Michigan needs to use Alabama's offense as a blueprint
After watching the Orange Bowl this evening, I've begun asking myself why Michigan can't be like Alabama offensively. While not on their same level, we have similar personnel. Shea is not Tua, but is a pretty accurate QB who is also decently mobile. Both teams are loaded at the WR position. Both teams have a solid run game with good RBs. The only main difference is that Alabama's OL is better, but our OL is improving.
Overall, we have relatively similar offensive personnel to work with but Alabama is utilizing their personnel much more effectively. A balanced attack that isn't predictable. A steady dose of RPOs and giving the ball to weapons in space. Using the run to set up the pass.
Harbaugh needs to take a good look at the best team in the country and see that we aren't so different. Maybe learn a thing or two from Saban about adapting to modern times and updating your offense
December 30th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^
Are u talking about the same 3 3 5 defense everybody uses today to stop the spread.
December 30th, 2018 at 9:29 AM ^
Man, this is so true. I’ve said this in other threads. Offense just looks so hard. It is like the entire unit is trying to solve an advanced calculus problem on every play. They almost never look comfortable regardless of the outcome of the play.
December 30th, 2018 at 11:33 AM ^
And the play calling is so disjointed, we can never string 3 good plays in a row together.
There is no rhythm.
It's not a fun offense to watch, it must be even less fun to play in.
December 30th, 2018 at 7:45 AM ^
Athletes in space is some un-American, candy-ass, 2% bullshit.
When you can't tell whose sweat is whose, that's football!
December 30th, 2018 at 8:27 AM ^
If you don't hear your opponent sweating, then you aren't playing hard enough!
December 30th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
Are you saying it's Communist Football, comrade?
December 30th, 2018 at 9:48 AM ^
It's like the British complaining about American Revolutionaries not fighting "like Gentleman"
December 30th, 2018 at 1:12 AM ^
Hijacking to say: what a weird football season.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:14 AM ^
I want to hear from Bian on this.
December 30th, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^
What is weird? Seems like it has played out like most recent seasons. Bama playing for championship and M crushing our spirits with 2 straight losses to end the season. On the bright side, fairly consistent 10-3 seasons are much better than we were getting under RR and Hoke and comparable to the end of the Carr regime.
December 30th, 2018 at 10:35 AM ^
comparable to the end of the Carr regime.
Unless you only started watching Michigan football in 2008, those were some miserable times.
"The Year of Infinite Pain" says Hello.
Those years only looked good in comparison to Rich Rod and Hoke.
They are NOT the goal state for a Michigan coach making $7M, nor should they be.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:15 AM ^
They were all set to do so. Then Enos bailed.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:22 AM ^
It would've been interesting to see how much freedom and play-calling power Harbaugh would have relinquished to Enos. The upgrade to Bama was probably enough, but I wonder if Enos very quickly realized he was hired to simply be Harbaugh's sounding board. Me wonders... ?
December 30th, 2018 at 1:54 AM ^
Don't think Enos was around long enough to realize anything. Did he even make it to Ann Arbor?
December 30th, 2018 at 1:57 AM ^
Z-E-R-O!
December 30th, 2018 at 8:29 AM ^
I think he realized that Pep wasn't going anywhere and his 'promotion' to OC wasn't going to happen. And with that, Bama called...
December 30th, 2018 at 7:11 AM ^
Enos singlehandedly ran Central into the ground. He is a hanger on at Bama.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:22 AM ^
It’s crazy how dumb this is and still so right. I feel like its basic science. Why are we forcing things to slow, weak TEs that cant jump and drop everything instead of fast WRs that seem to come down with everything they should grab?
December 30th, 2018 at 7:12 AM ^
All 3 tight ends had a rough season.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:30 AM ^
4/5 stars, 4 deep, every position.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:49 AM ^
Their 4th string RB would start for us.
December 30th, 2018 at 2:10 AM ^
Seems like we're trying to perfect a pro-style offense while the rest of the football world is trending in the direction of the Big 12 offenses
December 30th, 2018 at 8:17 AM ^
They are definitely trying to run a pro style offense but one from the 1980's.
