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RB Maurice Wells (Official Thread)

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I've been very critical of Mo's balance and lack of breaking tackles this year. I'm finally starting to come around a little. He seems to be doing all the right things that you would want from a teammate, in practice, and in the film room or Tress wouldn't play him as much. The more carries he gets, the more confidence I see in him. I like his explosiveness in space. Like most people that complain about his running style, I'm still not a fan of running him between the tackles in an "I" formatiom b/c he doesn't have the strength to move the pile and he's always going backwards. To his credit, he ran the ball hard last night, made a few people miss and ran through a few psu defenders. On a side note though, did you see the push the O-line was getting. When Mo and Beanie get to the line before anyone touches them, you could put anyone in that backfield and get 4-5 yards. When Mo has space, he is very effective. All I'm saying is he reminds me a lot of Mo Hall. He falls down way too easily. Bill Parcels once said this about one of his players, "he's like an astronaut, he needs a lot of space to do something. I'm happy that Mo had himself a game. Don't know if his running style (as Mo supporters like to call it), is necessarily going to be most effective in next 3 games, especially the last. GO BUCKS!!!!!!

:oh::io:
 
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mendensa;974796; said:
I've been very critical of Mo's balance and lack of breaking tackles this year. I'm finally starting to come around a little. He seems to be doing all the right things that you would want from a teammate, in practice, and in the film room or Tress wouldn't play him as much. The more carries he gets, the more confidence I see in him. I like his explosiveness in space. Like most people that complain about his running style, I'm still not a fan of running him between the tackles in an "I" formatiom b/c he doesn't have the strength to move the pile and he's always going backwards. To his credit, he ran the ball hard last night, made a few people miss and ran through a few psu defenders. On a side note though, did you see the push the O-line was getting. When Mo and Beanie get to the line before anyone touches them, you could put anyone in that backfield and get 4-5 yards. When Mo has space, he is very effective. All I'm saying is he reminds me a lot of Mo Hall. He falls down way too easily. Bill Parcels once said this about one of his players, "he's like an astronaut, he needs a lot of space to do something. I'm happy that Mo had himself a game. Don't know if his running style (as Mo supporters like to call it), is necessarily going to be most effective in next 3 games, especially the last. GO BUCKS!!!!!!

:oh::io:
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I am with you here sorta I think...

I just have this critical side in me of Mo Wells I guess...Yes he had a great game, and no I am not knocking his game at all, but...You knew it was coming...

I don't know what it is, but when he trys to bounce the play out, it just seems like he can't ever do it quick enough...When Beanie or Pittman last year bounce, they get there now, it is like he is crossing his feet over or something and he is losing a half step, and always gets tackled...He is at his best when he is straight North and South and the hole is there, b/c then he can do the quick side step, and get back to running north and south, like the one run he had last night where he broke 3 or 4 tackles, but everytime he trys to bounce it just isnt quick enough, it is almost like he stops his motion and then trys to go...I am going to go back sometime and look at the tape and see if I can figure it out...
 
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I've been saying since his freshman year that if he gets even decent blocking he's a very capable running back. I think he lost yardage on only a couple carries, and again those were when the defense got penetration. Mo found cracks in the line more than once and got lots of yards of initial contact.

I hope that finally many of his naysayers will get off his back a little...
 
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crazybuckfan40;974853; said:
I am with you here sorta I think...

I just have this critical side in me of Mo Wells I guess...Yes he had a great game, and no I am not knocking his game at all, but...You knew it was coming...

I don't know what it is, but when he trys to bounce the play out, it just seems like he can't ever do it quick enough...When Beanie or Pittman last year bounce, they get there now, it is like he is crossing his feet over or something and he is losing a half step, and always gets tackled...He is at his best when he is straight North and South and the hole is there, b/c then he can do the quick side step, and get back to running north and south, like the one run he had last night where he broke 3 or 4 tackles, but everytime he trys to bounce it just isnt quick enough, it is almost like he stops his motion and then trys to go...I am going to go back sometime and look at the tape and see if I can figure it out...
Click to expand...

So I went back and looked at the tape...I did a detail description of each run and what I saw.

14:22 2nd quarter 2nd & 10 ball on tOSU 22, shotgun 3 wides, 1 TE, Mo
- Power play Gained 6 yds.There was a cut outside off the block that he missed.

