RB by committee or RB by play?
 

It is a well-known fact that the Saints, and quite a few other NFL teams, utilize the RB by committee approach rather than the workhorse RB approach (the Vikes Adrian Peterson for example).

I did notice one glaring thing against the Colts. Payton or Carmichael, whichever one is actually calling the offensive plays, changed RBs on just about EVERY SNAP. No RB has a chance to get in a rhythm. As a result I think our overall run game suffers. I wish we would change RBs by series, rather than by play.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

Hell I wish we'd figure out who's gonna start and just stick with him.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

Next man up approach. Its best they are all getting reps in case one goes down for any part of the season. They each have their own qualities that I like. I also think they should be rotated in on every other play to be better utilized by those different qualities they bring to the table.

If you're a play maker then when your number is called make a play. I don't know if I buy into the whole getting into a rhythm ideology either. What it really is is that you wear down the D. I think rotating them in and out does wear the D out late in the game.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

They do get in a rhythm; running on and off the field. Very effective but more coordination, tougher to find jack of all RB's as well. It's not a system for the faint hearted that's for sure.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

I agree, it is more about fresh legs and using your RBs to their strengths.

If a 'rhythm' is required, why run at all on the first possession in a game? Doesn't that rhythm get interrupted between possessions, or at 1/2 time?
I never bought into the theory, and if pounding wears down the defense it would be logical to spread the ball to not wear your RB down with the Defense.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

Whatever it takes to win.

Not gonna lie though....sure would be nice to have a 1000 yard rusher in a Saints uniform again. Yes yes I know its a commodity!

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

Saints rushed for 160 yards on 4.6 YPC on Saturday.

What ever they did, I hope they do it again and do it a lot.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

It honestly doesn't matter to me how they divy up the runs. I'm more concerned with making sure our backs get an opportunity to do a little bit of everything. Too often last year I saw us lining up in predictable run plays based on the personnel in the game. This year, let's give ingram more pass plays and protection responsibilities. Give krob more screen opportunities. Instead of screening PT all the time when he's in the game lets give him more opportunities to run in between the tackles or line him up out wide.

I don't want to see an automatic 8 man front this year just because ingram is in the game. I want defenses to think long and hard about what may be getting ready to happen.

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

While I agree it breaks the rhythm for any single RB, it's the rhythm of the offense since 2006.

The Saints offense deliberately confuses defenses by sending in sub packages for virtually every play. It forces the defense to attempt to matchup to the subpackage every snap.

SFIAH

Re: RB by committee or RB by play?
 

This is not a new thing, been doing it for years. Player groupings are a major concept of the offense. Shuffling different groups on and off the field keeps the defense off-balance. I would agree that it does probably mess with the running backs' rhythm the most of anything, but I think the benefits are far more than the drawbacks.

I imagine it must be really difficult for, say a cornerback, having to line up against Colston one play and then somebody like Stills the next. You can't get a good read on their tendencies because they're constantly sending a different guy at you.