Indiana Snowflakes: The Coaching
November 6th, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^
Was fine with everything minus 2 burned time outs on a 4th and 1 only to punt. Put the guys in position for a convincing win, added some nice plays to Schoonmaker in the red zone, need more of those though.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^
I think this game can be summed up with the word "adequate".
November 6th, 2021 at 11:08 PM ^
Game is still close, it's 3rd and 1 and Michigan runs a zone read into an obvious blitz. A play that Cade hasn't pulled once on. Then the brutal 4th down shenanigans..... Anyone that feels the team is in good hands is wrong....
November 7th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
Really, you're going to say the team is in bad hands because of two plays? Find me a coach who makes every call perfectly. I'll take the W. 8-1 is nothing to sneeze at, and 10-3 is now a realistic floor for this team (assuming the injuries aren't too brutal). Pretty sure most fans would have been thrilled with that at the beginning of the year.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^
Meh...just meh..
November 6th, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^
The 4th and inches timeout/run from Michigan 30 was bizarre. Still don't know what the real plan was there except it cost us a timeout.
Good defensive scheme and no substitution problems tonight. Finally had our first and second TD passes to a tight end this year. Still room for improvement in redzone. Haskins might have been in one series too many. 8 & 1, with a solid bounce back win most important.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:16 PM ^
Jim Harbaugh thinks he's Bo Schembechler and it's 1970.
8-1. A win is a win. Hopefully Michigan continues to win.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:19 PM ^
What did I learn from this game? The best coaching staff n the Big Ten is led by Jeff Brohm.
M's approach to the MSU game in comparison to Brohm's? No comparison. Brohms' game plan was masterful.
This game? From a coaching standpoint? Uninspiring. I feel bad for the players. Should have smoked IU.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
Should have smoked IU? Dude, wtf are you talking about? We won by 22 and the yardage was 411 to 195.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:39 PM ^
IU outgained MSU by 100 yards and probably should have beat them. Yet people still believe Tucker is coaching royalty. Yet bitch about Harbaugh after we dominate them because we didn’t win by more.
November 7th, 2021 at 7:17 AM ^
People believe Tucker is coaching royalty cause he’s 2-0 against his biggest rival. People bitch about Harbaugh cause he’s 0-5 against his biggest rival.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:35 PM ^
Where was Brohm’s coaching awesomeness last week when Wisconsin pounded his team?
November 7th, 2021 at 1:39 AM ^
Don't be saying positive things about Harbaugh. Doesn't work for many.
November 7th, 2021 at 8:17 AM ^
"The best coaching staff n the Big Ten is led by Jeff Brohm."
This is a lazy take. If Brohm was coach here his offense would be similarly good and we'd bitch and moan about his lackluster defense. Man, there were some plays where the Purdue defenders looked like they were helping Sparty into the endzone.
Everyone looks good from a distance, but once they become the coach of the team you like, the viewpoint changes ...
November 7th, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
Brohm has a losing overall and conference record. 25-28 and 17-21 in the conference.
His offense just happened to play into MSU’s weakness.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:26 PM ^
The 40 second fake then not fake then TO were just ludicrous and keeping Haskins in that long with Corum injured is just stupid. Other than that not really much to complain about and coaching was solid...but it was Indiana and the game was never really in doubt.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:29 PM ^
Does Gattis have any plays in his playbook to handle aggressive blitzing? Indiana blitzed their linebackers all night and Gattis was never able to call a single play to take advantage of it. There is zero rythym to his offense and zero creativity. If you could sum up his offense in one word it would be boring.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:34 PM ^
No. He has a reverse, a fake zone read, a long pass and a swing pass.
He’s like playing madden but you only get the first play call screen with 3 options and 1 audible.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:32 PM ^
The one good thing I can say about the coaching tonight was that there were no Chinese fire drills on defense. Clearly Harbaugh let McDonald know that that was not going to be acceptable going forward.
November 7th, 2021 at 1:37 AM ^
Indiana never really went high tempo, it was baffling really.
