Picture Pages: Learning As You Go
Michigan's run game started out with a thud, with a series of short gains and even the occasional Dread Pirate TFL rearing its ugly head. As with the Notre Dame game, the problems due to were a mélange of errors from lots of people. And as you might expect against Miami, most of them were mental issues.
People have asserted that Miami was dropping an eighth guy in the box and that guy was blowing up the Michigan run game. That's simplistic; these days spread-oriented offenses are looking at one or zero deep safeties on every play. The eight man box is something you have to deal with as a coach, and anyway when you're playing Miami it shouldn't matter.
Michigan's issues were largely assignment-based, with the occasional bad block thrown in; the tailbacks were better but still had issues. The nice thing is that as the game went along we saw Michigan correct some of those those problems and start moving forward. Mason Cole in particular was evolving right on the field, hampering two plays with errors and then executing in near-identical situations just a few minutes later. One was mostly executing a block; this one was about IDing the guy he needs to address.
Which Guy Needs Help? Not That One.
This is actually the first play of the game. It comes from the 50 after the least interesting successful Dennis Norfleet kick return ever (run to the right until the kicker stops you), and Michigan comes out in an ace set. Miami has a 4-3 under on the field (sort of; their SAM is 190-pound Lo Wood) and will roll a safety down for guy #8.
Michigan's going to run inside zone and things are going to go pretty well all over the field with the exception of Mason Cole and AJ Williams trying to handle the backside DE.
This is your presnap setup:
There's a one-technique NT and a five-tech SDE. The SDE is splitting Cole and Williams down the middle, and the play is going to the top of the screen. It is very hard for backside blockers to do anything with a guy who is 1) lined up playside of him when 2) they get no help. This is about to happen to Williams.
I'm not entirely sure why this guy is free to fly down the line and blow this play up. The other DL are handled by Michigan's OL driving guys lined up a half-step to the playside of them. It seems like he figures that the OLB is going to be there to clean up anything that breaks behind him, so gap integrity is for suckers. (Michigan will get a bunch of waggles off this tendency, as Miami isn't using that OLB to contain hard upfield.)
On the snap Magnuson hops over a half-gap to get the nose; Cole goes to his zone a gap over without touching anyone and then starts helping on Magnuson's block. Williams is going for this DE:
Williams does not get the DE even a little bit, and with Miami DL set up to the outside on the frontside of the play Green is correctly going right up the gut, something that looks promising as Michigan gets movement on the DL.
The problem:
Williams was put in a tough spot here; even so this feels substandard. Annoying the guy, pushing him so that he's on the correct side of the LOS, maybe cutting him: all of these things are better than escorting him to the RB.
A yard later it's clear that Michigan has cleaned out the DL; one linebacker shot a gap and is going to help tackle here but without the space constriction provided by the Williams block-type substance shooting that gap is a dangerous game to play that is 50/50 to put the tailback one on one with the safety for all the yards.
Green falls forward for two as Magnuson finishes pancaking the NT. Cole ended up not really doing much of anything on the play.
Video
And the slow version:
[After THE JUMP: something that goes better]
Backside combo
Michigan converts a third and five, waggles themselves another first down, and ends up just outside the ten, knocking on the door. They come out with the first of their Tiny Tight Ends formations when Chesson motions into this spot presnap:
Michigan now has an extensively overloaded wing here with Williams, Kerridge, and Chesson all to the field. Miami lines up the same way they did on the first play, with two guys rotated down to the overloaded area to compensate.
Again, the DE is splitting Cole and Williams:
This time Cole fires off into that DE along with Williams; everything else is similar; you can see Magnuson and Glasgow taking second level blocks as Miller moves to the second level; Michigan hands the ball to the back to the backside of this play, so maybe this is a semi-designed cutback.
But the thing about zone is that things only get semi-designed; if the DE goes one way you do one thing; if he goes the other way you do the other thing. Here he goes inside again as the initial action looks like inside zone to the left. Williams bashes him, Cole seals him, and there's your crease:
This is actually similar to what happens to the DE on the previous play except Michigan's moved the decision point for the back and given him an angle to go around. They've also fixed their unblocked backside guy problem by moving him another couple of gaps outside with Kerridge and Chesson.
Green sees it and hits it; by the time he arrives he's got a straight shot to the secondary, with Kerridge and Chesson fending off DB types.
Zip!
And then Green gets submarined by a safety and flips over.
Video:
And the slow version:
Things and stuff
This is the same numbers setup; one has success, the other does not. Michigan had enough guys to execute blocks and get a chunk on the first play; they just didn't execute those blocks. I might be irritated by running at an eight-man box against a real team; against Miami I'm just looking to see them hit their marks.
That goes double when the eighth guy is not facilitating hard-to-deal-with blitzes. On the first play he stands around on the frontside of the play and a wide receiver gives him the business; in the second it's hard to tell who he is but he doesn't prevent the play from getting to the safety.
