WTKA Roundtable 11/21/2023: A Beaver With a Chainsaw
Things Discussed:
- Maryland Game: JJ looked very off, felt like a Lloyd Carr game with the playcalling.
- Pressure: Either Michigan got two guys free or zero.
- Very vanilla. Maryland moved the ball underneath two-deep with well-planned RPOs.
- Frightening thing was Wallace and Johnson getting beat, Wallace even when they had a cushion. Saw them go with McBurrows at nickel and Sainristil at corner because of it.
- Maryland run game is like OSU's: stretch and counter. Michigan mostly shut it down with their light boxes.
- Best defensive line ever? Deepest certainly.
- Barnhart vs Jones? Think Jones acquitted himself well, showed he can play. Might be closer at RT than we think.
- JJ vs Ohio State: is that the game? Brian/Craig think it's a defensive struggle. Seth/Sam thing JJ will go out and win it.
- Missed Harbaugh wrt McCarthy: former QB who normally chats with JJ after every drive. Saw them move away from JJ after his breakdowns at the end of the 1st half, want the ball in his hands.
- Ohio State: Don't give up big plays like last year. Defensive line is improved, starting DTs are good, secondary has improved especially Denzel Burke. JTT is still more tools than production but DO NOT TRY TO BLOCK HIM WITH A TIGHT END.
- Gonna say that again: DO NOT TRY TO BLOCK JTT WITH A TIGHT END.
- Offensively they really miss that superstar QB. Stroud was lethal against Michigan last year. Their Ts and C aren't as good—they give up pressure on stunts and twists. Running game gets explosives with Henderson and 2 extra yards than the blocking with Trayanum, but blocking doesn't give them much.
- McCord: Gonna be under more pressure, Michigan is going to zone him and confuse him. OSU got some bailouts the last 2 years from Stroud.
- Problem: even playing off Michigan's secondary is vulnerable. Marvin Harrison is the best of some great receivers to come through there. Teams that man up on them get burned crispy; Harrison is going to burn a lot of NFL cornerbacks too. Weird zones are going to get McCord struggling to find them.
- Both defenses in this game have an Ain't Played Nobody problem. Notre Dame was able to run the ball on Ohio State.
[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]
You can catch the entire episode on Michigan Insider's podcast stream.
Segment 2 is here. You can watch the video here:
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- What's with the theme music?
We're gonna put 50 on 'em, they're gonna fire Ryan Day, and then they'll hire someone who's going to drive us nuts for 20 years.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:51 AM ^
Wait, it's not Thursday...is it?!?!?!
November 21st, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
Even the boys gots to eat some turkey ya know
November 21st, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
I say get Lou Holtz to stand on the sideline next to Sherrone. Day’s weird and unseemly Daddy fixation will be his undoing.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:50 AM ^
Craig and Lou can compare war stories when they defeat Napolean
November 21st, 2023 at 3:05 PM ^
Day does not deserve that comparison.
General Custer, maybe.
November 21st, 2023 at 6:59 PM ^
I was thinking Jeb Stuart.
November 21st, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
I can't imagine how the players feel. I am so ready for this game, and I'm just a fan
November 21st, 2023 at 11:04 AM ^
If they love their school and their head coach like we know they do then they are as pissed as anyone can be … their focus will be strong and most importantly they will be a BAND OF BROTHERS out there … this year is personal … this year is more than just winning a football game … their integrity has been questioned … this is FUCKING WAR … BET !!!!!!
November 21st, 2023 at 11:15 AM ^
Yeah, I really hope the coaches have drilled into the players that OSU is behind all this bullshit. Have the players out for blood...
