Hope Hurd continues to work on his stiff arm

#26
#26
PowerOrange said:
You said it should be rare for the first tackler to bring him down. Maybe you don't know what that word means.

He breaks plenty of tackles now. Hitting the hole is more of his problem and it looks to be a minor problem at that.
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Yeah, Travis Henry had no problems hitting the hole.
 
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#27
#27
The best critique I have seen thus far was a complimentary one that simply said Hurd needed to let the blocking develop just a step more. It was one of the football concepts pieces that are so well done.
Hurd is fast enough that sometimes he bounces out on a play that was decently blocked a 1/2 step later. I formation may give him that extra step but blocking concepts are the same. As a guy that likes to get a head of steam and initiate contact it makes sense that would be a "weakness". In a perfect world the blocking is faster and the hole opens quicker but given real world that is an opportunity. That to me is more paramount than a stiff arm since the stiff arm would come at the second level once he is past the line.

Kamara showed instances of being more patient in same scenarios so it can be done.
 
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#30
#30
PowerOrange said:
You said it should be rare for the first tackler to bring him down. Maybe you don't know what that word means.

He breaks plenty of tackles now. Hitting the hole is more of his problem and it looks to be a minor problem at that.
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He hits the hole just fine. He runs violently through the LOS, between the tackles, punishes plenty of would-be tacklers, is an outstanding running back. His primary issue, IMHO, is when getting to the second level of the defense, making a player miss and turning a 5-6 yard run into a 50-60 yard run. Fournette does, Chubb does it, Collins does it, Henry does it....Jalen, to date, hasn't done it.
 
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#31
#31
The majority of Jalen's runs begin with him running across the face of the quarterback - running laterally. I wish we would do more Pistol formation stuff out of the shotgun, like Alabama. That allows the RB to run downhill with his shoulders square. It makes it much easier to run through first contact and/or make the first guy miss..

In the bowl game, we did some off-set I-formation stuff with Dobbs under center. Jalen only had 2 or 3 carries out of this look, but IIRC he popped off 10+ yards every time. Jalen's running style is best suited for when he lines up behind the QB - IMO
 
#32
#32
Also I think the fact Hurd often gets the ball last minute and without knowing for sure in advance makes it harder for him to react to traffic. That is not something a bruising style back is typically asked. Not everyone can Barry Sanders behind the LOS and think that fast on their feet. Hurd is more of a Larry Czonka pound them into oblivion type guy. It's small wonder his family has reported frustration from him.


Watch this old Czonka Dolphins video and notice the similarities of our blocking today. Credit to Hurd for being much faster than Czonka but in Dolphins case that allowed cross blocking to develop.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/DHX-obVmY5Ia [/youtube]
 
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#33
#33
VolsDeep_5 said:
The majority of Jalen's runs begin with him running across the face of the quarterback - running laterally. I wish we would do more Pistol formation stuff out of the shotgun, like Alabama. That allows the RB to run downhill with his shoulders square. It makes it much easier to run through first contact and/or make the first guy miss..

In the bowl game, we did some off-set I-formation stuff with Dobbs under center. Jalen only had 2 or 3 carries out of this look, but IIRC he popped off 10+ yards every time. Jalen's running style is best suited for when he lines up behind the QB - IMO
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Great post. Spot on. Moving Dobbs under center and putting Hurd in that deep offset I was a thing of beauty. Hope to see much more of that next year.
 
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#35
#35
KBVol said:
Great post. Spot on. Moving Dobbs under center and putting Hurd in that deep offset I was a thing of beauty. Hope to see much more of that next year.
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Was just about to say the same about your last post. Jalen hits the hole extremely well. My only beef with him is he invites contact once he gets into the second level. Wish he would make that guy miss then run by them. He's got the speed & "wiggle" to do it.

And yeah - I really hope we do more of that I-formation stuff in 2016. The play-action off of those runs was awesome. Both of Ellis's big catches in the seam came out of that set.
 
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#36
#36
Who knew we had so many RB coaches on VN. I think Hurd is just fine with his running, he will be the top rusher sometime this year as a junior......but yeah, he needs some help.
 
