B Back Transfer - Patrick Skov

[gtalltheway]

MAYBE not but that Days run in the OB ranks there with the great ones of all time that I've seen in last 60 yrs--

How much football do you watch then? I have seen many more runs that were better. Not trying to take anything away from days but he got pushed at the sideline if the dude would have been wrapped up he wouldn't have scored. It was a good run though keeping his feet in.

 

[jason72]

I know all positions are important but I think with this being JT's second year he will take on alot of the load to help while the younger guys get up to speed. With Skov with his size if he has any quickness at all it should be 4 yrds everytime he touches the ball. Looking forward to the year.

 

[DvilleJacket]

The Days run was very Roddy like against ugag. Alot of shoulder tackling.

 

[GTBandit22]

What a strange reversal. Just prior to last season, people were dogging Laskey and Days, much less here than other places, but now they're irreplaceable. Im glad to see those guys finally get their due.
On this seasons prospects, Im cautiously optimistic. Allen obviously has talent. Skov is a smart 5th year, who can play special teams, and has experience in the trench warfare that is the goal line. We have 3 freshmen who will be in the mix. We lost two good players, but that's college football. Dwyer won ACC POTY in his first season in this offense. I'm not saying any of these guys are Dwyer, but I'm just speaking to the learning curve at Bback.

 

[bke1984]

I'm not worried at all about BB. The position lends itself to success. You don't have to be Dwyer to be successful, but it sure adds a whole different dimension to the offense when there is a serious home run threat back there.

I love Laskey, but the thing I always noticed with him was the inability to shed the first tackle after getting through the line. That's not horrible... I mean a consistent 5 yards is huge and it was just what we needed last year

Synjyn had that ability, but not the breakaway speed...I love the run in the Mississippi State game, but that's the most time consuming 69 yard run I've ever seen. I actually didn't believe it was happening while I watched it develop, but I do stil get chills and smile just thinking about it.

Dwyer had both the ability to shed the tackles and produce breakaway runs at any point in time.

The A backs are always a home run threat just based on the read progression, being at the edge, down field blocking by receivers, etc. However, if we could put a true home run threat at B back with Justin running the offense then watch out...

 

[ChasonBaller]

The Days run was very Roddy like against ugag. Alot of shoulder tackling.

That how they teach em, in the almighty SEC

 

[Pj4prez01]

I think Skov will be fine. But I really hope he and Allen don't get injured. The one concern I see with Skov will be conditioning. The biggest adjustment he will have to make is to not fumble after carrying the ball 3 or 4 times in a row late int the game. Making it very important for a solid backup to be able to come in and give him a breather.

And I am not sure MLD or MM will be ready to do that by the ND game.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

The one concern I see with Skov will be conditioning.

HUH???
He has been playing D1 football longer than most of our team.

 

[Skeptic]

Synjyn had that ability, but not the breakaway speed...I love the run in the Mississippi State game, but that's the most time consuming 69 yard run I've ever seen. I actually didn't believe it was happening while I watched it develop, but I do stil get chills and smile just thinking about it.

..

Not sure I agree with this. That was not his only long burst -- I forget the other of similar distance -- and maybe the time of covering 69 yards was extended because he veered to the sideline from the middle of the field, then had to get rid of a pesky obstruction, and then had to tightrope for 20 yards or so to stay inbounds. In rough numbers I would guess that 69-yard run was more like 80-85. I think he has plenty of speed. What might hurt him at the NFL level is the same as other B backs: not a track record of catching balls -- not saying he can't, just that he hasn't had to -- and pass blocking. (From a culture of 12-15 passes a game, max, to chuck and duck 40 pass-blocking assignments, has to be trying.) Again, not that he can't. He just hasn't had to and can't show tape. And if there is a more conservative collection of coaches in the universe, nobody has seen them. Kelly is about the only one who seems open to change. The rest of 'em think change is losing their jobs.

 

[GTonTop88]

He's probably going to be a positive for us, but he gained 18 yards last season on 12 carries. This is not Todd Gurley transferring to Tech.

But 4/12 were touchdowns, and im sure all involved goal line situations or 3rd and 1 where the box was stacked. So them numbers can be very misleading.

 

[Declinometer]

Such memories! Back when I actually followed the Falcons regularly. Andrews was the most fun to watch of any fullback in the pros. Played at around 205 but ran harder than some backs the Falcons had who ran at 240.

My favorite running back of all time. Grossly underrated IMO.
If hasn't been mentioned, played B back (fullback) in Auburn's triple option out of the wishbone.

 

[TheGridironGeek]

Poor Joe Starkey. I feel sorry for him having to call these Cal disasters on the radio the past few years.

 

[slugboy]

While we're off-topic and talking about the "ideal BBack", I'd love to have an uninjured Jamal Anderson at BBack. He drilled running and picking up a flag every two yards to train himself to keep his pads low, and would just cannonball through people.

