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Did our 2024 Run Game suck, is Brad Davis terrible, or maybe we just didn't run enough?
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:04 pm
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:04 pm
I see it in every thread, and topics on Brad Davis and how our run game hasn't developed or how Nuss will be better because our run game was terrible.
Let's throw out some numbers and see how bad it was.
373 Rushing Attemps last year totaling just over 1500 yards. Avg run was 4.1 yards a carry. Those are SOLID numbers. UGA averaged 4.1 YAC UT Averaged 4.4 YAC Both playoff teams.
How does this compare to let's say Ohio who won the Natty?
534 Rushes 2662 Yards 5.0 YAC
So was our rushing elite? No, but it was more than serviceable.
How about our RBs and skill positions? Anything noticeable about their numbers?
Emery 6.1 YAC
Durham 5.4 YAC
Williams 4.1 YAC
Jackson 3.4 YAC
Nuss -1.1 YAC
Z Thomas 8.4 YAC
If you really dig into the numbers, all of the teams who had better YAC or more yards total, simply ran the ball more than we did. Ole Miss had over 500 rushing attempts last year. That's 130 more rushing attempts than we had.
I don't think our problem was we didn't run the ball well, I think we just didn't run the ball enough.
One last stat.
In 2023 LSU offense had 863 offensive plays. 430 of those were runs.
2024 LSU offense had 923 offensive plays. 373 were runs. We had 60 more plays in 2024 but 57 less running plays. Thats almost 5 rushing plays less PER Game.
Maybe to establish a running game, you might need to run the ball?
Let's throw out some numbers and see how bad it was.
373 Rushing Attemps last year totaling just over 1500 yards. Avg run was 4.1 yards a carry. Those are SOLID numbers. UGA averaged 4.1 YAC UT Averaged 4.4 YAC Both playoff teams.
How does this compare to let's say Ohio who won the Natty?
534 Rushes 2662 Yards 5.0 YAC
So was our rushing elite? No, but it was more than serviceable.
How about our RBs and skill positions? Anything noticeable about their numbers?
Emery 6.1 YAC
Durham 5.4 YAC
Williams 4.1 YAC
Jackson 3.4 YAC
Nuss -1.1 YAC
Z Thomas 8.4 YAC
If you really dig into the numbers, all of the teams who had better YAC or more yards total, simply ran the ball more than we did. Ole Miss had over 500 rushing attempts last year. That's 130 more rushing attempts than we had.
I don't think our problem was we didn't run the ball well, I think we just didn't run the ball enough.
One last stat.
In 2023 LSU offense had 863 offensive plays. 430 of those were runs.
2024 LSU offense had 923 offensive plays. 373 were runs. We had 60 more plays in 2024 but 57 less running plays. Thats almost 5 rushing plays less PER Game.
Maybe to establish a running game, you might need to run the ball?
27
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:10 pm to Pauvetibete
It is difficult for an offensive line to be dominant at both run and pass blocking. Most are road graders or pass blockers. Few do both well.
Your numbers show that we were a passing offense and I would imagine most of the offensive line work was related to the passing game.
Your numbers show that we were a passing offense and I would imagine most of the offensive line work was related to the passing game.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:16 pm to Pauvetibete
If you consider 69.5% of those runs were on 2nd and 10. You really got something there……
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:16 pm to Pauvetibete
Emery looked so good in the USC game - just wasn’t right that he got tripped up going in for the go ahead TD then tears his ACL next practice.
But I think it’s a BK thing in the trenches - his teams have never been known for imposing their wills along either line. Say what you will about Les, but those guys were ready to run through literal brick walls for him and consistently broke the will of every team not coached by Saban.
But I think it’s a BK thing in the trenches - his teams have never been known for imposing their wills along either line. Say what you will about Les, but those guys were ready to run through literal brick walls for him and consistently broke the will of every team not coached by Saban.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:26 pm to Pauvetibete
Rb vision was very bad besides emery for a game, and durham in general. I looked at back at several games, and watched every run play, and most of the rb, especially Jackson, alot of times williams , would hop into a tackle. The entire line would have a play blocked up perfect, and the rb just doesn't see the edge, open space.
