Colorado State University Athletics
Making a Run at Correcting the Issue
9/7/2021 11:58:00 AM | Football
Addazio puts focus on rushing attack this week
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Throughout preseason camp, Steve Addazio had his offense working more on the passing game, feeling it was the area which needed to make the most strides.
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The idea worked, as Todd Centeio completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and threw for 304 yards, tying a record for an Addazio quarterback. But it didn't work out overall, as the offense had no balance to it whatsoever, with a run game stuck at around 2.0 yards per carry most of the night.
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A late surge put Colorado State's football team at 3.1 yards per tote at the end of the night, still a far cry from what he expects. So the practice plan, that's going to change.
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"You know that 60-40 mix: That's going to shift," Addazio said with Vanderbilt coming to town Saturday for an 8 p.m. kickoff. "We're going to get that run game ready. We get that run game right, were going to have one of the better offenses around, I'm just promising you."
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The work started with watching film and rehashing all the mistakes. Addazio had no explanation why he had linemen moving the wrong way from the play on Friday, but it happened. Basically, mistakes which should not have happened.
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The work from the first practice was angry, which tackle Barry Wesley said stemmed from the disappointment and embarrassment of their performance. There's no secret to what is expected of them, and they just didn't deliver.
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So, it's no surprise to them the run game will take on a renewed focus in practice this week.
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"Coach Addazio has a plan to win, and the second thing in that plan is to run the football," Wesley said. "Last Friday we didn't do that. There were a lot of little mistakes that shouldn't have been there that showed up. That's just us not being mentally tough and not being mentally locked in.
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"It does surprise me. Football is a game of strategy and the game within the game, and we lost that game within the game."
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The improvements the Rams made in the passing game were notable, if not perfect. Centeio, more than anybody else, laments the deep pass he missed to an open Dante Wright early in the game, the type of play which can help build momentum.
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While the work he put in during camp was noticeable, he understands his job as a quarter is to effect the entire offense, even if he never throws a run block. What he says and how he acts in the huddle can go a long way.
Â
"It's probably just a sense of urgency, getting those guys right," he said. "I'm starting to learn even more about the O-Line and what they have to do, so I ask them questions and make sure they know what they're doing. I'm giving them a sense of energy, kind of give them that fire under their butt. Let's go, let's get going."
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Boston College transfer back David Bailey was limited to 46 yards on 19 carries, though he did produce a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one via reception. His stats show him at 2.1 yards per carry, but Addazio said what transpired in the game was not a running back problem.
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The run game didn't have an explosive rush (one of 12 yards or more) until the fourth quarter, when Marcus McElroy broke off a pair. A'Jon Vivens had a 9-yard carry in the first half, but there were very few holes to run through. What the backs gained, often they had to push the pile themselves.
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That's not the way a strong run game works.
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"It was the offensive line and the tight ends, the blocking unit up front," Addazio said. "We have been excellent, but like I said, when we hatted them up, we had great movement, we looked like a real run game, but we didn't hat them up anywhere near the level of consistency, and that's the obvious statement based on the stats, because we have the talent. David was getting yardage at times with no blocking. We had penetration on that fourth-down-and-short call; completely unnecessary. He had to jump cut, couldn't get his feet back underneath him. We did not help him."
Â
What was frustrating about all of it can also be encouraging – simple mistakes. Unexpected, but correctable mistakes.
Â
The Rams don't need to start over from the scratch, but they do need to get to the first step. Doing it correct from the beginning can lead to a positive end. This week, they face a Commodores defense which allowed 4.8 yards per rush to East Tennessee State, a team which threw more than it ran it while leading most of the contest.
Â
"It's being more locked in and attention to detail," Wesley said. "Coach Addazio always says that, attention to detail, as we do walkthroughs, practice, meetings. We're going back to our fundamentals and focusing on those specific details that we missed."
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The idea worked, as Todd Centeio completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and threw for 304 yards, tying a record for an Addazio quarterback. But it didn't work out overall, as the offense had no balance to it whatsoever, with a run game stuck at around 2.0 yards per carry most of the night.
Â
A late surge put Colorado State's football team at 3.1 yards per tote at the end of the night, still a far cry from what he expects. So the practice plan, that's going to change.
Â
"You know that 60-40 mix: That's going to shift," Addazio said with Vanderbilt coming to town Saturday for an 8 p.m. kickoff. "We're going to get that run game ready. We get that run game right, were going to have one of the better offenses around, I'm just promising you."
Â
The work started with watching film and rehashing all the mistakes. Addazio had no explanation why he had linemen moving the wrong way from the play on Friday, but it happened. Basically, mistakes which should not have happened.
Â
The work from the first practice was angry, which tackle Barry Wesley said stemmed from the disappointment and embarrassment of their performance. There's no secret to what is expected of them, and they just didn't deliver.
Â
So, it's no surprise to them the run game will take on a renewed focus in practice this week.
Â
"Coach Addazio has a plan to win, and the second thing in that plan is to run the football," Wesley said. "Last Friday we didn't do that. There were a lot of little mistakes that shouldn't have been there that showed up. That's just us not being mentally tough and not being mentally locked in.
Â
"It does surprise me. Football is a game of strategy and the game within the game, and we lost that game within the game."
Â
The improvements the Rams made in the passing game were notable, if not perfect. Centeio, more than anybody else, laments the deep pass he missed to an open Dante Wright early in the game, the type of play which can help build momentum.
Â
While the work he put in during camp was noticeable, he understands his job as a quarter is to effect the entire offense, even if he never throws a run block. What he says and how he acts in the huddle can go a long way.
Â
"It's probably just a sense of urgency, getting those guys right," he said. "I'm starting to learn even more about the O-Line and what they have to do, so I ask them questions and make sure they know what they're doing. I'm giving them a sense of energy, kind of give them that fire under their butt. Let's go, let's get going."
Â
Boston College transfer back David Bailey was limited to 46 yards on 19 carries, though he did produce a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one via reception. His stats show him at 2.1 yards per carry, but Addazio said what transpired in the game was not a running back problem.
Â
The run game didn't have an explosive rush (one of 12 yards or more) until the fourth quarter, when Marcus McElroy broke off a pair. A'Jon Vivens had a 9-yard carry in the first half, but there were very few holes to run through. What the backs gained, often they had to push the pile themselves.
Â
That's not the way a strong run game works.
Â
"It was the offensive line and the tight ends, the blocking unit up front," Addazio said. "We have been excellent, but like I said, when we hatted them up, we had great movement, we looked like a real run game, but we didn't hat them up anywhere near the level of consistency, and that's the obvious statement based on the stats, because we have the talent. David was getting yardage at times with no blocking. We had penetration on that fourth-down-and-short call; completely unnecessary. He had to jump cut, couldn't get his feet back underneath him. We did not help him."
Â
What was frustrating about all of it can also be encouraging – simple mistakes. Unexpected, but correctable mistakes.
Â
The Rams don't need to start over from the scratch, but they do need to get to the first step. Doing it correct from the beginning can lead to a positive end. This week, they face a Commodores defense which allowed 4.8 yards per rush to East Tennessee State, a team which threw more than it ran it while leading most of the contest.
Â
"It's being more locked in and attention to detail," Wesley said. "Coach Addazio always says that, attention to detail, as we do walkthroughs, practice, meetings. We're going back to our fundamentals and focusing on those specific details that we missed."
Â
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