Should Fisher start Cunningham?

[jrry32]

Could also have the reverse effect. If teams are loading up the box for Gurley, and don't have the same respect for Benny so they soften up and play more zone coverage while committing less to stopping the run, it could actually work in favor of Benny and give him more room and more opportunities. I understand your point about it hurting the QB, but we don't know that would be the case until we actually see it. I also don't think people appreciate the kind of runner Benny is. He's not one-cut, so a different running style might be able to spark something. He'll never get the nod over Todd, I do know that. But I wouldn't mind seeing him getting about twice as many opportunities.

Which works against the passing attack.

Benny hasn't been any more effective this year. His stats are manipulated by that 22 yard run on 3rd and 17 when the Bucs didn't expect it. It's an outlier. I like Benny, but starting him won't change anything.

 

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Benny hasn't been any more effective this year. His stats are manipulated by that 22 yard run on 3rd and 17 when the Bucs didn't expect it. I like Benny, but starting him won't change anything.

Actually, now that you mention it, a lot of Gurley's runs last year were short-no-gainers and his stats were also manipulated by a few long runs.
I like Benny too, and I think starting him is the only way either of us can definitively say whether or not it makes a difference.

 

[jrry32]

Actually, now that you mention it, a lot of Gurley's runs last year were short-no-gainers and his stats were also manipulated by a few long runs.
I like Benny too, and I think starting him is the only way either of us can definitively say whether or not it makes a difference.

You're comparing apples to oranges. Gurley had 229 carries last year and 11 20+ yard runs (2nd in the NFL). That's a large sample size. Benny has 9 carries and 1 20+ yard run. That's not a large sample size. And Benny's long run came on 3rd and 17.

There's a massive difference. You don't take your best offensive player off the field because the players around him aren't executing.

 

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You're comparing apples to oranges. Gurley had 229 carries last year and 11 20+ yard runs (2nd in the NFL). That's a large sample size. Benny has 9 carries and 1 20+ yard run. That's not a large sample size. And Benny's long run came on 3rd and 17.

There's a massive difference. You don't take your best offensive player off the field because the players around him aren't executing.

Well then if you project that out to the same number of carries, Benny would have 25 runs of 20+ yards.

And I absolutely wouldn't put his struggles all on "other people."
That's just not true.

 

[jrry32]

Well then if you project that out to the same number of carries, Benny would have 25 runs of 20+ yards.

And that's why sample size is important. Especially when it's an outlier in comparison to the rest of his carries.

And I absolutely wouldn't put his struggles all on "other people."
That's just not true.

Well, that's your inference. My statement simply says that you don't pull Gurley because the players around him aren't executing. Doesn't put a specific percentage of the blame on the other players. Simply says that you'd be pulling him for something that is outside of his control.

I don't think you'd advocate pulling Donald if our run defense continued to play like it did against Buffalo. Think it's just as silly to consider pulling Gurley here.

 

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I don't think you'd advocate pulling Donald if our run defense continued to play like it did against Buffalo. Think it's just as silly to consider pulling Gurley here.

That's a false equivalence. Donald has been playing well all year.
Stop being silly.

 

[jrry32]

That's a false equivalence. Donald has been playing well all year.
Stop being silly.

It's not a false equivalence. The Bills ran all over us with ease that day. Why? Because Donald had no help on the DL that day. He was surrounded by backups. If Donald dealt with that all year, it would be difficult to isolate him from the rest of the DL without watching closely.

It's even tougher for Gurley. You can see Donald win his 1-on-1 match-ups. It's much more difficult to see that with Gurley. Gurley can break a tackle or run through a guy, but if there's nowhere to go, there's nowhere to go.

If Gurley was playing with an OL that was the caliber of our DL, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Donald is an elite player, but this is still a team game. We all watched that Buffalo game. As good as Donald is, he can't stop the run when the rest of the DL isn't getting the job done. That's the problem Gurley is facing. Putting in a lesser player (and this is from a person who likes Benny) won't make things any easier on this team.

 

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It's not a false equivalence. The Bills ran all over us with ease that day. Why? Because Donald had no help on the DL that day. He was surrounded by backups. If Donald dealt with that all year, it would be difficult to isolate him from the rest of the DL without watching closely.

It's even tougher for Gurley. You can see Donald win his 1-on-1 match-ups. It's much more difficult to see that with Gurley. Gurley can break a tackle or run through a guy, but if there's nowhere to go, there's nowhere to go.

If Gurley was playing with an OL that was the caliber of our DL, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Donald is an elite player, but this is still a team game. We all watched that Buffalo game. As good as Donald is, he can't stop the run when the rest of the DL isn't getting the job done. That's the problem Gurley is facing. Putting in a lesser player (and this is from a person who likes Benny) won't make things any easier on this team.

You're missing my point. I'm not arguing that Benny is better. Just different. Different running style and different vision. I've seen the opportunities that Gurley has missed, and I've seen the plays he's left on the field. Lotta people have seen that and commented on it. It's like wanting to see Spruce or Cooper instead of Austin in the slot. They're not necessarily better. Just different kinds of receivers. But at this point we're just arguing hypotheticals. I know full well that Fisher isnt gonna start Benny to see if the problem with the run game is 100% on the line (which it isn't). I just wanted to see it happen to satisfy my own curiosity. You and I could say it would or wouldn't make any difference, but there's no eay to know for sure until or unless it happens.

 

[BriansRams]

I don't see how it could hurt to start Cunningham for one game, but letting both him and Gurley know that Todd will be coming into the game in the 2nd quarter to resume duties. That way you get to see if Benny somehow gets the running game going, without completely hurting Gurley's confidence or pissing him off.

It make perfect sense to try it for 5 offensive series just to see if it's Gurley, or the O-line.