There wasn't really anything Miami was doing to hurt the Michigan ground game, and throwing around on waggles didn't open anything up. It was there; Michigan just took some time to get their assignments right. Not a surprise when Michigan goes from a game in which they're looking at a bunch of over fronts in a spread to a 4-3 under they haven't seen a lot of since last year.
Zone is malleable and it's hard to look at and be certain about things. I think that Cole needed to chip that guy on the first play to help Williams out. That play is likely to go vertical since it's inside zone, Williams doesn't have much of a chance if his guy does what he does, and Cole has the time to give that guy a shoulder and then go for the linebacker.
But I also think that the second play is something of a variant and may not be just Cole figuring it out. For one, tiniest tight end seems there to facilitate this cutback. For two, Michigan hands Green the ball to the backside of this play. This may be a version of the RR belly play where the design is to go in that hole, though Green's cut to it implies otherwise.
So, like, I don't know yet man.
I will get better at this as I see more reps and get a feel for what Michigan wants to do. Right now I'm data deficient when it comes to deciphering exactly how Michigan wants to run things. I've found that when I ask about this I get a blizzard of conflicting opinions.
Michigan was mashing these guys off the ball. Not a major accomplishment, I know, but even when the run game was not working it was because of blocking errors and some goofy decisions from the backs; by in large Michigan was getting plenty of the proverbial push. There are pancakes on both these plays.
It only takes one error to blow that up and make it feel like defensive tackles are holding up; they were not.
Derrick Green was better; I still am a bit skeptical. He cuts to both these holes; on other plays he's been hesitant when guys are upfield and he needs to make a decision. And on the second play here he lowers his head into the safety only to find that the safety's gotten even lower. Any one play you can get tackled by a guy and it's just a good play by that guy. Green doesn't seem to make anyone miss, or even make them make a glancing tackle. Activating the truck stick is good for gifs; I prefer not getting tackled for yards.
September 16th, 2014 at 5:05 PM ^
Right after the first play, Seth turns to me and says AJ Williams -2. Instant UFR. I laughed pretty hard.
September 16th, 2014 at 5:35 PM ^
I do this as well, I think it annoys my friends and family.
September 16th, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^
I said the same thing in my head "AJ Williams: -1"
September 17th, 2014 at 7:51 AM ^
Right after that play I was like "Damnit Gardner, you need to check out of that". A realy QB would have easily done that. Gardner -32.
September 16th, 2014 at 5:40 PM ^
or do others hear constant swearing on the slo-mo audio?
September 16th, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^
But it told me that Paul is dead.
September 17th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
"Eat At Dominos!"
September 16th, 2014 at 5:19 PM ^
I really hope Jake gets back (all the way) soon, we could really use his blocking. probably more than his receiving abilities.
I think along with the O-line the past couple years, bad tight end play has really hurt us. Bad.
By next year, hopefully we will have Butt, Hill, maybe Clark. All being able to do a better job than williams. Nothing against Williams, but the kid just can't block. I defintely understand how hard it is to block a guy shaded on your inside going towards the play, but damn. Hold him up for 2 seconds and that would help so much.
September 16th, 2014 at 5:31 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^
Yeah I was thinking about Bunting, I just have no idea where his blocking is currently at right now. Wasn't the best in high school. If he blocks like Funchess then we need to make him a wide receiver ASAP.
Either way, as long as we progress in that position this year and can take another step I think that position will be excellent for us. Would be awesome if Clark sticks with us and enrolls early! This team can be something really special, not just talking about next year, because this year is far from over.
September 16th, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^
I want a TE not Jeff Samardzija!
September 16th, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^
Samardzija's last two years at Notre Dame were 77-1249-15 and 78-1017-12. I'll take that and worry about defining positions later.
September 16th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^
Jeff Samardzija was a freaking beast!
September 16th, 2014 at 7:27 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 8:59 PM ^
I hate when Carr gets on the board.
September 16th, 2014 at 9:59 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 6:17 PM ^
its the first play of the game - that or cut block and it would have been an average run.
September 16th, 2014 at 6:22 PM ^
Sorry, just have to be a grammar nazi to the staff.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:29 PM ^
September 17th, 2014 at 12:21 AM ^
..even ones that are cur-tailed. Hahahahahahha. :)
Rob
September 16th, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^
Most teams, especially on IZ, do not teach cut blocking anymore. They feel it's best to stay on your feet and try to make a play that way. Not only is cut blocking dangerous when not done correctly, but you either get a guy on the ground (after which he can get back up) or you miss and you're alone on the ground.
Some will still do it on OZ. We all remember the Mason Minnesota teams. But even then, most teams are going away from it as agility and movement have become a greater emphasis for OL.
Not sure for certain if Michigan teaches it on the backside, but I don't think they do.
September 16th, 2014 at 6:33 PM ^
slow him down, even if just a little bit. Get low and just blast through.
Every play has the potential to go for 6!
This is Meeechigan Ferdogsakes!
September 16th, 2014 at 6:48 PM ^
All we really need from an RB on Inside Zone is:
1. Get to the LOS quickly
2. Choose the right path (frontside or backside).
3. Fall forward when tackled.
Do those three things and we will consistently gain 3-5 YPC, and not produce TFLs. The rest is awesome but is less important than doin these three things consistently.
