What are the hallmarks of a Harbaugh-Coached team?

Submitted by Scrantastic on

Forgive my ignorance but what are the hallmarks of a Harbaugh-coached team?  For instance, I would characterize a Rich Rod team as made up of typically smaller, shiftier players from the south and being heavily tilted towards offensive output.  Dantonio-coached teams might be said to be defense-oriented squads with lots of sleepers from the midwest who get coached up to a high level.

My general impression of Harbaugh-coached teams would be that they have "high-motor", "chip on the shoulder" guys who may have gone under the radar but it's possible I'm conflating Harbaugh's passion and shoulder chip with that of his players.  In my mind, his players are Zach Novak, but in football.

What should we expect his teams to look like several years from now?  Mostly midwestern kids who specialize in dominating the line of scrimage?  Big-time recruits with big-time egos similar to Urban Meyer's Florida teams?  I'll be curious to see.

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The_Mad Hatter

December 28th, 2014 at 5:57 PM ^

I'm of the opinion that at least a part of his success at Stanford was due to the IQ of the players. Everyone on those teams came there to play school, in addition to football.

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GoBLUinTX

December 28th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^

Harbaugh sets the bar of excellence higher than everyone else and then demands his players exceed that level.  Whatever it takes to get over that bar, those are the hallmarks of his teams. 

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UM Fan in CA

December 28th, 2014 at 7:11 PM ^

I was hoping a thread like this would be started as I only read the board and never post.  I am in an interesting position as both a 49er and Michigan fan.  I watch all the games so I think I have a pretty good grasp of what a Harbaugh team looks like(living in the bay area I watched a lot of Stanford games while he was there as well).

Offense:

Michigan will run the ball A LOT.  Tons of different blocking schemes and personal packages.  A 6th offensive lineman is not uncommon in short yardage situations.  The fullback is in on probably 75% of plays.  He seems to really be able to "coach up" the QB position.  Alex Smith looked like a different player once Harbaugh got there.  And even though Kap has really regressed this year, going to the SB with a 2nd year QB is impressive.  A lot of 9er fans complain about the offense, most of the ire is directed at the OC.  Lack of imagination, keeping Kap in the pocket etc.  Overall if he can find a QB with a pulse I think we will be fine.

Defense:

9ers have been a top 5 defense since he has arrived.  It should be a strength even though it looks like Fangio will not be coming with him.  The roster was loaded when he got there, but he and the GM have hit on a lot of really good players on the that side of the ball through the draft.  Hard to tell who gets the credit for each guy but if he was in on any of the draft decisions he has a great eye for defensive talent.

Recruiting/Game MGT:

I think he is going to recruit like crazy.  He did an amazing job recruiting at Stanford and I don't see why that changes at UM.  Unfortunately there is bad news when it comes to Harbaugh.  His game management is awful.  They huddle every play, the ball is usually snapped with between 1 and 4 seconds on the play clock.  Lots of delay of game penalties, the offense usually looks rushed.  Timeouts are often called to combat the offense not being fast enough getting the play off.  Against Seattle a few weeks ago they were down 10 with under 6 to play and snapped the ball with 2 seconds on the play clock while the game clock was running.  I scream at the tv often.  Lastly, his challenges are awful.  He has to be near the bottom of the NFL in challenge win percentage.  He will be very quick on the trigger to call a timeout to give the booth more time to decide whether or not to review a play.

Overall:

Outside of the game mgt I think it's a great hire.  I think his recruiting will make up for the lack of innovation offensively.  Defense should be great, Michigan should be back.

 

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UM Fan in CA

December 28th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^

Pretty mediocre overall as far as a return game.  There of course was the Kyle Williams debacle in the 2011 NFC championship game, but that had little to do with scheme.  The 9ers have had an excellent punter and excellent kickers.  A lot of FGs were kicked the last 4 years.  I imagine he will not use a spread punt formation, I don't believe he did at Stanford.

 

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