Not Upon Further Review 2019: Offense vs Alabama
If you're into this kind of stuff, I wrote an eight-page feature that dives deep into the offense in the first season under Gattis, with lots of diagrams and charts, in Hail to the Victors 2020, which Kickstarter ends at 4pm this afternoon. If you like that I can do this for a living, well, so do I. Two big reasons are HTTV, which was what let me take this job full-time in 2012, and HTTV's/UFR sponsor Matt Demorest, proprietor of HomeSure Lending and Five Shores Brewing in Beulah.
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I did Ohio State already—no there won't be a defense because this was done mostly to gather data for my HTTV article. Why would any person want to relive this? Well I wanted to know things about #SpeedInSpace, how it matches up against elite defenses, and how they adjust to it. While I was at I figured I'd complete our data on the season, especially for the guys returning. I didn't dwell too long on scores that affected those who weren't.
Formation notes: When Michigan had all of their receivers in I called it "tight" and when they had just one of them split out I called it "bunch." This is tight:
Alabama was mostly in their 3-4. "Even" for the 3-4 means the nose is over the center, the DEs are on the tackles, and the LBs line up behind/inside those DEs. "Tite" is normally when the WLB is lined up behind the nose guard, the MLB is over the TE, and the SAM is a nickel safety way out in the slot, but Bama ran it without moving the WLB at all because #99 NG Raekwan Davis counts as two players.
[After THE JUMP: a 16-play punt drive]
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Pass | Verts | Collins | 0 | |
Clean pocket (PROT+) Collins has a step, but Patterson puts it a little short and Jobe can rake it out. (MA, 1, Prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
50 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun Bunch | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Run | End-Around | DPJ | 2 | |
RPS+ sweet play design they ran for a TD vs OSU, with DPJ orbit becoming the handoff and McKeon/Haskins as the kickout and puller. (Neck Sharpies) | ||||||||||||
O48 | 3rd | 8 | Shotgun Bunch | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 Okie | Pass | Verts | Collins | 0 | |
Collins (route+2) has 2 steps and Patterson overthrows badly. 6-man protection for 5 guys holds. (INx, 0, Prot 2/2) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 14 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M20 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Tite | Pass | Angle | Jackson | 7 | |
Routes clear space for angle to Jackson (route+), Mike blitzes late nobody to cover him but ball out by design. Definition of borderline 2 or 3 pressure. (CA, 3, Prot 1/2). RPS+ takes advantage of Bama's system. Neck Sharpied. | ||||||||||||
M27 | 2nd | 3 | Shotgun Offset | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Tite | Run | Split Zone | Haskins | 3 | |
Bell Orbit motion, Mason+ at TE digs out edge. Mayfield- gets stuck on DL so Onwenu is useless, that guy tackles but Haskins+ spins through. | ||||||||||||
M30 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-4 Tite | Run | Zone Read Give | Jackson | 3 | |
Edge is crashing Patterson (Read-2) gives. Still this. That guy gets into Jackson's feet while Bredeson- is shed. Jackson dives into space made by Onwenu+ | ||||||||||||
M33 | 2nd | 7 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Under | Play-action | PA TE Wheel | McKeon | 0 | |
Jackson jet fakes a bash read, Bama rolled their S down who isn't fooled and nowhere else to go on a 7-man protection: RPS-2 play is DOA (PR, 0, Prot 1/3, Eubanks-, Haskins-) | ||||||||||||
M33 | 3rd | 7 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 under | Pass | Dig | Bell | 0 | |
Bring six and Haskins ignores a safety to release. Patterson feels it and shorts it to open Bell who nearly comes back to make it. (IN, 1, Prot 2/3, Haskins-) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-7, 12 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M15 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2RB | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Triple-Option P&P | Charbonnet | 12 | |
Brilliant play design that's nevertheless RPS- because Bama is slanting playside and blitzing the space the puller left. Quick thinking by Bredeson+ to peel back and cut off the blitzer, mostly. Ruiz- lost his guy who later releases and prevents Charbonnet from turning this into 40 but that's a tough ask with a 0-tech, Runyan+.5 stretch block the DL over them and Mayfield+2 gets all the way around his. 1st rounder play. Onwenu+ kicks the SAM past the hashmarks and Mason+ blasts a CB into Tuesday, then yanks him back to Monday after the whistle. McKeon+.5 good extended block on MLB. Safety arrives late because he had to roll with the motion and respect Sainristil orbit. (Read+). Neck Sharpied. | ||||||||||||
M27 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Tight | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Tite | Pass | Mesh | Collins | 0 | |
Want this more in front bc LB breaks it up. So much protection two DBs running into each other doesn't open anything. McKeon might be breaking open downfield. Not RPS- because it is a LB on Collins and if Shea lets this develop it could break. (BR, 2, Prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
M27 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Run | Zone Read Give | Charbonnet | 9 | |
OLB he's reading crashes inside so far Charbonnet+2 can bounce into where Patterson (read-) should keep. RPS+ Bama not ready for zone read here. McKeon+ uses DE's hesitation to give room back there. | ||||||||||||
M36 | 3rd | 1 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Run | Split Zone | Charbonnet | 12 | |
Onwenu+ and Ruiz+ blow out a DT, RPS+ an LB was freaking out about Arc read. Mayfield+.5 controls a DE who fought back inside, borderline hold he gets away with | ||||||||||||
M48 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Tight | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Pass | Flea Flicker | DPJ | 34 | |
RPS+3 Bama fooled. Line gives him time to find wide open DPJ. Mason+ gets a downfield block. (CA, 3, Prot 3/3) | ||||||||||||
O18 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Run | Counter Read | Haskins | 11 | |
Same play I Neck Sharpied above. Onwenu+/- overruns play but gets a + for assisting Bredeson- (RPS-) who was struggling to kick an edge who played this very well. Want McKeon to peel off on WLB but understandable. Haskins+2 runs through that guy and Onwenu's guy, knocks off a safety's helmet too. RB1 yo! | ||||||||||||
O7 | 1st | Goal | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | Goal line | Play-action | PA TE Out | Eubanks | 7 | |
