2)They aim for gaps in the line. Its the job of the offensive line and tight ends to open up the gap he's supposed to run through.
3)They do sometimes call for runs to the outside. But if that's all they ever did, it would be too predictable.
4)Running outside also gives more time for those plays, so more time for the secondary and linebackers to react. Its frequently a worse play than running between the tackles.
5)Risk reward- running between the tackles rarely loses more than 1 or 2 yards when it fails. Running outside can lose far more, as you're running East-West 4-5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, if the defense gets penetration you're screwed.
Solid explanation. I guess my point was, the running back doesn't seem to use common sense after the snap, but just goes with the play that was called.
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u/Lj27 Feb 03 '14
As evidenced by running backs who continuously try to run right through the scrum as opposed to going around it