Upon Further Review 2014: Defense Vs Indiana Comment Count

Brian

FORMATION NOTES: Michigan spent almost every standard down in a 4-3 over with Ross as your SAM. Once Indiana managed to get Ross flipped way out to the sideline. He's the guy at the bottom of the screen here:

4-3 even stretched

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: No Henry, so lots of Wormley and lesser amounts of Godin. Gedeon made the odd appearance when Michigan went to a 3-3-5. Countess didn't play much… pretty sure only nickel packages.

The rest was as per usual.

[After THE JUMP: shortest UFR in a long time, because Indiana.]

Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O25 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Power O Wormley 5
Wormley(-1) blown out by a double so Ryan has no chance to get to the hole; he also has to check back to the other side of Wormley. Bolden(+1) gets under the H-back's lead block to make contact a couple yards downfield and Coleman gets some YAC.
O30 2 5 Pistol 4-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Speed option Beyer 7
This actually cuts all the way behind Beyer on the backside after Clark(+0.5) forms up and induces a keep. M is blitzing Ross(-1) off the corner, which isn't timed well; Beyer(-1) got pushed downfield and seemed to go into pursuit mode too early, so there's a lane.
O37 1 10 Wildcat 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Power O Beyer 0
Sweep action on direct snap to Coleman, Coleman takes off. Mone(-1) clubbed out of the middle. Beyer(+2) ducks inside of the TE trying to block him, forcing Coleman outside where Ryan(+0.5) is headed on the sweep fake; Ryan sees the keep and moves to contain; Beyer hops back outside to tackle. Coleman fumbles but it's not really forced so much as Coleman dropping the ball on a meh hit.
O37 2 10 Shotgun 4-wide 4-3 over Pass 4 Improv Ryan Inc
Coleman motions out for a flare sweep that Diamont inexplicably does not throw. WR are blocking downfield, there's an OL releasing, this is not an option. Diamont looks elsewhere, gets in trouble, throws it to Coleman anyway; looks like Coleman wisely decides to drop the ball. No plus, QB derp.
O37 3 10 Shotgun trips bunh 3-3-5 nickel Run N/A Inside zone Gedeon 8
Gedeon your third LB. IU runs a give up and punt.
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 12 min 1st Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O25 1 10 Shotgun trips bunch 4-3 even stretched Run N/A Inside zone Ryan 2
Ross ends up outside of Wilson rolled up to the LOS. M has just six in the box and IU goes at it; Michigan blitzes the LBs and pulls Clark back as Wormley heads outside. This gets Clark a free shot; Ryan(+1) also burrowed through a couple OL to get a hit in that ends the play before Clark can even take it. RPS +1. (This worked but it was probably going to still give IU 3-4 yards without Ryan. Oh, right, and Ryan(+1 again) raked the ball out.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 3-0, 8 min 1st Q. Coleman exits for a while now.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O25 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Pass 4 Package speed out Ross 9
Package play that looks like run all the way with an OL seriously testing the three-yards-downfield thing on which Ross(-0.5) gets caught in no-mans land. That'll happen. He recovers okay and Taylor comes up to prevent an immediate first down. RPS -1.
O34 2 1 Shotgun trips 4-3 under Pass 4 Rollout scramble N/A 3
M not in a good position to pressure this at all as they've slid their line away from IU's strength and away from the field. Ross(+1) and Ryan(+1, cover +2) both hold coverage on their guys a long time as a result, and Diamont ends up scrambling for a few. Pressure -2.
O37 1 10 Wildcat 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Fly stretch Godin -1
M very well prepared for this action, seemingly perceiving the WR motion and adjusting on the fly, with Wilson and Ross shooting down on the backside, allowing the line to go hard to the front. Godin(+1) and Glasgow(+1) don't get sealed; both get penetration. Ojemudia(+1) also sheds a blocker to get to the POA, nowhere to go.
