Ford third string | We'll Be Fine at RB

[Capital H]

Our offense will be deadly as long as we execute. Like you mentioned there are weapons everywhere you look, as long as we dont drop passes, and dont cough up the pigskin there will be all sorts of USF records set this season.

[Guest]

1 - Ford will not be USF's leading rusher this year. Mark it down: Jamar Taylor.  USF will continue to operate RB by committee -- and I'm okay with that.

2 - Ben's YPC was 3.6 against Auburn.  Mike's was 3.5.  Give Ben the ball 15 more times, and USF still wins.

[USF Bulls Football]

Thats true Jim, but Ford had some huge runs. Ben was solid and consistent, about 4 a pop. Fords big runs made the difference imo.

[BULL-IT]

If our run game was more efficient Grothe wouldnt have made the dumb mistakes he made last year. The bottom line is that Grothe needs help. Otherwise i see Oregon flash backs! At the RU game he ran backwards 20 yards and got drilled. The WR's need to step up just like the RB's do. Sorry grad, your point is wrong, we need a rb to step up or we are screwed.

[Guest]

If our run game was more efficient Grothe wouldnt have made the dumb mistakes he made last year. The bottom line is that Grothe needs help. Otherwise i see Oregon flash backs! At the RU game he ran backwards 20 yards and got drilled. The WR's need to step up just like the RB's do. Sorry grad, your point is wrong, we need a rb to step up or we are screwed.

The problem with our running game was not the RBs.  It was the OL, especially injuries.  RB-by-committee can be successful with a solid OL.  Look at Arkansas and Georgia last year, both had two solid RBs that split the carries.  We don't need an RB to step up, we need the OL to make some holes and push the DL around.

[usfgrad84]

If our run game was more efficient Grothe wouldnt have made the dumb mistakes he made last year. The bottom line is that Grothe needs help. Otherwise i see Oregon flash backs! At the RU game he ran backwards 20 yards and got drilled. The WR's need to step up just like the RB's do. Sorry grad, your point is wrong, we need a rb to step up or we are screwed.

The point is that Ford doesn't have to be the RB.  As long as the RBs perform we are fine.  Even if it is by committee.

The question still remains.  Which game would Ford have made a difference in? 

Grothe running backward is a completely different conversation.  I would need to look at the RU game to see which RB was in on the plays where Grothe got drilled, but was it because a RB was missing blocking assignements?  Also, it was part of poor decision makig on Grothe's part to lose such huge yardage.  Take your lumps and go down when your hit.  Don't run backward.  Sophomore QB making Freshman mistakes in that situation.  He should have known better at that point.

[Stier]

As long as we win, who cares who's running the ball?!

[Bull Dozer]

Benny is number one because he know's his assignments and can pick up the blitz. 

Plus, he's a senior and we all know that is the Leavitt way - so B starts - I'm cool with that.

That doesn't mean we won't see a hell of a lot of Taylor and Ford in the back field.  We will see them plenty.

We all know Ford is good.  Why do you think he had so many touchdowns and the most rushing yards of all the backs. 

Because he is good and Leavitt trusts him down on the goal line. 

Leavitt has a lot of weapons right now and can use them in various situations.  Not a bad place to be.

running back by this committee will not work

Tell that to 13-0 Auburn with Ronnie Brown and Cad Williams, or to CJ Spiller and Davis, or to Reggie Bush and White (I'm sure you are a huge fan of them since you love USC so much).  Oh, and how about all those Super Bowl champions in a row with multiple running backs?  Patriots, Bucs, Steelers, Colts, and Giants (look at the playoff stats of Ahmad Bradshaw).

In other words, you have no idea what you are talking about.  It's all about how good the backs are and how you use them. 

I love our backs but seriously comparing those specific college tandems to our backfield is LOL.  Yes RBBC works when you have that kind of talent but our backs are no where near as good as those tandems.  Also the NFL is irrelevant to college comparisons and also all those NFL teams you listed had ELITE NFL lines  when they won those super bowls. 

So LOL means laughable out loud, now?  Whatever.  The only thing you said of relevance to what I said is "Yes RBBC works..." because that's what I said.  The point is that using more than 1 featured back isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I think you are selling short Ford's ability, but even if he's not NFL talent, using more than 1 back isn't a negative.

I'm all for using Ford as the featured back, but it's very possible Taylor has gotten a lot better.  All the RBs can contribute.  Using the phrase RBBC has a bad connotation.  Having depth does not.  Using depth at RB is always called RBBC.

You made a ****** argument  so your card got pulled on it.  RBBC works when you have a great run blocking line otherwise a back needs to get carries to get in a rhythm and get in the flow of the game.  So yes RBBC works when you have a line that can consistently generate holes which our line has been pretty spotty about.  Also to be clear i just think this move is a motivational tool for Ford, CJL does this all the time (Just look at the Chris Robinson situation currently).  Baring injury Ford should get the majority of the carries. 

I'm pretty sure a featured back struggles just as much when the O-line sucks.

You can call it a "****** argument" but you have done nothing to show it isn't true.  The point stands:  if you have good backs you can play more than just 1.  If you have 1 back that is better than everyone, then it's better to give the ball to that one back.

The point that I disputed is that the committee approach can't work, which is what smazza said.  Giving examples in college and pros of when it works is not a "****** argument," it's evidence of it working.  It takes a good line to run no matter what you do with running backs.

I think most people can see how good Ford is so I'm not worried about his carries yet.  I don't think he got enough last year, but he fumbled and had bruised ribs or something.  We'll see.

The ****** part was comparing backfields and lines full of NFL draft picks to ours.  Like i said if you have elite talent everywhere like those backfields you named yes you can be great at RBBC.  When we have two backs that go in the first round of a draft then your example will hold some weight to USF's situation.  Until then your using teams who's talent who was head and shoulders above USF's to try to justify what's going on here.  The situations you use as examples don't compare to what we have here on this team.   

[BullsOnThaRize8]

I agree with trust the coaches but it is as simple as....

Williams gets the first carries and we go backwards most of the time.

Ford gets the carries and we go foreword.

Taylor gets the carries and we go forward.

Mike ford must have the ball.

Taylor must get the ball.

Williams must get in the game sparingly when we need him the most. Example if we bring him in the defense just might think we are using him strictly for blocking and he can actually sneek a big gainer in there.

LOL The coaches are not stupid your right....so Ford will get the bulk of the carries.

What's wrong with D1-AA football. The qb from app st. is making a name for himself. No matter where Ford goes he will get a shot at the NFL.

[Bullpride08]

1 - Ford will not be USF's leading rusher this year. Mark it down: Jamar Taylor.  USF will continue to operate RB by committee -- and I'm okay with that.

2 - Ben's YPC was 3.6 against Auburn.  Mike's was 3.5.  Give Ben the ball 15 more times, and USF still wins.

Yeah but Ford had 11 carries for 59 yards in the first half.  He wilted in the 2nd half, even the announcers could see it, and therefore his final stats hurt because of it.  This is what caused Ford problems last year was his conditioning and knowledge.  He missed a lot during this summer too, which is why he's sitting at 3rd string, but we'll run by committee and he'll get his carries but he's got to completely commit himself too!  Everyone knows our program and realizes that Ford at 3rd string doesn't mean he's technically 3rd string it just means he's the third back to get in the game.  And he may still make a move at the conclusion of fall practices.

BTW, Taylor has put in his time this summer and is worlds better than last year, faster, bigger, stronger!