Run DEFENSE - buying or selling or staying pat

[blion72]

going into the season the one area that I thought we might struggle was RUN D. we were not that good last year and many of the ingredients on that team were gone. also the only DT we have of any size is PJ.

so looking at Purdue, who was pass happy, they still were able to run the ball.

then Ohio was able to move the ball a bit on runs, which was a surprise.

Auburn was a pleasant surprise - we largely stoned their running except the 3rd and long QB runs.

CMU pushed our DEF line way to much and ran the ball. CMU got some surprise passes, were not able to run. I was not sure whether this was the total overlooking the opponent.

Now the NW game approaches and the media are thinkin Penn State will bring the hammer on NW. This team has the makings of a run team, but have been more pass happy to date. i am not sure how we handle this game, as all I am hearing from the media is how we have to use some of our players sparingly. Would it surprise you if NW came in an rand the ball on us? i mean serious rushing yards and TOP.

 

[s1uggo72]

going into the season the one area that I thought we might struggle was RUN D. we were not that good last year and many of the ingredients on that team were gone. also the only DT we have of any size is PJ.

so looking at Purdue, who was pass happy, they still were able to run the ball.

then Ohio was able to move the ball a bit on runs, which was a surprise.

Auburn was a pleasant surprise - we largely stoned their running except the 3rd and long QB runs.

CMU pushed our DEF line way to much and ran the ball. CMU got some surprise passes, were not able to run. I was not sure whether this was the total overlooking the opponent.

Now the NW game approaches and the media are thinkin Penn State will bring the hammer on NW. This team has the makings of a run team, but have been more pass happy to date. i am not sure how we handle this game, as all I am hearing from the media is how we have to use some of our players sparingly. Would it surprise you if NW came in an rand the ball on us? i mean serious rushing yards and TOP.

hmmm sounds to me, if we go and play hard, we are pretty good (Auburn) if we dont play hard we get pushed around (CMU) so go play hard!

 

[ApexLion]

going into the season the one area that I thought we might struggle was RUN D. we were not that good last year and many of the ingredients on that team were gone. also the only DT we have of any size is PJ.

so looking at Purdue, who was pass happy, they still were able to run the ball.

then Ohio was able to move the ball a bit on runs, which was a surprise.

Auburn was a pleasant surprise - we largely stoned their running except the 3rd and long QB runs.

CMU pushed our DEF line way to much and ran the ball. CMU got some surprise passes, were not able to run. I was not sure whether this was the total overlooking the opponent.

Now the NW game approaches and the media are thinkin Penn State will bring the hammer on NW. This team has the makings of a run team, but have been more pass happy to date. i am not sure how we handle this game, as all I am hearing from the media is how we have to use some of our players sparingly. Would it surprise you if NW came in an rand the ball on us? i mean serious rushing yards and TOP.

Mustipher remains the key. He has a future as a NFL NG if he stays healthy. It's difficult to block good athletes at 330 plus.

 

[JakkL]

Yes. Hull worries me. Hopefully the rumor of izzards return are true. It seems like we should spy Hull. He's their best runner and receiver.

 

[bdgan]

Staying pat

DL is solid and improving.
Secondary is good in run support.
Linebackers are below average.

 

[blion72]

Mustipher remains the key. He has a future as a NFL NG if he stays healthy. It's difficult to block good athletes at 330 plus.

that was the story of last season. PJ goes down and we struggle to stop run game. we don't seem to have any player on the roster like him. not an area we seem to have recruited well. some of our DTs look like DE's. I know the game has shifted and the emphasis is DBs but we still have teams in the BIG playing big boy ball.