2021-09-04 NCAAF - Michigan Offense vs. Western Michigan - Every Snap
September 5th, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
Did I likely miscount? yeah. But i counted 19/25 runs on 1st down, with 4 of the rest being swings out of the backfield. 92% of plays on first down being runs/swing passes sure is establishing the run
September 5th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
I think we should also keep in mind the flow of the game and the opponent. Michigan was up big for most of the 2nd half so it was a good idea to keep the clock rolling by running a lot. In a more competitive game I think that ratio is closer to 65/35 run/pass. This team's greatest strength is it's running game.
September 5th, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
I agree, except the first half seemed to be more egregiously run based, and the second half tried more passing on first down comparatively
September 5th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
they were on pace for 54 points by half time and I'm pretty sure harbaugh took the fg at half for practice and a bit of class. Yes it may not work against everybody and no I dont think they are "saving" themselves for OSU, but football works by having a bread and butter play and you HAVE to be good at that.
Everything you do depends on being good at that. They did it, not always great, but they were pretty dominant AND they got lots of practice.
also, 7.8 ypc and 3 td = yay.
September 5th, 2021 at 11:54 AM ^
First, thanks for posting this! After re-watching:
(1) The end-arounds were well conceived plays--hats off to Gattis for those!
(2) Cade is super-accurate, which is great except that . . .
(2) My first impression that Gattis is pass-averse wasn't wrong; he ran inside on first and 10 nearly all the time, and only called for Cade to pass the ball downfield three times on downs that weren't typical passing downs. Three times! (I didn't count swing passes in this tally, since they're more like running plays.)
So, pretty much the only time you could expect Cade to throw a pass was when Michigan was behind in down/distance, and the defense was expecting him to throw a pass. Tough conditions to work under.
I'm glad it worked against Western Michigan, but I have my doubts against better defenses.
September 5th, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
I'm sure that the play calling had more to do with score and opponent and less what we will see moving forward.
September 5th, 2021 at 1:01 PM ^
I feel like I've heard this somewhere before, I can't quite place my finger on where.
September 5th, 2021 at 1:21 PM ^
I used to think that too.
September 5th, 2021 at 3:14 PM ^
I am hopeful that is the case, but I don't 100% believe it . Running on obvious passing downs on the second and third drives of the game tells me that perhaps not much has changed, play-calling wise. You have to trust your QB and your passing game if you want to beat good teams in 2021. The Western game was the perfect time to get the QB good reps while the game was close, and they really didn't do that. Sure, it could be because it was Western, but I won't buy it until I see us be more aggressive -- by choice, not because we are down by 17 -- against a good team.
September 5th, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
Confirmed Good:
- Corum is just fantastic.
- Haskins still running like a dog
- Overall speed at the skill positions
- Seeing McCarthy really try to quarterback the offense. I'd like to see a bit more touch on some of his throws but I love seeing him out there trying to take ownership of the offense, making line calls, pointing things out ect. Just didn't seem overwhelmed.
Need to see more:
- Coherent offensive line play. Looked good for the first week. Organized. Comfortable
- Vastardis. Came away quite impressed with how he played. Wouldn't say he's a dominant blocker but I don't think he missed a call all game long. Consistently in the right position. If he plays like this all year I'll be thrilled.
- Offensive pace was much better.
- Cade just managing the offense. Made the right decisions. Looked the part. Love his leadership skills which were on display when JJ made his big TD pass. Cade was one of the first to celebrate with him and it looked genuine. Really believe he's widely respected by his teammates.
The not so great:
- Still had some stubborn play calling with running into a stacked box
- Still had some instances of running the ball in second and long situations
- Wildcat continues to be stupid
September 5th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
Just to play the Devil's Advocate: The game plan was to establish the run against a clearly less-talented D line.
September 5th, 2021 at 7:14 PM ^
Except DL was the strength of their team and their secondary is a huge weakness.
September 5th, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Some of my favorite low key plays were early in the game. Both involving CoJo.
That first down catch with the strong hands gets a chef’s kiss.
Then I seriously laughed out loud when he had the “oh shit, Blake is coming” moment and did his best to get out of the way.
September 5th, 2021 at 12:22 PM ^
Couple quick comments after re-watching the first half: early FG is missing. Also, people on the board were saying yesterday that the o-line wasn't making holes, the backs were just running great anyway. Not true.
The fact that the whole team looked so well-drilled yesterday, in the first game of the season, bodes well. Employing some tempo was heartening.
One thing I think I see: If we could somehow get past Wisconsin undefeated, with that bye week. . . you begin to feel really good about this team over the next couple of years. If.
September 5th, 2021 at 1:22 PM ^
I’m pretty sure it’s only offensive plays, not special teams, so no field goals or extra points.
September 5th, 2021 at 12:24 PM ^
I really liked how that they could run plays quickly. They might actually be able to tempo teams this year. It was also nice to have a QB that could give the WR a chance on the long ball.
