I was watching those highlights in the first thirty seconds and I almost feel like there's no sense in watching the rest of the video. In each short yardage situation, the opponent stacked the box and got into the backfield. Miami just hasn't had the offensive line to punch open a hole and because of that, every run is some type of gimmick to create space. The only problem is, it doesn't work on 3rd and 1 when the D knows you're running. You can get as cute as you want in the backfield, someone is still going to have to block the guy in front of them to open up the smallest of gaps for 2-3 seconds. And a hole takes at least two successful blocks, both creating a lane by sealing off their defender. Preferably, you'd also want someone engaging the linebacker at the second level as well, so it's really winning 3 key blocks on short yardage. We just haven't been able to do that consistently. It's easy to blame the coach or even the running backs on some of the "highlights", but you have to remember the position you're putting your team in. The first three yards are 100% on the offensive line (or the TE/FB on certain plays). McDaniel has to trust his guys as much as possible...but shoot....he knows what he has and it's why we gimmick everything. The answer is competent linemen and we just don't have a good history of getting them. The thing is, we need two studs side by side on short run plays- it could be center/guard, guard/tackle, whatever. And maybe the defense knows it, maybe they stuff the box and fill the hole to shut it down.
