Running backs vowing to prove selves
Ground attack has been lacking in Washington
Inside the Washington Redskins running back room, everyone has something to prove.
Adrian Peterson is out to show that, at 33 years old, he can still be one of the elite backs in the game.
Chris Thompson is angling to be the NFL’s best third-down back and the comeback player of the year.
Rob Kelley wants to stop being the fallback option in constant need of upgrading.
Samaje Perine aims to deliver on the promise that made him a fourth-round pick in 2017.
The Redskins have never ranked higher than 19th in the NFL in rushing under coach Jay Gruden, but they enter this season intent on improving on the 90.5 rush yards per game that ranked 28th last season.
“Everybody’s just eager,” Kelley said. “. . . Everybody’s excited. Made some changes around the locker room, and everybody just wants to prove that we belong.
“It’s a pride issue. Everybody wants to go out there and show what we can do and stop being an afterthought.”
The initial excitement for a revamped TV: Line: RADIO: rushing attack started with the drafting of Derrius Guice in the second round, but that took a hit when Guice tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason opener. The signing of Peterson, who shined in his first preseason action, revitalized some of the hopes.
Gruden has named Peterson the starter, but how the backs will be implemented remains a bit of a mystery. Gruden has yet to decide on whether to have three or four running backs on the 46-man active roster, as the number of wide receivers and tight ends in uniform could affect that decision. The depth chart lists Perine ahead of Kelley, but practices have indicated that Kelley was ahead in the rotation. Gruden joked this week about getting Peterson 40 carries.
“Whatever it takes,” Peterson said. “I’ll take 40. Whatever it takes to get a W.”
Kelley added, “AP’s the type of back that you want to get him going, obviously. You’re not going to get him 10 carries and hope that he does what you want him to do. He’s a workhorse. Within doing that, you have to make sure everybody gets their touches. The coaches do a good job of making sure everybody helps this team succeed.”
Plenty went wrong in the run game last season, starting with health. Morgan Moses was the only starter on the offensive line who didn’t miss a game because of injury. Kelley and Thompson finished the season in injured reserve.
It was “a little bit of everything,” Gruden said. “Offensive line in and out, the continuity of the offensive line. Our tight ends struggled a a little bit blocking at the point from time to time. Sometimes all the different backs that we played had something to do with it. Receiver blocking. Sometimes a bad call against a bad front. We have to do a better job of trying to get our run calls against optimal looks, and if we don’t get the optimal look, we might have to throw it.
“The running game is very, very difficult to point your finger at one person or position group. It’s a total team effort. The quarterback’s got to be involved in it, carrying out his fake or getting us in the right play. Tight ends, obviously. Receivers have to block secondary people from time to time. And, obviously, linemen.”
The first test comes against a Cardinals team with a first-year head coach in Steve Wilks and a first-time defensive coordinator in Al Holcomb. Wilks served as the Panthers defensive coordinator last season and linebackers coach before then. The Cardinals’ defense also has some up-close experience with Peterson after he finished last season with the team. That’s not an advantage, though, according to Wilks.
“AP is AP,’ Wilks said. “He’s tough, he’s hard-nosed, he’s physical, and he’s going to run with a mission. As I just talked about, we have to do a great job tackling and getting off blocks. So, he’s going to be ready to play, I know that for a fact, and we are going to have our hands full.”
Ultimately, the success of the ground game will be predicated on more than just the individuals in the running backs room. Gruden is known for his passing schematics, but he needs to keep defenses honest. Offensive lines typically prefer to be aggressively run blocking instead of going backward while pass blocking.
“It’s not like basketball where you’ve got one man that can score 30 points and change the game,” Moses said. “It takes all 11. When you had as much change up with the offensive line and guys on IR, it just takes away that chemistry. Especially when you work so hard in the offseason implementing things in the run game and training camp and you’ve finally got the guys jelled together then week by week it falls apart.
“So, there’s a little bit of everything. We just have to stay the course this year.”