Upon Further Review 2012: Offense vs Alabama
Formation notes: Just the usual array of stuff. Mostly shotgun, etc.:
Nothing really jumped out.
Substitution notes: OL was steady until Lewan went out with a thankfully minor injury, at which point it went from Lewan-Barnum-Mealer-Omameh-Schofield to Schofield-Barnum-Mealer-Burzynski-Omameh. At TE, Moore went out early and it was mostly Kwiatkowski with Williams appearing in two-TE sets. Funchess got in very late.
WR starters were Roundtree, Gallon, Gardner. Jeremy Jackson and Dileo were the next most-frequent participants; Jerald Robinson got a little run. At RB, Smith and Rawls and only them. Only Hopkins at FB.
Show? Show.
[Note: I forgot about my RUN+/- separation, but got them for the run chart. I'm probably going to dump the extra confirmation since it's useless.]
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M22 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Pass | Deep slant | Gardner | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Safety walks up on slot and Bama shows seven man front. Michigan goes play action at Gardner, who runs a deep slant after being given inside leverage. I think this is a crappy route that does not get the requisite separation because he just kind of drifts inside instead of cuts. Throw is accurate, Milliner makes a great play to break it up. (CA+, 0, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M22 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun trips TE | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Flare | Smith | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| Gallon motions into a trips. Moore releases downfield, holding the corner in a little bit, Denard reads it and hits Smith on a little flare. Smith runs through an ankle tackle and nears the first down; gets a crappy spot. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1, would like to RPS +half this but let's not get crazy) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M31 | 3 | 1 | I-Form Big | 2 | 1 | 2 | ??? | Run | Iso | Smith | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Lewan(+0.5) and Kwiatkowksi(+0.5) combine to kick out the OLB; Barnum(+0.5) just does handle the playside DE, and Hopkins(+0.5) gets enough on his lead block to give Smith a gap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: Lewan, Kwiatkowski, Hopkins, Barnum(0.5 all) | RUN-: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M34 | 1 | 10 | I-Form 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Slant | Roundtree | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Safety rolls up. Michigan repeats their first play with the same result. Milliner is all over Roundtree (in a legal way) and breaks it up. (CA, 0, protection 1/1). If this is in front of Roundtree more maybe there's a shot, but that's an NFL window. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M34 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back TE | 2 | 1 | 2 | Nickel even | Run | Inverted veer | Smith | -1 | |||||||||||||||
| Eight in the box with the safety rolled up; this is unbalanced so TE cannot go downfield. Michigan pulls Barnum and uses Hopkins as a lead blocker. Playside DE is inside of Hopkins, so if this is a read it's a give, but then why block the guy? (Because he blocked you.) Denard gives and Smith heads outside, but there's a free guy on the edge and he shuts it down. RPS -1. This is not the blocking's fault, it's Alabama defeating the play. Picture-paged. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M33 | 3 | 11 | Shotgun trips stack | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Scramble | Robinson | 8 (Pen -15) | |||||||||||||||
| Alabama rushes three; Lewan(-3) gets beat one on one, ripping off the DE's helmet in the process for a 15-yard penalty. (PR, N/A, protection 0/3, Lewan -3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M18 | 3 | 26 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Rollout corner | Roundtree | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Borges actually gets Roundtree open at the sticks, but they let the backside guy go and he pressures Denard, who doesn't really have time to set and step into it. Ball sails. (IN, 0, protection ½, team -1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 11 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M29 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Inverted veer | Rawls | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Alabama sends the corner down and plunges the DE inside. Denard reads that the DE is diving down and hands off. Corner nails Rawls. RPS -2. Also picture-paged. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: N/A | RUN-: N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M29 | 2 | 10 | Shogun 2-back tight | 2 | 0 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Pass | PA corner | Gallon | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Corner pulls up on the short route, opening up a corner for about 15 yards. Denard misses; again, some token pressure on the edge seems to have spooked him. Just overthrew it. (IN, 1, protection 1/1) If Gallon was 6'2 he's got a good shot at this. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M29 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Penalty | 12 men | -- | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| yoooo deeeed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M34 | 3 | 5 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Fly | Gardner | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Gardner gets a step but takes a weird gallop as he does so and drifts a step or so inside. Denard's throw is pretty good but Gardner's not getting there fast enough. He leaps and gets a hand on it, but that's it. (MA, 1, protection 2/2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-7, 6 min 1st Q. Yay 30 yard throw on third and medium. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M24 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-4 nickel | Pass | Bubble screen | Gallon | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| Almost ceases being there on the snap as the LB to that side backs out closer to Gallon. Still not enough as Jackson(+1) hacks down the LB out there and Gallon(+1) turns it up quickly enough to burst past the LB despite being a yard or so inside the numbers. (CA, 3, screen) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: Gallon, Jackson | RUN-: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M32 | 2 | 2 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Iso | Smith | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Mealer(-1) leaves his block too early and Barnum can't keep the guy outside; he does okay. Omameh gets stalemated by the other DT, Schofield same, the end result is a big pile of dudes a yard past the LOS. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M33 | 3 | 1 | I-Form Big | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4-4 under | Run | Iso | Rawls | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Barnum(+1) takes a DT who's trying to slant and buries him. Lewan(+0.5) prevents the guy he's got from coming under him, creating a crease. Two guys are coming up that crease; Hopkins(+0.5) submarines one and Rawls falls forward for the first. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M35 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4-3 even | Run | Sprint counter | Rawls | -2 (Pen -10) | |||||||||||||||
