A Question of YAC, and the Run Game

[HoneyB]

One of the things rolling around in my head this morning, maybe because of this "secret superstar" thing with Matthews, is YAC. Miami has traditionally struggled with Yards After Catch, even if they complete a lot of passes, which they did last year. (Tannehill was top 10 in passing yards). Coaches are always saying they want chunk yardage.

Where do we stand? Miami was ranked 23 out of 32 teams last year. (Bottom Third.)

	Team	Yards after Catch
1	Denver Broncos	2751
2	New Orleans Saints	2576
3	Detroit Lions	2392
4	Green Bay Packers	2344
5	Atlanta Falcons	2298
6	San Diego Chargers	2274
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	2220
8	Philadelphia Eagles	2183
9	Cincinnati Bengals	2163
10	Jacksonville Jaguars	2152
11	New England Patriots	2151
12	Indianapolis Colts	2105
13	Dallas Cowboys	2077
14	Cleveland Browns	2061
15	Kansas City Chiefs	1996
16	Chicago Bears	1903
17	Washington Redskins	1890
18	Baltimore Ravens	1877
19	Arizona Cardinals	1855
20	Oakland Raiders	1818
21	Tennessee Titans	1746
22	Carolina Panthers	1736
23	Miami Dolphins	1718
24	Houston Texans	1714
25	St. Louis Rams	1701
26	Minnesota Vikings	1679
27	Seattle Seahawks	1635
28	Buffalo Bills	1617
29	New York Giants	1579
30	San Francisco 49ers	1411
31	New York Jets	1398
32	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1151

Teams we look at, like Green Bay, was 4th. The Eagles were 8th. So you might say...that's what we need to do. But not so fast. Why is San Francisco and Seattle at the bottom?

And without a lot of analysis, which I'm not willing to do, I'm going to make the assumption that it's because they're balanced. They're at the bottom in team YAC, but they have something else: A running game. And by magical coincidence...so does Green Bay and Philly.

The Eagles are #1 in team rushing yards. Their top RB is LeSean McCoy.
The 49er's are 3rd in team rushing yards. Their top RB is Frank Gore.
The Hawks are 6th in team rushing yards. Their top RB is Marshawn Lynch.
The Packers are #8 in team rushing yards. Their top RB is Eddie Lacy.

The Dolphins didn't do nothing to help their running game. They did pick up Shelley Smith who can run block, and maybe a better back in Moreno. They added a WR who is very good at blocking when he's not catching everything in sight. They drafted a TE who I think is third on the depth chart. It remains to be seen whether that's enough. I would have loved it if we added a RB in the draft, which is why I tracked them all, previously.

Some teams who were low on the totem pole in rushing yards like us, did draft Andre Williams (Giants), Dri Archer (Steelers), DeVonta Freeman (Falcons), and Terrance West (Browns). It's worth noting that the Falcons, who had many of the exact same issues we did last year with O line protection, low RB production, scheme issues, red zone problems and underwhelming QB performance already have a very good RB coming back this year from an injury, Steven Jackson. They also have Jaquizz, who I remember being very impressed with in games, but still felt compelled to draft DeVonta Freeman.

Two teams (Bengals and 49ers) who ended the season with strong records (11/12 wins), drafted 2 top RB's in the draft, Jeremy Hill and Carlos Hyde.

So yes....running backs matter. It doesn't matter how devalued they are, they are obviously seen as CRITICAL acquisitions by top teams, and important additions by struggling teams.

 

[greasyObnoxious]

i appreciate the effort, but i think a lot of getting yac has to do with scheme and obviously the quality of the QB's and the targets. we didn't rack up a whole lot of yac, because we connected on a lot of curls and comebacks while also missing on a lot of big play opportunities down the field.

as for adding RB's. it isn't that teams are shying away from them. they don't want to spend big ressources for the talent available. if the talent is there though, as in next year's draft, we're probably gonna see some bigger investments again.

 

[HoneyB]

You can get yac with any scheme, not sure what you mean. But yes, we didn't execute ours properly, my hope is we do so this year.

But really my point was that even if we fix the yac issue, there's still the weakness of the run game. There's been open speculation on the eagles blog, for example, that Lazor won't be able to import as effective an offense in Miami because we don't have good enough players to support a solid running game.

 

[fishfanmiami]

Complete a few of those long misses to Wallace and throw a few more screen passes and the YAC will increase dramatically.
As Greasy said the curls and comeback passes are good for moving the chains but there is little or no YAC and that really brings the average down.

 

[HoneyB]

When do we do screens?