O36 2 11 Wildcat 3-wide Okie two Run N/A Counter power Wilson -3
IU doesn't know what they're looking at and neither puller IDs Ross(+0.5), who runs free at the back and can't tackle. He does force a stop and spin, giving the D time to rally; Wilson(+1) sees the scatback go for the edge and comes up for the solid open field tackle, so tackle push. RPS +2.
O34 3 14 Shotgun trips Nickel over Pass 4 Sack Beyer -8
Four man rush with Bolden hanging in as a scramble/screen/dump guy. Press elsewhere. Diamont has a couple beats in which he can't find anyone he wants (cover +2); pocket then collapses from all sides. Pressure +2; Beyer +1 for the sack, Wormley and Mone get +0.5 each for good lanes.
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-0, 2 min 1st Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O23 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Counter power Ryan 3
M slant/blitzing. Charlton(-1) is going to give up some position here but he gets tossed to the ground, so a lot of room to shut down. Ryan(+1) times his blitz well and takes on a puller at the LOS with Ross coming down to take the second; back has little choice but to head to an unblocked Bolden(+0.5). RPS +1.
O26 2 7 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Pass N/A Rollout hitch Taylor Inc
Diamont takes forever to get this ball out and it's not going too fast but Taylor(+2, cover +2) makes a slick PBU all the same. Pressure okay for a rollout.
O26 3 7 Shotgun trips Nickel over Run N/A Shovel pass Bolden -1
M tips a blitz off the corner and with a LB, sending it. Bolden(+1) zips inside a tackle, taking out a pulling guard; corner forces the inside pitch and Clark(+1, tackling +1) reads and thumps the back. RPS +1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-0, 14 min 2nd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O36 1 10 Shotgun trips 4-3 over Pass 4 Screen Bolden 5
This is big big trouble for M except for Bolden(+2) somehow feeling that he was going to get a crackback block and avoiding it, then running the screen down. He can't tackle but with Glasgow(+0.5) tracking back it's enough to make it an eh gain. RPS -2, Michigan was had on this.
O41 2 5 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Power O Beyer 0
Odd alignment with Ryan flaring over the slot and the two remaining LBs shaded to the other side of the field. Feels like a slant and it is. Wormley(+0.5) is let go by a guy who will find nobody to block on the second level; he hits a puller deep in the backfield. Beyer(+1) slants under the backside tackle into the gap the puller vacates, slows up to keep his balance, and then makes a TFL. RPS +1.
O41 3 5 Shotgun trips Nickel over Pass 4 Hitch Countess Inc
Diamont has the five yard hitch for the first down and leaves it short. Feel like Countess(-1, cover -1) is way too close to Ryan here; M has the bodies to get this done but gets lucky.
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-0, 11 min 2nd Q. Coleman back.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O25 1 10 Wildcat 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Power O Mone 17
A series of weird bits. M slants away and sends Ryan; they have the corner and Clark against one guy on the edge. This goes right up the middle as Mone(-2), in decent position at first, gets way too aggressive on one side of a block and totally vacates his lane; Coleman hits it. Bolden(-1) doesn't have the easiest job but Godin didn't give a ton of ground and no one pops out of him; importantly the structure of the D is such that they should be able to handle the cutback he's hedging do; as a result he can't even get a tackle attempt in. That's ten. Hill(-1, tackling -1) adds some more by missing a tackle.
O42 1 10 Wildcat 2-wide 4-3 over Penalty N/A False start N/A -5
Dorp
O37 1 15 Shotgun 2TE 4-3 over Run N/A Inside zone Mone 0
