Official Snowflake Thread: Offense
Per statements last week, this will be the official snowflake thread for thoughts regarding the offensive playcalling / coaching. There will also be a similar thread for defense. Special teams and coaching snowflake threads can be created as needed by volume, but this thread will be primarily for thoughts on the offensive performance.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:47 PM ^
I hope you all have more mental toughness than you showed tonight, because in this day and age we will see more ugly games like that.
Learn how to throw it away, Devin.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:51 PM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
I can find people talking enough smack about my team on Facebook. I don't need announcers to help.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:36 AM ^
You're being way too sensitive. There wasn't any smack.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:48 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 11:54 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 11:48 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 11:49 PM ^
They keep finding a way to win. That has to count for something.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
Not saying we're of that caliber, but there IS something to be said for the resilience of this team, especially this defense.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:55 PM ^
Wins are good. We're due some rival-infuriating karma.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 11:51 PM ^
I don't understand the playcalling complaints. Gardner is what he is, very toolsy and high potential, but inconsistent. We need a consistent run game to take pressure off him or we will continue to struggle.
The interior Oline is worse than last year and I don't know why people expected better unless they had an irrational faith in Funk. Gardner hasn't been as consistent as expected and that means our offense is one dimensional. It's simple, really.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:59 PM ^
I don't think either of the interceptions were too egregious today. Both were off-target throws, but not horrible throws. I didn't think Devin played that poorly today--he had some outrageously bad luck at time (e.g., his own fullback popping the ball out on a QB sneak).
The interior OL, and thus the OL overall, is really really bad. Like really bad.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:31 AM ^
Gardner went for 4.2 yards/attempt against a miserable defense. He played that poorly. It's not all on him, though. Until the 4th quarter he was the entire offense. As he demonstrated last week that's not an environment in which he currently thrives.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:50 AM ^
not specific to the INTs but after the first he looked shaken out there to me. He was very gun-shy on his throws which led to sacks and scrambles - scrambles that are more successful when they are infrequent. SIDE NOTE - watching a game on ESPN3 sucks. I had to turn off the live blog as it was at least 30 seconds ahead of my video stream. What is worse than watching an M interception? Reading that it is coming and THEN watching it.
September 22nd, 2013 at 2:37 AM ^
Yeah, he definitely was shaken up. You could see the season total interception count ringing up in his head like a cartoon cash register. I got the sense that he really really didn't want to throw any more interceptions after the first one and tensed up because of it. He was trying so hard not to make a mistake. I think he's leading the country in interceptions now, so he's probably self-conscious.
I still blame the OL for 80% of our offensive woes, though.
September 22nd, 2013 at 11:29 PM ^
All streams are like that, you really cant stream and be in the liveblog.
It's even worse if you watch it on espn3 through appletv, it pauses and thinks all the time, in the middle of plays, and then after resuming for 10 seconds it'll jump forward to make up for the lost time and you'll miss entire plays. Terrible app.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^
I don't know if it's worse than last year, because last year it was really bad. But it doesn't seem to be any better.
Now, when word leaked out that Braden had moved to tackle and that Miller was getting pushed and Glasgow was everywhere, I found that quite worrying. Some people still said, "I'm sure it will be okay," but after last year I no longer found that to be a good default position.
And it seems to be correct; Miller, in particular is struggling. The line is just not working, and that's with a guy at left tackle that, had he gone pro, would be starting for some team tomorrow. Now, some of it must be due to youth, but you would still like to see a better performance.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:45 AM ^
I do think Gardner gets antsy and makes things worse on the OL, but the guys are just so far off standard at this point that there's no excusing it. If you need a two deep of 4+ stars with more than two years in the system to produce a competent line you shouldn't be coaching at Michigan. That's Mendoza line level production.
September 22nd, 2013 at 1:28 AM ^
One thing that wasn't much of an issue last year was pass protection. Maybe it was having Vincent Smith. Maybe it was having Denard and terrified defenses, but pass pro was good. This line is so inconsistent. I actually thought they were ok at run blocking today (only so much you can do running into 8 or 9 in the box, especially when the TE's were looking back upfield at the guy they whiffed on). But the pass protection issues seemed to come from no where. I think part of it was Devin being so damn indecisive with his reads and even if and when to take off, but man... getting beat by 3 man rushes is brutal.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:53 PM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^
Would you rather have a 24-21 loss? Nobody cares how you win; OSU went undefeated last year and nearly crapped the bed a couple of times. Win your games and nobody really cares.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:59 PM ^
If we're going to make a change at center, it's time to do it now. I think it probably is.
September 21st, 2013 at 11:59 PM ^
Now the downer. The past 2 games had really exposed just how deficient our offensive personnel really are. Our interior line is really, really bad. Some of this is youth, but some of this may be coaching. The played are young, but they should be getting better each week, not worse. Still too early to blame Funk, but it is air to say that this is a concern.
Equally troubling is our receiving group. Gallon has been great, but he is our only credible receiving threat. And, at 5'8", as this came showed with some higher throws, he has limitations. The rest of he receives cannot get any separation.