Jet motion RPS+2 makes a S freak out, pitch and catch. Patterson+ for faking out Edge. (CA, 3, Prot 1/1). Neck Sharpies. Replay. | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-7, 7 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M1 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Split Zone | Haskins | 7 | |
Mason blows back edge playing both sides, got enough depth from it not to get a minus for getting discarded. Haskins+ powers through that guy, DPJ+.5 cracked a safety to give him room to RAGE. | ||||||||||||
M8 | 2nd | 3 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Counter Read | Charbonnet | 11 | |
Tweak to the Pin & Pull with two-backs we Neck Sharpied: with Bell orbit motion plus FB wham on backside instead of going for a frontside lead block. McKeon-2 popped back into Onwenu's pull but Onwenu+2 pushes him back to get around and seal. Bredeson+ arcs and gets to CB. RPS+ sending the FB backside fooled the LBs keying Mason because of last time. (Read+) | ||||||||||||
M19 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | RPO | Pin & Pull Read/RPO | Charbonnet | 2 | |
Backside edge left unblocked but pull is an RPO slants, Onwenu-2 dodged on kickout which too bad bc Ruiz+ and McKeon+ had fixed a bad downblock by Mayfield- | ||||||||||||
M21 | 2nd | 8 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-4 Tite | Pass | Snag | Sainristil | 8 | |
Clean pocket, easy read (Sainristil route+). (CA, 3, Prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
M29 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | RPO | Counter IV | Charbonnet | 11 | |
Keep option has slants to counter side. Mayfield+ gets LB and Onwenu+ seals DT, Bredeson+.5 solid kick on guy being read, Mason+2 boss, Charbonnet+ stiffarms LB for extra. RPS- running into 8-man box | ||||||||||||
M40 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Play-action | PA Wheel | Jackson | 40 | |
RPS+3 double slots, this was set up so well. Runyan and McKeon let rushers in so Patterson has to fall back and throw off back foot. Lays it in there (DO, 3, prot 0/2, Runyan-, McKeon-) | ||||||||||||
O20 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Play-action | Scissors | Patterson | 0 | |
Bredeson washed back, want Shea to be aware of that but too much Ben's fault. Hit on throw. (PR, n/a, Prot 0/2, Bredeson-2) | ||||||||||||
O20 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Pass | Flood | Patterson | 2 | |
Just a three-man rush and Onwenu- and Ruiz- get split by DT which that's going on his highlight reel. Patterson has to bail (PR, n/a, prot 0/1, Onwenu-1, Ruiz-1) | ||||||||||||
O18 | 3rd | 8 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 Split | Pass | TE Fade | Eubanks | 0 | |
Send six picked up, Patterson spooked anyway throws early off back foot, no chance for Eubanks (IN, 0, Prot 3/3) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: FG(36), 10-7, EO1Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M20 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Run | Inside Zone | Charbonnet | 6 | |
Two guys unblocked on backside edge RPS+2 they're useless even with QB's back turned. Bredeson+ gets enough to shove slant by, McKeon+.5 solid edge, Ruiz+2 moves his LB out of the way, Mayfield- needs to seal backside instead of trying to get guy Runyan-1 whiffed. Charbonnet+2 dances around that guy and gets extra | ||||||||||||
M26 | 2nd | 4 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Down G read | Charbonnet | 7 | |
Bama scrape (RPS-), give (Read+) is the best move, Charbonnet+2 quick cuts past scraper bc Bredeson+ has a sweet kick, Runyan+.5 and McKeon+.5 comboed to 2nd level, and Mason+ popped a safety. Tight fit because Ruiz- pushed back by that DT. Decisive cut is so key here. | ||||||||||||
M33 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Pass | TE Out | Eubanks | 7 | |
3-man rush after LB backs out, finds easy yards but shorts it. Eubanks digs it out. (MA, 2, prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
M40 | 2nd | 3 | Shotgun Flex 84 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Run | Arc read Give | Charbonnet | -1 | |
RPS-2 Bama blitzes MLB right into this | ||||||||||||
M39 | 3rd | 4 | Shotgun Bunch | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2-3-6 Even | Pass | Scramble | Patterson | 7 | |
Haskins missed read, Shea gets it. (SCR, n/a, prot 2/3) | ||||||||||||
M46 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Pin & Pull Read | Haskins | 7 | |
Easy give read (Read+), All-2 soft seal uses up Onwenu, but Runyan+2 pinned a DE and McKeon turned out an LB and Haskins+ hit it hard to the safety. | ||||||||||||
O47 | 2nd | 3 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | RPO | Counter Duo/Slant | Haskins | 2 | |
Run to the B gap, Patterson (RPO-) misses throw read to wide open Sainristil. Bredeson+ and Mason+ get good kicks, Onwenu+ gets LB, Ruiz- lost DT | ||||||||||||
O45 | 3rd | 1 | Shotgun Flex 84 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Belly Keeper | Patterson | 5 | |
Mason+ and Onwenu+ blow out guys, RPS+ LB goes inside not suspecting a keep (Read+). Shea impatient; could let Haskins get a block and still be running but instead charges ahead and dives. No neg bc it's 3rd and 1 get it. | ||||||||||||
O40 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Play-action | Levels | Bell | -10 | |
Runyan takedown is called but guy fell to draw it. Shea abandons otherwise clean pocket, tries to get signal guys open, underthrows Bell (TA, 0, prot 1/2, Runyan-) | ||||||||||||
50 | 1st | 20 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | RPO | Pin & Pull/Slant | Bell | 22 | |
Easy read pulls immediately and zings, a bit low but Bell(+3) digs it and gets all the YAC. (CA, 2, Prot 2/2) | ||||||||||||
O28 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Under | Pass | Fade | DPJ | 0 | |
Bell's going to be open, even signals, but Patterson locked in. Puts the ball where DPJ can get it but would be tough. Charbonnet misses blitz pickup. CB has DPJ's jersey all the way (Refs-2). (MA, 1, prot 1/2, Charbonnet-) | ||||||||||||
O28 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun Twins | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Run | Pin & Pull Read | Charbonnet | 4 | |
Ruiz+ reaches DE, Runyan+ zone blocks slanting DT, RPS-, Charbonnet+ jump-cuts past that. McKeon's guy reaches out and gets a lucky hand into ZC's collar that stops him. (Read+) | ||||||||||||
O16 | 3rd | 6 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 Even | Pass | Deep Cross | Bell | 8 | |
Shea abandons clean pocket instead of stepping up. Bell (route-) puts a foot OOB. Blaming Shea (TA, 2, prot 2/2) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: FG(42), 13-7, 7 min 2nd Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M25 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Bunch | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Play-action | Arc/Fade | Collins | 18 | |
