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Our Running Game


Flash7

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We had some really good runs in the first half....and then in the second half we were completely shut down. I posted about this earlier last week leading up to the game that we cannot only run to the left side of our O-line. Yet, we continued to try to run to the left, and it became so obvious, the run game was stopped before we could cross the LOS.

Is it just me or is our offense very predictable? I can always tell when we are about to run the ball. I'm sure that the opposing defenses can as well. Overall, we did okay running the ball, but I felt we could have done so much better.

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I thought teams had been exploiting the Pats D by making their big linebackers play sideline to sideline, get them in space.

We hardly used the right side of the field. Come on Man.

We are seeing a lot of good football though out of this 1st year team. Growing and building experience as a TEAM.

No shortcuts in the NFL!

And a really great Rookie class. yee haa, Go Colts!

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We did alright to start with, Typical Arians, Typical play calls, we didn't stick with it (which would have helped us hang onto the ball more which would have kept Brady off the field more which would have kept what we are forced to call our Secondary off the field), Until Arians accepts that its alright to stick with the run and not line up in 3 and for wide sets numerous times while having little resemblance of an O Line then we are going to struggle especially if he continues with the long developing routes

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The continued deep shots really get old. Yes we need to do it sometimes in order to keep the D honest, but I think we do it alot more than normal. Maybe someone has stats on this, but it would be interesting to see.

I know Arians is allergic to screens, but we need to run those alot more with Ballard and Brown.

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The Colts rank 10th in the NFL in terms of percentage of pass plays run (http://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/passing-play-pct). I wish I could find the number of minutes played with a lead, because at 6-4, I'd bet the number is close to break even for the Colts. The reports on Arians departure from the Steelers included things like wanting to 'get back to their roots', get back to running the ball not only more often, but with far better production. The reports on Arians in general last January were not kind, and the fandom was tired of the bubble screens and predictable first down runs for small gains creating down and distant issues (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1032614-steelers-offensive-coordinator-bruce-arians-retires-a-city-cheers). We've watched ten games, and I'm not sure anything will change. I also don't think that the results have been horrible in terms of production - Colts rank 4th in passing O, 14th in rushing yards per game. But there are two glaring areas of concern for me, which are scoring (Colts rank 21st, even with all those yards), and the apparent abandonment of the run when it has been successful. I agree with the OP, and Arians history in Pitt tells the same tale. I don't see any reason why we should expect Arians to change what he does. Especially with Luck. Arians isn't going to decide to make Brown or Ballard the offensive focus. Luck will be. I think they will run to keep people honest, but this offense will be all about Luck, as long as Arians is here.

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Our offense has been very predictable. Run a little bit, throw a deep ball, run a little bit, throw a deep ball...... There really isn't much in between. The pocket in this game wasn't clean at all and Luck felt the pressure even when he didn't get hit. He made some bad throws because he was expecting to get hit. I hate to say it but for us to win, Luck needs to run more. When we win games it seems like Luck has a good running game. Arians may have told him not to run because teams were head hunting even though Luck's bad hits have been in the pocket.

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Watching the game on Sunday, I felt more confident with Ballard running the ball than with Brown. I am a big supporter of Brown, but Ballard has shown some flashes and he seems to be getting better and better.

Still, the issue to me is when we run, and how we run. We usually run on first down, but I think many teams do this, so it's not a major issue for me. However, on short yardage plays, we still pass. It would be nice to run and keep drives alive. We still primarily run to one side our O-line, and telegraph the run with our formations.

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Our offense has been very predictable. Run a little bit, throw a deep ball, run a little bit, throw a deep ball...... There really isn't much in between. The pocket in this game wasn't clean at all and Luck felt the pressure even when he didn't get hit. He made some bad throws because he was expecting to get hit. I hate to say it but for us to win, Luck needs to run more. When we win games it seems like Luck has a good running game. Arians may have told him not to run because teams were head hunting even though Luck's bad hits have been in the pocket.

I find myself being correct about 95% of the time saying "this is a run". Simply based on the formation.

I think it was FJC or Superman who posted a spreadsheet on Arians play calling based on formation. And If I remember correctly it was ridiculously lopsided. It was with the Steelers but the simple eyeball test this season seeks to indicate he hasn't changed his ways.

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I find myself being correct about 95% of the time saying "this is a run". Simply based on the formation.

