with the thread. Don Brown is a great, not good, but great coordinator but his scheme was thoroughly exposed tonight. Penn State had 2 weeks to break down the weaknesses of the defense whenever we were in certain looks, and over and over again there was a safety getting Moss'd by Hamilton or Barkley simply outrunning McCray. The biggest disappointment was the defense did not even consider McSorely as a runner. The ends were crashing down, the linebackers were flowing with every step Barkley took.
With all that said anyone that thinks we would be anywhere near respectability these last couple years without Brown on the sideline is absolutely nuts. Sometimes you have to tip your cap and just admit you were outcoached and the better team won. This was never supposed to be our year anyway.
with the thread. Don Brown is a great, not good, but great coordinator but his scheme was thoroughly exposed tonight. Penn State had 2 weeks to break down the weaknesses of the defense whenever we were in certain looks, and over and over again there was a safety getting Moss'd by Hamilton or Barkley simply outrunning McCray. The biggest disappointment was the defense did not even consider McSorely as a runner. The ends were crashing down, the linebackers were flowing with every step Barkley took.
With all that said anyone that thinks we would be anywhere near respectability these last couple years without Brown on the sideline is absolutely nuts. Sometimes you have to tip your cap and just admit you were outcoached and the better team won. This was never supposed to be our year anyway.
Harbaugh played this one like an NFL game. We were up most of the game so we just kept pounding the rock. Our defense will keep us in every game this season. Yeah against the good teams, like the one we play next week, we are going to have to make some plays on offense to win. But Harbaugh knows we are going to have to grind out victories the rest of the season. The offense is just not explosive enough to keep trying to air it out when it isn't necessary.
who is not concerned too much with the huge runs from their QBs. They all came when we were in some sort of variation of a shell coverage defense, at least twice it was cover 2 man. We are not going to be playing very much if an cover 2 man once JL comes back. We were in cover 1 just about all last year, and we just rolled coverage toward the side not occupied by Lewis. It will also free up a lot more blitz packages once he is back. Having a lock down corner with an agressive D is critical. Stribling and Clark are adequate, but both need some help over the top.
how tough the road schedule is this year, we are a much better football team this year. This will be the 2nd year under Harbaugh and the 2nd year in the system for either QB that wins the job. We have a defensive coach that is more suited to the strengths of our defensive personel and just flat out more proven and experienced. And we are a much more experienced team who knows what it takes to win and has bought into a culture of accountability rather than shoulder shrugs and clapping hands after every miscue.
There were very real reasons we lost the 3 games that we did last year, and only 1 of those teams was more talented than us. Rudock/Perry don't lose us that Utah game if it is played week anything other than 1. The MSU game was a pure fluke even if you just consider how the ball bounced. Ohio is the only team that beat us handily. No excuses for that game we just got handled. That won't be the same team again this year. Worse OL, worse RB, worse DL. We are on the same talent/experience level as them this year so I'm not sure why people are dismissing this game as one we should lose. We should be every bit of 11-1. That loss can come in any of the 3 tough road games. How the cards stack up will be the telling factor on if we make the playoff or not.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Came to birth as Riverside hospital, which people from here know is all of about a 3 minute drive to that toilet bowl of a stadium. I'm an early 30's guy, so like most my age I grew up when video games were evolving. I didn't watch a lot of sports, and when I did it was mostly pro sports. First athlete I fell in love with was LT and then MJ. That was around 1990 when I started really watching sports. What then got me was the Fab 5. Young black inner city kids like me with swag... I loved it. Webber was an animal, and I know he isn't loved around here much anymore, but he is still far and away my favorite athlete of all time.
After that it was just a natural graduation to the football team. I loved the LB play of the 90s and all the way into the 00s, followed all those guys. Played MLB is HS football. Just absolutely love everything about UM and UM football. Ohio fans reinforce every day that I could NEVER be one of them. Obnoxious, trash spewing gutter rats most of them. Everything is revisionist history with an Ohio fan.. well remember from this date to this date we were the best. Look they have owned us in recent years, but we all know who holds the tradition and all be damned a degree from Ohio will never hold the jock of one from the greatest university on Earth.
I think he does a little better catching out the backfield than Fournette, and screens are a huge part of Harbaugh's offensive package.
2nd would be McCafferey for the same reason. Not sure why, but I question his durability more, even though Dalvin is on the injury report way more often.
towards the end of the recruiting. We have been so used to the erratic throwing and marginal QB play of dual threat QBs, save to Rudock last year, it is going to be nice to see a QB dropping dimes and leading these guys to the endzone. Why wouldn't you want to be a WR for UM?
and be able to do whatever they want in the last 2 games. SA has already aired that they will rest their players down the stretch since they are already locked into the 2 seed. This will be another epic final 4 in the west with a great western conference final and NBA championship. 3 teams can easily come out the West, Cleveland will sleep walk their way to another finals L
This kid is likely not we scouted because of the talent level in the MA area, which is pretty obvious by the huge descrepancies in ratings including a generic 3* from ESPN, who rarely does their homework on anyone that doesn't camp with them. Let's just keep trusting the guy who has a resume of creating pros and also evaluating them well as an NFL coach. He knows what a football player looks like
on the money. Great offenses will put you in these positions over and over every game and it is up to the coaches on the field to react, see it coming and make those pre-snap adjustments so we are not RPS'd repeatedly. Urbz offense is predicated on finding the highest percentage play against the set defense and running the piss out of it. You can't stop it, tough tits here it comes again. Having Jake in the middle with his knowledge of the game and film study helped us mask what was a very so-so D Line in '14. The fact that both Morgan and Bolden struggled with IDing play calls and formations is an absolute indictment of the prior staff, and you do have to point a lot of that blame at the feet of Mattison. Not that he didn't properly tutor them, but too changes within the coaching groups and not enough 1-on-1s between him and those LBs.