| One high with a seventh guy in the box. They run the sprint counter from last year (what is it a counter to, though?). Lewan pulls. Schofield(-1) gets chucked by the DE as Lewan nears; Lewan is now running directly into Schofield. Rawls(-2) still has an opportunity to just go straight upfield for a few yards. Instead he tries to bounce it, which works about as well as you might expect. Refs get Lewan for holding, which I don't see, and miss an obvious facemask on Rawls. Refs -3. Hoke said something about this being a BS call on Lewan, FWIW. BWS picture-paged. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M25 | 1 | 20 | I-Form twins | 2 | 1 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Pass | PA corner | Gardner | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Bama does not care that we are running PA from the I. They're all over all three guys. Denard throws it at Gardner and does get it over the corner. It's also over Gardner. Could be IN but Robinson had no better options. (CA, 0, protection 2/2) Also, watch Gardner's route. He holds up. If he runs through the route this is a potential DO. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M25 | 2 | 20 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | PA fly | Roundtree | Int | |||||||||||||||
| Milliner chucks Roundtree OOB and intercepts. It's hard to tell but it certainly looks like this happened after the ball was released. Either way, this is a frustrating playcall. Second and twenty with Roundtree matched up against their best corner, let's have guys with free runs at Denard and see what happens. (BR, 0, protection N/A, RPS -1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Interception, 0-14, 2 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M26 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips TE | 1 | 1 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Pass | Bubble screen | Gallon | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| Robinson actually double clutches this, which is bad, but it still works as the WRs come through. Roundtree(+1) puts a safety on the ground. Gardner does likewise, and then Roundtree gets another block that Gallon(+1) runs behind for good yardage. (CA, 3, screen) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: Roundtree, Gardner, Gallon | RUN-: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M35 | 2 | 1 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | PA slant | Gallon | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| This one's actually open. Not sure if Gallon is more of a threat or it's just because this is not Milliner. Robinson misses somewhat, but this is catchable. Gallon doesn't catch it. (CA, 2, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M35 | 3 | 1 | Shotgun 2TE | 1 | 2 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Run | Speed option | Robinson | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Smith flares out for a pitch but Denard is just running this one from the word go. Blocking is okay on the frontside except for Williams(-1), who gets beat. Schofield(+0.5) just manages to delay the backside pursuit and Denard(+1) hits a very small gap to convert. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M38 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Run | Iso | Smith | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Running at the backside. There is a S containing Denard so he hands, but not sure this is really a read. Bubble open, but again these are not reads. Omameh(-1) lets his guy spin back to the hole. Schofield(-1) does as well. Hopkins blocks one LB; the other is there to help tackle. Possible that Smith could have cut to a backside hole if Schofield doesn't lose his block. RUN-: Schofield, Omameh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M40 | 2 | 8 | I-form twins | 2 | 1 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Run | Power off tackle | Smith | -2 | |||||||||||||||
| Schofield(-2) loses his guy on the backside of the play and he tackles. That's the easy stuff. Barnum(-1) loses his guy on a double, too, despite blocking down. I do like Hopkins(+1) blocking the stuffing out of a guy, may have gotten the edge. BWS picture-paged. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: Hopkins | RUN-: Schofield(3), Barnum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M38 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Fly | J. Robinson | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| It's third down so we throw it 30 yards. Alabama blitzes, sending six. Michigan picks it up. Robinson panics and chucks a back-foot throw when just scrambling out of the pocket probably puts him in epic space against man coverage. J. Robinson is blanketed, DB knocks it away. Pass was actually right on the money, but the coverage was superb. (CA, 0, protection 3/3) Where's the dig route? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-21, 13 min 2nd Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M5 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Run | Inside zone | Smith | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Bubble wide open, no threat of Denard, OL cannot get any push, Smith runs up the backs of his guys for nothing. Barnum(-1) pushed back. Smith(-1) could have run behind the double but did not. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M5 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | Base 3-4 | Pass | Out | Jackson | 4 (Pen +5) | |||||||||||||||
| Late move to a seven man front. Safety comes down on Jackson, Denard throws the out accurately, instant tackle. Alabama offsides. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M10 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Base 4-3 | Run | Inside zone | Smith | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| AAAAARGH. Anyway: hole almost forms. Barnum manages to get his body across the backside DT, but only with his back; that guy comes around. Omameh(-0.5) and Mealer(-0.5) can't kick the other DT and the narrow path is closed down by the guy coming around Barnum. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M12 | 3 | 3 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Flare | Smith | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Denard makes a somewhat bad read on the LB and should go to Kwiatkowski underneath as the LB bugs out for the flat. He had a window. This is still complete and has a shot at the first so I won't BR it, but he could have done better. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-24, 7 min 2nd Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M2 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4-3 under | Pass | PA fly | Gardner | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Plenty of time for Robinson as Michigan goes with just three guys in the route. Denard tries it deep to Gardner, who's covered again, but he has no other options. Pass is a tiny bit short but 40 yards downfield. Gardner has it in his hands; Milliner punches it out. (CA+, 1, protection 3/3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M2 | 2 | 10 | I-Form | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4-3 under | Run | Power off tackle | Rawls | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Williams tears through Omameh(-2) and is right in the hole. Barnum ends up going outside of the Hopkins block as the playside LB comes in to spill power outside. Rawls goes inside. Barnum is not a factor on the LB, who tackles at the LOS. Not sure if this is a Rawls problem or a Barnum problem. I get why both of them did that. I'm guessing Rawls, but tenuous. RUN-: Omameh(2), Rawls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M3 | 3 | 9 | Shotgun trips stack | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Post | Gardner | Int | |||||||||||||||
