🏈 Trent Richardson---Why So Few Carries?

[bamatommy]

This is a question, not a complaint. Why did Trent Richardson get so few carries tonight? Was it to keep him from getting hurt before the LSU game?

 

[BamaFan615]

We really didn't have that many "long" drives to get him a lot of touches. The one long drive I can think of was only 5 plays coming out of half time, and it was all passes.

With that being said, it did seem like we were a little quicker tonight to put EL in early on.

 

[Duder]

Short-ish drives and clearly outmatched opponent--I wouldn't have let him handle too much of the workload either.

 

[BamaCore]

All that and Tennessee seemed to be selling out to stop the run. Take what the defense gives you.

 

[Hoos4Tide]

Very overmatched opponent, why not pass more, give AJ more reps and get EL back up to speed... there's just no reason in the world to run Trent like it's our last game of the year...

 

[BamaPride]

Tennessee played a 8 man front most of the night. That is probably the main reason. Trent did have 17 carries though.

 

[BamaFan615]

All that and Tennessee seemed to be selling out to stop the run. Take what the defense gives you.

It was nice to see AJ come out in the 2nd half and sling it around with some success. You can bank on it that LSU is going to do everything they can to stop our running game and make AJ beat them with his arm.

 

[bamabigdawg]

Still had 2 td's and hes right at 1000 yrds for the year. No need to try and win the heisman against TN and take a chance on getting hurt like Lattimore.

 

[Crimson&WhiteGecko]

I hoped Trent would've shredded UT to get those yards & he had 17 carries to get it done. Itjust didn't happen. As far as keeping him in there just to get it...One guy comes to mind, Prothro.

 

[ericd]

would it be beyond the realm of possibily to think that Coach Saban was reeling him in a little? Seeing that the biggest game of the season is approaching, maybe they want to free his mind of consecutive 100 yard games or Heisman aspirations and just have him focus on the task at hand in a couple of weeks.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

I agree with the notion that the defense was set to stop the run, and passing was the logical response. I don't think Saban was looking to send a message to Trent, or that he was even thinking about a 100-yard streak. When coaches start thinking about things like that, they lose focus over just winning the game.

From a balance standpoint, we are averaging 229.25 on the ground and 228.38 through the air. Uncanny.

RTR,

Tim

 

[ericd]

I agree with the notion that the defense was set to stop the run, and passing was the logical response. I don't think Saban was looking to send a message to Trent, or that he was even thinking about a 100-yard streak. When coaches start thinking about things like that, they lose focus over just winning the game.

From a balance standpoint, we are averaging 229.25 on the ground and 228.38 through the air. Uncanny.

RTR,

Tim

But to put Lacy in with a bit of an injury instead? Why not leave Richardson in, he gives us the best chance at the run, regardless of what the defense is doing. He also could have thrown the ball with Richardson in there. Is Lacy a better blocker? I don't know, I just thought it was a bit strange.

 

[planomateo]

From a balance standpoint, we are averaging 229.25 on the ground and 228.38 through the air. Uncanny.

its pretty cool, just checked on LSU, nicely balanced still (I hadn't looked in a few weeks)
189 rushing, 183 passing.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

But to put Lacy in with a bit of an injury instead? Why not leave Richardson in, he gives us the best chance at the run, regardless of what the defense is doing. He also could have thrown the ball with Richardson in there. Is Lacy a better blocker? I don't know, I just thought it was a bit strange.

I believe it's the absence of highlight carries that made him appear underutilized. Because they were keying on the run, Trent didn't have a typical game on a yards per carry basis, but his number of carries (17) is not that much below his average (21). Had he averaged per carry what he has this year, he'd have gotten 100 yards. Lacy averages 8 carries and had 7. Trent's carries were equal or more than his attempts against Kent State, North Texas, Arkansas and Ole Miss, so in in five of the eight games this year he's had 17 carries or fewer. Also, Trent had three receptions - the only time he had more was against Penn State (4).

In thinking back to last year and some in 2009, I remember there were times early in a game when Trent would spell Ingram early. Usually this was when the opponent was stuffing the run early. I don't know, but I believe the reason for early subs in these cases is to share the pain, so to speak, between the ball carriers when a defense is fresh and not yet demoralized.

RTR,

Tim

 

[bamatommy]

From a balance standpoint, we are averaging 229.25 on the ground and 228.38 through the air. Uncanny.

Wow, that's an amazing statistic.

 

[CrimsonFlame]

I'm pretty sure Steen being out and the reshuffling of the O line coupled with the fact that UT stacked the box affected the run game. This just opened up opportunities for A.J. to show his cannon off. That gives LSU something else to look at.

 

[bamatommy]

Was Steen injured?

 

[planomateo]

Was Steen injured?

concussion against ole miss.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Was Steen injured?

Concussion. Expected back for LSU game.