[needle]

In struggling to come up with a plausible reason why Stanford can score 30+ against Oregon, I remembered Cajuste was out for the AZ State game.

Obviously, a lot went wrong with the offense that night. But do people think Cajuste's absence had a profound effect on the running game/screen game?

Here is the argument, as voiced by Lombardi:

... against Washington State, it became apparent that Stanford was trying to move to a more perimeter-oriented offensive attack, and it worked against the Cougars. Instead of only operating in the middle scrum, the Cardinal's smaller running backs succeeded with a heavy dose of off-tackle runs, and Shaw also utilized a size advantage at wide receiver to put the offense in position to block and break tackles on screens to the outside. But when an injury forced the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Cajuste to miss the Arizona State game, Stanford seemed to lose the will to effectively attack the perimeter. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/stanford-footbal...on-cajuste

Well...Wright and Sanders were getting dragged down from behind against AZ State by unblocked DEs/LBs. Neuheisel on the Pac-12 Network also pointed out how Stanford's tight ends were getting pushed into the backfield.

So, I'm skeptical about Cajuste having much effect on the running backs getting yards. On the other hand, I do think I've seen the quick outlet pass to a wideout work better when Cajuste is blocking, but I haven't paid close enough attention to know for sure.

What do others think? Is Cajuste-the-blocker vital to the running game/screen game/overall offensive success on Saturday?

[needle]

In struggling to come up with a plausible reason why Stanford can score 30+ against Oregon, I remembered Cajuste was out for the AZ State game.

Obviously, a lot went wrong with the offense that night. But do people think Cajuste's absence had a profound effect on the running game/screen game?

Here is the argument, as voiced by Lombardi:

... against Washington State, it became apparent that Stanford was trying to move to a more perimeter-oriented offensive attack, and it worked against the Cougars. Instead of only operating in the middle scrum, the Cardinal's smaller running backs succeeded with a heavy dose of off-tackle runs, and Shaw also utilized a size advantage at wide receiver to put the offense in position to block and break tackles on screens to the outside. But when an injury forced the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Cajuste to miss the Arizona State game, Stanford seemed to lose the will to effectively attack the perimeter. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/stanford-footbal...on-cajuste

Well...Wright and Sanders were getting dragged down from behind against AZ State by unblocked DEs/LBs. Neuheisel on the Pac-12 Network also pointed out how Stanford's tight ends were getting pushed into the backfield.

So, I'm skeptical about Cajuste having much effect on the running backs getting yards. On the other hand, I do think I've seen the quick outlet pass to a wideout work better when Cajuste is blocking, but I haven't paid close enough attention to know for sure.

What do others think? Is Cajuste-the-blocker vital to the running game/screen game/overall offensive success on Saturday?

[fullmetal]

Yes.  Cajuste is a big, tall body with speed that has to be respected.  He's a mismatch at slot with his speed and a mismatch on the outside with his size/length.

[fullmetal]

Yes.  Cajuste is a big, tall body with speed that has to be respected.  He's a mismatch at slot with his speed and a mismatch on the outside with his size/length.