![]() And maybe, just maybe, one of those plays will end with Morris catching the ball in the end zone. ![]() They’ve come instead when he’s the check-down option in the flat.īut he still goes in motion on some snaps and still runs routes on others. He hasn’t caught any passes on designed plays. That’s been the extent of Morris’ receptions so far this season. “And when they don’t think (I’m) going to catch the ball, (then) they throw me the ball in the flat.” After all, if Morris is in the game, it must be a running play, right? Morris, who turns 30 in two months, said he ultimately decided not to fight the perception and instead lets it work to his advantage.Īgainst the Cardinals on Sunday, for example, he and Beathard sold a play-action fake so well that all but two Arizona defenders followed him to the right side of the field even though he didn’t have the ball in his arms. The label of him as a one-dimensional running back hasn’t gone away. Morris, meanwhile, said he began paying more attention to the passing game when he realized his previous indifference was costing him snaps.īut while his hands and route running improved over time, his reputation didn’t. I think we’re just better there than we were last year at that position and I think it’s showing.” “We’ve got a lot of trust in our running backs to put a lot of plays in their hands to where we expect them to get open and make plays and we trust those guys to do that. “It’s the second year in the system, you’ll be more efficient in that sense of getting check downs, getting the balls to the backs,” quarterback C.J. Breida has averaged 8.2 yards on his 11 catches Morris is averaging 11 yards a reception, higher than at any other point in his career. This season neither Breida nor Morris has been cited for a drop, according to Pro Football Focus. Breida wasn’t too far behind with six drops, and he caught only 21 of the 34 passes that went his way, a 61.8 percent rate. This year the running backs - including fullback Kyle Juszczyk - are on track to finish with 1,150 yards in part because they have been more efficient as receivers.Ī year ago, for example, tailback Carlos Hyde led all 49ers pass catchers with 59 receptions but also had a team-high nine dropped passes. In 2017, the group combined for 845 receiving yards. Still, the team’s runners have been effective, perhaps surprisingly so, in the passing game so far. “Our backs can do some things in the pass game,” Shanahan said Thursday of McKinnon’s backups. The plan had to be recalibrated when McKinnon was lost for the season on Sept. The 49ers approached the season intending to throw even more heavily to its runners, one in particular - Jerick McKinnon. Breida didn’t practice Thursday and is a longshot to play Monday against Green Bay, a situation that would put Morris squarely in the spotlight. Three of his receptions came in the second half of Sunday’s loss to Arizona after Matt Breida left the game with an ankle injury. He’s caught six of the seven passes that have gone his way for 66 yards. Running backs must be receiving options in Shanahan’s current system, and so far Morris has met the challenge. ![]() That’s all I want to do is run the ball.” Throw me a screen if I’m there (but) let me run the ball. ![]() “When I was younger, I just didn’t care about catching the ball, to be honest with you,” he said. The result: Morris has 33 rushing touchdowns in 100 NFL games but zero through the air. During his rookie year in Washington, then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan ran a rudimentary zone-read offense and Morris was taken off the field in favor of a receiver on obvious passing plays. Nobody could stop our running game.”Īt Florida Atlantic, he caught 30 passes over four seasons. Things are not looking up for “Alf”, and he is absolutely cuttable in your fantasy league.“We did not throw the ball,” he said, putting extra emphasis on the word not. When starter Matt Breida returns from injury, Morris’ role should become even more limited. In fact, in Week 6, Morris played just one snap and didn’t get a single touch while Mostert went off for 7.3 yards per carry. As simply a two-down back, Morris is limited as a contributor for fantasy purposes, but even more so because Mostert has been out-gaining him on fewer touches. On his 71 carries this year, Morris has generated just 3.6 yards per attempt and is contributing little in the passing game with just 66 yards on 6 catches (11 targets). Instead, Morris has fallen from the lead back to the backup, and to possibly the third-stringer behind Raheem Mostert, simply due to his lackluster play. San Francisco 49ers running back Alfred Morris is in a similar spot to Hyde, though he hasn’t suffered as a result of a trade. ![]()
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