Our run scheme is very very basic, and often our guys are sitting in pass protection for run, pass option plays, but most of what I saw the few games I checked, was very very bad natural running instincts to find space. Mainly from Jackson and Josh Williams.
Our run scheme is very very basic, and often our guys are sitting in pass protection for run, pass option plays, but most of what I saw the few games I checked, was very very bad natural running instincts to find space. Mainly from Jackson and Josh Williams.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:28 pm to Pauvetibete
I’m not a football strategist but my gut tells me the line was designed for the previous 2 years to cater to a highly mobile quarterback in Jayden Daniels who essentially was your run game. When we had to rely entirely in the running backs for the run game, the line had trouble adapting to this.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:29 pm to tgdk11
We have run almost exclusively zone blocking for years now and our RBs are so bad at reading zone blocks.
Jackson runs like it’s a gap and he doesn’t care if that gap is open.
It was so refreshing to see Durham read, bounce and cut back.
Jackson runs like it’s a gap and he doesn’t care if that gap is open.
It was so refreshing to see Durham read, bounce and cut back.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:31 pm to Pauvetibete
The thing about football is run game is king. You have to force the run no matter what. If one rb isnt feeling it than you have to turn to the next guy. Keep running with them and impose your will! Then the defense will tire out and you can open it up and start throwing on them at will. This is something les understood so well. He knew how to impose will on the othet team by forcing the run. He knew in order to win championships you have to pound the rock!
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:37 pm to Pauvetibete
Not only run the ball but run the ball more creatively and Effectively. Teams never feared lsu running the football in 2024
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:44 pm to Pauvetibete
o line said no on the run game
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:52 pm to Pauvetibete
When Dellinger got hurt our OL went to crap. He covered up for Chester in pass protection by closing up one A gap and was a better run blocker than Mubenga. Our TE’s missed blocks on a regular basis which killed a lot of plays.
Durham showed what a quick RB with vision could do in the zone blocking scheme we use. When he hurt his toe we were screwed. Ultimately I feel it falls a lot on Davis for not developing quality depth behind Delly but you can also point the finger at BK for not having better RB talent at a school like LSU.
Durham showed what a quick RB with vision could do in the zone blocking scheme we use. When he hurt his toe we were screwed. Ultimately I feel it falls a lot on Davis for not developing quality depth behind Delly but you can also point the finger at BK for not having better RB talent at a school like LSU.
This post was edited on 4/15/25 at 3:57 pm
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:58 pm to Bring Da Wood
quote:
When Dellinger got hurt our OL went to crap. He covered up for Chester in pass protection by closing up one A gap and was a better run blocker than Mubenga. Our TE’s missed blocks on a regular basis which killed a lot of plays.
THIS. There was a MARKED drop when Dellinger got hurt.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 3:58 pm to Pauvetibete
When you’re running an offense out of shotgun formation, and your QB refuses to run the ball..it’s not hard to defend the run
Posted on 4/15/25 at 4:01 pm to Pauvetibete
quote:
is Brad Davis terrible
When do you hold BK accountable for continuing to employ him since he is terrible?
Posted on 4/15/25 at 4:09 pm to tigersav
We need a nasty lead blocker - Steltz, Jordan, Johnson, Stampley, Copeland, Neighbors, Moore… it’s time for the return of the Fullback.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 4:12 pm to SammyTiger
quote:
We have run almost exclusively zone blocking for years now and our RBs are so bad at reading zone blocks.
Jackson runs like it’s a gap and he doesn’t care if that gap is open.
It was so refreshing to see Durham read, bounce and cut back.
IMO, the overall approach to the run game really didn't fit the personnel. Durham had the best skill set to fit the approach, but that doesn't mean it still wasn't a poor approach.
For two years defenses were deathly afraid of LSU's QB running. For good reason. Daniels was one of the best open field runners we ever seen at LSU....at any position. DEs/OLBs couldn't just instinctively crash off the edge at the RB with no regard for the QB running by them.
