Can Kam Martin be "The Guy" in 2018?

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

Thinking about past backs, I can't think of many in the past few years that would've been much of an improvement over Kam today.  There were a couple misses today, but for the most part, there was not a lot of room to run.  

Agreed. We all need to be patient. Everybody is going to get better.

[Gowebb11 9,320]

I thought Kam did his job tonight. Ran tough, didn’t turn the ball over, and caught the ball out of the backfield. Petersons team teams traditionally play great defense. They only gave up 17 offensive points to Bama 2 years ago in the playoffs, and this years D is supposed to be better. Kam will have some better games statistically, but he gave us what we needed tonight. 

[oracle79 3,569]

40/40/20 Kam/Boobie/Shivers.  I could live with that.

[AUApostle 7,651]

Boobie made the effort plays needed to secure a victory in the end...that counts for a lot.  He also got better as the game went on and he got a feel for it...remember this was his first real action. He showed great improvement in discipline since spring as well. In maybe the 3rd quarter he had a run near the close (to the camera) sideline where he met contact, bounced off, and instead of changing directions completely as he’d done in ADay, he found a small crease and fell forward for another 2-3 yards.

i feel like Kam still isn’t showing the ability to push a pile and fall forward.  

Again, he’s a change of pace guy , speed sweep guy (although I wonder if he’s lost a step w the extra weight), and 4th quarter back (when we’re up big).

just my opinion, hope he proves me wrong...and I did notice some improvements over last year.

[AUinfusion 390]

10 hours ago, AuMarine said:

The jury is still out on Kam. I think he can be an a complete back. He can run between the tackles and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. I was disappointed in a few things I saw today. On several plays I thought the OL caused him problems but I also saw him miss a hole and trip up a few times. He looked slow to me which is crazy because I know he is not slow. A lot to be fixed with the running game and not just the running backs. 

I want to rewatch the game, but I almost wonder if Kam has been coached out of playing his game. He did have a few holes, not many, but he did not look like himself going through them. I’m basing this on memory, but I thought he ran really tight (more like watching Cox run) and with an exaggerated forward lean, so he really had very little chance to make something happen at the second level. 

[EagleReedle 14]

"Can Kam be the guy in 2018"

 

NO. nor does it appear Whitlow can either. Is this a result of a further step in the direction of a Lindsey run offense or just the result of two undersized rb's, perhaps just the new offensive lines lack of push? Idk but i was less than impressed for the first time in 9 years with our run game last night. Not trying to be negative just realistic... This has me thinking... how did kerryon do in terms of yardage vs Clemson? is that even a fair comparison? 

[AidiAU 1,270]

3 minutes ago, EagleReedle said:

"Can Kam be the guy in 2018"

 

NO. nor does it appear Whitlow can either. Is this a result of a further step in the direction of a Lindsey run offense or just the result of two undersized rb's? Idk but i was less than impressed for the first time in 9 years with our run game last night. Not trying to be negative just realistic... This has me thinking... how did kerryon do in terms of yardage vs Clemson? is that even a fair comparison? 

This wasn’t some pushover defense we played against. And, if I recal correctly, wasn’t KJ hurt during Clemson? And Pettway played hurt? 

I expect our run game to improve. KJ was and is a very special and smart RB IMO...not sure you can compare the two. 

[EagleReedle 14]

1 minute ago, AidiAU said:

This wasn’t some pushover defense we played against. And, if I recal correctly, wasn’t KJ hurt during Clemson? And Pettway played hurt? 

I expect our run game to improve. KJ was and is a very special and smart RB IMO...not sure you can compare the two. 

that's fair, i'm totally open to being wrong but something felt seriously deflated w/ our run game last night and i'm a bit worried tbh regarding Kams ability to handle the load. Personally I think it'd be great to have a bruiser like Pettway right about now. 

[AidiAU 1,270]

2 minutes ago, EagleReedle said:

that's fair, i'm totally open to being wrong but something felt seriously deflated w/ our run game last night and i'm a bit worried tbh regarding Kams ability to handle the load. Personally I think it'd be great to have a bruiser like Pettway right about now. 

It def wasn’t the performance we are used to seeing. But it’s week 1 against a good team with a new O line. They should only get better....hopefully! 

I want to see Shivers and Asa get some touches next week. 

[EagleReedle 14]

1 minute ago, AidiAU said:

It def wasn’t the performance we are used to seeing. But it’s week 1 against a good team with a new O line. They should only get better....hopefully! 

I want to see Shivers and Asa get some touches next week. 

absolutely!