November 21st, 2023 at 11:01 AM ^
I am less high on JJ's approach to reading his receivers than the guys are. I'm sure there are many plays where he is brilliant, but it's obvious to me that many times JJ has decided he needs to feed certain guys or just wants to go to them for whatever reason and forces throws regardless of what the proper read is. He has such confidence, bordering on overconfidence, in his arm strength and accuracy that he ignores what his eyes are telling him.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:51 AM ^
I agree to an extent but I also think most college QBs are like this. They have their comfort throws and guys they trust and so they lock on. Caleb Williams does it, Michael Penix JR does it, Stroud did it a number of times the past couple of years and his receivers bailed him out. McCarthy needs to be better but I don't find it that atypical.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:10 PM ^
Hopefully, he has practices and plays rehearsed for all of these guys that will heighten his readiness Saturday.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:09 AM ^
Feels like OSU is Maryland's offense with Penn State's defense so if Michigan plays at the level of the last two weeks feels like a loss. Good thing this game is at home. If they take the ball out of JJ's hands and stick with the pedestrian/predictable Lloydball and they wind up losing, I will be very grumpy. Holding out hope they empty the kitchen sink and blow them out in convincing fashion!
November 21st, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
I'm feeling a little better hearing that the defensive plan for Maryland was incredibly vanilla. You have to think we have a number of defensive tricks we haven't been showing.
The CB play definitely is concerning, though maybe, counterintuitively, a little less so given that Will Johnson was getting beat too. You know he's better than that. It did feel a lot like the team packed it in when they went up 23-3, and that's not going to be an issue this Saturday...
November 21st, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
Even NFL all-pro caliber cornerbacks get beaten on occasion. It's unrealistic to think that ours won't ever give up a big play. The Maryland QB also made some near perfect throws. Good on him. Let's see if the OSU QB can do the same. If so, so be it.
November 21st, 2023 at 2:05 PM ^
Johnson gave too much cushion for some reason on one of the time he was beat. On the TD throw Johnson played it pretty much perfectly- pressed his man on the line to mess with timing, stayed with his man and was almost able to get a hand in to break up the play. Taulaua had one series where he went unstoppable Throw God- I doubt McCord will have a series like that.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
Well aren't you just the beacon of light today! Haven't you heard that every year Osu is the greatest of all times.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
Michigan under Harbaugh has generally been very well-prepared for OSU. I'm not predicting an outcome, but it's hard for me to believe that they're planning on running Corum up the gut over and over.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:22 PM ^
In the last two years, yes they’ve been well prepared. In 2018 and 2019, not so much. In fact, they looked completely unprepared.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
I mean that cuts both ways. OSU and Michigan will be by a huge margin the best offenses each others' defense has seen all year. They will also be very nearly the best (if not the best) defense each others' offense has seen all year, and the only close competition is the same team - Penn State.
Given that OSU didn't look like world beaters (at home) against either Maryland or PSU anymore than Michigan did (on the road) against those teams, it's basically a wash.
November 21st, 2023 at 12:59 PM ^
If OSU had Maryland's offense they'd have the #60 unit in the country and likely be 8-4. They have a different offense with a different style of QB, and given the rest of their team that's pretty good. But their passing game isn't as dynamic without Stroud while their running game has gotten a bit better with Henderson in recent weeks but that's also likely due to poor competition to an extent. It's still a really good offense but it's decidedly not the death machine we've seen under Stroud and Fields.
On defense OSU isn't nearly as disruptive; PSU has 41 sacks, 89 TFLs, and have 23 takeaways, while OSU has 21 sacks, 62 TFLs, and 11 takeaways. OSU's defense plays not to give up the big play; they've given up 1 play 40+ yards all year, and so I doubt we'll see anything like those Edwards runs from last year unless panic sets in. What OSU is really good at against bad teams is snuffing them out; that's what I've gathered watching them all year. When they get an MSU, Minnesota, etc. in their sights they don't let up. But Michigan's also really good at that.
I don't see any reason why people are worrying so much about the playcalling the past 2 weeks. OSU didn't set the world on fire with their playcalls against teams like PSU either, and were pushed around by Maryland for 2/3 of the game at home before the turnovers gave them some breathing room. It's going to be a close, competitive game but the negativity around this game is weird.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:27 PM ^
I think they're worried because the head coach also has to call plays and coach the o-line while going into his fourth game as a head coach, and it's the biggest game of the year. Also, I'm probably worried because the three games where JJ has looked his worst was when Moore was the head coach.