| Denard throws it directly at a linebacker underneath the route. (BRX, 0, protection 2/2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Defensive TD, 0-31, 4 min 2nd Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Inside zone | Rawls | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Okay crease but only okay. Omameh(+0.5) gets decent push on the nose, Mealer gets out to the LB, Barnum is eh on the other DT, and Rawls can fit in this gap until the LB sheds Mealer in a tight space. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M28 | 2 | 7 | Shotgun 2TE | 2 | 1 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Pass | PA stop and go | Gallon | 71 | |||||||||||||||
| Max pro again and Alabama is containing, so plenty of time. Denard can load up and fire deep to Gallon, who's the first M receiver to have an inch of separation all night. Denard hits Gallon right in stride at the 20; Gallon gets to the goal line before he can get tracked down. (DO, 2, protection 3/3), RPS +1. Why aren't we throwing at this corner instead of Milliner? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O1 | 1 | G | Goal line | 2 | 2 | 1 | Goal line | Penalty | Illegal sub | -- | -5 | |||||||||||||||
| O6 | 1 | G | Shotgun 2TE | 1 | 2 | 2 | Goal line | Run | QB power | Robinson | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| Schofield(-2) gets beat by the backside DT as Omameh pulls.This guy gets into Omameh in the backfield and destroys his pull. LB in the hole now gets cut by Smith. Denard his headed outside where there is contain, which gets the Alabama DE to pull upfield. Denard(+2) changes direction in a flash, heading straight upfield. Omameh(+1) gets to the hole now and picks through Smith, blocking the guy he just cut. He blows the LB off the ball; Barnum(+1) does the same, and Denard can burrow behind those guys to fall into the endzone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: Robinson(2), Barnum, Omameh | RUN-: Schofield | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-31, 2 min 2nd Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M22 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Run | Inverted veer | Smith | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Same stuff minus Hopkins. DE comes down, Denard hands off, Smith ends up on the edge against an unblocked guy as Dileo comes down on a linebacker and Jackson flares out on one of the three guys in M2M to the trips side. That leaves another guy, who tackles with help from that DE peeling back. RPS -1. No run plus minus, as there were no relevant blocks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M25 | 2 | 7 | Ace 3-wide | 2 | 1 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Penalty | False start | Lewan | -5 | |||||||||||||||
| Der. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M20 | 2 | 12 | Shogun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Pass | PA quick seam | Dileo | 20 | |||||||||||||||
| Not sure if this is an iffy pass or an attempt to keep it away from the defender but knowing Denard it's probably the former. An easier catch would probably not have resulted in anything bad. Dileo spins 360 degrees, grabbing the ball halfway through, and keeps his feet for a nice gain past the Bama secondary. This a borderline 1 or 2; I'll give the one for keeping his feet. (MA, 1, protection 1/1, RPS +1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M40 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | QB sweep | Robinson | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Mealer and Omameh both pull. Kwiatkowski(+0.5) seals the playside end. Barnum(-1) gets out but his attempted cut is not effective; that LB gets up and gets outside, hitting near the LOS. Smith just ran into the secondary; would prefer it if he helped out here. At least this time we're asking them to beat a block. A great play by the LB here; if Smith had doubled down on this Denard is getting some yards. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M42 | 2 | 8 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Flare | Gallon | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Michigan brings Gallon across the formation and then fakes a stretch(!) into the boundary(!) that fools the backside LB. Denard has Gallon wide open for quite a few yards and misses. (IN, 0, protection N/A, RPS +1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M42 | 3 | 8 | Shotgun trips stack TE | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Scramble | Robinson | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Michigan rolls to the field, right into a safety blitz. Smith can only chop one of them; other guy is right in Denard's face, forcing a scramble that doesn't get there. (PR, N/A, protection N/A, RPS -1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 7-31, 12 min 3rd Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M35 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Run | Zone stretch | Rawls | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Bubble is open as they've got two safeties back, but M runs. It's a stretch into the boundary, which is a little odd. Rawls(-1) misses the cutback lane behind the backside tackle that would have gotten him going NS against a DE trying to contain Robinson and only coming back later. He ends up bouncing off Omameh and going around to the outside, which somehow works. Lewan(+1) bludgeoned the DE there and Gardner(+1) spent a long time fending off a corner. Lucky, lucky. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M40 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 0 | 4 | Base 3-4 | Pass | Scramble | Robinson | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Denard is looking at Jackson on a little slant at the sticks and decides against it... I think if he throws it on time it gets there but hard to tell. Instead he decides to take off and run for stuff. (SCR, N/A, protection 2/2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M45 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Run | QB inside zone | Robinson | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| Alabama slants under the line and blows up the blocking. Mealer(-1) is left in a heap, Lewan(-1) also falls to the ground as his guy gets inside of him, and Barnum(-1) releases to the second level without checking. Alabama's guys fall, too, which gives Denard(+3) an opportunity. He hops, then hops again outside; Schofield(+0.5) does a decent job maintaining his block and this gives Denard the edge. Once he's out there he uses a dodgy block from Gardner to get outside and jets for near first-down yardage. Standard bitching about lack of Denard. Musberger finally gets to tell us Usain Bolt story with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUN+: Denard(3) | RUN-: Lewan, Mealer, Barnum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O46 | 2 | 1 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Inside zone | Smith | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Odd blocking here as AJ Williams goes backside into the gap just inside Lewan; Bama NT two-gaps on Barnum(-1) and when Smith picks the hole to the frontside comes off to tackle. Crappy read by Smith? I don't know. Don't know why you send a guy to the second level and not help on Williams here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O46 | 2 | 1 | Shotgun 2TE | 1 | 2 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Pass | Speed option | Rawls | -2 | |||||||||||||||
