We actually had the stats, Z2C, back from the Zombieslayer Madden attack discussions. They were around a year old, so did not include 2012. When down by 0-7 pts Mike McCarthy actually kept running the ball at the same rate, but when dropped more than 1 score down abandoned the run.
I'm not convinced that our running problems were a result of our RBs.
In the first half of the Seattle game this year (when we were shut out the first half) Packers ran 30 plays, 27 of them passes. Mike McCarthy abandoned the run in that game even before he knew whether or not we could run the ball. In the SF playoff game, he abandoned the run even though we had been having success running the ball all game.
And when Mike McCarthy does run the ball, too often it's a draw play out of the shotgun. It's stripping the run followed by a play action pass out of our play book.
Adding Lacy and Franklin isn't going to change anything unless Mike McCarthy changes his play calling.
Originally Posted by: macbob
So very true.
We lost to IND much the same way. Running the football is an attitude established by the HC and the play caller. It trickles down to the QB, the OL, the TEs, the RBs and the WRs.
McCarthy will have to set a new attitude with his staff and his schemes, and in turn, establish this with his players, making them all better blockers in the run game.
McCarthy "got it" after the IND game somewhere around week 5 or 6 last year? Then completely "forgot it" v NYG, where running was essential for us to win.
He got it again thereafter, and we wound up with a decent # of ATT on the year, but those numbers should increase greatly with Lacy and Franklin added, along with a new emphasis on running the ball.
Better blocking, and a strong commitment by our HC will go a long way towards making this a successful part of our game.