The problem with the SMU running game

[JasonB]

Running the ball effectively can be done in a variety of different ways. Under June, he would send everyone deep and then run a draw to take advantage of fewer people in the box, so linemen just had to pivot players to the side to create a gap. The lack of players in the box created space to pick up an easy 5 yards once the back got through the line. Other times, June would use huge linemen like LeRebius to blow someone backwards off the line, and then that lineman would be able to jump to the second level and take on a linebacker to plow a lane.

Chad Morris, with the power spread, would use the WR screen to pull players out of the box, and the isolate a side of the line to create a numbers advantage. 7 players in the box against 5 linemen and a TE doesn't sound like an extreme advantage (7 v 6), but if you run a quick play to one side of the line or the other of guard or off tackle, like he did with Xavier Jones, you can even up the numbers and even if you don't have a dominant lineman, as long as the players can hold their own, you can hit the hole before the rest of the defense reacts and burst through for big yardage.

So now we come to what is happening with the current team.

What is clear when you watch the tape is that our linemen are kind of okay in the run blocking game. What I mean by that is that generally, we can lock on and do okay with our matchups against the DL. Nobody is dominant - they don't blow up a guy on the line and then move to the next guy. We don't have linemen getting to the second level. But we also don't have players losing on the line. They are just kind of... fine.

What this means is that when we run a dive play up the middle, our C is doing fine, and a guard is doing fine, so we aren't losing yards on those running plays. However, 1) nobody is getting to the next level, 2) there are always LBs closing in really quickly, and 3) our RBs aren't getting in space enough to be able to make a move and make someone miss (and in some cases, with Siggers, and TJ, I'm not sure they have that shiftiness to their game). So, we pretty much always get 3 yards and that is it. Not a disaster, but not great. No dominant OL is part of the blame, and a lack of shift is another part. But the other issue is that teams NEVER empty the box against us. Regardless of how much we think we are dependent on the pass, the teams we play are playing with 7 or more in the box all the time. And when we run, they launch towards the line. To resolve this issue, there are two ways to break them back. One is the WR screen to spread the team out. The second is that our slot receivers and TE need to be a threat across the middle, to back those linebackers off the line. Unfortunately, we have only had one game where this happened, when Bailey went off. Our other slots, 10 and 13, get their catches on the outside. And our TEs are not a threat for the most part, outside of 82. Otherwise, your dive is simply a 3 yard gain that is a threat to try and force the defense to keep players inside in order to open up the outside game. I do find it odd, however, that when teams are dropping 8, we NEVER, ever catch them in a running play. It almost seems like they know when we are running and when we are passing.

Which brings us to the run that is a real disaster right now - the off tackle run. Typically here, you have a C, OG, OT, TE, and slot WR going against a DT, DE, OLB, MLB, slot corner. 5 v 5. First, let's talk about the good. Generally, HIckman is winning against the DT. And our Tackle is winning against the DE. Great start. Also, our blocking at slot WR is improving, so now we are starting to win there. We lose for three reasons. First, our TE isn't winning a lot of the time against the OLB (this is also a struggle on a lot of the jet sweeps). Second, our OG isn't getting out to take care of the MLB, which is how you open up the long run. But the final, and IMHO the most important reason for failure, is that our outside runs develop incredibly slowly. An example of this is the first run we had against Navy. Off tackle left, where TJ takes the ball and just drifts to the left as we pull over. Everyone on that side kind of did okay. But they play took soooooo long to develop, that the DT from the other side of the line was able to chase the play before Osborne could block him, went all the way down the line, and he was the guy who actually made the tackle to stop the play for no gain.

Final point I would make - in fall camp, we ran a ton of 1s v 1s and 2s v 2s, and to me our running game looks like a running game that is used to blocking against a 6 man box (4-2-5). I know that when Sonny first game in, there was a huge drive to increase the size of our walk on program so that we could have a proper scout team. Is that still the case? Anyone know?

[Pony4Life]

If your comment about Hickman winning a lot of his matchups is true (I haven't watched him enough to agree or disagree), that's encouraging, because there were times last year when it seemed like bigger DTs and NTs kind of bullied him a little.

[JasonB]

If your comment about Hickman winning a lot of his matchups is true (I haven't watched him enough to agree or disagree), that's encouraging, because there were times last year when it seemed like bigger DTs and NTs kind of bullied him a little.

I was super skeptical of him coming into the year. He isn't dominant by any stretch of the imagination - he doesn't bully a tackle off to the side and then lead us to the next level or anything like that. But he does, in fact, win his matchup the vast majority of the time in both run and pass blocking, which is a big step forward for him. In fact, on inside runs, I would say that he seals his man at a higher percentage than any of the guards.

I would say comparatively, the guards haven't met expectations this year because I expected JT, Biss, and Osborne to be able to not only win but to be able to drive players backwards in the running game, and it just hasn't happened. They win, but they don't drive.