27 For 27: A Document
[SITE NOTE: Due to a confluence of things including a long drive home, four overtimes, thrilling CONCACAF qualifier business, the Tigers, this post, and a desire to stab my eyeballs whenever I look at the tape, UFR is not quite done and will go up tomorrow.]
Fitzgerald Toussaint set a Michigan record for sustained futility on Saturday by running for 27 yards on 27 carries. Since 1949, no other back has gotten as many carries without gaining at least twice as many yards. Posterity demands that someone detail what happened.
A note: blame is apportioned. When things are designated playcall it's because I don't believe it's reasonable to expect Michigan to block player X, either because he's an extra guy in the box or he's tearing towards the line of scrimmage on the snap because he has no fear of a pass. You can adjust your personal indignation levels on this based on how reasonable you thought running into stacked boxes was vis a vis Devin Gardner's 13 YPA and constant turnover threat; I'm just trying to figure out how much of the run splat was preordained by playcalls.
Ready? No. I know you're not. But here we go anyway.
One
Play: Power O
Formation: Tackle over I Form H
Yards: -3
Why it didn't work:
- Graham Glasgow ignored the NT.
- Predictable playcall sees PSU linebackers flow hard with effectively nine in the box.
- Jake Butt gets beat badly by a PSU LB in the hole.
Blame: 80% OL, 10% playcall, %10 TE/FB
Two
Play: Zone stretch.
Formation: Tackle over I Form big
Yards: -3
Why it didn't work:
- PSU has straight up nine in the box.
- Michigan tries to be clever by running at Williams and Bryant, both of whom get destroyed.
- Schofield leaves immediately, so Lewan has no shot at the backside tackle.
Blame: 30% TE/FB, 30% OL, 40% playcall
Three
Play: Power O
Formation: Tackle over Ace H
Yards: 12
Why it didn't work:
- Actually it did work.
- It works because Schofield gets nice push, giving Toussaint a crease. Glasgow gets movement on a DT and the eighth guy in the box for PSU tries to get over to the frontside when he should probably stack this up near the LOS.
Blame: Everyone is happy!
Four
Play: Counter
Formation: Tackle over trips TE
Yards: 1
Why it didn't work:
- Seven guys in the box against six blockers; extra guy makes the stop.
- PSU WLB doesn't get suckered by the counter, gives Glasgow no shot to block him.
- Kalis gets shed, falling to the ground.
Blame: 80% playcall, 20% OL.
[After THE JUMP: just don't click through. I'm sorry I even did this.]
Five
Play: Tricky edge pitch
Formation: Tackle over I-Form
Yards: 1
Why it didn't work:
- PSU has a DE flared out to the short side of the field who stays at the LOS and shuffles out to tackle.
- Toussaint can't run through five PSU players.
Blame: 100% playcall.
Six
Play: Inside zone read
Formation: Pistol 2TE twins
Yards: 1
Why it didn't work:
- Gardner should pull.
- Bryant doesn't come off a double and an aggressive PSU MLB shoots a gap.
- Kalis gets no motion on a DT.
Blame: 50% Gardner, 50% OL. (Eight in the box is OK since they are trying to option one off.)
Seven
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: Tackle over I-Form twins
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- Glasgow and Kalis can't scoop the NT; seems like a Kalis issue.
- Schofield gets driven back by other DT.
- Penn State has 4 DTs and a DE on the field.
Blame: 50% playcall, 50% OL.
Eight
Play: Iso
Formation: I-Form
Yards: 2
Why it didn't work:
- Playside LBs are already at the LOS when the handoff is made.
- Eighth guy in the box is unblocked and there to deal with a good-idea cutback from Toussaint.
- Maybe Kalis doesn't get off his block fast enough but with LBs plunging down like this very difficult for him to do so.
Blame: 90% playcall, 10% OL.
Nine
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: WTF
Yards: –2
Why it didn't work:
- Michigan runs a stretch into the boundary with an unbalanced line.
- Six blockers against eight defenders.
- LOL
Blame: 100% playcall
Ten
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: Ace 3-wide
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- Kalis, Bryant, and Funchess get obliterated.
