SIAP: Jim Harbaugh - An Offensive Savant?

Submitted by FauxMo on

According to DiNardo, Harbaugh's old-look offensive scheme is actually more creative and inventive than the fancy spreads that are all the rage with the youngsters. I am no DiNardo fan, really, but he sure seems to think Harbaugh is some kind of offensive genius, doing things no one has even thought of before, and to great effect.

 

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/michigan-wolverines-big…

 

P.S. If this has already been posted, please delete mods.

Yo_Blue

October 12th, 2015 at 3:42 PM ^

I especially like how he seems to get a lot of players on the field.  He doesn't use players in obvious situations like we've seen in the past.  Now if the RB swaps out you don't necesarily think, OK, this is a screen.  He often goes with bigger backs in very short yardage situations, but then will cross everyone up with a fullback dive.  He's hard to predict - I don't feel like I can call plays like I could with Lloyd and Hoke.  With a couple years of recruiting, watch out.  It won't matter how predictable he is.

M-Dog

October 13th, 2015 at 8:54 AM ^

I don't feel like I can call plays like I could with Lloyd and Hoke

Yes, he even mixes up Lloyd's beloved "trick play", the Waggle.  It's not always to the TE on the right side.  Sometimes it's to a RB, sometimes to a receiver, sometimes to the other TE that has dragged across, depending on who gets open and who is blocked.  And of course, sometimes Rudock pulls it down and runs.

It is much harder to defend than the previous version where all you had to do was cover up the TE on the right side as soon as you saw the QB do a naked bootleg.

rob f

October 12th, 2015 at 2:46 PM ^

DiNardo is right about Harbaugh.  Harbaugh is only an OLD-SCHOOL OFFENSIVE DINOSAUR to B1G detractors, Michigan haters, lazy journalists and the like.  Brian and his staff and members of the MGoBoard have pointed out numerous times the multiple things Harbaugh-coached teams do from seemingly predictable base formations and personnel packages. 

Look at the way this staff uses the fullbacks.  They get carries, they block, they catch passes.  And then they get more carries.

Look at how ALL of our TE's are now receivers.  Until this season, AJ Williams being inserted almost always meant to opposing DCs that we were going to run the ball.  No more!

The Michigan offense, once Harbaugh and Drevno finish installing the entire offensive package, will be impossible to defend.  And then next season and beyond,  we get an influx of talent, starting at the QB position, enabling Harbaugh to tweak and tinker some more.

 

True Blue Grit

October 12th, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^

Fullbacks have gotten more carries this year already than any year since Bo was coach.  Lloyd threw to the FB once in a while, but that was it.  Rodriguez didn't even use one.  Hoke was back to Lloyd ball with the FB's.  

I'm amazed how no one continues to cover AJ Williams even though he's been making catches in most games.  It's brilliant to throw him the ball.  I like also how they've found other ways to get the ball in Chesson's hands to take advantage of his speed.  

Harbaugh is all about unpredictability in his game strategies.  If the other team doesn't know what we're doing, it's pretty hard to counter it.  

Death Reau

October 12th, 2015 at 4:14 PM ^

I was thinking about how similar Harbaugh is to Lloyd in handing the ball to the FB.  Floyd, Shea, and Askew (even when he was a FB) all had a significant amount of carries under Carr.  In fact Floyd had 63 carries in his 10 games as a senior.  So far Houma and Kerridge have only combined for 20 through 6 games.

 

Edit: After looking up Shea and Askew's numbers, "significant" may be a stretch, as they topped out around 20/year.  So Carr did move away from it, but the point definitely stands for Floyd.

coolhandluke

October 12th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^

Agreed.

It's been discussed ad nauseam but it's true: the spread offense works on the college level because of superior athleticism in a QB and inferior athleticism on defense. That's why it only works in a gimmick fashion in the NFL. 

Harbagh's offense would work against the best defenses. And when he gets the skilled position players he wants, well...

These are good days my friend. It is happening. 

Gulogulo37

October 12th, 2015 at 9:04 PM ^

Definitely. So tired of hearing about how Harbaugh's offense work simply because his teams are tough, blue-collar, blah blah blah.

I remember in one of the games Spielman explained a play in which the O-line was blocking well and Braden had good technique pulling. And then Todd McShay jumps in and says it's about Michigan deciding they're Michigan and we're just going to run it on you. OK, Todd. Great analysis.