[jAUSon 2,836]

Not a word about Kmart from me. It was a signature Gus Malzahn opener. We'll pick up momentum from here and everything will look better. I am, however, on fire for Boobie and Worm. That's my $.02

[EagleReedle 14]

2 minutes ago, jAUSon said:

Not a word about Kmart from me. It was a signature Gus Malzahn opener. We'll pick up momentum from here and everything will look better. I am, however, on fire for Boobie and Worm. That's my $.02

so in light of the words you did say about Boobie and Worm are you just indifferent regarding Kmart? Not that bad not that great? Shivers literally had 1 carry last night so it's not hard to temper my expectations but i agree i would like to see more shivers. Totally agree about the signature gus malzahn opener. 

[jAUSon 2,836]

Just now, EagleReedle said:

so in light of the words you did say about Boobie and Worm are you just indifferent regarding Kmart? Not that bad not that great? Shivers literally had 1 carry last night so it's not hard to temper my expectations but i agree i would like to see more shivers. Totally agree about the signature gus malzahn opener. 

To me, Kmart wasn't definitive, because the dissaray of the offense at large (beyond the first two scripted series). He did bring his lunchbox, though and I'm fine with him. Worm and Boobie showed what we sort of thought with the foot work and second effort. I'm good with all of it.

[bigbird 60,522]

Outside of 1 carry, Boobie avg 2.57 ypc.  What are y'all basing y'all's opinions on? Maybe I missed something, but KMart looked quicker to and through the hole.  Look I get it, KMart got stoned at the line a few times, but he also had a few where he gashed or 7 or 8+. The difference between those types of runs we're nothing a RB could've done. The OL had no push and there were zero holes.  Give credit to UWs defense. Their run fits and ability to stone our OL was really good.

I don't know if KMart will be the guy.  I believe he very easily could. He had 88 yards against a great front 7 and a poor OL performance. However, anyone that claims he can't off this performance or better yet that Boobee can and should based off his 8 carries is showing a lot of bias in thaeir opinion.

 

The biggest gripe toward KMart was his pass pro and catching ability.  He did well in pass pro yesterday and had 5 catches for 32 yards with 0 drops 

[EagleReedle 14]

12 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Outside of 1 carry, Boobie avg 2.57 ypc.  What are y'all basing y'all's opinions on? Maybe I missed something, but KMart looked quicker to and through the hole.  Look I get it, KMart got stoned at the line a few times, but he also had a few where he gashed or 7 or 8+. The difference between those types of runs we're nothing a RB could've done. The OL had no push and there were zero holes.  Give credit to UWs defense. Their run fits and ability to stone our OL was really good.

I don't know if KMart will be the guy.  I believe he very easily could. He had 88 yards against a great front 7 and a poor OL performance. However, anyone that claims he can't off this performance or better yet that Boobee can and should based off his 8 carries is showing a lot of bias in thaeir opinion.

 

The biggest gripe toward KMart was his pass pro and catching ability.  He did well in pass pro yesterday and had 5 catches for 32 yards with 0 drops 

I think that is really on point analysis.

The real concern here *if a concern must be mustered up,* is the offensive line and for the first game of the year, frankly, it was an improvement from what we saw against Clemson last year pass protection wise (not exactly apples to apples but still). Hopefully they'll continue to gel and begin to push these lineman around some. 

[bigbird 60,522]

4 minutes ago, EagleReedle said:

I think that is really on point analysis, the real concern here if a concern must be mustered up, is the offensive line and for the first game of the year it was an improvement from what we saw against Clemson last year pass protection wise (not exactly apples to apples but still) hopefully they'll continue to gel and begin to push these lineman around some. 

I agree. The pass pro was much better than most of the games last year. The run blocking will be addressed and fixed quickly. Gus won't stand for that display.

[leglessdan 1,934]

4 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I agree. The pass pro was much better than most of the games last year. The run blocking will be addressed and fixed quickly. Gus won't stand for that display.

I think as much as we all wanted the OL to be as good as we may have imagined,  they combine for a total of less than 20 starts. First game as a unit against a stout DL and the result we got could been expected. Imo, we will be run heavy next week to create more gelling of the OL.

[sevenlee36 1,654]

Kam played well but Auburn is still searching for that Pettway or KJ that can move the pile and pick up tough yards in the middle when there is no running lanes. We need a guy who can pick up that first down and drive the defense back carrying defenders. We have lightning we are still searching for thunder. Kam is a more balanced back than a Onterio Macalebb, but he hasn’t proven to be Tre Mason. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it in him to be that all purpose back we just haven’t seen it yet.

[bigbird 60,522]

6 minutes ago, sevenlee36 said:

... but he hasn’t proven to be Tre Mason. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it in him to be that all purpose back we just haven’t seen it yet.

That's a tough comparison.  That OL Tre had was awesome.

[Barnacle 9,064]

36 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Outside of 1 carry, Boobie avg 2.57 ypc.  What are y'all basing y'all's opinions on? Maybe I missed something, but KMart looked quicker to and through the hole.  Look I get it, KMart got stoned at the line a few times, but he also had a few where he gashed or 7 or 8+. The difference between those types of runs we're nothing a RB could've done. The OL had no push and there were zero holes.  Give credit to UWs defense. Their run fits and ability to stone our OL was really good.

