Tony Elliot : “We became a National Championship caliber team ...”
... when the offensive line improved.”
I said this in another thread, but it seems appropriate here — Michigan’s OL, although improved — isn’t yet championship caliber. When facing an good opposing front 7, the run game often stalled and Shea was under pressure. Unfortunately, Higdon didn’t do a whole lot of creating on his own, and Shea is still a work in process as a pocket passer
Michigan has a great OL class, and still has young elite guys who redshirted. Coach Warriner did a fantastic job, but everyone knows, football is one (and lost) in the trenches. If it took Dabo several years to get his OL and QB combo where it needed to be to compete for championships, it may be that that same dynamic is effectively limiting Michigan still.
Let me add guys, please let’s not digress into complete negativity. Yes, this season ended badly, but when we look at the OL and QB play of Alabama, Clemson, OU and ND, can we really say that Michigan is on par? ND’s were exposed today, so drop them out. Yes, play calling and schemes on both sides of the ball may need to be adjusted. But the bottom line is going into this season OL and QB were HUGE questions. They both improved, but maybe — just maybe — they remain as such.
December 30th, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^
His pocket was clean because he gets rid of the ball in a 3 Second span. He reads the defense and releases the ball to the correct wr.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^
Could be because Lawrence is arguably the best QB prospect in the last 20 years. Seriously, he would be the first pick in the draft if he could come out this year
December 30th, 2018 at 6:38 AM ^
Whoa...slow your roll! He’s not even the best QB prospect at his school in the past 5 years. Deshaun led his team to the finals 2 straight seasons and when healthy has been good in the pros. Lawrence has played well but let’s not anoint him just yet.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:53 PM ^
I don’t disagree, I just think it’s a shame Harbaugh wasted four classes worth of players because he was loyal to Drevno. Hopefully Warriner can change that for the next 5+ classes of players.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:15 PM ^
The 2015 and 2016 OL's weren't that bad. 2017 brought in Greg Frey and shared OL coaching - which (IMO) destroyed all chemistry. 2017 was an abortion on all accounts... But I'll put more blame on shared duties than on any single coach. But he (Drevno) did need to leave because of the way the OL, as a unit, fell apart through the season.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:27 PM ^
Those lines weren't "bad" but they sure as hell weren't good. The run blocking was not good. Maybe terrible. Pass blocking was adequate.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:16 PM ^
Yes. It's frustrating as hell. We missed out on some great players and spoiled the ones we got because of it.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:53 PM ^
Absolutely right. Thank you for posting this!
December 29th, 2018 at 7:54 PM ^
Simply put Warriner gets the most out of his talent. The problem is the starting tackles for this game are not that talented.
As long as he stays the line will continue to improve and will turn into a strength after next year.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:55 PM ^
That's fine, but with a conservative approach and not utilizing your receivers a good OL won't do anything. We had great lines under Carr and didn't win much after 2003. It will be the same situation if nothing changes in that regard.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:00 PM ^
All I know is that we saw this year. A split personality team. One game it’s mashing and the next barely middling. I saw when Shea was asked to lead with his arm, he was poor because of inaccuracy due to pressure. I think he needs to learn to trust his OL more, but that goes both ways. You can’t always utilize your elite athletes in quick throws.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:10 PM ^
OSU did exactly that all year because their offense line was mediocre. They get the ball out quick, it's what their offense is designed to do. We do none of that. It's like we intentionally punch ourselves in the balls and feel like we have to win a certain way.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:16 PM ^
I respect you as a poster, but I saw a lot of quick passes, but very few wrre effective or completed at all.
December 30th, 2018 at 6:42 AM ^
As was mentioned earlier, that has something to do with our tempo as well. It’s a lot easier to fool a defense when they are set and see what’s in front of them. Tempo can cause a little deception and those tunnel screens will work more effectively.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:07 PM ^
The offensive line has to improve. I wasn't as bothered by the defense early on; they had some blown plays but it felt...manageable. But the offense struggled to get anything going except when they just threw the ball, which of course stopped being an option when it worked and everyone on the offensive staff got spooked.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:12 PM ^
Spooked by a bad interception on a throw that, even with the elite play by the UF Safety, should be either a catch or go long. Shea also threw another just over the LB that should have been.
They let him sling it, and he did ok at first, then poorly.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:07 PM ^
This. I watched the Clemson-South Carolina game, in which the Gamecocks torched the Tiger defense for 500 yards in the air. Clemson couldn't cover anyone. Then, in the late 3d quarter, the Clemson O-Line just started to gash the Carolina d-line, and the game was over. I said to myself, "That is what we need in our O-Line, and until it happens we will not be champions." Looking forward to year 2 of Warinner.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:08 PM ^
This will be forever the battle cry under Harbs - more speed, more beef, more this & that.
How about coaching the dudes you recruited and have.
Harbaugh needs “too many things” in order to win.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:20 PM ^
That's the mark of a shitty system. The Harbaulogists need to realize that any system works when it's run by nothing but elite senior players. Too bad no team on earth besides Alabama has that!
Some how all the other non-Alabama teams manage to make it work. Harbaugh can't. That's the problem.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:39 PM ^
Harbaugh is the Stafford of coaches!
