Why Isn’t Christian McCaffrey Panning Out?

[nickzz]

" McCaffrey has the skills to be used as Alvin Kamara is in New Orleans and Kareem Hunt in Kansas City "

 

lol

[BIGH2001]

It also doesn't help that we have 1 of 5 linemen playing at an acceptable level for a pro right now.   Gentleman's biggest failure was not addressing center and tackle spots.  

[SCO96]

3 hours ago, Vagrant said:

the similarities between CMC and Reggie Bush are eerie. similar size. similar games. CMC will be very reliant upon his offensive line for push on his designed runs and will always be more valuable as a receiver. he's not a dive play running back. he needs space and he needs pulling linemen. the problem is that we don't have a strong road grading tackle to run behind on either side and our interior linemen are more suited to straight line blocking than pulling because they're insanely strong but not quick enough to get around the tackle for tosses and sweeps. 

the real idea should be to get him in a bunch formation behind Funchess and KB for quick hitter screens and let them go one on one with corners in matchups they should win no problem. 

So, as you astutely pointed out in the above post, most of the problem with our run game goes back to the O-line. 1) We need better run blockers at each Tackle Spot. I can't understand why Rivera hasn't given Moton more playing time this season. We spent a 3rd round pick on him and he came out of college with the reputation of being a good run blocker. If Ron wants to run the ball we need to see what he can do. What we have now just isn't working.

Great point about the pulling guards. I know the game changes over time. But, if you want to see some good run blocking go to you tube and click on the highlights of the Cleveland Browns of the 1960's when they had Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly. I can watch that all day long. Their downfield blocking is fun to watch as a dominant passing attack.

 

Now, I'm by no means equating CMac with the 2 above Hall of Famers, but I can only imagine what he could do if he had blockers that could to the next level. Right it's a struggle for him to get to the line of scrimmage without some defender hit him (and Stewart for that matter in the backfield).

 

[Riverboat Ron]

Look at what makes NE or NO successful offensively. 

Smart Offensive Coordinator, passing scheme with accurate pocket passing QB's that get decent protection.

Us: Below average Offensive Coordinator, power run scheme, option QB with bum shoulder and poor blocking. 

It's like trying to put Deion Sanders at DT and calling him a scrub because he can't get sacks and gets mauled by 330 lbs. Linemen. McCaffrey is a superstar that would thrive in the right scheme but until we commit to either changing our scheme or personnel he'll never reach his potential.

[Hoenheim]

Christian McCaffrey , in the last 5 games, did not get anymore than 16 yards rushing in any of those games. Let that sink in. 16 YARDS. Thats not even 1/4 of a football field. 

[rico6]

5 hours ago, Vagrant said:

the similarities between CMC and Reggie Bush are eerie. similar size. similar games. CMC will be very reliant upon his offensive line for push on his designed runs and will always be more valuable as a receiver. he's not a dive play running back. he needs space and he needs pulling linemen. the problem is that we don't have a strong road grading tackle to run behind on either side and our interior linemen are more suited to straight line blocking than pulling because they're insanely strong but not quick enough to get around the tackle for tosses and sweeps. 

the real idea should be to get him in a bunch formation behind Funchess and KB for quick hitter screens and let them go one on one with corners in matchups they should win no problem. 

Ugh. Reggie Bush shames Mccaff in almost every way possible.

[electro's horse]

Just so we're clear

 

[Hoenheim]

1 hour ago, nickzz said:

" McCaffrey has the skills to be used as Alvin Kamara is in New Orleans and Kareem Hunt in Kansas City "

 

lol

How about nah 

[catnip]

people are complaining about CMC, but Stewart has done nothing special either.  Our problems has been the 0line . no run blocking, no running lanes, and our pass defense is not much better.  Heaven help us !

[SCO96]

4 minutes ago, catnip said:

people are complaining about CMC, but Stewart has done nothing special either.  Our problems has been the 0line . no run blocking, no running lanes, and our pass defense is not much better.  Heaven help us !

Totally agree. I posted this under another topic but it's relevant here as well.

Take a look at the chart below for our rushing stats for the season. If you take away Cam's carries, yardage and TD's our rushing attack has generated 151 carries for 470 yds and no TD's. Our average per attempt is 3.11.

If you add up just the carries of our running backs the numbers are even more dismal. Stewart, McCaffrey, and Whitaker have 148 carries for 419 yards; which averages out to 2.83 per attempt. Take note that Cameron Artis-Payne is not on the list because he has had no carries this year.

I don't think all 3 of our primary runners average 3.0 ypc or less because they stink. It's because the run blocking has been terrible this year. Our defense still needs some back end help, but for the most part it's played well this season. If the Pats had our defense they'd be undefeated this year. In the offseason, the O-Line is going to need a makeover if the team wants to establish a dominant (or even competent) rushing attack.

	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM	FUML	1DN
Jonathan Stewart	99	295	3.0	17	0	0	42.1	1	1	20
Cam Newton	49	211	4.3	16	0	3	30.1	2	1	20
Christian McCaffrey	45	114	2.5	11	0	0	16.3	1	1	7
Curtis Samuel	2	39	19.5	31	1	0	6.5	0	0	1
Damiere Byrd	1	12	12.0	12	0	0	3.0	0	0	1
Fozzy Whittaker	4	10	2.5	8	0	0	1.7	0	0	1
Totals	200	681	3.4	31	1	3

[Chairman Wow]

McCaffery is 2nd in the NFL in YAC, despite having to constantly adjust to poorly thrown passes.

As a runner, he's basically as much of a bust this year as Stewart.

[The Righteous Troll]

I'm not saying McCaffery can't be a solid player but he was taken WAY too high. Run blocking is awful but even when he is in space he goes down after one tap and doesn't have the moves to really shake most NFL defenders. A trade down to pick up more players would have been the right move. Rivera is talking about not "wearing the batteries out of a new toy"...well get a better toy then.

[The Righteous Troll]

3 minutes ago, Chairman Wow said:

McCaffery is 2nd in the NFL in YAC, despite having to constantly adjust to poorly thrown passes.

As a runner, he's basically as much of a bust this year as Stewart.

 

He's always catches those passes out of the backfield I would hope he leads the league in YAC when the defenders are focused on Cam

[Chairman Wow]

2 minutes ago, The Righteous Troll said:

 

He's always catches those passes out of the backfield I would hope he leads the league in YAC when the defenders are focused on Cam

Well, Einstein, McCaffery "catches those passes out of the backfield" just like every other NFL running back.