Saturday vs. SMU: My Crazy Idea
OK, so let me preface this by saying I am not nor have I ever been an FB coach. I played in high school, but was mediocre at best, and never really studied the game. So I admit fully and openly that I have no expertise. As such, I would love to hear some "more expert" folks tell me why the below idea is a bad one.
That being said, I would love to see our football team use this weekend as a glorified scrimmage, given that we are playing the 110th best team in the country (or whatever). I'd love to see lots of passing downs, with Patterson and his receivers given opportunities under live fire to work more together. I would love to see the coaches putting the offensive line and the backs in positions where they need to protect longer. Moreover, I would love to see some shuffling on the offensive line, to see if other combinations work any better. Basically, I'd rather see us win 21-0, but get to work on weak spots, than win 49-3 by doing what we already do well.
But if I had to bet my life, I would bet every time that we come out this weekend, run it down their throat (like last weekend), and that Shea gets only 15-20 or so pass attempts. I wouldn't be shocked if we ended with 300+ rushing yards and 100-150 passing yards. Why do this? We already know the team can do this, especially against lesser opposition. So my question, I suppose, is why do coaches do this? Why use games against lesser teams to reinforce what you already do well, rather than as an opportunity to work on those things you may not be doing well yet?
September 11th, 2018 at 8:28 AM ^
Never underestimate your opponent. Treating any game like a scrimmage is a horrible idea. Every game is a setup for the next one from a coaches perspective, but letting your game plan show that or your players know that is not acceptable. Win The Game!
September 11th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^
SMU gave up 444 passing yards vs. North Texas. If we can't pass against them, at home, like North Texas did, well, something is very wrong.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:52 AM ^
So if that's the case, and the SMU pass defense is THAT bad, what good does throwing the ball 50 times do? It's much less beneficial that having 50 more practice reps against our own defense in practice. Do you want to get Patterson in the habit of trying to fit it into tight windows and throw up 50/50 balls? They'll work against SMU, and be intercepted by the good teams on our schedule.
There is one benefit to it, confidence. Last year, I think running up the stats against a bad team could've benefited Speight or O'Korn, Patterson doesn't seem to be lacking confidence. Because it would make the fans feel better isn't a good reason for putting more stuff on tape. I'd rather our pass O have the element of surprise against Wisconsin.
September 11th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
A paragraph from an ESPN article four years ago.
Gardner was replaced by Shane Morris late in the third quarter -- with Michigan up 49-7 -- after he was 13 of 14 for 173 yards with three TDs and no turnovers in his first game under offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
Do you remember how the rest of the season played out after Gardner, and Morris, had their confidence bolstered in the Appy State game?
September 11th, 2018 at 9:14 AM ^
I agree for the most part, but North Texas actually has one of the best QBs/passing games in the country. Mason Fine is a better QB than 95% of college QBs.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
They also run a pass heavy air raid too
September 11th, 2018 at 8:50 AM ^
Alright Faux, you forced me into up voting this guy.
No more funny business!
September 11th, 2018 at 9:04 AM ^
Agreed. IMO/from this/a coach's perspective these games are more to (further) establish what you do well than to implement new strategies...and, once again, the fans be damned.
I ran through the WM game last evening and did my best to focus on the play in the trenches. While there were moments of neutral and negative play I was surprised at the percentage of very positive play here. The largest area for improvement from what I saw is the need for the DTs to play lower/with better leverage and eat up more space/occupy more blockers to further free up Bush and Ross to wreak havoc. BTW, Ross is a helluva player.
September 11th, 2018 at 1:39 PM ^
This is right on. Michigan D is missing Mo more than anyone realizes. Mo was a beast inside and so far M does not have that guy you must double team inside. Mo did more for M linebackers than anyone. There is very little push up middle. Of course Aubrey is out. I am confident they will get better as season goes on. But right now, there is a big drop from last year.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:53 AM ^
happy tuesday my alt account bro. I bet the MGoBoard never suspected that you and I and all our other accounts are actually Herm Edwards. Play to Win The Game!
September 11th, 2018 at 1:21 PM ^
I would love to see our football team use this weekend as a glorified scrimmage
That's a good way to get beat.
September 13th, 2018 at 1:17 AM ^
Same plan we used against Appy State a few years back........................
September 11th, 2018 at 8:29 AM ^
So my question, I suppose, is why do coaches do this? Why use games against lesser teams to reinforce what you already do well, rather than as an opportunity to work on those things you may not be doing well yet?
