How Does the Staff Improve the Drop Rate?
Was at a birthday party yesterday so only caught a few plays in the first half of Sparty getting crushed. The halftime summary looked like a video game, 49-0, the Nuts' 500 yards of total offense, against another 9-1 team. Top ranked passing offense vs. bottom ranked passing defense = annihilation.
I guess you could say the Nuts were firing on all cylinders. Again, didn't see it but the score indicates they were finely tuned, polished.
Which leads me to my question for any wide receivers coaches out there. It is just me or does it seem like our receivers too often are trying to catch the ball with their arms and trap it against their bodies instead of using their hands? Most of the time they're using their hands but definitely not all the time.
If we're going to have any chance to beat the Nuts, we cannot squander possessions through bad penalties or drops. Gattis appears to have a good record coaching WR's. Sometimes I wonder though if he's had enough time to devote to the task with all of his other duties. Suggestion: a drop in a game or practice = 30 on the jugs machine after practice.
On balance, I'm still excited about the progress this young team and the new coaches have made and am looking forward to the next couple of years. Hopefully they can maintain the tight brotherhood.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
If you can catch a wrench, then you can catch a football.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:24 AM ^
Play JJ.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
JJ is going to throw the ball and catch it also? What a moronic statement? We get it. JJ is your answer for everything.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:47 AM ^
Play JJ.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
JJ Hundsecker approves this message.
I don't though. Cade is doing just fine.
November 21st, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
$10 says all these idiots disappear as soon as JJ loses a game instead of taking the verbal beating that they deserve. These are the same people that were pounding their fists into the table for Brandon Peters and Joe Milton.
The second JJ starts, they'll change their username and start screaming for someone else.
November 21st, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
He already lost the MSU game. I say this as a big JJ fan excited to see what he can do when he's ready to start. Cade got us 10 wins and God willing 11 after this week.
November 21st, 2021 at 1:36 PM ^
Except the part where JJ lost the game. Harbaugh said that the fumble was Corum's fault not JJ's. And I am a fan that supports Cade as the starter.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:26 AM ^
I thought this was a Diablo 2 question for a hot second.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
Probably just the power of suggestion would work. I suggest we undertake ass.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
"If we're going to have any chance to beat the Nuts, we cannot squander possessions through bad penalties or drops."
It's remarkable insight like this that makes the Message Board essential reading. Between the OP's contribution and the "How can we fix McNamara in one week?" post it's been a great morning.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:34 AM ^
Personally, I was most appreciative of the coaching suggestion after a missed catch in practice. That may finally give us the edge we’ve been looking for.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:31 AM ^
Stop trying to make Nuts happen. It’s not going to happen
November 21st, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
Nuts is so fetch, though.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
In before delete. CJ needs to start doing whatever All did to get rid of the drops. CJ drops 2-3 passes a game that hit him in the hands or chest. Very reminiscent of All last year. (or was that 2 years ago?)
November 21st, 2021 at 10:42 AM ^
Good lord I hope our team doesn't play as bad as the threads have been the last 12 hours
November 21st, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
Not a lot you can do about it gong into the final game but drops have been a problem all season. CJ and Baldwin in particular. Looks like All has finally figured it out.
Anthony should be the standard.
November 21st, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
I tried pasting the chart from the PSU offensive UFR but I couldn't get it to format. I will link below. Through the first 10 games, CJ had one drop of a routine catch all year (out of 21), dropped 3 of 11 "tough catches" and made 2 circus catches out of 12 throws. If you combine the routine and the tough, that is 0.5 drops a game not 2 or 3. I think there was one yesterday on the opening drive.
The rest of the team had 6 drops of routine catches - Corum 3, Baldwin 2 and Wilson 1. The rest of the team was 25/33 on "touch catches" and 8/37 on circus catches. Yes, drops are bad, but they don't seem like they have been a particular problem.
https://mgoblog.com/content/upon-further-review-2021-offense-vs-penn-state
November 21st, 2021 at 10:45 AM ^
The receivers were balling yesterday. If they play like that we have a chance.
November 21st, 2021 at 10:54 AM ^
Honest answer: hire a dedicated WRs coach in the offseason. Gattis should focus on being the OC if he stays. Bring in someone who can focus all their attention on coaching the WR group.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
At the expense of which position coach? Only one that makes remote sense in the current staff is to move Bellamy to WRs (his playing position, never coached it obviously) and have Clinkscale coach the entire secondary. Outside of that you’re looking at a position coach either being let go (none of which deserve to be let go) or being offered a new job. In which case replacing that position coach would be required move, not hiring another offensive guy.
Downside there is Clink is about to have a Co-DC label slapped on him due to a clause in his contract where he earns the title if the pass defense finishes as a top 25 unit. Is coaching the entire secondary on top of his new Co-DC duties going to cause the same workload issues that you claim Gattis has?
November 21st, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
That's easy. Gattis leaves and coaches Va Tech. Weiss is moved to OC. Bellamy is moved to WRs. Clink is moved to all of the DBs. Oz is promoted to EDGEs. Done.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:11 AM ^
This cannot be an actual thread. This cannot be an actual thread. This cannot be an actual thread. I said it three times, is it still here?
November 21st, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
WRs looked great the one year Jim McElwain was here. Nico Collins had ZERO drops that year.
That's all I'll say. I don't feel like opening a can of worms. A guy was shot multiple times last night a half block away.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
Michael Barrett for receiver
November 21st, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
I think they need to stop calling the plays that cause the WRs to drop passes. That should fix everything.
In case you're wondering, I'm available to offer my remarkable insights on major media outlets. Feel free to DM if interested.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:24 AM ^
Pretty easy actually. Just put Stick-em on the back of each OL's helmet
November 21st, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
Maybe it's the football. Should compare them to osu balls. A good football helps.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
Stickum. If if was good enough for Lester Hayes, it's good enough for our receivers.
And "jugs machine" will never not be funny.
November 21st, 2021 at 2:07 PM ^
Have them watch and then emulate the video of Jabrill Peppers catching fastball passes from the Juggs Machine. Dude put on a clinic.
November 21st, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
run the ball
November 21st, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
Teach all the receivers how to juggle, then have them practicing juggling footballs. Seriously. I'm a old semi-professional juggler and I catch things without thinking about them, just from constant practice. My theory is if all the offensive skill players could juggle footballs, they'd rarely if ever drop a pass or fumble the football. Never had the opportunity to put my theory into practice, though.
November 21st, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
Just reps. Though I also have noticed that most catches are very dirty, where the ball is almost falling out of their control and such.
A big issue is the body catch. Both Johnson and Wilson revert a lot to it as opposed to a clean catch with their hands. Wilson has an excuse at the moment but I've seen every major target do it a few times this year.
Repetition is the only thing I think works that isn't a gimmick with no real value. Some coaches call body catches drops in practices. They'll treat it exactly as a drop and that helps a bit. Others don't care how you haul it in as long as you do.
But there is certainly an odd trend of UM pass catchers using their chest to catch the ball and that should be coached out of them by the end of HS, tbh.
November 21st, 2021 at 1:02 PM ^
I have also noticed a lot of guys letting the ball come into the body with catches. There have been several catches where they could have extended their arms and used hands to catch. I don’t watch too much CFB in general so I don’t know if it’s a Michigan thing or a college thing.
November 21st, 2021 at 2:41 PM ^
This seemed like more of an aberration than anything else.