How can the missed assignments by the OL be fixed?
Do offensive lines get better at identifying blocks as the year progresses? How about with a new OL coach and shared OL coaching duties?
The recent UFR (and posts derived fom that UFR) illustrate that our biggest problem is OL missing assignments. When they engage, they are talented enough and do fine. I think it is the single biggest flaw on the whole team that affects the pass and run games more than anything (especially with young receivers and new QB).
I looked back at this year's UFRs. The picture looks bleak:
Florida UFR:
Michigan appeared to have a severe Kalis issue where guys would run by dudes it seemed like they really really needed to block.
I had a lot of Ulizio minuses because he'd run by a DE and that guy would subsequently run by a TE with basically no shot at making good.
Cincinnatti UFR:
These big mental errors were collectively –10, or approximately half of Michigan's minuses on the day. Will they continue? At some level certainly. They are likely to drop off as these two second year players move along.
Air Force UFR:
Michigan's blocking was a little substandard as they failed to cope with blitzes too often.
Kugler, meanwhile, had a rough day and might have been responsible for more stuff than the obvious. Air Force had a number of plays on which Michigan looked befuddled. Sometimes that's individual players. Sometimes that's the line call. Kugler consistently failed to adapt to the nose tackle exiting stage right, and a couple of plays on which some other sap looked bad were issues with either Kugler's ability to ID a blitz or the presnap line call. He got some –2s when he decided to block a guy who was very obviously leaving for another gap.
And, of course, you just read the Purdue Offensive UFR. Same issues.
So, does this type of thing typically get better throughout the season? Is it the Center's fault in failing to make the right line call and should Cole move back?
How about Greg Frey? Where is he?
From a 247 article on Frey joinging Drevno:
With the vacancy created by the departure of running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley to the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh decided that having multiple minds of different philosophies working together could make the offensive line unstoppable.
"We’ve had a lot of great discussions on how to block things, on how to handle things," Frey said of his conversations with Drevno. "Picking up twists, stunts and bringing two really good styles of offensive line play and coaching together in that world has been outstanding.”
Are the different backgrounds causing confusion? Did Frey mention this in the interview to telegraph that there was some divide (or power struggle) over how the line calls should be handled?
EDIT - BONUS QUESTION: Is it possible that the complex blocking schemes and need for someone experienced to ID blitzes is what lead to Speight getting the starting nod? If my OL (or center) can't seem to figure out a line call when the defense moves, then I lean towards the most experienced QB just because of how important it is to pick up the blitz.
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^
We are the worst at zone blocking which is in many ways the least complicated (not necessarily the least difficult) style of blocking in our offense.
Everyone wan't to attach some narrative of "the coaches aren't getting along" or "blocking scheme too complicated". Our line is composed of the following players:
Undersized LT who switched to center and then back again
True sophomore guard
5th year senior center who was never good enough to start on other extremely dismal lines but is starting on this one
true sophomore guard
Lowly recruited RS SO tackle who basically missed an entire season with mono.
Although it has been increasing in recent years, strong underclassman OL are still pretty rare. There isn't much reason to believe that this line should be good given the players that are on it other than "this is Michigan"/both guards were highly recruited. With good line depth, Cole would be playing inside/center, Kugler would be grad transferring to another school, tackle sized guys would be playing LT/RT, and one of the current guards would be considered a "weak link" on the line.
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:06 AM ^
None of which were drafted despite all having pretty good measurables? Probably many teams can say that their graduating starting OL signed on a practice squad the following year.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 3:03 PM ^
Given your anger and disappointment with all this, you should consider changing your handle... doesn't really seem like "We are back" to you.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:32 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 1:22 PM ^
Yes, they are... and the coaches are responsible for recruiting guys who are capable of learning and executing the scheme.... including enough volume for inevitable flameouts.
October 3rd, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:16 PM ^
you elaborate. I watch the offensive line and say "block the dudes." My football playing experience went to about the tenth grade and then it was still only "block the dudes." What specifically is Michigan doing / (trying) to do that may be too complicated of a scheme or that the o-line might be struggling with?
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
I disagree with you. I have been concerned about the OL for many years. Line play on both defense and offense affects so greatly the health of the entire team. And it takes years to develop health and strength and depth. And on the OL in particular, it is very hard to project out from High School to know whether recruits will pan out in college or not.
Personally, I think that it really isn't until 2019 that we will have solid line play, with solid starters and guys being able to have the time to develop.
Around these parts, Hoke comes in for a lot of ridicule. The one solid thing he did was focus on the DL. You need to give not only Mattison but also Hoke a lot of credit for getting things set. And even with that starting a good five years ago, it wasn't until the last couple years that the DL had arrived. And even now, they can still use more depth on the DL. Given the 5 - 6 year timeline on the DL, I expect the same on the OL. The first year was lost. There have been 2 years since. And with 2 more years, we should be getting the OL to where it needs to be.