Meant to be a QB run outside off PA or a throw downfield. RPS- Bama has it covered, but Nico is Collins. (CA, 2, prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
M48 | 1st | 5 | Shotgun Twins | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | RPO | Inside Zone | Haskins | 3 | |
Runyan- misses kickout and then turns around like it's pass pro? I think Shea's reading the WLB vs TE out. Bredeson-2 shed by DT (always Raekwon Davis) and can't regap. Haskins+ dances for a few | ||||||||||||
O49 | 2nd | 2 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Under | Run | Zone Read Give | Haskins | 4 | |
Perfunctory, correct (Read+), Ruiz+ Onwenu+ combo DE to LB, Bredseson- beat back by blitzing WLB but combo was enough. | ||||||||||||
O45 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | RPO | Pin & Pull/Snag | Haskins | 5 | |
LB held, Onwenu buries kickout who went under him but that takes out Bredeson. Mayfield+ and McKeon+ have boss downblocks so Haskins alone with CB who just gets his foot. RPS+ the RPO took out trailing LB. | ||||||||||||
O40 | 2nd | 5 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | RPO | Outside Zone/Dig | Haskins | 2 | |
Edge is blitzing and m2m on outside so Patterson (RPO-) should pull and throw it to Collins underneath or DPJ(route+2) who got 2 steps on the slot fade. Sigh. Bredeson- and Ruiz- shed by LB and that DT. Own face: punched | ||||||||||||
O38 | 3rd | 3 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Run | Outside Zone Read | Haskins | 1 | |
Come back late bc announcers are pissed about not throwing the fade. Looks like the same play except this time backside read is a keep Patterson (Read-) turns down on shuffler. Same LB is blitzing, Ruiz has no chance. RPS-2 double sigh. | ||||||||||||
O37 | 4th | 2 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Run | SPlit Zone | Haskins | 2 | |
Onwenu+ and Ruiz+ combo to create a gap | ||||||||||||
O35 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Under | Pass | Quick post | McKeon | 0 | |
McKeon should be his first read and gets open on his double-move but Bredeson lost DT and Shea ain't waiting around. He rolls and rolls then tries to Buttzone it to McKeon in a ton of traffic. McKeon goes up and almost brings it in. (BR, 1, 2/3) | ||||||||||||
O35 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Pass | Flood | Patterson | -4 | |
Patterson-2 bails. Balls. (TAx, n/a, Prot 2/2). 57-yard FG that would have been good from 57. | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Nordin's kick woulda been good from 57.3. FG(57), 16-14, EOH. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M37 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Tite | RSO | Pin & Pull/Orbit Flare | Bell | 9 | |
Patterson reading FS at hash who to his credit is making it hard but Shea is right to take this if it's there. Bell+ gets around DPJ's block which is a borderline hold Refs+ that Saban is bitching about, but Refs-3 do let a horrific targeting go. Guy launched right into Bell's head. Right in front of Saban. Michigan tempo might have wiped out review decision. (CA, 3, Screen, Prot n/a) | ||||||||||||
M46 | 2nd | 1 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Play-action | PA Bubble | DPJ | 0 | |
PA split zone to bubble to Bell, batted by DE (BA, 0, Prot n/a) | ||||||||||||
M46 | 3rd | 1 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Penalty | False Start | Mayfield | -5 | |
Bama DE shifts and Mayfield-1 jumps | ||||||||||||
M41 | 3rd | 6 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2-3-6 Under | Pass | Quick out | Jackson | 8 | |
Makeup call? Refs+ this could be reviewed and declared a fumble; it is a catch. Took Giles off his feet is why the -. (CA-, 2, prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
M49 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Tight | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Pass | Fade | DPJ | 0 | |
Shea spooked in clean pocket, CB had position, ball overthrown because I guess he thought DPJ would shake this guy. (IN, 0, Prot 2/2) | ||||||||||||
M49 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Run | Pin & Pull | Haskins | 1 | |
Bama has an answer to the Pin & Pull; RPS-. SAM dives under Bredeson- which Onwenu- can't get over and Haskins trips over the two of them. Ruiz-.5 had trouble with the DT. Runyan+ and McKeon+ had good seals. | ||||||||||||
50 | 3rd | 9 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Pass | Flood | Patterson | -8 | |
Safety blitz and Haskins never looks at it. It's Xavier McKinney so no escape. (PR, n/a, prot 1/3, Haskins-2) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-21, 11 min 3rd Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M18 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | RPO | Outside Zone/Slant | Charbonnet | 6 | |
Bama rolls coverage to that side so slant pops open after read is made. RPS-. Mayfield+2 passes off his guy to Onwenu to get a slammin' seal on the MLB. Good shit! Charbonnet sees and cuts for a good gain. | ||||||||||||
M24 | 2nd | 4 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Run | Arc H | Jackson | -1 | |
Jackson motions to SB, this is supposed to fake SZ and get Jackson outside or else Patterson would give when the DE sets up. That guy Jake Ryans McKeon- all the way to the sideline so Charbonnet- is wasted. Want him to target the CB McKeon ultimately gets around and leaves him because there's a CB coming up. Want Charbonnet to get that CB | ||||||||||||
M23 | 3rd | 5 | Shotgun Stack | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 Okie | Pass | WR out | Bell | 6 | |
Patterson backs up a bit but stops and makes a perfect throw so excused for making his own life harder? Tight window and Bell brings it in. (DO, 2, Prot 3/3) | ||||||||||||
M29 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Pass | Flags | Bell | 0 | |
Collins is wide open at the sticks bc the CB on him reacts in Heisman mode time to Shea horking back for the blomb. Decent window downfield is nowhere near where it lands, which is way long. (IN, 0, prot 2/2) | ||||||||||||
M29 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Run | Outside Zone | Charbonnet | 2 | |
Runyan-2 good combo with Bredeson+ ruined bc he doesn't see the CB coming to get the edge and tries to help Collins's crack instead. Senior WTF. RPS- fake read holds nobody on the backside | ||||||||||||
M31 | 3rd | 8 | Shotgun Trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 Okie | Pass | Dig | Bell | 0 | |
Bell has a step, Patterson wings it high (IN, 1, Prot 3/3) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-21, 7 min 3rd Q. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M4 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Twins | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | RPO | Counter C/Slant | Haskins | 5 | |
