Morning After Thoughts and Observations
I know there are Snowflakes threads but sometimes a night of "sleep" (Read: Angrily passing out) helps to clarify a loss like that and I have some taeks that I am going to throw out here to help me process it and hopefully generate some rational discussion after the typical fan base rage-out on the night of.
On a dong-punch scale, last night was like a 6. It sucks to lose, and it really sucks to lose to ND, but if you are going to lose, lose early, and make it to a ranked team while you are at it. It may be that this team is not very good, it may also be that it ran into a buzzsaw in the first half last night and will actually be quite good. In any case, a loss like this is not a "season ender." Just keep your radio off of local sports talk for the next couple of weeks and it will relatively easy to move from this one relatively easily. As far as the WTF was that odds and ends go:
1. Notre Dame looked pretty good. I really like their receivers and their defense was stellar everywhere. I was also taken aback by their team speed. We seemed a step behind them all the time even when our coaches had diagnosed something correctly on either side of the ball. I know it is early but I think ND is going to make some relevant noise this season.
2. I am really not a fan of the "defense was it usual dominant self, just look at the drive chart" narrative. In the MSU, PSU games from last year, and the game last night, our defense got gashed during the "money" stages of the game. Our defensive ends are over-pursuing in the backfield to a "lol omg" extent and good coaches are eating our lunch. It does not say anything about our defense when opposing offenses shut things down with big leads because they know we can't score on them. We have some really good players on defense but good coaches have the scheme downloaded and Brown needs to make some tweaks. He puts way to much pressure on the secondary to be in flawless position all the time and they simply can't be. Sometimes it is enough to keeps things in front of you. We are constantly vulnerable to back-breaking big chunk plays and they are increasingly looking routine against us. Kelly worked Brown last night in the first half. (I will note, there will come a time when every moonball thrown by an opposing QB doesn't land heartbreakingly right in the hands of a falling down receiver).
3. I disagree with any take that calls our players out for being "entitled" and playing "soft." This "we don't play with a chip on our shoulder" is non-sense. Our players are giving 110% on every play and wanted that game badly, almost too much. Which brings me to this point. What I see out of our players is a noticeable lack of discipline. I know it is hard to believe, but there are fans of other teams who don't have to hold off on celebrating a 3rd down stop until they look around frantically to see if there is a flag. Plays like Bush PF against State last year, Winovich last night, the multiple roughing the kickers that have cost us dearly in the last 3 years. These plays cannot and should not happen. Since Harbaugh took over, we have been handing teams gifts in the form of crushing penalties at key times. Under Harbaugh, we seem to be drastically lack mental discipline and that is very surprising to me. If anything, I thought that Harbaugh was very detail oriented by these teams are anything but that.
4. Unless our offensive line drastically improves, I am not sure what any QB we have can do. We don't get consistent push to run the ball and the QBs are immediately under pressure from everywhere. Patterson looked pretty good but the kid can't work miracles. Half the time he was not even getting time to make one read.
4. On a lighter note, McCaffrey looked pretty damn good in a very difficult spot. Nico Collins looked the part. I liked the read option and RPO stuff early. The team collectively got swarmed and was kind of scrambling after the first quarter so to a large extent we went away from it, but I would like to see more of that going forward.
TL;DR - Everybody has tomorrow off so we get an extra day to drink this one away. Cheers. Go Blue.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
While you may be right that Wimbush wont complete 3 more passes like the ones he completed last night, I can assure you that Michigan will give up another half dozen or more passes like those.
Because they aren’t luck.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
I saw an OL that was crap, and an offensive game plan that tried to hide it. The defense got smacked early, then played well from the late 1st on. I'm not too worried about this team, providing the OL can find a way to improve. That is the issue - OL, from the tackles in. Absolute crap in pass pro. Nonexistent.
