Mike Blakely

[jreaves 0]

Is Blakely a good receiver out of the backfield? It seems to me that Omac & Mason are better

than him in this regard.

[eulessau 115]

Like others have mentioned, Omac is too much a situational back. His production is great against lesser defenses, but him getting 15-20 plays against teams like LSU seems like a recipe for 3 and out. I'm not knocking the guy, just would rather see the other two backs get the bulk of the carries Saturday.

Not totaly disagreeing with you, but I do seem to remember a pretty significant TD run by OM against LSU in 2010. Agree that running OM up the middle should be limited and only behind JP as a lead blocker.

[bwillaub 0]

Sorry, but IRL the RB tandem of Mason and Blakeley is many times more effective than OMAC and Mason.

Some of you live in a fantasy world.

OMac is averaging 6.9 ypc this season. He's averaging 6.5 ypc in his career at AU. He's a threat to score every single time he touches the ball.

Blakely has done nothing to prove he's "more effective" than OMac "in real life".

I have to agree with this.

[ToomersRevenge 284]

I'd like to see a breakdown of plays that OMac has been in as to pass vs rush %, and which side he ran to.

My gut tells me he isn't in on a ton of pass plays where he'll be a blocker, but numbers can always override my gut.

[mcgufcm 4,109]

I'm almost certain you're right if the question is the number of times he's in to pass block, but I'll bet his participation on pass plays is pretty high. He's just used as a receiver in those plays. Not much as a blocker.

[AURaptor 1,137]

Telegraphing to the world that we plan on running OM between the tackles, and then running OM between the tackles, is BRILLIANT, btw.

Just wanted to mention that.

[Autigers71 0]

I would like to see a full house backfield with Omac Prosch Mason/Blakely.

[aubrandon 5]

Blakely will get his carries. He runs hard. No doubt about that but Mason and Squirrel are better right now. O mac running outside when the hole is inside gets old but he is so fast and can break one on any play. I absolutely love the way Mason hits the hole or makes his own. Mason is definitely the hardest runner right now...I am still wondering where Corey Grant has gone off to.

[AUenginerd 16]

I am still wondering where Corey Grant has gone off to.

Injured. Hopefully he makes his debut this weekend.

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Like others have mentioned, Omac is too much a situational back. His production is great against lesser defenses, but him getting 15-20 plays against teams like LSU seems like a recipe for 3 and out. I'm not knocking the guy, just would rather see the other two backs get the bulk of the carries Saturday.

Not totaly disagreeing with you, but I do seem to remember a pretty significant TD run by OM against LSU in 2010. Agree that running OM up the middle should be limited and only behind JP as a lead blocker.

That was a great run, but you have to remember who else they had to keep an eye on back then. Cam, Dyer, Lutz, Darvin, T-Zach, Blake. Omac got some huge benefits with that many weapons on the field at once, This year is a different story.

[gilstein21 1]

I am still wondering where Corey Grant has gone off to.

Injured. Hopefully he makes his debut this weekend.

he played at least 2 plays this past week. One was a handoff to McCalebb around the end and the next was a 3rd down pass play where he stayed in to block.

[aubie571 0]

Love the effort and and vision of MB.

[shceagle 0]

Mike is not our best back right now, but he is easily the most talented.

OMac is pure speedback, not a cut-back runner, Tre has more power, and is a speedy one-cut downhill RB.

Mike, however has the ability to make the first guy miss every time. He has great vision, and looks great in the open field.

The reason why I say that he the most talented is BC he looks natural with the ball in his hands. You can't teach field vision and elusiveness and those two things are his greatest strengths. I'm sure his speed isn't a problem either.

Once our OLine starts to gel, he will make some jaws drop.

[Raven_tiger 5]

I think Blakely is the best RB and he has best size to pound in between the tackles. If we insist on running Omac between the tackles against LSU he may not make it to the 3rd quarter. Allow Omac to make plays in space and save the pounding for the bigger backs.

