Upon Further Review 2013: Offense vs Nebraska Comment Count

Brian

TUBE NOTES: They didn't put the tubes on TV! ABC –1,000,000. WHERE ARE MY TUBES, ABC?

FORMATION NOTES: Nebraska often responded to Michigan going under center with running an under package with a safety walked down, sometimes to the line, like below…

blitz-1

…they blitzed a ton from this.

Michigan is occasionally having Funchess in a three-point stance but split out about a body length from the tackle. I have not given this its own name yet; we'll see if it sticks around.

i-form-offset-h

You can't see the outside receiver here, but this is "shotgun trips inner stack TE". Shotgun = obvious. Trips = three WRs to one side. Inner stack: look, they're stacked. TE: there is a TE.

trips-inner-stack

And there was this.

wat-1

It has been discussed; Funchess is covered for reasons of sorcery.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Michigan is settling down for better or worse. Gardner the whole way, Toussaint most of the way and occasionally replaced by Green on plays that were almost all runs because Michigan is more afraid of him as a blitz pickup guy than Toussaint. WRs were Funchess and Gallon primarily with Chesson getting the bulk of the remaining snaps. Dileo had only a few snaps, most obviously the last one.

OL was the usual now: Lewan/Bosch/Glasgow/Magnuson/Schofield. Kalis made a couple of appearances in goal line type sets as a sixth OL.

Michigan's main churn at this point is at tight end. Butt is the main guy now. Paskorz got some snaps, as did Williams, though Williams seems to be getting fewer and fewer as the season goes along. Michigan tried a couple plays with Houma as a wing TE, which didn't work too well.

[After THE JUMP: I regret to inform you that the Heisenberg uncertainty principle does not apply to football games and observing this left it just the same.]

Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M20 1 10 Pistol FB 2 1 2 4-3 under Run Power O Toussaint -1
Nebraska shows a seven man front and blitzes a safety to the backside, slanting everyone to the front. This catches Lewan(-1) off guard; he loses what should be a simple down block. Not sure how much is on him since he has about a half-second to react. Nebraska's so unconcerned that Gardner might keep that not only does the backside end plow down the LOS but that safety is run focused, too. End makes cutbacks impossible and Lewan's guy is now up in Toussaint's face; Toussaint bounces outside. Magnuson had seen Lewan go outside with the guy and ducked inside of that, with Butt following, so Toussaint is lonesome. RPS -1; while Lewan should probably be able to adjust this blitz ignored Gardner to Nebraska's profit. Kerridge(+1) did completely obliterate his guy though.
M19 2 11 Shotgun 2-back H twins 2 1 2 4-4 even Run Inverted veer keeper Gardner 1
Funchess is covered in the slot and cannot go downfield. Nebraska puts eight in the box and sends the gray area slot guy roaring at the LOS at the snap. He dives inside Kerridge(-1) before he can react to block him; Gardner pulls. Kerridge is on the ground trying to come back to the blitzer; Toussaint dodges him; Gardner stumbles on Toussaint's legs. M has now spent both Kerridge and Toussaint on this one guy and he's still forced Gardner to cut upfield. The rest of the play is actually well blocked. Schofield(+1) gets good movement; Paskorz(+1) also shoves his guy downfield and seals him inside, but the fiasco on the outside means Gardner has to cut it up directly into an unblocked LB. RPS -2; Nebraska read this formation and exploited it to blow up Gardner for little gain with an unblocked guy.
M20 3 10 Shotgun trips inner stack 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass Corner Funchess Inc
Nebraska sends six. Michigan gets the protection right and can't block it. Glasgow(-1) gets beat by a LB; Toussaint(-1) catches another LB and gets bowled back; Gardner is getting hit as he throws and has nowhere to go anyway except an attempted corner route to Funchess, which misses. (PR, 0, protection 0/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 11 min 1st Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M25 1 10 Ace 1 2 2 4-3 under Pass Sack N/A -10
PA; one NU LB takes one step to the LOS and backs out, the other is holding up on Toussaint until he sees he doesn't have it and then comes on a delayed blitz. Gardner's first route is a fade stop for Gallon that Nebraska has blanketed; other LB is dropping into Butt's route, Funchess covered. Toussaint(-2) catches the LB and gets thrown away, Gardner has nowhere to go, sack. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2.) Gardner had an opportunity to hit Butt up the seam if protection was better but the NU DB on him was in decent position, would have taken a good throw.
M15 2 20 Shotgun 4-wide 1 0 4 Dime Run Inside zone Toussaint 1
Gardner(-1) should keep but doesn't; Toussaint has no chance as the shuffling end meets a blitzing corner off the edge for a rare two guys unblocked sandwich. RPS -1. Lewan(+0.5) and Bosch(+0.5) had gotten good push and without the blitz Toussaint can probably burrow for four or five yards on second and twenty. Hooray.
M16 3 19 Shotgun trips inner stack TE 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass Sack N/A -10
Horrendously blown blitz pickup. Magnuson is passing his guy off to Schofield, Schofield is sliding inside focused on a linebacker who then bursts outside, he tries to go out with him. He does in fact block him. Mags guy is unblocked now, though, and Toussaint(-2) ends up airballing on the guy Schofield gets to, so when Gardner steps up he eats an unblocked dude. I'm offering up another team -2, but I think this is probably Magnuson. (PR, N/A, protection 0/4)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-3, 6 min 1st Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M24 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide stack 1 1 3 Nickel over Pass Out Funchess 13
This looks like an option route by the TE on which he chooses out as Gallon clears the outside guy out deep. Gardner's throw is a tiny bit behind Funchess but fine; Funchess peels back to the inside to pick up a nice chunk of 6 YAC. (CA, 3, protection 2/2). Michigan Stadium offers this play the greatest Bronx cheer in its history.
M37 1 10 I-Form Big 2 1 2 5-3 even Run Power O Toussaint 1
So of course M follows this up by coming out in a big set on which they motion Funchess into an ineligible position with Gallon on the bench and run. NU waves a safety up to the LOS just before the snap and has another guy overhanging at eight yards. Playside end shuffles down; Kerridge(+1) meets him and turns him in. Mags(+1) turns in the playside DT. Schofield(-1) comes up with air as he releases to get the backside LB. Bosch(+0.5) gets out to the DB who moved down and kicks him. Butt(-1), who's also pulling but from an H-back spot on the other side of the line, dives inside, leaving a linebacker unblocked to tackle in the hole. Later plays will reveal this as intended behavior. If Butt does go outside, Toussaint gets two yards because there is a safety two yards from the LOS as he reaches it. RPS -2.
M38 2 9 Shotgun twins twin TE 1 2 2 4-3 even slide Pass TE out Butt Inc
NU pops up a DE presnap and threatens blitz. M basically picks it up except for another Toussaint(-2) total whiff and a panicked Gardner chucks the ball in the general direction of Butt but really at two NU defenders as the guy roars up the pocket at him. BR, but man. (BRX, 0, protection 0/2)
M38 3 9 Shotgun trips tight bunch 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass Drag Gallon 16
NU sends the house again, five guys and a delay. M picks it up, runs a drag route that uses Butt and the ump and everyone else as a pick, and gets a conversion. (CA, 3, protection 3/3, RPS +1)
O46 1 10 Pistol FB 3-wide 2 0 3 Nickel even Run Jet sweep Gallon 12
Gallon comes across the formation, NU shows man, jet. Unblocked playside end shuffles, as he's been doing, and gets nailed for it. Mags(+0.5) has the world's easiest seal on him and probably should extend to the S, but freshmen aren't improvising here. Reynolds(+1) cracks down on playside LB; Kerridge(+1) kicks the corner he leaves. Other NU LB was moving to this on the snap, so Lewan can't get him; Gallon gets funneled to the sideline, where the safety pushes him out. RPS +2.
O34 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel press Run Inside zone Green 7
Press with six in the box. NU blitzes one LB and has the other one play cleanup; Glasgow(+1) does a nice job to stand him up and start moving him back. Bosch(+1) blows out another DT. Schofield does an okay job on the backside guy, but he comes back to tackle from behind as Green(+1) smartly cuts behind the Glasgow block for a nice gain.
O27 2 3 I-Form Offset H 2 1 2 4-4 even Run Power O Green 1
Gardner stumbles out of center and almost falls but just does get the ball to Green. Bosch(+1) blows in the playside DT. End gets blown up by Kerridge(+1); Magnuson(-1) has a crappy pull and does not go for the end from the start, instead changing his mind and catching him. Butt has no choice but to help; Green has no choice but to cut right into the guy who Kerridge blew up. Part of this was just the fact that the NU LB was hammering forward at the snap and got in a great position. RPS -1.
