Nebraska Snowflakes: Special Teams / Coaching
September 30th, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
Team was ready to go. Only 1-2 play calls I had issues with. Solid preparation showed in a solid win.
September 30th, 2023 at 8:24 PM ^
Indeed, well prepared, well coached, well played and executed, we're really spoiled right now.
I complained a couple of times during the game and then as I watch this MSU v Iowa game, there are so many cringe worthy plays. Not that Cade is that impressive really, but MSU just might win this game with how anemic Iowa's offense is.
We played like it was a business trip today, we still don't have our full 100% healthy squad and seemingly sleepwalking in parts of our games yet so damned efficient.
If I'm not mistaken, we had ZERO penalties, ZERO!
I think we're only going to ramp up our play going forward.
October 1st, 2023 at 7:06 AM ^
Yup, ZERO penalties. I can't remember that happening before.
October 1st, 2023 at 8:21 AM ^
Being on the road can help focus you...it's a completely different feel. You have that chip, that us versus the world mentality.
It was needed because I don't think we've seen that kind of focus all year. I think it only gets better going into next weekend.
Then you come home...Michigan will probably be ready for a Bye by that time, but you get a win and you get a rivalry game, on the road, by a team that assaulted your brother...yeah, you'll rest up after that and focus on closing the season strong.
October 1st, 2023 at 8:23 AM ^
Love that the bye comes in what would be the middle of a 15 game season. But also love that it comes when they team will need a break...and when they come off the break, they get a Purdue team that was in the B1G Championship last year, which will be a nice way to work into those last 3 regular season games.
October 1st, 2023 at 10:33 AM ^
Yep. Two incompletions and then running into the line on 3rd and ten had me absolutely flabbergasted. Minus that, coaching was dead nuts on.
September 30th, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
Well, what are y'all gonna bitch about this week?
September 30th, 2023 at 7:21 PM ^
We dropped a punt return.
We didn't get to practice our punting.
The last FG was not aesthetically pleasing.
September 30th, 2023 at 8:10 PM ^
Upvoted for validity of the 3 primary complaints!
Even funnier, on the dropped punt Tyler still ran it back for a significant gain.
October 1st, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
Idk something about tempo and giving less carries to Corum, the usual hogwash
September 30th, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
Team played its best game of the year today. Great balance and a lot of great plays were made by a lot of Dudes and Ballers. Salute to the coaches for having the team so ready to play.
BTW, honest question, did Michigan even punt ?
September 30th, 2023 at 7:08 PM ^
Once.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
And it bounced after 63 yards. Beautiful
September 30th, 2023 at 7:33 PM ^
After peaking at height of stadium. This man will not be successful at AT&T Stadium
September 30th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Thanks. Guess my memory is not quite what it used to be.
September 30th, 2023 at 6:56 PM ^
A shocking development… absolutely no problems with the coaching during an entire game …. WOOOOOWWWWWW !!!
September 30th, 2023 at 6:57 PM ^
Dealing with that wind on all the kicks and punts could not have been easy, but it seemed like it.
Thaw: YOU CAUGHT THE BALL AND RAN FORWARD.
September 30th, 2023 at 6:58 PM ^
Team looked really good today, like the #2 team should. Suspension garbage is definitely behind them.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:03 PM ^
This team certainly played like the #2 team in the country. I'll bet they will get a lot more first place votes come tomorrow afternoon. Some can argue that Michigan played like the #1 team this afternoon.
September 30th, 2023 at 6:59 PM ^
Here’s one of my only gripes from today. Morris got lucky that he didn’t turnover the ball on the punt return. And this is exactly why he needs to be taking every single punt and not platooning with a kid who isn’t even a top 10 WR on the team and would otherwise never see the field.
Morris needs as many reps as possible so we’re not dealing with these issues come November. Stop freaking playing Jake Thaw. This is too important to be dicking around with.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:08 PM ^
You are entitled to your own opinion but consider that Jake Thaw did not make any mistakes today. If Jay Harbaugh who is Jake's coach, feels Thaw deserves to be out there on special teams, then so be it. If Jay feels that Thaw is more of a liability, then he won't be out there.
Things can always get better but it seems some Michigan fans are happy unless there is something to gripe about.
Enjoy this win and let's see more to come.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:23 PM ^
Dude, it's a snowflake thread for special teams. Chill
September 30th, 2023 at 9:26 PM ^
I had the exact opposite reaction to that play. It explained to me why we should be playing Thaw, not Morris. We don't need big punt returns to win games, but we can't afford turnovers. That whiff by Morris was bad enough that I don't care how well he can run after the catch.
Punt returns that go for more than a couple yards are so rare that avoiding a turnover is all that matters. Morris has come close to turning it over a couple times now. Let Thaw just focus on punt returns (which he'll be willing to do as it's the only way he'll see the field) and Morris can focus on becoming a more successful receiver. Morris was hyped up quite a bit coming into the season but so far we haven't seen much from him.
September 30th, 2023 at 9:47 PM ^
I agree Phaedrus — except that Thaw hasn’t been very good at fielding them either (ironically, decent job in that regard on his one today). If they had a “catches everything, never drops anything”, receiver among that talented crew, you know: Ronnie Bell, that’s who would be out there. But I guess they don’t
September 30th, 2023 at 9:49 PM ^
Xavier Worthy, Emeka Egbuka, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Cooper DeJean and many more star players currently return punts.
Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, Jabrill Peppers, DPJ and many more star players returned punts here.
I disagree that special teams don’t matter. Games can flip on a big return. It’s beyond silly to completely ignore that phase of the game because they’re “so rare.”
