PFF on Michigan-Indiana
PFF on Michigan-Indiana. Interesting take on our struggles against the run. Hope we can shore it up this week. Confirms what most observers saw: Godin and Bolden really struggled. Interested to see the UFR this week.
— Michigan’s run defense was exposed for the first time this season, but it wasn’t because they were overpowered on the line. No, the Wolverine’s defense looked completely lost trying to maintain gap control against the Hoosier’s stretch plays. Michigan’s defensive line likes to fire off straight upfield at the snap. This works great against downhill runs like inside zone where they had great success Saturday. But versis outside zone firing upfield creates very wide running lanes when one defensive tackle flows down the line of scrimmage and another one doesn’t. The poor discipline made the job extremely difficult on Michigan’s linebackers. Matthew Godin (-5.3) and Joe Bolden (-3.6) were the two that struggled the most.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
He seems to be outstanding in every phase, not just carrying the ball.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
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November 17th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
I'm quite sure he's seen Elliott too.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
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November 17th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
Umm Elliott?
I think he is a top 10 back for sure. When he was gashing MSU's generally very good rush D for 7 a pop even when injured and lacking explosiveness you know he is pretty good. I agree on Booker by the way - he is a workhorse guy but didnt scare me like Howard or Zeke do. I think Christian McCafferty and Zeke are the 2 I'd have above him so he is 6-7ish from what I've seen. Dalvin Cook is also in that convo.
November 17th, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
Also interesting that Willie Henry had a +4.4 in what was otherwise a painful game for the DLine.
November 17th, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^
"Howard averaged almost four yards after contact per attempt and broke eight tackles on 35 carries. He’s now among the top five graded running backs in the FBS this year."
I will be curious if he goes to the NFL this year as he has now proven it vs P5 competition. Backs have a short shelf life.
November 17th, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^
absolutely should. He was the best running back we have seen this year by a wide margin. (Other than Peppers).
November 17th, 2015 at 2:18 PM ^
Any RB who can get drafted should go to the NFL. The money difference between rounds 2-7 is pretty minor, and a RB won't go in the first round unless he's a physical freak (in which case staying in college is unnecessary). And like you said, RBs have a short shelf life, and it's important to get to that second contract as soon as possible.
November 17th, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
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November 17th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
Lateral speed is lacking and I KNOW I saw Bolden dive into the pile of offensive and defensive line players while the play was going lateral about 12 feet in front of him. I don't think he could read at all what was happening.
So not only is his lateral speed poor, he was not even sure of when he should have been going lateral in this past game.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
Noticed on that site that Michigan will have faced four of the top ten rated RBs in college football this year including: Ezekiel Elliott (#1), Devontae Booker (#4), Saquon Barkley (#9), and Jordan Howard (#10).
Seeing that Barkley rated a spot higher than Howard and knowing Penn St is next up gives me pause.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
that Durkin and Co will work on lane control and tackling fundamentals this week. This should also help on lane control and tackling on special teams which have not been very special the past couple weeks.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
On the positive side Barkley should be hitting the freshman wall right about here and I dont think PSU OL is as good as Indiana's.
Howard has been out a few games with injury too so he wont grade as high. Howard is more of a load to bring down at this point in career than Barkley IMO.
Also frustrating to see PSU hit on a freshman rb while we bash our head in the wall.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:02 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^
Never forget:
November 17th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
Temple rushed 1.5 guys and got there. Lol
November 17th, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^
Listened to OT via XM so Indy announcers. They were waxing about how great Spriggs was in OT with the outside zone. I do remember them running some of that in the second half to great effect as well.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
The Indiana secondary may have been overmatched talent wise, but there is no excuse for the amount of fakes the Indiana defense bit on and coverage busts they had on the back end. The main culprits were cornerbacks Rashard Fant (-5.7) and Tyler Green (-2.5). The duo allowed 99 and 134 yards respectively through the air and three combined touchdowns.
Our ability to basically make them forget we had a passing game (or perhaps they stubbornly refused to respect it) really was chuckleworthy. Several times in that game, they simply forgot about receivers, and fortunately, at moments when it mattered.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:30 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
and who is this expert that knows so much about michigans weaknesses? the shutouts really spoiled everyone. a very good back had a very good day against michigan. they have not forgot how to play or coach defense. but shutting other teams down every game is tough. indiana has been a handfull for everyone.
one game is not a blueprint for every other team you play. thats why there are so many swings in the season. for all we know they may shut penn state out.
November 17th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
This is more encouraging than my previous thought process that our d-line is just too depleted to protect our mediocre LBers.
I am confident Durkin, Mattison, and Harbaugh can fix a scheme thing.
November 17th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^
My fear that the Indiana game just became the roadmap for PS and ohio are realized.
November 17th, 2015 at 9:30 PM ^
Wille Henry +4.4 on the DL, so seems not all hope is lost for shoring things up. M may need to be more judicious about the plays he's in on (i.e. rushing downs), accept a lack of pass rush otherwise, and lean on the secondary to defend & contain the pass. It seems the DL situation was exacerbated by IU's tempo in so far as once Henry came off and Godin or Strobel came on, they would get locked on for the lack of ability to substitute.
Oh crap - just realized I had Henry & Hurst swapped in my mind. But now I have the question: why not move Henry over to the nose & have Taco start at end? Hasn't Henry played nose before?