Can we talk about the offensive line and what this means?

Submitted by wolverine1987 on

When you go through the offensive snowflakes thread you find that 90% of the discussion is around JOK's performance, understandably so. But I have to say that the largest impact this game made on me, beyond the happiness for JOK, was that it appeared to the untrained eye that our o-line is regressing, not progressing. Purdue came into the game with 1.5 sacks- against bad teams, yet there was constant pressure throughout the game. In fact only JOK's feet kept us from disaster a couple of times. If this was Iowa/PSU/OSU fine, you might say those guys are better than our inexperienced guys on the right side. But Purdue objectively has inferior talent on both sides of the ball, and yet: Ulizio continued to get owned. MO was shaky, and the rate of mental busts all over the line looked to me to be the highest so far this year. 

I don't know man, not to debbie downer this win but that was concerning. You guys agree or am I too negative?

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Wolverdog

September 24th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^

And the glaringly bad miscommunication by Cole and one of the RB's on the play Wilton got hurt. At the same time, the play appeared to be slide protection right and Wilton dropped straight back and took a hard sack and then had fat Wilson bellyflop on his back/neck (penalty worthyin my book.) After that JOK came in and moved the pocket and moved to green space. Sacks are going to happen when they bring six guys if your QB lacks pocket presence. It appears that Purdue had a good scheme that failed to produce the numbers once JOK came in. We will see what the future holds.

Joined: 12/10/2014

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TomJ

September 25th, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^

Speight got hurt on a play where Purdue rushed four guys, that's all.

The previous sack happened when they rushed 5. Michigan still had more than enough guys to block them, they just got confused.

So, while I agree that JOK made a difference, it wasn't because he instilled such fear in Purdue that they stopped rushing 6-7 guys. He was just much more decisive and got rid of the ball quicker, which meant that those same screw-ups by the OL resulted in "just" pressures, not sacks. As you note, he also moved around a lot better to escape the pressure.

Joined: 03/21/2012

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evenyoubrutus

September 24th, 2017 at 10:10 AM ^

Seems like pretty lofty expectations to want this offensive line to be dominant with the personnel situation we have. It isn't any worse than OSU's line, and certainly better than their line from a year ago, and yet we seem to have scrambled to find a starting 5.

Joined: 11/04/2008

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Leonhall

September 24th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^

Like 1st half sacks were attributed to piss poor playcalling again. 2nd half was quicker routes that fit our QB's and oline strengths; as well as our playmakers. Why we haven't called like that all year is beyond me. The only time we've looked good on offense this season is when we have ran quick routes, crossing routes, etc, other than the PA bomb, that is how we have been effective. Our QB's cannot throw accurately enough for those pro-style type routes. And our oline can't block enough. Stubborn playcalling is why the problem with our oline and QB struggles

Joined: 06/14/2012

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wayneandgarth

September 24th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^

You can't have QB hold on to the ball as long as Speight was in Big Ten play. It takes a combination of a decent running attack, passes that get off quickly and a QB who can get through progressions quickly.

Joined: 10/10/2012

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pmark1210

September 24th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^

cue the "sky is not falling. trust the coaches, blame everyone else, purdue is a good defense " responses. fact of the matter is Michigan cannot protect the qb. the o line is not good, and is not developing.

Joined: 11/02/2011

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A2GOBLUECINCY

September 24th, 2017 at 10:21 AM ^

With the bye week, and the right side of the line looking not so good. Anyone else think we might see Chuck Filiaga at right tackle? He has had some time to get acclimated to college life and he has the size.

Joined: 09/24/2017

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BlueMk1690

September 24th, 2017 at 10:29 AM ^

this was always going to be a challenge playing so many new starters. To be honest..I find it very interesting and unfortunate in equal measure in terms of roster planning that we ended up in this situation.

Joined: 02/04/2011

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Mr. Yost

September 24th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^

I'm over the Ulizio experiment. Put Runyan over there. JBB wasn't good last year, but he wasn't this bad.

Enough is enough. Now you have a bye, so forget the "chemistry" talk. We've got 2 weeks to build that chemistry. 

