November 5th, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
Iowa just ran for 6.4 yards per carry against OSU.
Wisconsin's defense is scarier than OSU's, the offense is the opposite.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:07 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 1:05 AM ^
I didn't see a ton of the Iowa/OSU game but when I was watching, Iowa seemed to be mixing up their play calling very nicely, a lot of passing on first downs. They really kept OSU's defense off balance.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:01 AM ^
Peters has bad pocket awareness, which is one of the few things both Speight and O'Korn were very solid at.
The first two sacks he easily should've avoided.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:03 AM ^
They were both free guys right up the middle.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:05 AM ^
Speight had great pocket awareness last year, O'Korn was terrible at it.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:06 AM ^
The difference is he's actually going through reads, unlike the other 2. I'd rather have that than okorn counting to 1 then running around. If you don't want sacks, you need better blocking. That's not on Peters.
November 5th, 2017 at 1:24 AM ^
If you think Peters is better at going through reads than O'Korn and especially Speight, I have a bridge to sell you.
November 5th, 2017 at 2:33 AM ^
If you think you own a bridge, I have a video on qb decision-making for you to watch.
November 5th, 2017 at 7:04 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 9:20 AM ^
I'll give JOK credit for scambling the hell out of the pocket when an opportunity presented itself - it was our only reliable offense for stretches of 1 or 2 games. But, JOK also gave up on pocket too quickly at times, and his scrambling instincts sometimes did not indicate excellent awareness. I wouldn't call his overall pocket presence "solid".
Speight had decent pocket presence last year. I didn't see the same Speight in the pocket this year. But Speight > JOK in overall pocket presence.
Clearly, Peters needs to develop better instincts. Either get that ball out of your hand in rhythm, or it's time to look elsewhere - including getting the hell out of the pocket. Time will tell if his pocket presence is an upgrade, especially when under the kind of pressure Wisconsin and OSU will bring.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:03 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:04 AM ^
A lot of OL pass pro drills against line stunts this week in practice, I hope.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:07 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:08 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 7:50 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:10 AM ^
has two arms and functional hands with fingers that can grip onto things.
Just teach them to hold like MFs. They don't call it anymore, and even if they do, picking up one or two flags per game is a small price to pay for a healthy QB and a passing game that might work.
Hold like a cat on a clothesline in a motivational poster.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:12 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:15 AM ^
This would really test the officials biased against Harbaugh theory.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:13 AM ^
Namaste, mofos. Namaste.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:25 AM ^
Not an expert, so I would like hear from those who are more knowledgeable.
Frey was brought in to teach the zone blocking scheme, but I read somewhere that UM was going back to Drevno's gap blocking scheme.
Does today's success mean that one of the systems has won the debate?
Is it possible to mix the different schemes, or is it too confusing for the OL to switch between the two?
November 5th, 2017 at 12:38 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:45 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:36 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^
a few not even close.
Time to work the bugs out in practice and try again
next weekend.
November 5th, 2017 at 12:55 AM ^
were an offense against broadcasting.
I'd rather listen to Pam Ward recite War & Peace then listen to those fuckwads ever again.
November 5th, 2017 at 1:12 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 7:00 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 2:53 AM ^
Ruiz looked solid in his first extended playing time. Umm, 200 and 191 yard performances for Higdon and Evans pretty much sums it up; would have liked to see more passing just for added reps and whathaveyou.
November 5th, 2017 at 5:26 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 6:15 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^
As others have noted, the pass blocking still leaves much to be desired. But the O-line has been the weakest link on the team for a number of years, so baby steps and all.
November 5th, 2017 at 7:50 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 7:56 AM ^
I mean I get it, the passing game wasn't good. But we just had one back run for 200 yards, another run for 190. They were both over 100 yards in the FIRST HALF. 4 running TDs. I expected at least a little more enjoyment in this thread.
November 5th, 2017 at 8:32 AM ^
November 5th, 2017 at 9:00 AM ^
- Minnesota was overmatched - much like Rutgers. They're clearly a team with some significant issues and even Fleck's 'cult leader' persona isn't gonna turn these guys into champs overnight.
- If we were where we would like to be, we'd win by more than 23 points and without expending significantly more effort. 33-10 scoreline isn't some kind of loving hommage to the 70s, it's what happens if your offense only has a plan A. With even a moderately successful passing game that can be trusted, we'd have easily put 50-60 on them. Whether that was a matter of not having to show the plan B because plan A worked so well or because plan B isn't very good at all..well I suspect it's more the latter.
- This new 'identity' of Michigan is not one of choice but of necessity. Harbaugh doesn't want to run 75% of the time. That's not how we started the year or what we did in the last two years. Much like I suggested a couple weeks ago, the offense has become a 'run first and then run again' offense because the passing game is a 'work in progress' to put it mildly. At some point you gotta go with what works and not with what you'd like to work if you want to have even a measure of success.
- We're still underdogs in Madison and by a good margin. Very, very good Michigan teams have gone there and lost. From what I've seen of Wisconsin, I'd say they're cut above us this year. Michigan will need to show a plan B offensively and we also need to be prepared for the fact that Wisconsin is going to put some TDs on the board. Hornibrook is going to make some plays and as a result their running game will have some success, too. We have a very good D but it's not without its soft spots (which is the case for pretty much all Ds for what it's worth).
- Main goal at the moment needs to be to win in Maryland and we really should. Get a W there and Michigan has gotten the 8 wins that can be realistically seen as the 'normal' outcome for this season at this point. Anyone who allows wishful thinking to fool themselves into believing that we *should* win vs Wisconsin or OSU is approaching this very wrongly. If we win those games or even any one of them, we should treat it as a fantastic success, not merely an expected outcome. If we lose them, it's unfortunate but not the end of the world or 'unacceptable' 'disgusting' or whatever other terms is used by some of the yahoos on this forum every time our D allows a score or every time we go 3 and out.
November 5th, 2017 at 9:09 AM ^
Then when the running game was killing it I'm sure Harbaugh figured it was best to keep gashing them on the ground. It was late, weather wasn't great, and offense was clicking. Why should they have stopped running the ball?
I know that Peters will need to hit some shots in closer games to keep the running game open like that, and I believe that he will, but the coaches are trying to keep it closer to the chest to try and surpise WI and OSU.
November 5th, 2017 at 10:39 AM ^
That first drive was a nice mixture and balance, but then the game progressed where it did.
When's the last time a team outran its opponent by a 371-90 advantage like Michigan did last night and lost the TOP battle? (Granted, a meaningless stat, especially in college football, but still...)
November 5th, 2017 at 9:15 AM ^
Brought me back to 1976, Rob LITTLE and Harlan running thru the line all day.
November 5th, 2017 at 10:34 AM ^
Just for reference, here are Andrew Luck's passes attempted numbers in games Stanford won his freshman year:
@Washington State, 33
San Jose State, 12
Washington, 14
UCLA, 20
Arizona State, 28
Oregon, 20
USC, 22
Notre Dame, 20
This may help put some things into perspective... Brandon Peters threw 14 passes in 38 minutes against Rutgers and 13 last night.
November 5th, 2017 at 10:44 AM ^