FTR, Green did that against Miami (NTM). He did not against ND (nor did Smith).
September 16th, 2014 at 6:57 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 6:58 PM ^
Green looked better but somebody needs to teach this kid how to stiff-arm a defender into next week. Get Fred Jackson on the case.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:08 PM ^
Get Antonio "Enter the Dragon" Brown on the case.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:23 PM ^
"Penalty Offense. No. 84. Manslaughter - Karate Kick-Curb Stomp combo to the kicker's larynx.
15 yards from the spot of the foul.
1st down!"
September 16th, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^
But the penalty on Brown was 100% worth it for future intimidation value. Who is going to want to tackle this dude in space, ever?
"Who else wants some?" sayeth Antonio. Opponents clasp their hands around their precious larynxes and shuffle away quietly.
September 17th, 2014 at 2:21 PM ^
Any decent ref should have said to himself "that's awesome" and refused to throw the flag
September 17th, 2014 at 11:06 AM ^
i remember him doing something similar with the lions but i think he got more height and used both feet.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:00 PM ^
Man, poor Derrick Green can't win. His first year + a couple games here, everyone said "Green doesn't welcome contact like Deveon, never tries to run people over, goes down too easy"...and then when he goes to try and truck someone its "I wish he would try to make someone miss."
September 16th, 2014 at 7:11 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 7:41 PM ^
September 17th, 2014 at 1:40 PM ^
The knock against Green wasn't that he wasn't a bowling ball, it was that he's had a bad habit of going down to weak arm tackles.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:05 PM ^
The problem with young players isn't that they don't get better. The problem is that they get better in games where you'd prefer the load be carried by 4th- and 5th-year players who've left little room for improvement because they already know what they're doing.
I like what I see in the sense that I like seeing a festering wound finally stop oozing pus and turn into a weeping scab. I'd rather it not be there at all but at least it's progressing in the right direction. Three weeks in and we've yet to see any sort of dramatic regression like we saw by same time last year where our tailbacks got a whopping 74 rushing yards and our D coughed up 418 yards against Akron. We haven't seen the dramatic otherworldly production of Borges' best either, but I'll take it. Yes, we were 3-0 same time last year, but the Akron win was downright Pyrrhic.
Now we just gotta fix our QB. The pick wasn't completely DG's fault but he's still staring down receivers like a creepy Sting song.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:11 PM ^
Improvement and consistency with fundamentals. That's what I want to see.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:09 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 7:41 PM ^
This is a gap-man blocking scheme. I'll be looking at it later this week on my blog, but you'll note later in the game they ran it from I-form with a counter-step. I've been calling it gap-counter and belly-counter, not quite sure what Nuss calls it, but that's essentially what it is.
It's designed to look like inside zone right, but is designed to give the OL down blocks mostly. From the I-form, the FB will kick out the the DE. This helps sell the IZ because typically that FB seals the backside DE away from the play on inside zone. I'm guessing there is no counter step here simply because Michigan is in pistol rather than in an Ace set. And the H-back has the kick out block in place of the FB here.
FWIW, and I watched quite a bit of Bama games, I only saw Nuss pull this out against ND in the national championship game. I thought, because of that, it wasn't something we were going to see this year. So I was surprised to see it pulled out already.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:49 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 8:39 PM ^
But here is Michigan running it with the counter step at 7:24 (note it utilizes an H-back, not a FB). I don't think they utilize the counter from pistol because I think the timing and mesh point are off then.
It's not supposed to be a hard sell, aka, the OL isn't going to have the same footwork at an IZ. It's only supposed to replicate the flow. So each OL is stepping right at the snap, replicating the flow of IZ to the right. With the counter step, the RB's first step is also right. Instead of the OL trying to win it's head across, they down block, so footwork is a bit different, but again, they aren't trying to sell footwork, they are trying to sell the flow to get the defense to commit to the initial play direction (in the case above, to the right). That little bit of flow from the defense puts them at an adventageous angle to get into blocks for the OL.
September 16th, 2014 at 9:50 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^
The role reversal between Devin Funchess and Jehu Chesson has been a weird tale. The TE converted to WR, and now the WR lining up as a quasi-TE. I wonder how we would've fared if the coaches read these kids earlier?
You can coach technique, but you can't coach the desire to destroy people.
Chesson the Destroyer uber alles.
P.S. Chesson is becoming every bit the monster JMFR is, but the kicker is they're both very well-spoken off the field.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:16 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 7:19 PM ^
Did anyone notice the umpire on the 2nd clip? If he wasn't in the way I wonder if Green tries to cut it right (left is blocked off by a defender being blocked) instead of just go straight into the safety.
September 16th, 2014 at 8:47 PM ^
The umpire did act like a 12th defender. Perhaps Green should be taught that the officials are part of the field, not defenders, and if they don't want to get hit they need to move out of the way.
September 16th, 2014 at 7:24 PM ^
September 16th, 2014 at 8:07 PM ^
Comments