I subscribe to the Pat Kirwan theory on pass catching RBs. he loves to use Reggie Bush as his example, and still does to this day. He said Reggie was one of the most effective blitz pickup backs in the league. Since he’s such a threat out of the backfield, he takes LBs with him. Teams have tons of blitz calls that get aborted if the RB goes out in a route. But they also have coverage calls on a guy like Reggie that automatically convert to blitzes if Reggie stays in to block. So what sense does it make to have a pass catching RB stay in to block? Even if he’s a good blocker it just adds to the cluster and congestion around the pocket. Get that guy out of there for a cleaner pocket. And if noone follows him, dump it off and take the free yards.
It forever changed my view on pass blocking from pass catching RBs. We get fixated on the idea that you have to “block” a guy, and don’t put enough stock in the idea of taking him out of the play being the same as an effective block. Imagine if Sewell could just take off to the flats when the ball is snapped and the DE would stop rushing the QB and go follow Sewell.
thank you for posting that… I was thinking the same thing. Swift has been the most effective player in the pass game all year… why in hell would we want him blocking???
Well, on those 2 plays where he stayed in to block by scheme, he matador’d one and whiffed one.
Don’t keep him in then. Fine.
Run more 2 back pass play sets, me like. It’s not like Goff is throwing it 25+ yards downfield but a couple times a game, and it’s not like we’re have anyone good enough to be open down that far.