Fix some pass pro to where its even passable, and the offense puts up 14 more points. You cannot win scoring less than 20. I don't care how good your defense is, if you don't put up more than 20, you're going to lose. If the offense puts up 24, this team is going to win a lot of games because the defense is (still) legit.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
After a sleep and some thought. I don't think the play calling is really as much of an issue as much as the tempo of it. I think they are trying to use too many formations and have too many discussions about plays. Running guys in and out every play takes time and it is hard to get a rhythm going. If you want to go jumbo go jumbo. If you want to spread it out then spread it out. But it would be nice to occasionally snap the ball with 10 seconds on the clock as opposed to 1-2 every time. The pass rush knows when the snap is at that point.
Also, it seems like they make a play then kind of stand around waiting to see what the next formation is going to be before they huddle. That can't help with getting into the rhymth of the game.
I wish JH would just go back to the complete jumbo look. The spread experiment hasn't worked great. If they lose at least it would be with an identity.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:12 AM ^
Immediately after the game I was like everyone else thinking with my emotions. I was embarrassed and sick and tired of being mediocre. Having slept on it I do realize that it is always better to lose one early than it is to lose one later in the year. That being said it puts a tremendous amount of pressure and makes the margin for error much smaller. I hope we will realize that Patterson needs to roll out more and throw on the run. This is because of his skill set and the skill set of our offensive line. Higdon looked good at times, and the receivers caught the ball consistently. We just couldn't put enough together to keep drives going. I hope things will get fixed and we will move upward from here. Go Blue
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
Michigan will lose 1 early, 2 in the middle and 2 at the end.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
Went to the game and after getting back to my hotel room I turned on local coverage. Someone from WNDU down in South Bend said that we have not beat a ranked opponent on the road since the Bush Administration. That shit cannot be right. Someone help me out?
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
2006 @ ND vs. Brady "Eyeliner" Quinn
September 2nd, 2018 at 8:18 PM ^
Shit. I didn't think it was that bad...
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
The loss sucked, but I'm far more bothered by reading the petulant whining by most of y'all.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
At this point the offensive line situation is an unmitigated disaster that should be addressed institutionally. The AD should hire someone to consult on the problem. It's been a years-long issue that no coach has been able to address. Football people who are unaffiliated with Michigan, like Chris Brown, were amazed at how bad the tackle play was last night. We've been watching that for years. If Ward Manuel was anything more than Harbaugh's secretary he'd force the coaching staff to reevaluate everything they do regarding that position group. Other programs routinely start freshmen on the O-line without it being a complete disaster. But Michigan's two upper-classmen tackles are the definition of turnstiles and the offense as it's designed utterly fails because of it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^
They lost me on the 2nd and goal pass call after Higdon just plowed down to the 2 on 1st down. Run the damn ball.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^
Did Ben Mason play at all last night?
That would have been the perfect spot for him.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^
He played but not very much because of all the single back and empty backfield sets they ran
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
That was killer for me as well. We were getting 3 yards running it up the gut like that, just do another run and Higdon likely would've been in the endzone, instead they got cute, forgot the OL can't pass block, and Shea gets sacked back to the 17. Absolutely killed the momentum.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Three missed interception opportunities:
- Lavert Hill on the second play of the game. He's in great position, but he seems to let the ball come to his as opposed to going and snagging it. That drive led to a TD.
- Brad Hawkins on the long TD pass. Filling in for Metellus, he's also in great position, but doesn't use his size/leaping ability to his advantage.
- Brad Hawkins again on the overthrown screen. This would've been a tough catch, but I see other teams make these plays all the time. It's been a while since I've seen our defense make an interception that wasn't handed to them. That would have put us at the 50 yard line with a minute to go in the half.
I also noticed Marshall and Mone played the majority of the inside snaps. I'm guessing it's to offset the bigger O-line, but it still comes as a surprise.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:38 AM ^
Remember Metellus' dropped INT agsinst OSU last year? This is another chronic problem that we've come to label as bad luck.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
This will be another 8-4 season. This team is not on the same level of OSU, MSU and Wisconsin. Very disappointed in last night's performance especially after all the off season propaganda of how much they "improved"
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
Did you see MSU play on Friday?
