I am more than ready for the return of real football. Like many fans I am preparing myself by watching some of my favorite games from last season (pretty much just the UCLA win) and previous seasons (thankfully a much longer list). There are several obvious developments that stand out watching the final stretch of games last season: Kevin Hogan's improvement and the emergence of Christian McCaffrey.
We can spend time talking about how overdue both of those developments were last season, but let's not. Instead, I want to read opinions on how best to utilize the considerable skills of McCaffrey. In my opinion, he is the only running back on the team who can hit the 1,000 yard mark.
There have been conversations about just how much McCaffrey should be used as a traditional running back – which for Stanford means lining up behind a fullback and running between the tackles. I think he's more than capable of doing that effectively. He's a smart and physical runner. But I think that also limits his impact in a game.
McCaffrey could be one of the team's top five receivers. He is the best punt returner and showed a great ability to make tackles on special teams. That's too much of a workload. So, how does the staff protect him while maximizing his effectiveness? Also, how does the staff avoid playcalling tunnel vision focused on getting him the ball? We've seen what that looks like.
As dynamic as he is as a returner, I'd give Jabari Tyler and others a real chance of taking that job. Tyler was brought in as a designated returner anyway, so might as well him started on his best impersonation of a Trindon Holliday career path. I'd take McCaffrey off kickoff duties as well and no more tackling.
Remound Wright closed last season well but he's clearly not as dynamic a running back as McCaffrey. But he can spell McCaffrey while McCffrey doesn't even have to leave the field because of his ability to split out wide as a receiver. Hogan looked better making decisions as a runner at the end of last season. That will help. And Bryce Love is my candidate of a freshman who can help on offense. He can be an occasional third-down back.
I'll stop rambling and end with saying that I think bringing back a strong run game is essential to a successful season. That's a Captain Obvious statement but I'll say it anyway. It's in my top 3 of "If this doesn't happen then Stanford is screwed" list. I think McCaffrey is the best bet to resurrect that as a strength of the offense.
We can spend time talking about how overdue both of those developments were last season, but let's not. Instead, I want to read opinions on how best to utilize the considerable skills of McCaffrey. In my opinion, he is the only running back on the team who can hit the 1,000 yard mark.
There have been conversations about just how much McCaffrey should be used as a traditional running back – which for Stanford means lining up behind a fullback and running between the tackles. I think he's more than capable of doing that effectively. He's a smart and physical runner. But I think that also limits his impact in a game.
McCaffrey could be one of the team's top five receivers. He is the best punt returner and showed a great ability to make tackles on special teams. That's too much of a workload. So, how does the staff protect him while maximizing his effectiveness? Also, how does the staff avoid playcalling tunnel vision focused on getting him the ball? We've seen what that looks like.
As dynamic as he is as a returner, I'd give Jabari Tyler and others a real chance of taking that job. Tyler was brought in as a designated returner anyway, so might as well him started on his best impersonation of a Trindon Holliday career path. I'd take McCaffrey off kickoff duties as well and no more tackling.
Remound Wright closed last season well but he's clearly not as dynamic a running back as McCaffrey. But he can spell McCaffrey while McCffrey doesn't even have to leave the field because of his ability to split out wide as a receiver. Hogan looked better making decisions as a runner at the end of last season. That will help. And Bryce Love is my candidate of a freshman who can help on offense. He can be an occasional third-down back.
I'll stop rambling and end with saying that I think bringing back a strong run game is essential to a successful season. That's a Captain Obvious statement but I'll say it anyway. It's in my top 3 of "If this doesn't happen then Stanford is screwed" list. I think McCaffrey is the best bet to resurrect that as a strength of the offense.
