The Recent Football Moves Make Me Nervous
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Upchurch
I mentioned this on the podcast, but here's a text version: the recent shuffling in the football program does not fill me with a feeing of warmth. Three things that have happened that make me frown about where we are right now:
Moving Jake Ryan to MLB. The linebackers were slightly disappointing last year but mostly because they ended up playing behind guys like Nose Tackle Jibreel Black and Richard Ash. They weren't kept clean, ate a lot of instant-release blocks, and tried to cope.
Desmond Morgan is a quality player and James Ross will be once someone blocks a dude in front of him; Michigan also returns both of their backups. There is zero reason to move Ryan to the interior.
Meanwhile, SAM is much closer to the WDE spot than either interior one. Michigan will flip its line on up to 40% of their snaps, whereupon Ryan essentially is the WDE. He has never had to read run/pass from behind a defensive line. He's is prone to breakdowns he can get away with on the edge, given his athleticism and time. He has a spot as a WDE in nickel packages that gets him rushing the passer, which he's really good at. He's not used to the zone drops he needs to take from the interior. His best asset—rushing upfield—is going to happen on way fewer snaps.
That move is flat-out nonsense. Who plays SAM now? Are they moving Ross there? Playing Gant? McCray? Any knowledge we don't have about why they're making this move is bad knowledge to have about the future: it basically means that the current returning starters on the interior can't play, unless you want to be a Mike McCray booster.
Reshuffling every defensive assistant. Cornerbacks coach Roy Manning, who has never played or coached cornerbacks, sounds… not good. I'm willing to throw anyone who can recruit at a RB or WR position, but corner seems like a thing that you should either have done yourself or have a heap of previous experience doing.
Other guys do have some experience with the roles they step into, but shuffling these guys around is redolent of panic and seems unlikely to do much of anything to help. They had something very good going with their DL development, something that personnel issues may have obscured last year.
And the defense was basically fine last year until the last two games, when they got ground down by the best rushing offense in the country and blasted off the field by Tyler Lockett. Neither was entirely surprising. Meanwhile, the offensive staff is sacrosanct save the coordinator.
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Chris Bryant's departure. Not that I had much hope that Bryant was going to contribute once we'd heard about yet another surgery for the poor kid.
The issue here is that the exit, which Michigan certainly knew about or could predict before signing day, makes the whole no-commits-since August thing look even worse. It reinforces the toxicity that descended on the program midseason. It's one thing to lose the two DL you have on the hook because you can't run for yard one; it's an additional thing to replace them with air.
Depending on the status of a couple of special teams players, Michigan is one or two scholarships short and if inclined could have given a firm handshake to a couple of graduated fifth year guys. It's one thing to have a 16-man class when you've really only got 16 spots; it's another to leave three or four potential slots open, especially when you're the opposite of careful with redshirts.
That's why this class isn't quite what the star average makes it out to be, and why the recruiting tailspin hurts more than just on the defensive line.
These are the reasons I'm feeling nervous. But hey I was just feeling super optimistic in August so I'm probably totally wrong about this! That's the ticket!
February 25th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^
Word.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^
From I read on GBMW, I can only assume Manning will be headed to a few coaching camps to learn the finer points of CB drills. The bigger deal here is Mallory is free to work with the safeties exclusively now, with the loss of TGordon.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
We are looking at this all wrong guys. The move from SAM to MLB is based soley on the fact* that Michigan is switching it's base defense to a 4-2-5 Nickel.
It is an attempt to get Peppers on the field for 100% of the plays, and keep Jake Ryan on the field at the same time.
With Peppers' and Dymonte's athleticism making up for the loss of size with a LB being taken off the field. Morgan is moved back to his position he thrived in for 2 years. Ross (who is small for a LB anyways) is being replaced with essentially two freak athletes. Greg Mattison and Brady Hoke are going to change the way all college football programs look at defense for the rest of time.
*this is the opposite of a fact.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:21 PM ^
But each year is an entirely different animal. Player development was a miraculous revelation in the first year of this staff's reign, and has been wholly disappointing in the two years since. Hopefully this is the year that all of those recruiting chickens come to roost. But the coaching transition is still going on, and really will continue for the next couple of years. It's hard to know what to expect, and it's hard to be patient after the success we were used to pre-2007. But that's where we're at, and there's plenty of room for hope if that's the kind of thing you're into. I hope for a rose bowl, but my expectation is 8 regular season wins. I think that's fair, all things considered.
On a side note...Spring practice! You ready for some football?
