SBNation Article on Nussmeier and Borges
Interesting article on Doug Nussmeier and how he'll "simplify and fortify" the offense. Really good take, imo, on Borges and gives some clues on the approach Nussmeier will bring. Includes some simple concepts and film of what Nuss used at Alabama, and looks like they might fit well here.
He will be paid 800K the next two years. Probably going to take a break!
But what stuck out to me:
"That's to say nothing of all the pass protection schemes that Michigan's linemen were asked to master and failed to nail down. That's how Borges took a team with a mobile upperclassman at quarterback, a fantastic receiver in Jeremy Gallon, an uber-athletic 6'5 receiver in Devin Funchess, and two offensive tackles that the NFL will draft in a few months (including first-rounder Taylor Lewan) and built a team that gave up nearly three sacks a game."
On many run plays our tackles did their jobs, our center as well, and our guards laughably ran by someone or were overpowered. Blame scheme and youth. But on our pass protections, all of our guards/center and senior tackles let people run by them constantly, looking for another blitzer or rusher that never came. Watching Lewan let a DE get free run at DG was beyond frustrating. And inexcuseable, really.
His offense was super complex??? Why did it look to me like they were just running up the middle for no gain!!
Welp, I think most people would agree that change is good in this case. Until it doesn't work. Then change is bad.
Simply put, Borges required near flawless execution to succeed, like most other offenses. Problem is, the offense was wildly inconsistent from week to week. Against Ohio State and Notre Dame, Borges called flawless gameplans that left opposing DC's throwing their hands up. The guy is good at playcalling, but it seems a poor teacher / motivator.
I honestly mean no offense, but it probably looked like that to you because the vast majority of football fans don't understand the complexity of each play. There are 100 different plays you can run that look like "a run up the middle for negative yardage or no gain."
Is the old adage: "Jack of all trades, master of none." Way too many different run and pass schemes and not enough reps to get really good at any of them.
At a few places in the article the author references unbalanced four receiver sets, including an eligible TE, but then shows him covered up by the WR. Clearly the three options still present enough of a problem for the defense, but thought it was an odd mistake for someone who appears to have some quality football smarts. Overall a solid read though. Highlights ways to work in your base plays from various formations which should help the young line.
MGOBLOG- Hire this guy. Please.
That was the kind of article about Michigan football I have not read for a while. Informed, concise, and without needless drama.
Define "needless drama" plz
Who is this "Borges" person they are referring to? It's 2014 isn't it?
Go Blue!
The read was terrific and makes one feel a bit more optimistic about the future.
I'm glad we made the change obviously and the past is the past and it's encouraging that Hoke could make a change like this (get ready for the but).
buuut, WTF kind of monumental failure was this that Hoke allowed to under his program? I mean, at no point did he look at the schemes, practices schedules, game plans and suggest to Borges, "hey Al, I was thinking, uhhhh how about we K.I.S.S. so that our young OL can learn to do ONE thing well?" I've read a lot of stories about Bo and other coaches and even Hoke & Mattison have said this: go back to basics, don't be a scheme coach, have an identity for the young players to lean on.
Come on, man. maybe I'm getting too old and have seen too much incompetence in others affect my ability to do my job, but man this kind of incompetence from staff making 6-7 figures is infuriating.
though perhaps improbable, that Hoke is fallible.
While I agree that Hoke could have stepped-in and said something, it's not like Borges had a history of failure while working with Brady. Sure, 2012 was disappointing, but Denard got injured and, if we're being honest, the offense looked pretty damn good (other than 2nd half Ohio) for the rest of the season with DG at the helm.
Brady gave Borges a season to fully implement his scheme, and it failed. I don't think giving an OC one year to try to have his way is being too patient. Don't get me wrong--I'm glad Borges is gone and Nuss' is in--but I'm not sure Hoke could have foreseen how bad things would be last season. No one else did.
APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE on the SB Nation piece regarding Nuss and finding his "one thing"...i mentioned a month ago my incredulity when BigAl pulled out his 2 point masterpiece in the Bowl Game...something the tv commentators mentioned as being so creative that we would be seeing that copied by other teams. I remembered then thinking: how could we have spent soooo much time prepping that one psychadelic play when our entire running game was in shambles???? Jack Palance explained it best: the secret to life is "One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don't mean shit." Don't be no city slicker, Nuss!
should have read the board BEFORE posting this comment to Brian's monologue...damn internests
A simplified inside zone blocking scheme may help. But I think we are a year or two away from having a good OL.
I think Nuss will improve the OL over the course of the season but being so young, I don't expect the blocking to be good enough for a good running game. Gardner will be running for his life trying to make plays. I'm thinking this is a 4 loss season, may be 5 losses but I think Hoke and Nuss should be given through 2015 before the plug is pulled and a new coach is brought in. I know the pressure will be extreme to fire Hoke and his staff if they lose another 4 or more games in 2014, and even if Hoke survives, what will he need to do in 2015? Win the B1G, win 10 games?
I guess my dad was wrong about there not being any free lunches.