Bredeson on Gattis

Submitted by umbig11 on March 23rd, 2019 at 9:23 PM

First, congrats to Michigan Bball and John Beilein. Another sweet 16!

A paraphrase from Austin Fox at Rivals:

Bedeson, “Things are more accelerated now. We want to be the best offensive line we can be, and want to be the most dominant line both in the Big Ten and against every team we play. Winning the battle in the trenches will give us the best chance to win games. We take so much pride in that aspect and strive to be consistent. We know that if we set the tone, it'll help us move the ball. The new offense actually isn’t drastically different for us as a group, because Coach [Ed] Warinner and Coach Gattis have done a great job working together." 

The rest of the article is behind the paywall, but Bredeson likes the tempo and no huddle. 

I added this to the discussion:

“Gattis might not have the team huddling up, but he is still going to run the ball from the Pro Spread. He said he would run using spread mechanics and they will be fundamentally sound running the ball. In addition, he does state that his offense will not be “dink and dunk” and full of bubble screens. He wants to take the top off and use the whole field in the passing game. The key difference that he will employ is to get the backs involved in the passing game more often and allow the QB to run more RPO.”

Indy Pete - Go Blue

March 23rd, 2019 at 9:31 PM ^

Basically, Gattis is saying that we are going to do absolutely everything and we are going to do it extremely well with very sound fundamentals.   Nothing like promising the sun, the moon, and the stars before the first game.  We all hope he delivers!

Michigan4Life

March 23rd, 2019 at 9:44 PM ^

Especially when the defense is going to take a step back from losing Winovich, Gary, Bush and Long. Bush is the biggest loss of all because he covered up a lot for Michigan defense on the 2nd level and neither of the LBs don't have the range and instincts that Bush has at MIKE. The pass rushers has to step up because Winovich provided a lot of pass rush while Gary did some of his own though he could've been better at it.

DeepBlueC

March 24th, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^

Not sure how that's going to happen.  We have two CBs on the whole roster with any playing experience, and one of them is hurt.  At safety we have Metellus, who is decent, and after that, Hawkins, Kelly-Powell and Woods, none of whom impress, and a bunch of guys who have yet to play a down.  Hill may eventually turn out to be a very good player, but how many true freshmen under Harbaugh have been difference makers?  

DeepBlueC

March 24th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^

I expect he'll play, since our talent at safety is very limited.  But no, he will not be a different maker, any more than Peppers or Gary was as a true freshman.  Harbaugh simply doesn't trust true freshman, and will not use them in a starring role, no matter how good they are.

And no, I have not watched him play in college, and neither have you.  

SlickNick

March 24th, 2019 at 5:54 PM ^

Chris Evans came in and played early, Bredeson, Onwenu, Ruiz  played early stepping over guys that were older than them. Our entire WR group jumped guys on the depth chart causing some people to transfer. Devin Bush started over guys older than him. Our CB's started over guys older than them. I mean pretty much every position has young guys playing over people with more experience. Maybe they weren't true freshman but this demonstrates how Harbaugh will play the best players regardless of age. Just because we haven't seen a true freshman come in and start day 1 does not mean it wont happen. You saying "Harbaugh simply does not trust freshman" is not true.

DeepBlueC

March 24th, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^

I'll ask again, since you dodged the question completely:

"How many instances under Harbaugh can you name where an established starter has been replaced by someone younger?"

Name me some guys who STARTED one year, and were replaced as the starter by a younger guy the next year.

SlickNick

March 24th, 2019 at 9:49 PM ^

I answered the question in the first response. I'll say again....Kekoa Crawford was the number 1 receiver...his job was about to be taken by DPJ and/or Black and he decided to transfer to get a shot elsewhere. A freshman overtaking a starter is uncommon at places like Michigan because there is established depth and talent at every position, and freshman are rarely able to come in and take the job from someone who already has game experience. No matter how many accounts you make..your shtick remains the same....you treat your opinions like they are facts and try to treat anyone who disagrees with you like they have no idea what they're talking about. You saying Hill won't be a difference maker as a freshman, and "Harbaugh simply doesn't trust true freshman, and will not use them in a starting role, no matter how good they are." is your opinion....definitely not fact. No way Harbaugh has ever communicated to you that's how he feels.