That said, the coaches are putting them in HORRIBLE situations.

Stop the slow developing NFL route trees. I sound like a broken record.

Let's hit some short passes and let the playmakers make plays. Let's develop a screen game. Can we hit a swing pass to Chris Evans?!

Loved the playaction, get O'Korn on the move and hit easy throws to the TE/FBs. Why are we just now starting to do this?! You can do the same thing with Speight. Give him easy stuff, get the ball out of his hands.

We do not have Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen or Jake Browning, yet for 3.5 games we ran an offense like we do.

No, allow these guys to manage the game...get the ball out quickly...easy reads. Move the chains. I don't need advanced concepts and double moves from WRs. Just make easy throws and move the chains.

This takes the pressure off the QB AND the OL. 

Joined: 07/25/2011

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Leonhall

September 24th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^

And I have been saying the pass playcalling has been piss poor most of the season. We saw the difference in the 2nd half. The pass routes take too long to develop and go against our strengths. Most of our scores this year have either been a result of PA or quick hitting pass plays. I don't understand why we are so stubborn to not do it all game!

Joined: 06/14/2012

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Mr. Yost

September 24th, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^

That's why I said 3.5 games.

I don't think this OL is better than average, but the playcalling has put them in HORRIBLE spots. 

There was a noticeable adjustment with O'Korn. We ran a speed out, we ran a few playaction roll outs, we tried a screen, we ran some misdirection type pass plays. We actually began to move the ball and find a rhythm.

If we rely on these guys to take 5 and 7 step drops and work through the progressions and allow the WRs to get open 15-20 yards down field...we're screwed. I'm glad we started to adjust to our personnel.

...now if we can stop running 7 different versions of that same I-form dive play all the damn time, I may actually crack a smile.

Joined: 07/25/2011

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Leonhall

September 24th, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^

Agree. The oline is far from spectacular and speight too, but I've thought all along that the playcalling was the reason for our struggles...or at least that was a major reason. Each game they'd tease us with a great drive, well if you look back at those drives, tell me how we looked so well....it was better pass calling.

Joined: 06/14/2012

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uncle leo

September 24th, 2017 at 10:32 AM ^

It has been addressed above. But a guy like O'Korn can make an average O-line that much better. He has a substantially quicker release, much more mobile, and can make plays on the run.

Speight is shifty like Big Ben is, but he's not fast, and whatever pocket awareness he had last year seemed to disappear this season.

Joined: 07/29/2012

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maize-blue

September 24th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

O'Korn and his scrambling ability kept a lot of plays alive. For whatever reason Speight doesn't seem to be able to avoid the rush as good as last season. It seems most teams are blitzing the hell out of this O line.

Joined: 01/10/2013

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Duval Wolverine

September 24th, 2017 at 10:39 AM ^

We have the most inexperienced team in the country with TEs, WRs, and 3 OL that have little to no playing experience and people are suprised that they are struggling through the first 4 games and though everyone expected this coming into the season.  While it is frustating to watch, only game experience will make them better and help slow the game down for them.

Joined: 08/23/2010

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Duval Wolverine

September 24th, 2017 at 10:40 AM ^

We have the most inexperienced team in the country with TEs, WRs, and 3 OL that have little to no playing experience and people are suprised that they are struggling through the first 4 games even though everyone expected this coming into the season.  While it is frustating to watch, only game experience will make them better and help slow the game down for them.

Joined: 08/23/2010

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Lasell

September 24th, 2017 at 10:41 AM ^

I wonder if the simplified play calling for JOK was also helpful to the rest of the offense. Simplified playbook might make it easier to use the young TEs and shorter drops makes life easier for the O-line and RBs in pass protection. 

Joined: 07/29/2014

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Mannix

September 24th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^

OL blocking was textbook on this play. Every OL & TE did their job. Left side plus Wheatley down blocked and Wheatley took the OLB & MLB (whom he ended up depositing on Purdue's side of the field) completely out of the play. Owenu (sp?) pulled and led the way for Evans.

This was so encouraging to watch, I watched it 7 more times in slow motion.