Bama SAM steps down but S is ready to drive on Slant: give. Sigh RPS-2 extra guy in the box so Mason+ can only try to go inside and Haskins+ follows to eke out a few. | ||||||||||||
M9 | 2nd | 5 | Shotgun Twins | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Tite | Run | Arc/Split Zone | Haskins | 2 | |
RPS- the Tite is made for this because the SAM is coming in but deters keep. Two guys outside so Haskins- goes for the gummed up middle. Bounce outside would have gotten Mason's block. | ||||||||||||
M11 | 3rd | 3 | Shotgun Tight | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Pass | Mesh RB split | Haskins | 19 | |
RPS+2 the mesh gets the WLB caught, Runyan whiffs, Patterson throws it a bit upfield but Haskins gathers and keeps balance. (CA, 2, Prot 2/3, Runyan-) | ||||||||||||
M30 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Tight | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Play-action | Flood | Patterson | 8 | |
Nobody on Collins, turns down a TD. Tucks and runs and gets 9 but he's gone and I'm salty. (TA, n/a, prot 1/1) | ||||||||||||
M38 | 2nd | 2 | Shotgun Twins TE | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Run | Trap Read | Charbonnet | 3 | |
This is supposed to go A gap but Ruiz- lost the DT. HSP is there but HSP vs Charbonnet+ equals YAC. (Read+) | ||||||||||||
M41 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-2-6 Eagle | Play-action | Fly | Bell | 0 | |
Ruiz shed, Charbonnet picks it up but Bredeson's guy now loose too. Ball out. Bell(route+) has a step and a half, Shea is long again (IN, 0, prot 2/3) | ||||||||||||
M41 | 2nd | 10 | Gun Offset 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Penalty | False Start | Collins | -5 | |
Refs-2 the CB jumps into the neutral zone and Collins moves to draw the flag; flag on Collins. Not giving him a minus for that. | ||||||||||||
M36 | 2nd | 15 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | Penalty | False Start | Mayfield | -5 | |
Oops. Mayfield- | ||||||||||||
M31 | 2nd | 20 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-2-6 Stack | Pass | Drag | Bell | 17 | |
3.5 sent, everyone covered, Patterson has to move after 3 seconds, not charging Bredeson and Mayfield but Runyan- stopped blocking. Shea slids and floats to Bell. (DO, 2, Prot 1/2, Runyan-) | ||||||||||||
M48 | 3rd | 3 | Shotgun Tight | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-2-6 Okie | Pass | Comeback | Collins | 12 | |
All day vs 5-man pressure, fires to Collins(route+) on comeback. (DO, 3, prot 3/3) | ||||||||||||
O40 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Under | Run | Outside Zone | Haskins | 2 | |
McKeon-2 tries to kick and instead is shoved bac. His guy makes the tackle. | ||||||||||||
O38 | 2nd | 8 | Shotgun Twins TE | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Under | Run | Arc Read Keeper | Patterson | 7 | |
Lol. Mayfield- can't get to LB but Patterson (Read+) pull fakes out the shuffling edge and that LB is too surprised to get out. M has Eubanks and Collins for a S and a CB but gives up and goes OOB short of the sticks. | ||||||||||||
O31 | 3rd | 1 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Run | Split Zone | Haskins | 1 | |
Nine in the box, maybe PA? RPS- they're jamming up the backside. Bredeson+ made just enough space. | ||||||||||||
O30 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Bunch | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Pass | O'Korn | Patterson | -13 | |
Bring five, pressure picked up for two beats, no throw, Patterson-3 panics, runs backwards into pressure, fumbles, Charbonnet falls on it. Mayfield gave him an escape route so no minus for losing #33 inside. (TAx, n/a, Prot 2/3, Charbonnet-) | ||||||||||||
O43 | 2nd | 23 | Gun Offset 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-4-5 Nickel | Play-action | Slant | Bell | 0 | |
Eubanks loses outside to guy who doesn't buy PA on 2nd and 23. Shea zings to Bell(route+) who got free with 5 Tide around. Can't haul it in. (CA, 3, Prot 1/2, Eubanks-) | ||||||||||||
O43 | 3rd | 23 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2-3-6 Eagle | Pass | Swing | Jackson | 2 | |
Worse ideas than a dumpoff to Jackson here but clean pocket there has to be more to read? | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-28, 12 min 4th Q. Yes, a 16-play drive that ends on a punt. Maybe 2020 won't be so great after all. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M34 | 1st | 10 | Pistol Bunch | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Run | Split Trap | Haskins | 4 | |
Think it's planned to wham block guy who goes inside Mayfield- so he should get down to the LB? RPS+ I guess. | ||||||||||||
M38 | 2nd | 6 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Over | RPO | Inside Zone/Slants | Collins | 11 | |
IZ blocked well so I'll hand out pluses to Onwenu+ and Eubanks+.5 and Mayfield+.5 but LB comes down so pull and chuck to Collins(route+) who made room for himself vs tight cov. (CA, 1, Prot n/a) | ||||||||||||
M49 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3-4 Even | Pass | Bail | Collins | 0 | |
Ruiz just loses the DT. Hope his parents are in attendance. Shea rolls and tries to hit Collins for minimum at the sideline, dropped. (PR, 3, Prot 0/2, Ruiz-2) Michigan's GAF is dying here. | ||||||||||||
M49 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 2-wide | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Over | Run | Split Trap | Haskins | -1 | |
Haskins- looking right at the blitz and doesn't try to go inside of it where there's actually a gap forming? RPS-2 the blitz beat this. | ||||||||||||
M48 | 3rd | 11 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-2-6 Eagle | Pass | Fade | Sainristil | 0 | |
Lobs it up waaaaay too long for Sainristil(route-) who has no separation and gives up 6 inches on Surtain. DPJ(route+) broke free on his out and is open for the 1st down. Why does Michigan death have to look so face-punchy? (BRx, 0, 2/2) | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 16-28, 8 min 4th Q. Michigan gets the ball back in the same spot with 6 minutes left. | ||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Box | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
M48 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Twins TE | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3-4 Even | Play-action | Deep Out | Patterson | 0 | |
Patterson thinks it's a deep out, Eubanks sees all the fade grass. (BRx, 0, Prot 2/2). Put in McCaffrey! | ||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Interception, 16-28, 6 min 4th. Alabama runs Najee Harris 11 times, M gets the ball back with 26 seconds and no timeouts. End of charting. End of season. |
That wasn't depressing until the end. Then it was depressing.