I think it was FJC or Superman who posted a spreadsheet on Arians play calling based on formation. And If I remember correctly it was ridiculously lopsided. It was with the Steelers but the simple eyeball test this season seeks to indicate he hasn't changed his ways.

That was FJC.

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Watching the game on Sunday, I felt more confident with Ballard running the ball than with Brown. I am a big supporter of Brown, but Ballard has shown some flashes and he seems to be getting better and better.

Still, the issue to me is when we run, and how we run. We usually run on first down, but I think many teams do this, so it's not a major issue for me. However, on short yardage plays, we still pass. It would be nice to run and keep drives alive. We still primarily run to one side our O-line, and telegraph the run with our formations.

My issue with Ballard is the fumbles and the dancing he does, he made a couple good runs at the beginning of the game and I was impressed but he has gotten the majority of the snaps the last couple weeks and is only 8 yards ahead of Brown in rushing on 13 more carries, Thats certainly not to cut him down but running back was never the issue nor is there an issue about Brown being able to carry the load, Why would you feel more comfortable with a running back that hasn't show he can hang onto the ball yet consistently?
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Possibly, But I wonder if its because Brown may not be 100 percent.

I think when he got hurt, Ballard got the touches and we never went back. Stats dont' show the intangibles, like arobatic twists into the endzone, but thats the heart I was talking about when I wanted Ballard over Brown.

YES! The run game is so improved I am tempted to remove part of my signature...but not quite yet.

A few months ago when we were having our "is it the oline or the running back" discussions. A few people thought DB is a misdirection back and Ballard and Carter were more power backs. It seems the coaches agreed with this as well, because that is exactly what we have seen, which is great, but it has become predictable. Now whenever DB comes in its inevitably for an outside run. Its like when Teebow comes in for the Jets...always a run. You can't do that and expect to be successful.

Gavin, not pickin on you but lol....saw this when I looked back at the old running game threads...

yep go ahead get that running back so we can see that he cant run behind the crap we call an offensive line :slaphead:

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My issue with Ballard is the fumbles and the dancing he does, he made a couple good runs at the beginning of the game and I was impressed but he has gotten the majority of the snaps the last couple weeks and is only 8 yards ahead of Brown in rushing on 13 more carries, Thats certainly not to cut him down but running back was never the issue nor is there an issue about Brown being able to carry the load, Why would you feel more comfortable with a running back that hasn't show he can hang onto the ball yet consistently?

Your point is very valid regarding Ballard and his potential to fumble on any given play. I feel that I can see a steady growth with Ballard. He is definitely hitting the holes, and when there aren't holes, he has shown patience, (some of which might look like dancing behind the LOS.)

I think that Brown is a very good back, but he doesn't look like he's running with confidence right now, and especially not in the last game. Thus, my confidence in Ballard over Brown. If Brown comes back next game and shows the quickness that he displayed earlier this season, I think he'd be the starter. Nonetheless, I do like what I'm starting to see with Ballard.

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I think when he got hurt, Ballard got the touches and we never went back. Stats dont' show the intangibles, like arobatic twists into the endzone, but thats the heart I was talking about when I wanted Ballard over Brown.

YES! The run game is so improved I am tempted to remove part of my signature...but not quite yet.

A few months ago when we were having our "is it the oline or the running back" discussions. A few people thought DB is a misdirection back and Ballard and Carter were more power backs. It seems the coaches agreed with this as well, because that is exactly what we have seen, which is great, but it has become predictable. Now whenever DB comes in its inevitably for an outside run. Its like when Teebow comes in for the Jets...always a run. You can't do that and expect to be successful.

Gavin, not pickin on you but lol....saw this when I looked back at the old running game threads...

Not sure about the heart argument Im pretty sure Brown has that.but Brown is an outside runner yes but he can obviously run between the Tackles to, its kinda hard to have a ypc over 4 if you cant, I just dont think Brown got his fair shot behind a decent run blocking O Line over the course of a full season, I have said it before, but give him a good O Line and he is very capable of winning a rushing title (While taking care of the ball), Like I said I like Ballard but he shown he can hang onto the ball and thats the most important aspect of being a running back
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but this offense will be all about Luck, as long as Arians is here.

The offense will be all about Luck as long as Luck is here.