We got further and further exposed as the season went on last year because Durkin didn't have a counter punch. It's fine to play cover 1 press man 90% of the time like we do, but you have to be creative with the other 8 guys on the field and they have to know their assignments and be downhill wreckers. There just was not enough instictual play out there last season especially as the season went on. Too much thinking and not enough reacting.
If we lose .05 or .1 from a pass rush standpoint by putting him at WDE, no big deal with our DBs. Let's face it, going into next year we have 4 teams that stand out on the schedule; Ohio, Wiscy, Iowa and MSU. Iowa is probably the only wild care amongst those 4. All the rest will be extremely run heavy next season. MSU's QB will be inexperienced and Wiscy and Ohio always run the ball to set up the pass. Even throw in Penn State, who might return the best RB in the conference. How 1-dimensional we make these team will be the difference in another nice 10-3 season and one that has the chance to be extremely special despite a tough conference road schedule.
I agree with all of this. However I will point out that McDowell is coming into his own as a Suh type of disruptor so don't discount his productivity level. Between Marshall/Kemp/Johnson, there has to be one of them that comes on a "the guy" going into 2017 as an edge rusher. I think undoubtedly one or two of them will. Then the prospect of playing along Gary for 2 more years without doubt will attract us a premium edge rusher next recruiting cycle. Watching our D line wreck teams next season will have kids foaming at the mouth.
The safeties will have to be up to par or Jabrill will have to rotate back there, and with the inexperience at LB and coverage in that area, I pray this does not happen. The safeties just have to be modest though. Lewis will take care of his half and the combination of Clark, Long, and Stribs will give up less than 50% completions this year, you can book that. It is going to be the middle zone and the flares that will eat us next season. Young players just don't recognize plays fast enough to get out into the flat area. There will be a learning curve.
if Gary does come in and start at WDE. This is no longer the BUCK position and Gary has the ability to both hold the edge and rush the passer if needed on early downs.
I also say that Mone will probably edge out Hurst for the 3T spot and Hurst will rotate in on passing downs as well as Gary will likely kick down to the inside on passing downs for added pass rush.
Opposing QBs better start studying their checkdowns now, because we have legitimately 6 guys who will not be able to be blocked one on one. You combine that with the tightest man coverage in the nation and a 4.3-40 210 lb freak roaming the middle of the field and our pass D looks to be again the best the nation will see. I hope Mr. Brown's strong suit is scheming against the run, because that will again be the only way to beat us consistently.
All these other schools report a bunch of secondary recruiting violations year in and year out and they are the ones up in arms about Harbaugh's ways. Shut your mouth, have a seat and watch as we retake our place amongst CFB elite.
Harbaugh is trying to have a staff that has high level coaches and recruiters from within each region. Durkin obviously had strong ties to the South so we need an RC who can keep that pipeline strong.
The offense that Ohio is running is very similar to the spread concepts that are being picked up by high schools all across the nation. Maybe not in Michigan or Ohio, but it is the predominate offense in states like Texas, Alabama, and Florida which is where the majority of the top recruits are coming.
The main point you missed was run heavy. A great defensive coordinator has a game plan for every game, just as an offensive coordinator should. Yes you play to your strengths, which was no question our defensive line, even at this point in the season, but adjustments must be made if you continue to get punched in the mouth like we did against Ohio and Indiana. You call it bad taste, but then say that you think we should have run blitzed to maintain better gap control. WTF do you think those guys would have been doing presnap if they were blitzing? #1 they would be heading downhill immediately but #2 which is why you DON'T consistently run blitz a great offense like Ohio, is they will watch you predetermine what your gap assignment is, and find the best play to counteract that defense. That's why these teams come up to the line and then pull back after a few false cadences, is so that you expose yourself and they get in their best play. That would be a caveman's approach.
Against a team like Ohio you live with what they do against you in the air and you limit their run and keep their QB in the pocket. You watch any team that had success against them this year and you'll see this is what their attack was. MSU's linebackers are always coached to play the run first, that's why you never see them eating blocks, but occasionally see them getting exposed over the middle of the field by TEs, square ins, and slant routes. They pick their poison, and in college, and especially against a run heavy team like Ohio, you take the run away and live with those results. You try to do what we did and you get smoked for 42 over and over and over
I don't think they could have thought for very long that Ohio wouldn't get this figured out and counter it well. The essence of running a zone blocking scheme on offense anyway is to simplify the assigments for the OL, so I would say we RPS'd ourselves if this was our next move after they were constantly putting our defense in check. By mid 3rd quarter it was an easy checkmate and they were just pouring it on after that.
we had especially after losing Ojemudia it was more of a 3-3-5. Ross played a lot in that game and probably should not have, and when we shifted to the even front, Ohio attacked the D like you would a traditional 3-3-5. We essentially played a 4-2-5 most of the season anyway except versus teams with more prostyle attacks.
