"Lack of run game" gripers need to evolve

Every team needs a run game. It’ll come back to bite us in the ass sooner or later, but for now, we need to focus more on the screen game, which works for us brilliantly at least twice a game.

MUST. RUN. BALL.

Running the football is important because it is a simple play. During a pass you expose your quarterback to hits .. sacks… sacks/fumbles… interceptions…. tip balls interceptions… knock downs even after a successful pass etc etc etc…in other words there are alot of bad things that can happen during a pass play……….DURING a run play a short lost…a fumble…a short gain…..and well that is about it. So if you can run the ball you reduce the amount of bad sh!t that can happen on any given play….YES you can pass all day blah blah blah… it works very well on John Madden Football. But in real life it wont work… the pats got exposed today

Dion Sanders has a very VERY valid point. And if you look at what he is saying objectively about the Lions he is right. We play Green Bay and the bears later in the year with snow on the ground. How do you think that will work out for a team if they can’t run ?

During the regular season it can really help you stack up winss to pass the football. But at some point you can’t avoid the fact that if you can’t impose your will and run it down peoples throat (at least situationally)….then you won’t have the offensive diversity to excel on the road in the snow in the rain in the wind….. all of a sudden all those back lob balls are out of the play book… all of a sudden half the plays the Lions run are out of the playbook…. Yea Dion Sanders has a very valid point to doubt us… the Bills i have to admit are more for real than the Lions… because >> they can run the ball >>> the are decent vs the run on defence >>> solid qb play….. Lions can only claim to have the later with spotty run defence… and regardless of if your a homer or not can can’t accept it.

The Bears main struggles is that everything is on Culters back…. with little to no run game…. now they have other issues with that team. But a good run game can hide alot of issues…if you can run the ball then it isn’t all on your quarterback.. .at this rate teams will adjust to the lions very easy…. just like teams are figuring out the Pats (pass happy teams with questionable run games)…. people are figuring out that if they can score with you and get enough stops you will bet teams like Detroit and the Pats….

Can a team excel with very little in the run game? Sure…. but sooner or later a team will have to face this at least situationally (short yardage/ goal line/ running out the clock)…..it should be a concern…and a valid reason for anyone to say Detroit is suspect

Objective Lions fan

Or if you are going to try to run the ball don’t try again and again to run Jahvid Best between the tackles, it just doesn’t work. Every time we handed the ball to Best this week I threw up a little bit in my mouth because I knew where it was going, at most 2 yards but more likely nothing or a loss.
We can compensate for a lack of a running game through the use of screen passes (at which Best excels) and short throws to our TEs, Burleson across the middle and Best coming out of the backfield. If you do need to run the ball try to get Best outside because we simple do not have the personnel run between the tackles.

But I think it was just a particularly bad day, we ran better in the last two weeks and I think we can run better in the future. But as you said, we are a passing team, the run game is only to supplement our major gameplan.

To say the game has evolved is correct. I think most fans know that. The Lions are built to throw the ball. Do the Lions need to run more?
 No.
The Lions do need to be more effective when they do run the ball though.
So, do the Lions need a running back?
No. The Lions have tried many players at that position, with almost identical results. Sooner or later the two common factors in the running game must be looked at. The Lions have not been able to run the ball since Jeff Backus and Dominic Raiola donned Lions uniforms, with the exception of the rookie year of Kevin Jones.
The offensive line was exposed yesterday, more so than the running game. Now, I would like to see the article trying to explain why teams don’t need an offensive line.
Bottom line – if the offensive line gets or plays better, the running game gets better.

just dont have them lame ass runs and pass the ball instead

You need to keep the defense honest but you’re dead on. New school football plain and simple.

Both sides to this debate are right in a sense, except for one thing. In order for your team to compete and go deep a run game does need to do just enough each game to help the team out and be effecient and effective. Passing League or not. Whether you use the pass to set up the run or vice versa.

I am going to say this before I go any further though. Im trying Hard not to judge this weeks performance as much as I should be, could it have been an off week? or maybe they do suck that bad or maybe The Vikings Defense is just that damn good … I dunno, but there are some facts to support they needed more from the run game and that Detroit is actually designed as so.

Against the Bucs they started strong and came out using a very balanced attack. in that game Best had 72 yds, Harrison 27 and that big run for 20 by Nate. Late in the game though they had abandoned the run game more as they got to cramping up, this helped in assisting the Bucs to have more time on the clock while Detroit started playing soft. End Result was the media trying to make the Bucs seem like they were actually making a comeback.

Chiefs was self explanatory some good short field advantages and plenty of Defense w/ some Takeaways that put the Lions in a great position to blow the team out However in that game Best still ran for 57 and Williams 25. So there was definitely a trend early two games that the run game is meant to be a part of this. Whether it works or not is another story and has been for years.

Now we all know Stafford took some hits in those game but he was not sacked. Jarred Allen now leads the league in Sacks w/ 4.5 and he got 3 of those yesterday. Aside from playing from behind which forces the pass the run game is a factor here. I’ll go on record and say Im not giving up thinking they cant run the ball yet but this O Line has to do its job and the RB’s have to figure out a way to overcome this weakness on the Line and open the game up more. This also plays into what Skankdiddy is talking about w/ helping keep pressure off Stafford which was all day against the Vikings.