February 25th, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
really hope youre correct about those recruiting chickens doing some roosting. all coaching and personnel shuffles aside, they desparately need those younger kids to step up and own it this year, pretty much across the board (RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, DB). those bigger classes of '12 and '13 need to produce starters and impact players across the board or this teams hurting again. obviously OL must be sorted out as does depth chart at RB, TE and WR and many those players pulled from those classes. and the ryan to mike switch works out logically if the goal to keep one of your best players keyed in and strengthen the D up the middle which is most important...however its moot if the DL plays as they did last year, as well as S for that matter. and obviously those recent classes are vital to DL and DB spots. guys like wormley, godin, charlton, henry, pipkins, hurst, poggi - they gotta outperform expectations this year if this team wants to get it done on D. so i agree, really hope those classes include some playmakers, not just numbers, who will excel after getting their feet wet. bc if the DL and DBs do not improve over last yr then the LBs or ryan do not really matter much (unless its the 49ers LB corps)
February 25th, 2014 at 12:21 PM ^
I love moving JMFR to the middle if only because the thought of having a super athletic, fast, 6'3" 240 lb middle linebacker reminds me of one guy: Brian Urlacher. If Ryan can manage to roam the field and make an impact like Urlacher did (spying on mobile QBs like Vick, blowing up run plays, and dropping into coverage), then his value at middle linebacker is far greater than it was on the edge.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
I was feeling fairly confident that M would have a better year next year but now after reading this...Huh....pretty discouraging.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
And the defense was basically fine last year until the last two games, when they got ground down by the best rushing offense in the country and blasted off the field by Tyler Lockett.
The defense was terrible against Notre Dame, Akron, Indiana, Ohio State, and Kansas State and less than impressive in a bunch of other games. I guess the offense was basically fine except for the Akron, UConn, Penn State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Iowa games.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
Brady Hoke knows another 7-6 season likely dooms his tenure as the football coach at Michigan. Furthermore, another 7-6 season means we've had just one double-digit-win in the past eight seasons. That is verging on a program that is awfully tough to call "elite."
Here are my feelings on the changes, and why I think they were good changes. First, the Ryan move:
- The LB play last year was not bad, but it was not good enough. James Ross III disappeared for long stretches and while Morgan made some timely plays, none of the guys playing the two interior spots were consistently game-changers.
- "Put your playmakers in a position to make plays." This is true in any team sport, and is vital to success. Seth accurately pointed out that the frequency with which we are seeing multiple WR looks has diminished the ability for the SAM to make a consistent impact, as dropping into zone coverage or being spread away from the box decreases a player's chances of being directly involved in a play.
- Jake Ryan is, without a doubt, our best defensive playmaker. Look at what other teams in the B1G have done with their interior LBs--Shazier, Bullough, and even James Morris at Iowa. These guys aren't just leading their teams in tackles as LBs have traditionally done, they're leading their teams in TFLs. In-the-box LBs are expected to make more plays and shoot more gaps than they used to which leads me to...
- The MLB position is much more of a penetrator than it used to be. That we haven't seen Desmond Morgan flashing into the backfield is further evidence that we need more playmakers there. To take this a step further, we got NOTHING from our interior LBs on the blitz last year, while other teams across the country are making a living off of interior blitzes. We need to at least have that option, and neither Ross, Morgan, nor Bolden have shown the ability to blitz effectively. Ryan has.
Then the coaching changes:
- Brian rightly points out that Manning has never been a DB position coach. That said, he has been a defensive assistant (jack of all trades) and has also coached RBs. If what they're saying about Manning as a coach is true, the guy is a great communicator who can coach any position. Furthermore, LBs have to learn many of the same techniques that CBs use in coverage, even though they don't focus on them with thre frequency that CBs do.
- Whatever your system, you have to be able to communicate the techniques and tactics associated with that system, and NONE of those techniques or tactics are secrets known only by experienced coaches. Anyone with google can find info on the information Manning will need to effectively coach the CBs, and Manning has the resources of one of the wealthiest and most storied programs in all of college football. It's safe to say he'll know his stuff as far as technique and scheme are concerned.
- Knowledge of X's and O's is often overrated. Great coaches aren't defined by scheme, they're defined by their ability to get the most out of their players. Manning appears to have that.
- In today's game, DB's account for nearly half of your defense. Having one guy coach the entire group doesn't make much sense to me, and frankly I wish we'd more coaching for those guys sooner.
Chris Bryant/Recruiting:
- Hard to disagree with much here. What I will say is that I don't want to see the staff taking recruits that won't contribute to a championship team. I don't know exactly what the scholarship numbers are, but I'd rather bank one or two than fill those spots with guys that won't help the team.
- There is no doubt that our soul-crushing season impacted recruiting in a negative way. All the more reason to make some changes and try to make 2014 a turnaround year.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. While I don't see any of these moves as "desperate," they are certainly pretty significant moves that probably would not have been made had we finished 11-2 or 10-3. But we didn't, and change was in order. I'm optimistic about the changes, and if they don't work Brady Hoke will be the last guy left to point the finger at.