I played MLB in highschool, and even at that level they teach you the simple fundamentals needed to succeed against a run heavy team like Ohio. Start on your toes, first step is always downhill at your gap, hit with your shoulder that is opposite of the sideline that you are running towards. Desmond was consistently a B level player at doing this, which given his other deficiencies made him an incredibly frustrating player against spread teams, and a guy who should NEVER have been on the field in passing situations. BUT, unfortunately he was our best option, which says everything you need to know about our ILBs. Sitting there watching these guys eat blocks over and over against anything other than a middling OL was the absolute most frustrating part of this season, and I don't know what to expect for next season at all. Doesn't matter if you're being tempoed or not, as soon as the play call comes in you have to know what gap you're responsible for. In my old HS's D, the MLB had the dual responsibility of covering a gap to either side depending on if the guard pulled, reached, cut, etc. I just say all this to point out that at the collegiate level, and playing ILB for the university of Michigan, there is no way these guys should be making the fundamental mistakes. I know in every interview I have seen it say that both Durkin and Mattison both coach in a way that they like the players to be more instinctual so they have the freedom to make plays, and that's all well and good. But at some point you have to go back to the fundamentals of your position, especially when playing an elite offense such as Ohio and even Indiana. Inexcuseable that some of these things were not corrected after the Indiana game. And I don't discount the loss of Glasgow/Mone and then also Ojemudia, but that's when even more than ever we should have been getting in gear and preaching DO YOUR JOB. Not rush upfield so fast you push yourself out the play or forgetting to set the edge and trying to be the hero. Next year's ILB development will be crucial if we hope to jump to the next level of elite defenses.
Our D line will dominate and force a pretty accurate passer into a fair amount of bad throws. Need the safeties and LBs to play much more disciplined and make some plays. Remember they have only been inches away from creating at least 5 picks the last couple games, and even against MSU we held an NFL caliber QB under 50% completions, which has been pretty standard for us this year. Multiple uys who can win their 1-on-1s and a shut down corner make it feast or famine every time a QB drops back.
Would be much more worried about this game if we hadn't finally seen what we needed from Rudock last week, which was make throws over the top of these 8 and 9 man boxes. There weren't any bombs, but consistently hitting Butt and Darboh over the middle of the field after PA was big. Teams have decided they will not let us dictate the tempo so we have to mix in more pass to open up the run game its a simple as that. Much better gameplan and execution last week. The next 2 games are about a 3.5 in my eyes.
but I don't apologize for something I'm actually not sorry for doing. Amateur athletics is a joke and kids are getting money under the table all day every day, he just happened to get caught doing it. Of all the guys you named, do you think they are the only ones that got paid? Really? Nobody is asking all these guys to stand up and admit what they did and apologize. Chris Webber made millions of dollars for UM, and the Fab 5 cultural and economic impact may be in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, and you're mad a Chris for 300k? Sounds extremely pety and IMHO if you don't stand behind any of these kids you aren't a real UM fan.
from Ed Martin? Ed Martin was taking care of Chris long before he was ever wearing the Maize and Blue. You think C Webb was the first and only player in college sports to ever take money from a booster? LOL. I encourage you to read or watch sports journalism a little more. What's his name Dupree the OU running back said live on ESPN a couple weeks ago that a booster told him that he would be paid 100k per game if he chose that school. OK St. & Texas boosters have some of the biggest wallets in college sports.
I think Chris gets a horrible rap because he's more introverted and has always taken a likening to letting his game/actions speak for him. Jalen is the class clown everyone loves, everyone wants to be around, everyone wants to believe what he says and follow him because he does have a level of charisma that Chris doesn't possess. With that said I have always found Chris to the much more well spoken and intelligent of the two when they speak, and pardon all of us that he does not feel like he owes UM an apology for taking a few hundred grand on the side when he was the driving force behind a cultural revolution that began in amateur sports. I can personally see both of their sides and understand how they are just two former "brothers" who cannot ever see eye to eye.
us having to run Blake O'Neil onto the field, he hook slides into place, counts the personnel, oh shit there are only 10 on the field, no timeouts Hoke used all those to film his commercials professing his love for hot dogs, he looks to Coach Hoke who gives him a shrug and claps at him enthusiatically, finally a concussed Shane Morris faints on the field as Hoke has seen fit to burn another year of his eligibility so that he can play gunner for the punt team. This saves us and Hoke now thinking clearly fresh off downing a half pot of hot dog water runs a hobbled Devin Gardner onto the field, who then takes a 15 yard sack and MSU kicks a 30 yard field goal to win the game.
Thanks for the memories Coach. Please don't let the door knob hit ya...