O26 3 2 I-Form Big 2 2 1 4-3 over Run Power O Green 0
NU twists their DTs, getting both through, and slants inside on the playside. Lewan releases to the second level; Williams(-1) whiffs on his guy, follows him in, and then doesn't even get him when he tries to go back outside. M is sending Kerridge, Mags, and Butt to the playside, all of them outside Williams. Nebraska has the end guy and two linebackers reacting to the slant. Kerridge(-1) has a tough time reacting to the guy hugging Williams as he tries to slide inside on a down block and he comes through eventually. Nebraska constricts the hole so Butt can't get through as Mags(-1) can't handle the LB who is contain. Green has no option but to run into many people.
O26 4 2 Shotgun 2-back twins stack 2 2 1 5-3 under Pass Rollout quick out Funchess 8
Same personnel in a spread-ish formation with Funchess stacked behind Butt. Rollout, Butt rubs the press corner off, easy pitch and catch to Funchess for the first down. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
O18 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel under Run Inside zone Green 3
NU has a safety creeping down who tips blitz presnap. M runs directly at it; even momentary doubles from the OL on this IZ are long enough to get the S through. Mags(-2) is looking right at this and still goes down on the DT, coming up with air when he slants inside, away from the blitz. Even if he does adjust there's still two guys for him and someone's getting through. This makes it worse. Lewan(+0.5) and Bosch(+0.5) do get some movement on their double and Green(+0.5) is large and drags the safety forward for a meh gain. RPS -1.
O15 2 7 I-Form Big 2 1 2 4-5 over Pass Throwback WR screen Gallon 5
Funchess has his hand down but he's split about a yard outside of where he usually is as an inline TE. He releases to the outside on something that looks like a fade until he starts blocking Gallon's DB; Lewan(-2) releases and starts going for that same dude. Funchess(-1) kind of whiffs the block but the delay is long enough that Gallon's going to have room; Lewan aborts and does provide some help as Gallon starts dancing around for as much yardage as he can get. RPS +1; if blocked this is Gallon headed at a safety near the sticks.
O10 3 2 Goal line 3 1 0 Goal line Run Down G Toussaint 0
Tackle over with Lewan and Toussaint next to each other in a six OL look. Playside DE fires to the outside and does not get sealed; Lewan(-1) is the guy trying to block him. He's in the gap and Kerridge has to hit him; two LB types scraped behind that and are on the edge; Schofield eventually gets knocked down by Glasgow's guy falling and there's nowhere to go. When do I start RPS minusing power plays that go for zero yards? This is #5, two minutes into the second quarter. Also, Nebraska's reaction to this seems to indicate they are overplaying the tackle over side.
Drive Notes: FG(27), 3-10, 12 min 2nd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M12 1 10 Ace twin TE 1 2 2 4-4 over Pass Dumpoff Gallon 3 (Pen +10)
The one man route. M fakes a jet sweep, fakes an inside zone, and the playside S just drops into coverage on Funchess for a bracket. Delayed blitz comes just as Toussaint releases, which means Bosch has no shot at a pickup and Toussaint is about to be open, but can't expect Gardner to know that; he dumps it off to Gallon, who has two guys in his face at the LOS and manages to dance for the first down. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, RPS -1). M gets bailed out by an unnecessary hold by one of the guys on Funchess. At least that was my recollection; we don't get a replay.
M22 1 10 I-Form Big 2 2 1 4-5 under Run Power O Toussaint 3
Hooray. M runs at the weakside. Mags(+1) blasts in playside T. Kerridge(+1) gets the playside end and moves him. Schofield releases to the LB level, getting a guy who's not ultimately relevant. Bosch and Butt are now available; Butt dives inside of Kerridge's block for some reason, which I would minus him for because it makes no sense except he's already done this in this game so it seems like his assignment. Bosch gets to the edge and makes okay contact with the contain; Toussaint runs it up the back of him, getting tackled by another LB scraping from the inside as Butt gave up his blocking angle by going upfield. Toussaint(-2) now has an opportunity to set up a block and burst outside for a nice gain as there is no force guy but the burrow is his move. RPS +1; Nebraska did not play this well on the weakside and ended up with no force.
M25 2 7 Pistol FB twins 2 1 2 4-4 even Run Zone read keeper Gardner 1
Nebraska sending the end down and scraping a linebacker over. Gardner pulls. Kerridge(-1) is going for the LB to block him, tries to cut him, and doesn't get him down; tough angle since Gardner's trying to get outside. The DE is recovering once he sees the pull and Gardner can't pull away from him. He looks slow; a lot slower than before. A safety is ripping down anyway since Funchess(-1) dives inside for a crackback block he misses and Gardner gets flushed to the sideline. Kerridge has to get outside this scrape LB here.
M26 3 6 Shotgun trips tight bunch 1 0 4 3-3-5 nickel Pass Out Gallon 9
Nebraska sends seven and the two outer guys meet at Gardner; Gardner has just enough time to get off an out to Gallon that's a bit of a duck, but understandably so; Gallon has to dig it out and does. (CA, 2, protection 1/1)
M35 1 10 Pistol 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel under Run Yakety snap N/A -10
Hooray.
M25 2 20 Ace twin TE twins 1 2 2 4-3 split Pass Scramble Gardner 1
Waggle on second and twenty when you can't pick up a yard on the ground. Woo. Gardner immediately gets a guy in his face, short options are covered, it's three NU defenders on Gallon and Funchess; Gardner has to juke and take off and get what he can. RPS -2. You have to be kidding me with this call. (TA, N/A, protection N/A)
M26 3 19 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel even Penalty False start Lewan -5
Lewan barely moves here. Harsh.
M21 3 24 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel even Pass Scramble Gardner 7
Gardner can find no one open forever despite good protection and eventually scrambles around for a few yards. (TA, N/A, protection 3/3)
Drive Notes: Punt, 3-10, 4 min 2nd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
O42 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 4-3 even Pass Slant Gallon 7
Nebraska loads up and Michigan blows their protection, with Toussaint and the line sliding the same way. Free run at the QB; Gallon's quick slant is open and hit. I almost want to give a seven yard pass against soft coverage an RPS +1. (CA, 3, protection 0/2, team -2)
O35 2 3 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel even Run QB Draw Gardner -2
Bosch(-1) bulled back way too far and Lewan's guy is not trying to edge rush, so he can come back inside to tackle with Bosch's guy. Kind of seems like Nebraska might be looking for this? Or did they just get lucky?
O37 3 5 Shotgun 3-wide 1 0 4 Nickel even Pass Dig Funchess Inc
NU sends four, with one of those four taking time to chip Funchess off the line; protection is easy and holds. Gardner double-pumps a throw to Funchess on a dig route and sends it to Tacopants. (IN, 0, protection 2/2)
O37 4 5 Shotgun 3-wide inner stack 1 1 3 Nickel even Pass Sack N/A -2
