PFF - It's Time To Get Excited About The Michigan Wolverines

Submitted by amedema on

PFF really, really likes our team.

LINK

lilpenny1316

September 13th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^

And in 2013, they won the FIesta Bowl.  Just because their coach quit in the middle of 2015, that doesn't mean we didn't beat a decent team.

If Holman is healthy enough to play effectively against Maryland, they will put a scare into the Terps IMO.  Same goes for when they play Houston at the end of October.

uncle leo

September 13th, 2016 at 10:32 AM ^

IMO. Yards are yards, no matter how they are earned. Some of these metrics just get way too specific.

Couldn't we also say that big rushing plays can occasionally have a "busted" component to it?

And maybe it's just my selective imagination talking, but I have felt that Michigan has been unable to deal with scrambling QBs since I've had teeth. It just seems to be a massive achilles heel that no Michigan coach has ever been able to contain.

evenyoubrutus

September 13th, 2016 at 10:41 AM ^

True a couple of 40+ yard scrambles don't accurately reflect how well a team can stop the run in the same way that racking up a lot of sacks wouldn't either.  If they are included in the passing numbers that would make more sense and I'm guessing that's what they do.

MichiganSkeptic

September 13th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^

You are correct.  I was a freshman in 1969, Bo's first year; and even his great defenses had trouble with mobile QBs, such as Cornelius Green and Art Schlichter, who were few and far between back then.  But, with the proliferation of the dual threat QB in the last two decades -- I can remember Donovan McNab torching us in '98, along with many others -- one would think we might eventually adjust.  The problem is, we don't usually have the personnel to effectively simulate these QBs and read option offenses in practice; so when we see them in games we're unprepared.

gbdub

September 13th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^

Would that 87 yard run have been any better or worse if they'd been on the 50 yard line? The play was over after 20 yards, so I think that's part of the logic. A defense that stones the run game on 40 attempts and gives up 3 or 4 chunk plays looks very different from one that consistently gives up 5 yards a snap.




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ReegsShannon

September 13th, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^

Basically what you have to keep in mind is that PFF is an individual grading system, not an advanced stat. Under PFF, the defense isn't punished as a whole for giving up an 84 yard run, Dymonte Thomas is just given a -1.5 or -2 for taking a bad angle.

UMAmaizinBlue

September 13th, 2016 at 10:22 AM ^

Our guys are looking great, and lots of kids will go pro. I'm just excited to watch good football once again. Now let's focus on getting better as we head full-steam ahead towards B10 season!

ijohnb

September 13th, 2016 at 10:33 AM ^

am very optimistic, though I remain admittedly mystified by the glowing reviews of the O-line's run blocking. Ah well. I guess I will just take their word for it at this point. Clearly, we rule.

LKLIII

September 13th, 2016 at 10:42 AM ^

Early indications are that the O-Line itself was fairly good, but that the glaring weaknesses in blocking was the ancillary blockers we use when there's a blitz or when the D stacks the box with a bunch of extra players--TE, RB, Fullback, etc.

Time for the Kaiju Package to grow up in a hurry!

Bo Glue

September 13th, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^

It's not entirely surprising they graded well. When you're running at an eight man box, your five OL can execute perfectly on every play and still get sabotoged by blocky/catchy types.

Reader71

September 13th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^

That's not really what people mean when they say arm strength.

They're talking about the velocity of the ball on the shorter stuff, which is the important thing in the NFL, where just about every throw is contested and QBs have to fit the ball in tight windows before an underneath defender jumps it.

ScruffyTheJanitor

September 13th, 2016 at 12:16 PM ^

But I'd be interested to see some stats about his Velocity. I wonder if it just seems like he's throwing change-ups because his throwing motion looks like it should result in the ball popping up in the air and landing two yards ahead of him. I don't remember a single short-or-intermediate pass that made me think, "Man, imagine if he REALLY fired it in there."

Reader71

September 13th, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^

I think his arm strength is fine for college and would be right around average in the NFL. I think arm strength is a threshold issue -- you need to have enough to get the job done, but a ton of it isn't necessarily a benefit.

For what it's worth, which I think is next to nothing, I think our QBs arm strength rankings would be Morris, O'Korn, Speight. Interesting that our depth chart is in reverse order.

dieseljr32

September 13th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^

PFF: UM Offense looks improved. Defense is as expected. Could be title contenders.

Us: Whatever. UCF had those long runs which negates everything else. We'll never improve by OSU week.

lhglrkwg

September 13th, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^

I agree with all the hype but find it hard to disregard all the QB scrambles we let up last week. Seems like PFF doesn't really account for that properly. We'll get through almost all of our games without having to worry about that but JT Barrett is going to gut us if we don't have a good plan for it going forward