Dontae Smith (nothing bad)

Northeast Stinger

Northeast Stinger

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GTLorenzo said:
Dontae impressed me all year long. He has a quick burst and seemed to be a bit bigger than Gibbs in pads. If we have a good OLine next year, I think he could go for 1,000 yards as the primary back.
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It was interesting to watch how different he was from Gibbs. Gibbs could take one cut and go to the house. Or he could break one tackle and pick up 20 yards. Incredible speed.

Dontae got yards in situations that would stop Gibbs for no gain. He was quick and slippery running in heavy traffic. Sometimes it looked like there was no hole and then he would get 7 yards. Did not have the top end speed of Gibbs but was reliable for picking up positive yards.
 
stech81

stech81

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Northeast Stinger said:
It was interesting to watch how different he was from Gibbs. Gibbs could take one cut and go to the house. Or he could break one tackle and pick up 20 yards. Incredible speed.

Dontae got yards in situations that would stop Gibbs for no gain. He was quick and slippery running in heavy traffic. Sometimes it looked like there was no hole and then he would get 7 yards. Did not have the top end speed of Gibbs but was reliable for picking up positive yards.
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Smith was the best back with no blocking.
 

Yaller Jacket

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My thoughts exactly. My first thought after the horrible disappointment of losing Gibbs was "I've always wondered what Smith would do if he got a whole bunch of carries. I guess I'll find out now." In the carries he did get,, he looked like a great combination of fast, shifty, with power.
 

takethepoints

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Northeast Stinger said:
It was interesting to watch how different he was from Gibbs. Gibbs could take one cut and go to the house. Or he could break one tackle and pick up 20 yards. Incredible speed.

Dontae got yards in situations that would stop Gibbs for no gain. He was quick and slippery running in heavy traffic. Sometimes it looked like there was no hole and then he would get 7 yards. Did not have the top end speed of Gibbs but was reliable for picking up positive yards.
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I know Gibbs is fast, but faster then Smith? Look at Smith's high school films; I'd say it's a photo finish. I think what Gibbs has is a better burst. When Brent Cunningham was at Tech you saw the same thing: one step and he was at top speed, just like Gibbs. Most backs need two or three steps to get trucking, but not Gibbs. Combine that with his cuteness in the open field and ability to catch and you have a very bad young man.

I think Smith and Griffin will have a battle royal for who is the RB next year and whoever it is will do just fine. But the look will be different. Both of them are more rock 'em-sock 'em types.
 
Jacket05

Jacket05

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takethepoints said:
I know Gibbs is fast, but faster then Smith? Look at Smith's high school films; I'd say it's a photo finish. I think what Gibbs has is a better burst. When Brent Cunningham was at Tech you saw the same thing: one step and he was at top speed, just like Gibbs. Most backs need two or three steps to get trucking, but not Gibbs. Combine that with his cuteness in the open field and ability to catch and you have a very bad young man.

I think Smith and Griffin will have a battle royal for who is the RB next year and whoever it is will do just fine. But the look will be different. Both of them are more rock 'em-sock 'em types.
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I think you nailed it with his burst. When Gibbs puts his foot in the ground to cut he does not lose any speed, which is insane. Gibbs also showed great vision this year for finding the right place to go to pick up yards even when the play broke down.

Dontae's strength is that he is shifty and is able to slip out of tackles. Everytime it looked like he was tackled he would come out on the other side while on his way down for a few more yards or even just slip out and keep running.

Losing Gibbs hurts for sure, but fortunately RB is the only position group we can afford to take that hit without having a significant drop off.
 
kalld12

kalld12

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Dontae Smith is so similar to Kyren Williams from ND. Both RB's don't have the jets of Gibbs, but the vision and patience to allow holes to open up and then the tough running ability to break tackles and get to the next level is near elite. No reason for DS not to have 1,000+ yards rushing next year unless we got to a pass heavy offense like the air raid with our new OC.
 
LongforDodd

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GTLorenzo said:
Dontae impressed me all year long. He has a quick burst and seemed to be a bit bigger than Gibbs in pads. If we have a good OLine next year, I think he could go for 1,000 yards as the primary back.
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How much better... do you think your Patenaude's offense (or your Offense for that matter) would have looked with your qualifier "if we have a good Oline next year"?

Asking for this Board. :)
 
iceeater1969

iceeater1969

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Gt Tight end yards after catch = approx 0.
2 back offense with Gibbs split out as if tight end. Every other wr go long and either hand ball to Dontae or dump it to Gibbs. The projected yards after catch = large.

We wasted Gibbs by giving gibbs the ball 3 yds behind los. This attracted lb and safties. He facilited crappy play calling.

How will we use Dontae if we have no more deep threat wr in 22?
 
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