Is Travis Dye an EVERY-DOWN Back to You?

[Charles Fischer]

Not to me.  I loved how they used Travis Dye as a change-up and as a superb pass receiver out of the backfield. While CJ Verdell did not have the break-away speed of other running backs of the past, he was tough and his vision had improved significantly this past year.  We will really miss him.

 

Dye has had ball-control issues when he carries it a ton; will that happen again with all the carries in Pac-12 play?  And...he is smallish; is that who you want for a crucial 3rd and 1, or an inexperienced freshman running back?

 

Oh yeah...I forgot.  They'll have Anthony Brown take-on the interior of the opposing defensive lines...

 

 

[Vandownbytheriverduck]

He is Not big enough not fast enough or durable enough.
 

Ball Security will always be an issue when you are undersized and not as strong.
 

Still refuses the gloves. 

 

It’s time to see who fills Verdels spot while running dye as long as he performs. 

[Charles Fischer]

On 10/12/2021 at 12:09 PM, Vandownbytheriverduck said:

or durable enough.

 

I forgot and did not mention...if he gets hurt--Oregon is in a world of hurt.  We need to bring the newbies along quickly...

 

[Southwest Duck]

Dye is a perfect 3rd down and change of pace back.

 

I think the team will suffer if he’s the bell cow.

 

The loss of Verdell is huge.

 

Of the 3 freshman I think Benson give us the best chance at filling in for cj.

 

Id like to see dye get the first series of the first and second half’s plus 3rd down work.

 

Give Benson everything else for about 10-15 touches. 

Also, have 2-3 plays for Seven. 

[kirklandduck]

Like it or not, unfortunately Dye will be the bell cow for the rest of the season.  Moorhead and Mastro will need to adjust how they use him in the offense since he obviously should not run between the tackles all the time.  I think they'll spread the load with the other freshman, maybe McGee and Benson along with making the running game more dynamic.  If they get Dye into open space and get more creases in the line then the running offense should fly.  I always thought that if Dye had been able to work in the old Kelly/Helfrich offense, he could have stats similar to Kenyon Barner.

[Duckdude]

Not an every down back.  Too small…..as is Verdell, and look what happened to him, which was inevitable.

[PittDuck]

I think playing TD as an every down back will lead to Dye joining Verdell on the injured list.

 

It seems MC insists on playing combinations with multiple people on the O and D lines in order to “build depth and resiliency” while refusing to give decent reps to additional QBs and RBs which would also seem to build depth and resiliency.

[David Marsh]

I don't think Dye is a feature back. It feels like how initially in 2013 DAT was supposed to be the featured back with the departure of Barner. That didn't work out too well... DAT was injured through a non-contact injury and Marshall and Tyner took over from that point. 

 

I think we will need to see Cardwell or Benson step up and start taking some snaps with some positive yardage. 

 

The hardest thing about this situation is that not all freshman are ready to play right away. Freeman and Dye were the last two to play as true freshman. Verdell was a redshirt freshman, LaMichael James was a redshirt freshman. 

[GODUCKS15]

I doubt Dye will last the whole season as the main RB.  AB fills in as a nice RB/QB.  

[Haywarduck]

As a team which runs the ball 60% of the time, I don't see Dye as an every down back. It seems Cristobal has stated he kind of lets the back with the hot hand run with it. 

 

I will be interested to see what the rotation is, in the Cal game. We will definitely see some differences in the rotation, what will it be?

 

Seven was taking reps from Dye when he came in. Cardwell would seem to be the guy to take CJ's reps. Right now Cardwell is getting a couple yds less per carry. I could see Trey getting some of the reps too.

 

We should be seeing the future of the Oregon running game. That should provide a little interest for the game. 

 

The problem is see is Cal's rushing defense is ranked 38th, while Stanfords is rated 123rd, might be a tough go.

[kirklandduck]

The depth chart just released for Call shows Benson as the #2 RB, so it might be that Cristobal is going with sort of a "thunder and lightning" setup with them as the duo.

[DuckIt]

If Oregon is going to continue to throw these short passes and run the ball, no back will survive this season.  These teams have all been watching film, and they aren't threatened by Oregon's passing game.  I wouldn't be. They are going to continue to stack the box, until AB makes one of these vertical passes.  Even then, I still think our opponents like their odds.  The last game, both Verdell and Dye had to work way too hard just to fight for 5 yards. You could see, it was wearing on them. Verdell injured himself for the season, and Cardwell had to relieve Dye on several critical downs, on Oregon's final possession, before the end of regulation.

 

If Oregon's game plan is to run the ball, then they need to unleash Benson.  He should be running the ball, not Cardwell.  Here's what Dye had to say about Benson: 

                 He’s coming in here every day, ready to focus and ready to go. His mentality and physicality is almost out of this world. I’ve never seen a back like it.

                 Trey has a huge future here. I think he’s going to be one of the greatest to ever come through here. He’s very powerful, very fast, very smart, and when you put all of                  those together, you’re going to have a great football player.