Injuries at Running Back

[RobertoGato]

This is the really impactful issue weighing on the offense right and it seems that no one is talking about it.

We all know that the Bobcats are a run-first team. It is and has been the Cats' identity on offense. The whole reason why a kid like Rovig or Bauman was meant to come in just manage the games was because our offense was supposed to be leaning on the run game.

But Ifanse got hurt early, and quite obviously isn't truly back yet. And then Logan Jones broke a rib and basically has to be managed for pain the rest of the season. That leaves Perry, Sumner, and Hosey as options. Yesterday, Ifanse got five ineffective carries, Jones didn't see the field, Perry didn't see the field, and Sumner didn't carry the ball (2 catches). Hosey flashed with the long run, but beyond that play he had 9 carries for 28 yards.

This decimation at running back makes it really difficult to run an offense with Rovig. I have been critical of his play, and remain so, but I can also say for him that too much had to be put on his shoulders against SAC and now UND because we don't have the guys to line up in the backfield with him.

This is a major reason why the QB run-game continues to be a necessary staple in the offense. It's also a major reason why the QB's in those formations so rarely hand off, which frustrates many posters around here. Jonsen, for an example, was handing off fairly regularly against SAC when Jones was in the game, and it was working. But he had to come out again and so the hand offs went away.

The biggest thing I was hoping for in the bye was health at this position. Sadly, it doesn't seem that this hope was realized. This is not the only issue causing problems for the offense right now, but it is certainly the biggest one.

[technoCat]

I bet KT3 would also be really helpful picking up the blitzes everyone is throwing at us now. We went from thinking we had a myriad of RBs to play and wouldn't need to use the freshman and find ourselves right where we were last year. We've been relatively healthy elsewhere and decimated there. Now our 3 other options(TA, TJ, and KK) are all looking beat up as well. I've been kind of watching Weber and Cal Poly and I'm flabbergasted how they seem to be able to run their guys 20+ times a game and never seem to have half the injury problems we do...

[coochorama42]

This is the really impactful issue weighing on the offense right and it seems that no one is talking about it.

We all know that the Bobcats are a run-first team. It is and has been the Cats' identity on offense. The whole reason why a kid like Rovig or Bauman was meant to come in just manage the games was because our offense was supposed to be leaning on the run game.

But Ifanse got hurt early, and quite obviously isn't truly back yet. And then Logan Jones broke a rib and basically has to be managed for pain the rest of the season. That leaves Perry, Sumner, and Hosey as options. Yesterday, Ifanse got five ineffective carries, Jones didn't see the field, Perry didn't see the field, and Sumner didn't carry the ball (2 catches). Hosey flashed with the long run, but beyond that play he had 9 carries for 28 yards.

This decimation at running back makes it really difficult to run an offense with Rovig. I have been critical of his play, and remain so, but I can also say for him that too much had to be put on his shoulders against SAC and now UND because we don't have the guys to line up in the backfield with him.

This is a major reason why the QB run-game continues to be a necessary staple in the offense. It's also a major reason why the QB's in those formations so rarely hand off, which frustrates many posters around here. Jonsen, for an example, was handing off fairly regularly against SAC when Jones was in the game, and it was working. But he had to come out again and so the hand offs went away.

The biggest thing I was hoping for in the bye was health at this position. Sadly, it doesn't seem that this hope was realized. This is not the only issue causing problems for the offense right now, but it is certainly the biggest one.

Thank you. I am surprised with all of the naysaying on this board when injuries are so obviously having a huge impact on this team. The "next man up" mentality can only be extended so far down the depth chart. The passing game needs work as timing issues are pervasive (coverage sacks are a disaster in the modern game and we had at least two yesterday). Moreover, Rovig is a first-year starter! What do people expect? They have short memories about the actual performance of first-year starters on the Bobcat/in the Big Sky Conference. Even Dalton Sneed needed a year to excel.

Is this a great team? No. Is it good? Yes.