Upon Further Review: EMU Offense

By Brian — September 21st, 2005 at 7:32 PM — 0 comments
Filed under:
1 G O10 Run Martin 8 Nice blocking by Thompson, taking out two Eagles.
2 G O2 Run Martin 1  
3 G O1 Run Martin 1 Touchdown.
Drive Notes: Not much to say. It's Eastern. I do think Martin looks pretty good here.
1 10 O20 Run Martin 8 Martin makes a nice read here, cutting up into the hole as soon as it opens. Kraus gets enough of the EMU linebacker to give him the lane.
2 2 O12 Run Martin 2 This is a really nice run, actually, as Henige gets beat and his man is right in the hole, as is a blitzing linebacker. Could have been a loss of 4.
1 G O10 Run Martin 10 Touchdown. Again a couple of nice cuts. Martin seems to understand his blocking pretty well.
Drive Notes: See previous drive.
1 10 O49 Pass Breaston 8 One of those long handoffs to a WR. The route is stop and wait for the pass.
2 2 O41 Run Grady 3 Not much push from the line, but Grady leaps and spins for the first... his YAC ability is closely related to his fumbling, I think.
1 10 O38 Pass Avant Inc Avant is wide open and Henne misses him. Nice triple route to the left that Henne reads correctly, though.
2 10 O38 Pass Breaston 11 Breaston makes 3 after the catch by cutting inside the corner. Henne sort of sidearms this, disturbingly.
1 10 O27 Pass Avant 13 Easy, easy short pass where Avant is wide open. They're on the 27 and giving a 10 yard cushion.
1 10 O14 Pass Avant 14 Touchdown. Henne gets nailed as he releases this due to miscommunication between Mitchell and Riley, who fail to block the DT. That's on Mitchell, who doubles the other DT even though Riley clearly has the responsbility to take the DE.
Drive notes: Well, 4/5 for Henne here. All I remembered from the game here was the badly missed Avant. There's no coverage at all, so it doesn't mean much.
1 10 M33 Pass Avant 8 Long handoff. EMU is all like way back and stuff.
2 2 M41 Run Jackson 5 Jackson looks quick.
1 10 M46 Run Jackson 2 This another missed block by Mitchell, who just sort of runs at the DE without engaging him. He's not ready.
2 8 M48 Pass Bass Inc This looks like a bad pass from Henne but postgame someone mentioned that Bass rounded his route off and was in the wrong place when the pass was thrown, which I buy given the location of the pass.
3 8 M48 Pass Bass Inc Ball was there but not well thrown and Bass dropped it. Would have been short anyway. Major problem with the play, though, is Riley, who gets beaten badly by the DE, who hurries the throw even though Riley held him.
Drive Notes: First disturbing play from Riley on the day, who had trouble with the EMU DE.
1 10 O40 Run Martin 7 Another sweep, facilitated by a nice block from Paul.
2 3 O33 Run Martin 4 Mostly just crushing blocking here. Ball pops out when Martin hits the ground--not what the coaches wanted to see, even though it wasn't a fumble.
1 10 O29 Pass Avant 3 Long handoff is well defended this time.
2 7 O26 Pass Avant 26 Touchdown.I mean, it's nice and all, but so easy that it probably doesn't mean anything. Avant's open by a couple yards.
Drive Notes: Like the NIU game, the running game is unexplosive but very steady. The coaches must like Martin's vision and cuts, because they keep giving him the zone stretch play that Terrell Davis made famous and Fred Russell drove me nuts with.
1 10 M39 Pass Grady 10 Just a flat dumpoff, appears to be the primary read, too. Grady breaks a tackle and makes five extra yards.
2 1 M49 Run Grady 10 Sweep with the crushing blocking again. Key block is Ecker, who seals the DE with authorita(!).
1 10 O41 Run Grady 7 Crushing blocking again. Very Big 2, Little 8, this blocking.
2 3 O34 Pass Avant 5 Quick out for Avant, which EMU can't defend if they insist on playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage.
1 10 O29 Run Martin -2 Draw and EMU stunts... I think this is just a defense winning the rock-paper-scissors.
2 12 O31 Pass Avant Inc Avant dropped a pass! My world is ending.
3 12 O31 Pass Henne Scramble, 13 You can hear the sorostitutes screaming as their precious Henne starts rolling down the field
1 10 O18 Pass No one Sack, -7 Riley beaten like something beaten a lot (insert domestic violence joke).
2 17 O25 Pass Grady 17 Screen, and Grady puts a nice juke on to get six or seven yards.
3 1 O9 Run Grady 5 They run behind Steno and Henige and they crushify the opposition.
1 G O4 Run Martin -2 The DT slips behind Kraus here on the zone sweep they run with Martin a lot and he makes the tackle.
2 G O6 Pass Thompson 6 Touchdown. Henne had Thompson open earlier but took a while to get to his read here. Nit, yes, but nits is all you get against EMU. Hyyyaaaaarrr!
Drive Notes: Yes, I knew the screen was coming, but it worked anyway. Second incident of Riley being beaten by the EMU DE.
