Q: What’s the key for your running backs to be ready for run-pass options, to be ready to do what they need to do, regardless of which way the play goes?
Ford: "To be, to me, a great running back is one that can hang on to the football. That’s a crucial part of it. And then you’ve got to be ready to protect the quarterback. There are guys that, if you put them on the field and the quarterback is getting his butt tattooed, it’s usually because running backs" aren’t pass protecting. ... "We stress protections.