'14 Bbacks better than '09?

[dressedcheeseside]

As of right now after 12 games, our Bbacks have a cumulative total yardage of 1547 yards. The '09 group headlined by Jon Dwyer finished with 1601 in 14 games. We need 55 yards in two games to tie their mark.

 

[ibeattetris]

The O line is better.
Edit: way better

 

[dressedcheeseside]

The O line is better.
Edit: way better

Not sure I agree with that. Anyways, defenses are better, edit way better, at defending our offense. Familiarity. In '09, there were no players on the field with more than one game of experience vs our O. Now you have guys facing us for the 3rd and 4th time. Same goes for DC's.

 

[ibeattetris]

I think if you watch the things Dwyer was capable of, he got his yards in spite of the line. There were definitely times when the hole was there, but Dwyer was on a completely different level.

Laskey and Days are true gamers and I wouldn't trade them for anything, but I don't think it's very close to 09.

 

[takethepoints]

This is both true and false, I think. Neither Days or Laskey is as good a BB as Dwyer was, even on their best days. Oth, together they are better, largely because we lose absolutely nothing when one or the other has to be sidelined. If Dwyer had ever gotten hurt after 2008 (we could sub Cox then), then we would have been in a heap of trouble. Allen would have been moved over, but I'd take either Days or Laskey over him at the position (photo finish, admittedly). Laskey/Days is the best BB we've ever had at Tech and I think we'll miss him next year.

By the beginning of the 4th quarter, every time we had a 3rd down, my son and I were saying, "It's third and Laskey!" I'll miss that a lot.

 

[AE 87]

Yeah, I like our B-Backs, but the difference in our OL is the answer here, imo. I could be wrong, but I wonder if people forget how many times JD was stonewalled at the line. Imo, he had a lot more 0yd, or negative yard runs followed by more break-out runs based on him trucking or juking ad DB

 

[dressedcheeseside]

This is both true and false, I think. Neither Days or Laskey is as good a BB as Dwyer was, even on their best days. Oth, together they are better, largely because we lose absolutely nothing when one or the other has to be sidelined. If Dwyer had ever gotten hurt after 2008 (we could sub Cox then), then we would have been in a heap of trouble. Allen would have been moved over, but I'd take either Days or Laskey over him at the position (photo finish, admittedly). Laskey/Days is the best BB we've ever had at Tech and I think we'll miss him next year.

By the beginning of the 4th quarter, every time we had a 3rd down, my son and I were saying, "It's third and Laskey!" I'll miss that a lot.

It ain't over yet, we have two more games full of "Third and Laskey!"

My father in law, who doesn't follow college football one lick, watched the game with me because we had the extended family over for Thanksgiving. All he kept saying was "is that that big country boy agian?" and I kept saying "yep, it sure is...." He said "they can't stop him, can they?" To which I replied, "nope, they can't."

 

[Northeast Stinger]

As of right now after 12 games, our Bbacks have a cumulative total yardage of 1547 yards. The '09 group headlined by Jon Dwyer finished with 1601 in 14 games. We need 55 yards in two games to tie their mark.

Startling observation when I consider that prior to the season some of us were lamenting that we no longer saw production out of the B-back position like we did in days of yore.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I give the nod to Dwyer dud to his elite burst and speed. Laskey and Days I prefer for tough short yardage needs when we need 1-3 yards and the D knows we are running.

 

[thwgjacket]

The OL this year is very good. Better than in 09. They were drive blocking UGA's DL a full yard and sometimes 2 off the line yesterday in the 2nd half.

 

[Boomergump]

I give the nod to Dwyer dud to his elite burst and speed. Laskey and Days I prefer for tough short yardage needs when we need 1-3 yards and the D knows we are running.

This. Both Laskey and Days are better than Dwyer for the first 3 or 4 yards. However, when given a sliver of daylight and a little path to the second level, Dwyer is way way ahead. Things have to be wide open for our present BBs to get big yards. Dwyer was lethal with a little space.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I guess my point is we don't need another "Dwyer" to be just as productive as one. Of course neither Laskey nor Days is as good a pure runner as Dwyer. That's not the point. Our Bbacks this year will easily supercede the production of our best Bback ever under CPJ. That is nothing to take lightly.

As for the Oline comparisons, what of it. Like I said in an earlier post, Dwyer had the benefit of going against defenses unaccustomed to/unprepared for our style of play. If you think that doesn't matter, well I can't debate you.

 

[Minawreck]

in 2009 teams were still figuring out how to stop us and hadn't employed several of the strategies started by Bud Foster and Kirk Ferentz on the reg. We are facing much more experienced option stopping teams and still executing at a high level. It's a wash in my opinion.

 

[COJacket]

Agree with Cheese on this one. Laskey/Days production = Dwyer & company. Dwyer the best pure back, but what our BBs have done this year has been fantastic.

 

[DvilleJacket]

Last few seasons the BBack hadn't produced. I think alot of it was line play. We can rotate our line with the best of them now!

 

[GaTech4ever]

I think one aspect that is overlooked is the sheer threat of Dwyer taking it to the house from 50+ yards. Defenses aren't scared of Laskey/Days breaking a huge one, so they can play a "bend but don't break" philosophy. Which has actually played right into our hands with our long drives and keeping the D off the field.

 

[mistaben]

Days started and played more the first half. Laskey came in and blew them up in the second. Was Laskey hitting the hole a half-step quicker than Days? Or was the line blocking better? Or was the Dwag defense was getting tired? All of the above?

 

[AE 87]

Days started and played more the first half. Laskey came in and blew them up in the second. Was Laskey hitting the hole a half-step quicker than Days? Or was the line blocking better? Or was the Dwag defense was getting tired? All of the above?

Days was hurt.

 

[takethepoints]

Yeah, Days was hurt. And, yeah, Laskey was hitting the holes faster. He always has.

 

[DenverJacket56]

I was really impressed with both Days & Laskey popping big runs up the gut during the second half of the year. We have been missing that for 4 years now after Dwyer. No doubt in my mind that Dwyer is a better running back, both speed and power. Also, no question that this Oline is much better than the 08/09 lines. I also remember that Nesbitt pitched to Dwyer a good bit out of a straight option look. We did it some with Laskey this year, but he wasn't near as successful as Dwyer.