13:09 2nd quarter 2nd &10 ball on tOSU 38, singleback 3 wides, 1 TE, Mo
-Draw play gained 9 yds. Hole straight up the gut. Hit it hard. Nice run. Took 3 guys to bring him down.

:25 2nd quarter 2nd & 10 ball on tOSU 32, singleback 3 wides, 1 TE, Mo
-Draw play gained 2 yards. There was a hole off of Cordle's block, but he misread the block and Cordle's guy came across his face and made the tackle. This was not a huge miss due to the fact that they were just trying to run out the clock.

9:10 3rd quarter 2nd & 4 ball on tOSU 49, I formation, 2 TE?s 1 WR, Mo behind DJ
- ISO gained 17 yds. Nice bounce to the outside, while breaking a diving tackle from a LB, then cutting back inside to fake out the safety. Nice run, but the diving LB really shouldn't of had a shot at him, he almost went into the line too much. The outside was open right away, and he gets to the line, plants his right foot then left then cuts outside to the right.

8:40 3rd quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 34, Shotgun 3 WR, TE, Mo
-Power play gained 4 yds. Nice solid run, front side was closed after the initial opening, tried sneaking out the back door, but lbs and d-lineman converged on him. Maybe if he makes that cut hard out the backdoor without losing momentum he might of got thru there. Made about what we could ask out of him on that run tho.

8:05 3rd quarter 2nd & 6 ball on PSU 30, I formation, 2 WR, 1 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained 3 yds. DJ went towards the outside backer, and had him blocked, and the safety came up on the outside of that, but TE was already on that backer, so DJ might have been able to chip off safety, and Mo would have been running to the endzone. Mo didn't follow DJ, and went right up the gut, and took Connor on one on one. Way to put the shoulder down, but Mo isn't going to win that battle. If he follows DJ I think he might of had a 30 yd. td.

15:00 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 47, Shotgun, 3 WR, 1TE, Mo
-Power gained 3 yds. Nice hard solid run, followed Person who whiffed on the block in the hole.

8:11 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 31, I formation, 2WR, TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO for -1 yds. Cordle's man crossed his face and disrupted the play. DJ had to chip on him, and caused Mo to have to retreat, but he could of bounced it sideways instead of retreating back. Play was going nowhere, could of got back to the LOS, but took a 1 yd. loss. It is also probably obvious we are going to run at this point up 24 points.

7:25 4th quarter 2nd & 11 ball on PSU 32, I formation, 2Te, 1WR, Mo behind DJ.
-Power gained 6 yds. Nice run, followed lead blocks of DJ and Person, then bounced to the outside a little and had no where to go as 3 guys converged on him.

6:04 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 19, I formation, 2 WR, 1 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained -1 yd. First off horrible block by Nicol, he whiffed on Evans, then DJ ran right by Evans to pick up the LB. This play goes for quite a few yds, if the blocks are made, but Mo could have got outside of Evans if he bounces quicker, which is what he should of done following where DJ went, he ran into the line too much before deciding to try and bounce it, and Evans came off the block and took him down.

3:15 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 40, I formation 1 WR, 2 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained 5 yds. Great initial read as DJ pancaked the LB, and the OLB filled the hole to the left of DJ's block, and Mo cut up inside to get 5 yds, as the LB came off of Cordle's block.

2:43 4th quarter 2nd & 5 ball on PSU 35, I formation, 1 WR, 2 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained 4 yds. Followed the hole, and picked up 4 yds. No cuts available.

1:55 4th quarter 3rd & 1 ball on PSU 31, I formation, 1 WR, 2 TE, Mo behind DJ.
-ISO gained 3 yds. Nice run to pick up the first down. The cut to the outside was wide open, but he was worried about getting the first down. Nice job of falling forward for 2 extra yards.

The last 3 plays were impressive by the oline and Mo because they knew we were going to run, and when you can run the ball 3 straight times with 8/9 in the box is impressive

Overall Mo is a great blocker, and a solid runner.