You guys are really hard up for blaming this kid for that loss. Get the hell over it! Blake O'Neil was one of the main reasons we were even in that game to begin with. He has been a stud all year long and grilling him like this over one mistake is childish at best. Disgusted with you dreggs of UM football fandom. Go cheer for another team because I can promise you, real UM fans are both embarrassed and disgusted at your actions.
who runs well and can cover the 2nd best WR on just about any college team, but he does not have the hip flexibility needed to be a corner at the next level. I don't think that is a knock on him, because the same is true for Peppers. Both will have to play safety at the next level. Peppers already has the body to play there. Clark will have to hit the weights, but he has all the other tools.
about this with Harbaugh. I think anyone that we see with the label "athlete" will be a candidate to fill a need at corner. Plus don't forget that Lavert Hill is strong candidate to flip, and I would consider him elite. Missing out on Conley last year did hurt here. Obviously he is already contributing at Ohio. Crawford tore his ACL, but was another one we had in the fold. Consistent winning will bring these types of prospects back.
being anything other than a UDFA. He is a very poor man's Chris Borland.
Jarrod Wilson and Delano Hill will both get looks without a doubt. Both are long and rangey. They haven't made the play against the pass because of our scheme, but both are a key reason you barely ever see anything thrown over the top, and we play a lot of cover 1 so that speaks even more to how quickly they cover ground.
Don't sleep on Stribling either. He will get one more year to show what he can do and he is absolutely built in the mold of a Richard Sherman. Needs to get a little stronger up top so that he is better at jamming receivers, but his ball skills have improved tremendously since year 1.
This is the only concern I have with next year's roster. Otherwise we will be more talented next year than this year. The line is so dominant and will be again next year that the level of concern as far as inexperienced LBs should be almost zero. Gedeon and Devin Bush/Daelin Hayes/David Reese will be good enough to hold the fort until we can rebuild that group with a much smarter strategy towards redshirting a kid or two.
we will be favored to win and should be. There is no hotter team in the country than Michigan. I've said all along the only thing that would worry me is that if we got hot would be feed into it and start patting ourselves on the back, but Harbaugh aint having any of that. We have been down for too long and have too many people to prove wrong this season to think that we have accomplished anything. We won our first road game, we have beaten a couple top 25 teams, now it is time do what you come to Michigan to do, and that is to kick our rivals' asses. First up MSU! And besides Rudock, there isn't one guy in the rotation next week that doesn't remember Sparty RUBBIN' our nose in it last year with that late TD and cheering it in like it was the damn winning lottery ticket. It is time for some sweet sweet revenge!
has proven that he is going to run the ball regardless of how the defense aligns. You don't hear all the "Kill, Kill" calls like you would with most teams because he wants to pound the ball and trust the blocking. Even while not consistently being the best blocking team there is, our offensive line has worn defenses down in every game this season except the Utah game where we obviously were playing from behind all game and had to throw, plus turnovers. The formula has worked thus far, and I expect it will against NW as long as we can sustain more drives than they can and will the TOP battle. Their TFL stat is encouraging in that regard, because I will now expect them to be in a lot of 3rd and longs, which plays right into our hand. Hard fought game and we better wear them out or it will be closer than expected. Not worried about our D getting worn down, or maybe they could spring the upset.
when Durkin leaves to go be a head coach, but I just think Harbaugh knows how to pick them. As long as Mattison is around, these kids will be well coached. Hell even with the mediocre defensive staff we had last year, the defense wasn't that far off. But I think this does expose two things - that coaching experience is still extremely important within the group of assistants/position level coaches, and also that having a fiery high energy guy constantly revving up the D is a huge benefit. I haven't seen anybody on the defensive side of the ball take a single play off.
had mastered their craft of playing CB in college before looking for more responsibilities. Pep is still really a freshman as far as adapting to playing at the college level, which is being proven as he keeps getting better and better every week. Let him run through the B1G one good time and then get him some offensive plays next season when the game has slowed way down for him. That said IMO he has an even higher upside on offense than Woodson or Champ did, and that is saying a hell of a lot.
Teams do not like throwing slants over the middle of the field because they are very high risk. You only see this with the GREAT passing attacks and usually the throws are very low because anything thrown above waist level runs the risk of being tipped up in the air either by the offensive or defensive player, and then picked off. I don't think we have many teams on the schedule who have NFL caliber QB & slot WR combos. Maybe MSU
I think at this point Harbaugh knows his backs, and knows them well. He calls plays best suited for who is on the field, and we saw a lot of that last weekend when the power runs were all but totally eliminated from the gameplan. Just as you mentioned that this is a variation designed to keep the defense honest against the power run, Harbaugh has multiple variations to all of his base run plays, that is why he is so damn good at every level. He can keep 31 year old Frank Gore looking like 21 year old Frank Gore because of the play designs and his expectation of find that running late, put your foot in the ground and get yards. Both Isaac and Green do not run consistently behind their pads and that is why you see them get brought down by the first guy consistently and why they are falling farther and farther behind Green and Johnson.
It isn't showing up on the stat sheet yet, but he is getting more and more consistent at doing his job within the defense. He isn't making the play all the time, but he is blowing up the play or forcing the play back to the strength of the defense. That will be the next step for him is getting just that one twitch faster and making the play himself. Considering how much better he has gotten since the Utah game, I have no doubt he will get there before this year is over. Teams aren't even attempting to run that speed/tempo trash to his side because he is getting better and better at IDing the play. He has been an absolute wrecking ball the last couple weeks
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with the thread. Don Brown is a great, not good, but great coordinator but his scheme was thoroughly exposed tonight. Penn State had 2 weeks to break down the weaknesses of the defense whenever we were in certain looks, and over and over again there was a safety getting Moss'd by Hamilton or Barkley simply outrunning McCray. The biggest disappointment was the defense did not even consider McSorely as a runner. The ends were crashing down, the linebackers were flowing with every step Barkley took.