Because playing around, treating a game like a practice and going away from what you do is a good way to lose a game you shouldn't lose.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:10 AM ^
Exactly. You win games by doing more of what you're best at. You cram that down your opponent's throat until they make the adjustments to stop you-then you make them pay for over-compensating. All the successful teams do this.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:35 AM ^
I think the OP forgets we lost to Appalachian State and we've had plenty of other close calls even when the team has been good and that's without fucking around with a hundred different OL lineups. I don't even understand what the OP is talking about some of the time. Let the OL protect longer? Like Patterson should just stand in the pocket and refuse to throw it until he gets plowed into the ground?
September 11th, 2018 at 8:30 AM ^
Scrimmage in practice where there isn't cameras all over. You have to realize future opponents will watch the film from the SMU game, not film from practice.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:34 AM ^
Exactly- they will try to work on pass and run blocking basics and pound them in as vanilla a fashion as they can. Hopefully they can get up enough to empty the bench and get snaps for everyone without putting anything on film they want to use later.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^
Put nothing valuable on film before Wisconsin.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
Is that really it? If we pass against SMU, then Wisconsin will have more film of us passing, and that will put us at a massive disadvantage? That seems too simplistic for me. I am not suggesting we pull out all the stops and new looks and trick plays in our arsenal, just that we work on our weaker points more. I think that can be done without opening up every wrinkle in the playbook, right?
September 11th, 2018 at 8:56 AM ^
I think you're right in the fact that we want to work on our weaker points, I'm just not sure passing 50 times is the right way to do it. Put the game away by half-time, and give Mayfield and Hudson an entire half of live reps.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
Please! Live reps are crucial for these young guys.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^
So then the question becomes, which is the quicker/more efficient way of putting the game away by halftime? Throwing bombs to Collins and DPJ, or running it down their throat.
Running it we'll put up 28+ in the first half. Throwing, maybe? Maybe we score quickly. Maybe we throw an INT or 2. Maybe we drop a couple passes or get sacked and have to punt.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:40 AM ^
I think you’re oversimplifying this. What goes on film is not just a matter of specific plays - it’s overall tendency of the offense and the playcallers, it’s individual tendencies on any given assignments, it’s formations, on and on. If you’re avoiding putting things on film literally everything has to be calculated.
September 11th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
Devil's advocate for a moment here (because I think you're right): wouldn't that make going out and going full batshit passing be to our benefit then? If we have a game tape that's fairly even (ND), a game tape that's run them to death (Western), and a game tape of us throwing a million times and bombing them (SMU), wouldn't that make us more unpredictable and harder to game plan for if you're Wisconsin (or PSU, or MSU, or OSU)? By doing wildly different stuff each early game strategically, wouldn't that more effectively conceal our tendencies and "real" playcalls?
September 11th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Maybe? The only issue is that, even though we do have a deep playbook, every playbook is finite. I think we are going to throw the ball against Wisconsin 60/40 or maybe 65/35. If we take a game to throw the ball around a ton to try to throw opponents off our tendency, we will necessarily have to put some plays out there that we don't want to show until later.
I think we can win our next 4 games without passing more than 50%, and then come out against Wisconsin and throw 60% of plays. I'm not supposing that Wisconsin will believe that we will try to run it down their throats, but at least if we show fewer pass plays/formations/personnel before them, then they will have a harder time preparing.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^
You could argue the opposite--that showing the full capabilities of the offense early in the season puts all that capability on tape. I think you should put together a gameplan that gives you the best chance to win, not a glorified practice. If you can run down their throat and not risk injury to your QB... do it.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^
- Beat the spread
- Don't get hurt
September 11th, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
Right! While passing a ton and getting reps would be beneficial it's not worth it if you're putting your QB in harm's way. Stay healthy and get your depth more experience.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
You forgot one.
- Let Milton come in the game and rocket launch a ball 70 yards.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:38 AM ^
Sounds like a great way to get Shea lit up in a meaningless game. We FINALLY have a functional QB... so I would like to see whatever game plan gets the W with the fewest possible hits to that QB.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^
Donning my armchair-football-coaching-hat that grants me the expertise to comment on such hypotheticals as the one you present, I can see the desire to iron out flaws in a game-like environment. But I wonder if your inner fan might be seeping through. Against the better defenses, wouldn't we have a greater chance of success if we were able to effectively and reliably run the football, maintain possession, give the defense more time to recover/conserve their stamina, and be in a better position to control the game? Except under RichRod, Michigan has never been a pass-first, run-second team.
I get that the team's better athleticism can carry Saturday alone, but why not work on getting things in the run-game perfected first, since that will carry us further down the road? I get that an effective passing attack can cover a multitude of sins. One of the team's fundamental problems in recent years has been the inability to effectively establish a run game.
So, I would humbly suggest that we continue to allow the QB to breathe easy, prevent injuries, and practice the things that we need to do to increase our chances of establishing an effective running attack against stronger defenses that are coming down the road.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
Michigan was pass first under RR?