Go for two

March 24th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^

The last two checks on Harbaugh's list are to beat Ohio and win the B1G. Last year we were on a roll but then lost momentum starting in the Indiana game. This year we have to finish the year with wins and not what ifs or wait until next year. I like Harbaughs willingness to change and fix the weaknesses. Installing a Speed in Space offense will allow us to keep up with top 10 teams and allow us to win if the Defense doesn’t play a perfect game.

Lakeyale13

March 24th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^

UMbig11, I agree, year 5 will have some expectations of "put up or shut up".  

Funny thing is, if Harbaugh actually lets go of the play calling reigns, I think he will find some patience with the fan base.  I know I would be much less upset about a poor loss if our offense really and truly is changing with the times and we don't look like a team from 1986 (comparative to what offenses look like today to what we looked like last year). 

 

 

DeepBlueC

March 26th, 2019 at 8:04 PM ^

Not true.  People would have considered it a "big game" if they had beaten Ohio State.  But they lost, for the 4th straight time under Harbaugh, with no end in sight.  Harbaugh has yet to beat a really good team on the road, in 4 years, and he has yet to win a game that would have given him a championship.  

Frank Chuck

March 23rd, 2019 at 9:43 PM ^

I wonder what Gattis means by "pro spread" because not all spread is similar. There's pro spread and then there's power spread (although those 2 strands are converging a lot more recently). 

Frank Chuck

March 23rd, 2019 at 9:59 PM ^

If Gattis means what I think he means, then I'm slightly off put. 

Truthfully, I prefer the power spread to the pro-style spread because it relies less on TEs as blockers and does a better job of creating individual match-ups across the field which puts a lot of horizontal stress on defenses. 

Whether people here want to admit it or not, our TEs are not good blockers. (And frankly, Jake Butt was not a dominant blocker as well.) McKeon is on record saying that he hates blocking and that hurts my soul. A TE that doesn't like to block inline bothers the hell out of me because you have to love blocking to be damn good at it. (Think Ben Mason. Everytime I watch Mason play, I think "he wants to crack someone's skull open or at least pancake him into the ground." I don't see that edge from any one of our TE blockers.) 

 

That said, we should *finally* have a dominant OL this year and there will likely be less need on our TEs to block. Our most talented position group on the team is WR. We have at least 3 NFL WRs in that core. And if Gattis is serious about using RBs as pass-catchers (which I have been yapping about like a broken record forever), then we'll be in a lot of 11 or 10 personnel which I'm very happy about.

For all the talk about Harbaugh's use of TEs, it's Iowa which has done a better job of developing and showcasing talent at that position. George Kittle, drafted one pick after Jake Butt, has become a beast in Kyle S's 49ers offense. And Iowa will have 2 TEs (each a different style) drafted in the 1st round. We have none so far.

One of my major annoyances with the Harbaugh offense in 4 years is how our TEs just do not block well but continue to get snaps as inline blockers. Gentry most certainly should have been used a lot more as a flex TE. 

The other thing I want to see is some more outside zone blocking to create as schematic counter to the inside zone (which has some overlap with man blocking). It's a bit of a tall task because outside zone requires different footwork to inside zone but I am of the firm belief that every team should have 3-5 core OZ plays as a balance to any m2m/IZ blocking play as a good "F you" counter to the defensive adjustment. It demoralizes a defense to see the front 6 or 7 shift inside only to be outflanked by a stretch counter that goes for 20+ yards. 

The last thing I would like to see is the addition of option out of a sweep. It's a great way to force a defense to show its hand (man or zone) and then create a numbers advantage if the defense doesn't stay sound.

Frank Chuck

March 23rd, 2019 at 10:17 PM ^

Yeah, I saw that. 

I think what he means by that is what he intends to do to a defense's back 7 specifically the LBs and S.

Judging from his background with Moorhead, I think he wants to put opposing safeties in the blender and just have them always guessing. 

But I wonder if he'll do that with some multi-directional misdirections or more with "I'm going to rain Death From Above with mid-to-long range bombs because I know my 5 skill players are better than your entire defensive back 7." In other words, how much will every single motion of our offense have a counter?

We want our players to play quickly (because they understand the offense inside and out). But there's a tradeoff between playing fast (simpler offense with fewer options) and playing slower (greater complexity with sometimes too many options that aren't utilized). 

That said, so far he's said a lot of things I've wanted to hear.