With all that said anyone that thinks we would be anywhere near respectability these last couple years without Brown on the sideline is absolutely nuts. Sometimes you have to tip your cap and just admit you were outcoached and the better team won. This was never supposed to be our year anyway.
with the thread. Don Brown is a great, not good, but great coordinator but his scheme was thoroughly exposed tonight. Penn State had 2 weeks to break down the weaknesses of the defense whenever we were in certain looks, and over and over again there was a safety getting Moss'd by Hamilton or Barkley simply outrunning McCray. The biggest disappointment was the defense did not even consider McSorely as a runner. The ends were crashing down, the linebackers were flowing with every step Barkley took.
With all that said anyone that thinks we would be anywhere near respectability these last couple years without Brown on the sideline is absolutely nuts. Sometimes you have to tip your cap and just admit you were outcoached and the better team won. This was never supposed to be our year anyway.
who is not concerned too much with the huge runs from their QBs. They all came when we were in some sort of variation of a shell coverage defense, at least twice it was cover 2 man. We are not going to be playing very much if an cover 2 man once JL comes back. We were in cover 1 just about all last year, and we just rolled coverage toward the side not occupied by Lewis. It will also free up a lot more blitz packages once he is back. Having a lock down corner with an agressive D is critical. Stribling and Clark are adequate, but both need some help over the top.
how tough the road schedule is this year, we are a much better football team this year. This will be the 2nd year under Harbaugh and the 2nd year in the system for either QB that wins the job. We have a defensive coach that is more suited to the strengths of our defensive personel and just flat out more proven and experienced. And we are a much more experienced team who knows what it takes to win and has bought into a culture of accountability rather than shoulder shrugs and clapping hands after every miscue.
There were very real reasons we lost the 3 games that we did last year, and only 1 of those teams was more talented than us. Rudock/Perry don't lose us that Utah game if it is played week anything other than 1. The MSU game was a pure fluke even if you just consider how the ball bounced. Ohio is the only team that beat us handily. No excuses for that game we just got handled. That won't be the same team again this year. Worse OL, worse RB, worse DL. We are on the same talent/experience level as them this year so I'm not sure why people are dismissing this game as one we should lose. We should be every bit of 11-1. That loss can come in any of the 3 tough road games. How the cards stack up will be the telling factor on if we make the playoff or not.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Came to birth as Riverside hospital, which people from here know is all of about a 3 minute drive to that toilet bowl of a stadium. I'm an early 30's guy, so like most my age I grew up when video games were evolving. I didn't watch a lot of sports, and when I did it was mostly pro sports. First athlete I fell in love with was LT and then MJ. That was around 1990 when I started really watching sports. What then got me was the Fab 5. Young black inner city kids like me with swag... I loved it. Webber was an animal, and I know he isn't loved around here much anymore, but he is still far and away my favorite athlete of all time.
After that it was just a natural graduation to the football team. I loved the LB play of the 90s and all the way into the 00s, followed all those guys. Played MLB is HS football. Just absolutely love everything about UM and UM football. Ohio fans reinforce every day that I could NEVER be one of them. Obnoxious, trash spewing gutter rats most of them. Everything is revisionist history with an Ohio fan.. well remember from this date to this date we were the best. Look they have owned us in recent years, but we all know who holds the tradition and all be damned a degree from Ohio will never hold the jock of one from the greatest university on Earth.
Still my favorite LB combination of all time
His name is Derwin James. A 210 lb safety who I watched chuck a RT about 3 yards in the air and flat on his cheeks.
I think he does a little better catching out the backfield than Fournette, and screens are a huge part of Harbaugh's offensive package.
2nd would be McCafferey for the same reason. Not sure why, but I question his durability more, even though Dalvin is on the injury report way more often.
towards the end of the recruiting. We have been so used to the erratic throwing and marginal QB play of dual threat QBs, save to Rudock last year, it is going to be nice to see a QB dropping dimes and leading these guys to the endzone. Why wouldn't you want to be a WR for UM?
and be able to do whatever they want in the last 2 games. SA has already aired that they will rest their players down the stretch since they are already locked into the 2 seed. This will be another epic final 4 in the west with a great western conference final and NBA championship. 3 teams can easily come out the West, Cleveland will sleep walk their way to another finals L
This kid is likely not we scouted because of the talent level in the MA area, which is pretty obvious by the huge descrepancies in ratings including a generic 3* from ESPN, who rarely does their homework on anyone that doesn't camp with them. Let's just keep trusting the guy who has a resume of creating pros and also evaluating them well as an NFL coach. He knows what a football player looks like
That kid was my Facebook profile pic or background all season long. I shed a tear every time a young child dies.
My 2nd born's name is Braylon
on the money. Great offenses will put you in these positions over and over every game and it is up to the coaches on the field to react, see it coming and make those pre-snap adjustments so we are not RPS'd repeatedly. Urbz offense is predicated on finding the highest percentage play against the set defense and running the piss out of it. You can't stop it, tough tits here it comes again. Having Jake in the middle with his knowledge of the game and film study helped us mask what was a very so-so D Line in '14. The fact that both Morgan and Bolden struggled with IDing play calls and formations is an absolute indictment of the prior staff, and you do have to point a lot of that blame at the feet of Mattison. Not that he didn't properly tutor them, but too changes within the coaching groups and not enough 1-on-1s between him and those LBs.