February 25th, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^
Good post. The only thing I'd disagree with is Michigan not taking players that can contribute to a championship team. Michigan needs to take any and all players that can contribute to any sort of team. If that means you take some three stars you can coach up instead of swinging and missing on 5-stars do it.
They need to focus on winning their division first, and then they can worry about winning conference championships. Doing anything else is being tone deaf to their own situation. Don't set a goal of being president of the company when you're a mid-level manager. Maybe aim for being head of your department first.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:10 PM ^
if they cannot contribute on DL or OL this coming fall, which would be very unlikely, then they should not have just taken anyone. i agree with mismanagement comments to a point. i think they shouldve canned mike jones before and i thikn they should politely thank most 5th yrs- non-starters as ALL championship teams do. UM has not reached a point where they can identify 1 open scholarship and "just sign a 3 star." if they would not have signed the guy will an empty class, they should not do so with 1 spot left, barring some crazy circumstances. they swung and missed on 2 highly touted DL prospects, and rightfully so, they were embarassing last year. those guys mightve contributed on DL as freshmen, but just signing random 3 stars does not improve depth if they cannot contribute off the bat. book it and sign guys next yr coaches view as impact players. short of signing jucos on OL and DL, which apparently UM will only do once every decade, theres not much to be done. they already have 55-some players stacked bw 2 classes from whom theyve yet to see much of anything. adding another body does not help them in 2014 unless that kid can make an impact or they really want to add a specific number in that class at late date. if the only reason theyre identified as worthy of an offer is to add a number to a class late, thats a mistake 99% of the time. all 85 matter...and while coaches have not done a great job in that regard, anything short of signing early offered DL or juco DL or OL wouldve been a mistake
February 25th, 2014 at 9:46 PM ^
Yes, yes. And I'm sure that if Hoke and co. were aiming for 'head of department' by stocking the team with gritty three-stars, you and everyone else would be applauding his pragmatism, not retching at his acceptance of mediocrity.
February 26th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
The Manning comments don't make any sense to me at all. (Not yours, the o.p.'s.) For one thing I agree with you that there's no reason to think he can't do the job, but more importantly, it seems like it might be useful in the development of Roy Manning as a football coach, something Hoke and Michigan surely have an interest in. Isn't this the kind of move businesses routinely make with people they're tracking into upper management positions? Move them around the company a bit, outside their original comfort zone, so they'll have broader knowledge when the time comes for broader responsibilities?
If/when Roy Manning becomes head coach at Michigan in 2025 or whenever, the fact that he's had experience coaching multiple positions on both sides of the ball won't hurt, will it?
February 25th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
IMO, this also signals a plan to feature a more blitz-heavy defense, predicated, in part at least, by increased confidence in the secondary, especially the safeties.
If the coaches have more confidence in the secondary, they will be more willing to blitz, and the hope is Ryan will be a more effective blitzer from the middle, at least judging by the comments from the coaches with regards to teams being able to neutralize Ryan's pass rush from the SAM.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
Morgan and Ross were too small, they got swallowed by decent OL'men. We were OK on D because we played a lot of bad offenses. The biggest limitation to our D, after pass rush. ILB's are never totally clean. The Ryan move is a good move.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
Michigan fans would crack me up if I wasn't one.
If no changes are made the collective fanbase wring their hands and point out all the other programs that makes changes with good results. If, god forbid, changes ARE made, the fanbase swoons and automatically assumes that everything is FUBAR, that the changes are an act of desperation, and that NOTHING good will come of them.
Stiff upper lip Michigan Men. It's going to be ok.
February 25th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
Obviously it's not a sure fire thing, obviously there are cons to moving Ryan to MLB. But I doubt they blindly are making the changes without serious discussion and thought. I think Mattison at least has earned the benefit of the doubt here given his coaching history. He wouldn't sign off on this unless there were very important reasons to.
February 25th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 1:36 PM ^
February 26th, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^
There were posters here writing off Beilein last February. Go back and look at the threads when the B1G tournament ended.
February 25th, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^
Unless nuss is a complete qb guru i still expect the oline to struggle and dg to struggle making quick decisions. Resulting in loss of yards and turnovers.
We are completely out of wack and a coach who doesn t coach but more or less monitor what is going on. Then we re screwed. Can hole can plays on d or offense. Doubt it. He is a great mentor on the field and off but not a great football mind
February 25th, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^
I see the coaching moves as the best possible scenario without wholesale changes to the coaching staff. Hoke is acknowledging on defense at least that the prior coaching assignments were not leading to the player development that we all would like. Manning as DB coach will not be an issue. I saw a quote from Todd Howard somewhere saying that coverage skills for a DB were instinctual but jamming, getting off blocks, hands were all skills that needed to be refined and coached up. I think any competent LB coach could positively make this transition. These are definitely the skills that need to be improved if we want to play more m2m so I guess we'll see come fall.