Chuck spoke some about a balanced offense, but with what Luck has begun to show the past three weeks, it's obvious where they are headed. Sure, he still makes rookie mistakes at times, but when he is on, he can light it up. Earlier in the season, the jury was still out as to whether he would look like this or not. The more he plays the less you hear about the need for a balanced attack. After ten games, the identity of this team is pretty clear.

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The offense will be all about Luck as long as Luck is here.

Chuck spoke some about a balanced offense, but with what Luck has begun to show the past three weeks, it's obvious where they are headed. Sure, he still makes rookie mistakes at times, but when he is on, he can light it up. Earlier in the season, the jury was still out as to whether he would look like this or not. The more he plays the less you hear about the need for a balanced attack. After ten games, the identity of this team is pretty clear.

How many games has Luck actually looked good when slinging the ball down field when Arians went on one of his pass happy I forgot what running backs are kind of phases? He has had 1 game when he has thrown the ball 44 or more times when he had a decent 62 completion percentage
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With that said I believe there are going to be games throughout Lucks career when he is going to have to win like that, no question about it, Thats how the new NFL works in that regard, But to not have some resemblance of balance is to set us up for much failure going forward

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Luck needs to be used on roll outs, why Arians does not do that makes absolutely no sense to me

I'm not big on (because we've seen some success) being overly critical of play calling, but I have to say, in the second half I was genuinely surprised that we didn't see any designed roll outs. The Pats DE's were getting 6 steps in to the backfield consistently. Step up, move over.

I dunno, I'm as over that game as I am the Jets and Bears games.

Most teams can get blown out depending on the situation.

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How many games has Luck actually looked good when slinging the ball down field when Arians went on one of his pass happy I forgot what running backs are kind of phases? He has had 1 game when he has thrown the ball 44 or more times when he had a decent 62 completion percentage

That's a complicated issue, depending upon opponent, game situation, etc., etc., and not really what I was getting at. My point was this: if anyone has watched Luck in his recent high moments and thinks that, in the years to come, the Colts will be playing like the 49ers, they are mistaken. Two months ago, the jury was still out on where they were headed. Today, it's pretty clear. Now, I hope it's a little more balanced than it was with Manning, but with Luck, this will always be a pass first offense.

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I'm not big on (because we've seen some success) being overly critical of play calling, but I have to say, in the second half I was genuinely surprised that we didn't see any designed roll outs. The Pats DE's were getting 6 steps in to the backfield consistently. Step up, move over.

I dunno, I'm as over that game as I am the Jets and Bears games.

Most teams can get blown out depending on the situation.

Oh Im not speaking about the Pats game in particular, The score was to be expected in my opinion, Im talking about playcalling as a whole this year
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The offense will be all about Luck as long as Luck is here.

Chuck spoke some about a balanced offense, but with what Luck has begun to show the past three weeks, it's obvious where they are headed. Sure, he still makes rookie mistakes at times, but when he is on, he can light it up. Earlier in the season, the jury was still out as to whether he would look like this or not. The more he plays the less you hear about the need for a balanced attack. After ten games, the identity of this team is pretty clear.

Luck has proven that he does horrible when his ears are pinned back, which they will be whenever we don't keep a balanced attack or at least the threat of a running game for FOUR QUARTERS.

Yes, sometimes in the NFL you just have to chuck it 45 times. Sometimes.

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Luck has proven that he does horrible when his ears are pinned back, or at least the threat of a running game for FOUR QUARTERS.

If you feel that way, you're only looking at the negative. I'm also looking at the positive, keeping in mind that he's a rookie. Sure he had a few passes get away from him in New England, but for a rookie, he had some impressive moments.

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We got blown out by the Jets and it seemed like most people thought the sky was falling. We go on a 4 game win streak.

We get blown out by the Pats and it seems like everyone is still doubting us.

I think the only real competition we will get is the Texans and maybe the Titans or Lions.

We have a very good offense when we run the ball effectively and we had to ditch the running game after the 1st half trying to catch up.

Once Vontae comes back and we get healthier on defense, we can be a very formidable team with our run defense and our good offense.

We still have a good chance to make the playoffs, as long as we beat the Bills this week.

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That's a complicated issue, depending upon opponent, game situation, etc., etc., and not really what I was getting at. My point was this: if anyone has watched Luck in his recent high moments and thinks that, in the years to come, the Colts will be playing like the 49ers, they are mistaken. Two months ago, the jury was still out on where they were headed. Today, it's pretty clear. Now, I hope it's a little more balanced than it was with Manning, but with Luck, this will always be a pass first offense.

