I remember an article about Gase looking at the tape of the Atlanta Falcons on how they use their running backs in the passing game.

 

I think you're taking that stat somewhat out of context due to team make-ups. Denver had that little guy back in 2013 that was quick as lightning and slippery as grease...I forget his name but Peyton went to him a whole lot. However, if his primary receiver was open down the sidelines then you'd better believe that he was letting the ball fly.

I think the check-downs or designed RB plays are just one aspect of a balanced passing team. I don't think it's a pre-requisite though because we do the same thing with Landry- he's basically a RB who lines up to the outside on passing downs. I'm guessing if you counted his yardage with catches within 2 yards of the LOS, we're probably near the top of the league for those types of plays.

 

Yup.

I find it odd that people were talking about Ajayi improving as a receiver out of the backfield, as if he was awful. I seem to remember watching highlight videos of him in college where he made a lot of huge plays catching the ball out of the backfield on screens, or just regular passes. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else. I'm pretty sure it was Jay I was thinking of though, because I remember wondering to myself why we weren't doing more of that last year.

We tried to do it on several occasions with Damien Williams too. He made a couple nice plays out of the backfield last year, and they left a couple out on the field too with missed opportunities.

I wouldn't be surprised to see more of an emphasis on it this year.

 

Yup, that was him. I was thinking Megget and I knew that was wrong. Moreno was a nightmare match-up for everyone on D...I loved watching that little fella dancing thru traffic. Way more agile than Grant but a good comparison.

 

Yeah, I knew it was wrong so I didn't share it....I kept going through the M's though and that's the only thing that kept coming up. That's the joys of being overworked I guess.

 

Oh no, DirtyLandry... won't that take even more targets away from Landry?

Just buggin' ya.

I hope we use Ajayi more in the passing game this year. Not sure our Guards can executes screens, so maybe other types of passes.

 

Jay led all running backs his last year in college
in total receptions, total yards receiving, and yards after catch

Don't be shocked if he blows up to become one of the best
all around running backs in the NFL

 

I get your point, but I think the biggest reason those teams were #1 offenses?

Manning, Luck, Brees, Brees.

I also would be willing to bet all these teams were up there in attempts. I lean to an offense that is balanced well and doesn't HAVE TO pass for 4 quarters while playing catch up. Ball control and limited turnovers are what makes an offense great imo.

 

Yeah, those rankings are by yards. By attempts Denver was #2 in 2013, Indy was #1 in 2014, Saints were #2 in both 2015 and 2016, so efficiency-wise they weren't the best necessarily.

Just for comparison, by Y/A the top teams from 2013-2016 are: Eagles, Cowboys, Cardinals and Falcons.

Anyway, you can sort them the way you want to by scrolling down to the passing offense table here (change the "2013" in the URL for another year):
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2013/#all_passing

 

I've thoroughly looked through this site and team rankings.com.....I'm a heavy sports bettor so I tread lightly with volume stats.


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He was a great receiving running back in college. I read an article just a couple of days ago talking about this very thing, I'll try to find it and add a link, but basically the part he struggled with has been the route running aspect of the pro game. Being at the spot he is supposed to be. That's where most of his work has gone in the off season.He doesn't have problems with his hands or physically catching the ball.

 

LOL! Probably shouldn't go there!

 

I have been hunting for that article and I just cant find it. It was a link in my Bleacher Report feed a couple of days ago. It spoke about how he was a greaat pass catching back in college and the adjustments he was making to the pro game, especially route running.

 

I also believe he had issues with pass blocking, but I may be misremembering that.

 

No, I think you are right.

 

I think the bubble screen is awesome....if you run it about 20 times per season. It's definitely not bread and butter play though and I don't think we ever busted one for huge gains (which I'm probably wrong about since I said it out loud). Maybe he did break one but it was never a consistent weapon when we used it 10+ times a game.

 

I agree. I don't remember Ajayi missing all these catches. I do remember us not throwing to him very often. I seem to remember Williams being in there more as the RB we targeted on throws and that guy was money. Do I remember wrong?

 

Thanks. Yeah. I'm a very bad zero gravity safe cracker as well as a horrendous giraffe chiropractor. Now of course I've never been asked to do either. Kinda like Ajayi being poor at receiving when no one has thrown any balls to him.