Passing Attack through 2 games.

Submitted by MichiganMan14 on
It's very easy to beat on Wilton at the moment. Not going to do that but let's look at the stats. 51% completion rate with 400 yards 3 TDs 2 picks and a fumble thus far. Suprising regression from a Senior but does this have more of a tie to Pep Hamilton than we are accrediting? Wilton faded in the last 3 games last year but was pretty solid up until that point. I'm a little surprised that with the ground success seen thus far, the emphasis on passing has been so direct. This game Saturday will be a good chance to see which direction the offense is going. This is key because Penn state....Wisconsin and Ohio state are all beatable this year and Michigan likley has a Playoff defense. We just need to get to the root of the problem with this passing attack. Heaping it all on Wilton isn't neccessarily fair. After watching Baker light up the shoe it is a tad frustrating to not have a playmaker in that mold...or to not be playing one of we do have him. I think there is still some time to get this fixed but all involved in the passing game to include backs/receivers/coaches need to own up and get this right. This is a Playoff year for Michigan if the passing attack gets fixed.

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^

We cannot complete 50% of our attempts and win a B1G title with a 1:1 turnover ratio at the QB position. The past 5 games have seen some noticeable regression. Maybe we should get better down and distance situations to throw? Maybe use Mcdoom out of the slot. More G. Perry. Quicker throws to put the ball in playmaker hands. Lots of focus on feeding certain guys and abandoning some things that work last year pretty well when we were throwing the ball better.

MileHighWolverine

September 12th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^

I've seen a few plays where the RB's flare out to the sideline to act like a safety valve but Wilton chose to go downfield instead. Can't remember if those were good decisions or not but I think the emphasis for him is to drive it downfield whenever that option exists. 

This happen with O'Korn too....had a chance to dump it to RB but didn't take it.

FauxMo

September 12th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^

Dude, "Inside the Numbers" strongly implies a detailed statistical or otherwise "numerically" focused look at something. You have, like, three numbers in your whole post and then draw some conclusions from them. That's just a hot take, in my opinion, not an "inside the numbers" look at something... 

The Baughz

September 12th, 2017 at 12:08 PM ^

Its certainly not Pep Hamilton's fault. Guys are open and that is his job. Wilton's job is to complete passes to those open guys. I agree that the coaches should incorporate some screen passes and maybe some more creativity, but like I said, guys are open and right now the the execution from the qb is lacking. I believe he will get better. Lets see what happens saturday. 

Squash34

September 12th, 2017 at 5:17 PM ^

The lack of creativity is almost certainly because of the youth throught the offence.As the get more experance the offense will most like start getting more creative. But it is really tough when you have a young team that is prone to making metal mistakes.

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 1:20 PM ^

There are some flaw folks in this room. The post was simple. People try to be extra analytical and stroke their own perceived intellect. The post was designed to spark conversation and had no ill intent. People have ill intent towards people on this blog and try to flex on posts. Clowns. Grown "men" acting like Mean Girls trying to down somebody for simple grammar or title names lol. Can't even talk ball unless your in the circle. More politics lol. Easy to peep and some of yall are exactly why Michigan fan base gets labeled arrogant. Shame actually because this blog does not at all represent real Michigan fans.

mgobaran

September 12th, 2017 at 2:29 PM ^

I just think you didn't really bring anything new to the discussion and there are daily arguments in every article about Speight. TBH you could have just made a "Daily Snowflakes Thread: Speight" and it probably would have gone over better. 

Or just stick to that Pep Hamilton gripe and expand. Maybe Speight and the offense is still adjusting. He has an NFL route tree/playbook, College OL, and Freshman WRs. He's making the right decisions it seems, but that decision isn't as sure as it was last season, he is a beat behind pulling the trigger, causing the OL to let pressure in, and messing up his footwork that causes the sailing balls.  

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 2:08 PM ^

There are some flaw folks in this room. The post was simple. People try to be extra analytical and stroke their own perceived intellect. The post was designed to spark conversation and had no ill intent. People have ill intent towards people on this blog and try to flex on posts. Clowns. Grown "men" acting like Mean Girls trying to down somebody for simple grammar or title names lol. Can't even talk ball unless your in the circle. More politics lol. Easy to peep and some of yall are exactly why Michigan fan base gets labeled arrogant. Shame actually because this blog does not at all represent real Michigan fans.

bronxblue

September 12th, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^

I mean, I assume you know that looking at a sample size of 2 games and then relying on that doesn't really make your argument strong?  I mean, Shane Morris had a 51% completion percentage after game 1 and 1 TD and now has a 62% completion percentage and 7 TDs.  is he now one of the best QBs in the country?  Nope.  Did he have a great game against Kansas and, given the limited data set, that skewed the results wildly?  Yep.

And since you seem so hell-bent on proving your point with whatever agenda you brought along with you, I'd like to point out that in the last 6 games, the team's rushing average was 3.6 ypc; the previous 9, it was 5.6.  So a 2 yard-per-carry drop.  Of course, no way that's an issue with the team holistically when it's way easier to just blame the QB because doing so absolves you of putting any effort into thinking.

 

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^

Play calling has a lot to do with the run game faltering. Who you are running and in what scheme matters a ton as well. That is why the run game has been off. Any effort into thinking? No clown. I can't post actual thoughts or facts on here because the blog would blow up. Hopefully you enjoyed stroking your own ego some more. Carry average drops when you play elite defenses. That's obvious. That is why people are paid millions of dollars to conjure up antidotes to still effectively run the rock. And blame Wilton? I have emphatically NOT blamed the QB. In fact I referenced all the supporting facets around the QB. Since you need specifics as to what I'm referring to regarding offense scheme not lining up with what we did last year...I'll play.

bronxblue

September 12th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^

I still don't completely understand what you are trying to prove here.  