Pick drag is the attempted route; Nebraska is on it. Butt or Toussaint is now open to the short side of the field as the flat zone has been run off, but Gardner just bails on the play, scrambling and getting nothing until he's sacked. (BR, N/A, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 3-10, 1 min 2nd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M25 1 10 Ace twin TE 2 1 2 4-3 under Run Down G Toussaint 0
Houma in, flanked over Butt. Nebraska brings down a safety late, scrapes a linebacker over the top, and unblocked guy in the hole. Houma(-1) was kind of useless but he's picking which unblocked guy exists. RPS -3.
M25 2 10 Pistol FB 3-wide 2 0 3 4-3 even Pass Traditional Screen Toussaint 25
Two PA fakes first on the jet, then to Toussaint, set up like everyone's going deep, and then Toussaint and a bunch of OL break open to the side. Gardner hits it, Toussaint(+1) has a ton of room and hits the jets. Glasgow(+1) got enough of a safety to provide a crease. Magnuson peels back on a guy Chesson engaged and then lost but that guy didn't make a play. LB and safety chase Toussaint OOB. RPS +3. (CA, 3, screen). It's almost sad watching this because it's like oh right Toussaint can really move.
50 1 10 I-Form Big 2 1 2 4-4 even Run Power O Toussaint -2
Back to the salt mines. M brings in a big package and ends up covering up Funchess of all people when they flip both TEs. They run away from that strength. Lewan extends to get a linebacker, which is not a POA block and is not relevant or hard. NU DE is hugging Bosch's hip after Lewan releases and Kerridge(-0.5) again has trouble fully sealing him; he comes through a bit, but really the main issue here is the playside LB making an instant read to the play and cutting the pulling Magnuson in the backfield. Nice play; no idea what Michigan could do about this. Toussaint(-0.5) did give up a few yards trying to bounce. RPS -1.
M48 2 2 Shotgun 4-wide stacks 1 1 3 Nickel over Pass TE flat Butt 19
This is just a bust by the Nebraska corner, who momentarily takes Butt and then starts running with Funchess, leaving him wide open. Gardner sees it, hits, run for some distance. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
O33 1 10 Ace 3-wide stack 1 1 3 Nickel even Pass Dumpoff Toussaint 8
All day, no one open, dumpoff. Nebraska is barely rushing at all. Stung by the screen? This is odd. (CA, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
O25 2 2 Shotgun 2TE 1 2 2 4-4 over Run IV QB counter Gardner -3
Michigan's veer counter eats a blitz from a rolled up safety and a linebacker. Gardner should lose five as an unblocked dude is in his grill instantly; breaks a tackle. Glasgow(+1) and Mags(+1) get extended blocks on their guys that allow Gardner some room to juke past the second LB, who Bosch(+1) somehow controls despite that looking impossible. Gardner is now through the line and has the option of hitting it straight up for like six-eight yards; instead he bounces inadvisably, gives up the first down, and fumbles. So, uh, that's +2 for a broken tackle and a great juke, -1 for blowing that by bouncing, and -3 for the fumble. Gardner -2. I need a CPA. RPS -2.
O28 3 5 Shotgun trips inner stack 1 1 3 Dime Pass Rollout hitch Chesson 9
Gardner rolls left, awkward, unblocked guy to the backside causes stadium to panic. Gardner has a tough running throw in a tight window to Chesson that ends up a yard short of the sticks and contested; Chesson(+1) makes a tough catch, keeps his feet on a glancing hit, and squeezes out a first down. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
O19 1 10 Shotgun 2TE twins 1 1 3 4-4 over Run Inverted veer keeper Gardner 3
Green in, Funchess inline. M runs veer and catches Nebraska in a blitz package that should open it up. Schofield(+1) blows in the playside tackle; end optioned off. Linebacker blitzes at Glasgow; Glasgow picks him up and then gets run over by the guy Schofield is beating up; falls, LB is now active and moving towards the play. Mags(-1) releases, finds LB scraping past him, turns around to get him. He's gone, man. Bosch picks him up; Gardner tries to run behind the block; LB recovering now tackles. Push, I guess? LB blitz looked bad to start but Nebraska ended up having their blitzer tackle.
O16 2 7 Pistol 3-wide 1 1 3 4-3 even Pass PA pop TE hitch Butt 11
Pop hitch sees LBs fly up; Butt is open for a nice gain this close to the goal line. (CA, 3, protection N/A, RPS +1). Butt(+1) gets a nice slice of YAC.
O5 1 G Shotgun trips inner stack TE 1 1 3 4-4 even? Pass Rollout corner Funchess 5
Triangle read with Butt the inner hitch, Gallon short, Funchess deeper. This turns into a high low on the corner, corner sucks up, Funchess open in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1). Nebraska's coverage could not deal with this. It was TD short or long. Easy reads are nice sometimes.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 10-10, 10 min 3rd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M20 1 10 Ace twins twin TE 1 2 2 4-4 even Pass Sack N/A -5
Good protection from most everybody; Toussaint(-1) is beaten in quite a bit of space. This is max pro with just Gallon and Funchess in the route; Gardner either doesn't like it or doesn't have enough time before Fitz's guy harasses him. As soon as he steps up a guy hanging out in a spy type area shoots up and sacks. (TA, N/A, protection 1/2, Fitz -1). Gallon was coming open on a dig as Funchess was bracketed deep. M would be better off going empty or something here; repeatedly asking Toussaint to pass block is eating them alive. Finger hovering over RPS minus button.
M15 2 15 Shotgun trips TE 1 1 3 4-3 even slide Pass Tunnel screen Funchess 23
Butt's route runs off two NU defenders; Fitz wheel takes a third. Only four guys rushing but they're all gone; biggest threat is the slot LB and he starts focusing on Chesson as the play develops. So this is open. Gardner almost misses Funchess entirely; Funchess makes a one hand stab to bring it in. NT who is not upfield overruns it, LB can't recover, blocking not so good, but Funchess is in a ton of space even so and looks WR fast as he shoots upfield. (IN, 1, screen, RPS +2).
M38 1 10 I-Form twins 2 1 2 4-3 even Run Iso Green 3
DB down over Williams with slot LB over Funchess; slot LB just plows down at this to tackle unblocked. Kerridge(+1) had gotten a good seal on one LB and Lewan(+0.5) kicked the other; this is unblocked dude making LOS tackle. RPS -1.
M41 2 7 Shotgun trips 1 0 4 Nickel even Pass Sack N/A -5
Gardner(-1) fumbles the snap, which messes up various play timing. M runs a slide protection against no blitz that gets Green one on one with a DE, who he catches and allows through. Looked like Nebraska had everything covered; Gardner goes down. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2, Gardner -1, Green -1). RPS -1; Michigan singled up a freshman RB against Nebraska's best pass rusher.
M36 3 12 Shotgun trips outer stack 1 0 4 Nickel even Pass Dig Funchess Inc
Good protection; Gardner has Funchess wide open for 20 yards and misses badly. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-10, 4 min 3rd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M34 1 10 Ace twins twin TE 2 1 2 4-3 even Run End around Funchess 5
M motions Funchess and what the hell, end around with a 6'5” guy. Playside LB gets outside of intended block, Funchess is fast, S comes down, decent gain, push. Funchess does bash his tackler impressively just before stepping out, FWIW.
M39 2 5 I-Form 2 1 2 4-4 under Run Iso Green -2
