Laird much better in a balanced offense where defenses can't sell out to stop the run by loading the box

Who was the last Cal RB with his running style (waits to pick hole, and then accelerates through it with power)?

Rewatching the game on TV one of the announcers said people were comparing his running style to McCathery. I hadn't thought about that before but it's a curious comparison and fairly unique running style

I thought the same thing last year more than this and have heard the comparison before. When I first saw McCaffrey run in person I noticed that he would always fight and even lunge for that extra yard or so at the end of his run and I think Patrick was doing that last year and to some extent this year as well. Laird doesn't have the speed of McCaffrey but he does have a similar running style I think. He's a smart runner but at times I think he needs to commit and hit the opening a bit quicker. As Wilcox said earlier in the year he sometimes thinks too much when he is running and needs to just go. I think he made an adjustment earlier in the year and is running harder now than at the beginning of the season.

Laird gets crap because he gets put in a lot of no win situations this year. Yeah, RB and Oline look bad when they can stack the box. That doesn't mean they are bad, it just means we don't have the ability to make them pay.

I think now we do, at least enough to make them play honest.

LunchTime said:

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Laird gets crap because he gets put in a lot of no win situations this year. Yeah, RB and Oline look bad when they can stack the box. That doesn't mean they are bad, it just means we don't have the ability to make them pay.

I think now we do, at least enough to make them play honest.

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Laird was better last year because he was better last year. He was held out of Fall camp with an undisclosed injury, but he seems to have lost a step and is only getting it back this past month. Last year, he was really good at starting inside, then bouncing outside, but this year he has had trouble getting to and turning the corner. Last year he was "deceptively fast." For a refresher on him last year:

What a great game Laird had Saturday!
The contested catch he made on our last series where he got just enough for our first of two 1st downs was a Winner play.
The guy had a great game vs a very very good defense and I think it was his best game as a Golden Bear based on the stiff D he faced.
Congrats to him and the entire team on the statement win.
They are in position to keep improving as year progresses down the stretch.

HoopDreams said:

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Who was the last Cal RB with his running style (waits to pick hole, and then accelerates through it with power)?

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Justin Forsett, maybe?

I wrote about the comparison of McCaffrey and Laird a couple of months ago. Each of them kind of tip-toes through the line waiting for the hole to open and then they accelerate. In my opinion, as much as I admire Patrick (he's an exceptional student-athlete with a double major and energy enough to start a reading contest for young kids), I think McCaffrey was a once every 5-7 year back. He was durable, had great vision, great balance and blinding speed once he got free. If you could stop McCaffrey, you could stop Stanford. Unfortunately, we couldn't. Wish we had had him at Cal.

sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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Who was the last Cal RB with his running style (waits to pick hole, and then accelerates through it with power)?

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Justin Forsett, maybe?

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Forsett was one of my favorite Bear RBs (if not Bear players). I absolutely loved the tandem of Forsett and Lynch (then again, who wouldn't?).

01Bear said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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Who was the last Cal RB with his running style (waits to pick hole, and then accelerates through it with power)?

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Justin Forsett, maybe?

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Forsett was one of my favorite Bear RBs (if not Bear players). I absolutely loved the tandem of Forsett and Lynch (then again, who wouldn't?).

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My recollection was that people on this board complained about Lynch "dancing behind the line" waiting for his blocking to set up before hitting the hole hard or bouncing outside and liked that Forsett just "hit the hole quick."

That predates my involvement with (and lurking on) this board. What I remember most about Marshawn was his power. He seemed to mow down would-be-tacklers and carried many of them as he ran. IIRC, Forsett was a bit more of a quick hitting back who would find his hole and go.

01Bear said:

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That predates my involvement with (and lurking on) this board. What I remember most about Marshawn was his power. He seemed to mow down would-be-tacklers and carried many of them as he ran. IIRC, Forsett was a bit more of a quick hitting back who would find his hole and go.

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Lynch is an all-time great because he combined speed, elusiveness and power:


Forsett was very decisive. He did not wait for his blocking, he hit the spot the hole was supposed to be and if it closed out he quickly bounced outside or dove for a modest gain. He was a very efficient runner. He did not have great top end speed, but he got to his top speed quickly. His speed in the first 10 yards was exceptional.

calumnus said:

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01Bear said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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Who was the last Cal RB with his running style (waits to pick hole, and then accelerates through it with power)?

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Justin Forsett, maybe?

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Forsett was one of my favorite Bear RBs (if not Bear players). I absolutely loved the tandem of Forsett and Lynch (then again, who wouldn't?).

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My recollection was that people on this board complained about Lynch "dancing behind the line" waiting for his blocking to set up before hitting the hole hard or bouncing outside and liked that Forsett just "hit the hole quick."

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LOL, I once started a thread entitled something like "Marshawn: One juke too many?" A few people agreed and a few dozen said I was a freaking idiot.

Whatever. A thousand jukes, or none at all and he's still one of my all time favorite Golden Bears and just a super compelling character. Makes the world a better place.

Chuck Muncie. Best there ever was at Cal.

Bear19 said:

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Chuck Muncie. Best there ever was at Cal.

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+1000. Not even close.

We all love Patrick - he's a warrior - yet it would be nice to have another running back to balance his skill set.

OdontoBear66 said:

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Bear19 said:

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Chuck Muncie. Best there ever was at Cal.

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+1000. Not even close.

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Just for fun...Marshawn...not even close? To quote going4roses, "Hmmmm".

Or Russell White?

92GoBears92 said:

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Or Russell White?

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Don't think he was in the same league as Muncie or Lynch. Exciting though, before his last year.

82gradDLSdad said:

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OdontoBear66 said:

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Bear19 said:

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Chuck Muncie. Best there ever was at Cal.

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+1000. Not even close.

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Just for fun...Marshawn...not even close? To quote going4roses, "Hmmmm".

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Well, I guess you can make an argument if you consider ML's entire career, but as a pure college RB. I believe Muncie's ability to look like a man vs. boys (somewhat like Lebron James) gives him the overall edge.

82gradDLSdad said:

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92GoBears92 said:

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Or Russell White?

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Don't think he was in the same league as Muncie or Lynch. Exciting though, before his last year.

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Living near Seattle at the time, I only saw Russell White play a few times. What struck me about him was that defenders seemed to slide off him. He gave them just enough juke that they could touch him, but not get the leverage to stop him.

I particularly agree regarding Muncie. He could outrun the linebackers and was too strong for defensive backs to bring down. He should have had an NFL career like Eric Dickerson. He died way too young, but did turn his life around.

Sorry I'm still going to insist Jahvid Best be in this conversation. While his post-Cal NFL career was cut very short, while here he was as electric a player as I've ever seen. His top end speed was unparalleled.

Sebastabear said:

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Sorry I'm still going to insist Jahvid Best be in this conversation. While his post-Cal NFL career was cut very short, while here he was as electric a player as I've ever seen. His top end speed was unparalleled.

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Every time we would give him the ball on a pitch (a couple times a game) it would go for 30+ often a TD.