November 7th, 2021 at 8:47 AM ^
I'm guessing it was because they were starting their 3rd string QB, who I think is a freshmen.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:43 PM ^
Same shit different day. It was good enough against a depleted Indiana team. Won’t be good enough against PSU or OSU.
It’s the same gameplan that wins 74% of the time or whatever and consistently comes up short in big games. Maybe they can put something together for Penn State and OSU. We’ll see.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:44 PM ^
Harbaugh loves these old school mismatches. Just pick a few spots to leverage the stronger talent and the game is out of reach.
A win is great. Glad I wasn’t in the stands for this sludgefest.
November 6th, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Our 2 point play execution is atrocious. The play call, execution..blech
November 7th, 2021 at 5:58 AM ^
Take a lesson from MSU on 2+pt conversions. Or was it our shit 2-pt D that made it look so easy?
November 7th, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
Not counting 2020, Jim Harbaugh has been quite successful and is going to keep his job. Can he beat Ohio State? No. But no Michigan coach has in nearly 20 years. Will we ever win a B1G Championship? Not unless Ohio State trips over Purdue, Iowa, or PSU in a single season. Ohio State loses trap games, they do NOT lose to Michigan. If we ever win another conference championship in the next decade, it will be because Ohio State has a bad year. Hang your hat on the fact that Jim wins the games he should most of the time. Same as Lloyd Carr. You keep protesting for a new coaching staff, you'll end up back in dog fights with teams like Illinois every season and nearly dropping games to MAC teams, missing bowl games. Some of you are way too nearsighted with your vision to the past. And that past wasn't even that long ago.
November 7th, 2021 at 6:57 AM ^
Good coaching hires happen every year.
November 7th, 2021 at 7:22 AM ^
Your argument to keep Harbaugh is he usually beats Indiana and a new coaching staff might lose to Illinois? This is exactly what we all expected when hired 7 years ago. /s
November 7th, 2021 at 8:25 AM ^
My god, this is a pathetic answer and one I don't accept. Michigan is first class in all things but you're fine losing the rivalry because of what might happen? I'll take the risk, life is too short. Are you the same guy that gets cucked by his wife but it's ok because she's a really good mom and only does it sometimes when she's stressed?
November 7th, 2021 at 10:21 AM ^
So don't accept it. Michigan hasn't done shit for most of the past 70 years. Consider the fact that, out of all our best coaches in that time, Lloyd split a national title one year. You want to take a risk, I say we already have, twice. And what I'm telling you is that no athletic director is going to fire an 8-1 head coach in favor of another risk. Remember when we thought coaches would fall over themselves to come take this job? Reality paints a different picture, especially for a program so delusional, they'd fire a winning coach. I think your emotions have run so high, you've gone retarded. There are a small handful of guys that could come into Ann Arbor and be successful against OSU within 3 years. I say 3, because as history has taught us with Rich Rod, 3 is the limit. This idea that Michigan is so elite, we'd fire a 10-3 coach is pure delusion. Most D-1A programs would love to have what we have, and the administration is not going to trade winning seasons in to risk another RR or Brady Hoke. It's just not going to happen. I'm not defending Jim Harbaugh, either, I'm just saying that it's senseless to create controversy over his job when he clearly has job security. It only hurts recruiting.
November 7th, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
I get that we could turn into Texas, Nebraska, usc, etc etc. I’d rather take that chance than be damn near certain what our record is going to be every year. Harbaugh is Bo Pelini minus taking a trip to Indy.
Beating Rutgers, Indiana, northwestern the worst of the worst MSU teams and winning ~50% against Wisconsin, Iowa, and PSU just isn’t exciting.
I remember the RR and Hoke years. A couple extra wins against bad teams really isn’t moving the needle. In what areas has Michigan really improved on since 2015?
