Barner over Williams

[Zod]

I think Barner will have better success under this bad offensive line than Williams. We saw it last night when Barner gained at least a yard or two on plays that Deangelo lost a few yards.

 

Why is this?

 

Deangelo is a wait and see runningback. He doesn't hit the line as fast as he can. He has good patience and tries to allow time for the blocks to develop holes. The problem is, the offensive line isn't developing any for him to run through. This results in what we have all seen, Deangelo running along the line looking for room and getting tackled for a loss of two.

 

Barner on the other hand doesn't have the experience to allow those blocks to develop. This is a negative that is actually a positive for us. He hits the first small opening fast and gets a couple of yards. This is actually a net 4 yards than if Williams was running the ball.

 

Is Barner a better runner at this point than Williams? nope

 

Is Barner a better option behind a god awful offensive line? Maybe so.

[Chaos]

Agreed.  I have finally come to grips with how glaringly bad our offensive line is.  My god, it's hard to watch them pretend to run block while Garry Williams does his best matador impression.

 

Barner can hide and shift where the line falls apart, whereas, like you said, Deangelo just waits for the tidal wave to crush him.

[panthers55]

I think we are going to have to rethink the power running game if our o-line can't block.  I like Barner and Williams catching screens getting tosses and finding other ways to get into space.  Doesn't look at if either guy will have much success at this rate. I can't see us having much success against a team like Seattle if we can't run the ball.

[beastson]

No RB's going any where with this line

[Zod]

No RB's going any where with this line

 

Well, apparently one goes forward and the other goes backward.

 

Which would you prefer?

[firstdayfan]

3rd and 7 is a lot better than 3rd and 12.

[Zaximus]

Tolbert may be better than any of them behind this line lol.

[Darth Biscuit]

Zod is exactly right. DeAngelo usually comes to  a near stop when handed the ball, looking for a hole.  With a good O line doing their job, that works.

 

With an O line that's getting pushed back 3 yards on every snap, not so much.

 

J Stew will have more success (if he can play) because he hits it harder... DWill is a finesse RB.

[Zod]

J Stew will have more success (if he can play) because he hits it harder... DWill is a finesse RB.

 

I am worried we may not see J-Stew this season.

[CarolinaNCSU]

Agreed.

 

It will be interesting to see how we fare against Seattle and how the playbook opens up, but as of now Barner is the guy I have faith in to create something in the run game. Until something is fixed, I'm thinking we're going to be seeing a lot more designed plays from the shotgun or pistol to create some confusion for opposing DLs and give Cam a full view of the DL at all times. 

[Darth Biscuit]

I am worried we may not see J-Stew this season.

 

 

Hmmm... not what I want to hear.  :(

[Shermdog]

I dont like either option. The line needs help bad.

[CRA]

Barner and Tolbert could be better options...

Tolbert ran better last year between the tackles and got short yardage.

Unless you are going to bounce him outside or use him in the screen game... Williams isn't good behind a bad OL between the tackles

[Zod]

Barner and Tolbert could be better options...

Tolbert ran better last year between the tackles and got short yardage.

Unless you are going to bounce him outside or use him in the screen game... Williams isn't good behind a bad OL between the tackles

 

I'm not sure he still has the speed needed to bounce around the outside.