Originally Posted by Chris Meck
Yeah that's not quite what that saying means, really.
Ok, man. I'm going to explain this to you in detail, no snark, just in detail. I doubt it's going to matter at all, because you're personally invested in a specific narrative, and you strike me as someone that's not going to change their mind regardless of what anyone says.
Ok. Andy Reid's offensive system starts first and foremost with his offensive line scheme. He looks for certain attributes; namely, quickness, lateral agility, and fundamentally sound technicians. He does so often knowing he's paying a price in raw power. That's because he likes to trap, and pull, and cross block. We rarely line up, man up, and try to shove a defensive line backwards. It's why we don't do as well in short yardage and goal-line unless we do trap, pull, and cross block. Things happen faster in short yardage, so we don't do as well.
The strength of the concept is that you get a defense on their heels, unsure of where you're going and what you're doing and by the time they figure it out, you're already into the second level.
The downside is that when it comes to just plain old power football, you're often not very good at it.
The fact is that Reid ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS has RB's that put up big numbers. Going all the way back to Westbrook. A RB in Reid's scheme needs quickness; must be a good receiver, must be able to pass block, and then yes, must be able to run the ball. BUT-it's not a power running scheme. It's not built that way. It's built on misdirection. WHO the back is matters much less than WHAT is happening on the line. This is why Damien Williams can step in for Kareem Hunt and there is zero drop-off in any measurable statistic. It's also why a Laveon Bell is a terrible, terrible fit in this offense.
Reid has also said, and this is fundamental West Coast Offense going back to Bill Walsh-he considers screens and dumps to the flat as an extension of the running game. They're elongated hand-offs. They're running plays. Consider them 'toss' plays if you will. Reid literally does, and does not care if you see it that way. It's a fundamental part of what he considers 'the running game.'
Forcing the defense to cover sideline to sideline is a HUGE part of the overall offensive concept. These plays are essentially really wide 'toss-sweeps'.
So, we've looked at the reason WHY we sometimes struggle with running the ball in short yardage and goal-line situations. Summary-it's not who's carrying the rock. It's that the line is built for other skill-sets.
We've also covered that Reid considers screens and short dump-offs to be part of the running game, as 'extended hand-offs'. You can disagree, but this is literally a fundamental part of his offensive concept.
So-when people say, "You want to change the scheme", they're right.
Because you're wanting to change things tendencies that literally would require changing offensive linemen to straight ahead blocking maulers (Schwartz is really the only guy we have that would fit that)
and you're saying you want to run the ball between the tackles rather than screens and short passes to the flat (which is contrary to the entire idea of the West Coast Offense in any of it's incarnations. The main idea of which is to force a defense to cover every inch of the field at all times.)
And furthermore, you believe that the 'problem' such as it is (or is not to be statistically accurate) is that we lack a quality running back. Hopefully I've explained that Andy Reid has ALWAYS had production from the RB position and always will; it's one of his hallmarks.
And as for me, I'm not saying 'I don't want a running back' I'm saying I don't want to draft one high or sign a big name one in free agency. I say Damien Williams played very, very well in extended snaps; and Darrel Williams played well in less extended snaps. You also have Ware and West, who while they're not all-pro's, only a fool would say they're not totally excellent 3rd string running backs that already know your entire offense and can be retained cheaply if you want to.
And that's all I've got to say about that.
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