Jet sweep fake. IU perhaps expecting M will bother to defend the edge stuff. They don't. Beyer(+0.5) forms up as if there is no jet threat and moves to tackle; Mone(+1) fights through a block to ensure the swift end of the play. RPS +1, I guess.
O37 2 15 Shotgun 2TE 4-3 over Run N/A Sweep Ryan 5
Jet action, two guys pulling the other way, and a handoff going that way. Beyer(-1) gets locked away and there's a crease; Ryan(+1) is unblocked but isn't suckered and flows well to tackle after a meh gain. May have gotten lucky that the other puller went for a DB instead of him.
O42 3 10 Shotgun trips Nickel even Pass 5 Sack Hill -7
M's spine blitz, which sends both LBs and a safety while dropping both ends. Works like a charm; ends wipe a mesh route underneath as Hill(+2, pressure +3, blitz) times it up perfectly and roars into the QB's chest. Bolden(+2) also had great timing and came through to finish the job. RPS +3, dead meat.
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-0, 4 min 2nd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
M12 1 10 Shotgun twins twin TE 4-3 over slide Run N/A Zone stretch Glasgow -1
Glasgow(+2) crushes this play by driving the C well into the backfield, forcing a doomed bounce attempt into a cutback that allows the whole defense to rally for a TFL. Clark(+0.5) helped dissuade the bounce. Bolden(+1) ole'd a second level blocker to save M a couple yards and lead the cavalry.
M13 2 11 ??? ??? Run N/A ??? Glasgow 4
Hard to tell with late move to field but Glasgow(-1) definitely got cut and that was the gap the RB attacked with moderate success.
M9 3 7 Wildcat 3-wide Nickel over Pass 4 Fancy scramble Beyer 1
Fake jet with a pitch back to the QB; Beyer(+1, pressure +1) is out so fast that QB doesn't have a chance to see if the trickery worked. He starts scrambling. Bolden(+0.5) finishes it.
Drive Notes: Missed FG(25), 17-0, 2 min 1st Half.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O28 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A IZ counter Glasgow 6
Glasgow(-1) hit and moved by the guy behind him; he gives up too much ground and ends up right next to Wormley. Bolden(-0.5) actually does a good job to get past an OL block but falls down for mysterious reasons; this would still shut things down if the hole was a little slimmer. It is not; Bolden needs to at least slow the guy a bit to make this 4 or so.
O34 2 4 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Pass N/A Bubble screen Wilson 3
Looks like it's going to be way easy by alignment but the outside WR does not see Wilson creeping down presnap and blows his block. Wilson(+1, tackling +1) now in a ton of space against the wee little bugger Wynn; he lets him past initially but does recover to tackle authoritatively and set up a third down. RPS -1.
O37 3 1 Shotgun big 4-3 over Run N/A Inside zone Bolden 3
M slants to the play, with Glasgow(+0.5) taking both his guy and blocking a G from getting to the second level. This leaves Bolden as a free hitter; Bolden gets there and stands Coleman up for a moment before getting stepped on by an OL, which gives Coleman the momentum for the first. He was probably getting it anyway.
O40 1 10 Shotgun twins twin TE 4-3 over Pass 4 Rollout comeback Wilson 8
This ends up in front of Taylor but I think it's actually Wilson(-0.5, cover -1) who doesn't extend his zone far enough to the sideline on this rollout; he ends up too close to Bolden. Pressure(-1) not to be found.
O48 2 2 Shotgun twins twin TE 4-3 over Run N/A IZ counter Wormley 11
Ok, this is the same play IU started the drive with, which seems like a designed cutback with the backside end first targeted by a TE and then the FB. Ojemudia gets locked out by this; Wormley(-1) over penetrates and ends up shoved way upfield; Mone does this for a bit but almost gets back to the hole and he's a gap away from the play. Wormley went so hard he can't do the same, and there's a gap. Tough on the LBs now; I think Bolden does a reasonable job to get through a ton of chaff and force it back inside; Ryan(-1) just takes a block away from the play; looks like he stopped reading in preparation to take the hit. This guy doesn't have an angle on him.
