Inside Michigan Football with RR

Submitted by sandiego on

RR had a great quote.  The host asked him about Denards 29 carries and RR replies, "Well, if we had better downfield blocking, he wouldn't get so many carries."  Basically saying if we blocked better he'd have fewer carries b/c he would be scoring all the time instead of taking 15 play drives.  Gotta love that attitude!

yostlovesme

September 10th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^

I understand this logic, but wouldn't you rather have long drives that eat up clock and keep your defense rested.  Don't get me wrong huge plays are awesome, but in the UConn game we dominated time of possession thus dominating the game.  If we scored 30 points in 6 plays I think the game woudl have come out a lot different.

funkywolve

September 10th, 2010 at 6:52 PM ^

especially with a defense that has a lot of question marks.  If you've got a stud defense, you might worry a little about them possibly getting tired but at the same time, they're hopefully shutting down the other team and you're scoring enough that the low time of possession for your offense won't hurt you.

With an average to maybe below average defense, I kind of fall back to the 'your best defense is a good offense'.  Keep control of the ball and keep your defense off the field.  Especially when you're putting points on the board like UM's offense was Saturday.

madtadder

September 10th, 2010 at 6:37 PM ^

The more possessions you get a game, the more points you are going to score. Now, if you are just going to give the ball back to the opponent, quick drives are shitty. But RR's mentality is that every time we get the ball we have a good chance of scoring, so he wants to make sure that he gets the ball as many times in one game as he can.

Engin77

September 10th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^

if you pay close attention to what he says. He doesn't fall back on coachspeak all the time, although he's more guarded now than when he first arrived in AA.

sandiego

September 10th, 2010 at 6:49 PM ^

I don't get the impression that his folksy, good nature style is an act at all.  Don't get me wrong - he can get pissed when he needs to, but he appears very genuine.  I'm sure that plays well with a certain type of recruit and once we start winning, that type will be the 4 and 5 star variety.  Would you rather have RR in your living room or Lane Kiffin?  And that doesn't mean LK brings his wife.

Engin77

September 10th, 2010 at 7:03 PM ^

before I had LK in my living room, I'd make sure the HD TV was strapped down and my DVD collection was locked up; I wouldn't trust LK as far as I could throw him (which isn't far).

Back to RR, I think he is genuine, and kind of mystified that he got off to such a bad start with so many Michigan fans.

briangoblue

September 10th, 2010 at 7:38 PM ^

I was actually really excited about their ball hogging offense last week, having feared that hurry up + big plays would equal a tired defense. Wouldn't mind seeing some big play scores, though. Demoralizing. I like tough long drives, but not at the expense of Denard taking unnecessary hits.

WolvinLA2

September 10th, 2010 at 8:16 PM ^

No doubt about it, if you can have every drive be a 15 play monster drive, that's great.  However, the real goal is to score a TD.  So a one play touchdown drive is better than a 15 play drive ending in a FG.  The thing is, the more plays you run, the more chance there is for a turnover, or a sack, or a penalty, or anything else keeping you from a TD. 

We had one drive against UConn like that, we moved the ball slowly but surely in about 12 plays or so, then fumbled at the 5, so we settled for a FG.  A big lead beats a fresh defense any day.

NateVolk

September 10th, 2010 at 9:52 PM ^

Great points about the D and how the offense can either help it or hurt it.  The big play threat on every down makes the other team's offense press.

I like our depth on defense too. Especially on the line. Guys like Patterson and Black look like they will be valuable contributors up front.  The D is just behind our offense experience-wise.  But they are growing.

LB

September 10th, 2010 at 10:32 PM ^

there is video of one Bo Schembechler hollering "Brandstatter, get in there". He was there when the sign was hung - yes, that sign, the one that reads "Those who stay will be champions" Referring to him as "the host" does not do justice to a man good enough to block for Bo.

Tradition