FieldingBLUE

October 12th, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^

"savant" in its traditional sense means simply "a person of learning, ESPECIALLY one with detailed knowledge in a specific field" (i.e., football)

also sometimes discussed as possessing mental abilities others do not have

so, yes, harbaugh is a savant in football and offense in particular

 

Sauce Castillo

October 12th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^

To add on that, it's not like he's just running the same FB dive play.  unique formations that have the defense guessing, and as Brian pointed out in the recap, defenses can't just follow the FB to find where the run is going.  The amount of subtle designs within Harbaughs plays is what sets him apart as a play caller.

lastofthedogmen

October 12th, 2015 at 3:42 PM ^

says that if you just follow the fullback in the UM offense, you know where the ball is going. Are you suggesting, good sir, that Matt Millen doesn't know as much about football as he'd need to know to, say, be a successful GM of an NFL franchise or color commentator for the BTN network? Is that what you're saying? Because I think Matt Millen would disagree with you...

wahooverine

October 12th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^

It's awesome. They are always in motion and playing a key part of so many run plays, yet you can't key of them. Sometimes they lead block sometimes they trap block, sometimes they get the handoff, sometime they run a rout. So produce yards yet play a huge role in blocking as well as deception.  We're fortunate to have two senior monster FB's in Houma and Kerridge who can make it all work.  They both can pretty much do it all.  I'll be sad to see them leave after this year.  I'm curious who takes their place after this season?  Shallman I'm guessing gets one spot. Poggi seem more like a true H back/TE than a FB. I don't see him getting FB dive carries. Same for Winovich.

M-Dog

October 13th, 2015 at 9:01 AM ^

It makes us very hard to defend.  Everybody is eligible for everything.  Fullbacks catch passes, Receivers run the ball, RBs block on sweeps.  You can't predict who is going to do what, even if you can generically predict run or pass.

You have to play assignment football.  You can't try to get numbers to where you think the ball is going to go.  This is problematic when you have to defend guys like Smith or Chesson, which you can't do with one guy.

Gulogulo37

October 12th, 2015 at 9:13 PM ^

I thought I heard about a rule where the Rose Bowl gets a B1G-Pac12 matchup in the Rose Bowl in years that it's not part of the playoff. So it gets the champs or the 2nd team if the champs are in the playoffs. I definitely could be wrong though.

EDIT: Found this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Rose_Bowl#Teams

"The teams playing in the Rose Bowl game will be the winners of the Pacific-12 and Big Ten conference championship games. If one or both of those teams play in a College Football Playoff semifinal game, the football committee will select the next best team in the same conference. The teams will be officially selected by the football committee of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association on Selection Sunday on December 5, 2015."

So I guess they don't have to choose Iowa. Could be Michigan!

DrMantisToboggan

October 12th, 2015 at 2:22 PM ^

Not gonna read the article, but Jim is really hard to gameplan for. He will go to the line with 3 plays called with the quarterback allowed to choose what best suits that defense. He can run every play in his book out of every formation in his book. He will motion guys that shouldn't motion, into things they shouldn't motion into. He does something new every week whether he's playing Ohio State or Ohio School for the Blind and Poor. Whether you want to call it genius or not, what it is is ever-changing. You'll game plan for other teams knowing that when you see a certain formation or motion, the team likes to run a certain play out of that. You try to gameplan for Jim the same way and you won't recognize plays or tendencies because he won't run them out of the same formations he has been running them out of.

 

His offense is kind of like the staircases at Hogwarts. Theoretically it's simple - at the end of the day they're just stairs, one step after the next. It's not the construction that fucks students up, it's all the changing and varied combinations. 

Tater

October 12th, 2015 at 2:22 PM ^

Harbaugh is probably the only Pro Style coach I would want to see coaching Michigan.  As an ex-QB, he is great at creating a system that puts QB's in the best position to succeed.  What he's doing looks a lot like everyone else, but he is great at adding "wrinkles" and fooling defenses.  

He also isn't averse to spreading the field out a bit when he needs to, but he is doing it more with motion instead of formation.

Gulogulo37

October 12th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^

"The teams playing in the Rose Bowl game will be the winners of the Pacific-12 and Big Ten conference championship games. If one or both of those teams play in a College Football Playoff semifinal game, the football committee will select the next best team in the same conference. The teams will be officially selected by the football committee of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association on Selection Sunday on December 5, 2015."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Rose_Bowl#Teams

I thought Iowa might be automatic for being in the championship game (assuming they do win the west of course), but yeah, if Michigan is 10-2 I can't see us getting passed over for Iowa.