The Snowflake Thread: Offense

I wonder what the average gain on first down was.  -2 yards?   And how many third downs were 3rd and 8 or more.

Anyone see what happened to Bryant? He was on the INC to Funchess that ended the drive (FG to go to 20), then next series Burzinyski was in and immediately allows a guy by him that almost sacks Gardner. I didn't notice Bryant get hurt, did he get yanked for performance? He was having a rough rough game up to that point.

I'm sick to my stomach. Just go for the TD in OT. Does being conservative ever pay off?

This is the first game since he's been here that I actually want to blame Borges. That's right, I thought he called good games against MSU and while I didn't love the Iowa game plan in 2011, I couldn't blame him entirely. But I can't bring myself to blame him entirely. Our offensive line is the worst I have ever seen at Michigan, by a wide margin. And I watch the line exclusively during the game. With this line, what can a coordinator do? The one thing that worked was Gardner running, so Borges used that quite a bit in the 2nd half. That's good! People wanted us to "play to win" in OT, whatever that means. I suppose that means they wanted us to pass, which we didn't do much of. But the line can't protect for shit, so we end up with a bunch of two man routes, which are tough, especially in OT when the field is shorter. Still, I would have done exactly what Borges did: when we only need a FG, run run run kick. Its not only the safe play, its the right play. The kicker has been good, and the QB has not been good throwing the ball. I think the biggest event was the delay of game penalty on our last drive in regulation. It means that either: a) we were never going to attempt a FG, so the penalty didn't really hurt b) we were just too stupid to call a timeout and keep ourselves in FG range Either scenario is bad, but neither is really on Borges. Pains me to say it, but this one is all on Hoke. Mattison's defense was good; he called great defenses all night, basically putting Stribling in position to end the game twice on the last drive. Again, I want to hate Borges, but this line is shit so I actually sympathize with him and have no ideas of what he could have done better. But Hoke is the head man. This is on him.

All that being said, I predicted this line would be worse than last year's, which is to say I knew we'd struggle this season. I thought we'd lose 3 games. I still think that's about where we'll end up. Maybe that's why I don't feel as devastated by this loss as I think I should.

My question is: why does it seem most offenses have as much difficulty converting a first down to ice a game as converting an 80 yard TD drive for a come-from-behind win?

After 40 years of watching football, it seems to me that most OCs shrink like a penis in winter when it comes to the challenge gaining 10 yards to win a game. This effect was especially strong with Borges after Penn State's TD with 6 minutes left.

UM put together a drive that used up Penn State's time outs. A point was reached where a first down wins the game and Borges shut it down so Wile could punt into the end zone. When 10 yards wins the game, why not open up the play book?

I would be curious to know what percentage of the time FBS teams are able to convert a first down in similar situations. I would like to know if there is a greater likelihood of getting that first down than using the final possession to score a TD when the drive starts on your own side if the field. Maybe the availability bias is in effect, but it seems each is about equally likely.

Biggest issue with the offense and Borges is his salary.  We are paying him like he is one of the premiere OCs in the country.  He doesn't make half the impact in recruiting even as Mattison, and they are paid relatively similarly.  This is taking the results on the field and their resumes out of it, which clearly points to the favor of Mattison.