 

[PBR549]

A lot of speculation. Time will tell and I have a lot of confidence that our staff will make the most of the situation. Can't wait to see.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

How much football do you watch then? I have seen many more runs that were better

I interpreted his comment as referring primarily to Tech plays over the last 60 years. In which case I would say this one ranks up there with Nesbitt against Virginia Tech, Bell against Nebraska and Cunningham against Clemson. (That last one, by the way, caused a retired Bobby Dodd to declare Cunningham the best running back to ever play at Tech).

Days run was impressive to me because the first real hit he took was at the knees. Earlier attempts were at the waist and feet and virtually missed. A good back might not go down with a shot to the knees but to recover from that and immediately be hit high is usually enough to bring even a good back down. After that he was perpetually (it seemed) on the verge of losing his balance as he walked the sideline before and after having someone gave him that shove while still recovering from the other hit.

 

[Skeptic]

I interpreted his comment as referring primarily to Tech plays over the last 60 years. In which case I would say this one ranks up there with Nesbitt against Virginia Tech, Bell against Nebraska and Cunningham against Clemson. (That last one, by the way, caused a retired Bobby Dodd to declare Cunningham the best running back to ever play at Tech).

Days run was impressive to me because the first real hit he took was at the knees. Earlier attempts were at the waist and feet and virtually missed. A good back might not go down with a shot to the knees but to recover from that and immediately be hit high is usually enough to bring even a good back down. After that he was perpetually (it seemed) on the verge of losing his balance as he walked the sideline before and after having someone gave him that shove while still recovering from the other hit.

If you go back and watch the guy who in theory shoved him out of bounds and quit, only to look back and see him heading for the flag, you will see astonishment and belated hurry-up to get back in the case. Way too late. Pretty funny.

 

[gtalltheway]

I interpreted his comment as referring primarily to Tech plays over the last 60 years. In which case I would say this one ranks up there with Nesbitt against Virginia Tech, Bell against Nebraska and Cunningham against Clemson. (That last one, by the way, caused a retired Bobby Dodd to declare Cunningham the best running back to ever play at Tech).

Days run was impressive to me because the first real hit he took was at the knees. Earlier attempts were at the waist and feet and virtually missed. A good back might not go down with a shot to the knees but to recover from that and immediately be hit high is usually enough to bring even a good back down. After that he was perpetually (it seemed) on the verge of losing his balance as he walked the sideline before and after having someone gave him that shove while still recovering from the other hit.

I see I can understand if it's refering to tech. And I'm not trying to take away from days it really was a good run.

 

[Pj4prez01]

HUH???
He has been playing D1 football longer than most of our team.

You have to keep reading.

There is a big difference between playing a full game as a 240 lb blocking fullback and a 240lb running back with 20+ carries and 100+ rushing yards. They are not the same thing and require different S&C training. Therefore I am concerned his conditioning will be his biggest challenge.

 

[bke1984]

Not sure I agree with this. That was not his only long burst -- I forget the other of similar distance -- and maybe the time of covering 69 yards was extended because he veered to the sideline from the middle of the field, then had to get rid of a pesky obstruction, and then had to tightrope for 20 yards or so to stay inbounds. In rough numbers I would guess that 69-yard run was more like 80-85. I think he has plenty of speed. What might hurt him at the NFL level is the same as other B backs: not a track record of catching balls -- not saying he can't, just that he hasn't had to -- and pass blocking. (From a culture of 12-15 passes a game, max, to chuck and duck 40 pass-blocking assignments, has to be trying.) Again, not that he can't. He just hasn't had to and can't show tape. And if there is a more conservative collection of coaches in the universe, nobody has seen them. Kelly is about the only one who seems open to change. The rest of 'em think change is losing their jobs.

Look, I'm not saying he's slow...he's much faster than I've ever been...he's just not super fast for home run type plays. He ran a 4.6 and a 4.61 40 at the pro day without pads on. Dwyer was in the low 4.5's at his pro day, and I think that was actually a bit slow for him at the time.

Maybe I'm just remembering it wrong, but I have memories of Dwyer blasting past DB's for FSU and Miami and not getting caught. Synjyn just always looked like more of a bruiser

 

[Boomergump]

One thing that is great about BBs, and more specifically, BB speed, is that when you break contain up the middle, nobody has an angle on you. In fact, you have the angle on most of them in pursuit. That is part of what made Dwyer so effectively fast. 4.6 is enough speed, if you are breaking free straight up field in the middle of a defense. Not so much, if you are taking a pitch up the sideline, where every defender has an angle of some sort. Dwyer was deceptively fast AND he was often racing against players without an angle.

I love BB speed and think it is a great help. However, the MOST IMPORTANT quality is being really tough to put on the ground. Give me a pile pusher first, then, if he has speed, great.