Should Mattison get a pass for DEBACLE?

Submitted by Gameboy on

I know we have been piling up on Borges, but I don't think Mattison should get a free pass for THE DEBACLE.

Before the game, the common mantra for defense was to utilize blitz to break the true frosh QB under pressure. However, at least for the first half, blitzes were few and far between, resulting in most of the touchdowns that PSU scored during the regular time.

Just how bad of an idea is it to NOT blitz against Heck? Here are the numbers.

 

Rush Count Completion % Avg Yards TD Allowed Sacks YPA
Three 5 60% 15.7 2 0 9.4
Four 34 50% 13.2 1 1 6.6
Five 11 63.6% 2.9 0 3 1.8
Six 1 0% 0 0 0 0

 

As you can see from above, the old adage is correct - the freshman QB does not handle pressure well. When we brought five or more, we were able to bring havoc (3 sacks) and limit YPA (less than 2!). But we only brought pressure only 1/5 of the time. What would have happened if that ratio was more like 50%?

Even worse, when we stepped off the gas and rushed three, Heck was able to complete passes for big yardage (9.4 YPA) and threw most of his touchdowns.

I just don't understand why we would give a freshman QB time to throw, ESPECIALLY when they are in the red zone. If Mattison brought the pressure from the get go, we don't allow 21 points to start off. How different this game would have been if we were ahead by 1 or down by only 3 going into the half?

Mattison blew it. We had a chance to completely dominate PSU, and we decided not to.

snarling wolverine

October 18th, 2013 at 6:33 PM ^

Well, I don't think the D was the primary problem (nor was offense for that matter - it was the FG unit), but I was frustrated that we couldn't get stops in the red zone in the first half.  It wasn't the D's fault that PSU started two drives in our red zone but you'd like to do better than give up 3 TDs in 3 redzone opportunities, especially to a PSU team that had only scored something like 42% redzone TDs prior to this.  

I also don't really understand why it seemed to take us an entire half to figure out that we might want to blitz their QB.  Against a freshman QB, that should be the default gameplan.  Very few frosh QBs are going to handle the blitz well.

 

Wolfman

October 18th, 2013 at 7:36 PM ^

"it was the FG unit." True, the fg unit, like all other aspects of our game screwed up big time in OT. Howeva, we Funked it up again on the offensive side of the ball, but Mattison does not get a pass on this one. Inasmuch as our D is the only thing we have going for us, they simply have to win football games because our offense is going to Funk things up with Borges calling and Funk coached kids executing.  It was our D, after all, via the scoop and score and interceptions that put a number of points on the board and got our offense kick started until Buddha decided to call it off.  Thankfully though, he will be one of the assistants to be retained next season. I can't imagine, now realizing Borges and Funk aren't up to task for the BIG, why Hoke would retrain them.  Where or where is Greg Frey and would he consider coming back?  Hell, we might even go with the guy from ZZ Top who follows Brady around. Man might look nuts but he knows how to blow defenders off the ball. It's equally possible he could teach same.

snarling wolverine

October 18th, 2013 at 10:26 PM ^

Of course I'm serious.  

Three times we were in position to win the game with a field goal.  Three times the unit failed.  All it had to do was make one of those three, and we're 6-0.  Look at the Mathlete's breakdown of the game.  Those misses hurt us more than anything else.

 

 

chewieblue

October 19th, 2013 at 12:35 AM ^

Maybe bubble screens also ended the gov't shutdown, brought sight to orphaned, blind Laotian children and carried water to remote disease-ridden African villages. It might be the cure of all of our ills.... except it isn't.

A fortune cookie I had last week read, "it doesn't get better until you do." Thank you ancient Chinese wisdom.

sdogg1m

October 18th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^

Second half adjustments!

This is the exact reason why Mattison gets a pass but not Borges. For whatever reason in the first half Mattison called plays that made it easier for the PSU QB to find targets. Immediately after halftime and needing our defense to come up huge, Mattison scraped the plan executed in the first half and brought the heat.

This second half plan and execution PRODUCED points for our team and gave our offense more opportunities to win the game! Our offense took advantage of those opportunities to start the second half but squandered almost every one of them after obtaining a 10 point lead.

Yes, our prevent defense didn't prevent much but then again if it weren't for boneheaded plays such as the delay of game or futile running plays then our defense wouldn't have been in such a position. In fact, I would argue that their is no way they should have been in that position except for coaching blunders on the other side of the ball.

Other defenses exist that are more solid than our core but NO DEFENSE IN THE NATION has been put at a field disadvantage as many times as our defense has. Yet, the team only has one loss and really should be UNBEATEN!

UMgradMSUdad

October 18th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^

I know I used the word in the aftermath of the game, Brian has, the OP has, as have many others.  Now almost a week later, and understanding as I believe someone posted, that Michigan was favored by just 3 points, is the word debacle really appropriate?  I know it was incredibly frustrating to lose the way we did, but it doesn't really go down in the history of contemporary Michigan football as a catastrophic event, does it?