M41 1 10 Shotgun twins twin TE 4-3 over Run N/A Inside zone Mone 4
M slants to the play with Ross coming off the edge. Mone(-0.5) takes a long double and loses ground to it. Everyone else does basically okay, so not a whole lot of room, Coleman just plows for a few.
M37 2 6 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Pass 4 Scramble Ryan 14
Coverage(+2) good for the most part, though with a FR it may just be him. This is man with a single spy type guy, Ryan. Ryan(-2, tackling -2) sees the QB break the pocket an attacks him, but his angle is too aggressive and he ends up letting the QB outside for a big gain, since everyone else is in man coverage. Mone(-0.5, pressure –1) got out of his lane.
M23 1 10 Wildcat 2-wide 4-4 over Run N/A Inside zone Ojemudia 4
Bit of a goof by IU as the jet guy and wildcat QB bump into each other. Mone(+1) dominates a single block and surges to the backfield, so QB tries to bounce; Ojemudia(-1) isn't an effective force and doesn't get much bend from the RB. This allows a decent gain.
M19 2 6 Shotgun twins twin TE 4-3 over Run N/A Inside zone Ryan -1
Slot blitz, slant away. Glasgow(+1) swats the center down on the snap and gets under a guard; this prevents him from blocking anyone and IU now has a choice between unblocked Charlton and unblocked Ryan with Ross coming off the edge. They choose Ryan(+1, tackling +1), I guess, and Ryan reads and hits in the backfield unblocked.
M20 3 7 Wildcat 3-wide Nickel under Run N/A Inside zone Ryan 0
Give up and FG; Ryan(+2) just runs around the right tackle and gets to the ballcarrier, which should never happen. This was rather impressive. Clark(+0.5) juked a TE and would have gotten a tackle in except for Ryan hitting the guy and pushing him farther outside.
Drive Notes: FG(37), 17-3, 8 min 3rd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O20 1 10 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Zone stretch Ryan 3
No holes frontside as Glasgow(+0.5) and Wormley(+0.5) flow; cutback necessary. Ryan(+1) dodges a blocker to get to Coleman and tackle; Clark helps. Coleman gets some YAC because he's pretty good.
O23 2 7 Pistol 3-wide 4-3 over Run N/A Pin and pull zone Beyer 1
M slants away; Beyer(+1) discards a TE once he sees the play. Ross(+1) bashes a pulling OL back and dsconnects; Wormley(+1) had run through the backside of the play and the three converge. No chance this goes anywhere extra.
O24 3 6 Shotgun trips bunch Nickel over Run N/A QB draw Glasgow -5
Glasgow(+3) surges up the middle through a C who is trying to kick him to the side. He doesn't give ground and Glasgow comes around, punching the ball out as the QB tries to pass. Ball falls right to him, recovery. Didn't look like this was going to get the first down as Ryan(+0.5) and Bolden(+0.5) had reacted swiftly, with Bolden beating a block en route to the hole.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 17-3, 3 min 3rd Q.
Ln Dn Ds O Form D Form Type Rush Play Player Yards
O35 1 10 Shotgun trips TE 4-3 over Run N/A Inside zone Beyer 5
Beyer(+0.5) left alone on the backside and initiates a tackle after Mone(+1) came through a double to force it back. Wormley(-1) gave a bunch of ground and gets shoved well away from the gap he's supposed to be in so Coleman can get some YAC.
O40 2 5 Shotgun trips TE 4-3 over Run N/A Power O Ryan 2
Couple of derps by IU; QB and RB run into each other, and the pulling G trips over his own guy; Beyer(+1) won that block and got the OL off balance. Ryan(+0.5) is the beneficiary; he extends to tackle.
O42 3 3 Shotgun 3-wide 4-3 over press Run N/A Inside zone Mone 0
Mone(+2) surges to the backfield, knocking his man over. Godin(+0.5) got a bit of push as well to make outer gaps unattractive.
Drive Notes: Punt, 24-3, EO4Q. Indiana gets the ball back down 27-3 with 7 minutes left, EOChart.