I don't know if KMart will be the guy.  I believe he very easily could. He had 88 yards against a great front 7 and a poor OL performance. However, anyone that claims he can't off this performance or better yet that Boobee can and should based off his 8 carries is showing a lot of bias in thaeir opinion.

 

The biggest gripe toward KMart was his pass pro and catching ability.  He did well in pass pro yesterday and had 5 catches for 32 yards with 0 drops 

I thought he was great in the passing game. He's an enormous asset there. 

The coaches still don't want either Martin or Whitlow pass protecting. Neither back was asked more than once or twice during the entire game to pass block. I saw Whitlow whiff on one block, while Kam did a good job on his. On the whole, pass protection was delegated to Chandler Cox, who showed a surprising amount of versatility. I'm not sure if it's the ideal plan moving forward, but Cox also made several big catches out of the backfield for first downs during the game. That said, Kam still touched the ball over 20 times, which shows me that the coaches are doing a better job coaching to Kam's strengths than they were last season.

Notably, Kam is becoming a weapon in the passing game. He came back to Stidham on a 3rd down play during the first quarter, making an clutch catch on the sideline for a first down. It was a savvy play, and building that kind of rapport with Stidham early in the season will pay huge dividends later on. There were many on this board like yourself that were hoping to see Kam used more in the passing game, and I think you should be very encouraged by how Chip Lindsey employed him yesterday.

Kam is not and probably will never be a "move the pile" type of back. I'm also not sure that it is fair for us to expect him to be. Kam's value is in his ability to get to the second level in a hurry, not in his ability to get the tough yards. This was well exemplified at the start of the 2nd quarter. We are in a 3rd and 1 at the Washington 42. Kam fails to get the first down on 3rd and short - a run where, IMO, he should have gotten the first down. The blocking was adequate, and its tough to see from the sideline angle, but he may have picked the wrong hole (vision was at times suspect yesterday). Either way, it was a disappointing effort. I was surprised to see Gus stick with Kam on the 4th and 1 play that followed. As an answer, Kam found a seam and shoots up the field for 20 yards picking up a must-have first down. So, there are two sides to the Kam Martin coin - times where he struggles to get a yard, and times where he finds some daylight and picks up some chunk yardage. We all know that our offensive line struggled in this game, so we didn't get to see many of these quick hitting plays out of Kam, but as the offensive line improves, so will the amount of opportunities for Kam to make big plays. 

Should also note that Whitlow wasn't particularly impressive during the first half. He whiffed on his only pass pro assignment, and I'd be hard pressed to say that he picked up any more "tough" yards than Martin until those two big runs late in the game. On the other hand, one of the bets runs of the game belongs to true freshman Shaun Shivers. Shaun made a linebacker miss, and turned a 3 yard loss into a 7 yard gain, picking up a big first down. Shaun may be the "toughest" runner we have on our team. 

 

[djg0017 726]

Dunno about y’all but I saw Kam lower his head and pop people more than any other player on the team. He ran All American Taylor Rapp right over. Kam ran 22 times, and I never saw him get up slowly or looked dazed. And KJ looked incredibly fragile his first few games (and offseasons) but turned into a legit every down back. Kam Martin is crisp and deliberate with his play and that will go a long way.

Also did it seem to anyone else that the holes opened up seemed strange at times? Seems like the play was designed to run a particular direction but blockers didn’t open up that gap.

[MaxP 137]

Most of our running plays took too long to develop from the handoff to when the rb reached the line. It was almost slow motion. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

2 minutes ago, MaxP said:

Most of our running plays took too long to develop from the handoff to when the rb reached the line. It was almost slow motion. 

I agree.

One of the things that makes the Gus offense actually work is "hit it fast".  Maybe Chip's Offense is different but between the OL not being earth movers and the slow developing hand offs, it's hard to really take anything concrete away from this performance besides "Work In Progress".

[MaxP 137]

2 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

I agree.

One of the things that makes the Gus offense actually work is "hit it fast".  Maybe Chip's Offense is different but between the OL not being earth movers and the slow developing hand offs, it's hard to really take anything concrete away from this performance besides "Work In Progress".

 The only running play I remember that fired off quickly was Whitlow's TD run. Although Booby, seemed to be telegraphing he was going to get the ball. Obviously, I'm very happy with the outcome. 

[cole256 17,059]

This may or may not have been said, I didn't read all of the prior posts but, how are you guys differentiating between the 2 backs? They both had some good runs and they both struggled. They both broke tackles, neither one fumbled. I think many of you are just saying what you were THINKING before the game. That is you want a bigger guy at hb. And that's your prerogative but I don't see how any conclusions can be made after this particular game.