November 7th, 2021 at 12:28 PM ^
I actually agree with both of you. If your current coach averages 9-3 and 20-25% in bowls, your next coach will most likely be worse. That's simply because _by_far_ most coaches are worse than that. And we don't have to look at Nebraska, Texas, FSU--though we should--we could just look at UM. JH is our _third_ bite at that apple, replacing winning coach who was disappointing of late with the shiny new object, then the return to basics. So, yeah, brace yourself because by-far the most likely outcome of a new coach hire is for things to get worse. BUT, you have to try anyway, because, while JH was hired for 2 things--first: stop UM being a laughing-stock atrocious; get competitive with the better Big teams again. Success. second: get competitive for titles, which means beating OSU sometimes and not just .500 with PSU, MSU, Wisky, Iowa. Failure. -- AND, we want both: so you have to try again now that the team & program are not an atrocious laughing stock and may even be headed in right direction. You have to try again, EVEN THOUGH you are far more likely to Rich Rod or Scott Frost it, or Bobby Williams or John L it, than to find your Dantonio or Tressel.
November 7th, 2021 at 1:26 PM ^
That's simply because _by_far_ most coaches are worse than that.
Your logic and data is flawed unless you are saying that everything M has to offer in resources is on the same level as every other division 1 team. It’s not.
November 8th, 2021 at 3:39 PM ^
So only look at UM then if you prefer: how often have our hires improved, rather than worsened things? about 2x worsen, 1x improve is our usual also. Yes, one would hope UM and our search is better than a random draw, but they have to be MASSIVELY better for a draw to yield better than the 90th or so percentile that 9-3 & 20% on bowls represents. They have not been. So, you can twist & turn & yeah-but I want a new hire to BOTH be an improvement in expected value AND give a better chance at taking the next step, all you want, but I don't think you get there. And reminder: I come to conclusion you got to make the change anyway. Even though. The rescue has been effectuated (and we were not just bad before JH, but embarrassingly bad); now take a stab at getting back to competitive for titles. Just buckle up, because striking out is more common than hitting that home run. Ask LSU, ask Georgia (always an also-ran until very recent), ask Clemson (never even an also-ran until most-recent). Heck, if you want, ask Alabama how it went just before Saban... Or, just look at our co-champ from 1997 who was also one of the big dogs back in the day, just like us... And again, I remind you: I think we have to take that swing now. I just realize that it's more likely we swing and miss than that we hit it out of the park.
November 7th, 2021 at 8:54 AM ^
We're losing all our bowl games anyway.
Coward.
November 7th, 2021 at 12:51 AM ^
There was absolutely no reason to go for 2 in that case. That was reckless.
Cade was a bit banged up. So was part of our line. We were down to 1 functional RB. It was a 3 TD game in the 4th quarter. To go for 2 and expose them to a play in that circumstance was ridiculous and completely unnecessary.
November 7th, 2021 at 1:40 AM ^
It was the very beginning of the fourth quarter, and the added value in getting to a 24 point lead (requiring 3 TDs and all three two-point conversions just to tie) versus a 23 point lead is worth the risk (at least based on some analytics). Just last week Indiana scored three times in the fourth quarter. It was only a football play from the two yard line, not a kickoff or punt return. The fans bemoan that Harbaugh is not aggressive, doesn't play to win, takes the foot off the gas, is old-fashioned, etc. -- that was an example where they were being more modern and using analytics. The play didn't work out, but I didn't have a problem with it at all. Relatedly, I raised the question last week whether Michigan should have gone for two when it was 29-14 last week (a successful conversion would have made it a three-score game). Based on some quick research, there are some data supporting that choice in the third quarter (when it happened). Obviously, we need to have decent two-point plays, but I want to see our coaching staff make aggressive, modern decisions based on what the best research is showing, even if it is not the traditional choice.
November 7th, 2021 at 5:43 AM ^
What do analytics say about run focused keep away game plan that makes limited possession game into a high variance outing even against walk on players for other team that you’re keeping in the game?
Analyse that!
November 7th, 2021 at 1:06 AM ^
I wasn’t a big fan of the 4th and 1 almost delay of game/ time out to eventual punt sequence, but other than that I thought the coaches did what they had to do against an obviously outmatched and depleted Indiana team.
Hope we are healthy for the final 3 weeks and finish strong with a win to end the season for once. I think they can do it if they get a few breaks. OSU has not looked like its typical self of late, and I do still like this team a lot.