We got further and further exposed as the season went on last year because Durkin didn't have a counter punch. It's fine to play cover 1 press man 90% of the time like we do, but you have to be creative with the other 8 guys on the field and they have to know their assignments and be downhill wreckers. There just was not enough instictual play out there last season especially as the season went on. Too much thinking and not enough reacting.
has to begin with Cormega The Realness. Dead Prez Let's Get Free is also another album you just press play on
36 Chambers with all the original Wu members was definitely a classic
The original Goodie Mob album with features from Outkast is also a little known gem
If we lose .05 or .1 from a pass rush standpoint by putting him at WDE, no big deal with our DBs. Let's face it, going into next year we have 4 teams that stand out on the schedule; Ohio, Wiscy, Iowa and MSU. Iowa is probably the only wild care amongst those 4. All the rest will be extremely run heavy next season. MSU's QB will be inexperienced and Wiscy and Ohio always run the ball to set up the pass. Even throw in Penn State, who might return the best RB in the conference. How 1-dimensional we make these team will be the difference in another nice 10-3 season and one that has the chance to be extremely special despite a tough conference road schedule.
I agree with all of this. However I will point out that McDowell is coming into his own as a Suh type of disruptor so don't discount his productivity level. Between Marshall/Kemp/Johnson, there has to be one of them that comes on a "the guy" going into 2017 as an edge rusher. I think undoubtedly one or two of them will. Then the prospect of playing along Gary for 2 more years without doubt will attract us a premium edge rusher next recruiting cycle. Watching our D line wreck teams next season will have kids foaming at the mouth.
The safeties will have to be up to par or Jabrill will have to rotate back there, and with the inexperience at LB and coverage in that area, I pray this does not happen. The safeties just have to be modest though. Lewis will take care of his half and the combination of Clark, Long, and Stribs will give up less than 50% completions this year, you can book that. It is going to be the middle zone and the flares that will eat us next season. Young players just don't recognize plays fast enough to get out into the flat area. There will be a learning curve.
if Gary does come in and start at WDE. This is no longer the BUCK position and Gary has the ability to both hold the edge and rush the passer if needed on early downs.
I also say that Mone will probably edge out Hurst for the 3T spot and Hurst will rotate in on passing downs as well as Gary will likely kick down to the inside on passing downs for added pass rush.
Opposing QBs better start studying their checkdowns now, because we have legitimately 6 guys who will not be able to be blocked one on one. You combine that with the tightest man coverage in the nation and a 4.3-40 210 lb freak roaming the middle of the field and our pass D looks to be again the best the nation will see. I hope Mr. Brown's strong suit is scheming against the run, because that will again be the only way to beat us consistently.
All these other schools report a bunch of secondary recruiting violations year in and year out and they are the ones up in arms about Harbaugh's ways. Shut your mouth, have a seat and watch as we retake our place amongst CFB elite.
the blues match. One of them must go!
Harbaugh is trying to have a staff that has high level coaches and recruiters from within each region. Durkin obviously had strong ties to the South so we need an RC who can keep that pipeline strong.
The offense that Ohio is running is very similar to the spread concepts that are being picked up by high schools all across the nation. Maybe not in Michigan or Ohio, but it is the predominate offense in states like Texas, Alabama, and Florida which is where the majority of the top recruits are coming.
The main point you missed was run heavy. A great defensive coordinator has a game plan for every game, just as an offensive coordinator should. Yes you play to your strengths, which was no question our defensive line, even at this point in the season, but adjustments must be made if you continue to get punched in the mouth like we did against Ohio and Indiana. You call it bad taste, but then say that you think we should have run blitzed to maintain better gap control. WTF do you think those guys would have been doing presnap if they were blitzing? #1 they would be heading downhill immediately but #2 which is why you DON'T consistently run blitz a great offense like Ohio, is they will watch you predetermine what your gap assignment is, and find the best play to counteract that defense. That's why these teams come up to the line and then pull back after a few false cadences, is so that you expose yourself and they get in their best play. That would be a caveman's approach.
Against a team like Ohio you live with what they do against you in the air and you limit their run and keep their QB in the pocket. You watch any team that had success against them this year and you'll see this is what their attack was. MSU's linebackers are always coached to play the run first, that's why you never see them eating blocks, but occasionally see them getting exposed over the middle of the field by TEs, square ins, and slant routes. They pick their poison, and in college, and especially against a run heavy team like Ohio, you take the run away and live with those results. You try to do what we did and you get smoked for 42 over and over and over
I don't think they could have thought for very long that Ohio wouldn't get this figured out and counter it well. The essence of running a zone blocking scheme on offense anyway is to simplify the assigments for the OL, so I would say we RPS'd ourselves if this was our next move after they were constantly putting our defense in check. By mid 3rd quarter it was an easy checkmate and they were just pouring it on after that.
we had especially after losing Ojemudia it was more of a 3-3-5. Ross played a lot in that game and probably should not have, and when we shifted to the even front, Ohio attacked the D like you would a traditional 3-3-5. We essentially played a 4-2-5 most of the season anyway except versus teams with more prostyle attacks.