Nussmeier is not Daniels, nor will he ever be like Daniels as a runner. We and the coaching staff can demand that Nuss keep the ball around the end occasionally. But that is clearly not his strength, nor is he comfortable doing so. Forcing players to do something they are weak at doing and reluctant to do because they are weak at doing such is BAD coaching. Yet, that is what LSU did last year. DEs/OLBs totally ignored the possibility Nuss would keep around the end. And I suspect they didn't care (and won't care this year) even if he does it with more frequency because the defense is just fine with Nuss running the ball as opposed to anyone else on the offense. They'll continue to play the odds and crash off the edge because they don't think Nuss can beat them as a runner over the course of a game (and they are right). They'd much rather him running the ball 10 times a game (with minimal success) than him throwing the ball or getting into the hands of guys who can make plays on the ground.
That crappy approach made it even harder for LSU's RBs. Jackson is in the Hill, Fournette, Les Miles RB mold. A downhill, one-cut back. Asking him to take a mesh handoff from a near standstill, read the OL, then accelerate from the near standstill is not his strength. He doesn't have the lateral quickness and first step burst to do so. Williams had better vision and lateral quickness than Jackson, but it wasn't exceptional. That meant the split-second defenses no longer had to pause worrying about the QB allowed them to use that time to cutoff Williams. It literally took Durham's exceptional quickness and bust to have any small chance at a running game.
If Sloan takes the exact same approach this year, then expect the exact same results. However, LSU has talent at the RB spot. Diverse talent with guys who have different strengths. A good OC schemes and calls plays to maximize the strengths of his personnel. A bad OC tries to force his personnel to do things they aren't strong at.
This offense has the ingredients to be one of the very best in the nation. The question is do they have the chef to bring it all together?
This post was edited on 4/15/25 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 4/15/25 at 4:13 pm to Pauvetibete
The run game was atrocious and anyone that tells you otherwise didn't watch the games. Those numbers don't tell the true story. In all 4 of our losses, LSU had:
25 carries for 113 yards against USC (24 for 74 yards outside of Emery's 39 yard run). Basically 3 yards a carry excluding that run.
23 carries for 24 yards against A&M. A yard a carry in a game where you led the majority.
24 carries for 104 yards against Bama (23 for 45 yards outside of Durham's 45 yard run). 1.95 yards per carry excluding that run.
44 carries for 128 yards against Florida. 2.9 yard average.
Outside of 2 big runs that were outliers, those are abysmal running stats, and you could clearly tell that they were struggling to run even with Dellinger in the lineup.
Even against Ole Miss in a big win, we struggled to run the ball (Durham was the leading rusher with a whopping 37 yards).
It was a combination of the O-line not being able to run block and Sloan's predictable play calling (almost always a zone-read when you know Nuss isn't pulling the ball and taking it himself).
25 carries for 113 yards against USC (24 for 74 yards outside of Emery's 39 yard run). Basically 3 yards a carry excluding that run.
23 carries for 24 yards against A&M. A yard a carry in a game where you led the majority.
24 carries for 104 yards against Bama (23 for 45 yards outside of Durham's 45 yard run). 1.95 yards per carry excluding that run.
44 carries for 128 yards against Florida. 2.9 yard average.
Outside of 2 big runs that were outliers, those are abysmal running stats, and you could clearly tell that they were struggling to run even with Dellinger in the lineup.
Even against Ole Miss in a big win, we struggled to run the ball (Durham was the leading rusher with a whopping 37 yards).
It was a combination of the O-line not being able to run block and Sloan's predictable play calling (almost always a zone-read when you know Nuss isn't pulling the ball and taking it himself).
Posted on 4/15/25 at 4:32 pm to Pauvetibete
IMO, running alot of RPO where the QB has little to no chance of keeping the ball has a good bit to do with it.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 5:05 pm to Pauvetibete
You need to run a pro style offense with the type of quarterback we have.
Run more I formation play action
Run more I formation play action
Posted on 4/15/25 at 5:12 pm to tigersav
quote:
When you’re running an offense out of shotgun formation, and your QB refuses to run the ball..it’s not hard to defend the run
This is very true but the line last season lacks a mean streak.
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