[Goose]

Right, but as always it's a question of degree. I don't recall it occurring with the same frequency as this year (so far).

There were also quite a few last year. Defenses are learning. The previous years, there was probably some reluctance to "sell out" as much as we are seeing now. Teams have seen game film where that approach has worked against us, so they try it too. What may not have been a problem if it happened sometimes now IS a problem when it happens "all the time."

...Even failed attempts can help.

Probably not much. Opposing defenses know that the toss to Love is our bread and butter. That and similar plays are what we want to do. The current wisdom is to accept the occasional 15 yard jet sweep in order to take away the other stuff. We are not built to run those kind of plays all the time.
In my opinion, we do need to run more quick hitting runs. If the back side crashes, so what? He will be behind the play. I think that is the best way to stop the backside tackles. The question is, can the Guard, Tackle, and Fullback do what needs to be done. This isn't our "preferred" approach, but it will cut down on the backside tackles without totally changing our focus.

[Goose]

Right, but as always it's a question of degree. I don't recall it occurring with the same frequency as this year (so far).

There were also quite a few last year. Defenses are learning. The previous years, there was probably some reluctance to "sell out" as much as we are seeing now. Teams have seen game film where that approach has worked against us, so they try it too. What may not have been a problem if it happened sometimes now IS a problem when it happens "all the time."

...Even failed attempts can help.

Probably not much. Opposing defenses know that the toss to Love is our bread and butter. That and similar plays are what we want to do. The current wisdom is to accept the occasional 15 yard jet sweep in order to take away the other stuff. We are not built to run those kind of plays all the time.
In my opinion, we do need to run more quick hitting runs. If the back side crashes, so what? He will be behind the play. I think that is the best way to stop the backside tackles. The question is, can the Guard, Tackle, and Fullback do what needs to be done. This isn't our "preferred" approach, but it will cut down on the backside tackles without totally changing our focus.