MSU Snowflakes - The Offense
October 20th, 2018 at 5:42 PM ^
Have to give the coaching staff credit. They had a plan and stuck it out even through adversity. Great to see the offensive line dominate Sparty and win the battle in rushing yards by a large margin!
October 20th, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
I love the Paul Bunyan posefor DPJ! That was brilliant!
October 20th, 2018 at 5:51 PM ^
Always, always, always recruit dual-threat QBs!
October 20th, 2018 at 5:53 PM ^
We absolutely dominated a ranked rival on the road - hard to complain about that.
Shea didn't have his best game, but he made some great runs/decisions, and threw two absolutely beautiful TD passes. That chuck to DPJ was perfection.
Higdon is a beast. What a year he's having! He made some very tough runs and made the most of his opportunities against a rugged defense.
Very satisfying win. I can't imagine many folks thought we'd be in this great place after the ND game - I certainly didn't. I give the players and coaches a ton of credit.
Well done! Go Blue!
October 21st, 2018 at 5:45 PM ^
Oh, don’t worry, there will be plenty of complaining.
“Offense isn’t good.”
”Harbaugh doesn’t use Patterson enough”
”The Defense Gave up 7 points on the road”
One would think there’d be a lot less whining when you’re winning and currently sitting at 7-1. #2 Ohio State just got throttled on the road to a 3-3 (now 4-3) Purdue team that had nowhere near the level of “stars” on the field that Ohio State apparently has. Michigan is still on their first string quarterback and somewhat healthy starting the last third of the season— not something we can say has happened in the last couple years. Be happy, enjoy it. Complaining gets us back into The 2007 situation where Carr was forced out for the Shiny new hot Rod.
October 20th, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
One thing I hope happens over the bye week, if it's possible: Get Quinn Nordin's confidence back.
October 20th, 2018 at 6:04 PM ^
MSU was giving up an average of 62 yards rushing...Karan got 144 and the team got 183.. 3 x's their averaging given up. And most of that came in the second half. The offense was balanced 183 rushing 212 passing..getting nearly 400 yards.
THAT's dominance on the road against a rival that is determined to neutralise the talent gap by mucking everything up and using pre-game shenanigans and voodoo trickery to get in your head. You don't dominate under those circumstances w/o great Offensive coaching to go along with the great D.
October 20th, 2018 at 6:05 PM ^
Since there is no special teams snowflakes... what was the deal with Nordin? Hurt? I had to follow game on espn play by play while in car.. and they were within field goal range three times and punt ? And then Nordin shanks....
October 20th, 2018 at 9:02 PM ^
The missed FG was off a bad snap. It was a solid play just to get it down for the kick.
October 20th, 2018 at 6:08 PM ^
Great game.
Frustrating as hell at times & way too many points left on the board but the players looked like they were giving it 100%
Shae isn't perfect; he waits, he doubts, but man can he sell a read, use his feet, and throw a pretty ball when he has too. After the last couple years I'm perfectly fine with his performance.
October 20th, 2018 at 6:16 PM ^
Hey guys, I'm happy to see Tarick (Back in) Black got a snap today. Glad to see him on the field again!!
October 20th, 2018 at 6:17 PM ^
I'm beginning to see a method to the madness wrt the running game. Over the last couple weeks, we've had little success early, but have worn down our opponents over time and run effectively at the end.
October 20th, 2018 at 6:32 PM ^
I remember the biggest complaint when RR was coach was all the yards we got lead to little to no points...I'm starting to get this way with our offense now. 400 yards is fantastic....but 21 pts isn't going to cut it against the elite teams. Need to get to 28-35 pts a game to truly be elite....without the 50+ blowouts of lessor teams.
October 21st, 2018 at 2:52 AM ^
21 points works every time when the other team scores 20 or less.
October 21st, 2018 at 9:10 AM ^
So one more TD in yesterday's game would have put the offense into elite range? Huh. I don't think it's that close to elite yet--better red zone efficiency is needed--but your perspective is "interesting."
BTW, the biggest complaint I remember about the RR offenses was that they didn't do anything against good defenses. Too many 3-and-out drives that brought the defense back onto the field too quickly, cumulatively wearing out UM's defense.
October 21st, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^
Are we seriously complaining about 400 yards and 21 points in a Rivalry Game where weather was a major factor?
Not only did we have a nearly 2-hour delay in the middle of the game (not to mention middle of a drive where we had momentum with the Defense on its heels), we also had high winds [again], rain, and slippery field. I’d give this team a ton of credit for how they handled the game and did what they needed to do—win.
October 20th, 2018 at 6:48 PM ^
Our FG kicking is concerning.
October 20th, 2018 at 7:38 PM ^
That stat about being dead last in third and long conversions was a shocker, but they proved it to be accurate for most of the game. Hopefully that improves as the OL continues to develop.
October 20th, 2018 at 8:32 PM ^
Very excited to have Black back and by Penn State he should be rolling
October 20th, 2018 at 8:35 PM ^
Struggled but made huge plays when they absolutely needed to. That is program growth under Harbaugh.
October 20th, 2018 at 8:47 PM ^
I have not much to say other than somehow the weather, the refs, our own offensive inability to open it up, or the damndest bad luck cause major BPONE heartburn every year for this game.
I am happy the offense could move the ball at least in the first half. And glad we beat the spread. And glad to move on past the experience.