NU shows blitz, heavy blitz, Gardner tries to get them offsides, checks all around. After checks, M runs an iso at a heavy blitz. Six guys at the LOS take six Michigan OL; S blitzes; he is through clean and tackles. M could have done better with the slant the blitz enabled but this was dead all the way. RPS -3.
M37 3 7 Shotgun 3-wide tight stack. 1 1 3 Nickel under Pass Drag Gallon Inc
Butt at WR with Funchess the inline TE. NU sends 5.5 with one guy on Lewan backing out for screen purposes; he ends up blocking no one. Toussaint(-2) does; he gets run over, Gardner throws off his back foot to Gallon on a drag that is covered all the way and just misses. Chesson was supposed to pick Gallon's guy but did not. (PR, 0, protection 0/2, Toussaint -2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-10, 1 min 3rd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
O33 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel even Pass Fade Gallon Inc
Good protection; Gallon well covered, Gardner tries to fit it and cannot quite. Why not throw this at Funchess? I mean. Yeah. (MA, 0, protection 2/2)
O33 2 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel even Run Inverted veer keeper Gardner -2
Corner blitz destroys this. End actually screws up and attacks Toussaint but it doesn't matter since he blows Toussaint inside and Gardner has to delay as he tries to cut past that and then back out past a guy Bosch(+1) has dealt with rather well. When Gardner pops back out, doom. RPS -3.
O35 3 12 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass Rollout throwaway Gallon Inc
Bosch(-2) initially looks at a DT and then peels back to a LB who is coming inside Lewan; he has every opportunity to block the guy and biffs entirely. Gardner pumps and then eats the guy. On replay he had a Gallon dig coming open if M could protect it. Maybe, anyway. (PR, N/A, protection 0/2) Oh, right, Gardner chucks up a punt that he intends to get OOB but doesn't, leading to Gallon and a DB fighting for it. In the situation, whatever.
Drive Notes: Missed FG(52), 10-10, 14 min 4th Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
M20 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 1 3 Nickel even press Run Inside zone read Toussaint 0
Another walked down S blitz that ends up obliterating the play. End flares out, obvious give, doesn't seem like Gardner is reading end. S runs through free. Mags(-1) and Glasgow(-1) both end up losing their guys but best case scenario here is that the unblocked S ends up driving Toussaint into blocked guys for three yards. As it is, no gain. RPS -2.
M20 2 10 I-Form Big offset 2 1 2 4-3 even Pass PA FB flat Kerridge 10
Funchess again sort of inline but split. PA, man coverage, Funchess picks the playside LB to get Kerridge open, M executes. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS +1)
M30 1 10 I-Form 2 1 2 4-3 over Run Zone stretch Toussaint 3
Against a flat even front this should be relatively easy but Bosch(-1) fires out vertically and lets the playside DT upfield of him in a bad spot. M fortunate he does not play it better and TFL. A guy a half man over should be easy to reach when he goes straight upfield. Playside end is gone as Williams(+1) escorts him way out of the play; Lewan cuts inside to grab a linebacker. Glasgow(-1) gets bumped and never releases at all; looks unsure of what to do. Kerridge(+0.5) does just take out a charging MLB, opening it up; Toussaint cuts up; gets cut down by backside LB Glasgow did not get anywhere near.
M34 2 6 Shotgun 2-back 2 0 3 Nickel even Pass PA FB flat Kerridge -3
RR style zone stretch fake to counter rollout. Number of stretches M has run from the shotgun this game: zero. This play has limited options as Gallon goes to block a linebacker; Nebraska is in zone and still has a guy over Kerridge to tackle immediately after the playside end applies heavy early pressure. (CA, 3, protection N/A, RPS -3) The best case here was an incompletion.
M31 3 9 Shotgun trips inner stack TE 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass Sack N/A -7
Slide protection. Schofield is maintaining his gap when the DE goes outside of him; Toussaint (-3) ends up going outside of where he should be and offering a lane. Taken, sack. (PR, N/A, protection 0/3). RPS –1. Slide protection singles Toussaint against Nebraska's best rusher. Toussaint should not be playing on passing downs at this point, or at least not blocking.
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-10, 10 min 4th Q. Nebraska muffs the punt.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR D Form Type Play Player Yards
O26 1 10 I-Form 2 1 2 4-4 under Run Zone stretch Green 1
Eight man front and another blitz. M makes it somewhat irrelevant by sealing the SAM inside and letting Green bounce. Funchess(-2) gets beat by a corner, though, and Kerridge has to pick off a guy surging from the inside. Green does get the edge. Nebraska's sole remaining read and react LB flows without anyone near him and one of the blitzing LBs pursues inside out to force Green to hit it into two NU defenders. This was not ever getting a lot of yards unless Williams can pop to that LB, which is doubtful, but if Funchess gets a block it is probably a decent gain.
O25 2 9 I-Form 2 1 2 4-4 under Run Power O Green -2
Another eight man front. Another blitz. This time one LB forces Schofield to take him and the slightly delayed blitzer shoots the gap between him and Butt as Bosch runs by, because that's what you always do, and the blitzing LB meets Green three yards in the backfield. RPS -3.
O27 3 11 Shotgun trips inner stack TE 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass Scramble Gardner 4
We get no replay of this; Gardner has all day and scrambles out. (TA, N/A, protection 2/2). IIRC from the stands it looked like he didn't really have anyone.
Drive Notes: FG(40), 13-10, 8 min 4th Q. M's final drive starts down four with 2:03 left.
Ln Dn Ds O Form RB TE WR DForm Type Play Player Yards
O25 1 10 Shotgun trips stack 1 0 4 Nickel even Pass Hitch Funchess 11
Four man rush, good protection, Funchess finds a hole in the zone and sits down. Pitch and catch. (CA, 3, protection 2/2)
O36 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 1 0 4 3-3-5 nickel Pass TE flat Funchess 6
A quick checkdown. Funchess gets a decent chunk, tackled just in bounds, clock rolls from 1:38 to 1:19 before snap. You have three timeouts. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
O42 2 4 Shotgun 3-wide 1 0 4 3-3-5 nickel Pass Dig Funchess Inc
M blows a blitz pickup but Glasgow does recover and M has fended off the other side of the pocket well enough to allow Gardner to step around and up. He's got to get rid of it, he has no one open, he lobs a punt in the direction of Funchess that is too high. This is the right idea in the situation. (IN, 0, protection 2/3, Glasgow -1)
O42 3 4 Shotgun trips inner stack TE 1 1 3 Nickel even Pass Sack N/A -1
M goes back to this well, rolling Gardner against his throwing motion and trying that pick route out again. Nebraska zones it, Gallon covered underneath, the move is to try Chesson on a fly well downfield, maybe. Gardner doesn't like it and I can understand why. This is a 20-30 yard throw as he's moving to his left and Nebraska's safety seems to have it covered. He starts scrambling around to the other side of the field, where there are no receivers, and eventually various Nebraska folk take him down. (TA, N/A, protection 2/2, RPS -1)
O41 4 5 Shotgun 4-wide stacks 1 1 3 3-3-5 nickel Pass In Dileo Inc
Dileo drops it. Ball game. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 13-17, EOG.