Michigan was in scoring position down five in the fourth quarter. Also this drive chart:
- One TD drive of 85 yards
- FG drives of 81 yards (10 plays), 56 yards (13 plays), and 36 yards (10 plays)
- A 55-yard, 16-play drive that ended on a punt
- A six-and-out, two five-and-outs, and one three-and-out
- Late one-play interception drive.
A 16-play drive that ended on a punt.
A 16-play drive that ended on a punt.
A 16-play drive that ended on a punt!
So yeah this was a very field position game in which Michigan was grinding its way downfield and Bama got all of its points on a handful of big plays. The 16-play punt drive began at the Michigan four. The 81-yard FG drive began at the one.
Where are the big plays? Maybe a play-action?
Gattis got a few chunks from catching Bama overreacting to the Armyness. The flea-flicker to DPJ was one. The wheel to Giles Jackson was a "back the hell off" moment against the WLB that used Giles Jackson at running back.
That's a bit of a gimmick unless Jackson can do all of the other RB things. Michigan didn't have a Blake Corum or Chris Evans in 2019 to be that A-level receiving threat out of the backfield.
I counted 11 plays RPOs and another 11 as pure play-action, and for the most part Saban was content to let Michigan grind away rather than open up an opportunity for a chunk. Here's what happened when Bama wasn't fooled:
Neither Eubanks nor Haskins did much good in pass protection here, and when Raekwan Davis breaks through up the middle there's no time left to see if the Giles Jackson wheel against a (very good) HSP came open.
Note that this is one of the features of a 3-4 defense—you can try to play-action the middle linebackers, but one of the strengths of the defense is it starts with two OLBs in good rush position and a five-man front, leaving not much to double the DL. And Alabama has some DL you cannot single-block.
Raekwan Davis was depressing.
Seth's Defensive Tackles Theorem states that very good DTs are the one thing no offense has an answer for. Michigan tried to mitigate Davis, who was ridiculous in this game and was expected to be, by mostly running off-tackle. Of all the new issues to pop up in the Citrus Bowl that are probably irrelevant for the future, how Ruiz/Onwenu/Bredeson fared against a guy who's going to do that to a lot more NFL interior blockers is up there with Patterson's accuracy.
Yeah about that.
Chart.
SHEA PATTERSON
Good | Neutral | Bad | Ovr | Reads | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Game | DO | CA | SCR | PR | MA | BA | TA | IN | BR | DSR | PFF | RPOs | ZRs | ||||
MTSU | 2 | 14(3) | 3 | 4 | 3(1) | 1 | 2 | 4(2)* | 2* | 70% | - | ||||||
Army | 1 | 17(2)+++ | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 6* | 5 | - | 61% | - | ||||||
Wisconsin | 2 | 15(3)++ | 1 | 7 | 7 | 1* | 2* | 5 | 2* | 63% | - | ||||||
Rutgers | 4 | 11(1)+ | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | 1* | 3 | - | 79% | - | ||||||
Iowa | - | 15(4)+ | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 4** | 3 | 3* | 56% | - | ||||||
Illinois | - | 10+ | 1 | - | 3 | - | 1 | 7 | 1(1) | 58% | - | ||||||
Penn State | 2 | 25(5)++ | 2 | 1 | 8(2) | - | 3 | 7(1) | 2 | 69% | - | ||||||
Notre Dame (rain) | 2+ | 1 | 4 | - | 1 | 1* | 50% | - | |||||||||
Notre Dame (clear) | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | 1* | 1* | 1 | 62% | - | ||||||||
Maryland | 1 | 10(2) | 3 | 1 | - | 6* | - | 56% | - | ||||||||
Michigan State | 3+ | 18(5)+ | 2 | 6 | - | 3 | 5(1) | 1 | 66% | - | |||||||
Indiana | 8 | 14(2)+++ | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2* | 71% | - | 8/10 | 0/1xxxx | |||||
Ohio State (seth) | 7 | 16+ | 4 | 3 | - | 2* | 7** | 1 | 70% | - | 4/6 | 1/4xxx | |||||
Alabama (seth) | 4 | 9(1) | 1 | 5 | 3 | (1) | 6** | 6* | 4** | 47% | - | 9/11 | 10/13x |
Okay, say it.
Patterson lost this game with his inaccuracy and lack of pocket presence.
True, but the downfield inaccuracy was extreme by his standards. Even in the wind at Illinois or the rain of the Notre Dame game Patterson wasn't this off-target. Given we have two seasons on him, I call that an unfortunate aberration. You can tell because Michigan came out with a gameplan to test their receivers against Josh Jobe—a Miami transfer they recruited as hard as Alabama—and won those battles but for Patterson's overthrows.
The pocket presence…well it was bad. The infamous 16-play drive could have been over on Play Four:
Patterson fell apart at the end, again, and wasn't drafted. I think we've bagged on the guy enough now. I would more like to know if his backslide was something always there, whether it was because he lost his edge somehow, and how much the coaches are at fault.
How was Patterson suddenly 10/13 on zone reads after Michigan took them out of the game-plan most of the back end of the season?
