SBNation analyzes Harbaugh's offense
I enjoyed reading this, seemed like a pretty level-headed, non-dogmatic analysis of how Harbaugh will approach his offense at UM. Love the last line, "Hoke might as well have been recruiting for Harbaugh's eventual takeover."
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^
Maybe that was Brandon's master plan?
/s
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:51 PM ^
Seems a fair assesment/expectation with the defending National Champion and Rose Bowl winners on the schedule.
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
What we always tell her is that it's perfectly okay to be shy, but that she shouldn't let it prevent her from doing a single thing in this world that she wants to do.
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
I think you've just outed your real identity, MGlobules. Or should I say Morrissey?
Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You'd like to
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
How could I?
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
have beat if JH was coaching last year. Wasn't the game tied in the 3rd?
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^
Not only was the game tied in the 3rd, but we had OSU on the ropes towards the end of the second half. Take away one holding call, and we continue driving it down their throats and go into the half 21-7 with momentum. Hoke's teams did not lack talent, they lacked the proper attitude. One thing would go wrong and it would snowball until the game was out of reach.
When Harbaugh changes that attitude, the sky is the limit for this team. Every game on our schedule will be winnable, especially with MSU and OSU at home. Not saying we will win every game, but every game is winnable.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^
Powered by Harbaugh
Powered by Hoke
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^
is the endzone.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^
and stack a bunch of pillows behind the endzone. Safety first.
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
Let me tell you, what you say is accurate. The OSU fans were in a total state of shock just before halftime and it looked like Michigan was going to march down the field and score.
Michigan lost momentum when the run game lost productivity. That game was totally winable. And lets not forget the game a year earlier when Michigan went for 2 and the win on 4th and 1 but failed.
I'm not saying we will go undefeated next year. I am saying JH should get an easy 8- 9 wins out of this bunch and nobody should be suprised if he is able to get more.
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:45 PM ^
Michigan went for two and the win after the touchdown but failed?
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^
Of the way we were.
January 23rd, 2015 at 10:16 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 10:29 AM ^
...But I think you mean a "very likely 8-9 wins." It will not be easy for these kids to play under Jim Harbaugh, just like it wasn't easy to play under Bo.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:46 PM ^
I know we all love Harbuagh and he is a great coach and that was a great win but that team still finished the year 4-8 with some pretty big blow out losses. He was building a program but I don't think that years Stanford is the reason to point to how great a season they had. If you want to say it proves he can beat anyone sure but there have plenty of upsets in college football and it rarely means something.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:59 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:26 PM ^
"If you want to say it proves he can beat anyone sure"
Well that was the question that started this chain of replies but ok.
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
I think triggers an auto-neg algorithm.
As it should.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
We play Oregon this season? Awesome.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^
I'm not too concerned about Oregon State, are you???
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:56 PM ^
I hope we do a better job at stopping Taysom Hill, he destroyed Texas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UeQZUJ_PKA
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
I'd rather give em the little sister treatment
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
Not to mention this
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:56 PM ^
It's funny - if you returned the whole team right now exactly as it is for 2015 with 1 exception at QB ...and brought back 2013 Devin (before we saw 2014 Devin) and said we're going to get 2013 Devin + Harbaugh's expertise in coaching him, I think the talk would be playoffs around here. We had just come off OSU Devin (then his injury prior to the bowl) and saw ND Devin and Indiana Devin and would have projected that for 8 of 12 games instead of 3 of 12 games in 2015.
Still bummed Kevin Hogan is not coming here for a year - would have let us come out of the gate running.
January 23rd, 2015 at 6:55 PM ^
Alum96, is it a possiblity that Hogan stated he would return next year but could actually be thinking about transferring? He has to finish the Spring semester anyways to graduate, and by publicly commiting to Stanford, he participates in offseason workouts without alienating the team and still gets first team reps during Spring ball.
January 23rd, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^
I'm in my mid 30's and I have a feeling that Michigan is going to look a lot like the teams I remember from my childhood. Big, fast, men just completely dominating most teams they play.
And if on the off chance we run into a better team, we'll at least keep it close. No more shut outs or 20+ point losses.
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:53 PM ^
2016 will be fun - but we travel to MSU and OSU.
That said I think 2016 is the year MSU takes a step back and no I have NOT been saying that the past 6 years. They might be the most experienced damn team in CFB in 2015 with 21 RS SRs fergodsakes. So they are going to take a boatload of experience with them post 2015. They lose Cook, Calhoun, Conklin (their 3 best players), Drummond, Lawrence Thomas, Burbridge, Allen (All American center), Ed Davis. Serious personnel losses and breaking in a first year QB is never great.
