Michigan and future NFL Olinemen
Don't get a lot of Michigan football news on sports radio here in Seattle but heard something today that I thought I would share with all you hooligans.
They were talking about how the NFL Oline play has been putrid this year and that youngmen coming in have no idea how to play Oline because of all the spread in college. A listener asked if they think it will get fixed and the first answer was that they are skeptical but Michigan is going to start pumping out quality NFL Oline prospects. They said...paraphrasing....ya we dont like Harbaugh here in Seattle but we cant ignore what he is doing there with his Oline play , he is going to get top recruits who want to learn how to play oline the right way.
Nice little recruiting plug for west coast prospects. Felt like a kid on Christmas eve when I heard "Michigan" come out of their mouths.
My question, what other college teams could start to right the ship of NFL oline play? Stanford, USC...was struggling to come up with many.
Bash away :)
October 7th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
I think the Hawks Oline plan is ridiculous, they dont want to spend money on Oline they want to convert people into Oline which is really hard to do...but they were talkign all of NFL not just Hawks.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
I think Glasgow has a shot to get drafted as an offensive guard this year.
I really miss the big, brutal offensive linemen of the past. I think we're getting back to it, but Lewan and Molk were the only real standouts over the past six or seven years.
October 7th, 2015 at 2:54 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 3:42 PM ^
Steve Schilling.
October 8th, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^
Schilling was a solid player, but he was never really a mauler. I think he is a little overrated by some fans because of his recruiting hype and such. Solid, but not great.
October 7th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
Unless something crazy happens, Glasgow will get drafted, or, at the very least, signed as a UFA.
Could see two drafted next year among Kalis, Braden, and Mags (or even Cole).
EDIT: Houma could also be a UFA this year.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
Alabama, LSU
October 7th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
They have mentioned Bama but in the sense that Bama Oline are just beat up by the time they get to the NFL
October 7th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
Er,
Alabama has 9 OL in NFL at the moment
http://espn.go.com/nfl/college
OSU 7
WI has 6
Tenn has 5
LSU 4
Michigan 4
Didn't count tight ends and I really don't know how many are starters.
I'd like to think MIchigan gets back to the WI-OSU-Bama range in a few years.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^
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October 7th, 2015 at 3:24 PM ^
Michigan actually has 5: Long, Lewan, Schofield, Molk and Omameh.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
This is a great post. I have long thought that the schemes used in college have a direct impact on who is being well prepared to play in the league. Recently, I read an article about how QB's in a spread scheme are at a disadvantage. Whether or not that is true, I don't know. But I believe there is really something to this argument.
Previously, I kind of thought that the choice was between boring, uninnovative uninspired pro-style, and an exciting spread style of formation. (That definitely seemed to be Brian's bias). As he has done the UFR, he has commented that while Harbaugh is definitely pro- formation, he is not boring and predictable.
I think that NFL teams are very aware of Harbaugh and his staff. You pretty much know that if you come out of Michigan, you will have been coached the right way, and earned the right to play.
This is going to have huge positive ramifications for recruiting. Both recruits and their parents aren't idiots. If you know that certain teams will better prepare you for the NFL, that is a huge selling point. I could easily see this swaying some OL, along with the likes of Gary et al.
I don't think there are that many teams that are doing this. Stanford, Alabama, Michigan come to mind. Maybe USC. You have to be able to recruit at a very high level to do this. When you have a really solid pro-style team, they often can overcome many spread teams that have looked unbeatable. (e.g., Oregon, etc.).
October 7th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
When JH was at Stanford his last year and played Oregon, I dont think many people thought Stanford could keep up with that Oregon speed. But Stanford was so physical with them, just wore Oregon out.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
This is reminiscent of Stanford wins over Oregon. You beat that spread by murdering them on the lines.
— mgoblog (@mgoblog) September 27, 2015
October 7th, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
It seems like at least one Stanford lineman is drafted every year. Here a four of the recent guys:
David DeCastro, Cameron Fleming, Matthew Masifilo, and Andrus Peat.
October 7th, 2015 at 2:13 PM ^
i dont know about "wore out" but stanfords front 7 and DL in particular just destroyed oregons OL and then they tackled well.
its difficult to stop excellent spread Os just like its difficult to stop excellent any-style Os - but dominant DL playing in opponents backfield and sure tackling are a great start (ie osu's title run last year)
October 7th, 2015 at 1:08 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
Wisconsin, Arkansas, ALabama, Georgia, Notre Dame.
Just moved to seattle... Seahawks fans are super annoying...Apologies if you are one. :)
October 7th, 2015 at 1:00 PM ^
shame on me for forgetting Wisconsin.
I 100% agree with you about the "12s". I am a Hawks AND Lions fan but the 12s are ridiculous. And when I say 12s I mean people who think Russell Wilson is a top 3 QB and they start Kickstarters to pay for Kam Chancellors fines. Freaking dumb.