I do, however, want to defend Devin here. With crap protection from his line and receives that cant get open, what is he supposed to do. When he ran, it was largely effective. But he can't run every play. And fitz hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. So, he is going to force it, and when a qb forces the issue, picks happen.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:31 AM ^
September 21st, 2013 at 11:59 PM ^
We are 4-0! Things can only get better.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:00 AM ^
but in the interest of playing devil's advocate to myself, I'll bring up a bit of "on the brightside":
Last year, Notre Dame and Ohio State both struggled against Purdue (whom we dominated 44-13). Both teams went on to undefeated regular seasons.
There are definitely things our team needs to improve on this season; but I encourage everyone to maintain hope that they will indeed improve on them.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:02 AM ^
than the comments already here...
- Can we just skip straight to second down?
- Oline still not picking up blitzs. Kalis should know Fitz is behind him to chip a man. Gardener sacked on a 3 man rush?!
- Toussaint didn't frustrate nearly as much today
- I liked the short yardage 1st down where they brought in Magnusson (a'la goaline play) faked to Fitz and ran Gardener right.
- Maybe Borges doesn't actually like unleashing the beast or maybe we lose yards on half of our first downs.
- Hate getting down but the fact that this team came back says something about their character
- Glad Borges refused to become 1 dimensional.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:05 AM ^
By the end of the game, you knew the play on 3rd down was either a boot/called run if under center or an ISQBD if we were in shotgun. And I can't even blame Borges as those were the only things working until eventually the stretch behind Lewan started to get some yards near the very end.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^
- Lewan is < 100%
- Morris is going to get some serious playing time this year if we have to keep using DG like this
- Seeing Green in the backfield soothed my heart
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:03 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:06 AM ^
Blind squirrels, etc etc etc
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:05 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
...but other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:10 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:12 AM ^
this is a very very average team in pretty much every area.
There is not one single area where we are even slightly above average.
We have barely beat 2 teams that really have no business being in the game past the halftime show.
I admit i am very guilty of over-estimating this team and this coaching staff.
Hoke is big time over-rated and if you dont think so thats fine, but i have watched Michigan football since Bo took over.
The best thing about Hoke is the talent he is bringing in. But...so far....not so good as far as what we are seeing them do this year.
Will it get better? I think so.
But, i have sure been wrong this year about what we had.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:13 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:16 AM ^
-Their performance over the last two weeks has been pathetic. PATHETIC. And that's being generous. Especially taking into account the level of competition they've played against. They've made two of the worst teams in college football look like they have a defensive line filled with first team All Americans. I'd understand this against, say, Notre Dame, MSU or OSU, but not to Akron and UConn. They should be able to dominate those teams based on talent alone.
-Gardner: Jesus H Christ, what the hell has happened to him? He looked near flawless against Notre Dame, and has completely fallen apart in the span of two weeks. I hate to say it but he makes me miss Denard right now. His performance tonight was equally horrid. He should be thankful he's got a bye next week. He's got two weeks to pull his head out of his ass and learn how to take care of the football.
Fitz: all things considered, had a good night. He receives zero help from his O-Line, but I was happy to see him get his first 100 yd game in what feels like forever. I feel bad watching him get buried in the backfield time and time again, but our O-Line interior is about as durable as a sheet of loose leaf right now.
Funk: I might be overreacting, but he might need to get fired. We haven't had any push on the O-Line since Molk graduated, and it's gotten worse and worse over time. Yes, I know the interior is inexperienced and Glasgow is a former walk-on, but UConn had 10 TFL tonight. 10. And I don't know how many sacks, probably 3-4. That's beyond inexcusable. Jon Jansen, Jake Long and Steve Hutchinson must watch games like this and vomit with rage.
A win is a win, but this is getting bad. Really bad.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:59 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 2:39 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:23 AM ^
While he had a rough day overall, that 3rd and 15 completion to Chesson was Gardner at his best. That showed that Borges still had confidence in him and while it was slightly low, it was a pretty nice throw. That was a big play when the crowd was really into it.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:25 AM ^
1. Kerridge caused the Gardner fumble. He literally punched it out of Devins hands from behind trying to push him forward.
2. The option TD was beautiful. Great blocking in the secondary and perfect timing on the pitch. Toussaint made two really nice cuts.
3. Lewis now has two personal fouls on kickoff/punt return duty. I think there's a point that needs to be made. The one in the opener negated a nice return, also.
4. On the 11-yard rush TD by Fitz, he created it all with a great bounce and burst. Jake Butt missed his block and had the DB not snuck inside and got stuck behind his own man, Fitz has a rough time getting free. I'll take it, but TE blocking HAS to improve.
5. Both TEs blew their blocks on Devin's run that came up just short of the goal at the end. If they don't lose their man, DG doesn't get his arm grabbed and easily makes the endzone.
Overall, the offense made some decent adjustments in the 2nd half, but blocking remains a major issue. Multiple good runs turned into losses or minimal gains by blown assignments.
September 22nd, 2013 at 1:21 AM ^
Kerridge didn't cause the fumble. Gardner dragged it over Magnuson's butt as he was pushed back into Gardner. Kerridge did probably prevent Gardner from trying to recover it, but it's a crap shoot with a big pile like that. That's just lack of concentration from Gardner and not protecting the football, it was hardly a jarring hit.
September 22nd, 2013 at 8:34 AM ^
I'm not saying DG shouldn't hold onto the damn ball better, but it was clearly punched out.
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:26 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:08 PM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:33 AM ^
September 22nd, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^
But in Devin's defense, I never believed there was anyone on this team worthy of wearing that number.