[gilstein21 1]

Omac did a good job between the tackles last week. Yes, it was ULM, but he ran differently than he has in the past on those inside runs. I agree that he cannot do it consistently, but we have to be able to do it occasionally to keep the defense honest. If he has a lead blocked, he can hit the whole quickly.

[jvilletiger 0]

Blakely reminds me of Ben Tate his freshman year, before he gained weight and lost shiftiness. That cutback ability is the thing that separates him from the other backs. He also always falls forward. Glad he transferred.

[bamerslayer 0]

Love to see Omac on a wheel route. If he could get the in stride, he's gone. Like your ex gf when B Cox showed up. Just sayin.

[AUmind 0]

We will need as many fresh RB's in the game we can get this week.

[tigerjeffm 0]

Mike is not our best back right now, but he is easily the most talented.

OMac is pure speedback, not a cut-back runner, Tre has more power, and is a speedy one-cut downhill RB.

Mike, however has the ability to make the first guy miss every time. He has great vision, and looks great in the open field.

The reason why I say that he the most talented is BC he looks natural with the ball in his hands. You can't teach field vision and elusiveness and those two things are his greatest strengths. I'm sure his speed isn't a problem either.

Once our OLine starts to gel, he will make some jaws drop.

Yes this. I never said Blakely was the " best" back. I only said he was the most gifted. I believe he will be Great

[kevon67 2,368]

I know he fumbled away the momentum Saturday, but he appears to be by far the most gifted rb on the team. Especially his vision. Anyone else notice this? I'd like to see him(or 21) stay in the game for enough plays and really have a chance to get into a groove

I agree, I believe as in the early days with Campbell, we run, run, run and pass. Kiehl will get that groove sooner than you think. Just like Campbell did. Didnt happen over night as most may well remember.

[IronMan70 3,322]

Mason and Blakely are a great 1-2 punch.

Blakely has the build to be an every down back with the toughness to get 2 yards when we need it. He could easily handle 20-25 carries if needed and he has the elusiveness to break big runs if he gets a good hole.

Mason I don't believe is an every down back, more like a 15 carries a game back. He can play both roles, the speed back and the inside runner very effectively.

OMac is what I would call a specialty or situational back. He can't run the ball inside 20 times a game but its good to let the defense think he is only being used as a speed back in a game, then pop him inside every once in awhile. If its a good hole he can be past the 2nd level before the LBs can even react. We need to get him in space every chance we can because he can break any play in space.

We need all 3 of these guys and Corey Grant to get back too.

We really need a big back for certain situations, especially against the upper tier teams like LSU, but we will just have to make due. Wilkins, Robinson and hopefully Greene are on the way.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,477]

Sorry, but IRL the RB tandem of Mason and Blakeley is many times more effective than OMAC and Mason.

Some of you live in a fantasy world.

Not sure how you can come to that conclusion. Last week IRL OMac had like 123 yds on only 9-12 carries.

Who did we play last week? Give those touches to Mason or Blakeley and they net more yards.

So sick of us wasting plays with Omac runs up the middle.

The Warhawks finished the season (2011) eighth in the NCAA allowing just 100.0 rushing yards per game and 22nd in total defense allowing 326.2 yards.

I'd say we did a pretty good job of running the football against that defense.

I didn't realize we played the 2011 team last week. By that logic, we'd be better than we are this year based on last year's rankings.

Come on, what's the point in that statement? You know damn well he was just saying that this team is coached well and has shown the ability to stop the run. We all need to chill out on being snarky towards each other.

OMac has been our most consistent running back for 4 years, regardless of offensive line and talent around him. Don't even argue that Dyer or Cam were around, they didn't make those 50+ yard runs in 5 seconds, Ontario did. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Mason + OMac is a good 1-2 punch, and when Blakely can be trusted with the ball on a consistent basis, he will make a great 1-2-3 option. Corey Grant will just be icing on this O&B cake.