re: BK says Durham not THE GUY

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So Durham single-handedly establishes a running game

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He did not. Look carefully at the plays. His 28 yard TD occurred when there was a giant gaping hole right where it was supposed to be. That was a 20 yard run to the eight yard line if you or I were the back. Durham showed good balance getting that in the end zone, but the play was made by the line and the call.

Fans always lose their minds over running backs whose lines dominate, and Durham’s line was starting to dominate when he entered the game. I do think he is our best ball carrier, but there is a lot more to the position than carrying the ball.

Moron

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Is it necessary to write off Williams and Jackson verbally to the media simply to make you happy? what is wrong with you? Do you know anything about the relationship between a coach and his players? Clearly you dont.....

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Yeah, I’ve only read the 1st page, but hopefully our fans are smart enough to understand this, though I have my doubts. But what possible benefit is there for BK to announce that Durham is now RB1 and will be getting the bulk of the carries moving forward? Who—and what—does that help?

It could hurt a few things though. You don’t want your 6th year all-purpose back who you have #18 to and who will still be counted on to provide a crucial role the rest of the way to get down and check out. You certainly don’t want Kaleb Jackson, who’s confidence is already probably pretty low to get even more down on himself and check out and start thinking about the portal knowing Durham, who is a year behind him, has already permanently passed him up and we have the #1 RB in the country committed to us and coming in next year. And you don’t want Durham to lose any hunger and let off the gas of getting better at all the little things.

And you don’t want to tell your opponent and give anything away. I think we’ve been a little too predictable with personnel anyway. We don’t want them to know every time 29 is in the backfield it’s going to be a run because we don’t fully trust him in pass pro yet. Just like we don’t want them to know every time 18 is in the game, that we’re going to pass, because we don’t want to give him carries.

Josh Williams has to get some carries every game at least to keep the defense honest. I think that’s why he was in at the goal line on the winning drive when everyone was up in arms about Durham not being back there (including me). With Williams in, they have to respect both the pass and the run. I think it’s partly why he was able to punch it in so easily when we hadn’t been able to run it at the goal line all game. Or really in short yardage all year. They had to account for Taylor leaking out, or a a quick hitter to Anderson, or an RPO to Lacy, etc…If Durham is back there, they probably key on him more and crash down to play the run.

But Durham will likely get the most carries moving forward. Certainly in big games. I could see them use all 3 this week pretty evenly, though, to try to build up Jackson’s confidence and keep him engaged. I don’t buy the weight thing making him slower or taking away his lateral quickness. He showed plenty of burst on that run up the left sideline. He’s just not running with any confidence right now, like he’s trying not to mess up. He’s worried about holding onto the ball, and running right into the hole the play was designed for with his head down. A lot of times the hole the play was designed to go through closes up, but another one, lots of times even bigger, opens up. And you have to redirect. Happened on at least 2 of Durham’s big runs. Supposed to go inside, everybody crashed down and there was a big scrum up the middle and he bounced it outside and found open field. Jackson can’t see to do that with his head down.

But we’re gonna need him, and he can’t disengage because BK has officially anointed the guy younger than him as the starter. Again, I will ask—“what is the benefit of that? What point would it serve?”

Guess what Kelly....you ain't the guy!

Unfortunately he doesn't. How many times is he going to go for it on 4th down close to the goal line and not get it leaving 3 pts out there? Three's add up over time. At least wait til you've gotten a few fg's before you decide to go for a td.

Coaches aren’t infallible. We can only judge what we see on the field. Some players are practice players. Some are not. But when the whistle is blown, it’s showtime.

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Durham had 50 of his 98 yards AFTER contact. That’s 4.5 yards/carry AFTER contact. He’s got an innate ability not only to just adjust to and bounce out to the hole that’s open, but to maintain his balance, stay on his feet, keep driving his legs. breaking tackles, and a nose for the end zone/1st down marker. Just tremendous athleticism and body control.

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And yet he had 5 carries for 4 yards vs Nicholls with a long of 4.

Maybe we should not decide we know more than the coach based on one game. Nor interpret what the coach says as something other than it was. Kelly's phrasing was "He is not THE guy". I took that to mean we need a rotation rather than one primary back, in part because of pass blocking right now but also Kelly seems to have a rotation philosophy to keep legs fresher for the entire season.

Maybe everyone would take a deep breath and give it a minute.