Dontae Smith

Has looked better than Gibbs this year. Nor sure why we're using Gibbs the way we are this year.
 
Smith seems to hit the hole harder and Gibbs seems more tentative. Gibbs certainly didn't have many holes, but that seems to be the difference through 3 weeks to me. Both are talented and I've love them both to get the ball in space a little more. Unfortunately against a top 5 defense like Clemson, space is hard to get.

Also, not to pile on Gibbs, but he had some pretty bad blitz pickups/non-pickups today
 
05GTCorndog said:
Smith seems to hit the hole harder and Gibbs seems more tentative. Gibbs certainly didn't have many holes, but that seems to be the difference through 3 weeks to me. Both are talented and I've love them both to get the ball in space a little more. Unfortunately against a top 5 defense like Clemson, space is hard to get.

Also, not to pile on Gibbs, but he had some pretty bad blitz pickups/non-pickups today
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Gibbs blocking outside of that play where he helped get Yates killed was pretty solid. He had some good blocks today.
 
Liberty said:
Gibbs blocking outside of that play where he helped get Yates killed was pretty solid. He had some good blocks today.
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Yeah. He had some good ones but he also had some bad ones or ones where he blocked the wrong guy and turned guys loose on Yates. This is one of the more difficult things for young RBs to pick up. It happens, but he has to get better at it.
 
The defenses seem to be different when Gibbs is in too. It seems like there are more guys on him and faster than when the other backs are in.
 
Gibbs has developed a bad habit of trying to juke his way past defenders. He has the speed, just needs to keep going north and south. The shimmy stuff is just going to hurt him at the college level and it is a non starter at the pro level.
 
Gibbs style is to pick his hole or seam and wants to break the long run. Good college defenses don’t give up those big runs often and pursue a back waiting for the opening. When your offensive line is not great they will seldom give you the time for that. We might could put in more outside stretch runs for Gibbs. But Jordan hits the hole hard and gets what he can and Dontae accelerates quickly and gets past the line fast.
 
TechAKnee said:
Has to get more touches moving forward.
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Same as it ever was:

Dontae Smith

Anyone else thinking he’s making his case for more touches? Solid performances in both games, and he has a great lateral move that makes defenders miss. If Competition is King, he is deserving of a crown.
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Dontae Smith

Credit where credit is due. Smith gets very little to no press compared to the other 3 backs, but he looks really good with the ball in his hands. He’s explosive. I feel like we have 4 backs who compete and can get the job done.
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savbandjacket said:
The defenses seem to be different when Gibbs is in too. It seems like there are more guys on him and faster than when the other backs are in.
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You play different with a guy who’s not going to initiate contact. There’s enough game tape on him to know he’s going to run more east-west rather than north-south when the play does not have a large hole for him to run thru. This isn’t high school any more where you got big gaping holes and you just need to juke a LB or CB and you have a long run. He’s got a great coach in Choice, it will be a shame if his ego keep him from taking advantage. Choice had to rip him a new one with the game on the line last night and he rode the pine the last 2 plays I think.
 
Liberty said:
You play different with a guy who’s not going to initiate contact. There’s enough game tape on him to know he’s going to run more east-west rather than north-south when the play does not have a large hole for him to run thru. This isn’t high school any more where you got big gaping holes and you just need to juke a LB or CB and you have a long run. He’s got a great coach in Choice, it will be a shame if his ego keep him from taking advantage. Choice had to rip him a new one with the game on the line last night and he rode the pine the last 2 plays I think.
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It’s more than that. Dontae has a lot more room to run because the defense isn’t crushing in on him like they do Gibbs. It’s like the D is sure when Gibbs is in that it’s a run play and they aren’t sure when it’s Dontae.
 
savbandjacket said:
It’s more than that. Dontae has a lot more room to run because the defense isn’t crushing in on him like they do Gibbs. It’s like the D is sure when Gibbs is in that it’s a run play and they aren’t sure when it’s Dontae.
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If you look at the stats, Dontae gets the ball 50% of the plays he’s in the game. Nobody touches the ball more per play then him except the center and the QB. If opposing DCs are unaware of a fact a buttcrack armchair fan has figured out, well maybe I should switch occupations.
 
Liberty said:
If you look at the stats, Dontae gets the ball 50% of the plays he’s in the game. Nobody touches the ball more per play then him except the center and the QB. If opposing DCs are unaware of a fact a buttcrack armchair fan has figured out, well maybe I should switch occupations.
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I’m not taking anything away from Dontae who makes the best of the opportunities he’s given. But this seems a lot like the backup QB is the most popular guy on the team type stuff.
 
savbandjacket said:
I’m not taking anything away from Dontae who makes the best of the opportunities he’s given. But this seems a lot like the backup QB is the most popular guy on the team type stuff.
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Nope, just straight observation of performance. The kid delivers. I prefer to have our best performers on the field, not put somebody in just because he has better NFL measurables.
 
I wish he would have gotten the ball in the goal line situation. I really believe he could have gotten those yards. Runs straight forward and hard
 
savbandjacket said:
It’s more than that. Dontae has a lot more room to run because the defense isn’t crushing in on him like they do Gibbs. It’s like the D is sure when Gibbs is in that it’s a run play and they aren’t sure when it’s Dontae.
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Dontae is probably fresh since Gibbs gets most of the snaps
 
We should have at least two of the RB's on the field on every play. Yes we need to protect but a Gibbs or Smith available for a bubble screen or slant across the middle will contain the rush more than one of our TE's. Just as we did with the defense yesterday, we need to be creative and give opposing defenses looks they are not familiar with. We do not have to run the option to generate assignment confusion.
 
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