It isn't that Harbaugh or Drevno are making excuses. But they have to have the right guys on the roster, and have them around for enough years, for this to work.
The one thing I definitely think is that to fire Drevno and Frey would be disaster. It takes time to set up the OL. Once we have the right guys on board, and are adding a solid 5 OL recruits annually, it will be a lot more of a reloading than a rebuilding. We aren't there yet.
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
right now is that we are not adding five star OL recruits annually, and in fact appear not to be in on many of the Top 150 type of players in 2018. Ruiz and Fillagia were good pick ups, but I am not seeing many top offensive line recruits swarming to play here. I thought by now our offensive line recruiting would be much more of a highlight than it is.
October 3rd, 2017 at 2:33 PM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 4:01 PM ^
You don't need 5-star talent to have a good OL. People keep crying "oh there are teams that do more with less talent" but what you really need is just time. Its a young line and even if you threw a bunch of 5* guys out there on it, its still going to be shades of bad because its young.
The only good offenses with young offensive lines have some combination of excellent QBs, excellent RBs, and veteran WRs. Michigan is 0-3 on all of those fronts. The ceiling for this offense is average just out of sheer logistics.
October 3rd, 2017 at 5:45 PM ^
10 years, three different head coaches and at least as many OL coaches, and still the Michigan offensive line remains the weakest link. I'm inclined to believe the fault lies with the Ann Arbor water supply.
October 3rd, 2017 at 6:35 PM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 7:54 PM ^
October 4th, 2017 at 1:53 AM ^
The numbers say he was the best ever at Michigan and also the best ever in high school, although the only two blue bloods that took a chance on Mike Hart were UM south and UM north. Even then, he only got a boost to a 4* at cb because UM, of course, wouldn't take him at that size and speed unless he was better than expected. And he sure the hell was, no? Now that young man had so damn much pride and regardless of how they want to say it, he was composed of enough very good stuff it can only be called talent. And although injuries are seldom looked at as good luck, a few bruises in '97 forced Lloyd to take a look at some DLmen to work the other side of the ball and, according to him, that unit turned out to be among the best OL units he ever coached at UM. It both cases, you had expectations that were aignificantly surpassed - we're talking AA level- some of the hardest working players to ever wear the colors and a bit of luck that occasionally brings about perfect chemistry. now and then. It happens. It will appear again soon at UM. The youngsters waiting their turn are doing so because its a tough as hell position to learn and when the coaches are comfortable with them they'll unleash talent comparable to some of Bo's best.
We've seen a glimpse of the future of the receiving corp, beginning with Black, DPJ, Zack, Eubanks, et. al., The qbs include Dylan, Brandon and Milton. We'll have a passing attack and that will lead to less pressure on an almost equally talented OL unit that will just happen to have some very good rbs behind it. All these things come together and each one makes the other just a bit better. But in all cases, those expectations and that sudden "good luck" are the result of that hard work. And no one will outwork the wolverines while Harbaugh wears the loudest whistle.
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:51 PM ^
Can you give us some details other than broad generalizations.
October 3rd, 2017 at 2:54 PM ^
No it isn't. If I tell you to block the tackle and you go after the linebacker, that's not on the scheme. That's on you not identifying the correct player and doing your job.
This isn't rocket science. These are blocking schemes hundreds of thousands of offensive linemen have learned over decades. It may be complicated, but there are times during the games when a guard or tackle just borks the play, and I know this because most of the guys execute it properly and one or two don't. The culprits may change, but we sort of know the usual suspects. I don't blame them - football is difficult in the best of circumstances, and guys like Ulizio probably aren't ready to be a starter on a P5 team right now. But pointing out people are missing blocks or not following the plays isn't an indictment of their general abilities as human beings, and it doesn't mean it's an "excuse" either.
October 3rd, 2017 at 5:47 PM ^
What you are describing is a failure of coaching.
October 4th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^
Sure, there aren't a ton of colleges that can claim this, but many of the elite programs can. Offensive line skews more heavily towards upperclassmen than any other position, which means needing to replace starters frequently.
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
Magnuson is the backup center on the 49ers as far as I know.
October 3rd, 2017 at 4:04 PM ^
And the 49ers are dreadful on offense and probably won't win more than a game or two this season, so I'm not sure what that really says.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
It's clearly not the quality of players. And that is not just because "this is Michigan." It is because they do a fine/great job when they don't miss assignments. Sure they lose a couple battles here and there, but they are not getting run over.
Kugler has good games when he isnt confused. Same with Big Mike. Of course Cole is not the typical LT, but he is not being run over. The worst one-on-one blocker is probably Ulizio and he seems just average.
Their flaw is clearly missing blocks. That is not a "talent" thing. It is not a failure to condition in the winter.