I played MLB in highschool, and even at that level they teach you the simple fundamentals needed to succeed against a run heavy team like Ohio. Start on your toes, first step is always downhill at your gap, hit with your shoulder that is opposite of the sideline that you are running towards. Desmond was consistently a B level player at doing this, which given his other deficiencies made him an incredibly frustrating player against spread teams, and a guy who should NEVER have been on the field in passing situations. BUT, unfortunately he was our best option, which says everything you need to know about our ILBs. Sitting there watching these guys eat blocks over and over against anything other than a middling OL was the absolute most frustrating part of this season, and I don't know what to expect for next season at all. Doesn't matter if you're being tempoed or not, as soon as the play call comes in you have to know what gap you're responsible for. In my old HS's D, the MLB had the dual responsibility of covering a gap to either side depending on if the guard pulled, reached, cut, etc. I just say all this to point out that at the collegiate level, and playing ILB for the university of Michigan, there is no way these guys should be making the fundamental mistakes. I know in every interview I have seen it say that both Durkin and Mattison both coach in a way that they like the players to be more instinctual so they have the freedom to make plays, and that's all well and good. But at some point you have to go back to the fundamentals of your position, especially when playing an elite offense such as Ohio and even Indiana. Inexcuseable that some of these things were not corrected after the Indiana game. And I don't discount the loss of Glasgow/Mone and then also Ojemudia, but that's when even more than ever we should have been getting in gear and preaching DO YOUR JOB. Not rush upfield so fast you push yourself out the play or forgetting to set the edge and trying to be the hero. Next year's ILB development will be crucial if we hope to jump to the next level of elite defenses.
Our D line will dominate and force a pretty accurate passer into a fair amount of bad throws. Need the safeties and LBs to play much more disciplined and make some plays. Remember they have only been inches away from creating at least 5 picks the last couple games, and even against MSU we held an NFL caliber QB under 50% completions, which has been pretty standard for us this year. Multiple uys who can win their 1-on-1s and a shut down corner make it feast or famine every time a QB drops back.
Would be much more worried about this game if we hadn't finally seen what we needed from Rudock last week, which was make throws over the top of these 8 and 9 man boxes. There weren't any bombs, but consistently hitting Butt and Darboh over the middle of the field after PA was big. Teams have decided they will not let us dictate the tempo so we have to mix in more pass to open up the run game its a simple as that. Much better gameplan and execution last week. The next 2 games are about a 3.5 in my eyes.
but I don't apologize for something I'm actually not sorry for doing. Amateur athletics is a joke and kids are getting money under the table all day every day, he just happened to get caught doing it. Of all the guys you named, do you think they are the only ones that got paid? Really? Nobody is asking all these guys to stand up and admit what they did and apologize. Chris Webber made millions of dollars for UM, and the Fab 5 cultural and economic impact may be in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, and you're mad a Chris for 300k? Sounds extremely pety and IMHO if you don't stand behind any of these kids you aren't a real UM fan.
from Ed Martin? Ed Martin was taking care of Chris long before he was ever wearing the Maize and Blue. You think C Webb was the first and only player in college sports to ever take money from a booster? LOL. I encourage you to read or watch sports journalism a little more. What's his name Dupree the OU running back said live on ESPN a couple weeks ago that a booster told him that he would be paid 100k per game if he chose that school. OK St. & Texas boosters have some of the biggest wallets in college sports.
I think Chris gets a horrible rap because he's more introverted and has always taken a likening to letting his game/actions speak for him. Jalen is the class clown everyone loves, everyone wants to be around, everyone wants to believe what he says and follow him because he does have a level of charisma that Chris doesn't possess. With that said I have always found Chris to the much more well spoken and intelligent of the two when they speak, and pardon all of us that he does not feel like he owes UM an apology for taking a few hundred grand on the side when he was the driving force behind a cultural revolution that began in amateur sports. I can personally see both of their sides and understand how they are just two former "brothers" who cannot ever see eye to eye.
us having to run Blake O'Neil onto the field, he hook slides into place, counts the personnel, oh shit there are only 10 on the field, no timeouts Hoke used all those to film his commercials professing his love for hot dogs, he looks to Coach Hoke who gives him a shrug and claps at him enthusiatically, finally a concussed Shane Morris faints on the field as Hoke has seen fit to burn another year of his eligibility so that he can play gunner for the punt team. This saves us and Hoke now thinking clearly fresh off downing a half pot of hot dog water runs a hobbled Devin Gardner onto the field, who then takes a 15 yard sack and MSU kicks a 30 yard field goal to win the game.
Thanks for the memories Coach. Please don't let the door knob hit ya...
