Middle Tennessee Snowflakes: The Coaching
August 31st, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
I want to know if that spike was on Gattis or Harbaugh.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:24 PM ^
My wife (pregnant and therefore sober, me not so much) asked why we spiked it. I stared at the timeouts on the screen and couldn’t answer her question.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:30 PM ^
I thought it was pretty clear that they spiked it because Johnson didn’t catch the ball on the previous play and they were avoiding a review.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:53 PM ^
Harbs cannot manage the clock in crunch time. Would say that is a huge fault of his. We have seen this a handful of times now. Some guys are masters at it. He is opposite end of that spectrum.
1st and 10 - ball on 27 with clock running. Snapped at 0:57 before half. 2 timeouts.
Running play - 4 yard pickup - clock running. Play took 8 seconds. Next snap is at 0:33. 24 seconds to elapse for a play that got 4 yards with 2 timeouts in your pocket before halftime. Pass incomplete. Clock stopped at 0:29. Now 3rd & 6.
Pass complete for 8 yds to the 14. 1st down and clock stops temporarily at 0:24. Next snap is 0:20. Spiked ball. Wasted down. 2nd and 10.
Patt picks up 5 running and takes 7 seconds off the clock. 3rd and 5. Still have those 2 timeouts.
Pass incomplete. Field goal. And........... hey you get to take those timeouts with ya to the locker room and save em up for something. What? We'll never know.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:07 AM ^
To be fair to Coach Harbaugh it isn't like poor game management has ever contributed his teams losing a game. Well besides that Superbowl, and that NFC championship, and that Orange Bowl and that game against...
September 1st, 2019 at 12:33 AM ^
It wasn’t clock management that screwed the 49ers in the Super Bowl. It was passing to Michael Fucking Crabtree instead of RANDY MOSS on the last play of the game.
September 1st, 2019 at 8:14 AM ^
There was that timeout on 3rd and goal Harbaugh called from the sideline with the play clock running out...did look a bit promising from the snap. But yeah, just left the damn ball to Randy Kap!!
Ugh, I will now try to resume forgetting that game
September 1st, 2019 at 8:54 AM ^
Man how can you guys remember details like that? I watched that game and remember that the 49'ers lost, that's it
September 1st, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
I'm a Niners fan
September 1st, 2019 at 1:45 AM ^
Don't forget that one game in 2015. Punt, something, something..FUCK!!!
September 1st, 2019 at 12:05 AM ^
Josh is all over the place
September 1st, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
Nothing wrong with the spike. There was not enough time to run more than 2-3 plays anyway.
September 1st, 2019 at 2:10 PM ^
It was a wasted down and it still cost us about 2 seconds. We kicked the FG with 8 seconds still on the clock. 10 seconds is more than enough for another play. Poor decision.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
So many coaching blunders. Spiking the ball instead of calling a timeout at the end of the first half when they had 2. Having Hill return punts. Doing fades with short receivers. Having momentum with McCaffrey only to switch back to Shea for the two-point conversion, which was promptly botched. Play calling sure stunk. They need to be a lot sharper moving forward.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:11 PM ^
It’s almost like Gattis has never been a full time OC.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:06 AM ^
None of us have been a fulltime Power 5 OC either and yet managing TOs and end of hald drives isn't rocket science.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:16 PM ^
Yea the spiked ball was really strange.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:18 PM ^
Sounds like a bunch of pissing and moaning to me. They had four opportunities to score on offense and missed their chance. That's not about play calling it's about execution. Gattis gave them every chance to score on a extremely limited Playbook tonight. He didn't run a single RPO, so he didn't put that on film for no reason. Holy shit they didn't score 50 + points, it doesn't mean piss yourself. The chances were there. Hell Nico Collins had his first drop of his career tonight. They'll get better at executing. So stop drinking and go to bed.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:23 PM ^
So the two slants back to back I think in the 2nd quarter weren't RPOs?
August 31st, 2019 at 11:26 PM ^
I'll have to go back and look, but from what I saw Shea didn't read anybody and through the designed slant. Could be wrong.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:39 PM ^
They were RPOs. On the second one I believe there was no MTSU defender to read--the slant was just there in open space.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:27 AM ^
You're a dope. You make a damn strong statement that he didn't run a single RPO and at the first bit of pushback you admit you're not sure. If you weren't tracking every play in real time then don't make dumb statements on the board pretending you're an authority on anything.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:05 AM ^
He made one obvious error in his post and everyone bounced. Instead of getting defensive he backed down. He came out the best in this exchange
August 31st, 2019 at 11:33 PM ^
Line was run blocking, so probably real RPO
August 31st, 2019 at 11:24 PM ^
I saw consecutive RPO’s thrown to Black in the first half.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:26 PM ^
Re: Hill, punt returns...
DPJ was out. I’d probably look to Bell for punt returns but his hands looked shaky tonight too. Maybe Ambry, but he’s just getting back to 100%.
No one else has experience.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:00 AM ^
Soon as I heard DPJ was out I was sure there would be at least one fumbled punt. Glad it stayed at that. Don't think anyone else on the team has fielded a punt in a game before but could be wrong on that. Not an easy thing if you're new to it.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:33 AM ^
I did not realize that DPJ had a high ankle sprain! I'm not sure when it happened but I hope it can heal up within 30 days.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:15 AM ^
I'd be curious if Sainristril would be good with punts. If he is shifty and fast and should have good hands...