| Bama has everyone within a few yards of the LOS; Sunseri is deepest at eight. Michigan orbits Rawls and runs a speed option; they block it well enough but Sunseri is tearing like a bat out of hell for Rawls and plants him two yards in the backfield. Ingram Rawls is not. RPS -1; this probably gets the first down except for no deep safeties. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O48 | 4 | 3 | Shotgun 2TE | 1 | 2 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Run | Broken play | Robinson | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Robinson(-1) fumbles the snap, picks it up, and starts running around on a broken play. He gets tripped up, reaches for the first down, and doesn't quite make it. Overturn is correct. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 7-31, 4 min 3rd Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M14 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Sprint counter | Smith | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Schofield(-2) gets destroyed by the LB he's assigned to. That guy comes through the block and tackles Smith. Otherwise this is okay, though it's not fooling anyone. Since M never runs any plays that look like this but are not the counter, the counter action does not work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M15 | 2 | 9 | Shotgun trips stack | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Screen | Smith | Inc (Pen +15) | |||||||||||||||
| Blitzing LB is straight up the middle too fast. Denard is hit as he throws and the ball is behind Smith. (PR, 0, protection 0/1, RPS -1) M gets bailed out by the LB getting a hit on Denard's head. Very marginal call. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M30 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2TE twins | 1 | 2 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Pass | PA fly | Gardner | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Fake inside zone with Barnum pulling to the backside, which they don't do. Three guys go out, two going deep another sort of deep. No one is really open. Denard chucks it deep at Gardner, who has a shot at it before being tripped by the safety. They throw a flag, and then pick it up. [fumes] This was a fifty yard throw that beat bracketed coverage and was a yard inside the edge of the field. (DO, 0, protection 2/2). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M30 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Zone stretch | Smith | 22 | |||||||||||||||
| Omameh(-1) can't get a cut or any control on the backside DT so Smith(+3) can't really find anything on the cutback despite Barnum(+1) and Mealer(+1) blowing the frontside guy almost to the sideline. That guy eventually splits the two and comes up on Smith, who miraculously hops outside and shoestrings the sideline for 22. Lewan(+0.5) and Hopkins(+0.5) had a hand in it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O48 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips TE | 1 | 1 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Run | QB power | Robinson | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Alabama tips a huge blitz from the field with six guys at the line and no one within the two outside receivers except one guy eight yards downfield. Michigan runs at the boundary again. Kwiatkowski(-2) whiffs on the playside DE entirely, allowing him outside. He runs into Barnum, cuts off Smith, and forces Denard to cut up. Denard is into that hole before Omameh can get there, unblocked guys, tackle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O44 | 2 | 6 | Ace twins | 2 | 1 | 2 | Base 4-3 | Pass | PA Fly | Gardner | 44 | |||||||||||||||
| No pressure; Milliner looks back, gets his legs tangled up with Gardner, and goes down. Denard hits Gardner in stride for the TD. (DO, 2, protection 2/2.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-34, EO3Q. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M8 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Base 3-4 | Run | Iso | Smith | -1 | |||||||||||||||
| Nickel rolls down. I think this is an iso but it's hard to tell since the blocking gets blown up so hardcore. Mealer(-1) loses his guy into the gap Hopkins is attacking, and Barnum(-1) is stood up at the LOS. Smith goes away from the gap Hopkins did because there is no gap and unblocked guys tackle. RUN-: Mealer, Barnum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M7 | 2 | 11 | I-Form twins | 2 | 1 | 2 | Base 3-4 | Pass | PA corner | Gallon | 19 | |||||||||||||||
| Unbalanced, Michigan goes PA, no one is buying it. Schofield(-1) is beaten but does manage to maintain contact and shove the guy who beat him past Denard, who sidesteps, sets up, and threads a dart to Gallon 20 yards downfield. Same throw he made to Gardner earlier except the WR didn't misjudge it. Tough play all around. (DO, 2, protection ½, Schofield -1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M26 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 2 | 0 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | Iso | Smith | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| They try the other side of the line. Omameh(-0.5) does better with his guy but can't really control him; Schofield(-1) cannot kick the DE. Those two guys converge to tackle as Smith passes the LOS. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M28 | 2 | 8 | I-Form | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4-3 under | Pass | PA fly | Roundtree | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Everyone is bracketed, Denard chucks it deep to Roundtree, overthrown by five yards, almost intercepted. (BR, 0, protection 2/2, RPS -1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M28 | 3 | 8 | Shotgun 4-wide | 1 | 0 | 4 | Nickel even | Pass | Deep hitch | Gardner | Inc | |||||||||||||||
| Ugh, Musberger calls M and Alabama two of the great brands in college football. Shoot me. Mealer(-1) gets over aggressive on a stunt and a rusher slides through right up the middle. Smith takes him out, Denard gets squirrelly and chucks one over Gardner's head. (IN, 0, protection ½, Mealer -1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 14-34, 10 min 4th Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | RB | TE | WR | DForm | Type | Play | Player | Yards | |||||||||||||||
| M35 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Rollout hitch | Roundtree | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Short pitch and catch. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M40 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Slant | Roundtree | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| Milliner turns for three-deep and the slant opens up. Now just trying to bleed yards. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M47 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | TE out | Kwiatkowski | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| Again open underneath as Alabama is playing off. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O47 | 2 | 4 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Run | QB draw | Robinson | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Omameh(-1) and Mealer(-1) fail to combo the NT at all. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| O48 | 3 | 3 | Shotgun 3-wide | 1 | 1 | 3 | Nickel even | Pass | Sack | -- | -6 | |||||||||||||||
| Schofield(-2) smoked; Burzynski(-2) fails to read a stunt and two guys converge on Robinson. (PR, N/A, protection 0/4, Burzynski -2, Schofield -2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 14-41, 4 min 4th Q. Final snap is a Bellomy INT and not charted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
YAAARGHFALARGH FALARGH FALRAGH
Which kind of YAAARGH FALARGH is this now?
