Potential Michigan Offense under Harbaugh

Seriously?

I have studied harbaugh's offenses and the best way to classify it is hybrid. I expect Harbaugh to formulate the offense around, what he determines us to be good at versus our limitations. Really, we are not lacking all that much. Definitely gonna see Jon Grudens favorite play, spider 2/3 Y Banana. One thing I know for sure is that we will be the bully's in the conference.

It takes away from the seriousness of the blog and such, but it's the responses to a post like this that makes me love this site. Taking a moment to laugh at each other in a respectable way is what life's all about, imo. Live a lot, love a lot and laugh a lot. Go Blue!! Harbaugh!

My guess is pro style with a bit of pistol. I imagine it will pretty much be run downhill and then playaction and safe deep passes, at least to begin with. His QB coaching seems to be about limiting tunovers and there is a tendency for them scramble well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wANFJhqHu4k

Here's the bowl game from Andrew Luck's year before Heisman Year. Also, Andrew Luck was pretty mobile...  I know, "deceptive speed..."

 

 

MANBALL!!

I would suspect power plays, inside zone, outside zone and play action and waggles off of that. We will run in interesting and creative ways all day long. I have always been really impressed with the Harbaugh run game. When SF played Detroit (the infamous back slap game) he ran the wham play and repeatedly and gouged the Lions (he knew the Lions would over penetrate and used it against them). Here was the beauty though - when the Lions over committed to the wham Harbaugh called a fake to the wham and had the TE run the wheel and it was wide open. It was a simple play but was so damn effective I remember being insanely jealous of the Niners to have a guy who bleeds blue as their coach and he was really, really creative. The things he does with tight ends is also really impressive. It's Bo's offense but far more multi dimensional. Also PA and waggles are going to be so damn open it's ridiculous. Alex Smith was literally the worst or one of the worst QBs in the NFL and he built an offense around him the made him completely protected and functional. The offense will not be a problem just imagine all the best parts of Wisconsin and MSU but with our talent. We are about to hire a better Nick Saban - just let that sink in. I went to Stanford when you could get free tickets if you wore anything red. It was that bad. The last two seasons the team lost two games. Stanford was putrid before he came. Does anyone remember the name of the QB who beat USC at the Coliseum? No? Well that's the offense we are getting and this is the coach. He also happens to love Bo, Ann Arbor and Michigan. Oh and he went to the Super Bowl once and NFC championship three times in his first three years - in the NFL - where you have parity and free agency. This, what is happening to us right now, is unprecedented. After seven years in the wilderness we are going to be relevant again. You know what offense we are going to run? One that kicks you in the balls, waits till you can barely breath again and then kicks you in the balls again. We are Michigan...we bow to no one.

I would suspect power plays, inside zone, outside zone and play action and waggles off of that. We will run in interesting and creative ways all day long. I have always been really impressed with the Harbaugh run game. When SF played Detroit (the infamous back slap game) he ran the wham play and repeatedly and gouged the Lions (he knew the Lions would over penetrate and used it against them). Here was the beauty though - when the Lions over committed to the wham Harbaugh called a fake to the wham and had the TE run the wheel and it was wide open. It was a simple play but was so damn effective I remember being insanely jealous of the Niners to have a guy who bleeds blue as their coach and he was really, really creative. The things he does with tight ends is also really impressive. It's Bo's offense but far more multi dimensional. Also PA and waggles are going to be so damn open it's ridiculous. Alex Smith was literally the worst or one of the worst QBs in the NFL and he built an offense around him the made him completely protected and functional. The offense will not be a problem just imagine all the best parts of Wisconsin and MSU but with our talent. We are about to hire a better Nick Saban - just let that sink in. I went to Stanford when you could get free tickets if you wore anything red. It was that bad. The last two seasons the team lost two games. Stanford was putrid before he came. Does anyone remember the name of the QB who beat USC at the Coliseum? No? Well that's the offense we are getting and this is the coach. He also happens to love Bo, Ann Arbor and Michigan. Oh and he went to the Super Bowl once and NFC championship three times in his first three years - in the NFL - where you have parity and free agency. This, what is happening to us right now, is unprecedented. After seven years in the wilderness we are going to be relevant again. You know what offense we are going to run? One that kicks you in the balls, waits till you can barely breath again and then kicks you in the balls again. We are Michigan...we bow to no one.

Just as important of a question: Who will be his OC? We know Durkin is his DC or co-dc with GMatt. But no clue for an experienced OC.

If he brings Greg Roman with him we are doomed. I'm talking Borges doomed

or ,maybe some kind of westcoast manball tripleoption veer insideoroutsidezone basketballongrass poweri prostyle

 

who's gonna be our oc

At Stanford and SF he ran I-Form, Strong/Weak Set I, Shotgun, Pistol and Ace/Singleback; multiple tight ends, fullbacks and H backs, but would also spread it out.  At Stanford he made his money on power runs and play action, heavy on tight ends, at SF he ran more Pistol and Shotgun to facilitate the read option with Kaepernick. One of my personal favorite formations I've seen him run was the Pistol full house backfield at SF, where Kaep would have 2 wide outs, and an H Back/Full Back/Tight End on either side of him, and a HB behind him.

Don't know enough about what kind of offense we'll have, but I'm going to guess he'll go after a Luck-type of quarterback. A guy who is looking to pass and make his reads before even considering the idea of taking off and running.

Then again, he could go after a Colin Kaepernick type. That's the beauty of Harbaugh. Both pro-style and dual-threat style kids will want to play for him.

Harbaugh's offense at Stanford was Bo-Mo-Lloyd like, at least in its basic repertoire. Power football, pocket passers, naked bootlegs, etc. But his time in SF has given me hope that Communist Football is not dead in Ann Arbor.  Here's an interview in which he lambasts the NFL for rule changes that make the read option harder to run:

http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/harbaugh-says-nfls-new-read-option-rules…

I think the main problem is that Harbaugh is unlikely to be able to recruit dual-threat passers, because dual threats are more likely to be attracted to read-option programs like OSU and Oregon, and because Harbaugh is more likely to seek out traditional pro-style QBs. Kaepernick was handed to Harbaugh; has Harbaugh's experience with Kaepernick broadened his horizons in terms of how to run an offense?

The choice of OC will be telling on this front, and there's no evidence that Harbaugh intends to hire a read-option OC (though evidence is thin overall on this front).

Run the football. Drake Johnson, Derrick Green, Daveon Smith (sp), Ty Issac. Loaded.

Stretch the field

Stretch the field

Offense will be returning to Ann Arbor very soon, not talk of it but actual QB setting up under the center and running a power I type offense!

Does it matter? As long as it's competent, I'll take it.