I did not like this.

What is pleasure anyway?

A fiction designed by corporations.

I float along on a sensory wave, feeling nothing.

You, too, were designed by corporations.

They did a fine job. I will clang my metal hand to my metal chest and feel the lack of squishy human emotions.

What then designed this game? God or man?

I buy the Nebraska players' assertions that they had Michigan lined up in their crosshairs most of the day. This will again go back to the execution versus coordinator battle, but from the first snap Michigan seemed unprepared to deal with what Nebraska is throwing at them. Lewan is your key here:

Nebraska blitzes late and slants to the play; the guy Lewan is trying to down block hops around him. It seems like by the line's first step they're beat by the slant here; when the D does this I RPS +1 them and here I minused the offense. Lewan fires out and does not have time to react when the defense does something he does not expect.

That one is debatable; the four plays in the admittedly defensive picture pages today are not, and I didn't stop because I ran out. I stopped because it was approximately noon.

On some of these plays Michigan could execute better; they would still get little because executing better involves choosing a better unblocked guy to let through.

Someone said something about Nebraska radio calling the Gardner rollout on the last drive pre-snap?

There have been multiple reports of that across various message boards, so probably. I tried to look it up but no dice. I believe it; I bet something about Toussaint's alignment tipped it. Either way this is what Gardner is looking at:

image

His only option is a 20-30 yard pass to Chesson with a safety  coming over the top in great position to make a play on the ball. Nebraska had this play killed.

That seems to be a lot of plays on which Michigan had it put on their face without the players having to screw up much.

Give or take an execution here or there and that's 12 examples—about 20% of Michigan's plays, and that doesn't count things like Maybe This Time Fitzgerald Toussaint Will Pass Block Nebraska's Best DE or QB draws on which Nebraska ostentatiously stays in their rush lanes because they're expecting a draw, or generic under center run plays that are setting downs on fire because your team isn't too good. That's just stuff on which Nebraska eats Michigan's lunch before the ball's even snapped.

But there must have been counterpoints.

Michigan ran two screens successfully, one to Toussaint, one to Funchess and punished Nebraska having their DE shuffle down the line with a jet screen to Gallon. The rest of it was pretty typical drag route against man coverage sort of thing. The jet sweep is a good example of what I'll give a plus on RPS for:

That is a guy who is looking for one thing as Michigan does another thing and Magnuson can probably skip blocking him entirely and book for the safety. There was just far too little of that compared to ill-fated runs on which Michigan was asked to block blitz after blitz against an eight man front. The play after the Toussaint screen was an I-Form big on which Michigan flipped the TEs such that Devin Funchess was covered up. Michigan ran at the weakside and saw their pulling G submarined in a spot that made it unlikely there was going to be a crease. Nebraska looked really, really prepared in this game, and given what we know about the Cornhusker defense that is an indictment.

Michigan did show an ability to move the ball on the ground when Nebraska was playing it straight, which they did about twice. Derrick Green's seven yarder was against six guys in the box as Nebraska played it soft and Michigan executes against a blitz.

Nebraska said that was enough of that after that run and Michigan had few answers once things got amped up. Michigan ran Green under center the next two plays and Nebraska duly put eight in the box; Michigan got one yard combined.

This is the next play, and Michigan actually blocks it pretty well. Bosch blows the playside tackle way in; Kerridge gets the end, who is hugging the back of Bosch, but because the playside LB is extremely quick to read and react he gets to a spot where Michigan blocks him and Green simply has no crease at all.

Maybe Magnuson creates enough of a crease if he heads directly for the spot the LB is going to be, but with another linebacker scraping over the top I'm dubious Michigan can do much against this. Again, the execution issues are the difference between a TFL and a yard or two.

Nebraska's allowed to be this aggressive because Michigan's play action looks nothing like this. Save for some pop passes from the shotgun Michigan's PA looks nothing like their actual runs. When is the last time Michigan punished a linebacker for being too aggressive on under-center runs? I can't remember. Nebraska had a safety bracket and had their linebackers close to the LOS, often blitzing them delayed because Michigan was leaving in Toussaint.

Speaking of, what is wrong with Toussaint? I mean seriously the guy is almost flinging players into Gardner.

Well, he's put in difficult positions sometimes as Michigan slides protections and he gets DEs. And play action is sometimes hurting him as he has to carry out a fake and then redirect himself.

But, yeah, his pickup rate this year is 50% at best. Some things are just…

…man. This one is just as bad:

I think that's all on Toussaint, as Schofield has to think he's getting another guy once the DE swims outside. Toussaint is nowhere near picking this guy—NU's best rusher—up.

On this one he comes to a stop after the PA fake and gets run over by a blitzer. Toussaint hits this guy in the chest instead of the midsection.

He's also stock still, which means all the momentum is with the defender.

That Michigan has no one to pick up these blitzes is a huge failure. Toussaint's a fifth year senior and they've got Hayes and Rawls with multiple years in the program and apparently they can't do any better. Part of that is probably OL issues bleeding into the backfield, but a lot of it is just not doing basic things like attempting to cut a guy.

Borges isn't helping out much by leaving Toussaint in. On the most recent embed Toussaint's halt invites the linebacker to come on a delayed blitz; if he turns that into an outlet route the linebacker goes with him. At this point that's a better way to block someone than trying to block them. Sending him out of the backfield at least gives you an option short when your QB gets in trouble. One of the issues Gardner's having is that on many plays there is no checkdown option. Michigan did in fact do this on the Funchess one-man route that got double covered. Toussaint leaked out just as his LB blitzed and he was wide open for a  nice gain, but Gardner ended up checking down to Gallon.

Gardner was… not good.

Well… no. But it wasn't as miserable as it may have seemed.

Devin Gardner 2012

Opponent DO CA MA IN BR TA BA PR SCR DSR
Minnesota 3 7(1) 4 2(1) 2* 2 - 3 4 72%
Northwestern 4 16(2) 2 1 3* 2(1) 2(1) 2 5 79%
Iowa 3 16(4) - 2(1) 2 1 - 1 4 83%
Ohio State 3 11(1) 2 5* 2 1 - 3 2 65%
South Carolina 4 16(2) 2 8 3 4 - 2 2 57%

Devin Gardner 2013

Opponent DO CA MA IN BR TA BA PR SCR DSR
Central Michigan 2 10(1)+ 1 1 2* - - 1 3 82%
Notre Dame 7+ 16(1)++ 4(1) 2 3* - 1 4 4 82%
Akron 3 14(2) - 5 3** 2 1 3 1 59%
UConn 2 13(1) 1 5*+ - 1 - 5 5 76%
Minnesota 4+ 7(1) 4 1 - - - 1 2 92%
Penn State 7+ 12(2) - 5+ 2** 3 1 4 4 66%
Indiana 5 18(3) 1 1 3 3 - - 5 78%
Michigan State 1 15(2) 1 5 4* 6 - 4 1 50%
Nebraska - 17(1) 1 4(1) 2* 5 - 6 - 62%

Shane Morris

Opponent DO CA MA IN BR TA BA PR SCR DSR
Central Michigan - 4 - 1 1* 1 - - - N/A

Another game with a ton of pressures suffered that obviate a number of incompletions and sacks. Also another game with a ton of "throwaways," which also include various plays on which Gardner doesn't actually throw the ball but runs around and gets a mediocre gain, like seven yards on third and forever or –1 yards on that rollout pictured above. The season progression here is remarkable: three TAs in the first five games, 17 in the last four. This is cutting down on the interceptions in the last couple games at the same time it cuts down on the offense. Not sure why Gardner doesn't have a default punt to Funchess button at this point; he did try one that he overshot.

