Rutgers Snowflakes: The Offense
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:30 PM ^
24 points on 6 drives until end of game - 1 punt (3 and out), 1 missed FG, 1 FG, 3 TDs. The game was fast and short but honestly O didn't play bad against a decent D
But not a great defense. O needs to improve. Our Receivers are ok, not great. Edwards looks...not great. Blake looks like his old self. Tackles need work pass pro. JJ was good.
The ceiling on this O isn't where we want it to be. Can they win the big ten? The way they're playing, yes but not easily. Can they win the CFP? I don't believe it..not like this
But can they get better? Again, yes. Absolutely. They can become a championship O. But they aren't just yet.
September 24th, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
Ok I wasn't with you until the end. It is still September. This team will improve through the course of the year, just like the last 2 squads.
As for the CFP...obviously if they stop improving it will be hard to win...but watching other teams, I don't think there is one obvious team far and away better. I think there are about 5-7 teams that could push for it by the end of the year. Should be a fun season!
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:31 PM ^
Only on MGoBlog could fans sit around and bitch so much about a 31-7 pasting of a Big Ten opponent.
September 23rd, 2023 at 6:49 PM ^
Took care of business and no injuries
what else do you want
September 23rd, 2023 at 9:56 PM ^
Thank you. They the best
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:37 PM ^
All the complaining people have done about Harbaugh/Moore and play-calling & clock management are hopefully watching the end of this Clemson game.
Holy shit did Dabo & Co. shit themselves.
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:40 PM ^
Offense didn't do bad.
Drives were:
Punt
TD
Missed FG
TD
FG
TD
Ran clock out with multiple first downs.
We were fine with letting clock run. We don't care if we're flashy.
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:43 PM ^
The musical chairs at tackle has to end. Everything is held back because there is no flow on the offensive line. Giving Zinter a different tackle every drive is not sustainable.
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:49 PM ^
Still a bit sloth like. We need to get more explosive!
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:54 PM ^
I'm now convinced the clock rules were out in place to hamstring Michigan in particular. Also, we have not adjusted to the new rules in any way whatsoever, so it's partly on us.
I'm also convinced they spent the off-season preparing pass protection for JJ and I guess outside zone, and they did not get the new guys up to speed on the already good parts of their ground game. So they're now in a bit of purgatory in the run game; they'll have to continue forward with fewer concepts and little rotation and hope the whole thing has time to crescendo at Penn State.
September 23rd, 2023 at 10:01 PM ^
The thing is you had Barnhart at LT and Jones at RT. They should had started out with those two and worked Henderson and Hilton unto the rotation instead of musical chairs roulette
September 23rd, 2023 at 10:39 PM ^
Jones was a turnstile in pass protection last year. Why would you want him to be a starter this year?
September 23rd, 2023 at 5:41 PM ^
Overall, there wasn't much wrong offensively in this game. Harbaugh back on the sidelines, and this was a Harbaughfense game. 40 rushes, 21 passes. Not so balanced, but once we got the lead, we sat on it. In other words, not surprising as far as play distribution.
Passing game: A nice rebound game for JJ -- could definitely see the conservatism coming after last week. Hinton needs to sit or else he's going to get JJ killed. The BEST part of the game to me was they threw to Edwards twice, gaining 41 yards total. Do this. Do this more. Do this a lot. Nice to see Loveland more involved, staying with Wilson, and a couple for the frosh Morgan. It seems like CoJo needs to work on getting open more, but that might be an amateur observation.
Running game: The best part of this was the utilization of JJ. Hallelujah! 7 for 51 at 7.3 per on designed runs and ZR. This is about right until we get to PSU. Gotta have a couple in the first half, which I think they did. Except not against MSU -- bubble wrap him for that one.
Corum is getting closer and closer. Saw at least one OZ, and it went nowhere. Power / counter seemed to work better. Hot take (I guess) for the section is that Edwards shouldn't be utilized in-between the tackles much. He seems to have lost some of the vision he developed last year. Run him inside once in a while to keep the D honest, but he should be used primarily in space -- swings, screens, and get him in the slot more. As far as how the OL did, I'll again leave it to UFR
But the game was effectively 24-0. Definitely not going to complain too much. There are things to work on -- let's get the OT situation settled, mmkay? -- but overall, we brought the lunchpail, went to work, and took care of it. Nicely done. Onto Nebraska.
September 23rd, 2023 at 6:02 PM ^
No singular stars and they continue to play well as a team. Different individuals stepping up for different plays.
September 23rd, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
Seeing JJ run effectively to pick up free yards was awesome. And shows why we don’t need to be chicken little about it - the only time he took a hit in the run was when he went up the gut to make a key 3rd down. Otherwise he took what was there and got OOB.
September 23rd, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
[Edit: Wrong thread]
September 23rd, 2023 at 9:29 PM ^
Well into the game I was continuing to wonder about a criticism leveled by several here this week--that M hadn't established much of an offensive identity thus far this year. But I think we were starting to see a little bit of the shape of many games last year as this game continued: wearing down offenses slowly, pulling away--as the opposing defense crumbled--through the course of the game. I think that some of the experiment so far this year has maybe involved ways to succeed in other ways, and the electrifying passing approach of the first two tilts really seemed promising. Especially with the new rules speeding games up (or at least cutting down on the number of offensive plays?), we really may need more.
I was worried about how JJ's confidence (seemed to) slacken when he missed a few early today, especially after last week; conversely, his runs and the relative success of the run game seemed to restore him as the day wore on.
September 24th, 2023 at 7:20 AM ^
CJ been quiet lately, I thought he was going to have a big season. I wonder if he is battling some minor injuries?
September 24th, 2023 at 8:38 AM ^
Sherrone Moore needs to continue calling plays for Cade McNamara and be pleasantly surprised when they turn out better than he hoped.
Michigan is Michigan, by playing a certain type of football. I like the wide open stuff, but stick to your identity and McCarthy's talent will shine through. Let him be the field general, not the Heisman candidate.
Then when you need to, give the kid some shots and call a play that is contingent on him being the playmaker. But overall, act like #12 is back there with the playcalling. You can still be more balanced in the playcalling. This doesn't mean run 67% of the time.
But those safe throws? The throws that are in rhythm? We need to be doing that the majority of the time - knowing JJs talent will take over when needed.
September 24th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
I agree with you that we must be more balanced on offense, yes.
BUT, in order to improve over the past two seasons, we need to be more aggressive on offense. As someone before the season wrote, we need to fully open the playbook and attack right from the opening whistle this season. Designed runs for JJ -- even a couple in each first half -- and zone reads. RPOs. Throwing to Edwards out of the backfield and in the slot. Bashing with Corum running power. Utilizing the middle of the field, even on intermediate and deeper throws, with our WRs and also with Loveland. We certainly have the talent to do this, and we need to if we want to have a better chance in the CFP.
Treating JJ like Cade? Sure, that probably gets us to the OSU game with a good chance to win and also a solid chance to win the conference. That's awesome, it really is, and a three-peat would be amazing.
But THIS year, we have the talent to challenge for a National Title, and we should go for it. Might that mean a lesser result than last year? Sure, it might. But when you have the advantage, you have to go all-in. And this year, OT situation notwithstanding, I think we have the advantage at many positions.
September 25th, 2023 at 9:05 AM ^
Rutgers always plays Michigan tough. At the half last year it was 17-14 Rutgers and the game only really opened up when Michael Barrett entered the cheat code.
in '21 it was 20-13.
Rutgers did all they could to limit the big downfield play, so Michigan played the smart game and took what the defense gave them.