October 20th, 2018 at 8:54 PM ^
It feels like we are a step away on offense.
I think it's Tarik honestly. If we had a guy who demanded double teams and we could move DPJ into the slot I think the O would him.
October 20th, 2018 at 9:06 PM ^
First time since 1997 Michigan has won by double digits at East Landfill. Before that it was 1985 and 1991. Big 10 champs?
October 20th, 2018 at 9:14 PM ^
Well, I love how we've learned to play the carom. The one to Gentry was a key play we needed to get field position back.
October 20th, 2018 at 9:16 PM ^
Curious why M’s offensive schemes do not include crossing routes, etc. The middle of the field seems to be largely ignored in the passing game. (But I am so happy with this win today. Suck it, Spartoons.)
October 21st, 2018 at 12:23 AM ^
Less bad things can happen if you stick to the sidelines. It's clear to me that the O is conservative in the extreme.
Of course, less good things happen too....
October 20th, 2018 at 9:31 PM ^
Patterson’s hesitancy is holding back the offense. Should have had a TD pass to DPJ on the sack late in the first half. Missed a read where he could have had a long run and maybe a TD.
October 20th, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
So two mistakes are holding back the offense? C'mon man after the QB play the last decade or so I'd figure you'd appreciate having a playmaker under center that didn't throw silly picks.
Not sure what you're expecting...the perfect QB maybe? God forbid he's not Heisman level after 8 starts with Michigan. He'll be back next year and I'm looking forward to it.
October 20th, 2018 at 9:57 PM ^
The real question is: why was Joe Milton wearing #3 today instead of his usual #5?
October 20th, 2018 at 11:55 PM ^
I will take nothing away from a road win at MSU. But the offense needs to take advantage of short field opportunities. Too many misses. They should be playing cocks out balls to the wall when they know the D has their backs.
October 21st, 2018 at 12:22 AM ^
Seems like Shea's aggressiveness is being coached out of him. It's great to avoid the INTs, but at some point you have to take what's there. Either the offensive philosophy is so super-conservative that Shea is being affected, or he's losing confidence in himself. I don't really see a reason for the latter, so I think it's on the coaching.
With our D, the occasional INT would be vastly outweighed by the extra TDs. Encourage the man to release the hounds, especially against single coverage. That's what we're setting up by being so run-heavy - we need to take advantage.
October 21st, 2018 at 9:36 AM ^
Seemed like super conservative play calling to me for quite a while.
October 21st, 2018 at 12:42 AM ^
I have no personal experience with running the option.
As an observer, those handoffs look a little scary with Patterson holding onto the ball for a long time. Presumably, the RB doesn't really know if he is getting the ball or not.
October 21st, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Scary stuff....
A few comments....
Shea is probably still learning the read they want him to make at the mesh.
He's probably still being coached to give most of the time, so it looks like he doing extra checks to make sure.
Defenses have seen this so much now that the option players are getting better and better at that "shuffle" technique discussed on the site to make the QB's decision difficult.
I really hope Shea comes back for one more year -- this offense has a chance to be special with him.
October 21st, 2018 at 1:23 AM ^
Patterson is a magician on the ball fake.
October 21st, 2018 at 1:26 AM ^
It was not Shea's best performance. If Shea was on, the score would have been 45-0. But he got the big play when we needed to win this game.
October 21st, 2018 at 2:20 AM ^
I think we have to remember two things about the offense, and about Shea. First, his chemistry with the WR and his split-second anticipation still have developing to do, and as a result, his decision-making seems a bit tentative. Add to that his clear desire to not force the ball because we have such a great defense, and he’ll miss some for now. One could also say, with this defense take MORE risks, but I don’t think that’s how he’s coached. One thing I’m certain of is that he’s being coached about every read and he’ll improve over time.
October 21st, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
I agree here...it seems like he's thinking too much out there. Of course you have to think and analyze, but you also have to trust what you're seeing and let fly. This offense would progress near the level of the defense if we could hit slants and crosses - and utilize the RBs in the passing game more - with consistency.
That being said, I am wrong about this team. They are at a different level than previous Harbaugh teams here. It's so satisfying to watch a well-blocked pass play resulting in a absolute dime to a WR down the field. We have the potential to do great things, assuming we can maintain our intensity for the rest of the gauntlet.
And I'm happy to be wrong.
October 21st, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
Patterson was hesitant to pull the trigger a few times. He had DPJ for a TD on a third down play before Nordin shanked the FG. Had some lucky bounces go our way on the Collins and Gentry catches. O line played well. Higdon is a workhorse. Mason can’t be stopped. WR’s and TE’s doing their thing. Overall looking good.
October 21st, 2018 at 10:35 AM ^
Yeah, it really seemed to me in the third and fourth quarters that Michigan did physically and mentally wear them down. I think that their terrible quarterback play kind of broke their overall spirits but the running game shoved them into the ground. The DPJ touchdown was the roundhouse kick in the mouth and then the haymakers followed from Higdon, Shae and Mason. It was great watching that.
October 21st, 2018 at 1:21 PM ^
This felt like one of the few games over a long period of time where both some calls and breaks went our way. That was a decent feeling.
October 21st, 2018 at 2:03 PM ^
hard to be too down on the offense, in light of the win... the biggest thing was Shea being a little gun shy and not pulling the trigger a couple of times...
solid win; fairly conservative game plan, but considering it was on the road and the weather was bad, it's understandable