How should Michigan defend TCU's offense?

Submitted by WalterWhite_88 on December 16th, 2022 at 5:47 PM

Interested in everyone's thoughts about how Michigan should defend TCU's explosive offense. 

Here are my questions regarding our defensive gameplan:

1. How do we defend against the QB run? Have a spy? Or just try to keep Duggan in the pocket? Or play more zone?

2. Should we devote most of our resources to avoiding explosive pass plays and make them go the whole field and hope to stop them in the red zone? (I.e. send only 3 or 4 man rushes on pass plays and hope our linebackers and defensive line can stop the run with only 5 or 6 man boxes. Similar gameplan to the OSU game)

3. Should we double team Quentin Johnston on every down or see if Will Johnson can keep up with him on his own on most downs?

4. What, if any, weaknesses can Michigan's defense hope to exploit?

Hoping people who are much smarter than me can lend their thoughts! 

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Vasav

December 16th, 2022 at 6:30 PM ^

We should try to tackle them short of the first down marker on 3 successive plays, unless of course we are able to interrupt an attempted pass.

Joined: 12/13/2009

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WalterWhite_88

December 16th, 2022 at 6:39 PM ^

Lol, I guess I picked the wrong day to post this thread. Apparently almost nobody is in the mood to talk about football strategy. Should've waited til the week of the game, I guess. 

Joined: 06/14/2019

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Vasav

December 16th, 2022 at 7:08 PM ^

Naw man you're good everybody else just had goofy one liners we wanted to try.

Limit big plays. Try to contain Duggan in the pocket. Their receivers will get theirs, as OSU did, but hopefully we can limit their chunks to the 20-yd variety. Rely on our front 7 to  stop the run. I think UT pressured Duggan effectively - I wouldn't mind trying that out but after watching The Game I'm comfortable to try to make him go thru his progressions and keep him from escaping. He's a playmaker for sure, so hopefully we limit those.

Also - run the ball and limiting TCU's opportunities like TOP is an important stat isn't the worst idea.

Joined: 12/13/2009

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XM - Mt 1822

December 17th, 2022 at 8:07 AM ^

serious response:  from the 30,000 ft level you're going to call it like a combo of how we played ohio (receivers!) and how we played maryland (tua can run!).  in general you are going to try and make your pre-snap defense look the same much of the day, but have guys bailing out or flying up just before or right at the snap, depending on the call.   

all of the particulars are based off of tendencies and tells that take hundreds of hours of film study to download.  anyone who makes bold or uber-specific statements without that film study is guessing.  i would download their 5 most frequent runs and 5 most common pass pattern/combos and have scout O running those a bunch.  after that, then i'd have scout O probably go the other way, and mix in some of their least run plays and gadget plays.  my back 7 will be required on request to name the starters and stars on TCU's offense.  i want them to know the numbers by heart, know their stats, and what their best plays have been. 

you might not go cover 0, but you are certainly going to be swapping cover 1, 2 and 3 and probably do a bunch of match-up zone.  you are keeping their big receivers in front of you like you did v. ohio, but you also have to respect the run, both by their RB and their QB, thus gap/lane integrity will be a big emphasis for the D-line these intervening weeks.  

that's a start.  without investing in film study i'd be flying blind for anything more. 

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Twitch

December 16th, 2022 at 6:45 PM ^

Absolutely do not double Johnston exclusively.  They have more than one receiver and both are big.  Maybe you single Will on him at first and see how it goes.  But both receivers are 6'4+.  This may be a game for Makari Paige, who is 6'4, to be utilized roaming with Moore to play a bit of a robber.  Moore breaks on slants really well, and him playing this way kind of puts him in a bit of a spy role as well for Duggan. Duggan is sneaky fast too, so man coverage is gambling a bit there.  Their running back is a strong sob, another reason to be careful with man coverage.  He'll break tackles if we aren't sound fundamentally (which we have had issues with from time to time) and once that happens, he's eating up a lot of yards while our dbs are focused on their man.  I would guess we need to mix it up, maybe call a gameplan similar to OSU where we are ok with a few plays but tighten up big time in the red zone.  Not sure we should even rush Duggan that much, just try to keep him in the pocket and try to collapse the pocket on him.  To me, he seems to be the closest thing to Taulia we've seen since Maryland, but he's a better thrower and far less likely to make mistakes when things break down.  The x-factor for me is Garrett Riley.  What sort of gadget plays does he have up his sleeve?  What kinds of wrinkles will he install in the passing concepts?  As I said, both receivers are 6'4+ so how will they try to line them up to create mismatches?  If anyone's up for it, I have full confidence Jesse MF Minter is.  Go blue!