Even the NFL today looks more like wide open college football. Watch 2 or 3 minutes of any game and you'll see more innovative passing then anything UM did all season.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^
Yep... The offense is old and stale. It lacks quick pass routes, other than a couple of slants, a short out, and that stupid WR screen that gets read from the sidelines before the formation is even set. There are also zero quick hitting plays anywhere aside from a FB dive that the world sees coming because 18 heavy players are bunched around the OC. And there isn't - has never been (since Bo) - a play that gets the ball outside the tackles quickly, like a sweep, or (God forgive the guts to post this alchemy) a toss to a RB. (UF used one that destroyed Winovich as he barreled in on the QB without even looking at the RB.) The screens and flat/wheel routes for RBs are used so sparingly that they are never executed properly.
Gah... The offense was light years better than last years version, but it still needs to improve a LOT more. Unfortunately, unless the stubborn insistence on run first and ball control lightens up, this offensive scheme has very little room for improvement.
December 30th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
That's the galling thing . . . it's not even a real pro-style offense. It's some archaic thing that's lost in a time warp.
December 30th, 2018 at 2:14 AM ^
Seems like quick slants and crossing routes to quick type WRs are the thing that the best offenses use to set the tone. Alabama did it with Jeudy to gain an early lead. Then Tua had an unbelievably efficient night. And their defense was pretty good, not great but good enough, to contain Murray. And their RBs and OL overpowered the defense. Fuck, Alabama does it in all phases because they have top ranked talent and really good coaching and play designs.
Those that can...do. And Alabama does it year after year. It's getting boring. If we had optimum coaching we can probably compete with Alabama and come close to winning but not quite. Such are the times.
December 30th, 2018 at 2:16 AM ^
"Relatively similar offensive personnel"???
December 30th, 2018 at 8:19 AM ^
Well to be fair both teams have eleven players who start on offense - that's similar.
December 30th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
Do we even use eleven players on offense?
I know they walk out there, but do they all actually play?
I think I caught one of our WRs having a hot dog and a coke during a first down play when we were down three scores.
December 30th, 2018 at 3:02 AM ^
I agree with some who have mentioned that something changed after the game in the toliet bowl in 2016. Harbaugh and the program have never been the same since. Program is finished. If you weren’t around for the 97 season it was good times.
December 30th, 2018 at 4:03 AM ^
This is what bothers me the most. We'll never know, but something has been off for 2 years. I don't care to speculate, it really could be anything.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:30 AM ^
My speculation is that JH never intended to be here long term. He thought it would be easier to turn UM around into a NC contender. He could flip the program in 4-5ish years, win some big games, leave UM a savior, and return to a high level NFL gig.
He realized after a couple of seasons that it would be a tougher and longer job than anticipated, maybe not even possible at all and it is grinding him down.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
We were talking about the same thing during the game. At this point I don't care if he stays or goes. He's had four years to build a roster and mold a team in his image. Like it or not, THIS is Michigan.
He did recruit some smaller, speedier offensive players, but we all know we'll be right back here like clockwork next Thanksgiving and New Year's, frustrated after more end of season bed shitting that has sadly become ritual this time of year
I think the worst thing that happened to this program was Stanford's thumping of Va Tech in the Orange Bowl
December 30th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
Stupid optimistic take since you brought up 1997. 1996 was a terrible year ended with a loss to a mediocre Alabama team in a mediocre bowl. Then 1997 happened.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:02 AM ^
Because our coaches fucking suck.
December 30th, 2018 at 9:06 AM ^
I think your post fucking sucks. Try adding something of value to the discussion instead.
December 30th, 2018 at 9:28 AM ^
Try being more ironic.
This is an online sports forum. NOTHING of value gets discussed here.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:07 AM ^
I think it's easy to look at any successful offense and ask "why can't we do that?" Well before we look at talent, before or players take the field, they're already at a disadvantage. Our coach needs to go into his office and throw that tattered 1990s play book in the trash.