He still misses quite a few cuts, and what I was saying earlier about his cuts to the outside, I think it has to do with his steps...I understand running the ball is bang bang, but he seems to get too deep into the line before making the decision to bounce, and also seems to be stuttering to be able to cut outside off his inside foot, causing him to be a step slow. Also at times, he does too much bouncing/hopping side to side, instead of keeping his momentum going, and doesn't hit the cutback quick enough...I must say he is getting better, I am glad that he stayed this season as there was talk about him leaving. He still is the backup, so the running offense isn't designed for him, and he is running an offense formed around a bruising back, and lots of times he is running in times when the game is basically over and the D knows that run is coming.

He is doing a good job on the draws, as mo seems to be able to do a great job of hitting the hole straight ahead, and it seems the lanes are more open for him. Not a great runner in traffic, much better in space.

Also he looks a lot better running behind the first team oline, especially when they are opening holes up like they were against PSU...
 
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crazybuckfan40;976488; said:
So I went back and looked at the tape...I did a detail description of each run and what I saw.
Click to expand...
Nice analysis, but you missed one....

On the touchdown pass to Hartline, Ohio State was 3rd and 14 from Penn State's 16-yard line. Mo Wells was lined up deep at tailback, with a fullback offset to the right. Boeckman faked to Wells running right, then threw back to the left to Hartline on the screen. Now, we were all impressed with Boone's block on that play, but the reason that he was able to pick off a defensive back ten yards downfield was that all of the PSU linebackers bought the fake to Wells and flowed right. Notice that Rehring is just standing around waiting for the ROLB to realize his mistake, and by the time he gets his block down, Hartline is five yards past them.

How many times has Ohio State run Mo Wells in that situation (second- or third-and-long) this season? Plenty. How many times has it actually succeeded? Not very often. That's eight games of "tendencies" to set up one big play in one big game, and it worked to perfection. Now, if Ohio State had been using Mo Wells strictly as a third-down "receiving" back as many fans have demanded, then no one on the defense buys the fake, and the play likely gets blown up for little or no gain. But because Mo Wells had been a legitimate threat to run the ball (80 rushes, or an average of 10 per game, coming into the contest), the Penn State defense was completely fooled and Ohio State ended up with a touchdown when most of us felt that a field goal attempt was imminent.

Remember, good coaches do things for a reason.
 
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You have done such a nice job tracking what Mo did wrong in the game, I wonder if you can tell us all why Saine was 3 for 4 this week and 3 for 3 last week. We all know what he can do so what's going on!

crazybuckfan40;976488; said:
So I went back and looked at the tape...I did a detail description of each run and what I saw.

14:22 2nd quarter 2nd & 10 ball on tOSU 22, shotgun 3 wides, 1 TE, Mo
- Power play Gained 6 yds.There was a cut outside off the block that he missed.

13:09 2nd quarter 2nd &10 ball on tOSU 38, singleback 3 wides, 1 TE, Mo
-Draw play gained 9 yds. Hole straight up the gut. Hit it hard. Nice run. Took 3 guys to bring him down.

:25 2nd quarter 2nd & 10 ball on tOSU 32, singleback 3 wides, 1 TE, Mo
-Draw play gained 2 yards. There was a hole off of Cordle's block, but he misread the block and Cordle's guy came across his face and made the tackle. This was not a huge miss due to the fact that they were just trying to run out the clock.

9:10 3rd quarter 2nd & 4 ball on tOSU 49, I formation, 2 TE?s 1 WR, Mo behind DJ
- ISO gained 17 yds. Nice bounce to the outside, while breaking a diving tackle from a LB, then cutting back inside to fake out the safety. Nice run, but the diving LB really shouldn't of had a shot at him, he almost went into the line too much. The outside was open right away, and he gets to the line, plants his right foot then left then cuts outside to the right.

8:40 3rd quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 34, Shotgun 3 WR, TE, Mo
-Power play gained 4 yds. Nice solid run, front side was closed after the initial opening, tried sneaking out the back door, but lbs and d-lineman converged on him. Maybe if he makes that cut hard out the backdoor without losing momentum he might of got thru there. Made about what we could ask out of him on that run tho.

