Good points re the OL. I surely haven't been contending that it's all on the RBs.
So @ tOSU, what happened there? No answers from either the OL, the RBs, or the coaches. I tend to think they were athletically superior to us across the board, which is my main contention in wanting to get better RBs. In your opinion, what happened in that game?
Also, as to Bradly(Bellevue RB) the only vid I've seen of him shows him running wild mainly in space, nothng between the tackles. Is he a physical runner, can he break tackles and make things happen?
I don't mean to over-generalize your statements, but I just saw strong conversations back and forth about the RB position. The OL has been my talking point this off-season regarding the running game.
As for OSU, there are two overly simplified items that could be said for the game. The first being that we lost our 4 year starting QB. He was carted off the field and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Now, one could say you just play through that, but that's a lot for a team of college students to see happen to a teammate. The second is the defense.
Regarding the first, even with Tommy in, he was throwing the deep ball and missing. He's usually good for 1 maybe 2 of those a game, but he hit zero of them. Tommy had issues reading the field, but he had bigger issues with just always throwing the deep ball no matter what. I contend that a QB who doesn't play that way is an upgrade. Is Tanner Lee that guy? I'm not sure, I haven't seen him play, but if he cuts down on half of the Yolo Bombs and into a few more completions that keep a drive alive. I like it. (FTR, I loved Tommy, he was tough). Regardless, this game you really started to see the issues of the OL. Add that to the fact that you're playing from behind, and losing starting QB. Throw in a cold QB who didn't practice the game plan as intensely as your starter against one of the best teams in the nation. I don't know if more needs to be said. They just didn't get it together.
And then there's the defense. OSU had themselves a game, and well, we gave up a lot of big plays. I don't know how successful Bob Diaco and his system will be, but the "quarters" system wasn't that great of a fit for this team. Gerry was someone I think will look better in the pro's than his last year here. And that's saying A LOT, because he still looked good. But I think he will thrive outside of the quarters system in the NFL (of course, depending on where he goes).
Generally speaking, a lot of teams look bad playing from behind. Every team in the nation, even the best of them, look desperate throwing the ball a lot when playing behind. The difference is how well your QB throws in those situations. Tommy missed on targets, and so did Ryker. Add all that up and you get a lot of 3 and outs. Then just making your defense go out there again and again. But almost every team gets in that funk at some point. Ours was against a playoff team. OSU did the same thing in their playoff game. Rushing only 23 times (11 were from JT Barrett, 3 of those were sacks), and Barrett throwing 2 INTs. Washington also did it in their game against Bama.
As for Bradley (that's his name!), I saw him squeeze through holes and get some tough yards. He also has more TD's in Memorial Stadium than the rest of the returning RB's... Of course, this is against HS athletes, so that should be taken into account. Still, after seeing him play in person, I like the kid. But I have been wrong about prospects before.
:star 's coming out of high school.