Part of it is over-worrying, but I think another point is that people are starting to realize that there are no "hidden plays" that Michigan will finally call because they have been saving them all year. I've thought that was the case for years, only to be disappointed and see nothing special. I hope they have a great game plan figured out because I'm worried that OSU will get a few scores and Michigan's offense won't be able to catch up.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:46 AM ^
Don't see this posted anywhere but Moore on radio this morning said Henderson and Roman will be back for the game. Also said JJ is feeling the best he has felt in the past few weeks the last 2 days fwiw.
November 21st, 2023 at 12:31 PM ^
This two head coach thing just feels weird. OK, Moore is the OC, but when he talks, it is a bit different from your standard OC.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:51 AM ^
I would love the PA to play Signs every time the Buckeyes are punting or throw a pick.
Sign, sign
Everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery
Breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that
Can't you read the sign?
November 21st, 2023 at 12:22 PM ^
I had a slightly different tune in mind, courtesy of Sir Paul McCartney:
Hey hey what do you say
Someone took your plans away
So what's all the fuss
There ain't nobody that spies like us
November 21st, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
I don’t think JJ was very off, just off and that seemed to happen following the hit to Wilson. Maybe he was trying to hard not to get his wrs killed at that point? IDK. Also, I think the wind affected his pass to CJ deep that he missed. The wind was at his back and kind of like a golfer expects the ball to go farther with the wind, so they hit it a tad softer, I think that’s what happened to JJ. He expected it to sail a little on him, but he took too much off of it and the ball was behind CJ. We’ve seen him hit that pass easily with Wilson this season.
November 21st, 2023 at 5:34 PM ^
BINGO!!! Brady convinced his tight end to follow him and won a Superbowl! JJ's blanket has a Roman Emperor on it and it has conquered all! We will be victorious again! Down goes FRAZIER on third base!!!
GO BLUE
November 21st, 2023 at 12:53 PM ^
Michigan doesn't run enough PAP. The idea that they are saving it is a bit crazy. They didn't run enough PAP against TCU either. It's the key to loosening things up for the run game along with jet fakes to receivers and letting JJ loose. I hope it's all live this week, but I would have loved to see these guys repping it all year.
November 21st, 2023 at 1:59 PM ^
McCarthy was pretty accurate in first half until the 2 interceptable pases in a row - the second was a really weird decision because scrambling right he should always try to throw to the man running right, not back across his body.
I blame Moore for the playcall after the almost int. That was the time to run it twice and take the field goal so that the team is up 3 scores going into the half.
The miss to CJ that should have been a touchdown was thrown way too flat- the throw last year in the OSU game to CJ had a lot more arc on it. JJ may have been pressing.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:16 PM ^
I could be wrong but I don't think we had any timeouts left at that point, so we effectively had to pass. But there was no need to force it into traffic. Coming out of there with a field goal and 26-10 lead would have been fine.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:32 PM ^
That was a reassuring to listen to Brian & Seth be pretty calm about the game. We're all a little on edge here, so it's good to be reminded that OSU's offense really hasn't been very good in many of their games and their pass pro is roughly equivalent to Maryland which got beat up by us last week. It was especially nice to be reminded that Notre Dame and Rutgers ran all over their defense. Certainly seems like we should win this one
November 21st, 2023 at 8:09 PM ^
This point really gets overlooked by people.
Rutgers ran for 232 yards on 43 carries (5.4 YPC) with a long of 45 yards. That is a dominant performance.
ND ran for 176 yards on 39 carries (4.5 YPC) with a long of 22. Not quite domination, but consistent wins in the trenches.
What's the worst that's been done to UM?
- Nebraska ran for 106 on 21 carries (5 YPC), but with a long of 74 against 3rd string in garbage time. This was total domination by UM
- Minnesota ran for 117 on 39 carries (3.0 YPC). One drive of outside zone before UM adjusted and killed it
- Purdue: 125 on 29 carries (4.3 YPC). Long second half drive against 3rd string pads the total
- PSU: 164 on 35 carries (4.7 YPC). Discussed ad nauseum: UM practicing the OSU defense with 5 man boxes.
Simply put, there's been nothing like the the Rutgers or ND performances against UM defense this year.
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