December 29th, 2018 at 8:10 PM ^
Good post OP. I think people tend to forget it took Dabo 8 years to put together a team good enough to compete for a NC.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:22 PM ^
That’s a silly comparison IMO. Sweeney has won his ACC division 7 times, is a 5 time conference champion. He didn’t fail to win any big games and then magically transition in year 8. Look at what Harbaugh record is in November, when the biggest games happen. I think people tend to forget that.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:46 PM ^
It’s not an exact comparison, and the ACC Atlantic is vastly different than the B10 East. No two situations are the same. My point was Clemson didn’t become what we see and what we want Michigan to be — a perennial CFP contender — at least according to their OC, until their OL improved. Not winning a conference title is beside the point.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:04 AM ^
That’s fair and I don’t disagree with your post, I was replying to UrbanaDaddy. Compared to Harbaugh I feel like Dabo is a better recruiter and generally gets his teams to overachieve to a degree. As of 2018 their 5 year recruiting ranking was 9th in the country and they haven’t finished outside the top 5 in the last 4 years.
December 30th, 2018 at 1:51 AM ^
They did have to overcome "Clemsoning."
December 29th, 2018 at 8:12 PM ^
Our inability to push opposing DLs (in big games) has been our biggest issue. Sure, there have been some breakdowns, mistakes and other imperfections (in all 3 units).
But, we haven’t yet established a formidable OL, who can move piles, sustain drives and salt away games (in tough road, neutral or big games).
Once we start doing that, everything else will follow.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^
Steuber got rocked in this game. Mayfield has to improve big-time this offseason. If Steuber starts next season, I'll be worried.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:15 PM ^
Outside of WR, there's not a single element of our offense that's even very good - forget "championship caliber".
We don't have an above average RB
Our TEs aren't very good
Our OL isn't great
Our QB play sucks
We are so far from championship caliber in any phase of the game.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:18 PM ^
I don’t necessarily disagree, but wouldn’t the oldest football cliche about it all starting up front apply? If the OL were elite do you think you’d be saying the same things about the rest of the offense?
December 29th, 2018 at 8:21 PM ^
No, I don't think the TEs dropping decently thrown balls will improve when the OL gets better. I think the problem is trying to get a huge QB to become an elite TE.
I also don't think that a good OL will make our play calling less predictable.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:31 PM ^
I also don't think that a good OL will make our play calling less predictable.
But see that’s the issue. You call it predictable but if you block it better, it works better, and it doesn’t matter as much.
Look at how accurate Tua is, but they’re not doing anything fancy. Just blocking, running, and making on time throws.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:33 PM ^
OK. So if we have a seasoned 5 star at every position, Harbaugh's system works well? That's true about every system. Good systems work well with less. It's why they're good.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:37 PM ^
Nobody said that. But, speaking about the most important unit, the Michigan pipeline broke down.
OU has an elite OL, and Bama is ripping them apart. ND has a elite OL, and Clemson ripped them apart. Your team goes as far as your OL takes you.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:49 PM ^
Harbaughs system needs 12-15 pros and a few future pro bowlers to work these days.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:22 PM ^
I disagree. Yes, having a good OL would improve our entire offense, but having better blocking TEs (for example) would help minimize the effects of our lackluster OL.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:19 PM ^
I think there are a number of factors limiting our team's success, but I agree that o-line is one of those. Basically the line you saw tonight will be our line next season minus the possibility of inserting Mayfield instead of Steuber. But, I don't see that as being dominant next year. I am hopeful Charbonet will be as good as advertised. I'm hopeful Shea will continue to develop. But, we need to find better ways of getting the ball in Black & DPJ's hands. I don't see anyone matching up with DPJ, Black, & Collins but they are rarely all 3 on the field at the same time. Why? So we can get Gentry and/or McKeon on the field? They aren't great blockers and both dropped some key balls this year. I'd like to see them move away from the TE a bit more and get more speed on the field.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:23 PM ^
Do you really think Black sticks around? I don't.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:39 PM ^
He looked visibly withdrawn, not even mad, after his non-TD catch. I hope he does because he's our best WR. He's another one that should be given his rightful spot as the #1 WR as soon as he's healthy. He's already earned it. He shouldn't have to again. I doubt he goes anywhere over the offseason, but he may enter the draft or grad transfer after next year.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:51 PM ^
I don't think he has much of a choice but to stay. He has already missed virtually all of his first two seasons. If he transfers, then he will miss an entire year again. Who knows where he would be after that. Things would have to be really, really bad for him to transfer. His best bet would seem to be to stick it out and continue to improve. I've posted this about 5 times today but I really don't understand why Michigan does not put DPJ, Tarik and Nico all on the field for virtually every play. They are Michigan's 3 best play makers by far.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:26 PM ^
I know why, because they need 1 RB, 1 FB & 2 TE every time. MANBALL
December 29th, 2018 at 8:33 PM ^
With the passing routes that are designed or being run, it doesn’t appear as if Black, DPJ, or Nico can get open frequently enough, just my opinion.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:39 PM ^
I agree!
I know that people who know more than me say there are New passing route concepts that help. But, too often I saw little to no separation from the WR’s.
Maybe both need to improve.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:24 PM ^
We had an excellent season. The wheels fell of against OSU, that's all.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^
Started to wobble in the Indiana game.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^
The wheels fell off after Gentry dropped two easy passes against OSU. The team was checked out for this game along with most of the fanbase. But be careful. Lots of people are going to be very angry that you are trying to take a positive stance on this season.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:24 PM ^
Excellent season he says. Yo look at this guy lol
December 29th, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
Delusional monkey.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:32 PM ^
We have plays but don't have a bama tool set. Watching this game, bama is a damn tank... wtf.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
I have said that for a long time. Not going to win shit until we get a legit offensive line. Haven’t had one in over 11 years.maybe longer.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:46 PM ^
How long did it take Dabo? What year is Harbaugh in?