not to mention that passing on Decastro was a mistake. He has surpassed Zeitler. 

 

I'm sure our OL would look just as good if the refs didn't call holding against them.