The passing game + defenses made to stop the passing game = great running games

[ramblinjim]

So this is a prediction I'm making that will take several years to come to pass.

I see the pendulum over the last ten years has gone towards a high octane passing game and defenses are trying to catch up to counter that. DB's can catch (except Ike) but remember when the joke on Defensive backs was that they were just wide receivers that couldn't catch? Today, most of these guys can catch. We are also seeing smaller and faster guys being drafted for the defensive line that can get after the passer. The kid from West Virginia that was drafted in the first round by Seattle comes to mind, as does Merciless from Illinois. In ten years we'll have guys playing DE that have track speed.

So somewhere down the line, maybe five or ten years from now. Some team is going to find some 250 pound guy on their team with good feet and balance and they are going to have quarterback issues. So they'll hand this guy the ball 25 times a game and the defenses in the league, geared to stop the pass, won't be able to stop the guy, they'll run the ball 35 times a game and the quarterbacks that depend on timing and rhythm will be thrown off their game and never get a chance to get warmed up. As a copy cat league, the next year the 250 pounder will get drafted in the first round and we'll see defenses slowly start to shift to stop the running game again.

........and Aaron Smith gets voted into Canton..

[Oviedo]

I will gladly take my chances againts any NFL teams running game. We are far more likely to get beaten by passing and the volume of points that can be scored quickly than a slow deliberate 4 yard a pop running game.

You may have the greatest running game in the league but you still aren't going to be able to score at the rate of a top passing attack.

[phillyesq]

I will gladly take my chances againts any NFL teams running game. We are far more likely to get beaten by passing and the volume of points that can be scored quickly than a slow deliberate 4 yard a pop running game.

You may have the greatest running game in the league but you still aren't going to be able to score at the rate of a top passing attack.

You need to be able to stop the run with your front seven. If you commit a safety to run defense, it makes you more vulnerable to the pass.