8:05 3rd quarter 2nd & 6 ball on PSU 30, I formation, 2 WR, 1 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained 3 yds. DJ went towards the outside backer, and had him blocked, and the safety came up on the outside of that, but TE was already on that backer, so DJ might have been able to chip off safety, and Mo would have been running to the endzone. Mo didn't follow DJ, and went right up the gut, and took Connor on one on one. Way to put the shoulder down, but Mo isn't going to win that battle. If he follows DJ I think he might of had a 30 yd. td.

15:00 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 47, Shotgun, 3 WR, 1TE, Mo
-Power gained 3 yds. Nice hard solid run, followed Person who whiffed on the block in the hole.

8:11 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 31, I formation, 2WR, TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO for -1 yds. Cordle's man crossed his face and disrupted the play. DJ had to chip on him, and caused Mo to have to retreat, but he could of bounced it sideways instead of retreating back. Play was going nowhere, could of got back to the LOS, but took a 1 yd. loss. It is also probably obvious we are going to run at this point up 24 points.

7:25 4th quarter 2nd & 11 ball on PSU 32, I formation, 2Te, 1WR, Mo behind DJ.
-Power gained 6 yds. Nice run, followed lead blocks of DJ and Person, then bounced to the outside a little and had no where to go as 3 guys converged on him.

6:04 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 19, I formation, 2 WR, 1 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained -1 yd. First off horrible block by Nicol, he whiffed on Evans, then DJ ran right by Evans to pick up the LB. This play goes for quite a few yds, if the blocks are made, but Mo could have got outside of Evans if he bounces quicker, which is what he should of done following where DJ went, he ran into the line too much before deciding to try and bounce it, and Evans came off the block and took him down.

3:15 4th quarter 1st & 10 ball on PSU 40, I formation 1 WR, 2 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained 5 yds. Great initial read as DJ pancaked the LB, and the OLB filled the hole to the left of DJ's block, and Mo cut up inside to get 5 yds, as the LB came off of Cordle's block.

2:43 4th quarter 2nd & 5 ball on PSU 35, I formation, 1 WR, 2 TE, Mo behind DJ
-ISO gained 4 yds. Followed the hole, and picked up 4 yds. No cuts available.

1:55 4th quarter 3rd & 1 ball on PSU 31, I formation, 1 WR, 2 TE, Mo behind DJ.
-ISO gained 3 yds. Nice run to pick up the first down. The cut to the outside was wide open, but he was worried about getting the first down. Nice job of falling forward for 2 extra yards.

The last 3 plays were impressive by the oline and Mo because they knew we were going to run, and when you can run the ball 3 straight times with 8/9 in the box is impressive

Overall Mo is a great blocker, and a solid runner.

He still misses quite a few cuts, and what I was saying earlier about his cuts to the outside, I think it has to do with his steps...I understand running the ball is bang bang, but he seems to get too deep into the line before making the decision to bounce, and also seems to be stuttering to be able to cut outside off his inside foot, causing him to be a step slow. Also at times, he does too much bouncing/hopping side to side, instead of keeping his momentum going, and doesn't hit the cutback quick enough...I must say he is getting better, I am glad that he stayed this season as there was talk about him leaving. He still is the backup, so the running offense isn't designed for him, and he is running an offense formed around a bruising back, and lots of times he is running in times when the game is basically over and the D knows that run is coming.

He is doing a good job on the draws, as mo seems to be able to do a great job of hitting the hole straight ahead, and it seems the lanes are more open for him. Not a great runner in traffic, much better in space.

Also he looks a lot better running behind the first team oline, especially when they are opening holes up like they were against PSU...
Click to expand...
 
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GoGators21;976816; said:
You have done such a nice job tracking what Mo did wrong in the game, I wonder if you can tell us all why Saine was 3 for 4 this week and 3 for 3 last week. We all know what he can do so what's going on!
Click to expand...
It's quite interesting how different people have different perspectives on something... I saw a lot of positive comments in there yet you focused on the "bad"...
 
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GoGators21;976816; said:
You have done such a nice job tracking what Mo did wrong in the game, I wonder if you can tell us all why Saine was 3 for 4 this week and 3 for 3 last week. We all know what he can do so what's going on!
Click to expand...

Just critiquing his game...He had a great game, probably the best of his career here...

As for Saine, he is getting the bulk of his carries when teams expect the run late in the game...Also I think we are seeing some plays being set up with having Saine at FB...
 
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