I don't want to spend too much time on it because he's gone but we should note these reads were not like Army or Wisconsin when the plays were designed to break big on a QB keeper and Patterson just wouldn't take it. Only five times all game did Alabama give him a pull read, and he still flubbed a majority of those.
Most of his reads were more like this:
Michigan was counting on Shea giving unless he was offered a blindingly obvious reason not to, and put the point of attack for the running back far away from the edge being read.
But the receivers didn't help him!
There were some uncanny drops but on the whole it was fine?
[0 = uncatchable, 1 = circus catch, 2 = moderate difficulty, 3 = routine]. Grayed: gone.
THIS WEEK | SEASON | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
DPJ | 2 | 0/1 | 1/1 | 10 | 4/12 | 7/10 | 23/24 | ||
Collins | 1 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 12 | 5/11 | 10/14 | 23/25 | |
Black | 15 | 2/4 | 3/6 | 18/19 | |||||
Bell | 3 | 0/3 | 4/4 | 1/2 | 13 | 3/15 | 13/18 | 31/35 | |
Johnson | 1 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 | |||||
Sainristil | 1 | 1/1 | 6 | 3/3 | 1/1 | 4/6 | |||
Jackson | 1/1 | 2/2 | 2 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 5/5 | |||
McKeon | 2 | 0/1 | 8 | 0/1 | 3/4 | 11/11 | |||
Eubanks | 2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 8 | 0/4 | 8/9 | 18/19 | ||
All | 1/1 | ||||||||
Schoonmaker | 2/2 | ||||||||
Charbonnet | 4 | 0/1 | 7/8 | ||||||
Turner | 1 | 3/3 | |||||||
Mason | 0/1 | ||||||||
Haskins | 1/1 | 1 | 1/1 | 5/5 |
Routes: DPJ++, Collins++++, Jackson+, Bell++, Sainristil+/Bell-, Sainristil-
That's a lot of route positives offsetting the drops. Bell dropped a zinger that Shea put into traffic after Bell used a nifty move to get
The order of things can sometimes change your perception. This game started with a ball Patterson shorted and the cornerback was able to punch away.
It bothered that Collins didn't go up more for it, but how many times has a Brandon Watson or Vincent Gray done that to somebody else and we credit the cornerback. Patterson then left it long on 3rd and 8 when Collins beat Jobe again. These plays happen in the NFL too.
Bell's drop also doesn't look so awful on replay:
When you factor in it was 2nd and 23 with Michigan down less than a touchdown in the early 4th quarter however that one goes into the memory books. The drop does, not the route. The route is perfection. The Collins drop was on a late scramble drill and would have been 2 yards at most.
But they should have bailed Patterson out! That's how you beat Alabama!
The receivers were just 1/6 on circus catches. That's an average rate for any receiving corps. Sure, on a day your quarterback is uncharacteristically sub-.500 on downfield passing you don't beat Bama unless your receivers turn lemonballs into highlights. That's how Michigan State has played offense the last two years: Lob it up to Felton Davis or Cody White and see if he comes down with it. Let's assume that's not Michigan's preferred strategy.
So what is Michigan's strategy?
Use every spread trick in the book to keep Bama from fixing their matchup problems with Michigan's best blockers.
Offensive Line | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
Runyan | 5 | 5 | 0 | Won on athleticism, mistargeted, dodged by HSP |
Bredeson | 7.5 | 6 | +1.5 | Raekwan victim #1, Submarined on PnP kickouts |
Ruiz | 7 | 4.5 | +2.5 | Raekwan vic #2, Moved everyone but Davis |
Onwenu | 12 | 3 | +9 | I'll miss him the most. |
Mayfield | 5.7 | 7 | -2.5 | Looked like a *future* 1st rounder |
McKeon | 5 | 5.5 | -0.5 | Not strong enough to kick these guys |
Eubanks | 0.5 | -0.5 | Mostly a receiver | |
All | -2 | -2 | Not ready for this | |
Mason | 7.5 | 0 | +7.5 | Get him on the field as much as possible! |
TOTAL | 50 | 31.5 | +18.5 | Popped Bama's 5* OLBs in the mouth when they could catch them |
Backs | ||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
Patterson | 2 | 6 | -4 | Put in McCaffrey |
McCaffrey | 0 | DNP | ||
Charbonnet | 9 | 1 | +8 | Najee who? |
Turner | 0 | DNP | ||
Wilson | 0 | DNP | ||
Milton | 0 | DNP | ||
Haskins | 7 | 2 | +5 | The usual rage, pass pro exploited |
TOTAL | 18 | 9 | +9 | If the QB could run they've got something. |
Receivers | ||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
DPJ | 0.5 | +0.5 | A few cracks | |
Collins | 1 | +1 | Long arms are nice | |
Black | 0 | DNP | ||
Bell | 4 | +4 | Subtle routes create space in traffic and for YAC. | |
Johnson | DNC | |||
Sainristil | DNC | |||
Jackson | 0 | A few carries but nothing came of them. | ||
TOTAL | 2.5 | 0 | +2.5 | One drive had some bubbles, otherwise ancillary to Pin & Pull games |
Metrics | ||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
Protection | 60 | 82 | 73% | Runyan-4, Haskins-4, Ruiz-3, Bredeson-2, Onwenu-1, Eubanks-2, Charbonnet-2, McKeon-1 |
RPS | 20 | 22 | -2 | Luke had his moments until Vader started chucking large objects at him, then cut off his hand. |
The blocking numbers high amplitude for any game and extremely high for an underdog trying to get a signature win to reestablish their program against an elite. For most of the afternoon this offense was a match for a (slightly undermanned) Alabama defense. That's one hell of an accomplishment when you think back to what Army and Wisconsin were able to do them early in the season. Gattis recognized he could lean on his guards to drive the offense, and except for the odd escaped squirrel or a few adjustments by Bama in the fourth quarter, Michigan moved the ball with good ol' pin & pull.
What's so Speed in Space about that?