There are multiple kinds of YAAARGH FALARGH?
Yes. There is the YAAARGH FALARGH that YAAARGHs about Denard getting about two carries in the first half and FALARGHs about the idea that fate has consigned us an offensive coordinator who can make delightful minute adjustments in a West Coast passing offense and a quarterback who can't run them that. Then there is the YAAARGH FALARGH that YAAARGHs about the idea that Rich Rodriguez might have some good ideas when it comes to offense and FALARGHs whenever this here guy points out that Borges is not an invincible superman.
Didn't Rich Rodriguez almost get West Virginia to a national title game?
Yeah.
And put up 48 against Oklahoma and 38 against Georgia in BCS games?
Yeah.
The former then.
An excellent choice.
BUT SIR I WOULD LIKE YOU TO PROVIDE AN IRRITATING DISCLAIMER FIRST
Like, oh my God. Alabama does that to everyone. It is virtually impossible to tell how Michigan will do against an earthly defense when this is basically the best defense since M 1997 minus some important guys and the guys replacing the important guys are dudes like DeMarcus Milliner, who is insane. Insaaaaaaaaaaane.
What happened Saturday may not have any bearing at all on what happens the rest of the year.
Okay, good UFR, let's go home.
Not so fast.
But I want to go home. You have no idea.
There are things to learn! Expectations to tweak!
I would rather not.
Scriven away, Bartleby, this is happening.
Not saying it.
CHART CHART CHART CHART CHART CHART CHART
[A reminder about what this means can be found in the UFR FAQ. Note that screens behind the LOS are in parens, so in the first half of 2011 Denard threw 66 balls labeled catchable, 54 downfield and 12 screens. The DSR metric is Dead On and Catchable balls divided by all throws not marked Marginal, Pressure, or Scramble.]
| Opponent | DO | CA | MA | IN | BR | TA | BA | PR | SCR | DSR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 through MSU | 13 | 66(12) | 11(1) | 34(1) | 17 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 55% |
| 2011 after MSU | 9 | 77(9) | 7 | 17 | 9 | 6(1) | 5(2) | 9 | 5 | 69% |
| Alabama | 4 | 15(2) | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 3(1) | 1 | 71% |
Yeah.
lol wut
I know. A couple caveats: three of those CAs were late when Milliner had lost interest and a fourth was borderline on a slant that took Gallon off his feet (but was still very catchable), and one of the BRs was of course the BRX—the X stands for XTREME—on the pick six. On the other hand, I marked the Dileo seam an MA because it was behind the guy when you can make a case that he was keeping it away from the defender, and now I feel guilty for asserting that "knowing Denard" it had to be inaccurate. Blame on the first interception can be split between Denard, Borges (no other options), Roundtree, and possibly the refs. Call it a push.
In terms of accuracy, Denard had a good day. Maybe very good. Those first two slants are in the receiver's chest. The problem was that Milliner was also in said chests.
That kid is nasty, and Michigan's wide receivers could not get separation from him unless he fell down. Maybe there was a square foot in which the ball could be caught without Milliner making a play on it… maybe. I doubt it.
Sometimes when it looked like Denard missed, it was his receiver blowing the play. This deep corner looked like an overthrow live, but the replay shows that 1) ain't nobody open, really, and 2) despite that if Gardner does not first slow up and then misjudge the ball once it's in the air this is probably a fantastic completion:
Later in the game, Gallon would run the route correctly for a twenty-yard completion. Even when Denard chucked a back foot throw to Jerald Robinson thirty yards downfield on third and ten, it was right on the money. It was broken up by Milliner, of course, and I'm leery of him trying that again, but we're a results-based charting service.
And then you've got a couple of perfect deep completions plus a third that would have been if not for the Alabama safety coming over and tripping Gardner. He plain missed about as often as McCarron. The difference was in the defenses and the wideouts.
This was actually encouraging. Possibly really encouraging. I know, I know.
But the horrible horrible interceptions!
Yeah, we got the three NOOOO Denard throws: the two picks and a chuck-and-pray to a bracketed Roundtree that was five yards to long and almost intercepted. You'd like for Denard to find someone else, but on at least two of those there was no one else open. So then you'd like him to throw it away or RUN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST RUN, but we're stuck with it, I guess.
This is a situation that, like all situations, may improve when you're not playing Alabama. Various YPAs from veteran QBs against Alabama the last couple years:
- Tyler Wilson, Arkansas: 5.3
- Clint Moseley, Auburn: 3.4
- Ryan Mallett, Arkansas: 9.4
- John Brantley, Florida: 6.5
- Kirk Cousins, MSU: 7.5
- Denard Robinson, M: 7.7
If Michigan's receivers were capable of getting separation—or Michigan had manufactured some with play action Denard—things would have been fine. If Robinson's accuracy continues against mortal defenses he'll have outstanding numbers and Borges will get a gold star.
What about Gardner?
Well, first, the receiverchart. I'll leave the season numbers blank because obviously.
[Passers are rated by catchability:
- 0: uncatchable
- 1: very tough
- 2: moderately tough
- 3: routine
The 0/X in all passes marked zero is implied.]
| Player | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner | 4 | 0/2 | 1/1 | ||||||
| Roundtree | 2 | 0/1 | 2/2 | ||||||
| Gallon | 1 | 0/1 | 2/3 | 1/1 | |||||
| J. Robinson | 1 | ||||||||
| Dileo | 1/1 | ||||||||
| Jackson | 1/1 | ||||||||
| Darboh | |||||||||
| Chesson | |||||||||
| Kwiatkowski | 1/1 | ||||||||
| Moore | |||||||||
| Funchess | |||||||||
| Williams | |||||||||
| Toussaint | |||||||||
| Smith | 2/2 | ||||||||
| Rawls |
So there's obviously a huge difference between the accuracy credited Denard above and the catch rankings above. Part of that is Milliner and other guys always covering everything. Part of that that I didn't adjust for crappy routes. This is supposed to be a hands measure. I can only hand-wave at the routes.
