Breakdown Sports: Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Offense Preview
Over the past month or so, among other things, I've been pulling together information about what to expect Jim Harbaugh's offense to look like. I started out with a preview of the man, that included information culled from a variety of places, including this site. This looked more at the philosophy from a wide angled lense.
Next, I went into more depth with the run game. I looked back at his time at Stanford through his time with the 49ers. It's interesting to note that outside the scope of this article, he did some other interesting things. Back in the early days, Harbaugh utilitized as much, if not more, inside zone than he did Power O (which can make for some interesting offensive transition discussion). He also not only ran zone read dating back to the Stanford days, but Power Read with the 49ers as well as Triple Option (from gun, typically involving a slot as the third option) and PA Draws (where the QB fakes the Power O or Inside Zone and then follows the RB into the gap, using him as a lead blocker).
I don't expect all these schemes to be implemented immediately, though they'll be in the playbook. A commenter at the bottom of the post asked what I expected to see, and my response was "Power, Inside Zone, Crack Stretch (or sweep), and Counter F. The rest will come later when the base is mastered.
Regardless, what makes it difficult to defend comes down to this. The chart below is the direction each blocker will go on a given play (to means in the direction of the play, for example, a zone block; away means away from the play, for example, a down block; pull means pulling to the playside). This is against a standard 4-3 Over defense, FWIW (zone schemes won't really change, but who pulls or the away/to combination blocks on gap/man schemes may change).
Here's the link to that post.
Lastly (so far anyway), I previewed the blocks that FBs and H-Backs are tasked with making. I felt there was some misunderstanding when it came to Pallante moving over to FB and what that would mean with him as a full time FB. I had some reservations, not because of his ability to smack people or understand leverage, but because of just how much is asked of a FB to do, and the combination of bat-shit crazy and athletic that these guys really have to be. So this post discusses many of the responsibilities of being a lead blocker in any scheme (including when the RB is tasked with being a lead blocker for the QB in a spread scheme).
I hope to have another post up about Harbaugh's offense this week, and have a few more planned out. I'm also working on previewing Nebraska (Mike Riley preview here) before switching over to more of the defensive stuff to expect for both Michigan and Nebraska, while continuing to take periodic glipses at other B1G teams. So be on the look out for that.
Once the ball gets rolling, this offense should be tough to prepare for. Harbaugh can come at opposing coaches in so many ways. I imagine the opposing the DC would feel like this.
Look buddy, MGoBlog's only big enough for one GIF master.
Who's it gonna be?!
Well, that looks like a tie to me...this is going to be a tough one.
Can't we all just get along.....
going down without a fight...
That's what she said.....
Well played. Upvote.
I really walked into that one...
The doctor said you should avoid any activities where balls fly at your face
This is great ... I'm at a conference this week with some downtime in the middle, so this will give me something football-related to read. Thanks!
luv your posts and enjoy the dissection of the game. Have to laugh though as you stated above that Harbaugh's offense is difficult to defend and it comes down to this... followed by a box of info that I have no idea what it means. I went to the link expecting a succinct summary of Harbaugh football for dummies but instead more complex stuff. I feel I am talking to a NASA guy about the intricacies about rocket fuels. It's not that bad but I guess it underscores how little I really know about today's college football game. I know a good coach though! Haha. Keep up the good work!
Yes, the chart alone without an explanation is pretty difficult to discern (I think that means it's a bad chart, oh well). I added an explanation above to try to make it so someone, anyone other than myself, could understand what the hell I was talking about there. Thanks for the heads-up.
By the way, it's essentially the direction that player will block given the playcall against a 4-3 Over. The fact that guys go a bunch of different directions makes it difficult for defenses to "key" guys to know immediately how to react to a play.
But if we want to discuss the intricacies of Rocket fuels, we could discuss that as well.
the light goes on in grasshopper's mind. Thanks for the clarification!
I read the post on JH's running game last week and really appreciated it. That one is a must-read for any serious M football fan.
I think Smith fits better into a Power O scheme than an Inside Zone scheme as wellm but with the sample size from last year on Green, it became apparent he was struggling with the feel and reads of inside zone. Part of that may be a lack of reps with it, but Power O tends to be a bit easier to read. Playside A gap to Playside C gap and get down hill on the first glipse of clean grass.
As far as Smith, the play gets to develop a little slower, and pressing the LOS isn't as critical, so his lack of speed will hurt him less in that regard. I still think Smith would make a very interesting FB in Harbaugh's scheme, but I'm not sure he's willing to make that transition and I'm not sure the numbers Michigan has a RB warrent that move.