OSU loses some talent but has a litany of replacements ready.
Looking ahead to UM our major losses will be:
- Offense: Glasgow, Miller, Kerridge - that's it
- Defense: Pipkins, Ojemudia, Ross, Morgan, Bolden, Countess, Wilson
So 2015 is going to be the year of mystery on offense due to the QB and WRs while 2016 is a year Durkin really needs to show his chops off as we replace a lot of talent. But will have a OL loaded with upperclassmen, a bunch of senior RBs (and Isaac a JR), experience finally in the WRs (but need a big play threat), senior Butt, and I have to believe a ready to go QB. If the defense can be above average in 2016 it should be a season to really make hay.
The 2016 team then loses a boatload of players (26) but hopefully by then the 2014/2015 recruits really start kicking in for 2017.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:04 PM ^
The #1 thing JH will have to do is stabilize the QB play. They don't need a Heisman front runner, just someone to occasionaly complete a pass and not be turnover prone. Bottom line is we had a RB and WR playing QB the past four years. #2 would be to get this team to play tough, aggresive, passionate and with a swagger. This has been a lifeless team for about 2 years.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^
Somewhat OT question -- in the article Harbaugh is on the basketball court in street shoes! When I was a kid doing that was as heinous a crime as could be committed.
So, a question -- is the old rule about "no street shoes on the basketball court" obsolete now because we have more advanced surfacing technologies? Or was the rule way back then bunk? Or was Harbaugh granted immunity because ... HARBAUGH?
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
that would point that out to him.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
That would be nobody. :-)
But what came to mind first -- do we even care any more? Perhaps the polyurethane coatings make that old rule moot? I honestly don't know.
I'm a curious guy ... I wonder about things.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
the guys maintaining the floor would care. I always thought that rule was to prevent the floor from getting gouged by little stones caught in the treads. I doubt there's a coating that can defeat granite. Although, I know as little about this as you do.
January 23rd, 2015 at 8:17 PM ^
They can coat the court in Harbaugh. Tougher than granite. Like a jackhammer.
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:21 PM ^
I don't know if Beilein changes into strictly indoor shoes before games, but he definitely gets out on the court in dress shoes.
Hell, Izzo trys to make himself part of the actual play when the going gets tough.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
and the Net Present Value of Michigan Athletics would still be tens of millions higher because of him.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:05 PM ^
Is how he describes the difference between the spread and a pro-style rushing attack. It's something I've been trying to explain for years.
In summary, he explains that a pro-style doesn't allow a defense to dictate terms. 10 man box? You can run into it and be successful if you want. Going against a great DL? You have the numbers and schemes and multiple points of attack to find a weakness in the front.
I feel like too often around here that spread has been labelled as superior. It's not. It's different. It provides other advantages (players in space, clearer reads, better defining defense's intentions), but it does other things worse (disguising offense's intentions, providing numbers at the point of attack in multiple areas, dictating terms). Both can be successful. But the advantages of the pro-style attack is why you subtly have seen Meyer go much more back to TEs and FBs in recent years, and the advantages of spread are why you see WCO guys like Harbaugh fit in read option and 3-WR sets. Every coach wants to be able to do it all, but it's a matter of emphasis and time and ability to coach to start to mesh philosophies.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^
Aren't they out-of-bounds?
January 23rd, 2015 at 4:00 PM ^
Not if they were in bounds during their last contact with the earth.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:13 PM ^
After watching what OSU did to Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon ... it made me wonder if we were seeing the "future" (next five to ten years) of college football -- a blend of spread and pro elements.
Meyer didn't invent the blend ... but he sure showed how it could be done successfully.
January 23rd, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
Things tend to go full circle with a lot of stuff. There will always be differences and scheme (it'll never completely converge), you'll have extremes, you'll have guys that focus on run schemes (and different run schemes) and pass schemes (and different pass schemes), and you can really only bring so many elements together and still coach guys to a point that they need to be successful.
But yeah, I think a lot of coaches saw the weaknesses inside the 20 yard line of 10 personnel, just like I think coaches saw the weaknesses of 23 personnel in supplying a vertical threat. People want to be able to move the ball, they also want to be able to finish off drives. So it only makes sense, particularly the bigger schools that have access to better athletes, that you see them converge to a middle. FSU, Alabama, OSU, MSU, Georgia, UCLA, those are all teams that are kind of converging to something between specific pro-style attacks and spread attacks (or in the case of OSU, more or less a spread attack with single wing/flex bone).