Discussion: Offense Going 4-Wide?

Submitted by stephenrjking on

So, we've gnawed around the edges of this, but football is approaching and we all want to talk about this kind of thing.

There was talk in the early off-season of going to more 3 and 4-wide sets. In the last week umbig11 (at TTB) casually mentioned that they are working this in 7-on-7 drills and that it had been worked all summer.

The question is: Are we going to see a shift in formation and scheme distribution this fall? Not necessarily throwing out the old playbook, but changing how frequently certain formations and plays care called?

I believe the answer is yes. There are a some really good reasons for this:
1. A lot of rumors from different sources that the team is going this direction
2. A large quantity of ultra-talented receivers that we believe can be productive on the field, but none that are so dominant that they demand double coverage yet
3. Importantly, serious questions about the offensive line.

It's #3 that seems like the most important factor in the switch, to me. This is a good article discussing the Patriots ultra-powerful short passing game. Very prominent in this article is a discussion of "time to release" for Tom Brady. Spoiler: He gets his passes out quickly. 

This is going to be key for a Michigan team with questions all over the OL. It's a great way to use the WR and slot talent in ways that exploit their strengths. It plays to the strengths our two top RBs have in space and (in Evans case) as pass-catchers.

I believe Michigan is making a concerted change in focus here. It won't be the Pats, but it will look a lot more like them.

But I might crazy. What do others think about this?

MGoBoard
Football
tom brady
Wilton Speight
2017 offense

bluechaos

August 12th, 2017 at 1:27 AM ^

I would love to see us run the pro-style wide open offense that Carr ran in his final game. Imagine watching that all season long. We have the right guy in charge to make it happen.

Joined: 08/11/2017

MGoPoints: 88

Mongo

August 12th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

and the Pats success is without question the best in the modern era of football. I see Speight as a fit into that type of offensive scheme - reads things well, smart leader, and throws accurate short to medium balls. Not saying he is Tom Brady, but Wilton's strengths fit the Pats style offense. Plus, we have a lot of the same kind of Slot and TE weapons like the Pats. I think we will see Evans flexing out from RB to Slot to create that 4WR set against certain defensive schemes and then use our catchy-TE's split out like Gronk to run slants and seam routes against short DBs. Going to be killer. But we won't be 100% like the Pats, as the power run game is in Harbaugh's DNA too deeply. But he now has the players for both types of offensive attacks and can make that kind of scheme change on-field without needing to change personnel groups. So be it ... Michigan to become the college football version of the New England Patriots. Sign me up!

Joined: 06/25/2016

MGoPoints: 9585