Joined: 01/15/2009

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Maizen

September 24th, 2017 at 10:47 AM ^

It's not just the OL, too many times the RB's got blown up in pass pro or straight up missed their blocking assignment. As Brian pointed out on twitter, it appears the OL has no idea how to block the first level. I'm extremely concerned.

Joined: 08/15/2015

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Der Alte

September 24th, 2017 at 10:47 AM ^

An old cliche, to be sure, but true nonetheless. When the bad guys bring six and you're blocking with five and maybe a RB who's not De'Veon Smith, you ask yourself what options this gives you? In the second half M recognized that the underneath routes vacated by all these blitzers were open for the TEs and for Perry. With Black out and the other wideouts maybe not ready for downfield prime time, especially when paired with the backup QB (who wouldn't have time to throw the long bomb to them anyway) O'Korn (the coaches) went for the options the blitzing D gave him. It worked 1) because O'Korn was mobile enough to elude some of the pass rushers who rushed past some O-linemen, and 2) because Perry and the TEs ran good routes and showed really good hands (Gentry's turn-around catch). Stats:

Receiving        No. Yards TD Long

McKeon, Sean 5      82     0   30

Gentry, Zach    3      48     1   25

Perry, Grant     3      39     0   23

Schoenle, Nate 2     29      0  15

This McKeon kid kind of came out of the blue as far as I can tell, but should be a significant contributor for a few years to come. Go Blue.

Joined: 07/30/2010

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Clarence Beeks

September 24th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^

The answer here is very different if you bifurcate the first half and second half, which also had vastly different play calling. This personnel is clearly more suited to the second half play calling.

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Manonthemoon

September 24th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^

Speight is a statue. Other teams have no fear of him running around trying to get a first down with his feet. If all the WR are covered and Speight has no one to throw too the pocket will eventually collapse. 

Joined: 04/21/2017

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maize-blue

September 24th, 2017 at 10:57 AM ^

I was just going to add something like this to my previous comment. I don't think teams respect our QB play under pressure. Therefore they are bringing the house. If O'Korn can get out of some of these situations and burn the D, they will back off and take pressure off the O line.

Joined: 01/10/2013

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TomJ

September 24th, 2017 at 10:10 PM ^

I thought this too, until I rewatched the first two quarters of the game, until Speight got hurt.

He got hurt when Purdue was rushing four. 

The previous sack came when they were rushing five.

In both cases, Michigan had more guys to block than rushers, but simply failed to identify and block the guys in front of them. In both cases, rushers came through unblocked while two Michigan players were locked up on one Purdue player.

The plays where guys get truly beat, like Uluzio did a few times, are actually pretty rare. Once a Michigan O-lineman gets a hold of you the outcome is usually pretty good. The problem is that this line is completely befuddled by stunts and delayed blitzes.

Joined: 03/21/2012

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Ryno2317

September 24th, 2017 at 10:54 AM ^

A little bit of truth in both positions here. However, trust the staff. We are 4-0 with a very young team. If Hoke was still here we are 1 and 3 and the wheels are coming off for the season. Wilton is a great kid but he looks broken and doesn't seem to want to really be out there. JOK is a better option for now and the play of the WRs has been terrible. They are very young and will be fine.

Joined: 10/14/2013

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mfan92

September 24th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^

The offensive line needs to be on the same page. I've seen a few times this year after the play one lineman is yelling at the other one cuz there was a miscommunication. Also the RB and lineman need to be on the same page in terms of picking up blitzes. There's been times where the line and RB pick up the same guy and leaves someone to get the sack. Hopefully those things are addressed during the bye week. To me it's not about speight being terrible, the line has regressed since Florida. That's the story of the team this year. Fix that then we can grow and get better throughout the year.

Joined: 12/06/2016

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Avon Barksdale

September 24th, 2017 at 10:58 AM ^

But yesterday it seemed like the running backs were to blame for a number of missed blitz pickups and general failure to get the job done when they actually did get the proper assignment. I recognize the OLine has not been consistent enough, but I really think it's a mix of things.

QB's (Speight noticeably) also held onto the ball too long a couple of times.

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