Thunder/Magnus posts about Rutgers
Well, that was an unexpected nail-biter.... But a win is a win.... so I'll take it for now....
Hire Sean Gleeson!.... Gleeson stresses defenses in so many different ways, and you can see that with how he finds weaknesses to pick on.... he does all those things with mediocre players. I think he could do some really explosive things with skill guys....
Cade McNamara.... he got targeted by Rutgers defensive tackle Julius Turner.... he missed a wide open Luke Schoonmaker.... It seemed like one or both of those events knocked him off his game....
A.J. Henning: 0 offensive touches.... Michigan continues to fail to get its most explosive players the ball....
Hopefully Cade McNamara and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis learn a little something from this, but at least with Gattis, I think the chances are slim.
(More at the link)
https://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2021/09/michigan-20-rutgers-13.html
Please give the link a look, and give Thunder some clicks and comments. It helps lots. Or better yet, become a regular commenter there. He does have good information on Michigan football.
September 26th, 2021 at 9:58 PM ^
4-0. urban Meyer is 0-3. Life is good.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
He’s probably feeling another headache coming on.
September 26th, 2021 at 11:56 PM ^
Yup....
September 26th, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
And Justin Fields went 6-20 today and was sacked like 926 times.
Its Great to be a Michigan Wolverine
September 27th, 2021 at 6:43 AM ^
Celebrating Urban being unsuccessful in the NFL and Justin Fields losing an NFL game might be the most Michigan thing ever.
Just heard Graham Mertz stats vs ranked teams. Hasn’t had a win. This feels like 2017 where every Big Ten team had won their bowl game and Michigan was about to play South Carolina for a chance for the Big Ten to go undefeated in bowls.
September 27th, 2021 at 7:18 AM ^
Absolutely. The NFL thing is ridiculous. I hope Urban wins in the NFL because I don't want him back in the college game. As for Fields, who cares what he does in the NFL. He was the QB of O$U when they crushed UM.
September 27th, 2021 at 8:38 AM ^
As far as OSU players to dislike/have long lasting disdain for, Justin Fields ranks pretty close to the bottom of that. Yeah, the whole reason he transferred irks some, but that was more a problem with the transfer system than anything. Fields never ran his mouth, was an actual damn good QB and not a system QB. He only played U-M once and if OSU had a walk-on playing QB they would have beat us that game with how poor Brown was at defending OSU.
September 27th, 2021 at 10:32 AM ^
As a Lions/Wolverine fan I really hope against Fields NFL success. Getting smashed 2x a year by a budding young buckeye QB for an in conference rival would sting. I dont even mind getting beat up by the Bears all the time just let it be the next Cutler instead of an Ohio guy.
September 27th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Yep. Agree. It actually makes it worse on us.
Shitty fucking OSU QB's keep beating the living shit out of us. Something is wrong.
September 27th, 2021 at 10:14 AM ^
>This feels like 2017 where every Big Ten team had won their bowl game and Michigan was about to play South Carolina for a chance for the Big Ten to go undefeated in bowls.
I remember this. As soon as I saw Penn State win their bowl game against Washington the night before the Outback bowl, I just knew it. I was like, "You've got to be fucking kidding me. Michigan is going to be the only Big 10 team to lose their bowl game, aren't they?"
And sure enough lol.
September 27th, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
Using a TE in the backfield as a RB at a key point in the game is burned into my memory forever. Another "Brilliant. They'll never expect this playcall". Yes. Because it was stupid then and stupider now.
September 27th, 2021 at 8:54 PM ^
I hate the TE in the backfield. It's utterly obvious why he's there. And Michigan doesn't disappoint. I mean, if they're going to do it, pull the ball out of the hand off and throw a little 3 yard out, or a little turn in to where the LBs just crashed in from. But no. They do the predictable. And we'll probably see the same against Wisconsin who is twice as physical as Rutgers. I feel like screaming, Hey coaching staff, it's 2021. You see LSU and Alabama the last 2 years?
September 27th, 2021 at 9:35 PM ^
Why hold anything against fields? He was a great quarterback who carried his (final) team. Did everything asked of him. Now plays in the NFL despite a history of epilepsy. Seems like a good kid. Good luck to him!
Urban on the other hand was a cheater, sheltered a domestic abuser, and routinely helped players get out of legal/criminal trouble at Florida (and to a lesser degree at OSU). Enjoy watching him lose.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:05 PM ^
Interesting read. Thanks.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:07 PM ^
Magnus has great insight and TTB puts out unique content. I appreciate his work.
My issue with the offense is lack of creativity. You can watch any MAC game and the offenses regularly have players popping wide open downfield. Or watch Ole Miss for one drive. Same thing. When Michigan passes the ball they make it look so hard. It’s frustrating and I thought it may be different this year. Obviously not.
Thanks for sharing this!
September 26th, 2021 at 10:40 PM ^
I've noticed the same as well, and it dates back before Gattis under Pep's offense as well. My sense is perhaps the route tree combinations that the receivers are running have either been completely downloaded by experienced coordinators, or the pre-snap looks a defense is getting are not disguised well enough to confuse the defense.