I watch games and thats about it. But agree with you.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:24 PM ^
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October 7th, 2015 at 1:51 PM ^
Travis Frederick starts for Dallas.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:08 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
for developing Offensive Linemen. Whether that continues as they again adjust to a new coaching staff remains to be seen.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:55 PM ^
Big-10 schools. I see Wisconsin, MSU, and OSU sending O-Linemen to the NFL for the foreseeable future. Also, Tennessee always seems to have an NFL-caliber OL
October 7th, 2015 at 3:04 PM ^
the SEC team that looks most like a Big 10 team.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 1:10 PM ^
So...Grant Newsome?
October 7th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
Sure... Why not?
October 7th, 2015 at 1:00 PM ^
Operating on the assumption that Harbaugh can right the ship offensively in the next couple of years (and, come on, obviously he can and will), I totally agree that Michigan will very quickly start to produce very quality NFL draft picks and will have a distinct comparative advantage in doing so. Of course, what that means is that more recruits will come to Michigan because they see what a Michigan playing career can do for them. As we get better recruits, we play better and send more guys to the NFL, thereby attracting even more awesome recruits.
In short, it's a feedback loop of awesomeness and dominance that doesn't end until Harbaugh reigns supreme.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
YES!
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October 7th, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^
Related question: What about RBs? It seems like this is an offense that would be very appealing to top RBs who want to showcase their talents someplace where they could be the cornerstone of the offense.
For the experts on the board: Are there any major differences between what the RBs are asked to do in power offenses vs. spread offenses? Do they need to make more or harder reads/decisions in one or the other?
October 7th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
"Spread" isn't really a system. There are some teams who spread it out and run zone, and there are some teams who spread it out and run power. For teams that are largely zone, I think it's pretty easy because you're making about two reads before it becomes just about whether you're a good runner or not. For example, on an inside zone run, you're reading the playside DL and then the MIKE linebacker (in some systems, you read your OL).
I think playing in Harbaugh's offense would be slightly more difficult because there are so many different types of blocking, your reads vary. But at the same time, so much of being a RB is based on instinct and athletic talent that most backs who are truly talented could probably succeed in both. For example, Adrian Peterson would do just fine in a zone scheme or in a power running scheme.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:45 PM ^
Awesome. Thanks! I was thinking about the patience in waiting for blocks to develop that has been mentioned in the context of Harbaugh's offense in particular, and that that may be an attractive quality for NFL scouts as it shows off a back's vision...but I don't know enough about blocking schemes to know if it's easier to show that off in this type of scheme vs. a zone blocking scheme.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:21 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 4:47 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 5:57 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 2:01 PM ^
Sometimes I wish the Mods would lock and then explain tastefully what went wrong so it won't happen again. Now only those who saw it may "learn" from this lesson.
October 7th, 2015 at 2:50 PM ^
I will say this, evidently there is more to the story than what the front page let's on. For instance, apparently her phone was used to film the intimate setting and the "distribution" was LTT sending the video from her phone to his.
October 7th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
it was clear he could offer something Urban can't: I know what the NFL is looking for in players, I was in the NFL, and I can help you get there as a player.
All we need to do is win some games, demonstrate player development, and the power of that message grows. So far, so good. We've been winning, it's clear this coaching staff is very competent, and it appears the message is gaining traction with those that are paying attention.
HARBAUGH!
October 7th, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^
October 8th, 2015 at 7:40 AM ^
I'm not sure you can really say they're "deficient" if they're the best in the world at it. The likely answer is that sometimes, it's just not an easy thing to do.
October 7th, 2015 at 3:56 PM ^
It's even more interesting to consider how popularized, and media-driven the NFL Combine has become (sometimes pejoratively refered to as "the underwear olympics").
As well as the explosion of quantification and measurement in our modern world.
40-times, BP-reps, heights/weights, etc. etc.
When what is most of all important is still "how does the player play football when they are playing football?"
For instance, the whole a tackle who has 32-inch arm-length vs. a tackle who has 34-inch arm-length is the difference between a 3-5th Round, and a Top 10 Draft pick.
Or how 40-times somehow launch players up the Draft Board.
I realize the main conversation had to do with O-Lineman training via "the spread-Off" in the NFL, but I think it would be interesting to investigate the evolution of non-football/game-film measurement, i.e. NFL Combine, over the past decade or so.
October 7th, 2015 at 6:16 PM ^
I have the same opinion about QBs. Why are Cousins, Hoyer, McCarron, and so many more "game managers' sticking in the league as back-up QBs despite mediocre physical tools? They know how to think the game and manage a pro-style offense.
October 7th, 2015 at 7:55 PM ^
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October 7th, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^
Michigan has some pretty good representation in the NFL currently. And it's going to get better over the next few years now that Harbaugh is here building NFLU.
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/in-the-nfl.html
October 7th, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^
Guard play is having a resurgance in the NFL and I think Glasgow will benefit in the draft from the way Coach JH is using him on traps and pulling him even outside the tackle to block for sweeps and other plays...i really think, barring injury, he's 3rd or even 2nd round pick. JMO, but i'm pumped with the way Drevno is using him.