November 7th, 2021 at 2:02 AM ^
I said this elsewhere but (forgive my attempt to promote this discussion on two threads) I'm willing to entertain the possibility that the "almost delay of game/time out" was on purpose and clever:
If true, Michigan put on tape that it is more willing than most teams to turn a fake/hard snap into a real snap. And it did this in a low stakes moment against IU where there was literally nothing to lose. If true (yes - if if if), then the payoff can come against a future opponent forced into the unenviable position of seeing today's tape and worrying we'll actually go for it. If we can accomplish that without ever actually going for it, the odds of drawing a future offsides flag goes up considerably.
I usually hate hard snap fakes because they almost never amount to anything more than a waste of time. But now ... I actually want to see another one in a high leverage moment.
November 7th, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
I kinda agree with Carr: to me, the only thing not-fine with that sequence/call was situationally relative to the season. Keep it for later. At that point in the game, an M score put the game away, and a shit spot on second down and our short-yardage shittyness meant we were a foot from continuing the drive. I disagree with Carr about the hard count to try to draw offside in general: sure, rarely works, but it does on rare occasion, so why not? Punt from 25 vs from 30: so what? Try anyway. Almost always try. And I also don't dislike the idea of this particular (apparent) wrinkle: give QB and coach both a read if looks like D not ready so go for it at the end. Worst outcome: both read it's a go and are wrong or you don't execute = lowered risk of that since both need be wrong for that kind of failure. If QB reads no go; coach reads go = delay of game, so 5 yards, which as I said: big whoop. If QB reads go, coach reads no = burned a time out. Which, some situations make this a bad strategem, but not this one. So, actually, in all: I like it, now that I've thought through it. If this is what they were doing. Though I wish they hadn't tried it at this point of the season; keep it for the two big ones remaining.
November 7th, 2021 at 1:14 AM ^
Welcome back to the Lloyd Carr era. That was vintage 2000’s UM football. Get a decent lead, shut it all down.
November 7th, 2021 at 2:18 PM ^
I’m ok with this approach. What concerns me is only 29 pts on 411 yards. 3/12 on 3rd down against Indiana is also a concern.
November 7th, 2021 at 1:28 AM ^
Given the concerns about our red zone offense and inability to convert drives into TDs, it was interesting to see how Purdue's decisions to kick FGs on its last four drives against MSU played out. (Purdue kicked from the 12, the 7, the 6, and the 5.) The last one was clearly the right choice given the time left and the score. I thought the kick to go from 10 up to 13 up might come back to haunt them. (For those who didn't watch, Purdue then kicked another FG to go up 16, and flashbacks of last week arose, including when MSU then scored a TD quickly and got a two-point conversion to make it an 8 point game.)
November 7th, 2021 at 7:58 AM ^
Not really sure Purdue decided to kick FGs. On the one to put them up 16, Purdue had first down deep in the red zone with about 7 minutes to go. They threw 3 straight passes, burned about 15 seconds and then kicked a FG. I know Purdue struggles with running the ball, but to me that situation screamed 3 runs as it would have burned 90 seconds and MSU's last time out.
To me being up 16 with 5:30 left and MSU with no time outs, albeit with very little chance of being up 20 is better than being up 16 with 7 minutes and one MSU timeout left with a better chance of being up 20.
November 7th, 2021 at 8:01 AM ^
You made your own point and to add to that. The Buckeyes also needed no less than 3 FG to win against Nebraska. Opposing teams with a decent defense stiffen up in the Red Zone.
I too would like to see our guys execute better in the RZ. We'll need better against Penn State come Saturday.
November 7th, 2021 at 9:14 AM ^
Iowa 12 Michigan 10 taught me that lesson a long time ago.
November 7th, 2021 at 1:39 AM ^
It is what it is, and its just so strange.
I have great hope for some of our assistants who appear to be very good at their jobs. One of them is going to be the coach at Michigan some day.
November 7th, 2021 at 7:57 AM ^
Good enough for a solid win. Defensive side was great, offense was good. The run game worked well and the passing game was down some but the mix of play calls was good.
JH calling these 2 pt conversions isn't good because this team is lousy at executing them. I suppose all they can do is keep trying.