This is… short.

Remarkably so. Since a 24 point deficit with 7 minutes left was filed as garbage time (by everybody: Indiana didn't go for two after their TD), this chart has just 42 plays. IU had one drive longer than five plays, that their FG drive out of halftime, and just two drives longer than ten yards.

I don't really have much to say as a result. Indiana was crippled by their quarterback situation, and when Coleman fumbled a couple times to hurt (or end) IU's first two drives and then took the next three off, it was game over.

As a result the

chrt

chart is pretty light on numbers. Remember that RR game where Indiana had something like 110 plays? This was not that game.

Defensive Line
Player + - T Notes
Clark 2.5   2.5 No passing.
Henry       DNP
Glasgow 8.5 2 6.5 FF, FR
Beyer 6 2 4 Won a lot of blocks.
Ojemudia 1 1 0  
Wormley 2.5 3 0.5 Most effective when allowed to run to the ball.
Pipkins       DNP
Charlton   1 -1  
Godin 1.5   1.5 Lost most of his PT back to Wormley.
Hurst       DNP
Mone 5.5 2.5 3 Showing some pop now.
Strobel - - - DNP
TOTAL 27.5 11.5 16 Not bad for 42 plays.
Linebacker
Player + - T Notes
Bolden 8.5 1.5 7 Sideline to sideline, effective blitzing.
Ryan 10 3.5 6.5 A game for his skillset.
Morgan       DNP
Ross 2.5 1.5 1 Another thunderous pop on a pulling OL.
Gedeon       DNC
McCray       DNC
RJS       DNC
TOTAL 21 6.5 13.5 Fun to be a linebacker when passing is unheard of.
Secondary
Player + - T Notes
Countess   1 -1 Nickel only.
Taylor 2   2 One PBU
Lewis       Not thrown at.
Stribling       Played, DNC
Peppers       DNP
Hollowell       DNC
Wilson 2 0.5 1.5 Nice tackle in space on Wynn
J. Clark       DNP
Thomas       DNP
Hill 2 1 1  
TOTAL 6 2.5 3.5 Day off.
Metrics
Pressure 6 4 +2 3 organic, 3 blitz.
Coverage 8 2 +6 Aided by FR QB inability to read coverages.
Tackling 3 3 0 Heermph.
RPS 11 3 8 Spine blitz.

Glasgow returned to his normal levels of PT after a couple of weeks where he wasn't playing much. Injury? Maybe. I'd guess he was dinged, because his replacements weren't doing as well as he did.

Anything of interest?

I do have a little bit. Earlier this year I was complaining about the defensive tackles in the pass rush. Not so much that they weren't getting any—that's life as a DT—but that they weren't doing the basic thing you have to do to help your buddies get sacks. That would be stay in your lane and push the pocket.

Here is an example of doing this well:

Neither DE makes a Brandon Graham style move here, but after the initial coverage is good and Beyer gets through Diamont has nowhere to go but down. That's because the DTs are pushing up the middle of the pocket without getting either too close together or too far apart. They haven't done that much this year, which has contributed to Clark's lack of production.

This is still inconsistent. One guy will do it; the other guy won't. Here's Mone not doing what he did on the above clip, releasing the QB into the second level.

Ryan should still make that tackle; that's a much easier job if the QB is delayed at all.

Meanwhile, contrast Wormley and Mone on this play—Mone is the good example this time:

Mone is in control and rips back to the hole once it's clear where the RB is going. Wormley over-penetrates and has no play once he does that. Sometimes it's not just about being in your gap by being on the correct side of the blocker, it's about anchoring in place so that the rest of the D doesn't have to shut down a lane the size of the Panama Canal.

Mone showed some power though?