But even if that were the case and all they cared about is fielding punts, what in god’s name makes you think that Jake freaking Thaw is the best player for that role, especially considering how many punts he’s already let hit the ground early this year? Are you going to sit there and tell me that you genuinely believe that a kid who’s not even a top 10 WR on this team is the best player for that role? Come on, now. The kid has never and would never even see the field if it weren’t for this head scratching decision. At this point they’re just being stubborn about it.
September 30th, 2023 at 11:52 PM ^
I don't think you understand my point. I'm not saying that special teams don't matter, I'm just saying that there are priorities. Priority #1 is don't turn the ball over. It's better to let a punt hit the ground than attempt to catch it and fail.
Games can flip on a big return, but they can also flip on a failed catch that creates a turnover.
Perhaps the ideal situation would be someone other than Morris or Thaw, such as Semaj Morgan, but I have no idea who can actually consistently catch punts. It looks like the coaches don't feel good about anyone in particular, either.
October 1st, 2023 at 12:36 AM ^
And my point is that there’s zero chance that a non scholarship player who is otherwise not even sniffing the depth chart is the best player for that role.
Furthermore, the best way to allow a player like Morris to get better and more comfortable at fielding punts is to let him field as many in game punts as possible, especially during a portion of the schedule where there’s wiggle room to learn and a muffed punt is unlikely to cost us a game, whereas it very well could in the bigger games on the schedule come November.
There’s really no defending this decision. Logically, it makes no sense.
October 1st, 2023 at 11:41 AM ^
And yet Jay Freaking Harbaugh is choosing to play him. Im sorry but im trusting his decision over your "analysis."
October 1st, 2023 at 6:35 AM ^
Literally everyone disagrees with the statement "special teams don't matter". This is textbook Internet strawman stuff right here.
October 1st, 2023 at 12:48 PM ^
Since you are the only one using the phrase ""special teams don't matter" your post is, indeed, "textbook Internet strawman stuff."
October 2nd, 2023 at 12:25 AM ^
If you scroll up there is an entire discussion about the phrase ya goofball
October 1st, 2023 at 12:08 AM ^
Yeah if Michigan is going to continue being the 4th slowest team in the country and playing an offense built to eat clock and grind teams down, then avoiding turnovers is of critical importance. They cannot afford special teams dorfs
October 1st, 2023 at 6:34 AM ^
Thaw did great today.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:00 PM ^
Special Teams did what they needed to do. Punt returns was very good under harsh conditions. Perfect in extra points, one punt and kick offs were perfect.
Coaching: Jim Harbaugh's presence has made a HUGE difference. He's got this team rolling. The entire bench is focused. The assistant coaches are executing their in game duties. Jim now has a well oiled machine. Kudus to the entire staff for keep the players hydrated and injury free under rather extreme heat conditions.
September 30th, 2023 at 9:44 PM ^
“Kudus to the entire staff for keep the players hydrated and injury free under rather extreme heat conditions.”
I was very worried about this too. Great job by whole staff!
September 30th, 2023 at 7:09 PM ^
5-0 baby
September 30th, 2023 at 7:13 PM ^
As we say in the Navy and Marine Corps: satisfactory!
September 30th, 2023 at 7:20 PM ^
One tiny nit pick. Thaw isn't very good at his job.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:20 PM ^
No notes. About the most flawless performance (against an opponent a tier above Rutgers and on the road) I can remember in years.
September 30th, 2023 at 7:44 PM ^
Harbaugh on the sideline happy is all we need to see. Great coaching and this team seems to be pretty balanced on both offense and defense. Glad to see Harbaugh letting JJ improvise and he also found a bowling ball in Mullings. Deadly combination when given to Harbaugh. Love our coaches and what they have done this year and they still have time to improve. It is going to be one heck of a ride.
Let Morris return punts. Yeah he made a mistake but at least he tried to field punts. That is a major improvement.
September 30th, 2023 at 8:18 PM ^
Tyler Morris probably got a "Great play. Now never do that again."
This game was an admixture of a) Michigan is now armed and fully operational and b) Nebraska is complete ass. We'll see in a few weeks how much of it was a) and how much of it was b)
September 30th, 2023 at 8:31 PM ^
LOL. You stole that from the movie Major League
September 30th, 2023 at 8:37 PM ^
A+ today, everything they did worked. Well executed 2 minute drill end of half
October 1st, 2023 at 8:29 AM ^
Good observation about the end of the half.
September 30th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Team was sharp and focused. Playcalling seemed fine, with a couple exceptions, given the conditions....nice to have a bunch of good backups when it's 700 degrees on the field.
Doman knocked one seemingly out of the stadium. Me likey.
I was glad they kicked the FG. Kid needs reps.
It needs to be Morris on punts...yeah, he almost muffed one, but he's electric on the runbacks. Roll with it.
Great job on the road.
September 30th, 2023 at 9:14 PM ^
I don't know how Harbaugh's suspension worked. Was he involved in the game planning and coaching during the weeks and then just had to miss the games, or was he basically away from the program for three weeks?
The reason I ask: I saw a much more cohesive team today, and I'm wondering if Harbaugh's absence meant some growing pains for the first 3 games.
September 30th, 2023 at 9:55 PM ^
Apparently he was allowed to be with the team during the weeks, but not on gameday. The effect of his full time presence is clear.
October 1st, 2023 at 1:21 AM ^
I wonder if he let each of the head coaches in waiting do the full week gameplan the week they were coaching to get as realistic reps as possible
September 30th, 2023 at 9:30 PM ^
Textbook tackle by Christian Boivin on slecial teams. Also made another tackle on special teams shortly thereafter.
September 30th, 2023 at 9:53 PM ^
I yelled at the TV on that one.....40, I see youuuuuu. Nice!