I'm not sold on our running game yet. My man Thomas Jones has been feast or famine this season. Yea he's had 3 great rushing games against some mediocre teams and I applaud him for that but let's not forget the other games when he averaged 3 yards a carry. Even during the Houston game he came out with big numbers b/c he broke loose like 1 or 2 plays but the rest of the game he was looking like ass. I hope these last two games are showing that our running game has turned the corner particularly Jones. Don't get me wrong Shonn Greene looked mighty good but it was against a horrible team so I'm not going to go crazy just yet. At the same time we took a big hit in losing Leon Washington although he didn't break a big time run this year he was showing he was much improved at running inside. Our running game must hold up if we have any chance at making the playoffs and with Leon out Jones is going to shoulder a lot of it.
To think that our running game will produce more than it already has is a little unrealistic. We are #1 in the league in rushing which is pretty incredible. Who cares if this is because 2 big games? Every team has games which throw off the rankings in different categories. I have loved the way that Thomas Jones has run the past few weeks. He is hitting the hole hard and no longer seems to be going down at first contact. We will have a much greater test against Miami and we can see how our running game holds up against them.
jones won't come close to shouldering all of it if Greene continues running like he does. even with the 7 carries he had before this game he showed his ability to hit the hole and get to the 2nd level. He's a really talented kid. the running game has two guys who should do fine against all opponents, but don't expect any more 300 yard games. What was done in the last two weeks hasn't happened in a long time. expect 130 yards a game. that's a fair number for the backs we have.
Regarding Jones making a bunch of nothing runs, and then breaking a big one (or two, or three). I'm by no means comparing TJ to Barry Sanders, but wasn't that what he used to do, and get applauded for... racking up big yards, late in the game? Maybe Greene can be more productive per run, but every backs average is figured the same way, and Jones is doing well. Our opponents are going to have to respect the run game which is great for the passing game. We are becoming just what Ryan promised us.
If you watch Adrian Peterson a lot, you will notice in a lot of his games he rushes for 3-4 yards most of the game and then breaks a few big ones to get his yards.
Barry had more negative runs than any rb in the history of the NFL, but his ability to make positives out of nothing and on his own really speaks volume about his talents.
Bashing Tony Richardson and Thomas Jones into the defensive line for 3 yards a pop is a good was to soften them up for the big runs we get in the second half of games. Just because it isn't pretty doesn't mean that it isn't working.
As long as the offensive line opens holes that you can drive a truck through and he doesn't have to break any tackles TJ will be fine.
This is the nature of a running game. You hit them with body blows and soften them up until they wear down and you start to pickup bigger gains. Against the 8-9 man fronts if you do break through the first line of defense you will get a huge gain. It's a matter of finally ripping a long one off. The first 3 games we saw a lot of 8 and 9 man fronts. Teams have backed off since B. Edwards was brought into the mix and lit it up @Mia. Our running game will be just fine.
Results is all I care about ... As long as we continue to put up around 160+ yds per game we will be fine .... Nothing like a good solid running game to chew up game time and let our rookie QB to continue learning ...
Seems like some people don't understand how a rushing game works. We have one of the best OLs in the NFL. The more you run the ball, the more you soften up the defense. This is how you wear down a defense. 3 yd ground and pound runs are like a downpayment for bigger hits later on as the D wears down and as our bigs up front start mauling.
Our run game has been pretty good overall this season. I hesitate to say great due to some big runs and shaky 'D's. My concern is the depth. we had Shonn Greene for 2 reasons, to develope for the future or use in case someone went down. Leon has now gone down to injury. Do we sign a RB, or utilize Woodhead?
what everyone else said, plus ... "The Jets are employing more zone-blocking than last season, and zone blocking requires more coordination than man-to-man. That could be one of the reasons for the slow start over the first five games." w ww.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2009/10/21/2009-10-21_offensive_line.html#ixzz0V9YFh4VO
I think we are gonna see some more of Woodhead for next week against the Dull-phins. Pound the shit outta those fish with Greene and TJ then spread em out with Woodhead outta the backfield with some screens.
Which brings up the issue of Greene catching balls out of the backfield. Has he improved enough in pass catching and pass blocking to avoid the stacking of the box by the D?
You guys make some valid points but we have had more mediocre running games than good running games. Now don't get wrong I'm not expecting these 300 yard games by any means. All I'm saying is we should wait and see what we have here.
When he got in(Greene) for his limited carries the first time he looked good and got some good yards... we have nothing to worry about our run game will still be alive and kicking
Bingo Agree on all points. Another little bit of tape DC?s are going to have to watch, and account for, is the sudden emergence of David Clowney. If the OL gives Sanchez time you better have a few people deep when Edwards and Clowney are both on the field.