Anyway, a routine day in limited opportunities. Hands were fine, separation was not.
And Gardner?
Obviously looked very, very raw. The corner route above is evidence enough of that, and on the touchdown I don't think the 360-degree spin-around is a standard move. His routes suck, but he's a 6'4" guy who can leap out of the gym. We'll see how good that speed is against mortal teams. He should get better day by day; Michigan really needs him.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the freshmen as early as next week.
The run game.
Look away.
| Offensive Line | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | + | - | Total | Notes | |||||||||||||||
| Lewan | 2.5 | 1 | 1.5 | Above zero! | |||||||||||||||
| Barnum | 3.5 | 6 | -2.5 | Not above zero. | |||||||||||||||
| Mealer | 1 | 4.5 | -3.5 | Now a lot more worried about Molk transition after flip | |||||||||||||||
| Omameh | 1.5 | 7 | -5.5 | Blown up, but not a surprise | |||||||||||||||
| Schofield | 1 | 9 | -8 | woof | |||||||||||||||
| Kwiatkowski | 1 | 2 | -1 | Current nominal starter. | |||||||||||||||
| Moore | - | - | - | Injured early. | |||||||||||||||
| Williams | - | 1 | -1 | Hard to tell. | |||||||||||||||
| Funchess | - | - | - | One play. | |||||||||||||||
| TOTAL | 10.5 | 30.5 | 26% | All time worst. | |||||||||||||||
| Backs | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | + | - | T | Notes | |||||||||||||||
| Robinson | 6 | 1 | 5 | I don't want to talk about it. | |||||||||||||||
| Bellomy | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Toussaint | - | - | - | DNP | |||||||||||||||
| Rawls | - | 4 | -4 | Pretty much Mark Ingram. | |||||||||||||||
| Smith | 3 | 1 | 2 | Basically the one sideline jaunt. | |||||||||||||||
| Hayes | - | - | - | DNP | |||||||||||||||
| Hopkins | 2.5 | - | 2.5 | Hard to judge since he rarely had a shot at going one on one | |||||||||||||||
| Kerridge | - | - | - | DNP | |||||||||||||||
| TOTAL | 11.5 | 6 | 5.5 | I don't want to talk about it. | |||||||||||||||
| Receivers | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | + | - | T | Notes | |||||||||||||||
| Gardner | 1 | - | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Roundtree | 1 | - | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Gallon | 2 | - | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jackson | 1 | - | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dileo | - | - | - | -- | |||||||||||||||
| J. Robinson | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Darboh | - | - | - | -- | |||||||||||||||
| TOTAL | 5 | - | 5 | omg bubble bubble bubble | |||||||||||||||
| Metrics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | + | - | T | Notes | |||||||||||||||
| Protection | 26 | 10 | 72% | Lewan –3, Team –2, Schofield –2, Mealer –1, Burzynski -2 | |||||||||||||||
| RPS | 4 | 9 | -5 | Not like it mattered but it didn't help. | |||||||||||||||
So that's the line getting annihilated and getting no plays from the runners save a couple from Denard. Let's not take any of this too seriously until next week.
Ugh, Rawls?
Yeah, for a north-south mooseback he had a case of the Shaws. Go upfield, young man.
Other running type things?
Fitz will obviously be a huge boost. Neither of the guys who got carries broke tackle one, both missed holes, neither juked guy one. I really, really want to reserve judgment on the offensive line until next week. They were straight-up destroyed; let's see what happens later in the season.
Borges said he didn't regret how little Denard ran, and that Alabama was doing stuff with its safeties that prevented Michigan from going with him.
I find that… unconvincing. For one, two of the three runs all night where someone made something despite the blocking being poor were from Denard:
(The other was Smith's 22-yarder.) For two, you can just call his number. There is nothing preventing you from doing that instead of handing off to Rawls or Smith. If you're going into the game thinking "don't get hurt!" why are you even playing it?
By the time Michigan was down a billion, okay, whatever, the next two quarters are an exhibition. If this happens in a critical Big Ten game that Michigan ends up losing, though, the torches and pitchforks will be out in force.
It's not about scheme!
That's the DeBord way to look at it. Players can get beat; so can coaches. Both played a factor in the loss. When you hand off and there's an unblocked guy waiting for you…
…the blocker isn't at fault. Because there isn't one. I'm not sure why Michigan thought they could get away with straight-up inverted veers against Saban nine months after they tore up OSU.
In a weird way, I'm actually encouraged about Borges long-term since his response to a defense that stacks the box is to throw at it. Once you get the receivers and the line and Morris in, that stuff is going to work, and we won't have to facepalm after yet another run into a stacked front on first and ten.
But it is about scheme, in addition to the players getting whipped. A failure that comprehensive touches everyone. E-fact.
Heroes?
Gallon. Maybe Denard? Sort of Denard.
Goats?
Even adjusting for level of competition the OL was very disappointing. While Lewan got off easiest in the run chart, he also got three penalties, two of them legit.
What does it mean for next week and the future?
God willing, nothing whatsoever.
A few things I'll be looking to confirm or disconfirm before Notre Dame:
- Is Denard way more accurate now?
- Will Denard be less interception-prone against humans?
- Is Schofield in trouble at tackle?
- Is Gardner a real actual receiver?
