Death by TE
Now that we have seen the offensive playbook seemingly open up, I wonder if the TE will or will not eventually factor in as the final adjustment to the offensive schemes. I assume we would eventually see the TE like they are utilized in Florida's offense. At that point, I am not sure what you would defend.
I know RR has not traditionally gone to the TE as much, but he is continuing to recruit the position with pass catchers instead of bigger blocking types (e.g. Tabb who is also looking at Florida and Iowa) so I would assume this wrinkle is eventually coming. Now the existing TE corps have shown very good along with very poor receiving skills so maybe they are simply playing the odds to consciously limit attempts their direction. Either way, this offense is looking like it will keep going scorched earth.
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
Koger caught a nice pass against UConn but after that game, you're right; it seems like the tight ends haven't been used much.
The title of this post made me think of Moeaki last year at Kinnick. Yikes.
September 24th, 2010 at 1:23 AM ^
Martell Webb has been used very much this season, he has done a very nice job blocking. This is why Football is the greatest sport their is, it's all about team.
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
I don't think we have seen nearly everything yet.
I think there is stuff they have not yet shown and stuff that has yet to be installed.
They are recruiting the TE position pretty heavily, which leads me to believe you will see them more involved as the season progresses and beyond.
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
Thromboembolism?
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^
I can't always be googling words. :)
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:59 PM ^
"Formation in a blood vessel of a clot (thrombus) that breaks loose and is carried by the blood stream to plug another vessel. The clot may plug a vessel in the lungs (pulmonary embolism), brain (stroke), gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, or leg. Thromboembolism is an important cause of morbidity (disease) and mortality (death), especially in adults."
I had no idea. Thanks for bringing "death by TE" to our attention.
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^
I think what RR is doing is using the TEs essentially as a offset fullback (H-back) and getting them a running start to seal around the LBs is essentially what is springing those outside seams for DR and Shaw.
While I can't forsee RR not utilizing this in PA, th saying "if it aint broke, dont fix it" seems to apply.
No sense giving teams a reminder that our TEs are athletic and pass catchers as well as blockers, especially before b10 play.
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
We have great TEs, and I don't think we've come close to seeing the end of their involvement in our system. Rodriguez has a lot of unturned pages in his playbook that we'll see over the coming weeks. Can't wait!!!
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
for you football analysis types. What new formations and plays did we run this/last week...??? We always say the coaches are saving plays for future games / opponents. It would be nice to see what wrinkles they throw at each new team every week (on both offense and defense...)
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
September 23rd, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
I think there's more to come from RR's super secret spread playbook. One thing I'm hoping to see is some motion in the backfield to help confuse the defense or at least slow down any blitzing defenders. The best example I can come up with is the constant backfield motion in Malzahn's Auburn offense. The motioning wr in the clips I saw came from the same set each time, but were three different plays. All required reads from the qb which gave 3 or more options on each play. On one instance the motioning wr was forgotten and hit about 50 yds downfield for a td. I think the motion would make opposing defenses tremble with fear even more than they do now with just Robinson in the backfield. One more thing, the wr coming around also allows the incorporation of the read triple option. Now it's like having to cover two rb's and the dilithium qb, as well as, worrying about the other wr's all at once. It's just an added dimension.
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:02 PM ^
In summer 2009, everyone said "Rodriguez visited Oklahoma and they're going to use their tight ends like Jermaine Gresham." Michigan's three tight ends COMBINED for 21 catches and 283 yards.
Gresham had 37 catches for 518 yards and 11 TDs in 2007. He then had 66 catches, 950 yards, and 14 TDs in 2008.
This year Koger is the only TE with a catch. He had 3 catches for 30 yards against UConn and hasn't touched the ball since.
Rich Rodriguez wants to get the ball to FAST guys in SPACE. He's not interested in using tight ends as a focal point of his offense.
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^
even if you dont agree with the conclusion, it was well reasoned and researched.
Koger and Webb are both turning into very good blockers. I think Koger could be a real offensive weapon down the seam, but really hard to quibble with the ball distribution in the air so far, and when your QB is running 28 and 29 times in a game, there just arent that many passes to go around.
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:44 PM ^
Death by TE was Lloyd ball.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:41 AM ^
The TE wouldn't have to be a major focus of the offense,just an additional wrinkle. It is virtually impossible to defend all of the optons this offense can throw at you and using the TE as a receiver (occasionally) would help keep the D off balance. I'm all for breaking this stuff out against MSU and Iowa.
September 24th, 2010 at 10:26 AM ^
I think more importantly, we have not signed a TE in the last 2 classes, and we have struck out on the recruits we have targeted first for this class. We'll still be ok next year, but we'll be in trouble the year after that if we don't sign at least one in this class. I'm starting to worry about it.
September 24th, 2010 at 1:49 PM ^
was my favorite Lloyd-ball play.