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
Yes, and I've seen them do that in week 1 every season for years now. It means nothing, it never has.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^
We got blitzed out the gate, score was 14-0 about 8 minuets into the game, Notre Dame was using the throw and pray style, ala denard Robinson.
We out scored them 17-10 from the 7 minute mark in the first, believe it or not. You can’t spot a team 14 points in a game that’s going to turn into a defensive battle.
My biggest gripe besides our offensive line has to be our predictable play calling. That HAS to change. Everything feels vanilla on offense
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^
I think "focus" is a word Harbaugh used to describe how bad Patterson actually is.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:00 PM ^
With one or two seasons excepted, when Bo left, the nationally good teams left with him. The joy is gone, just misery watching Michigan football. It breaks my heart, but the thing we loved is no longer. It’s over.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
Was reading a couple quotes this morning from an ND defensive lineman. He flat out said that they picked up on our snap cadence so the entire night they were jumping the snap. I think it was probably Patterson clapping twice, dropping his hand down then Ruiz snapping it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^
The program was not ready for last night - that's on Harbaugh. This was Dave Brandon-scheduling-Alabama-week-one levels of stupid. Michigan is still in a transition, can't find an OL or a QB, and coming off a shaky season...ND, despite some bad freshman QB play last year, has a well-established program with strong recruiting and a coach that's been there for about a decade. And oh won 10 games last year.
It was foolish to schedule this game in the first place, and now Harbaugh has to eat crow.
As for the team - I think they had a lot of first-game-jitters and it effected their team speed. Defense was awful in the first half - they didn't seem to have the right focus...bad mistakes and penalties, giving up 3rd-and-longs all over the place, not concentrating on the ball when it's in the air, not knocking down the QB when you get there...ND was amped up and ready to go. Michigan made a good effort just to stay in the game, even give themselves a chance to tie it in the end.
Bottom line take though: This team lives and dies by how its OL performs. They don't even need to be good, ffs....just, like, OK. Maybe even just below average. I'd take that over the big bunch of pushovers we saw last night. Shea Patterson has the makings of a good QB, but there is no QB on the planet that can overcome a sieve of an OL like last night (and honestly its foolish that some people thought he was some sort of "savior" of everything related to the offense)
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
Are the DE's always over pursuing, or is there sometimes a lack of push from the DT's?
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:41 PM ^
That’s exactly what it is, if we get pressure up the middle he can’t step up as far. Either ending up with a quicker than they want pass or sack.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
Okay, the team looks much like last years team after 1 game but it doesn't have to stop there it can grow. Let's see how it progresses in 2018. How the OL develops and how Shea Patterson settles in over the next few games. ND didn't win a playoff bid last night and Michigan still has a shot at the B1G East Division, the B1G title and believe it or not a CFP bid. Perhaps it will fall short but last night was just the first game of the season. I hope the players are a lot more resilient than the fans.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
I don’t know how many times (especially early) our WRs caught short comeback routes and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. It’s weird, like no desire to make a big play. I really hate to pick on some of this stuff, but you turn on OSU’s game and WRs catch the ball and immediately are thinking endzone.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
Harbaugh is a slightly above average coach who isn't great. Michigan is a slightly above average program who hasn't been great since the early 1900's (except for 1997). Bo was a very good coach but he wasn't THAT great and he definitely wasn't the football deity that Michigan fandom has elevated him to. These teams aren't anything more than Michigan average and Michigan fans are really just a bunch of kool-aid drinking, delusional, elitists who obsess over history from a century ago. The delusion is why so many people hate Michigan.
College football is a dirty sport, just like every other big money sport. Cheating and bribing run rampant, referees are crooked as hell, nobody gives a shit but Michigan fans who somehow think that losing the right way no matter how stupid the rule is better than winning. And, sometimes depending on the rules broken it is, and the rest of the time it's just excusing mediocrity.
