2014 Offense…."Optimistify yourselves"!
QB: Devin--Shane--Russell---Wilton(rs)
RB: Green---Smith---Johnson---Shallman---Rawls
FB: Houma/Kerridge
WR: Darboh--Harris--Canteen--Jones
WR: Chesson--York---Ways---Dukes
Slot: Canteen---Norfleet---Peppers
TE: Funchess---Butt---Bunting---AJ
LT: Braden--Tulley-Tillman---Fox
RT: Magneson---Samuelson---Bars
OG: Kalis---Dawson---
OG: Glasgow---Bosch---
C: Kugler--Miller
5* Starters=2
4* Starters=6
3*Starters=3
KR: Canteen/Norfleet + Peppers
PR: Peppers or Norfleet
There is absolutley no excuse for this team to not field a good to GREAT offense next season. Any competent Offensive Staff would whip this into a legitimate offense.
I personally think we win 10 games next season. Call me crazy....a dreamer....whatever. There is simply no way this amount of talent fails to materialize. 2014...Get Optimistic!!
GO BLUE!
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:29 AM ^
We all know Peppers is winning the Heisman his freshman year. I read it here, as a matter of fact.
January 3rd, 2014 at 8:35 AM ^
Yeah. If the line is any good. We will be good. That is a lot to lean on though.
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^
It was touched on a little in a thread yesterday, but there is a certain set of interdepencies that I don't think the OP captured here, and one of them is that cohesive line play will make virtually everyone else on offense look that much better. I think that may have been part of the issue this last season - it is difficult for RBs to find those hole or for Devin to get sufficient time to find open WRs if there are issues on the OL obviously.
It is one of the reasons I am hopeful that what some of the guys said after the bowl game is true, that they've started to develop that chemistry and that they feel like things are starting to trend upward. They seem confident in that as well, so hopefully that carries forward into 2014.
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
Oh definitely. The more these guys play together, the better they will be. That why it sucks Magnuson has to move outside to one of the tackle spots. Especially if those 3 guys in the middle have gelled.
I really hope the OL is in stone by the end of the first week in the spring. I am tired of a pencil depth chart. So, so, tired.
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:53 AM ^
But it'll also be nice having Magnuson in a position where he is more suited to play. Honestly, the reason Magnuson was playing OG was because he had the mental capacity to pick up the things on the fly, but he is not designed in any way, shape, or form to root out DTs. It was literally that he was simply capable of getting into a position and attempt to do the right thing more times than not.
I like that out of OTs, and if he can continue to add some weight, I like his upside at OT. Then hopefully over the offseason some of the more squatty OG-types can start to have the mental side click, and in fall Michigan can start to see those guys gel early as everyone starts to see the mental side better and they are then at positions that fit their skills better.
January 3rd, 2014 at 8:35 AM ^
January 3rd, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^
January 3rd, 2014 at 8:52 AM ^
Are we going to get a daily "everything is AWESOME" thread now? We didn't have this much fake happy bullshit after 2011 when we actually won something. Every damn hour somebody feels the need to tell the board just how optimistic and happy they are.
January 3rd, 2014 at 8:58 AM ^
Thats cause we're still drinking from New Years. Cheers!!
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:14 AM ^
Well, there's more than enough negativity on the board to counter it.
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:39 AM ^
Weee we're going to be AWESOME....weee!!!!!!!!!! Facts don't matter...results don't matter....weeee!!!!!!
January 3rd, 2014 at 8:59 AM ^
Looks like we're already preparing to whip ourselves into a "Fire Borges" meme for 2014.
The OP left out the class of the players, and perhaps more importantly, the number of starts each has had at the proposed position.
We are underdogs to all three of our rivals on the road. We should get out of our home schedule with one loss. Best guess for me is 8-4 with legitimate, but not massive, improvement.
Stop waiting for the magic wand to wave. We're 2-3 years into a 5-6 year roster rebuild and we are on course. Just don't expect it to be complete when we're half way through.
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:33 AM ^
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:43 AM ^
Dileo - Over hyped on this blog, and I liked Dileo. But Dileo was a role player. He was a mediocre route runner with below average speed and a small catch radius. He had pretty reliable hands and was good at finding the hole in zones, but struggled to separate from LBs on out routes, couldn't separate well from safeties in man coverage, and was a tough window to get the ball to. Depending on the team Michigan faced, he either could be a valuable part attacking underneath zones (MSU 2012) or could disappear because he didn't really have a skill set to open more things up, especially against man coverage. There were better options for screens, and better options than Dileo against a lot of teams that tended to play tight coverage on the outside because they determined their pressure could get home and they didn't need to respect the deep routes.
Norfleet - Started playing slot receiver this fall, after bouncing around all over the place. Complain about if you complain about anything. But particularly at the slot position, it takes a keen ability to read defenses, because you need to know how to adjust your routes and how to read the defense quickly because you tend to play in a confined space. Give the guy time to actually learn the position before railing on how he should have been playing a lot more. Add on top of that that Norfleet is also a small target with a smaller catching radius, has decent top end speed, but struggles to even read running lanes consistently on the thing he's worked on the most in his time at Michigan (kickoff returns), and he probably won't be utilized much on the offensive end right now, because there are better options in the slot. He may develop into someone with more of a role (though I think Hayes will fill that role better if he sticks in the slot, and his move there may be an indication that Norfleet isn't developing as hoped), but he probably realistically couldn't be used a whole lot more than he was, though I'm sure Borges could have used him in a few different ways during the season.