Of course and it should be, It was obvious that was going to be the direction we were going to head, Just seems like throwing on 57.7 percent of the plays (for the season) is a little much given our O Line issues in my opinion, Its not so much even the ratio its the type of pass it is, the down the field throwing offense, Seems Arians offense can be classified as a vertical offense, get the ball up and down the field as quick as possible and all but eliminate the short to intermediate pass game, Also understand none of this is to take shots at Arians personally or otherwise, But I find myself scratchin my head on some calls, I mean we had the lead on the Pats when we were using the run and pass vs the Pats (for example) and then they scored to tie it up and then its like we went into trigger happy mode
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Of course and it should be, It was obvious that was going to be the direction we were going to head, Just seems like throwing on 57.7 percent of the plays (for the season) is a little much given our O Line issues in my opinion, Its not so much even the ratio its the type of pass it is, the down the field throwing offense, Seems Arians offense can be classified as a vertical offense, get the ball up and down the field as quick as possible and all but eliminate the short to intermediate pass game, Also understand none of this is to take shots at Arians personally or otherwise, But I find myself scratchin my head on some calls, I mean we had the lead on the Pats when we were using the run and pass vs the Pats (for example) and then they scored to tie it up and then its like we went into trigger happy mode

The 57% completions (28th in the NFL) and 21st in scoring speaks direclty to your point. And no matter how you slice those two things up, those are bad stats for a team gaining the number of yards they've gained.

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Of course and it should be, It was obvious that was going to be the direction we were going to head, Just seems like throwing on 57.7 percent of the plays (for the season) is a little much given our O Line issues in my opinion, Its not so much even the ratio its the type of pass it is, the down the field throwing offense, Seems Arians offense can be classified as a vertical offense, get the ball up and down the field as quick as possible and all but eliminate the short to intermediate pass game, Also understand none of this is to take shots at Arians personally or otherwise, But I find myself scratchin my head on some calls, I mean we had the lead on the Pats when we were using the run and pass vs the Pats (for example) and then they scored to tie it up and then its like we went into trigger happy mode

I don't know. It just snowballed and got out of hand on a few plays. I'm not sure I can trace that back to not running the ball enough.

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I don't know. It just snowballed and got out of hand on a few plays. I'm not sure I can trace that back to not running the ball enough.

we got predictable and it showed with 3 picks a fumble and alot of pressure on the QB, they new what was coming before they built that huge lead, The Pats just had to make the plays on defense to stop it and they did, all my opinion of course and just my opinion nothing more nothing less
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If you feel that way, you're only looking at the negative. I'm also looking at the positive, keeping in mind that he's a rookie. Sure he had a few passes get away from him in New England, but for a rookie, he had some impressive moments.

We're talking about the play calling and a balanced attack. Unless Luck is calling the plays, then this wouldn't even be his fault, so there is no need to defend him in this case. We're talking about Arians here, so.....this comment is coming out of left field.

Ok, ill humor that comment too....

WE KNEW HIS POTENTIAL BEFORE THE DRAFT... Draft day is over. Its time to live up to the potential. Your boy is going to take some criticism so get over it. Thankfully, he is more capable of handling criticism than his fans are....

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The offense will be all about Luck as long as Luck is here.

Chuck spoke some about a balanced offense, but with what Luck has begun to show the past three weeks, it's obvious where they are headed. Sure, he still makes rookie mistakes at times, but when he is on, he can light it up. Earlier in the season, the jury was still out as to whether he would look like this or not. The more he plays the less you hear about the need for a balanced attack. After ten games, the identity of this team is pretty clear.

one of the great coaches in the past, don" air" coryell at san diego and the old st louis cardinals got his nickname by going deep and it worked then and it can work again with the talent luck has. let us be patient until it works
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How many games has Luck actually looked good when slinging the ball down field when Arians went on one of his pass happy I forgot what running backs are kind of phases? He has had 1 game when he has thrown the ball 44 or more times when he had a decent 62 completion percentage

one of the past great coaches , don "air" coryell won with don fouts and jim hart using an air attack, it can work with good talent, we have good young talent , be patient sorry i posted this twice, it is bad to be old and forgetful

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