You said 

Suprising regression from a Senior but does this have more of a tie to Pep Hamilton than we are accrediting? Wilton faded in the last 3 games last year but was pretty solid up until that point.

Then you later say

After watching Baker light up the shoe it is a tad frustrating to not have a playmaker in that mold...or to not be playing one of we do have him.

I mean, sure, you aren't saying it's Wilton's fault explicitly, but then you dance around it everywhere by blaming the passing attack. You also said "with the success of the rushing attack...", so yeah, your premise is that the rushing game is fine despite evidence that it has struggled against good defenses...just like a good passing attack would.  And elsewhere in this thread you've consistently pointed out Speight's stats as some proof he isn't playing well, even if there are a number of different reasons the entire offense has scuttled.

I'd love actual insights from you; you are connected to the program better than most, and I'd like to think you could provide some useful info and criticism without violating anyone's trust or confidence.  But instead you posted a topic that basically called out the QB while trying not to, gave virtually no evidence to support it save for the bottom line of an ESPN player card, and then called out anyone who provided a counter-argument.  Call me a clown and assume I get off pointing out really poor assumptions based on a bad application of basic statistical analyis all you want, but that isn't going to convince me (or seemingly a lot of other people) that your line of reasoning is simplistic and reactive.  

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 2:17 PM ^

1. Khalid Hill
2. Eddie McDoom
3. Tyrone Wheatley Jr. ( I know why)
4. Evans/Higdon combo on delays and runs to the outside.

All of the above worked very well last year. Where is it this year? We are leaving points on the field and it's not all Wilton. Some of the scheme is scattered and seems odd.

bronxblue

September 12th, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^

1.  Hill was thrown the ball in the Cincy game.  He got two carries against Florida for 5 yards; that was basically the average number of touches he got last year rushing the ball.  It would be nice to see him in the passing game more, but again, they threw to him at least once in the last game and I faintly remember something in the Florida game.

2.  McDoom's entire gameplan last year was basically 1 jet sweep a game.  Sure, it would be nice to have that option in the playbook, but they ran a sweep with Crawford (that was dropped) and then DPJ to much success.  It was never a huge component of the playbook, and I assume McDoom was squeezed out by other guys.  It wasn't like he was a huge part of the offense last year.  Hopefully he gets another run, but who knows.

3.  I'd love to know.  He's typically the named starter.  I assume there are issues with his blocking being somewhat-inconsistent, so he might get bounced for a more pass-friendly TE in certain situations.

4.  Again, small sample size, but it seems like they are victims of bad luck as much as anything.  At least with Evans, we have evidence that he can do all of that pretty consistently.  But still, if you are going to ding Speight for his struggles, I'll point out that both Evans and Higdon are averaging about 3 ypc this year.

The schemes are different, though I don't know how many points Michigan is leaving on the field compared to historical averages.  College offenses are more prone to mistakes; this team has also suffered from a defense that scores quite a bit.  So some opportunities to, say, put up points on a short field are instead going to pick-sixes or fumble TDs.

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 11:32 AM ^

That's got to get better obviously and the fumble and Pick 6 in the shoe last year were two plays that kept us from winning that game by 2 scores. Wilton made those mistakes but the play calls weren't the best either.

creelymonk10

September 12th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^

Yes, although 1 INT was off both hands of the receiver, and he had a clean TD wiped off the board by an officiating error, should be 4 TDs to 1 INT. However, both of those fumbles were really bad. The Isaac fumble basically thrown at his knees, and with further zoom, can see the ball slipped out of his hand trying to hand it off to Crawford. 

Squash34

September 12th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^

The ball was not close to way to high. Crawford jumped about 1 to to feet off the ground and did not even fully extend. If that is too high then you are basically saying anything about the recievers head is too high.

bronxblue

September 12th, 2017 at 1:29 PM ^

And see, I would have thought not tackling Samuel on a long third down, or failing to rush for over 100 yards while giving up over 200 to OSU, or receivers dropping at least two catachable balls, or any number of other things that happen on a football field would have accounted for that loss.

It's funny - I'm not even that huge of a Speight fan in terms of his play on the field.  But when I see this assinine, lazy "analysis", it makes me want to see him succeed not just because it means Michigan wins, but so that I can see people break their ankles trying to jump back on the bandwagon.  

MichiganMan14

September 12th, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^

1. Michigan defense was awesome in the shoe last year.
2. Peppers missed the Samuels tackle. He was one of the best in the country and Samuels makes the best miss.
3. You can't rush for yards slamming a back that runs 4.75 into the middle of an elite Dline.
4. The Buckeyes could afford to run because We threw a crippling pick 6 and fumbled on the goal line in a 14 point swing that allowed Ohio STATE to not abandon the run.

bronxblue

September 12th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^

The defense played very well in Columbus last year; they still gave up points to OSU and really struggled to slow down the Buckeyes in the 2nd half.  They still didn't tackle Samuels, and that was a huge play.  I don't blame them, but that's as big a play as the pick six or the fumble.  The pick-six was bad, but it was also bad because Mcihgian was deep in their own endzone and Speight threw the ball to a first-rounder.  It happens.  The fumble wound up being largely inconsequential in terms of scores, since Michigan stopped OSU and then scored on the next drive.  

As for crapping on Smith, Evans, Higdon, and Isaac all got shots as well running in that game and none of them did anything with those opportunities.  Also, apparently the staff trusted him to block better than anyone else, and against OSU you have to protect your QB.  

OSU doesn't abandon the run.  It's the core of their offense.  Sure, if Michigan was up 31 to 0, maybe they try to throw themselves back in it.  But that isn't their gameplan, and I highly doubt OSU is much different down 10 vs. 17 in the second half.