Keep in mind as well that Gallon was supposed to play that role this year until Darboh got hurt, so the move and any substantial reps at the position probably weren't happening until Gallon was moved back outside. Clearly, the staff wanted more versatility out of the Z-receiver position than either Dileo or Norfleet gave them. They used both to fill roles, but the insistence that they were to be much more than that is a bit much.
January 3rd, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^
For the life of me I can't figure out where all the hype about how Norfleet's gonna run one kick back after another came from. He's just another in a long line of very average/mediocre/non-difference-making kick returners we've had.
For comparison, just take a look at Wolverine Historian's archive of returns by Howard or Alexander. The difference in pure talent is painful to see.
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:09 AM ^
I was a fan of the 4th and 1 call against MSU in 2011. It was a fake off a play that they had run many times before in similar situations. When I saw them line up, I thought they were going to run the same play as always and I feared they would get stuffed up the middle. To run the fake off it was a solid call, in my opinion. Sucks that it didn't work, but that's football.
I also liked the Vincent Smith interception against ND in 2012.
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:20 AM ^
Is often times the best play call is also the worst play call. For example, if a team blitzes, screens are great. But if you don't read the defense and your OL doesn't pick up the correct guy, then you have a lot of bodies potentially undercutting the screen pass. The example you gave: if a team is expecting run, they get sucked up, the receiver is open behind it. But if the blocking can't handle the immediate pressure from the defense, it leaves your QB very vulnerable.
People love when the QB sells the fake so hard that he acts nonchalant and doesn't look back over until a few seconds have passed, but then complain about how stupid it is when he gets crushed and never sees it coming. It's risk/reward. Obviously, the best play is the one that works, but for greater reward you typically take a much higher risk. And it's not just Michigan. Think if Tressel in 06 would have had Ginn covered on the 4th and 1 PA. Why wouldn't he run the ball up the middle to his teams strength? Well, risk/reward. It worked for them, not for Michigan.
Now, with that team in their first year with a TE that wasn't extremely experienced trying to make that block, well, then you can question the personnel a bit more and the decision based on that. But the playcall itself I really liked.
January 3rd, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
I'd say this is another important stat (especially in the line). At least according to your starting picks:
Seniors: 1
Juniors: 2
Sophomores: 6
Freshmen: 2
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:09 AM ^
Losses at Ohio, at MSU and probably at Notre Dame.
That's my prediction.
Having two kick returners like Norfleet and Peppers available will be a nice, scary combo next fall.
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
The talent will be there, no doubt. Roster for roster, once again, no other team should be better or equal except maybe OSU.
Everything is depends on the O line. I don't know how it will turn out. The line actually gets younger with Lewan and Schofield gone, but the middle three will have at least some experience.
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^
I'd be pretty surprised to see Kugler at C. The coaches gotta be pretty wary about another change at that crucial position, especially when it's another RS FR that's never played before.
I think the line will be
LT - Magnuson
LG - Kalis
C - Glasgow
RG - Bosch
RT - Braden
Hopefully there will actually be some garbage time next year to get depth guys some experience in games. Not having that this year is going to hurt us next year and beyond unfortunately.
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
Kalis plays RG and Bosch played LG this year.
I'm not certain Glasgow stays at center. Bars, Miller, Burzynski, and Bryant could all affect that line-up. That said, I think the odds are in your favor with the five you listed.
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
Green on the other hand was buried behind Hayes, Fitz, and Smith. He has a lot of work to do in the offseason.
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^
Exactly. I don't think Justice will go from starting the bowl game to completely falling off the depth chart. He apparently impressed in bowl practices. I'm not sure how much we can count on Drake J. with the knee injury so that would leave Hayes as the only "speed" back since Green, Smith, and Rawls run a different style.
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^
Is it just me or did Green look out of shape and more like a three star? I've been as vocal as anyone about remembering how young this team is, but he just didn't look like the great specimen I expected.
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
Hayes went from not playing at all to starting in the bowl game? I know with the Fort back in place there are a lot of things that go into playing time that we are not privy to, but there were several odd personnel changes this year.
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:51 AM ^
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
I hope the line is Mags and Braden at tackle, Kalis and Bosch at guard and Glasgow at center. I'm sure someone will step up and take a spot though.
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:17 AM ^
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
Many of my 2013 predictions were wrong, and some were right.
The most accurate prediction was that our success--on both sides of the ball--would depend on the play of our O-Line and D-Line, respectively.
In 2014, that doesn't change. While the O-Line is more alarming with its persistent youth, the D-Line has no clear option at NT and didn't have a single play-maker in 2013. If Clark/Henry/Someone doesn't step-up, and in a big way, then we will get gashed again by good teams in the running game, and our pass rush will suffer.
The O-Line is an even bigger question mark (obvious is obvious) as it remains extremely young. The starting line will probably have zero seniors, just one junior (Glasgow), three or four sophomores, and maybe a freshman. That is still scary young.
The 2014 defense will need to be elite for us to have a chance at 10 wins, because I just don't see the offense being anything better than "good," and they might not even be that.
The good news is, by the end of the season, we'll know if we have a great coach, or Ron Zook 2.0.
January 3rd, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^
Go blue
January 3rd, 2014 at 1:57 PM ^
But the question remains, can he take Chuck Norris in a fair fight?
January 3rd, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^
Makes me want fajitas. MmmMmmm fajitas...
January 3rd, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^