Blame: 80% OL, 20% TE/FB
Eleven
Play: Power O
Formation: Goal line
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- No OL movement.
- Butt gets pancaked on a kickout block.
Blame: 50% OL, 50% TE/FB
(End of first half.)
Twelve
Play: Power O
Formation: Tackle over twins H
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- Eight in the box with three guys flowing to a hole that will have two blockers in it.
- Butt runs past a LB to try and hit a DB, misses, but Bryant gets hit two yards in the backfield so it's not really relevant.
- When Fitz cuts back that blows up Magnuson's blocking angle. (Michigan is still running tackle over with Lewan out.)
Blame: 100% playcall.
Thirteen
Play: Power O
Formation: I-Form
Yards: –1
Why it didn't work:
- Shane Morris is in after Gardner's helmet gets knocked off.
- Williams loses a downblock against a DE.
- Bryant doesn't block either of the two guys who show.
- Kerridge picks off a DB instead of a LB.
Blame: 50% bloody fate, 30% TE/FB, 20% OL.
Fourteen
Play: Inside zone
Formation: Ace twins
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- PSU has 4 DTs and a DE on the field.
- They have nine in the box.
- Kalis and Williams get destroyed.
Blame: 40% playcall, 30% OL, 30% TE
Fifteen
Play: Iso
Formation: I-Form
Yards: 4
Why it didn't work:
- We'll count this one as working. Woo!
- PSU has two deep safeties.
- Blocking's good.
- Iso is generally not something that breaks for a lot of yards.
Blame: Ain't no blame on second and six. /highfive
Sixteen
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: Ace twin TE twins
Yards: 8
Why it didn't work:
- It did! Two in a row.
- M gets lucky as their blocking is gross but when Toussaint cuts back the backside end is unable to close it down.
Blame: we're cookin' now
Seventeen
Play: Power O
Formation: Ace twins H
Yards: 4
Why it didn't work:
- It did again. Three in a row.
- Da'Quan Jones trips on Kalis, falls.
- Nice kicks from Williams and Butt open up a lane.
- Safety makes contact two yards downfield.
Blame: this is almost like offense
Eighteen
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: Ace twin TE
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- Despite doubling a LB at the LOS, the two TEs neither kick nor seal him.
- M has no angle to get a MLB
- Williams then releases and blocks air.
- Toussaint bounces into a free corner since Chesson cracked down on a safety who is guy 7.5 in the box.
Blame: 50% TE/FB, 50% OL
Nineteen
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: Ace
Yards: 3
Why it didn't work:
- Fitz finds a hole as Jones gets upfield and there's a big gap between him and the backside DT.
- Glasgow helps create this hole with a shove and then blocks the MLB, which is probably wrong since that's Burzynski's guy.
- SAM is headed outside as that momentarily looks dangerous and slips as he cuts back with Toussaint, tackling Toussaint in the actual gap.
Blame: 100% OL, but amplitude decreased since this almost kind of worked.
Twenty
Play: Power O
Formation: Ace H twins
Yards: 1
Why it didn't work:
- Butt gets rocked back by the LB in the hole.
- Magnuson gets pushed back by Jones, Burzynski trips over him.
- PSU is desperate to preserve clock and M kill it so they know it's a run.
Blame: 50% OL, 50% FB/TE
Twenty One
Play: Inside zone
Formation: Ace
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- MLB shoots interior gap on the snap before anyone has a prayer of reacting.
- Seriously, I don't know how you stop this.
Blame: 100% playcall
Twenty-Two
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: I-Form Big
Yards: –3
Why it didn't work:
- PSU has all DTs in.
- One of them beats up Williams.
- Glasgow and Kalis can't execute a scoop.
- Schofield gets good motion on playside DT with help from Burzynski but then peels off to shove a linebacker. This shove pushes him right past what would have been Kerridge's block and into Toussaint.
Blame: 40% OL, 30% FB/TE, 30% playcall.
Twenty Three
Play: Zone stretch
Formation: Ace twins twin TE
Yards: 1
Why it didn't work:
- Burzynski/Jones matchup doesn't go well(surprise!).
- Schofield gets blown up by the WLB, who penetrates.
Blame: 100% OL.
Twenty Four
Play: Iso.