Jake at Mike is pretty exciting news for me. I think as many have alluded to that we'll see a transiton in scheme this year that places an emphasis on size and speed in the back 7. I wouldn't be suprised if we see 60-70% 4-2-5 with Jake and Gedeon at the LB's by B10 play and a rotation dependant on personell of Jabrill, Ross, whoever shows themselves at the hybrid. I think Bolden will be the first off the bench and that Morgan will see a decreased roll this year (He'll still be a team captain). If they want to get bigger at LB as Mattison has said on several occasions I think this allows them a little more time to groom McCray as a Mike instead of Sam.
A back seven of:
Spur/Sam: Ross, Peppers, Gant
Mike: Ryan, Bolden, Morgan
Weak: Gedeon, Bolden, Morgan
BCB: Taylor, Stribling, Lewis
FCB: Countess, Peppers, Lewis
SS: Thomas, Hill
FS: Wilson, Clark
Who knows how things will shake out in spring and fall but the potential is there for us to have a much more dynamic and athletic defense by getting the best 11 on the field. I think this involves a change in scheme and personel starting with our best defender in the middle. The D line is a mystery to me with so many unknowns at this point but I think we see a significant improvement in playmaking in the back.
February 25th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^
I don't think this is quite deck chairs moving around, but it will be really interesting to see how the defense looks in the spring game. You have to think moving Ryan to the middle will lead to less blitzing outside of, I guess, delayed blitizing. But the middle LB needs to stay in coverage well enough as well as handle runs inside, and that doesn't feel like the best use of Ryan's abilities.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 3:00 PM ^
Mike and cheese*
February 25th, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
Oh, SNAP.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
I would like to think our coaching staff with all of its experience is unquestionable, but then I glance at the record and then I eat an entire pizza.
February 25th, 2014 at 9:49 PM ^
I prefer to place my faith in anyone who can rack up an average of two conference wins per year.
But that's just me. YMMV.
Also, is this post evidence of you edging back to your White Goodman persona where you become obsessed with fat jokes? Dark times indeed.
February 26th, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
Pretentious ass.
February 26th, 2014 at 6:44 PM ^
If anyone would know an ass when he sees one it would be TheNema.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^
Maybe I am viewing this through maize and blue colored glasses but I think the Ryan move makes a great deal of sense. Having your best LB in the middle of the D regardless of offensive formation should help him make more plays. As a poster said earlier too, it seems as though Ryan is the only LB we have that can engage and release a block from a OL running up field.
The staff reassignments are puzzling, but I am fairly certain Manning will adapt to coaching the defensive backfield. If nothing else I think you may see a more physical and aggressive set of DBs but who knows.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^
I think that it's great that Madison took charge and fired his D line coach!!! The D line coach was behind the times and didn't know how to deal with spread offences so the D line was out of sync with the rest of the D. Masison finally stepped up, took charge, and made the neccessary change to prevent further embarassment. What was the X D line coaches name again?......Joke, or something like that?
February 25th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^
Madison.
February 25th, 2014 at 3:38 PM ^
Holy Hell man!
February 25th, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^
He's been trolling for months. His comments have always been hyperbole to get a reaction. Almost every comment he posts is a negative overreaction, filled with inane name-calling like "Joke" and such.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^
Your football posts are so depressing
February 25th, 2014 at 2:34 PM ^
Been too long since Fball season forgot that it's Mattison, not Madison...uhhhgggg
February 25th, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^
you if you post an enlarged shot of your avatar. I'm not going to lie, it has my interest.
February 25th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^
The obsessing over position coaches is easily the most annoying part of this blog/community. We don't know what results they are and aren't responsible for.
Coordinators. Head coaches. Stick to judging those guys. Please.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^
I'm okay with all the moves until I have a tangible reason not to be. What's there to be nervous about? We went 7-6 last year which could have been 4-9 rather easily. I guess the throw it in the air and see where it lands approach is good by me.
February 25th, 2014 at 3:11 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 9:52 PM ^
Are for pussies.
These changes just feel wrong, and if there's one thing I know about Brian, it's that he likes to approach things by checking his gut feeling, not with all kinds of stats and objective analysis.
If there's a second thing I know about him, it's that he treasures consistency.
February 25th, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^
Brian, the recent football moves may make you nervous, but these pretzels are making me THIRSTY!!
...
You're welcome in advance for supplying nothing but random Seinfeld quotes to this board.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:42 PM ^
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