1 10 M14 Run Martin 5 Another zone sweep which Martin cuts up inside.
2 5 M19 Run Martin 4 More outside. I think he got what he could but Breaston misses his block entirely or he could have gotten the corner and gone zip.
3 1 M23 Run Martin 4 Finally an inside run for Martin, who picks the right hole, but is seemingly a little slow in getting there.
1 10 M27 Pass Henne Scramble, 3 This was supposed to go deep but Henne pumps and decides better of it.
2 7 M30 Run Martin 3 Martin against cuts it up inside as Riley gets shoved back a bit.
3 4 M33 Run Martin 13 Martin gets to the corner and fast.
1 10 M46 Pass Breaston Inc Henne shortarms the long handoff.
2 10 M46 Run Martin 6 Sweep!
3 4 O48 Pass Avant 10 Slant, easy.
1 10 O38 Run Martin 4 Martin cuts it back outside when the planned run doesn't appear to be there.
2 6 O34 Pass Massey 17 Massey's wide open underneath the coverage.
1 10 O17 Run Martin 4 This is a run that Martin could have broken bigger but getting outside faster.
2 6 O13 Run Martin -6 All I see of this is the very end as a replay replaces the play. Thanks ESPN+!
3 12 O19 Pass Avant Inc This comes out of Henne's hand funny and launches on a ridiculous trajectory that takes it out of the end zone.
Drive Notes: FG. At this point I should note that Martin is running exclusively outside. Gutierrez takes over after this.  
1 10 M39 Run Martin 4 Sweep!
2 6 M43 Run Martin 3 Draw. I think Martin is tentative when he's facing opponents, he doesn't set them up and juke past them, a la Hart.
3 3 M46 Run Martin 7 Gaping hole and Martin does make a few yards after contact before going down.
1 10 O47 Pass Avant 13 Slant and then six or seven yards afterwards.
1 10 O34 Run Martin 8 Some miscommunication, as Martin has Bihl out with him and one corner to block, and he cuts inside of Bihl, who misses the corner.
2 2 O26 Pass Thompson 8 Gutz loops this one out to Thompson... the difference in arm strength is remarkable.
1 10 O18 Run Grady 3 Draw, meh.
2 7 O15 Pass Gutz Scramble, -3 Rollout that Gutz just takes out of bounds when no one is open.
3 10 O18 Pass Manningham 3 This looks like a bobbled pass at first glance but it's actually a GREAT catch where he sticks one hand out to slow a ball too far out in front of him and then makes the catch and cuts upfield.
1 G O5 Run Grady -2 Jean-Olivier Gagnon-Gordillo!
2 G O7 Run Martin 3 Martin gets to the outside but can't beat the corner and get in.
3 G O4 Pass Breaston Inc Caught out of bounds... Gutz can't come off the covered Ecker in time to get it to Breaston in the end zone.
Drive Notes: There's noticably less to critique because everything works, essentially. That Manningham play was the definition of tantalizing--smartly spearing and catching a poorly thrown ball and then making 12 extra yards with moves that would make Smoove B proud. FG.
1 10 M12 Pass Tabb Inc Gutierrez has all day, all night, and then a taco afterwards, rolls around and then nearly throws a pick. Not his best play.
2 10 M12 Run Martin 12 Huge hole up the middle and Thompson gets a good block. Martin does well here to get all he can.
1 10 M24 Run Martin 10 Another hole, and he makes a good cut to pick up another five, but his cutting doesn't look like it will work against better teams.
2 in M34 Run Gutierrez 1 Sneak.
1 10 M35 Run Grady 2 Cuilla pulls around but doesn't block the linebacker in the hole.
2 8 M37 Run Grady 2 Seems to make the right cut outside here but can't get by the guy that Bihl's blocking.
2 6 M39 Pass Massey 7 Wide open, again.
1 10 M46 Run Jackson 14 A cavernous hole on the right side features Kraus pancaking a guy and Jackson just sort of cruises up the sideline.
1 10 O40 Pass Manningham 22 12 YAC with some dipping and diving and moving and stuff. I think he's the real deal.
1 10 O18 Pass Bass 11 Long handoff and Bass shows his stuff, juking two guys out of jocks and making five after contact. Woohaa.
1 G O7 Run Jackson 7 Touchdown. Jackson takes the corner on low at the four yard line and just plows into the end zone.
Drive Notes: I like 'em both.
1 10 O41 Run Jackson 3 Kraus can't get out on the LB quick enough.
2 7 O38 Run Bass 2 Bass lines up under center and runs a sweep, he slips so it's hard to tell if it would have worked.
3 5 O36 Pass Tabb 5 Kind of a low, sloppy throw from Gutierrez.
1 10 O30 Run Bradley -5 Alijah Bradley? Yeah, this is the last drive I'm blogging.
2 15 O35 Pass Tabb 17 Should have been a pick six by the EMU defender. I think the concerns about Gutz's arm strength are legitimate.
1 10 O18 Run Bradley 3  
2 7 O15 Run Bradley 13  
1 G O2 Run Bradley 1  
1 G O1 Run Bradley 1 Yay 5'2 walkon touchdown.
Drive Notes: I can't believe I blogged this. Someone get me into detox.