He did thump a third down and short dead by discarding an OL:

He remains a freshman NT, though, and there's a certain level of error that goes hand in hand. One of Indiana's best gains of the day came when Mone ended up right next to Beyer on a play that was otherwise pretty stuffed up:

(Bolden played a large part in that as well; he gets stuck behind a double trying to check two gaps when the blitz Michigan has on means he should be free to attack the gap where the play actually goes.)

Lots of linebacker points.

Both linebackers had nice games, with the caveat that it's not too hard to have 'em when throwing is not an option for the other team. Bolden got a sack on that blitz Mattison has where he drops both DEs and shoots three guys up the middle (I'm calling it "spine" so I don't have to say that mouthful anymore). On that play he made IU's running back look like Michigan's RB pickups of a year ago:

His quickness was also on display on this blitz, where he's under an OL in a flash and absorbs the pulling G:

I didn't clip much from Ryan except the missed tackle but he had a fine day himself.

WHY DON'T YOU GIVE THE ORDER OF ST KOVACS TO GLASGOW ALREADY –BISB

I did, man. I did. But here's Glasgow destroying an OL to blow up a play anyway:

And here he is tossing the C to the ground to give Jake Ryan a free shot at the RB:

And oh right the strip/recovery.

He and everyone else struggled against Michigan State; he's still a very legit Big Ten player.

Anything… else?

Uh, no.

I guess that's understandable.

This was less of a game than almost anything I've seen before. Hooray?

Heroes?

ILBs, Glasgow, everybody in general.

Maybe not so heroic?

Thought Wormley did not do as well as the rest of the DL.

What does it mean for Northwestern and the future?

This is a pretty good D. It's not a great D. It lacks any true star, with Lewis and maybe one of the ILBs coming closest, but it doesn't have huge weaknesses except when you get down to the backup DTs. That should be good enough to keep Northwestern down for most of the game unless Siemian goes off because I'm watching him play.

Comments

RockinLoud

November 5th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^

I don't know, if you're good at fighting you could easily use the pillow to absorb the knife blow without injuring yourself and disarm your opponent by twisting it at the exact moment the knife is stuck in the pillow, followed directly by a counter strike to the throat while they're distracted and confused as to how you just nutralized their knife with a mere pillow.

 

More like, uh, they brought a nail file to a surfing contest? Yeah, that's all I got.

My Name is LEGIONS

November 5th, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^

I must know little about football but I think Bolden at OLB and Ryan at MLB are liabilities. For the love of God pls put Ryan back on the outside and a gedeon in the middle

tolmichfan

November 6th, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^

On talent alone I like your assessment. The main issue the coaches I believe are dealing with is the Desmond Morgan injury. He was going to be the guy makeing all the calls this year and be the "coverage type" Linebacker. I think they are playing bolden so much cause he knows the defensive calls more than other linebackers. Ryan playing on the outside is a beautiful thing and if Morgan was healthy I think they would play him on the edge more, but you never take Ryan off the field he is to good even if it's at a position that isn't his strength.

m1jjb00

November 5th, 2014 at 8:17 PM ^

That last one you show on Mone and note Bolden got stuck behind a double is similar to IU's touchdown.  Indeed, on that TD, I don't know what Bolden is thinking as it seems that he just eschews minding his gap.

Ron Utah

November 7th, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^

I love the UFRs.  I know it seems almost pointless this season (or perhaps worse), but this is content that I truly love to digest each week, and very much appreciate.  It's stuff like this that keeps me coming back to the blog and buying HTTV.

Please keep it up, and here's hoping next season is more fun.

Magnus

November 13th, 2014 at 8:29 AM ^

FWIW, I disagree with a lot of these minuses against defensive linemen. Mone (-2) on Tevin Coleman's 17-yarder when Bolden (-1) is the one whose gap gets attacked? Wormley (-1) for staying in his gap on a zone run, when it should be Ojemudia or perhaps Delano Hill filling the gap that's attacked?

Your #1 job as a defensive linemen is to maintain your gap. These guys are doing that, and they're being negged for it.