Formation: I-Form
Yards: 2
Why it didn't work:
- PSU aligns two LBs basically holding hands and shoots both of them into the A gap. There is one blocker in there, Kerridge.
Blame: 100% playcall.
Twenty Five
Play: Inside zone
Formation: Pistol 3-wide
Yards: 3
Why it didn't work:
- Glasgow gets beat by the NT but because of the nature of the play there's a cutback lane; PSU LBs much more hesitant here.
- Burzynski gets thrown away by the WLB.
- Toussaint is trying to cut and it looks like he slips, so he does not get any YAC.
Blame: 50% OL, 50% Toussaint.
Twenty Six
Play: Iso
Formation: I-Form
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- Eight in the box, with every linebacker shooting forward on the snap.
- PSU stuffs up the hole, but M actually gets decent motion and there will be a cutback for Toussaint.
- Except the eighth guy roars in unblocked from behind and ends it.
Blame: 100% playcall
Twenty Seven
Play: Down G
Formation: Goal line
Yards: 0
Why it didn't work:
- Burzynski gets shot back into the hole by Jones.
- Magnuson gets pushed back.
Blame: 100% OL
Final Tally
Ten points per play were awarded.
- PLAYCALLING: 94
- OL: 91
- FB/TE: 30
- FATE: 5
- TOUSSAINT: 5
- GARDNER: 5
I'm impressed you got to the end of this. Hang in there, man.
October 16th, 2013 at 5:26 PM ^
The more I think about it, since they never pass to Williams, why not give Magnuson or Braden a number in the 80's and have them take his job? They can run one pass play for that converted OL against Indiana to keep the defense honest and actually have a guy out there who can block.
Someone tell me why this is a bad idea?
October 16th, 2013 at 6:57 PM ^
October 17th, 2013 at 1:10 AM ^
you know, i like this idea. he's supposed to be a great athlete for his size. i'm sure he could even catch a pass. hell, the bears threw passes to the fridge.
October 16th, 2013 at 5:33 PM ^
I agree with the "27 for 27 Never Forget" tshirt idea.
October 16th, 2013 at 5:33 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
...free 10 yards
October 16th, 2013 at 5:52 PM ^
hits the open linebacker and it turns into a pick 6!
October 17th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^
C'mon Al (I mean burtcomma) .... put the keyboard down.
October 16th, 2013 at 5:50 PM ^
It's pretty well established that we're trying to fit the square peg in a round hole. What gives us the best chance to have a more potent offense going forward? Just revert back to a spread? Put Funchess out as a wide receiver and let Touissaint run in more open ground? I feel at this point, we know the OL is not good, Borges playcalling is suspect, the insistence of B Hoke manball is proving to be counterproductive. What in the opinon of the bloggers/readers is the solution for this year?
October 16th, 2013 at 5:52 PM ^
Since Sunday my view of the problem has moved from 80/20 playcalling/blocking to more like 50/50 in line with Brian's assessment of these 27 plays. Reading this post and looking at tape of other teams both running Power O, stretch, iso-it is not as hard to run those plays against 8 man fronts as it might seem on the surface. However, it is almost impossible to run those plays against any defense with this offensive line. The problems are never the same affect all of the OL, TEs and FBs (except Lewan). Poor angles, no push, mental errors. It also seems like sometimes our guys are late getting off on the snap.
Maybe this is 2008 again in terms of the offense and the coaches are going to keep calling the same damn plays regardless of whether it works. However, at least there was significant improvement in '09 but this offense seems like it could be even worse next year absent some huge positive surprises from the OL, TEs, FBs and QB.
October 16th, 2013 at 5:54 PM ^
Just kick me in the nuts next time, Brian.
Fire Borges
October 16th, 2013 at 6:29 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 6:32 PM ^
This means plays 11-27 were all 100% play call
October 16th, 2013 at 6:50 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 7:35 PM ^
Gardner, evidently is not smart enough to check out or into anything. Why not throw to the slot time and again, He missed a wide open Drew Dileo!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH
October 16th, 2013 at 9:39 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 7:38 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 9:32 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 7:39 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 8:25 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^
Blue and maize shirt with the title across the chest "27 for 27. A Documentary by Al Borges" and maybe a picture of his face underneath
October 16th, 2013 at 8:34 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
Good analysis.....this pretty much matches up with what I was thinking while watching the game. Namely, this playcalling blows, and the line is suffering from a serious lack of talent. I was watching, thinking, "Okay, I know why Borges / Hoke is trying to do this.They're going uber-conservative on the road with a turnover-prone QB. But they can't do it, so they need to do something else."