Lots actually, and I've Neck Sharpied quite a bit of it. They started the game by testing one-on-one matchups with four verts, used slot and Z receiver motions to threaten the width of the field, and subtly worked in stretch zone concepts to their base power play. Gattis used his formations and motions to hunt matchups and lock them in with numbers. When Bama brought their linebackers too far in they were swiftly reminded what could sneak out behind them:
For all of that though, Michigan planned on the ball going to the running backs, and that's what they got. Compare the play from Neck Sharpies this week…
…to a play at the start of the next drive. In that article I wrote how Michigan gained an advantage by matching Ben Mason with a cornerback. The next time Mason was sent backside. Watch the linebackers:
What are you going to do, NOT follow the flow of a lead blocker? And if you don't, won't the play just go that way?
Alabama did finally adjust to all of this. To stop getting their OLBs kicked to next Tisha B'Av by Onwenu/Bredeson they had them play the pin & pull like a split zone, crashing inside and getting into the kickout blocker's knees. Watch the SAM #33, the OLB on the bottom:
The other thing they did was to use a walk-out hybrid space player to account for the quarterback read while still getting an edge defender running at the ball. This is nickel personnel and a Tite front. Notice the OLB on the bottom. That's their nickel safety on the fiend in place of a SAM, and he's set up nearly on the opposite hash.
When he blitzes, Patterson can't wait for that guy to get all the way into the backfield to make his pull read, so he gives, and the rest of the defense knows that's about to happen and has fought their way to the frontside. The safety behind him rolled down on the snap in case the offense was going to try to get out of that with a quick slant underneath.
The way to get out of this is to have your slot receiver run a sluggo (slant-n-go) and bomb it to him. I'm sure Gattis knew it.
Heroes who are still with us?
Ronnie Bell, route artisan. Jalen Mayfield had zero pass minuses and held up in the run with some eye-opening plays. Ben Mason should be on the field. Onwenu and Charbonnet were rampant.
Maybe not so heroic?
Haskins got lost in pass pro.
What does it mean for 2020?
Find a quarterback. Duh.
Mayfield is on track for the NFL. That doesn't mean he's there yet. He had two false starts at terrible times in this one, and Runyan's & Haskins's bad pass pro grades suggest Mayfield was getting a lot of help.
Probably not going to be so heavy P&P next year? This was a gameplan based on having a great interior OL who could get to and therefore abuse matchups outside. Are the new guys going to be as good as two longtime starting seniors and five-star center who went higher than them in the draft? Well, no. I expect they'll make more of it out of the arc again.
Ronnie Bell is DPJ. Wish his drops weren't so memorable because there really aren't that many. And he can get open.
#SpeedInSpace should have a fullback in it. McKeon was 79% blocker and Eubanks/Schoon/All are still mostly just willing blockers. You can do the same things with fullbacks.
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Worst draw for a bowl opponent ever. 2018 Florida wasn't great either.
South Carolina and Florida State were supposed to be considered favorable bowl draws for Michigan so... maybe it's just Michigan's fault for not winning games.
I appreciate that this was done. I also appreciate Seth's relentless optimism. Because, honestly, we can all use some hope these days for reasons that have nothing to do with football.
Having said that the number of 10+ play drives that end with 3 or even zero points is disturbing. Unless you plan to end the game with a FG or in victory formation, good offenses should not be doing that. These days being "efficient" but not ripping off chunks doesn't really work. You end up with decent numbers and complaints about "consistency" after your drives stall because of a mistake.
The Michigan had a similar but less obvious issue against OSU. Good numbers but not enough points and complaints about "consistency."
Right now it looks like Gattis can win the battle by drawing up a neat run play for 7 yards but still loses the war when he punts after a 16 play drive because he hasn't figured out how to translate that neat scheme into the chunks of yards and plays needed to consistently score on offense.
This game was on TV last night and I watched just the offense on DVR. It is truly maddening how often and how badly Shea misses every pass downfield. To open guys in single coverage. Those are plays that good offenses turn into huge TDs and terrify the D. Shea just throws them no where. Every time. The one time he leaves one short the DB is the only person near it.
Shea was unfortunately just an average college QB with some high variance. When he was good, he could torch Indiana and MSU and look like a potential all-conference QB, but man did he have a lot of bad moments or bad games. He just wasn't that good and it left a mountain of points on the field last year
He got PTSD somewhere and played scared. Also, as a primarily RPO guy, he never kept it and left 30 yard gashes on the field regularly to hand off to a back who had the whole defense in front of him. That and bafflingly inconsistent accuracy made him what he was. Very good at times but missed huge opportunities and cost us games.
While you're right about things, I do find it odd that you blame Gattis for the lack of drive success right before you bash Shea for the Shea-things he did. I don't see how you can separate those things. Didn't the 16-play drive include some big negative plays that Shea was responsible for?
What I was going to say is that I'm encouraged by the growth and diversity of Gattis' game planning as the season went on. The next step, which is something we saw briefly under RichRod too, is that the players need to execute some things against superior competition because eventually Gattis will run out of tricks and you can't rely entirely on that against the best teams.
Seth specifically points out that the 16 play drive could've ended on play 4 with a long bomb to Collins if Shea had seen him. I don't think you can put that on Gattis. On top of that, Shea missed 2 open deep throws on the first drive of the game. The lack of big plays appears to be a QB thing more than an offensive design issue.
On top of that, Alabama played specifically to not allow big plays - at times, you have to take what the defense gives you.
That being said, our offense does need to improve in the red zone. We settle for FGs far too often when we get into the red zone, even against mediocre teams. I think having a QB who knows how to run a zone read and is willing to keep the ball will significantly improve our red zone offense.
@imafreak1: Your last graf is dead on, and it answers everything that came before it. You can’t hit big plays if your QB can’t throw downfield or run/be a threat to run.
You can look at it as lots of long drives with zero or 3 points, or you could say some or all of those drives could have ended in TD's if not for the field position. Starting multiple drives against Alabama inside your own 5 is frequently going to go a lot worse than a field goal drive. I'm also not sure how you go from saying Gattis isn't drawing up enough good plays but follow that up with Shea missing lots of throws. For the most part, like the OSU game, I think the plays were there and they were not made between a combination of poor throws and drops.