He's been playing safety for about 10 years now
You guys are really hard up for blaming this kid for that loss. Get the hell over it! Blake O'Neil was one of the main reasons we were even in that game to begin with. He has been a stud all year long and grilling him like this over one mistake is childish at best. Disgusted with you dreggs of UM football fandom. Go cheer for another team because I can promise you, real UM fans are both embarrassed and disgusted at your actions.
who runs well and can cover the 2nd best WR on just about any college team, but he does not have the hip flexibility needed to be a corner at the next level. I don't think that is a knock on him, because the same is true for Peppers. Both will have to play safety at the next level. Peppers already has the body to play there. Clark will have to hit the weights, but he has all the other tools.
about this with Harbaugh. I think anyone that we see with the label "athlete" will be a candidate to fill a need at corner. Plus don't forget that Lavert Hill is strong candidate to flip, and I would consider him elite. Missing out on Conley last year did hurt here. Obviously he is already contributing at Ohio. Crawford tore his ACL, but was another one we had in the fold. Consistent winning will bring these types of prospects back.
being anything other than a UDFA. He is a very poor man's Chris Borland.
Jarrod Wilson and Delano Hill will both get looks without a doubt. Both are long and rangey. They haven't made the play against the pass because of our scheme, but both are a key reason you barely ever see anything thrown over the top, and we play a lot of cover 1 so that speaks even more to how quickly they cover ground.
Don't sleep on Stribling either. He will get one more year to show what he can do and he is absolutely built in the mold of a Richard Sherman. Needs to get a little stronger up top so that he is better at jamming receivers, but his ball skills have improved tremendously since year 1.
This is the only concern I have with next year's roster. Otherwise we will be more talented next year than this year. The line is so dominant and will be again next year that the level of concern as far as inexperienced LBs should be almost zero. Gedeon and Devin Bush/Daelin Hayes/David Reese will be good enough to hold the fort until we can rebuild that group with a much smarter strategy towards redshirting a kid or two.
we will be favored to win and should be. There is no hotter team in the country than Michigan. I've said all along the only thing that would worry me is that if we got hot would be feed into it and start patting ourselves on the back, but Harbaugh aint having any of that. We have been down for too long and have too many people to prove wrong this season to think that we have accomplished anything. We won our first road game, we have beaten a couple top 25 teams, now it is time do what you come to Michigan to do, and that is to kick our rivals' asses. First up MSU! And besides Rudock, there isn't one guy in the rotation next week that doesn't remember Sparty RUBBIN' our nose in it last year with that late TD and cheering it in like it was the damn winning lottery ticket. It is time for some sweet sweet revenge!
has proven that he is going to run the ball regardless of how the defense aligns. You don't hear all the "Kill, Kill" calls like you would with most teams because he wants to pound the ball and trust the blocking. Even while not consistently being the best blocking team there is, our offensive line has worn defenses down in every game this season except the Utah game where we obviously were playing from behind all game and had to throw, plus turnovers. The formula has worked thus far, and I expect it will against NW as long as we can sustain more drives than they can and will the TOP battle. Their TFL stat is encouraging in that regard, because I will now expect them to be in a lot of 3rd and longs, which plays right into our hand. Hard fought game and we better wear them out or it will be closer than expected. Not worried about our D getting worn down, or maybe they could spring the upset.
when Durkin leaves to go be a head coach, but I just think Harbaugh knows how to pick them. As long as Mattison is around, these kids will be well coached. Hell even with the mediocre defensive staff we had last year, the defense wasn't that far off. But I think this does expose two things - that coaching experience is still extremely important within the group of assistants/position level coaches, and also that having a fiery high energy guy constantly revving up the D is a huge benefit. I haven't seen anybody on the defensive side of the ball take a single play off.
had mastered their craft of playing CB in college before looking for more responsibilities. Pep is still really a freshman as far as adapting to playing at the college level, which is being proven as he keeps getting better and better every week. Let him run through the B1G one good time and then get him some offensive plays next season when the game has slowed way down for him. That said IMO he has an even higher upside on offense than Woodson or Champ did, and that is saying a hell of a lot.
is he is NOT going to stiff arm our #5 like that. We do not give up YAC so he can have his 5 yard dump offs on 3rd and 12
Teams do not like throwing slants over the middle of the field because they are very high risk. You only see this with the GREAT passing attacks and usually the throws are very low because anything thrown above waist level runs the risk of being tipped up in the air either by the offensive or defensive player, and then picked off. I don't think we have many teams on the schedule who have NFL caliber QB & slot WR combos. Maybe MSU
I think at this point Harbaugh knows his backs, and knows them well. He calls plays best suited for who is on the field, and we saw a lot of that last weekend when the power runs were all but totally eliminated from the gameplan. Just as you mentioned that this is a variation designed to keep the defense honest against the power run, Harbaugh has multiple variations to all of his base run plays, that is why he is so damn good at every level. He can keep 31 year old Frank Gore looking like 21 year old Frank Gore because of the play designs and his expectation of find that running late, put your foot in the ground and get yards. Both Isaac and Green do not run consistently behind their pads and that is why you see them get brought down by the first guy consistently and why they are falling farther and farther behind Green and Johnson.
against... Notre Dame. Damn that would be serendipitous.
It isn't showing up on the stat sheet yet, but he is getting more and more consistent at doing his job within the defense. He isn't making the play all the time, but he is blowing up the play or forcing the play back to the strength of the defense. That will be the next step for him is getting just that one twitch faster and making the play himself. Considering how much better he has gotten since the Utah game, I have no doubt he will get there before this year is over. Teams aren't even attempting to run that speed/tempo trash to his side because he is getting better and better at IDing the play. He has been an absolute wrecking ball the last couple weeks
he will not leave UM without a degree so we will see. The kid seems to be a man of his word if nothing else.