December 18th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
Penn State and a couple 7 win MSU and WISC teams.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:40 AM ^
Good post.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
This 100%! I think 1) the amount of improvement that the offensive line had shown has made people forget there are still weaknesses there and 2) we can't forget how much line play affects the rest of the offense.
It always seems to be the same refrain from fans who are disappointed in their team's offense, regardless of the team, that the playcalling is subpar. However, if there are limiting factors of the offense (i.e., the offensive line), it holds back the amount of playcalls you can reasonably make.
I would love to see UM air it out with the current personnel, but if we can't trust the line to hold for a few seconds for a play to develop, it's not going to make a difference anyway.
Look at MSU this year as a prime example. Spartan fans are calling for the OC's head, but the offensive line was so bad they couldn't open up the playbook. Throw in some injuries, and you see how hamstrung the team becomes. Hell, Michigan went through the exact same problem in 2017!!!!
Simply put: everything begins with the line. If the line isn't competent enough for certain plays in the playbook, it doesn't matter of the rest of the offense is because that play will fall apart before it even begins.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
Harbaugh needs to go
December 18th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
And bring in who, exactly? You?
December 18th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
Tell you what, you go first, set up the camp and send back smoke messages, or burger wrappers scripted with notes, to let us know when to send him to the camp.
Bye.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
You need to go.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
You used to act like a concern troll on occasion...you’ve morphed into a full blown negative ass clown. What the hell, man?
December 18th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
It would be really nice to see. The Rudock offense was much more open at the end of 2015, so at least there's some precedent for Harbaugh passing more.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^
The OL was much better at pass pro in 2015.
This is borne out in the S&P stats for the two years. Even more so, it's my belief that the 2018 pass pro stats are inflated because the offensive game plan was designed around mitigating the poor pass pro and an extreme bias towards not turning the ball over. Every offense wants to avoid turning the ball over, but there are degrees: Oklahoma doesn't want to, but DGAF relative to scoring points, Michigan was on the other side of the spectrum this year.
Michigan absolutely chose safe and either quick-hitting or max protect alternatives on many passing downs this year at the expense riskier plays that may have been more likely to result in a first down or score. Everybody asked what's Pep doing. He's doing what the staff decided they needed to do to win. Worked for 10 games. OSU team playing on volume 11 wasn't going down against that strategy.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
If enough defensive guys go pro and transfer he'll have to.
Lemons into lemonade.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
I don't think he has a choice next year. We can't ground and pound defenses and then expect ours to make the stops. We are going to have to put up some points.
December 18th, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
Black Transfer was a good movie. I'd never heard of Chadwick Boseman before but I'm interested in seeing him in other roles going forward.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
I really liked Michael B Jordan as Erik Everyonekillsmonger.
December 18th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
Huzzah
December 18th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Heal up Tarik! Get your strength on!
December 18th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
Says a lot about Tarik. Hurt two years in a row while falling way behind the other receivers and he has the mindset to not quit on his best friends and teammates to go to another school, but stay and grind it out. Great kid and is gonna be a huge asset next year.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
Maizen is so sad.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
excellent if true but not sure it moves the needle on this team one way or the other the same way the recent D-line news does.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
Uhh ....beg to differ: Dline is phat and they got a platoon heading in but WR is thin, especially vertical threats.
But it sucks to loose Aubrey and get "balled" on their chance at Zach.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^
Of these top 3's I think WR is the strongest, even without Black.
WR - DPJ, Collins, Martin/Bell,
DT - Dwumfour, Kemp, Jeter,
DE - Paye, Hutchinson, Vilain?
December 18th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^
Won't disagree with that assessment.
But WR falls off hard after those four, especially the tall wide outs, while Dline still has Welshof and Upshaw, after red shirts, and at least two freshman that could join the rotation.
Not to mention Mattison Magic.
December 18th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
The absurd thing about 2018 is that he felt this was a thing that had to be addressed.
The entire thing as far as I can tell:
- A handful of perpetually nervous Michigan fans concern tweeted about Black transferring because he didn't get many targets
- Yoder read one of the tweets aloud on his Frauds-Only YouTube show and even he was dismissive of the idea
- Other dummy fans, unable to discern credible information (paying attention to Yoder) were still nervous as to not even listen to that dismissal and ran with it as A Thing That Might Happen
December 18th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^
Sam did shoot that one down conclusively.
December 18th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^
Dont see why any receiver would want to play for this offense.
99% of your snaps are gonna be either blocking or running fades down field as Shay play actions 9 step drops to a slow tight end. Makes me sick thinking about this boring 1980's offense.
Whatever, go Beilein.
December 18th, 2018 at 3:30 PM ^
I reluctantly agree. I have no clue why an elite WR would want to play in this style of offense. Ill never say it outside of this board though.
DPJ would've had 1000 yards playing for Bama or Oklahoma. Catches everything thrown his way. Has elite speed. Athletic. Good hands.
Next year will give us a good idea as to if Harbaugh is capable of overhauling his offense or if he is a stubborn old goat stuck in the past. If he doesn't completely open up our passing offense with DPJ, Black, Nico, martin, and Bell then he never will
December 18th, 2018 at 1:14 PM ^
I'll take this as good news, especially with what we've been getting lately. Black is a superb receiver and I'm really, really hoping he stays put and plays completely healthy for the rest of his career here. That called back TD against Penn State was a thing of beauty. The guy is the most natural, smoothest receiver on the team. It'll be a crime if we don't get him fully back into the offense against Florida.
December 18th, 2018 at 3:04 PM ^
Always bet on Black
December 18th, 2018 at 3:26 PM ^
Black, Nico, DPJ, Martin, and Bell will be the best WR group in the nation next year
Now if only Harbaugh would change his offense to utilize this elite talent we have there
December 18th, 2018 at 3:46 PM ^
Word to Harbaugh: Loosen your Pucker...open it up and throw the fucking football.
This 2018 not 1978.
December 18th, 2018 at 5:27 PM ^
Pretty sure your going to see air Harbaugh next year. Thin at D, running back by committee, experienced receivers and QB. My guess is we see this come to fruition in the bowl game ala Lloyd’s last game.