So... what does it all mean?

Probably not a whole lot. It was interesting to see the running game completely change with Martin in the game--runs between the tackles were few and far between, zone stretches as far as the eye can see, etc.--but the only thing we really learned is that we really need Kolodziej back as soon as possible, because Riley just isn't a tackle.

New guys who impressed?

Alex Mitchell got extensive playing time and did all right, though he missed a couple blocks, one of which got Henne killed. Manningham and Bass... well, I wish one was redshirting, but it looks like both are the kind of guys that when they say "I want to play as a freshman" you nod and say "yessir," Manningham in particular. It might be next year when they come to the forefront--both had some freshman issues with their routes (mostly Bass, though)--but the kids are all right.

Max Martin also counts as new, since I'd never really seen him with an opportunity for extensive playing time. You can see why the coaching staff likes him. He does have a very high top speed and has good vision when it comes to picking a hole at the line of scrimmage. He's big enough that he can deliver a whack at the end of the play, too. But he's not much for making guys miss and Michigan didn't even attempt a pass to him--either they're k eeping it under wraps (certainly possible) or the whole Martin's-like-Reggie-Bush thing was just a private joke the coaches were playing on us.

And Henne?

Impossible to tell. Eastern rarely got pressure and what they did get was all due to Riley or Mitchell. The results were a sack, an incompletion, and a 26 yard touchdown to Avant. A lot of his completions were long handoffs to receivers and he badly missed a couple passes. The chart looks good, though:

Team Dead on Catchable Inaccurate Bad Read Throwaways Batted
NIU 19 4 5 2 2 1
ND 15 7 9 5 3 5
EMU 12 2 4 0 0 0

The competition was so soft it's meaningless, though, and a large portion of those throws were very short and easy. He gets an incomplete for the day.

What does it mean for Wisconsin?

We'll probably see Martin start and a lot of Manningham.

Grade: B+.

Theme provided by Roopletheme; sidebars adapted from Chris Murphy.