Another RB injured, this time Jason Rice

BGSU33 · Post by **BGSU33** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 9:30 am

Not exactly sure if it's an ACL, MCL or PCL, but it looks like we have lost yet another running back to injury. I know we've been relatively decent on the injury front, but if there's one area we've been hit hard in, it's been at RB. First Ransom, then Geter, Turner, Barnes, Bullock and now Rice. This was in the Blade today:

RICE OUT: Brandon said freshman running back Jason Rice "tore his knee up" Friday and will undergo surgery. The injury occurred in the first half when Rice was dropped for a 16-yard loss.

Warthog · Post by **Warthog** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:00 am

I feel bad for Rice and all the other guys who have been hurt, but does it really matter when you run the QB dive 40 times a game?

bgsufalcon24 · Post by **bgsufalcon24** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:38 am

Warthog wrote:I feel bad for Rice and all the other guys who have been hurt, but does it really matter when you run the QB dive 40 times a game?

Has it ever occurred to anybody here that maybe the reason we're running all these QB keepers is because of how banged up our RB corps is? Maybe?

h2oville rocket · Post by **h2oville rocket** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:03 am

bgsufalcon24 wrote:
Warthog wrote:I feel bad for Rice and all the other guys who have been hurt, but does it really matter when you run the QB dive 40 times a game?
Has it ever occurred to anybody here that maybe the reason we're running all these QB keepers is because of how banged up our RB corps is? Maybe?

BG has run tons of QB keepers for years. The guy you had before Jacobs ran about 25 times at the GB one year and averaged soemthing like 3.5 per carry. Meyer kept banging him in there when everybody knew what was going to happen on every play. This is not new stuff.

We used a second stringer for every carry against Miami-about 28 times. The QB? Not once. I wish we'd run our QB more but there's nobody behind him if he goes down. BG has a slew of RBs-they can't all be hurt.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:18 am

We run the QB keepers because the only way this offense is effective is if the QB shows to be a running threat. When we started letting Sheehan run a little more was the first time all year that this stupid offense was actually able to move the ball consistently. It is a staple of our system.

Unfortunately we've taken it a bit too far, which shouldn't surprise anyone. Our RBs have basically become non-entities through our own design more than anything.

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:31 am

hammb:

agreed. one of the strengths of our offensive system, I think, is that it can be quickly adapted to the personnel. when we had a great running threat at qb (J5), we could exploit that. when our qb was more comfortable in the pocket (Omarvelous), fewer designed qb runs and options are called and the backs handle more of the running.

unfortunately, it looks like we've gotten stuck in a rut.

Warthog · Post by **Warthog** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:35 am

Balance is the key. And options. The J5 offense worked because we'd line a RB on one side of him and then had options. Hand it off or keep it. Dive to one side or counter back the other way. Now it's five wideouts and the QB runs between the takles.

michhiker28 · Post by **michhiker28** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:44 pm

Personally I like how we run the QB draw out of the gun, since that gives him farther to go before we make any positive impact. That shows an intuitive genius at work.

--MH

BGSU33 · Post by **BGSU33** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:58 pm

IMO, Josh Harris was the perfect fit for our offense when we had him at QB. And that's not a knock on Tyler Sheehan at all. While Omar Jacobs was absolutely money with his arm, he wasn’t any real threat with his legs. Many of us thought and hoped Anthony Turner was going to be the next Josh Harris-type of a QB. While he certainly can run the ball, he just never panned out to be the passer some thought he could be for us. The same can be said about Freddie Barnes, which is why both were moved to WR/RB/running QB. Harris simply gave us a true dual-threat QB who was equally effective with his legs and his arm and we just haven’t had anyone like him since he left. Nate Brown was supposed to be cut from the same mold, and well, we lost him all together.