It is a coaching thing. A teaching thing.... and if they can't learn then a failure to adapt the schemes.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
Is knowing your assigment/reacting correctly to defenses not part of playing OL/factor into the quality of the player? We are pretty much stuck with these 5 guys. The guys pushing them are just as young and a few upperclassmen who haven't shown much.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^
It is part of the position -- the part most dependant on coaching.
Players have to learn where to be and what do from the coaches. Its that simple.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^
The physical limitations are... well physical. At some point everyone hits a ceiling and that's understandable. Cole is better built to be a C, not a LT, that's ok.
That's all fine and good. If the OL were just getting beat head to head by better DEs and DTs, that would be 1 thing. No shame in Cole losing to Nick Bosa or Taquan Lewis. Letting guys run free time and time again is the concern and what OP is getting to.
Yeah, Bredeson is a true sophome, but he now has over 10 starts at the same position. Cole, even though he switched positions, should not let guys run free because we know how smart he is based off of last year and his ability to direct the OL. IMO, the left side of the OL should be rock solid as far as assignments go. Again, if they get beat by Dexter Lawrence, that's ok.
Kugler, while not playing a lot, is a 5th year senior. He should be able to at least identify who to block, even if he is physically unable to get to the block or hold it. Big Mike and Ulizio are young, inexperienced, and lost. Those are really the only 2 I'm comfortable with missing blocks because they don't know who to block. But seeing it go on for 4 weeks is concerning. The guys behind them are either less physically capalbe (they're young so that makes sense) or they're even more lost and couldn't do a better job identifying who to block (again, probably understandable given their youth). In either case, that doesn't seem like a situation that resolves itself given time unless something drastic happens.
October 3rd, 2017 at 7:00 PM ^
and if it were only a mental/experience thing, we would see the frequency of mistakes correlate to experience. At this point the breakdowns are constant, and spread across the entire line. It's hard not to look at the coaches when stuff like that happens. Blaming the players' abilities at this point really feels like a Hoke "failure to execute" excuse. The coaches need to do a better job teaching and repping the scheme for various scenarios like DL slants and blitzes, plain and simple.
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
I agree, instant impact underclassmen OL are few and far between. A lot of fans seem to think that they should all hit and all hit now. Just not how it goes. Bredeson, Onwenu, Filiaga and Ruiz were all high level recruits but it does take time. I think the D being able to reload and maybe even improve after losing basically everyone clouds people's thinking when it comes to the OL. The D did it why can't the OL?
Often missed by a lot of people and has been said before, but losing Newsome for most of last year AND this year has been a killer. Not saying this would be an Alabama level OL with him but they'd be a lot better. Might be the one position you can't afford to lose, true LT, and we lost him for basically two seasons.
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:39 AM ^
Play better and don't miss assignments.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
LOL, this is the only answer that is needed. It's that simple.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
It's a bit late in life to start a coaching career, but what the Hell. I'm applying for the Tennessee job when it opens up.
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:39 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
There are ways to simplify the blocking schemes by going full slide, big on big, etc., but then defensive coaches can scheme ways to take advantage of your blocking schemes. In many ways, Rich Rodriguez's pass protection was a lot easier, because it melded with his zone blocking scheme better.
Also, play action passes work a lot better when teams are scared of your running game.
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:57 AM ^
If Drevno leaves do you see us going to more of a primarily zone scheme with some fun power stuff mixed in to keep teams off-balance? Obviously up to Harbaugh, but Frey seems to have been darn successful with zone everywhere he's been.
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
have noticed that part of our problem on play action could be that our QBs don't sell it. Particularly Speight, his play action "fakes" were obviously just that. Just a routine that he needed to execute, not a real fake that he sold as a believable run.
October 3rd, 2017 at 4:09 PM ^
Play action really only works when a defense is sufficiently worried about your passing game or running game and sells out more than they should to stop one or the other. Neither Michigan's running game or passing game is anything at all to be worried about, so there's really nothing to fake someone out over.
So you can sell a fake with an Oscar worthy performance, but if the defense doesn't give a shit if you are running or passing it, then it doesn't really matter.
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:43 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^
You're right, they should be older... ?
October 3rd, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
LT Mason Cole: 4th year senior
LG Ben Bredeson: 2nd year sophomore
C Patrick Kugler: 5th year senior
RG Michael Onwenu: 2nd year sophomore
RT Nolan Ulizio: 3rd year sophomore
It's not the most experienced line, but no one is "just a few months out of high school." That might be the case if you're talking about Filiaga, Ruiz, etc., but those guys aren't playing much (except for Ruiz as a sixth OL sometimes).
October 3rd, 2017 at 12:26 PM ^
None of the starters are freshmen.
October 3rd, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^
Drevno, Frey, and Pep are not the best combination?
Only asking because a caller this morning on WTKA asked Sam when is it time to hold Drevno accountable for O-line lackluster play? Sam was very careful in his response but it seemed like there may be more there. There are 2 holdovers from hoke era: Cole ( will be drafted in NFL), and Kugler which they must like enough to start him over Ruiz.