Do We Need More Mixon?

[BFritz21]

(10-24-2021, 11:14 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: Defenses have to respect the run because the basic threat of a run exists. You’re correct that players control gaps but this doesn’t change if they don’t ‘respect’ the run. They have to play those gaps, otherwise the offense will have rushing success. It’s the same reason why run game success doesn’t matter for play action passing. Play-action is going to be successful whether your running game is good or not - the basic threat of a run exists. As soon as you don’t play your gaps is when Samaje Perine rips off a 50 yard TD on you. It’s also why you don’t need to set up PA; it is already there by having a RB on the field.

Players are responsible for gaps but they don't pay as much attention to them if they know that there's less of a chance that it's going to be a run. It's also easier to identify if it's going to be a run because they know that the offensive linemen move differently at the snap.

The play action is much more effective with a successful run game and if the defense acknowledges that the possibility of a run is more likely.