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Run Production Yesterday

Deacsfan27 said:
Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed if we want to have a chance to make a bowl.

I still think that Brandon Pendergrass is the better running back for us right now.
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Based on production to date, I tend to agree. I think Harris has more pure talent and upside, but Pendergrass has had more "tough" runs and seems to average more yards per carry.
 
WRS said:
It kills me when people say this. There's a reason they call it an "average" :thumbsup: Josh had a pretty decent game against State and had two games last year that absolutely smash anything Pendergrass has ever done at Wake. I like BP and he's a good backup option but he's not on that level. Which one of his games this year makes you think otherwise? Harris is undoubtedly still maturing as he's just a sophomore. Also our run blocking causes me to cry myself to sleep at night.

/ramble
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BP outplayed JH against Syracuse, at least until the last regulation series when 'Cuse thought we would pass. He got no carries against State, so hard to compare. BP averaged more yards per carry v. GW than JH.

Harris has a lot of upside, but he needs to be more physical if the OL isn't going to open up bigger holes. That being said, I am a big Harris fan and very glad we have him.
 
Buttermaker said:
BP outplayed JH against Syracuse, at least until the last regulation series when 'Cuse thought we would pass. He got no carries against State, so hard to compare. BP averaged more yards per carry v. GW than JH.

Harris has a lot of upside, but he needs to be more physical if the OL isn't going to open up bigger holes. That being said, I am a big Harris fan and very glad we have him.
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I didn't see the Syracuse game (fortunately) but 9 carries/30 yards for BP and 22 carries/66 yards is nothing to write home about for either player. Pendergrass is averaging half a yard more per carry thus far. That's not really a worthwhile tradeoff for sitting a guy who has the gamebreaking ability of Harris. I'm sure the staff is also cognizant of the fact that we've got Harris for another 2.5 seasons. This team will be built around Price/Harris/Camp/Givens on offense next year.
 
WRS said:
I didn't see the Syracuse game (fortunately) but 9 carries/30 yards for BP and 22 carries/66 yards is nothing to write home about for either player. Pendergrass is averaging half a yard more per carry thus far. That's not really a worthwhile tradeoff for sitting a guy who has the gamebreaking ability of Harris. I'm sure the staff is also cognizant of the fact that we've got Harris for another 2.5 seasons. This team will be built around Price/Harris/Camp/Givens on offense next year.
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It's built around them now.
 
WRS said:
It kills me when people say this. There's a reason they call it an "average" :thumbsup: Josh had a pretty decent game against State and had two games last year that absolutely smash anything Pendergrass has ever done at Wake. I like BP and he's a good backup option but he's not on that level. Which one of his games this year makes you think otherwise? Harris is undoubtedly still maturing as he's just a sophomore. Also our run blocking causes me to cry myself to sleep at night.

/ramble
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That "average" refers to the real work that is done running between the tackles. Any "track star" can take a sweep a run it for 99 yards. But take away the couple of long runs, and look at what you have. There is no question that Harris has more "pure talent". But "pure talent" doesn't necessarily mean the best option. Brandon Pendergrass is our best option at Running Back. BP simply runs harder. Harris goes down too easy, especially when he sees he can't break the big run.
 
There is a negligible difference between their production thus far this year. Harris had a good game against the best (and I use that word loosely) team we've played so far. Both were poor against Syracuse and Pendergrass was marginally better against GW. You may prefer Pendergrass but there's no real evidence that he's the better option.
 
Typical backup QB syndrome.

Harris is way better. Pendergrass's problem with pass protection and ball security would be enough to keep him on the bench even if he were a better runner than Harris.

That said, Harris is the type of guy who needs solid run blocking to really succeed. But even with our terrible run blocking, he's the better option. If he had been in on BP's big run against G-W (the only time the o-line opened up a nice running lane), he would have taken it to the house.
 
They were not both poor against Syracuse. And Pendergrass did not get a carry against NC State. Trust me, if they give Pendergrass the ball more...you will see what I mean.

Syracuse Stats
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
--------------------------------------------
Harris, J 22 73 7 66 0 9 3.0
Pendergrass, B 9 35 5 30 0 13 3.3
Price, T 7 19 13 6 0 8 0.9
Bohanon, T 2 5 0 5 0 3 2.5
Stachitas, T 1 0 6 -6 0 0 -6.0
TEAM 2 0 21 -21 0 0 -10.5
Totals... 43 132 52 80 0 13 1.9
 
SneakyDeac said:
They were not both poor against Syracuse. And Pendergrass did not get a carry against NC State. Trust me, if they give Pendergrass the ball more...you will see what I mean.

Syracuse Stats
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
--------------------------------------------
Harris, J 22 73 7 66 0 9 3.0
Pendergrass, B 9 35 5 30 0 13 3.3
Price, T 7 19 13 6 0 8 0.9
Bohanon, T 2 5 0 5 0 3 2.5
Stachitas, T 1 0 6 -6 0 0 -6.0
TEAM 2 0 21 -21 0 0 -10.5
Totals... 43 132 52 80 0 13 1.9
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:confused:
 
Pendergrass has gotten the ball plenty during the course of his career. He's a known quantity at this point. It's not like the kid is some sort of under the radar phenom.

Here are his 5 best games in terms of yards gained:

27 carries for 110 yards against UVA
5 carries for 97 yards @ BC (long of 76 so that's really 4 for 21 using Sneaky logic)
16 carries for 72 yards @ NC State
13 carries for 67 yards against BC
21 carries for 64 yards against Duke
 
WRS said:
Pendergrass has gotten the ball plenty during the course of his career. He's a known quantity at this point. It's not like the kid is some sort of under the radar phenom.

Here are his 5 best games in terms of yards gained:

27 carries for 110 yards against UVA
5 carries for 97 yards @ BC (long of 76 so that's really 4 for 21 using Sneaky logic)
16 carries for 72 yards @ NC State
13 carries for 67 yards against BC
21 carries for 64 yards against Duke
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Wow, good post. I like the "sneaky logic" reference too! :thumbsup:
 
Pretty much boils down to we need to run the ball better no matter who's toting the rock, so man up O-line and RB's!!!!!
 
Football really needs to use median yards per carry instead of average yards.
 
Let's just agree that the passing game is far ahead of the running game right now and that definitely needs to change. OL needs to block better and we would probably benefit from rotating the backs a bit more.
 
WRS said:
Let's just agree that the passing game is far ahead of the running game right now and that definitely needs to change. OL needs to block better and we would probably benefit from rotating the backs a bit more.
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Well, not to nit-pick, but it only needs to change if it means the running game catching up to the passing game and not the passing game regressing to the running game. :thumbsup:
 
liveanddiedeac said:
Well, not to nit-pick, but it only needs to change if it means the running game catching up to the passing game and not the passing game regressing to the running game. :thumbsup:
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Absolutely...I thought for a second about that possibly being misinterpreted then said screw it and posted anyway.
 
WRS said:
Absolutely...I thought for a second about that possibly being misinterpreted then said screw it and posted anyway.
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Well, I hope no one would really misinterprete it, I was just being a smart-ass. :)
 
We are a throwing team now. BP can't pass block, and I like Harris more on screens and draws. BP is a good backup, but Harris is better and should get the majority of the work.
 
I said on another thread maybe it's time to give Blitch, Summers and the new wave of OL some playing time. I will make a prediction that in 2 to 3 years the OL will be a strength of our time. These new guys are already big(we don't have to try and bulk them up to be big enough), athletic and best of all have an attitude that's been missing on our OL for awhile.
 
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