September 1st, 2019 at 12:04 AM ^
Harbaugh said in the press conference the reason for the switching of the two quarterbacks was because Shea was dealing with some issues from the blind side hit in the first half. They wanted to do QB runs and not make the situation worse for Shea.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:19 AM ^
That makes sense for lining up Shea at WR. /wtf
September 1st, 2019 at 12:30 AM ^
I have a sneaking suspicion that Hill won't be returning many more punts this season. He didn't look comfortable. And there's something about putting your top corner out there on punt returns that doesn't sit well with me. Coach up one of the young ninjas -- Sainristil or Jackson -- to return punts.
September 1st, 2019 at 1:48 AM ^
The top corner returning punts doesn't sit with me crowd is funny considering we once had a guy named Woodson returning punts.
September 1st, 2019 at 3:55 PM ^
Woodson wasn't the full-time returner though and returned just over half for the season. He was used for special occasions and big games. Russell Shaw and James Whitley were back there quite a bit.
September 1st, 2019 at 8:57 AM ^
I like Dylan as much as anyone and can't wait to see him start--next year. There is a massive overinflation IMO from many fans about his impact. He was 2-2 and had a couple good runs. Anyone calling for him to start is simply wrong.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
Let the fuckery commence
August 31st, 2019 at 11:10 PM ^
Harbaugh continues to mismanage the clock... end of first half playcalling was just pathetic
August 31st, 2019 at 11:29 PM ^
I disagree that play calling was bad. I was actually happy with the pace and play calls. What was terrible was the timeout management. Not calling a timeout after the running play was bad. Not calling one instead of grounding it was just amateur. Maybe that’s what you meant, but except for those timeouts, I was so happy we actually played with pace.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^
Disagree...we wasted 30+ seconds at the end of the half instead of calling a timeout. It looked eerily similar to previous seasons where we looked lost and didn’t have a sense of urgency with the clock ticking down.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:48 PM ^
Disagree. We got The ball all the way to where we wanted it and the drive ended on 4th down with 3 seconds left. I think that’s near perfect clock management. Obviously would’ve been better if we got a TD out of it, but the amount of time left was perfect. The only big mistake was the spike.
September 1st, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
If you call a timeout instead of the spike, when the drive ends on 4th down with 3 seconds left, you’d have 3rd down with around 12 seconds left and the freedom to run any play you want with one timeout in your pocket still.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:25 AM ^
Playcalling and game management were fine. Would anyone be complaining if the whole team didn't have butterfingers? What's the final score if Shea and Hill don't fumble? Obviously that stuff happens, but that really threw off the rhythm of the offense and directly handed them 2 tds, and then the dropped passes added to it. They are rusty and still working out the kinks.
Sure, they're only going to win 5-6 games but they'll look better doing it.
September 1st, 2019 at 8:06 AM ^
Way too positive EYB. Tone it down. LOL
September 1st, 2019 at 4:02 PM ^
A few gaffes are expected as are timing issues on offense. The number of Freshmen seeing the field is a little concerning. Also, the losses on the Dline showed as expected. All in all they struggled more than they should have but what we see in week 2 will be more telling of what the rest of the season is going to look like. The 36 point spread was way too high and an easy choice in week 1.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:10 PM ^
So I get that this was the lab section for the season and all, but this seemed... disjointed and flat. Not a lot of passion. Team didn’t even wait for the end of The Victors to turn their backs and head for the tunnel. Weird.
August 31st, 2019 at 11:52 PM ^
This. I'm not the only one that sees this then. Nobody ever looks excited to be there on Michigan's sideline. I don't get it.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:56 AM ^
Got to be kidding me. Multiple guys celebrated awesome TDs as a team. Whole place went nuts for Ambry's pick. Aidan showed great emotion and passion. End of game...dudes are tired and just trying to get home or out to some Sat. Night parties. Who cares? It's MTSU, not even a back benched b10 team.
Pretty sure it'll be more hype for Army and onward.
Truly was a preseason type game.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:06 AM ^
" Who cares? It's MTSU, not even a back benched b10 team."
And yet we struggled off and on all night with them. A team starting a 6'1 265 pound left tackle. A team whose D tackles are the size of LBers. A team that doesnt have 1 guy that could make a Big10 two deep. Does not bode well for the meat of the schedule, does it?
Was pretty pathetic. Whether you attribute it to playing down to a weak opponent or the OC change, this team was not what you would call well prepared. Or even adequately prepared. The 2 QB, 1 as a wide receiver, smacked of the horrible Pepcat that was misused.
I am less enthusiatic today than I was yesterday morning, for sure. Lets hope the axiom that you improve most between the first and second game comes through. Otherwise 9-3 is the ceiling, not the floor.
September 1st, 2019 at 9:24 AM ^
"D tackles the size of LBers..."
So I looked up Jordan branch from MTSU. 6-0, 300 pounder. He had a sack on Shea and was consistent in the middle when in the game.
Know too many starting LBers at 300 pounds?
C'mon man, Michigan fans are better then this. Demand wins and improved play, sure. Not perfection. Not gonna happen and not gonna happen week 1.
September 1st, 2019 at 12:19 AM ^
The students were 80% gone by the end of the game, and the stadium crowd was occasionally booing them. They're just giving back the energy the fans gave them.