Interview with former Michigan and HOF LT Mike Kenn
Sorry, not doom and gloom, not coaching search related, not Dave Brandon bitchin', not random speculation, etc. This is actually a nice article about a former Michigan player.
He talks about his days with Bo, how he came in at 205 lbs and grew after that, and has some interesting stories from his time at Michigan, his pro career, and how the game has changed. Worth a read.
September 26th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
Anyone who knows OL technique, could you help me better understand the evolution of technique w that position?
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September 26th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
He doesn't like the kick-slide, which is pretty much standard technique now. Lewan I think has some issues after initiating contact, mostly in the run game, but I always thought he displayed good balance and a nice set in his pass protection.
September 26th, 2014 at 2:05 PM ^
the wrong techniques? I'm not very knowledgeable about OL techniques, but seeing that kickslide is the standard for OTs. I'm not sure.....
September 26th, 2014 at 2:41 PM ^
So my answer is no, it's not the wrong technique when utilized in the correct situations. But that's a difference in opinion.
September 26th, 2014 at 6:28 PM ^
September 26th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
"MK: Well, it's really hard for me to watch now, because what's pretty pervasive not only in college but in the NFL, is that nobody is teaching the position correctly anymore. In fact, they're teaching it incorrectly and they're making it more difficult for the modern day player to do their job. They really, really are.
I saw a thing at the Combine one time--and it was maybe when I was watching Jake Long a few years ago. And they had a guy with the offensive tackles who says, "Okay, I want you to go ahead," and he was showing them this thing called the kick slide--a way to pass set for the offensive tackle. And my chin just dropped. I'm like, "Holy crap. That's the absolute worst thing to do. The absolute worst." And they're still doing it now. And I'd have to show it to you and do everything, but it's the absolute worst thing to do, and every NFL film I watch and every college film I watch, they're all doing it the same way. They're all doing it.
And I thought that [Matthews] was the top-rated offensive tackle in the draft. I was tickled that, if the Falcons were going to draft a tackle, that they picked him. The other two guys were going to--Taylor Lewan has a very bad stance and very bad footwork and posture, but somebody needs to correct it if they know how to correct it."
I've said this before and I'll say it again: hire Jerry Hanlon as a consultant.
September 26th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
Where he says "that other guy is a guard, I don't know why they drafted him, he's a guard." I agree with. He has upside as a RT, but most likely will be a really good OG. I don't see him as a LT they're hoping for.
September 26th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
For a tackle with an outside shade, I don't see anything wrong with using the kick slide as long as the lineman is able to accurately decide when it is appropriate to use it. Then again, I played center with a smidge of left guard thrown in, so I can't say I've ever used the kick slide technique before...
September 26th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
DAMMIT Space we've got no time for such tomfoolery.
We've got AD's to fire, coaching staff's to dismantle and QBs to criticize. We've got no time for positive stories about Michigan greats when there's free tickets to mock, Pittsburgh DJs breaking news about player petitions, children writing articles in Grantland about our presumed next coaching search and John U Bacon writing yet another article about why attendance sucks (although that did feaure a very cool picture of my brother in it so there's that).
We're sort of busy right now - sorry.
September 26th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^
Thanks for posting, Signor Space.
September 26th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
September 26th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
September 26th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
just too different, hes comaring apples to oranges. has the dude heard of evolution? current players are simply more athletic all over the field (especially on DL) and the games changed so much - im not surprised older guys have trouble recognizing the game / certain techniques as same sport they played. offenses used to run 75% of time and all they worried about was blowing smaller players off the LOS. the same "technique" "footwork" "posture" etc just would not work in todays game given the better athletes, more in-depth schemes, 50/50 pass:run ratio desired by most clubs, etc. cannot even make the comparisons. interesting article and take though
September 26th, 2014 at 8:43 PM ^
I don't know what you're imagining but that was never the case for Kenn, he's not that old.
There was a brief stretch in the mid-80s when David Archer was the QB and they had no choice but to run the ball. In '85 about 55% of the play calls were runs.
Otherwise, his career basically spanned from Steve Bartkowski to Jerry Glanville--they threw anywhere from 55% to 67% of the time, a little less than a modern team but not by a lot.
September 26th, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
September 26th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
U-M. The team that year had a great OL including Walt Downing, Mark Donahue, and John Powers. Finished the regular season 10-1 and a tie for the Big Ten title. It's great to see him nominated for the Hall of Fame.
September 26th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
...and to my knowledge one of only TWO Michigan players ever drafted by them (kicker Jay Feely being the other). And they wonder why it took over 40 years for them to have consecutive winning seasons. Tahnks for posting, that guy was a complete mauler.
September 26th, 2014 at 1:47 PM ^
Terrific interview. I loved reading his Bo and Michigan stories. His take on how OL play is not being taught correctly these days is very interesting. Ive noticed that overall OL technique has changed in the past 15-20 years, but not being a former OL, I couldnt tell you what it is... just something that you can see that has changed. Looks like Kenn knows what it is. It would be interesting to hear his further thoughts on that. Perhaps he should replace Daryl Funk.
September 26th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^
Probably not likely that Kenn replaces Funk, both because it's not clear that Funk is going anywhere and because it sounds like Kenn is pretty happy doing the political thing right now... but just as a hypothetical:
Question for the experts: if Michigan O-linemen did in fact start using techniques that haven't been used steadily in 20 years, would that give them any particular strategic advantage? Would it make life more difficult on defensive linemen to face O-linemen who use different steps and different leverage than they're used to? Or are we not talking about the kinds of differences that would confuse a defense? Just curious. It always seems like there's strategic advantage in unfamiliar strategies in a macro sense. I'm just wondering if it carries over to the micro level as well.
September 26th, 2014 at 8:55 PM ^
September 26th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
That's saying something. Here's a comment by Elliott Harrison on NFL.com last May:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000354373/printable/best-player-in…
September 26th, 2014 at 5:52 PM ^
Great interview. I especially love his account of the Game in '76.
September 26th, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^
September 26th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^
Was looking up some stats at pro-football-reference.com and noticed that Kenn is still the all-time Atlanta franchise leader in career Approximate Value.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/career-av.htm
The five guys in the photo?
- Kenn, #1 in AV at Atlanta
- Jeff Van Note, #2 all-time at Atlanta
- Clay Matthews, #1 all-time at Cleveland
- Jackie Slater, #3 all-time for the Rams
- Blair Bush moved around too much to be one of these lists and he wasn't in the same class as a player, but he was pretty good.
Amazing that two guys played against each other at rival high schools in neighboring suburbs, then played against each other in the Rose Bowl, and then went on to be best players ever for two NFL franchises.
September 27th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^