Isaac can fit either scheme, but I preferred him, from the limited I've seen of him, in a zone scheme. One cut and get down hill.
Do you see Miller at center this year or will they want more of a road grader in the middle?
Despite his [lack of] size, I have a hard time seeing him getting displaced. He isn't necessarily optimal in some ways, but he's a smart player that has continued to get stronger and has improved his understanding and technique along the way.
He was doing well within the scheme last year for sure, didn't know if the new philosophy would warrant a change in the middle.
But Michigan did run both last year, the ratio probably just flips under Harbaugh (he still uses zone quite a bit). Like I said, maybe not optimal, but you take a guy that does his job regularly over a guy that flashes, and Miller tends to get the job done. Just don't see him getting shuffled out.
So I think they are capable. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the positions get mixed up a bit for guys that fit a bit better, but we'll see on that front.
I'll be interested to see what scheme Harbaugh uses for coaching pulling. Stanford went from pull and run (which Michigan used under Funk) to a shuffle slide. Shuffle slide is probably the more preferred method these days, as it keeps the OL square to the LOS through the pull. I think turn and run has a higher ceiling, but is harder to learn (kids tend to gain too much depth, get to high, and not get their shoulders turned back to the LOS upon contact). SO we'll see on that end what happens.
Overall though, I'm not too worried about the athletic ability of the OGs on that front. I'm more concerned about the technique and how long it takes them to get good at it. There will be a learning curve, different coaches teach different styles, take your eyes different places, etc. So it's not just a 1:1 transition on that front either.
"Shuffle" technique is more commonly called "Skip" technique. The backside leg comes back behind the playside foot about a yard (I've seen it taught to cross over, I've seen it taught to keep it shoulder width to have some base) and you kind of skip or shuffle out of it, keeping shoulders parallel to the LOS. You can see how that can make you come out high though.
Standard pulling technique drops the playside foot. This pulls your shoulders to the direction you are pulling, and your foot should land approximately shoulder width now that your shoulders are perpendicular to the LOS. Your backside arm will then rip through (pulling grass) to keep you low while gaining burst as tight to the LOS as possible ("pull grass, touch ass"/"scrape grass, scrape ass", other fun sayings)
As long as they can improve upon the 115th ranked offense of last year, I'm good with whatever.
114th here we come!
Excellent work, Space Coyote! Thanks for posting!
What's the story with the coverage of Nebraska? Are there ties to Nebraska, or was it just their turn to be analyzed?
Not just Michigan. There isn't a huge number of fans that consistently want to delve into the Xs and Os of football, so to be able to talk about more varied things and attract a consistent number of readers, I focus on all the B1G. I liked previewing other teams anyway, so this tends to make it easier. You can find stuff on all the B1G teams on there in some way or another; though a lot of content for some teams gets stuck in the draft folder as it becomes difficult to get enough to equate to a full article, unfortunately, but maybe I should just bring my standards down for a full article and post more snipets in that way.
Some of those articles include:
- Maryland Swing Screen
- Maryland Punt Protection
- Minnesota Power Read
- Purdue "concept" passing
- Illinois utilizes RBs in Coverage
- Wisconsin Blitz Package
- Nebrasks WR screens (now defunct)
- PSU 4-3 Over Defense Primer
As well as others. Those were just the most recent. Along with many "Football Fundamentals" half finished posts (Cover 4, Cover 3, Pass concepts, Run Concepts, 4-3 Over, 4-3 Under, etc).
while informative, is a little over my head. I obviously need to be spending more time on this site. For educational purposes.
I can try to do that as well. I'm far from against "dumbing it down". In reality, it's often just a lot more difficult explaining this stuff on paper (or on screen) than it is demonstrating it in person. That's by far the easiest way to teach it, but just isn't really realistic outside of doing youtube videos and spending more time on it, which isn't really realistic for me.
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Mostly in short yardage situations, but it really isn't used much. Harbaugh's offense doesn't lean that much to the old split-back WCO. His use of Power RBs really limits the effectiveness of using the FB as a change-up, where as most old-school WCO had the TB be more off-tackle or outside type runners and FBs between the tackles.
Now, if there is an exceptional player at the FB position, I'd expect to see more of it. But that's probably not happening any time soon. And I love a good FB handoff (not the dive crap that most coaches give FBs these days).