Football is a great sport but I'm running out of time and patience for things that I have no control over. I live somewhere where the outside weather is literally only tolerable in the fall during football season and I'm not sure that I've got it in me to give up anymore falls to be let down by the mediocrity of someone else.
Yeah, it's absolutely my fault that I cant separate my emotions from the sport. But the control I can exhibit is to step away. I'm probably there. I've seen the man behind the curtain and I'm just not sure what to do about it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
Having read a few of the different threads, my 5 thoughts, for whatever its worth and for whoever cares.
1.) I totally agree either Harbaugh is on a medication or is actually dealing with a mental illness. The man we saw on the sideline last night is not the same man we hired and saw during the first 2 years of his time at Michigan. He is certainly dealing with something and I just hope he's ok and that this job hasn't caused it. As someone who has dealt with similar things during times in my life, something is not right with Coach Harbaugh.
2.) Offensive line. We will not be better without a better offensive line. Everything else we have makes us a 10-2 or better team with shot at playoff. Our offensive line is, and has been for the last 10 years, a 3-9 talent level. We have not recruited OR developed any talent. Until that changes, we will be 7-5 and not generate offense.
3.) Our defense is good, by no means great. Gary and Winovich play with little to no discipline. Zero contain, only looking for the big sack. It kills us. Penalties (i.e. Winovich and Ross last night) kill us game in and game out. Extremely undisciplined team. Linebackers are everywhere which means they're nowhere they're supposed to be. They either don't know their assignment or they aren't capable of executing it. Last night was really bad. Wimbush will be Heisman candidate if he gets to play undiscipline defenses like that all year.
4.) Play-calling. Who is calling plays? Does it change throughout the game? This is one of the biggest head-scratchers to me. ND had it perfect. 1st game of the year, under the lights, 1-on-1 coverage, just chuck it down there a few times, if they don't catch it they'll draw a PI. No CB, I don't care how good, is gonna be able to perfectly cover that on week 1 in that situation. We did it once and it worked. I get working Shea into a groove, which worked well, but some well timed deep balls would have done a lot to pull ND out of the box and give the run game at least a shot. Once play-calling looks ok, it goes back to being awful. There's no continuity. Someone needs to just call the plays and be done with it.
5.) See #2 as this is important enough to have 2 points.
Unless something changes, this will be a 7-5 team, with a bowl game loss to either a middling SEC team or an up and coming non-Power 5 team.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
If you feel like whining this morning do it in style
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^
It's as if the offensive line has actually managed to regress from last season's mediocrity. Last season, they could run block but not pass block. Yesterday, they couldn't do either.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
Fuck.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:44 PM ^
People were dissing WImbush but I always thought he would run on us. And where is Solomon?
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
Appalachian State has more road wins against ranked teams since 2006 then Michigan does. Mull that over.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^
My thoughts are this - keep your damn mouth shut before the game!! I'm not one to bash amateur athletes, but when I heard some of our players make comments about Notre Dame, I couldn't help to think how stupid that was. If the difference in talent between you and your opponent is razor thin or equal, why on earth would you say anything to elevate their gameplay. It's ok to acknowledge that your opponent may be better than you - especially when you're coming off an 8-5 season.
The loss stings a little bit but I'll never not route for this or any other Michigan team.
Just my thoughts
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
Still feel were bad. How many times do we need to get pressured/sacked in empty sets for the coaching staff to realize our o-line cant block for it or they will just overload and our receivers cant get open in time? Is that all we practiced all summer? 3-17 and you give up a 20 yard scramble, come on... This is a defense with 9 returning starters. I surely will not be going to any games, and probably will spend my time doing hobbies on Saturdays this year until they are worth watching. Too much wasted time watching bad line play and our coaching staff throwing the game with crap play calls.
/rant over