 

[So Be]

I take next to nothing on YAC for receivers, other than Clay on a screen, just waaay toooo many things to consider. Our four WR's all had a better YAC average than Sidney Rice, Rody Whitw, Steve Smith, Marques Colston, Dwane Bowe, Victor Cruz, and "The Beast" Brandon Marshall. What does that tell ya? Absolutely nothing.

Agree on the run game. Lazor has no where near the run blocking he had in Philly, they were off the charts, and almost any RB could have run behind them.

 

[fishfanmiami]

When do we do screens?

I remember one to Wallace for a TD but that's about it. This is one reason for the low YAC. Every yard gained on a screen is after the catch plus it's a great way to supplement for a poor running game. Hoping Lazor uses this a lot especially with Moreno on board.


Heading out to a pool party so all you kids have a great holiday :brewskis:

 

[So Be]

When do we do screens?

In spring cleaning. lol

 

[Vaark]

IMO it's not just that Smith could be a better run-blocking Olineman - but it's more that a better pass-blocking OL and TE position and a pass- blocking-capable Moreno that will make the running game more successful if Tannehill with more time can demonstrate that opposing Ds who don't respect the passing game do so at their own peril. Pennington vs the Ravens 8 in the box confirms that no matter how skilled a rushing game and run blocking OL may be - if the passing game threat cannot spread the field - it'll most always end up being a losing numbers game.

 

[HoneyB]

I take next to nothing on YAC for receivers, other than Clay on a screen, just waaay toooo many things to consider. Our four WR's all had a better YAC average than Sidney Rice, Rody Whitw, Steve Smith, Marques Colston, Dwane Bowe, Victor Cruz, and "The Beast" Brandon Marshall. What does that tell ya? Absolutely nothing.

Agree on the run game. Lazor has no where near the run blocking he had in Philly, they were off the charts, and almost any RB could have run behind them.

Different receivers do different things. Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston don't get YAC but other receivers on their team do.

But I agree with your overall point. And that's what I discovered when I was looking up YAC. I don't think it matters, in the bigger picture. What matters is overall yards, first downs, points...that's all.

I don't want to become this year's Atlanta Falcons, where we have pass catchers, and YAC, and all that but fail on critical 3rd downs, and fail in the red zone, and the defense doesn't hold up.

 

[So Be]

As posted before, Moreno ran 80% of the time vs a six or less in the box. That's not gonna happen here, and in my opinion Miller will do better. His pass protect is over-rated. He gave up 2 sacks, and Miller gave up 3 in a third more chances.

 

[HoneyB]

IMO it's not just that Smith could be a better run-blocking Olineman - but it's more that a better pass-blocking OL and TE position and a pass- blocking-capable Moreno that will make the running game more successful if Tannehill with more time can demonstrate that opposing Ds who don't respect the passing game do so at their own peril. Pennington vs the Ravens 8 in the box confirms that no matter how skilled a rushing game and run blocking OL may be - if the passing game threat cannot spread the field - it'll most always end up being a losing numbers game.

This is exactly, I think, what the coaches are counting on. I hope it works.

I don't want to go back to Ronnie Brown Ball, I really don't. But we got eaten alive last year without a running game. We need to pass and run, we need both. Bill Lazor, please save this team.

 

[Avalanche of Wins]

I remember one to Wallace for a TD but that's about it. This is one reason for the low YAC. Every yard gained on a screen is after the catch plus it's a great way to supplement for a poor running game. Hoping Lazor uses this a lot especially with Moreno on board.


Heading out to a pool party so all you kids have a great holiday :brewskis:

ive been waiting since the bills killed us with them in the early 90s for us to successfully be able to run screens!

 

[Avalanche of Wins]

good post OP i think your spot on. we had a pathetic offensive line last year, i mean we had some of the worst numbers i have ever seen. I cant recall which game it was where we did not even average a yard per carry. if we can run the ball enough to keep defenses honest i think we have the personnel now to make things happen after the catch.

 

[So Be]

Different receivers do different things. Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston don't get YAC but other receivers on their team do.

But I agree with your overall point. And that's what I discovered when I was looking up YAC. I don't think it matters, in the bigger picture. What matters is overall yards, first downs, points...that's all.

I don't want to become this year's Atlanta Falcons, where we have pass catchers, and YAC, and all that but fail on critical 3rd downs, and fail in the red zone, and the defense doesn't hold up.

Yeah, ya look at Marshall with a 2.8 YAC, near the bottom of the NFL. We have all seen him enough to know that he is a beast to tackle but, did not have a lot of opportunities to show that. I love stats but, YAC is maybe the worst to consider.