You cannot run the ball into an 8 or 9 man front.  You must throw the ball in that situation and back them out of there. 

These are playoff teams.  You can't say, "We're going to run the ball anyway."  Running the ball into an 8 or 9 man front results in 2nd and 12 or 2nd and 14.   Do yourself a favor, and throw the ball on first down, especially when the defense lines up to stop the run. 

As the season goes on, I see more and more linebackers shooting the gaps and fubar-ing the running game.  They're not hesitating.   They're not reading the play.   They are selling out to stop the run, and you cannot make running yardage against that kind of defense. 

THROW THE BALL!

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