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#37
#37
BearCat204 said:
Who knew we had so many RB coaches on VN. I think Hurd is just fine with his running, he will be the top rusher sometime this year as a junior......but yeah, he needs some help.
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It's the offseason. This is all VN is for the next 7 months outside of the recruiting forum.
 
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#38
#38
BearCat204 said:
Who knew we had so many RB coaches on VN. I think Hurd is just fine with his running, he will be the top rusher sometime this year as a junior......but yeah, he needs some help.
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My sentiments exactly. Jalen, just like everyone else, has things he could improve on, but overall his skillset is very highly rated. He gets stronger as the game wears on, and that is the trait that sets him apart.
 
#40
#40
BearCat204 said:
Who knew we had so many RB coaches on VN. I think Hurd is just fine with his running, he will be the top rusher sometime this year as a junior......but yeah, he needs some help.
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Come on Bear. No one's saying he's not an outstanding running back. He is. But this a message board. Would be very willing to bet that as he and Gillespie evaluate his 2015 performance and look for opportunities to make him better and eventually a higher NFL draft pick, that they're discussing what he can/needs to do to be better at ripping off some long runs, something that he's struggled with his first two years. He's a strong, powerful runner who is outstanding in pass protection and catching the ball out of the backfield as well. He consistently gets hard-earned yards around the line of scrimmage. The one area of his game that has been lacking is his breakaway ability. Not sure how anybody could legitimately refute that. Not trying to be a "RB coach", just a fan on a message board in the offseason.
 
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#41
#41
KBVol said:
Come on Bear. No one's saying he's not an outstanding running back. He is. But this a message board. Would be very willing to bet that as he and Gillespie evaluate his 2015 performance and look for opportunities to make him better and eventually a higher NFL draft pick, that they're discussing what he can/needs to do to be better at ripping off some long runs, something that he's struggled with his first two years. He's a strong, powerful runner who is outstanding in pass protection and catching the ball out of the backfield as well. He consistently gets hard-earned yards around the line of scrimmage. The one area of his game that has been lacking is his breakaway ability. Not sure how anybody could legitimately refute that. Not trying to be a "RB coach", just a fan on a message board in the offseason.
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Yeah, I get that, just think he is one of the players who could just do what he's been doing and still break records :) When he has had a clear lane for running, his breakaway has actually looked good to me. Hard to kick it in that next gear when you've had to smash your way just to get past the LoS. Some ITT are trying to suggest he goes down after the first hit all the time and that's pretty ridiculous IMO. Guy is a boss and his stiff arm looked pretty good against NW.....ask #98
 
#42
#42
BearCat204 said:
Yeah, I get that, just think he is one of the players who could just do what he's been doing and still break records :) When he has had a clear lane for running, his breakaway has actually looked good to me. Hard to kick it in that next gear when you've had to smash your way just to get past the LoS. Some ITT are trying to suggest he goes down after the first hit all the time and that's pretty ridiculous IMO. Guy is a boss and his stiff arm looked pretty good against NW.....ask #98
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Haven't read any post saying Hurd goes down after the first hit all the time....agree, that would be ridiculous. I have read a post or two suggest that at times, probably too many times, the first guy does bring him down in the open field, especially if he's running sideline to sideline and not upfield....that's true IMO.
 
#49
#49
KBVol said:
Hate to agree, but you're right. Hurd gets dropped way to often by the first guy, primarily when he bounces the run outside and is parallel to the los. I'm not worried about his stiff arm, I'm more concerned with his ability in space being able to make a guy miss and break off a long run.
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He's not now or will he ever be that type of back. His size alone limits him on that but he's a bruising Eddie George type of back which is a great thing...
 
#50
#50
volsdeep_5 said:
the majority of jalen's runs begin with him running across the face of the quarterback - running laterally. I wish we would do more pistol formation stuff out of the shotgun, like alabama. That allows the rb to run downhill with his shoulders square. It makes it much easier to run through first contact and/or make the first guy miss..

In the bowl game, we did some off-set i-formation stuff with dobbs under center. Jalen only had 2 or 3 carries out of this look, but iirc he popped off 10+ yards every time. Jalen's running style is best suited for when he lines up behind the qb - imo
Click to expand...

yes!!!!
 
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