Offensive Speed

[Blankman]

Speed is vastly overrated, I will take heart any day of the week, my case Rex Burkhead. Gonna make everybody cry this year

 

Ol' Rex is far from just heart. Kid's not only fast, but he's a bruiser and smart for both football and classroom purposes.

[ESPY]

Game speed and 40 yard dash speed is 2 different things. Look at it like this was Nate Swift fast on the dash....not at all. Throw him into a game environment he was as fast as anyone. Yes our offense was nailed hard by the injury bug last year and that should pay divends this year with experince. That being said our offensive line is alot of the problems I dont care who you have back there at QB or out as WR, or RB if he has no time then speed is a mute point. Fix the offensive line and our "speed" will be greatly improved. You said Cincy, USC, and Oregon look at their lines all of them were near the top of their conference at that time.

Personally, I still wouldn't say Swift was a burner or all that fast in-game. He is more of a possession wide receiver. He was never going to blind anyone with his speed or quick moves, but he was the sure-fire choice if you needed a guy to catch a ball for you.

 

Yes yes, I know he had the good punt return against VaTech last year. But I would assist that to the excellent blocking more-so than Swift burning rubber.

Wait a second, we scored a TD vs VaTech last year? And it was Swift who scored it? ....only in our dreams.

[wilber24]

Speed is vastly overrated, I will take heart any day of the week, my case Rex Burkhead. Gonna make everybody cry this year

 

Ol' Rex is far from just heart. Kid's not only fast, but he's a bruiser and smart for both football and classroom purposes.

You are correct, going to see a big jump his soph. year

[Enhance]

Game speed and 40 yard dash speed is 2 different things. Look at it like this was Nate Swift fast on the dash....not at all. Throw him into a game environment he was as fast as anyone. Yes our offense was nailed hard by the injury bug last year and that should pay divends this year with experince. That being said our offensive line is alot of the problems I dont care who you have back there at QB or out as WR, or RB if he has no time then speed is a mute point. Fix the offensive line and our "speed" will be greatly improved. You said Cincy, USC, and Oregon look at their lines all of them were near the top of their conference at that time.

Personally, I still wouldn't say Swift was a burner or all that fast in-game. He is more of a possession wide receiver. He was never going to blind anyone with his speed or quick moves, but he was the sure-fire choice if you needed a guy to catch a ball for you.

 

Yes yes, I know he had the good punt return against VaTech last year. But I would assist that to the excellent blocking more-so than Swift burning rubber.

Wait a second, we scored a TD vs VaTech last year? And it was Swift who scored it? ....only in our dreams.

Edited.

[Zammers]

Speed is vastly overrated, I will take heart any day of the week, my case Rex Burkhead. Gonna make everybody cry this year

 

Ol' Rex is far from just heart. Kid's not only fast, but he's a bruiser and smart for both football and classroom purposes.

 

Had the pleasure of watching Burkhead in high school and he is all of these things above. Plus, he knows what to do with the ball in open space.

 

The kid is someone you just want on your team because of the "It factor".

[zoogs]

Screw the speed. I want butt kickers. If the line doesnt shape up and start knocking guys backwards, all the speed in the world will still have nowhere to go. Mendoza or whoever can run down the field as fast as they want to...while Lee or Green are fighting for air with the ball under a thousand pounds of defensive lineman.

 

Give me a great line and the several good backs we have...and the impact Watsons & Company's 'genius' can have on the team is drastically reduced.

 

Bingo.

 

Give me a smashmouth OLine, any Gill/Frazier/Taylor/Lord/Frost/Crouch qb and the rbs we have and our "multiple" 3 & out offense is history.

 

Even the O-line today has to be really athletic, especially at the tackle spots. You're not going to deal with fast edge rushers with lumbering types who happen to be strong. Even on the OL, speed/agility are very important.

[ADS]

Speed is good to a certain extent, I will take a Jerry Rice over a Percy harvin type anyday of the week. Rice wasnt the fastest wideout in the game, but he might have been the smartest, and ran the best routes. You could also throw Tim Brown, Steve Largent, Marvin Harrsion, and wes welker into that fold. Pretty good speed (not blazing fast by any means) but excellent route running, football smarts, and a quick burst off the line.

[shyndy]

lol with all those offensive players doing so well after winter conditioning, almost makes one wonder if the defense was designing their workouts or something

[mmmtodd]

Screw the speed. I want butt kickers. If the line doesnt shape up and start knocking guys backwards, all the speed in the world will still have nowhere to go. Mendoza or whoever can run down the field as fast as they want to...while Lee or Green are fighting for air with the ball under a thousand pounds of defensive lineman.

 

Give me a great line and the several good backs we have...and the impact Watsons & Company's 'genius' can have on the team is drastically reduced.

 

Bingo.

 

Give me a smashmouth OLine, any Gill/Frazier/Taylor/Lord/Frost/Crouch qb and the rbs we have and our "multiple" 3 & out offense is history.

 

Even the O-line today has to be really athletic, especially at the tackle spots. You're not going to deal with fast edge rushers with lumbering types who happen to be strong. Even on the OL, speed/agility are very important.

 

 

I wasnt referring so much to the lines athletic abilities as I was to their mental fortitude. There were times last year when the line plain looked defeated, standing around with their heads hangin. It was truly sad.

[Enhance]

Screw the speed. I want butt kickers. If the line doesnt shape up and start knocking guys backwards, all the speed in the world will still have nowhere to go. Mendoza or whoever can run down the field as fast as they want to...while Lee or Green are fighting for air with the ball under a thousand pounds of defensive lineman.

 

Give me a great line and the several good backs we have...and the impact Watsons & Company's 'genius' can have on the team is drastically reduced.

 

Bingo.

 

Give me a smashmouth OLine, any Gill/Frazier/Taylor/Lord/Frost/Crouch qb and the rbs we have and our "multiple" 3 & out offense is history.

 

Even the O-line today has to be really athletic, especially at the tackle spots. You're not going to deal with fast edge rushers with lumbering types who happen to be strong. Even on the OL, speed/agility are very important.

 

 

I wasnt referring so much to the lines athletic abilities as I was to their mental fortitude. There were times last year when the line plain looked defeated, standing around with their heads hangin. It was truly sad.

Not only mental fortitude, but confidence in general. Nothing was really the same after the Texas Tech game, and the Iowa State game just made things worse. Our o-line just needs to be more physical and stay healthier.