iowa 2011

Video companion to the Picture Pages 'Zone Minus Read.'  Analysis courtesy Brian, as usual. Original Picture Pages at http://mgoblog.com/content/picture-pages-zone-minus-read. So this time I've got proper lowercase letters and the slo-mo is working again.  That means next time I probably will have effed-up lowercase letters and no slo-mo.

Setup: It's second and three on Michigan's first drive of the second half. They come out in Ace one-wide against Iowa's 4-3 under and will run an inside zone.

Wha'hoppon: Michigan doubles the NT and strong side DE as the LBs flow straight upfield.  The critical point here is when Lewan just chips the backside DE and then goes out on a LB.  This leaves the DE as a free hitter.  There are a lot of things you can do differently with Denard in the shotgun reading that DE (the DE would either have to keep contain on Denard and open up a cutback lane for Fitzgerald, or go for Fitzgerald and leave Denard one-on-one against the safety).  Since they aren't, he's free to more or less make the tackle.  Brian also questions Watson's decision to block the SLB outside and ignore the DE, but I'm not sure the result would have been any different - the SLB would have been maybe one step later in pursuit, but the DE got to the spot so fast that one step probably wouldn't have mattered.

Original Picture Pages at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAQefW9nCkg