Running The Ball And Running With Questions

The time may have finally come for all of those Irish fans that have questioned whether or not if Notre Dame would ever return to running the football with authority, to have their prayers answered or their nightmares come true.

When Notre Dame hired Brian Kelly, we all thought we got a guy that ran a fast paced, pass happy offense. Essentially, we did get that guy, but because of a few personnel issues and a much different/tougher schedule than Kelly has played against in the past, it never really "gelled" completely during the past 3 seasons.

A lot of those struggles, hinged on the offense's inability to just hold onto the football. Turnovers, as well as a poor redzone TD percentage, has plagued this team for the past 3 years. It was enough that anyone who may have looked at Kelly's offense as "gimmicky" or "finesseish" to scream out, "RUN THE DAMN BALL!"

The truth of the matter is that the Notre Dame running game has improved each year since Brian Kelly arrived in 2010.

I'll save you the long-winded reasoning of why and of how Notre Dame and Brian Kelly has improved the run game, other than to say that it was a "process." Brian Kelly did what he had to do to win games. Plain and simple. The most important question that needs answering is just how Notre Dame moves forward in 2013.

If you have been sitting around and wondering, "what's Notre Dame's offense going t look like and are they finally going to RUN THE DAMN BALL?" you need to keep a few things in mind:

* Tommy Rees does not have the arm strength to stretch the field vertically, nor does he have the pure athletic ability to keep plays alive with his feet (no linebacker or safety will be needed to spy on Rees). So, not only can defenses crowd the line of scrimmage to help disrupt the run, defenses will also be able to "muddle up" the intermediate pass routes.

* The slot will not be "the slot" that Kelly envisioned. He can't rely on Amir Carlisle to stay healthy, because he never seems to be healthy, and he still has not seen very much playing time in his career to know exactly what we have. The other possible slot option is CJ Prosise. Prosise has not seen ANY game time after redshirting his freshman year. This position could see much more production- but we can't depend on it yet.

* Chuck Martin is running the offense and calling the plays.

In my eyes, this all points towards not just an even bigger focus on the run game, but a running game that will be more "attacking" in nature. A running game that will look to use its power as its base, rather than just as needed. In theory this does sound like that kind of year, except for one small detail… Notre Dame lost it's top two rushers from last year. 

Not since the 2007 season has Notre Dame returned so little in terms of past production at the running back position. Notice how at least one of the top two rushers from each season has gone on to be one of the top two rushers the very next season over the past 4 years. This continuity can help explain one of the reasons why ND's run game has seen improvement.

So, now the Irish head into this 2013 season with only George Atkinson III & Cam McDaniel as the leading returning rushers with a combined 74 carries for 468 yards and 6 TD's. Still, Notre Dame has a stable of running backs at their disposal:

In my opinion, if Golson would have been playing this year, Cam McDaniel would see a much bigger role in the offense than the one that I now think he will play. His abilities are much more inclined for that kind of "open space" offense. Will Mahone still is probably a year or two away from any major contribution, and I go back to the injury proneness of Carlisle. 

The key will lay in the hands (and feet) of three players. George Atkinson III certainly has the big play ability we all crave in a ball carrier and he has the size needed to pound the ball- but will he. That question has plagued Atkinson in his development. The two freshmen, Bryant & Folston, both have enough ability and hype to become hard factors, but will they produce at the next level? 

This will be a tricky year for the offense as it will need the running game to produce at a high level and most likely in a power role for the Irish to be successful. Can any of these running backs or any combination of these backs provide that needed production? That is the most pressing question. Can the Irish running game be relied upon to carry the offense while using so many unproven players? 

RUN THE DAMN BALL (after a sweet audible by Tommy Rees at the line of scrimmage, of course).