September 11th, 2018 at 9:03 AM ^
I agree for the most part. The only thing you completely whiffed on was that Rodriguez was a pass first offense. That is the exact opposite of his philosophy. While it was a spread offense, it was spread to run, not pass
September 11th, 2018 at 8:40 AM ^
Not a coach either, but I believe the coaches put players in a position to fail safely in practice and try to not put them in a position to fail dangerously in games. Who's to say our QB avoids injury if we're screwing around with protections, etc, during a real game where the opponent is not compelled to let up after beating someone?
September 11th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
Bad idea
1) Appy State
2) Can't let Shea get injured
3) O-line needs reps in passing game, but not at the expense of qb health
If we have a killer run game by week 4-5, the passing game will open up. We've seen what Shea and these receivers can do with limited attempts. Best way to open up the pass for this year's team (given the specific weaknesses at tackle) is to establish a bruising run game, and toss in some screens and draw plays to keep DE's honest.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
Point taken, but let's be clear that SMU is not App St from 2007. They are not even close to App St 2018.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
I'm guessing there will be bits of that sprinkled in with the 'normal' game plan. It would be somewhat foolish not to.
GO BLUE
September 11th, 2018 at 8:46 AM ^
I don't know that UM has gotten so good at running the ball that they can take it for granted so maybe steam rolling another team will build on what should be a strength, develop confidence in that strength and force other teams to focus their attention on UM's run game which should open up the passing game. And it already seems evident that Shea is going to throw the ball well and the WRs already look light years better than last year...the OL is the issue (duh) but if opponents are so focused on UM running the ball maybe that will take some of the pressure off the tackles. Well one can hope...
September 11th, 2018 at 8:51 AM ^
I believe they don't want to show much offensive plays and formations and keep it simple. Their main focus is keeping everyone healthy and getting out of these type of games with no major injuries. Why give other B1G teams more film on plays they wont see until we play them? It really is a strategic game plan more than anything. There is nothing wrong with working on our run game...It helps manage game clock and keeps the D fresh. Plus lets face it, we didn't run the ball well against ND. So the more reps, the better.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^
The coaching staff should use this game as an opportunity to rotate more players in the position groups that show the biggest need for improvement, and maybe find an alternative grouping that might perform better.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:55 AM ^
I'm no FB coach either, but I think you need to stick with the game plan and treat this game like any other. Prep for SMU the same way you would a Wisconsin or Penn State, etc. Game week needs to remain unchanged, stay the course and be consistent.
Put them away early with some vanilla smash mouth football with a little Shea sprinkled in and use the second half to get more reps for the o-line, McCaffrey, Wilson, etc. Practice and the bye week should be used to work on those areas that need attention and improving.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:55 AM ^
Because we need to beat the spread.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^
Found the degenerate gambler.
September 11th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
Treat this game like a scrimmage? Did you not see the Akron, UConn, or App State game? Never underestimate any opponent, pal. It's that sort of arrogance that has repeatedly kicked Michigan in the balls over the last 15-20 years. SMU is 0-2 and their season is pretty much on the ropes. They're going to come into this game playing like they have nothing to lose. Because let's be honest: they really do have nothing to lose. Everyone expects them to lose big. So they'll come out swinging.
As far as the gameplan goes, whatever Harbaugh wants to do is fine with me. But if I had my choice of what I'd rather focus on, I'd rather focus on the run game. Not because I don't think Shea needs the reps with his receivers, but rather because I think the OL needs as much in-game experience for run blocking as it can possibly get. They're going to face a lot of great defenses in the next few months, and if we can't run the ball against them with some degree of success, we're screwed. All things considered, Shea played about as well as he could've against a very good ND defense last week, and played great this past weekend. Both areas need work to be certain, but I think focusing on the run game vs. the pass game is the bigger concern right now.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:00 AM ^
I wouldn't mind seeing multiple sets on O; 3TE to 5W and everything in between. Even if they just run it up the middle for 300 yards.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
I think the best reps a team can get are live reps when the goal is to win with cruelty, regardless of the opponent. Gain experience by trying to crush your opponent every down, then let the backups come in and do the same.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:55 AM ^
Ok, thanks Sun Tzu, your opinion is valuable
September 11th, 2018 at 9:05 AM ^
Michigan threw 18 passes in the game against Western Michigan. I would not be surprised to see a number north of 20 for the SMU game. It won't be 40, but it won't be 15.
September 11th, 2018 at 9:11 AM ^
What evidence is there to suggest that our run game is so star spangled awesome? Western?
September 11th, 2018 at 9:26 AM ^
Just win the game. You're right it is a crazy idea. Never forget App State, Toledo, and Rutgers.