December 30th, 2018 at 10:20 AM ^
We wish it was up to the 1990s.
You're off about 2 decades.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:09 AM ^
I think several people have touched on this, but Michigan’s personnel is solid but no where near Alabama’s at the RB level and OL level.
Alabama’s RB’s:
Damian Harris 5 star
Najee Harris 5 star
Jacobs: 3 star
Alabama OL (all top 80 players)
Jonah Williams 5 stars
Ross Piersbacher 4 stars
Lester Cotton 4 stars
Alex Leatherwood 5 stars
Jedrick Wills 4 stars
That is a far cry from: Evans 3 star, Charbonnet 4 star, and Turner 3 star; Runyan (very lowly rated), Bredesen 4 star, Ruiz 4 star, Onwenu 4 star, and Steuber 3 star.
December 30th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
And yet with all that talent, even Alabama realized they needed to evolve on offense.
Alabama offenses look very different from what they did even 5 years ago.
Saban did not sit on his laurels. He did not cling on to a comfortable philosophy. He observed what was going on in college football and adapted.
Anybody who looks at Alabama and says they are just getting by on pure talent and "execution" is fooling themselves.
December 30th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
Of course. They are not paying for lesser talent.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:15 AM ^
I'm not sure anybody on our team would start for Bama.
Alabama is three deep with studs at every position.
Our offensive schemes are similar but Bama executes theirs much better with better players.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^
You need an offensive line. We haven’t had one since Lloyd Carr.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:46 AM ^
truth...
December 30th, 2018 at 8:52 AM ^
The only thing I agree with is that the o needs to change but to compare our personnel with A or ohio is simply laughable. For various reasons (academic to location) we’ve never had the talent that these and other programs can field And to be competitive we have to play better and smarter. JH is a decent football coach but he’s no football whisperer. It’s time to shave the mullet, tear off the balloon pants, ditch what is essentially a power O with a bit of RO mixed in, and develop a winning scheme.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:56 AM ^
Teams like Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, OSU, and Georgia are winning consistently year in and year out and are at the top of the standings.
They are winning for the most part because they have the best coaches and best players.
Those teams consistently attract the 4 and 5 star players for several reasons.
Top talent wants to play for teams that play for championships, especially NCs. They also play for teams that give them the best opportunity to move on to the next level.
Teams from the South have an added advantage because most of the top players come from the South and want to stay there. It’s been noted on numerous occasions that those kids don’t like cold weather.
it’s also no secret that admissions requirements are not as tough at those perennial contenders as a school like Michigan and that makes a difference with a lot of recruits.
OSU had an advantage for 10 years during the Tressell regime when players were allowed to receive improper benefits. He gets fired and they are lucky enough to bring in a better recruiter and coach in Meyer.
I’m not insinuating that there is no hope for Michigan or other schools not in the upper eschelon but Harbaugh needs to do something to break the current streak.
He needs to take a long hard look at the program and make the necessary changes during the off-season. I don’t think he can afford another season like this one.
December 30th, 2018 at 8:59 AM ^
We need Alabama’s players too
December 30th, 2018 at 9:33 AM ^
....and their bagmen!
December 30th, 2018 at 9:00 AM ^
I get the frustration that UM feels like they’re not maximizing their offensive situations, but let’s not rewrite history. Alabama won it’s first few titles with an old unimaginative pro style offense. I particularly remember people commenting on how underutilized Future NFL TE OJ Howard was in their scheme. Saban changed because his personnel (particularly QB) changed.
Harbaugh inherited a completely broken OL. He has yet to have a true 5* talent at RB.
I complain like everyone else that this play or that play could be different, but we did win 10 games for the 3rd time in 4 years against a schedule that most predicted an 8-4 ceiling. If everyone could be Alabama simply by being like Alabama wouldn’t everyone be Alabama? Hopefully we’ll get there, but my maize colored glasses hope that in 5 years people across the country will be complaining that their teams need to be more like Michigan.