Missed in all the joy of watching our offense amass 385 yards and 33 points against a very good Gator defense is the fact that Russell Shepard touched the ball 5 times for exactly 5 yards of offense. We have to get him the ball in space somehow and break him loose. If we can get him going, it's makes us so much more dynamic on offense. Hopefully we can work on this against McNeese.
the plays are so damned predictable when shepard is in the backfield. If he's back there it's a sweep to the short side. I really wish they would work a pass option in there for Shep, although that first run of his tonight looked like it may have been a pass option because it seemed like he was looking down the field.
The Gators had Shep's number tonight; it was clear from the outset. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but did Randle have only one reception tonight? Would you have thought we'd have our best offensive night in over a year with those two guys essentially being non-factors?
TT to the rescue. You can tell TT is so amped up with Lee in the game. He comes to life. This is a good thing moving forward. The double teams will come, and then Randle will have to make the plays.
Randle had one catch for 29 yards. Watched the replay a couple of times, anyone notice that TT made a complete 360 before he caught the TD? Tough catch....
you're right he actually catches when lee throws it to him. I was watching with a friend and he said "tolliver makes them miss so much because they are surprised he is catching it" I thought it was pretty funny and yet sadly true at the same time.
Why? Seriously, think about it for a minute. Ridley has shown that he is capable of having huge games running the ball. He's extremely dependable and always plays hard. Tolliver, when he doesn't drop it like tonight, can be a huge asset. Randle has had his good games this year. The TE's played solid. Even JJ has been getting better with his running game. There's no point in forcing it to Shepard if we don't have to. IMO, play him on punt returns instead of PP. Not because PP fumbled it, though, but because he's obviously going to have problems with cramps all year, mind as well lighten the load. Shepard shouldn't be very much of a downgrade, if at all. He's got the speed and elusiveness to get some yards or TD's. We run the ball so much on first down anyway he can take a necessary breather for that extra minute or two and be in for 2nd down.
We need to run the WR screens and the quick routes to Shepard. He should get 2-3 screens a game. I absolutely love moving him around and letting him get on a safety or a LB.. we need more of that. He showed that he is an adequate blocker tonight too.
Not sure if you're aware of this, but Shepard is a potentially huge offensive weapon. We have to find ways in which he can hurt opposing defenses.