What I didn't see were any RPOs or plays where they are optioning anything. I also did not notice any of the innovative frippery we had hoped to see from Gattis. There were some misdirection plays to All but even those seemed very old school. Even Bo threw surprise passes to the TE. The end arounds mixed with the inside running seemed more Wisconsin-like than what we had hoped to get from Gattis.
The much talked about Villari package seems pretty silly. Wildcat with the third string QB. Amazing.
It was great that they could run against WMU but to me that offense looks like the old days of running against inferior teams and then into a brick wall against good teams. I did notice any of the innovative, modern stuff that we had expected from Gattis.
September 5th, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
I don't assume they showed everything this week, do you?
September 5th, 2021 at 1:04 PM ^
I could loosely imagine some real nice RPO’s off of the edge rushes by receivers.
hopefully they showed exactly what they wanted to have Washington see.
September 5th, 2021 at 1:23 PM ^
Yes I do until proven otherwise.
We have quite a large sample size over the years that shows us we aren’t saving the playbook for better opponents.
September 5th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^
I can see saving plays and permutations for bigger games. Even though years of experience have demonstrated that to be a false assumption.
What I saw was a vanilla run game with a very few vanilla passing plays. I didn't see any RPOs or real option plays. Wouldn't you want a new QB to practice those complicated concepts before unveiling them on the big stage.
In the previous two seasons, we assumed the RPOs and options weren't used because the QB couldn't make the correct reads. Now, we've got the QB who apparently can make the reads and still we don't see them.
Time will tell, of course. And you can only beat the opponent you play on any given week. Michigan won big so that is good. But I am not sure what to make of the future from that game. This looked like the same thinking that killed the offense against MSU last year (a game you would certainly want to bring your "real" offense) and that is a concern to me.
September 5th, 2021 at 9:20 PM ^
I hope they prove me wrong this year, but experience says no, they didn't save much.
If it wasn't Michigan coached by Harbaugh and Gattis, sure, they saved a bunch of stuff.
But not Michigan. They showed much of what they want to do on offense. They said early in the week what they wanted to do, and they did it. There may be a wrinkle or two, but primarily, they will run the same stuff -- maybe out of a different formation -- and teams will be ready for it going forward. And I'm not saying that to be a dick -- we have years of evidence for this. People have said "oh, vanilla game plan, they're saving things" for years, and they just don't.
This is why I say we needed to practice our longer-range passing game -- more than a couple deep shots. The better teams will be ready for Michigan's plays -- they always are -- and that will put us behind on the scoreboard, needing to pass to catch up.
TL;DR -- Michigan's playcalling and lack of creativity on offense puts a ceiing on their possible record.
September 5th, 2021 at 2:14 PM ^
It's incredibly exciting to have multiple speed guys at RB and WR and a QB that can distribute the ball accurately amongst them. It's very early but this offense just feels so different this season than the past few under Gattis.
September 5th, 2021 at 6:01 PM ^
Yes, it looked cohesive and it had the ability to attack at several levels. Also, Cade looks to be a capable QB
September 5th, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
McCarthy is a beast, can't wait for him to put on some size and be unleashed. Kid has a hockey/lax background and won't be afraid to mix it up. Sounds a lot better to me than someone trying to join the Korn Ferry Tour.
September 5th, 2021 at 2:31 PM ^
McCarthy is a double post.
September 5th, 2021 at 3:12 PM ^
Thanks for posting this!
I was at the game so I feel as though I miss quite a bit...and these highlights help fill in the gaps on what happened and how it happened.
Go Blue1
September 5th, 2021 at 4:17 PM ^
Oline looked to be mostly moving guys around pretty well. Zinter was a beast. Filiaga moved some guys, but had his head down to much. Especially getting his head up on pass-pro. But they looked like a strong unit.
Edit: I thought Zinter was 77 on the replays because I thought I saw a cast, but that is Keegan, he was the one who seemed to roadgrade people again and again. Keegan is a beast
September 5th, 2021 at 7:16 PM ^
zero reads? Pounding it into a stacked box? Running almost all the time against a team with a good dl and bad secondary? Gattis needs to go, he can't call a game for shit.
September 6th, 2021 at 6:18 AM ^
Remind me not to invite you to my next dinner party. You'd be the guest getting a free dinner/drinks and after dinner lines and then complain the gravy had too much pepper and you only drink New Zealand sauvingion blanc.
FFS - was it perfect, no. Were there flashes for a hopeful future - yeah. Were there some legacy issues that will likely remain - yeah. But its college fb, not perfection (unless you are alabama).
Week 1 against an ultimately overmatched opponent. I'll take it. My hot take:
What I liked:
1. QBs - top 2 looked good. Future is looking up.
2. RBs - Haskins super solid and very polished. Corum is going to be unstoppable in the future.
3. Long bombs that landed
What could be improved....
- Drive 2 & 3 were a bit tasteless
- Lots of drops by receives in Q3
Overall - I'm looking forward to watching Washington next week.