That turned quickly. You just said that Shanahan runs the ball because he has the talent to do so and I was simply showing you that those players didn’t magically fall onto the roster.
Of course they did not "magically fall on the roster". What actually happened is he wasn't finding a 3rd. guy he'd want to give the ball to and kept running through names until he found one. Actually, he may have found one by accident with all the injuries last season. No, not magic, more like trial and error getting to three RBs.
I said any good head coach would adjust his scheme and play mix to the available talent. If running the ball behind a good run blocking line happens to be working one year or one week then that's what I would expect to be done until it doesn't work any more. No quick turns there.
In Atlanta he had RBs who could catch the ball--more thows to them, fewer runs, same % focus. If he ran more last season that may be because he did not have confidence in the RB run substitution throws which were light. He also had a good run blocking line. I don't know his free agent situation in that regard, but if he has a run blocking weakness now I'd expect more passing. He used only two RBs in 2017 because that's all he had, and not much of a QB situation to boot for most of the season.
Frankly, I'm past tired of talking about Shanahan because I don't believe any successful coach has a system and play balance he just rolls out week after week and year after year. Nor do I believe a successful coach copies somebody else's approach. LaFluer has been successful and I hope he will continue to be so.
Of course Shanahan doesn't really have a system you can point to as something predictable from year to year or week to week, something you could copy if you wanted to. Building a running game is relatively cheap. RBs can be gotten inexpensively if you're willing to run through a parade of them. Run blocking OLs are less expensive that the ones who excel at pass blocking. So where cap fits into the predisposition from one year to the next I'll leave for you to figure out.
The fixation on SF's 8 throw game in the playoffs is just that--a fixation. He detected early that the Packers were overplaying the pass and kept at the run game until it stopped working which it never did because Pettine couldn't see his way clear to adjust.
You might want to consider that Dillon is a backstop for two contract year running backs and a guy that'll get every chance to steal Williams' snaps in preparation for #1 in 2021. That's why you draft RBs in the 2nd. round after all. Deguara is a part-time fullback when a play calls for that, maybe getting snaps elsewhere if he's up to it, taking over Lewis' snaps next year in-line when not at FB. He's not exactly slow; he might get some snaps out of the slot. Did you consider this is as far as "loading up" the run game goes?
There really isn't a compelling reason to think LaFleur is cloning the SF approach, and "clone" is in fact your slant. If running is working to win games then that's what LaFleur will do. Fall behind early and the ball is in Rodgers hands. You will absolutely see more pass plays than run plays regardless. If you run the ball 400 times, which is about what you should expect, give or take, in the final analysis you don't need 4 RBs on the active roster every week to accomplish that.
What I do know is seven of them, Hightower, Bibbs, Williams, McKinnon, Morris, Coleman and Matt J., never took an offensive snap with that team. Kyle Juszcak is a FB which is something else entirely. You didn't mention Hyde and Breida, the only RBs with snap counts other than Mostert's puny 15 in 2017, so I guess I have to.