September 5th, 2012 at 10:51 PM ^
First of all, I like this blog and the stimulating conversation about Michigan football -- one of my favorite topics. Secondly, I am not being hostile. I just happen to think that a blogger saying that he thinks the OC's explanation is "unconvincing" is a bit ridiculous. Borges has always been very forthright and straight with the Michigan fanbase. Not only has he been studying football for decades, but he likely watched hundreds of hours of film on Bama's defense when coming up with his plan for the game. He and Hoke made their decision, and I respect them for standing by it. Would you guys feel better if he rubbed his bald head, sighed, and said, "yeah you know, we probably should have run Denard more..." His plan was sound, and making the choice to NOT run his QB at a defense that has basically NEVER allowed a QB to run was sound.
My reference to "going all RR" just meant running Denard over and over. Attention fools?!? Hey, eat a dick you stupid twit! I don't give a fuck about RR any more, it's YOU that seems obsessed. My point in brinning it up was so say that I think had Borges chosen to start off the game slamming Denard into a crimson wall, he would have had no success at best, at worst he would have fumbled and/or been injured, and Brian would be in here questioning Borges' plan.
Sure, it's a legitmate topic, which is why I am here talking about it. But, when the OC tells you why he chose to do what he did, to me, questioning him is pointless. He did what he did because he and the staff deemed it to be the best chance to win. Everyone else has the benefit of hindsight and zero responsibility.
September 5th, 2012 at 7:48 PM ^
September 5th, 2012 at 8:53 PM ^
I can't believe Brian actually did this UFR.
September 5th, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^
This made me LOL.
September 5th, 2012 at 9:10 PM ^
We've heard from the coaching staff on the post game and on three subsequent days. We've heard from players on the offense and the defense. They all tell us the same thing. Alabama is a great team, but our guys failed to play to the team's expectations.
Poor tackling, a failure to play their positions, a desire to cover for other's mistakes which left exploitable holes. The lines tell us they failed to play as they needed to. When the lines, in their own estimation, fail to perform it's going to be a tough game.
Across the board on offense and defense the team had some great plays and solid plays, but they were inconsistent. Against a team where they could afford no mistakes. No mistakes, none.
Borges called the offense that was required to soften the box so that the running game had a chance. As a team they failed to get the completions needed. Denard is a great athlete and an incredible talent, but without a go to back and with an ineffectual passing game, there was no way to soften that box. Further, we made a couple of mistakes early that cost us and once Alabama was ahead by three TDs they could afford to sit in their prevent.
Michigan had to play a mistake free game and by the team's own admission they did not. Heck of a tune up as an opener. From the player pressers it's clear that they have a deep understanding of what each of them needs to do, right now and going forward. It was an ugly loss, but the lessons learned are likely to make this team far better this year, than a 30 point win over a cupcake.
In the press conferences the coaching staff has been forthcoming as have the players. All of them owning this loss. The talent and the commitment is there. The intermittent good things we see will raqpidly become constant and improve.
Forget the spread and Rogriguez that's history. Borges will use pieces of the spread as he sees working in the offense. Beyond that we'll be taking advange of Denard's skills both running and passing in a different offense.
As tough as that loss was, I can see it placing us (if we stay fairly healthy) in a position to finish the regular season 11-1. Seriously. We have a couple of games to apply the lessons that can be learned from Saturday (yeah I get that Air Force has an offense but still we should beat them) and from there on it's about playing Michigan football.
Go Blue!
September 5th, 2012 at 9:19 PM ^
was phenomenal. He lined up outside of Devin initially, Devin took a stemmed inside to 5 yards, and then finished his post route. Milliner was still able to dive across the front of Devin and deflect the ball. Like, whoa.
September 5th, 2012 at 9:40 PM ^
I'm really interested in seeing the D UFR tomorrow. I really believe it is going to show that the Dline might have been better than we think and that our LB's were just really slow to react.
September 5th, 2012 at 9:46 PM ^
Also...while it wasn't a great route from Devin at all...I still feel like Denard has to do a slightly better job at leading his receiver. It wasn't the usual behind the WR pass we saw a lot of last year, but I thought denard had enough room to put it a little more in front of Devin.
Maybe that LB had more depth than I thought he did, but it seemed like if that ball is about chin high and a little more in front Devin might have been running for days.
EDIT: On second look Devin has him beat if Denard leads him a little more. This maybe simply be the fact that Denard is 6'0 and has trouble seeing over the D from the pocker. But Devin had him beat if that ball is in front of him instead of at his hip where Devin had to use his body to catch it.
September 5th, 2012 at 10:04 PM ^
NORFLEET
September 5th, 2012 at 10:30 PM ^
Dave Brandon splashed "Wow factor" all over the UFR numbers.
Live. Learn. Turn the page. And Never Forget Countess.
September 6th, 2012 at 12:17 AM ^
What's unconvincing is the idea that Denard could magically have won the game pretty much by himself just by running more. Even if Denard has some success running early in the game, it doesn't force Alabama to adjust (in this case soften the box). So the only way that running Denard more changes this game is if Denard could win the game single handedly.
Triple his runs and give a generous increase to the YPC. What does that change? Maybe he breaks one and there's another 7 points on the board. It would take Alabama simply not ever being able to stop Denard. Now maybe if we had a spread guru coaching the team he could have spread and shred the Alabama defense, but that's a maybe, not a sure thing.
My criticism of Borges in general would be to perhaps simplify the complexity of the WC passing offense in the way that Stanford adopted so that success isn't dependent on multiple players making the same and correct read ... but i don't know that A. he hasn't to some extent and B. that it would have made a difference here.
