No One to Run

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January 19, 2018

by Alex Zeese

It’s safe to say that of all the snake bit positions on the Redskins roster in 2017, no position group was hit harder than the running backs. In 2017, seven different backs had to help carry the load in the run game. The team churned through nine backs over the course of the season. By the final whistle in week 17, the only guys still able to stand on the field healthy were Kapri Bibbs and Dare Ogunbowale.  When it comes to the health of the roster, it is safe to say we’ve not seen a more miserable season at running back. The last season I can recall that came close was possibly 2009 , where not a single player for the Redskins ran for 500 yards, and the likes of Quinton Ganther was starting for the Redskins by the end of the season.

Now that the season’s over and the team appears to be directionless, the first thing that needs to be done is to figure out a plan.  When we last had Mark Bullock (link) on the show, we talked for a long time about this year’s running game issues.  One of the things he pointed out was that Gruden’s offense ends up running all sorts of different schemes, inside zone, outside zone, power runs, etc. But because they are trying to run everything in order to stay unpredictable, they end up not being very good at any one particular scheme.  An argument could be made that for the ‘Skins running game to improve, the coaching staff needs to stop trying to turn the offense into jack of all trades, figure out what they do best with the running backs and build around that.

For whatever reason, this coaching staff and the front office have been desperately searching for a power back – that elusive 230 pound monster to just run guys over.  Yet, after four years, the team is still yet to find a guy who can take that role on.  We have seen the team invest heavily in these kinds of players in the draft with Matt Jones and Samaje Perine, and they also seem to keep looking for that player elsewhere.  Backs like Mack Brown and Rob Kelley also fit that build, and you can even go back to Silas Redd and Alfred Morris, who were on the roster in Gruden’s first season.  It seems that Gruden and his staff are searching for that traditional 2 back idea of “thunder and lightning”, where you can change the pace of the running game based on who’s in the backfield.  On paper, it makes sense but in games, they have not been able to make it work out very well.  There are far too many games in Gruden’s record book where the team has ended up never able to get the run game going.

The Skins really only had one player who was effective all season, Chris Thompson.  Who when healthy is a great dual threat, a better receiver than he is a classic runner. He finished with a solid 800+ yards in his 10 games before getting hurt.  Thompson’s strengths as a speedy back and a good receiver resulted in a 4.6 yard per carry average, nearly a whole yard better than anyone else running the ball except LeShun Daniels, who only had 3 attempts on the year.  A team cannot have a solid running game relying on a glorious 3rd down back alone.  However, it’s past time that the team embraced Thompson as a blueprint for the kinds of running backs this team needs to be successful.  Their best plays to the running backs all year were in the screen game, with delay runs and the occasional inside zone runs.    And this isn’t just a one year thing – in 2016 Thompson was again the team leader when it came to his average yards per carry and a great weapon as a receiver.

The team needs to stop banging its head against brick walls and embrace what has been working. The running game would vastly improve with bringing in another speedy shifty back.  You hope Thompson can come back healthy, but even if he comes back, Thompson is best when he’s rotated in and out of the lineup, if you look at his numbers from last year, after a point they tended to go down the more snaps he played.  If you can keep him in the sweet spot where he’s taking part of the workload and still able to stay fresh, Thompson would be more effective and a second guy with a similar skill set would only improve the backfield’s production week in and week out.

I don’t know who that guy is. Kapri Bibbs may fit the bill; he had an impressive showing late in the year and the skill set feels about right. In terms of the draft, I don’t claim to be a scouting junkie so I’m not going to tell you I’ve got some kid in a mid major school I’ve been watching who’s perfect.  I know there’s some good talent possibly coming out in free agency. Le’Veon Bell is probably a pipe dream, but he has 300 catches in the last 5 years and would be a great feature back.  Guys like Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead or Jerick McKinnon may be a more realistic options if they become available.

Personally, I’d rather they find someone in the draft, but that would be my vision for how this part of the roster should be built.  With a new versatile back in for 1st and 2nd downs, Thompson similarly continuing in his 3rd down role.  Because he is in the 2nd year of his contract I think the team should keep Perine around. If nothing less he could be still be of use in short yardage situations.  Stop running power schemes, and stick with the zone runs that our offensive line is better at blocking.

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