 

Edit*  Knew I'd forget something.   From what I can see their oline is the weakest link in the offense and specifically the right guard (IIRC) so I'm sure Minter and Co. are dialing up things to take advantage of that.

Joined: 01/01/2019

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Twitch

December 16th, 2022 at 7:15 PM ^

From what I saw from SpaceCoyote it wasn't necessarily about doubling either (though we did play 1 double # on, I believe, their first td).   Stroud hates it when you take away his first read and then muddy up his second.  I admit I don't see the game like that either.  Working on it.

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Vasav

December 16th, 2022 at 7:15 PM ^

Via my understanding of the UFR, we overplayed to Harrison mostly (which did open up other things), but then we also sorta disguised coverages so Stroud had to come off his first read and he was not great at going through his progressions which is what limited his effectiveness some.

They still got a lot of yards, but also a lot less points than us.

Joined: 12/13/2009

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turtleboy

December 16th, 2022 at 6:46 PM ^

The Minter way. I fully expect him to win the chess match against their OC as the game wears on.  I'd bet we'll still have some open field tackling issues, and they'll still get plenty of chunk first downs, but in the whole it should be a repeat of The Game, except we don't start out in zone as our base coverage. 

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Amazinblu

December 16th, 2022 at 7:02 PM ^

Pressure with four.  Contain Duggan and force him up the middle - tackle surely and early when he runs.  The secondary will plan to keep play in front of them - the sideline routes will be the most challenging to defend.

I believe, as others have pointed out, that Minter has been thinking about this for a while, and - will have more than one wrinkle to share.

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Bo Glue

December 16th, 2022 at 8:16 PM ^

We should be able to get a few sacks rushing 3-4 guys. Dedicate a spy on almost every play. Don't respect their lackluster run game and instead sell out to stop the pass. Will Johnson held up well against MHJ so I see no reason to stop rolling the dice with him 1-on-1.

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Romeo50

December 16th, 2022 at 8:46 PM ^

Maryland. Except Taulia is faster. Will will make QJ look covered and amoeba will emerge. Pocket constriction will speed up Duggan's timing. Tackling has to be solid.

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TESOE

December 16th, 2022 at 8:55 PM ^

Duggan should pay for running the ball. He had a tough KSU game, just you wait. Getting pressure with 4 will really help.  I think this is an Okie break out opportunity. It would be nice to get a Mazi pic over Duggan ala Branch over Morelli.

This photo is iconic, but it points to a big difference between these teams in the trenches. Our D line is stouter than any TCU has faced this year. I'm just hoping that Duggan doesn't have a game. Getting into his head when he tucks or takes a full drop will be key.

I don't want to go after him more than 2-3 times in the game.  He is too good to not take his hot route, or bust it up an open lane. I'm very happy with our Edge play without Morris. Can't wait for showtime.

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BursleyHall82

December 16th, 2022 at 9:26 PM ^

I think that if they run the ball, we should have our guys tackle their guy before he gets past the line of scrimmage.

If they pass, we should have some guys cover all the eligible receivers while other guys rush the passer. They should either sack the quarterback, intercept the ball or knock it away.

You're welcome.

Joined: 07/14/2013

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Midukman

December 17th, 2022 at 7:18 AM ^

I predict an OSU style game plan with more pressure from the safety and linebackers. Their offense is dangerous no doubt, but it’s been against big 12 defenses and Knowles was their crown jewel of coordinators. We contained Harrison who, make not mistake will end up being an nfl hall of fame receiver barring unforeseen circumstances. Will Johnson and Makari will earn their chops in this one. 

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bdneely4

December 17th, 2022 at 8:39 AM ^

Identical to how they have defended Penn State for the past several years. TCU reminds me of a less athletic PSU except probably better coached. 

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