Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice returns on Sunday after missing eight weeks with a knee injury. It's a much different circumstance than when he left.
Gone is Jay Gruden, who chose Guice as his lead back, making veteran Adrian Peterson inactive in Week 1.
Interim coach Bill Callahan employs a ground-heavy approach and believes there will be plenty of totes to share.
"We've got a pretty good rotational system for that," Callahan said, via the Washington Post. "We feel pretty confident [Guice will] see quite a bit of action this weekend."
Since Callahan took over in Week 6, the Redskins have run the ball on 51.9 percent of plays. They only went to the ground on 31.2 under Gruden from Weeks 1-5.
Peterson has been the beneficiary from Callahan's ground-first game plan.
Adrian Peterson 2019:
Weeks 2-5: 10.0 carries per game; 27.0 rush yards per game; 2.7 yards per carry
Since Week 6: 18.8 carries per game; 95.8 rush yards per game; 5.1 yards per carry
All Day isn't fretting Guice's return to the lineup.
"Coach Gruden was here. He's no longer here, so different scenario," Peterson said.
Sunday's matchup against the New York Jets could provide an interesting backdrop for Guice's return. The Jets defense has allowed the fewest rushing yards per carry (3.0) this season, second-fewest yards on the ground per game (81.9) and ranks No. 2 against the run by Football Outsiders DVOA metrics. With teams able to shred the secondary, why run the ball versus Gang Green?
Callahan's philosophy will butt heads directly with the Jets' biggest strength. Which side wins out Sunday could tell the tale of the tilt.