When given time and open receivers Gardner was erratic, but he was mostly accurate. I clipped a drag route third and long conversion to Gallon probably because it was just novel to see Michigan pick up a blitz and pick up yards. His misses:

  1. Funchess screen forces one-handed stab.
  2. Gallon fade just out of his reach way downfield (MA)
  3. Zings dig to Tacopants instead of Funchess
  4. Zings dig wide of Funchess
  5. Getting pressure, everyone covered, tries to lob a punt at Funchess, is too long.

He also threw a ball directly at two Nebraska defenders, albeit when he was getting pressure up the middle after a Toussaint pass pro whiff.

Given how much pressure he was getting and how a large number of those TAs seemed like plays on which there was really no one open, I'm actually fine with Gardner's performance.

Oh boy, this one.

As for the line and assorted metrics:

Offensive Line
Player + - Total Notes
Lewan 1 4 3 M could not make relevant; minuses mostly screen ID screwups.
Bosch 5.5 1 4.5 Thought he had some outlandish blitz pickups.
Glasgow 3 4 -1 Minus two for snap, which was catchable.
Magnuson 3.5 6 -2.5 Struggled with those pickups.
Schofield 2 1 1 Again not really relevant.
Williams 1 1 0 Spot duty.
Paskorz 1 - 1 The inline TEs were marginalized.
Butt - 1 -1 Well what did you expect.
Kalis - - - DNC
Burzynski - - - DNP
TOTAL 16 18 47% Extremely low amplitude because so many runs blown up by unblocked blitzers.
Backs
Player + - T Notes
Gardner 2 5 -3 Fumbled.
Morris - - - DNP
Toussaint 1 2.5 -1.5 Missed one nice bounce opportunity.
Green 2.5 - 2.5 Dragged unblocked guys forward.
Smith - - - DNP
Hayes - - - DNP
Rawls - - - DNP
Houma - 1 -1 Only a couple plays.
Kerridge 6.5 3.5 3 Got good movement.
TOTAL 12 12 0 Not many opportunities to do anything.
Receiver
Player + - T Notes
Gallon - - -  
Jackson - - -  
Chesson 1 - 1  
Reynolds 1 - 1  
Dileo - - -  
Norfleet - - - DNP
Funchess - 4 -4 Whiffed badly on one run that otherwise would have gained some yards.
TOTAL 2 4 -2 Eh.
Metrics
Player + - T Notes
Protection 36 23 61% Toussaint –14, Team –4, Bosch –2, Glasgow –2, Gardner -1
RPS 16 35 -19 Already explained above. Heavy RPS game because of massive blitzing.

So, right. Toussaint's pickup issues were almost the entire pass protection problem, which is at least a nice change from last week. With so many plays living or dying on Nebraska blitzes, a large chunk of the OL numbers migrated to the RPS category. OL usually don't get many blocks graded when the play is dying before the LOS since I can't be sure if they're going to be maintained, provide a crease, etc.

RPS numbers are generally:

  • Plus or minus one: defense did something that makes it hard for you to gain a lot of yards (safety rolling down to tackle after like three); offense did something that got it a moderate advantage or decent gain (Kerridge slips out of the flat to pick up a first down).
  • Plus or minus two: Very difficult adjustments for the offense that they can't make. Blitzes that aren't quite deadly but make things very hard. Some chance of success exists but it's going to take a monster play. Pluses: stuff in between one and three, basically. Big chunk plays that are easy to execute but not free TDs.
  • Plus or minus three: wide open dudes downfield thanks to DBs biting; huge gaps on run plays created by misdirection; screens that have 20 yards of grass in front of the tailback. Minuses: plays on which no Michigan player has any chance of preventing an unblocked guy from tackling near or at the backfield, or half the MSU defense waiting on a throwback screen.

I think I've explained my POV on those.

Has Michigan given back every advantage they've gotten by putting Miller on the bench thanks to those two bad snaps?

It kind of seems like it. If Miller is still at center, Glasgow is at guard and Bosch's redshirt is still on.  Michigan probably does not have two quasi-turnovers with bad snaps, and how much of a downgrade is Miller on Bosch or Magnuson?

Receivers.

[Passes are rated by how tough they are to catch. 0 == impossible. 1 == wow he caught that, 2 == moderate difficulty, 3 == routine. The 0/X in all passes marked zero is implied.]

Player 0 1 2 3   0 1 2 3
Gallon 1   1/1 2/2   25 3/4 10/12 40/43
Jackson           3 0/1   5/5
Reynolds           2 0/1 1/1 2/2
Chesson       1/1   3 1/3 1/3 9/10
Dileo       0/1   3 1/2 1/1 6/7
Norfleet           1     3/3
York                  
Funchess 3 1/1   5/5   12 3/4 5/7 27/29
Butt       2/2   1 0/2 0/1 8/8
Williams           1      
                   
Toussaint       2/2   1     7/7
Hayes                 1/1
Green                  
Smith                  
Kerridge       2/2         2/2
Houma                 1/1

A brutal drop for the sure-handed Dileo in his first real action in almost a month is the only flaw here, albeit with light usage. Funchess is rapidly gaining target parity with Gallon.

Here is your Funchess Futile But Great Route Of The Week:

That screen was also exciting because goddamn that guy looks fast.

Have yet to see him in a footrace with a DB but that corner doesn't seem to be gaining on him at all.

Heroes?

Funchess, except on a couple blocks. Bosch actually did surprisingly well given the results. Gardner coped.

Maybe not so heroic?

Fitzgerald Toussaint has 23 pass pro minuses in the last two weeks. The RPS tracking has Borges –38 over those two weeks, as well.

What does it mean for Northwestern and the future?