The fact that they were unwilling to do something else, that means changes have to be made. Even with a top-quality OL (questionable if it's even possible with Funk's track record), this playcalling will not work against the better teams with smart DCs and quality personnel.
October 16th, 2013 at 8:58 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 9:14 PM ^
Not to pull something from a writer talking about another sport, but during this year's NBA Draft, our favorite Grantlander Bill Simmons made an excellent point when the Pelicans drafted Nerlens Noel (only to trade him).
Great schools / teams / franchises have an IDENTITY. With the drafting of Noel, the Pelicans were going to play defense like nobody's business (see Thibs' Chicago Bulls teams recently). Oregon Football has an identity. The Patriots have an identity.
Right now, we don't have an identity, especially on offense.
The spread-to-pro transition is the cause for a lot of these ills. Borges/Hoke have spread personnel, but want to establish a POWER MANBALL identity. But, we're more successful with spread concepts. So, the brain trust wants to do A, but is forced to do B in order to have short-term success. Sometimes, you get 2011 Ohio State. Sometimes, you get 2013 Penn State.
The important thing is to believe in establishing that IDENTITY, come hell or high water. Hoke wants to turn this team into Alabama/Stanford. I'm not against that. Right now, we're caught between two worlds. Growing pains, friends, growing pains.
October 16th, 2013 at 9:18 PM ^
Id argue that the weighting is to low as it pertains to the failure of the playcalling. Specifically, with the run game being so unsuccessful thru the game and yet continuing to run the rock the probability of failure has to be greater. IE, heavier weighted rating for play calling.
October 16th, 2013 at 9:34 PM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 10:52 PM ^
Gardner's 2 first half INT's?
They basically went in a shell and tried to let the defense and special teams win the game, which they obviously couldn't.
Not an optimal strategy, but good enough to win 75% of the time which is pretty good for a 2 point road favorite.
October 17th, 2013 at 10:31 AM ^
October 16th, 2013 at 11:50 PM ^
October 17th, 2013 at 12:48 AM ^
Sorry we cant seem to win the one on one battles, which doesnt really surprise me with the youth on the line. To keep trying when we are outnumbered and unable to win the individual matchups reeks of pure desperation or insanity. With perhaps the third starting lineup this weekend i'd guess we try the same running attack again, hopefully with better results. If this doesnt produce maybe then we will see a broader playbook. Unless of course desperation and insanity are once again the offensive philosophy and the beatings will continue. Personally i'd like to give the offensive line a chance, spread the field and let Gardner do what he's going to do through the air, good or bad. We have seen the 27 for 27 and it cant get much uglier.
October 17th, 2013 at 3:27 AM ^
Even our two senior tackles seem to get manhandled at the line. I don't understand. These guys have got size. May be they just lack technique and toughness at this point? Our OL better get better. Even going to more zone blocking will not help us much if the OL doesn't get tough!
October 17th, 2013 at 9:05 AM ^
I hope the staff can learn from it's mistakes and run what works. I've not freaked out yet but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.
Go Blue!
October 17th, 2013 at 9:10 AM ^
I really have no idea what would be a normal EV for playcalling, but if we say 1/3 good playcalls (not counted here), 1/3 even playcalls (no point) and 1/3 bad play calls, the EV would be 81. We ended up at 94, which I would put us at 1 full bad play worse than average.
I'm still not sure if I'm reading the scoring for playcalling correctly or not though.
In any case, I don't know that I consider the playcalling a major factor in the lack of rushing yards.
October 17th, 2013 at 10:10 AM ^
so much schadenfruede.
Brian is in his glory.
for me it's over.
that's all I have, but jesus this is getting out of hand, I can't wait for saturday just so we can stop hearing about PSU/27 for 27/tackle over/we finally lost so we can implode.
jdon
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