The whole "can draw up 7 yard plays but not chunk plays" comes off as an uniformed argument. Most run plays are drawn up and can generally account for the predicted actions of the front 7 or 8, beyond that safety play and running back vision/ability account for "does it become a big play." You're basically saying they need to run the touchdown play more often, which, come on.
Your last paragraph is why there were notore chunck plays. Gattis' playdesign and calling isn't really designed to be a long effecient drive creating offense. It has a bunch of chunk play capabilities too, the players just have to make the plays more consistently.
Thanks for doing this, good stuff. Ugh Patterson
"So yeah this was a very field position game in which Michigan was grinding its way downfield and Bama got all of its points on a handful of big plays."
That's kind of the way football is played now. Obviously there were some QB issues holding us back a bit but maybe we should get on board?
I think Evans will add another dimension to this offense, nice little dink passes about 5 to 10 yards and let his quickness get another 10 to 30 yards. It will be interesting to see if Charbonnet or Haskins will turn into the go to back? But it would be great if both could get over 1000 yards this season. The most important position in Gattis offense will be QB. I think Dylan has the passing accuracy and is fast but may be fragile. Joe may be the better runner who holds up better with the QB runs but his accuracy may need to improve. I think at this time it is Dylan's job to lose but I think we will see Joe in some of those goal line situations or short yardage.
I think the beauty of the RB position is the diversity and talent so that there's a role for all of them. The challenge is that Evans and Haskins have to be able to block and/or Charbonnet has to be able to catch to truly mess with defenses.
My hope is that Dylan will make up for his arm/accuracy issues by being a better pocket presence than Shea was. I have never liked a second QB coming in for meaningful snaps as I've never really seen it work....but I think finding ways to get Milton on the field will maybe keep him around longer and protect against injury.
On the missed opportunity on the 16 yard drive, I agree Nico was breaking open, but does Shea have the arm to get that ball downfield? Shea's planted at the 20 and Nico is breaking free at the opposite 40-45. Presumably that means he'd have to drop it around the Bama 25-30. I don't think Shea has the arm or the zip to get a ball 60 yards downfield accurately. Hopefully Dylan or Joe are an improvement
I remember watching this game and being very encouraged by the overall offensive plan. I also remember saying in the first half "you can't settle for FG against Alabama" and that turned out to be true. They did all of that good work to get into scoring position and couldn't punch it in.
Once again, the two things from this execution and against OSU were....
1 - Patterson's pocket presence, both on reads and throws. Just bad. And the difference between an adequate QB and elite.
2 - The WR inability to MAKE PLAYS. Obviously the OSU game was worse and they weren't terrible in this game, but finding a way to dig out a tough catch or a 50-50 ball would have been huge.
Props for obscure Tisha B-Av reference...
So...can next year's version beat the PSU's, Wiscy's, Minney's, and Washington's of the world to set us up for 1 loss (OSU :/ ) season?
Can they? Sure. It's possible. Is it likely? Hard no.
I think we have a better chance this season against WI and PSU since we play them at home. I worry a bit about road games @ WA, and @ MN. I think OSU on the road will be a sure loss. So, if everything goes well we could be heading into Columbus with 2 losses or undefeated. But I don't think we have a chance against OSU, I just hope the score is closer and not another colossal blowout.
Hard to know wether there will be much of a home field advantage year, or even if there will be people in the stands.
Mississippi gave up on Shea. That should have told us something
This is a weird take. Patterson started a few games in 2016 as a freshman because of injuries, and then was the starter in 2017 until he hurt his knee and missed the rest of the season (here). Ole Miss went on probation, which was why Shea transferred and got a waiver to play in 2018.
Yeah, I think we can all agree that he was a disappointment at Michigan but in no way did Mississippi give up on him.
Our 5 star QB transfer did not work out as well as LSU. Borrows was on the bench at OSU, at least Shea was playing at MS. I think Shea was closer to our IA transfer Ruddock, then a 5 star QB. I hope in the short-term that either Dylan or Joe will be a better QB. I think in a few years Harbaugh will finally have his all star QB in McCaffrey.
If neither Dylan nor Joe are better than Patterson, then this program is in a world of trouble. How many years does it take to find & develop a good QB? I would have killed for MN's QB from last season...like, how do they managed to put out a QB like that in just three years and we're going into year six and still hoping that our highly ranked recruits are better than Patterson?
Something has to change at some point
"Luke had his moments until Vader started chucking large objects at him, then cut off his hand."
this killed me
Do you remember what happened in the next one though? He beats Vader, saves the universe, and his dad (Anakin is the Jedi that Returns).
Then Disney bought it and I've had my memories of that surgically removed, so I don't know what happened.
I enjoyed the sneaky Wizard of Oz reference.
This was great, even if the game was a disappointment. Thanks for doing these, Seth.
More Ben Mason, please !
Excellent work Seth, thank you
I don't get the Mckeon love. Terrible receiver, average blocker.
תשעה באב - Tisha B'Av. Love it, bringing out one of the saddest days in the Hebrew calendar to talk about football. Good stuff!!!
Picked up the saying from my wife's family, as I did all my yiddish. They use it like "this is taking forever" as in "Keep fiddling with that thing and we're going to be here till next Tisha B'Av."
My dad's family was 4th- and 9th (War of 1812)-generation Americans, and my maternal grandmother was the daughter of a finishing school teacher and wholly Americanized so my only tether to the old country was my maternal grandfather, who spoke 19 languages but refused to use Yiddish because it was just a reminder of the giant family lost in the holocaust.
If find it's a great language for negativity. Like you know how Eskimos have 20 words for snow? We've got 1000 subtly perfect ways to complain.
I'm not Jewish, but I did learn Hebrew. Because of that, I've had many interactions with Jews and it has been phenomenal to learn more about the historical aspects of the people and the lesser known traditions. I had not heard about that context to Tisha B'Av, I just know that one day I was in a class and the Jews were sitting on the floor trying to be miserable. Once I asked them what was going on, it made sense. It's really, really interesting with some great people.
Bama made a halftime adjustment by going away from base and play nickel by moving Xavier McKinney to LB spot which worked. They mucked up the run game and dared Shea Patterson to beat them which worked for them.
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