Get Toussaint out of the backfield on passing downs. Whether that's by having him run routes or eat bench, it is now 100% untenable to expect him to pick up a blitzer. Try Kerridge for God's sake, try Rawls, try Hayes, try running swing routes that at least put a guy in space when you dump it off to him in a panic.

Michigan tipped what they were doing hard against Nebraska and this is unlikely to change much. Unrelated package football with limited ability is ugly; it looks a lot like this. It is in fact this.

Funchess! Every week he adds to his production and star power.

We're probably in trouble you guys. NEWS

Comments

JilesDauz

November 13th, 2013 at 8:09 PM ^

I let him get away with the fact that the game doesn't boil down to a quantum state... so I decided to let him watching the videos of the game rather the game itself. the spirit wasn't waaay off like normal.

evenyoubrutus

November 13th, 2013 at 4:27 PM ^

With how much defenses have been attacking Gardner I don't understand why they haven't used Toussaint as a dumpoff option more often. Much like the bubble screen it seems like a missed opportunity that would not only lead to easy yards, but create just a little more work for defensive coordinators and force defenses to be a tad less aggressive.  Plus Toussaint's at his best when he's in space.

smwilliams

November 13th, 2013 at 6:37 PM ^

It's a great comparison, actually. To avoid putting too much stress on an entirely new group of OL, two of whom are rookies, the Bears throw a lot of quick slants, deploy Forte on drag routes out of the backfield, and run a lot of misdirection (reverses and counters and such). It's actually worked pretty well. 

Yinka Double Dare

November 13th, 2013 at 7:23 PM ^

And they have big receivers and a pass catching tight end and hey wait a minute that's pretty much what Michigan is recruiting these days. 

The Bears, after years of being a terrible offense, are 3rd in the NFL in scoring. Maybe Hoke and Borges should pay Trestman a visit this offseason and get a copy of that playbook.  

JeepinBen

November 13th, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^

RPS can be the D Coordinator doing something good, not just Borges doing bad.

That said, I am 100% in favor of Fitz swing routes instead of blitz pickups - especially on inside blitzes. I think that's a great way to counteract the A gap pressure that we've had tons of trouble with. Hope we see that if Northwestern tries to pressure the inside

gbdub

November 13th, 2013 at 5:58 PM ^

Well yes, that's why it's Rock-Paper-Scissors. In a vacuum, Rock is a perfectly fine call and can indeed work if properly executed. But if your opponent calls paper, you lose.



That's why the great Brian/Coyote debate was silly. Basically Coyote's argument is "Rock is a totally legitimate call and here's why". Brian's is "Yeah, but if your opponent can keep calling paper because you never call scissors, and anyway your rock is puny, you're not playing the game very well".

ken725

November 13th, 2013 at 4:28 PM ^

David Moosman has a weekly blog/article at thewolverine.com and he said he would like to see RBs sent on routes as well.

He also mentioned trap blocking. Trap plays are good against over aggressive defenses right?

Yinka Double Dare

November 13th, 2013 at 4:34 PM ^

I'd like to see a comparison of technique on the running back pass blocking.  I feel like Fitz (and Green on the rare times he's in there on a pass) just sort of wait for the guy, which by physics results in them getting blasted back or chucked out of the way.  Vincent Smith I think attacked the block more often rather than just waiting to be run into, and his blocking actually worked.  And of course Vincent Smith had good pad level.

Bombadil

November 13th, 2013 at 4:42 PM ^

If I don't hear the annoucers say "Balls" after a good offensive play from now on I'm going to be dissappointed.

Here's to Spielman taking a page out of BTNU announcing.

Goblue89

November 13th, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^

How the hell do you look at the first picture with 9 in the box and a single high safety and not immediately call a fade route to your 6'5" WR?!  It's a 3 step drop throw!  No way the safety gets to either side.  With the way pass interference is called these days you'd probably get a PI 25% of the time.  I would rather take my chances with Funchess 1 on 1 then running into a 9 man box.  There literally is no defense for not doing this.  I would love to hear what SC says.  Why on earth wouldn't you try this!!!

NiMRODPi

November 13th, 2013 at 4:51 PM ^

What? Toussaint can't catch out of the backfield. That would require reacting to something coming at him even FASTER than a rusher. I want to say I'm sarcastic, but Fitz's blitz pickups aren't him getting run over, they are just flat out fly bys.

tylawyer

November 13th, 2013 at 5:06 PM ^

I'm fairly confident that the tubes, both of them, were on at the very beginning of the ABC broadcast and then we didn't see them again. Whether this is on the director or the cameramen should probably be debated in the diaries.  

gwkrlghl

November 13th, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^

I hope we can figure out a way to balance out the offense a bit more soon because I'd love to actually see Funchess get wide open on a PA pass sometime. I say it every week it seems, but dude is gonna get paid a lot of money on Sundays someday. I'm drooling if I'm an NFL GM

Bodogblog

November 13th, 2013 at 5:17 PM ^

But there are many smart people on this blog...  

Can someone explain in simple terms the covering, and who's eligible, and how many need to be on the LOS.  I am stupid and have watched football for many years w/out fully understanding this

Nothsa

November 13th, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^

The only ones who are eligible are the guys on either end. A covered player is one who is on the line with at least one player outside of him on the line. If Funchess is on the line with another receiver on the line outside of him, he is covered and is not eligible.

4godkingandwol…

November 13th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^

.... there is no way Schofield gets only one -1, when there was the slide play in which the only guy anywhere near him is left completely free.  Sure, give Fitz some negative too, but I just don't buy that Schofield did the right thing there.  

Caveat -- I'm an idiot who knows nothing about line protection.  I'm convinced no one who plays for, coaches, or roots for Michigan does.  

DelhiGoBlue

November 14th, 2013 at 10:34 AM ^

the same thing last week.  It could be that the blocking is very dumbed down and regimented allowing little pre-snap judgments aside from what Gardner calls.  I can only surmise the OL has five mental midgets, or for some reason the coaching staff assumes as much.

turtleboy

November 13th, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^

If we included Fitz in the Line chart for his pass protection he'd get -200 on an average Saturday. The fact that the coaches continue to roll him out there boggles the mind. I mean if he can't block at all but he's there on 3rd down at least they could make him a regular check down target to pass or pitch to. I just don't know anymore