Do the Lions need a 100 yd rusher or even a 100 a game split between a committee .. No they just need that committee to keep the Defense Honest. Those first two games are prime examples of whats needed for the Lions to go deep late in the season. (saying 60-80 yds a game from a one back or the committee) 19 attempts for 20 yds is inexcusable.

There’s tough short yards to get, clock to run, giving your qb a break after he gets blasted by a blind side hit(let alone a sack)
what else? Oh yea, games in bad weather that can come up during season, and playoff games.

What gets me is grading on offensive line on only one aspect of the job. Great if your line is first in pass, but last in rushing, how good is that offensive line?
it is like being able to drive without knowing how to park.
I am not hating on our line, just saying there’s game situations where having the run option is a huge asset.

… but we don’t need an exemplary run game. We just need an effective run game. I think we do have that. The thing is, the ground pound isn’t the Lions’ thing. For a team like perhaps the Chargers a few years back, with LT, or AP of the Vikes, or Chris Johnson last year, sure, that was their strength so they utilized it as best they can. Since it isn’t the LIONS’ strength, why would they try to push it so much?

No, they simply need to use it more effectively so that they can play to their strengths (the passing game, obviously, with CJ and Staff and Curl Burl and Miracle ’Grew and Titanious Young, Chef Schleff…!) I believe they have done so quite well this year, with a few hiccups and slow starts.

I also think that a small upgrade or two on the O-Line would help things immensely, both in the run game AND in the pass blocking.

If your plan is to run the ball, then you need to do that. If your plan is to use short passes to compensate for lack of a running game then you do that. As long as you can execute your game plan then you are fine. Even if the other team sells out in order to stop you, they will not succeed if you can still execute despite their efforts to stop you.

I have been telling people on this site for a while that focus on the running game is looking at the Lions in the wrong way. The Lions often execute a variety of dig, arrow, wheel and screen routes by running backs and tight ends to compensate for the running game. The quick pass to a wide receiver is also used a lot by the Lions to substitute for the running game.

We need to understand how the Lions are constructed. The Lions have built the team to pass first and run only when the defense is selling out to stop the pass. They will run the ball just enough to keep the defense honest and very little more. It is just as effective to run time off the clock with a short pass as it is with a run when you stay in bounds. But by using the passing game instead of the run game the Lions are much more capable of converting third down situations that are longer than four yards.

We need to start understanding that the Lions will NEVER be a big time running team with Matt Stafford at quarterback. The Lions have too many receiving weapons, and Stafford loves to pass the ball. As long as Stafford is allowed to make play changes at the line of scrimmage he will probably call a pass play two out of three times. It is the nature of our team and we need to make peace with it.

1. Clock control. Prevent D worked for us in Tampa and while I dunno if I want to rely on it much it worked for us there. We can’t blow everyone out nor should we be trying to blow everyone out when we have a substantial game. Some time’s it’s okay to just kill the clock and go home. I know this is a different scenario but it does have to do with rushing. Remember the Vikings in the NFC Championship game? Favre could’ve just ran it like four yards for a 1st down and probably won with a fresh set of downs and goal to go. But he threw away the game. I know Stafford is a much different QB (thankfully) but in the very basics of the game of football..rushing has lower risk.
2. Bad weather conditions. Sometimes a passing game is just not going to be possible. Not everyone plays in a dome. Anyone catch the Jags game? Even Stafford ain’t throwing much in those conditions.
3. At least with LeShore out this season I don’t think we have much of a blocking back. Props to Best for giving Stafford another .25 seconds on the game winning OT toss up but I’d feel a lot better with a bigger back hanging around there if we’re gonna pass-rush like we did in Minnie.

Having no reliable run game makes us too 1 dimensional. I love screens, using the TEs for short yardage, etc, just as much as anyone. But having a legitimate running threat as well will only help serve our high-octane passing offense and it’ll keep defenses honest.

here: http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2011/9/27/2453577/lack-of-run-game-poll

Sorry for creating another fanpost for the same subject, but I want to see an aggregate view of how much we believe we really need to run and how productive our run game needs to be since our pass game is so good.

most people are forgetting that we are still building this team. This was not supposed to be our breakout year. We will get a run game, maybe not this year, but can’t we just be happy with what they have done, I know I am. This staff knows what they’re doing, that is evident. As Lions fans we should be used to patiently waiting for the pieces to fall into place. We may not be able to run this year, let’s see how far passing takes us, if teams get so used to us passing maybe it will open a running game. Mayhew and Schwartz will work some miracles next year.

The Lions, with their lack of a running game, AND having faced three running teams in their first three weeks, are #1 in the league in TOP. So explain to me why I’m supposed to believe that you need a running game to control the clock? Long meticulous passing drives without stopping the clock, followed by quick defensive stops.

Im not saying you need a hundred yard rusher but you always need to have a way to keep the D honest. I just do not see any team that can make a push into the playoffs with out some type of running game. The lions will get there eventually. Hopefully.

There’s a reason running backs are in the league, and RBs are still taken pretty high come draft day.

More often than not, if you wanna be a force in this league

you. need. a. run. game.

evolve my ass. It’s not even about that dude.