Same as it was against MSU last year, Michigan will have to pass with some success to open the run against a defense selling out to stop Denard. I'd love to see Borges fold in the QB oh noes as a way to really make the defense off balance. Otherwise, i don't think Denard had a bad game and this proves it. I'm also not surprised that Borges didn't pull out trick plays or a lot of formations. Not all of those may be ready at game 1 and there's little sense of using them here, plus a lot of risk against Bama.
September 6th, 2012 at 1:52 AM ^
Yes, he's our best weapon. But running him more when our entire O-Line had their shorts pulled over their head and knotted wasn't going anywhere.
When a defense lines up with a spy for our QB and more men than we had blockers, we can either try to get those tacklers moving the wrong way (e.g. option), or render them irrelevant with the passing game. But neither option works if we get out-executed - our All-American LT got called for 3 penalties (even if one was iffy) and was the only one to post a positive in run-blocking. Our senior RT got absolutely dominated, and no one else was credible.
The lasting lessons here are threefold:
1. Alabama's defense is the best in the country and even MSU's isn't likely to dominate like this. I look at the UFR and I see 4-5 plays along the lines of "play went well and Milliner came in and wrecked it" - no one else is going to have a DB that good. I see another few along the lines of "This wasn't us - this was Alabama defeating the play" - we'll get perhaps that many plays defeated that way all the rest of the year, total.
2. If we can't pass the ball we're dead. Everyone else worth their salt will look at MSU last year (and this year) and this game to come with a defensive scheme similar to that. (Heck, if it was me, I'd do the same thing.) We will see a bunch of variations on defenses loading up against our run game, and we will have to dominate their players or make those guys wrong. Maybe that's QB-OhNoes, maybe it's bubble screens, maybe it's play-action, but we've got to be able to move the ball in air.
3. Our lines might be worse off than we'd hoped. Tough to tell if we were overwhelmed due to the elite opposition or we really are in trouble. We might not know until ND, but we're not going anywhere if we can't control the line of scrimmage against the good teams on our schedule.
The positive take is that Denard was more accurate than I would have guessed. If he can keep that up and we can improve the timing, we might actually get back to the heights of OSU.
September 6th, 2012 at 6:06 AM ^
more rodriguez crap. comparing how we did against freaking alabama without fitz to how rich did against oklahoma and georgia in bowls in 2006 and 2008 having pat white, steve slaton and noel devine? how about comparing it to the 17 points michigan scored against msu in 2010 or the 7 against osu in 2010 or the 14 scored against miss st in the bowl game?
any bit of credibility you had left with me went out the window with those few idiotic lines. your infatuation for rodriguez makes it impossible for you to be fair when judging borges.
September 6th, 2012 at 7:58 AM ^
You no haz it. You are so blinded by RAGE when you see Rodriguez's name that you fail to actually, you know READ what is written. Did you miss the part where he says he's encouraged by Borges long term when he gets his guys? You know the same thing he said about Rodriguez early in 2008/2009? I still don't know why the idea that there will always be a little friction between Borges talents and Denard's is so impossible to believe. The bigger points here was that Denard's accuarcy was encouraging, the offensive lines performance was worrying, and that we maybe should have run Denard a tad more in the firszt half.
September 6th, 2012 at 9:12 AM ^
bringing up rodriguez is pointless. he does it every single post he writes. i am waiting for his arizona offensive UFR.
September 6th, 2012 at 12:42 PM ^
Yeah, this blog sucks. You should probably not read it anymore or comment on the shitty posts Brian makes. Total waste of your time, really.
September 6th, 2012 at 2:11 PM ^
It's actually not pointless given that several of our juniors and seniors on offense are talented in ways that can be better exploited using a spread vs the Borges hybrid, and it is very fair for Brian to muse about how Borges is adapting to this reality. Guys like Omameh will always be better on the move and reaching than they will in manbaw.
Borges has demonstrated more flexibility in adapting to the talents of his players than say, RichRod did in year 1 when he had more parts for a pro-style attack, but still stubbornly went 100% with the only thing he knew - spread. But until such time as Borges has all of his pieces in place to run his WCO, the existence or lack thereof of RichRod underpinnings in Borges' hybrid scheme are fair game for discussion.
September 6th, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^
I'm sure this has been asked and answered before, but if Bammer was so intent on stopping Denard's legs, then why did we hand it off to Smith and Rawls? Aren't they runners? And with one fewer blocker (Denard), wouldn't it make even less sense to run Smith and Rawls vs. Denard?
I get the passing part of the game plan as a response to UA stacking the box, but I still don't understand why, if Borges thought Denard couldn't run, that he thought Rawls and especially Smith could. At that point was it just a matter of not exposing Denard to huge hits or something?
September 6th, 2012 at 2:04 PM ^
I watched the game again last night and slow motioned several plays to focus on the offensive line work from both UM and UA. While our linemen did occasionally move UA's D line as assigned, the striking disparity to me was in how cleanly UA's o line consistently got to the second level to disrupt our LBs. Our O line occasionally did so, but always very haphazardly and at incorrect angles. This seemed in part because UA's RBs were consistently cutting into the optimal hole almost every time, whereas our RBs were frequently hesitant and hitting wrong or non-existent holes. Add to this sloppy route running by the likes of Devin, and you end up with this disaster. Everyone shared even blame - line, receivers, backs, Denard for errant throws and missed read options...
I was encouraged only in that it seemed like we were so close in so many ways. If the line can block more cleanly, if the backs can be more decisive, if the Devin can focus more on his routes, the rest of the schedule looks winnable because we know Denard will improve over this performance.
The concern is that this UA D scheme is precisely what we will see from MSU and Ohio. We will need Devin to step up big time to exploit MSU and Ohio's "contain Denard" scheme.
September 7th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
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