But, for example, Owen Marecic, Stanford's primary running FB in Harbaugh's last two years, received 8 carries in 2009 (7 in the last 6 games) and 23 in 2010 (only one game without a carry). But other FBs didn't really see carries. However, the FBs also had about a dozen receptions in those years, and often times Harbaugh lines up TEs at the FB spot (where they don't really carry the football on runs.
By the way, TEs should be used on end arounds more often. Old schemes often utilized wings for end around plays, and with all the directions H-backs block, it wouldn't be difficult to run split zone, seal the backside DE inside with a FB, and lead the rest of the defense away from the H-back coming around for the handoff. People should make that happen, particularly with how athletic some of today's TEs are. It's a nice wrinkle.
Your chart demonstrates why we used to have our ILBs key near-guard (for cross-pull) to near back.
Though from split backs, we went to far back in shotgun.
Still, that makes for a good read for the backside LBs, but makes it a bit harder for the playside LB, who gets a more varied view of things (for instance, split zone will look different than lead zone or Power O; some of that can be mitigated by understanding formations though).
Did you watch any tape of USC from last season to get a better feel for what kind of technique that Drevno teaches to the OL?
I know Stanford switched to more of a shoulder/flipper blocking technique after Harbaugh left, but Drevno left with him. So as of 2010 he was teaching hand technique for blocking. I believe USC was mostly a zone based team as well, but I didn't pick up what types of technique they utilized (they do run Power and Iso as well, it's a pro-style scheme).
This might be a question that you answer with, "it depends on...." In your opinion which technique is better or will be better suited with the players we have?
But I think it can be narrowed down.
I personally prefer a hand technique. It's a bit harder to master, but I think allows you to control the defenders much better. But, it's a bit scheme dependent as well.
For spread schemes, most today prefer flipper technique because it has less focus on the first level and more focus on getting to the second level. With all the spacing that the spread provides, it makes sense to go that route.
Hoke/Funk taught hand technique. That focus is on controlling the defender, handling the first level, getting to the second level and preventing them from scraping, etc. That is the preferred method in the NFL (more practice hours, so outside of just "pro-style offense", the higher ceiling is more obtainable).
Either can work, and either can work with some adaptations to the scheme (Stanford currently utilizes a kind of modified flipper technique mostly). But, for Harbaugh's scheme, I prefer hand technique and it's what the players have been learning previously, so it makes sense.
FWIW, as far as history, shoulder technique was very popular back in the days when the Single-Wing was the great offense. So it's roots come from there. It was modified a bit to be terms "flipper" technique, but shoulder blocking goes back a long ways. So, yes, preference caveats apply as well.
I haven't done much research besides watching that Orange Bowl game and reading some stuff on the Niners, but does the running game under Harbaugh strike you as more of a consistent grinding or more of a home-run, swing for the fences approach?
With the Niners I got the impression that Gore, Hunter (and I guess Hyde this year) were good at getting medium yardage fairly often but really weren't home run threats.
The Orange Bowl game it sorta seemed like feast or famine...there were a lot of running plays where the back was caught in the backfield. Obviously against Va. Tech who has a great defense but it seemed like there were a few big plays and a lot of futility. They did wind up dominating the game but it seemed like it was mostly the Luck tosses to wide-open TEs that drove the final score.
VT is a very aggressive defense, so that sort of thing (feast or famine) will happen. It'll happen to OSU and other spread offenses, it'll happen to Stanford and other under center running attacks. In ways, it's similar to MSU, who had a long history of stuffing runs at the LOS or for loss and then giving up an 60 yard run for a TD out of no where.
Harbaugh wants to keep the offense balanced. To do that, you need to stay ahead of the chains. Third and 2 is fine, he doesn't mind third downs. Third and 2 isn't scary. Why? Because if you pick up 3 and 1/3 yard every down, you move the chains without getting to 4th down every time. You can manage anything. I don't think it's an Oregon type offense or a Rich Rod offense where it's more prone to go for TDs on any play, it does work to grind the defense and tire them out and impose its will on a defense. Harbaugh's offense doesn't really care what the defense is doing, because it will dictate terms. That's a philosophical thing. It'll still bust it long when defenses over-react, but more than anything it will just work to dictate terms. It's like Frank Sinatra, "I'll do it my way".
Thanks for all your in site on football terms & strategies. I really appreciate your time sharing this information with the average Michigan fan.
So basically me and the opposing coaches will not know exactly what we are running before the play is run. What a great concept, deception! I can not wait to watch a game and not only be excited for a first but for touchdowns!!!