It looks like our receivers are consistently having to make contested catches down field, or aren't in good position to make YAC after receptions (speed without space, I guess you could say).
I'm having a hard time recalling any plays from Saturday in the first half where it looked like the offense designed an easy pitch and catch for McNamara and a receiver.. perhaps aside from the TD miss to Schoonmaker.
September 27th, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^
The pass to Roman Wilson in the 1st half was a beautiful play. But yeah most passes are contested.
September 27th, 2021 at 8:34 AM ^
So did you just not watch the big plays to Wilson and sanristil?
Pitch and catch with speed in space
September 26th, 2021 at 10:47 PM ^
Did you feel this way in the first half? I’m guessing no. Michigan had guys wide open in the middle of the field with space to run after the catch. Michigan had four receptions over 20 yards, including 51 & 38 yarders in the first half and most of those yards came after the catch.
The scheme and guys are capable. The question is, where did it go in the second half? It seemed like Cade wasn’t comfortable in the pocket in the second half. He rushed most of his throws. It didn’t seem like they could find anything the defense was giving them, and there is always something available if you are able to execute. It’s college and sometimes these things happen. It’s very frustrating and impossible to know since you seldom get to see the whole field to see what was being missed.
I’m hoping this film is full of good learning and the team grows from it. We will see starting this week against Wisconsin.
September 26th, 2021 at 11:50 PM ^
The second half struggles were some combination of play calls and execution, with execution likely playing a bigger part. Fans and media always pin it on play calls. Just the way it is.
September 27th, 2021 at 12:29 AM ^
It doesn’t take a coach to see you shouldn’t run up the middle when there are 9 defenders there.
September 27th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
They called pass plays to exploit this and Cade missed the open receivers (or the receivers dropped the ball)
September 27th, 2021 at 10:46 AM ^
Magnus has expressed similar concerns this year. Also, you can read his take on the coaching at Rutgers v. Michigan in the linked post.
September 28th, 2021 at 1:36 PM ^
That is so true, it's painful to watch us pass the ball. Seems more difficult for us v other teams, hell just about any other team.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:07 PM ^
I've been checking touch-the-banner.com every single day since about Mid-August when I first found out about it ?
Started by reading the "Most Important Players" countdown leading up to the season, and still have been looking daily since the season started ?
Good stuff.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
Yeah, Magnus' content is great. Been reading for a few years.
September 27th, 2021 at 1:40 AM ^
Yes, but who is it? Thunder or Magnus or someone else? Hmm?
September 27th, 2021 at 2:43 AM ^
Mander Thugnus. His alter ego.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:08 PM ^
This will make everyone angry (at me), but Xavier Worthy has 14 catches for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. They have another wr with 18 catches and a couple tds.
Our leading wr, Johnson, has 8 catches for 198, with 87 on one play, and one td.
Second is corum and third is All.
What wr looks at this and thinks it looks like fun?
September 26th, 2021 at 10:18 PM ^
I didn't get angry. But I did sigh.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:44 PM ^
Yep, and he's just getting started. We're going to get punched in the dong repeatedly for the next 3 years by Worthy highlights.
Honestly can't blame the kid though. He's at a better program to showcase his skills. We have a really good one in CoJo too. It's frustrating to see him under utilized so far in this offense. I think it would be wise of the coaching staff to get him more touches this year, or it might be hard for them to recruit another one of his caliber in the future.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:50 PM ^
Just to pile on, MSU has a bunch of wide receivers with more catches and yards than our #1. They also have the number one rusher in the nation. That's fucking balance.
There are 397 players in D1 with more catches than our #1 receiver. In the big 10 alone, there are 41. That means that every other team has 3 wrs on average that have more than our #1.
But you know, just win, no need to work on passing against weak competition. You just play to win the game you're in. Nothing more. It'll be fine.
September 26th, 2021 at 11:23 PM ^
Wow. This post actually made my blood pressure rise a little bit. There is no reason why at a program like Michigan passing the ball should be this difficult.
I truly hope this team proves to us all, we're just a bunch of anxious nerds that don't know the first thing about devising a good offense. But it also feels like there are anecdotes everywhere that suggest the passing game is going to be a clown show.
There is absolutely nothing to suggest Cornelius Johnson doesn't have the talent to be some level of all conference receiver. But everything does suggest he is going to get the same treatment as Nico and DPJ, and to the detriment of the team. Maddening.
September 26th, 2021 at 11:59 PM ^
It begins and ends with....JMFH!
September 27th, 2021 at 12:45 AM ^
We haven't had a downfield passing game since Jim has been here.....with the exception of Jake the last half of Jim's 1st year. When you begin to really analyze Michigan's offense under Jim,it's very depressing. They make their stats on the weaker teams and struggle against good teams. Alot like Don Brown's defense.
September 27th, 2021 at 7:17 AM ^
Your statement proves Gattis isn’t calling the plays. Jim clearly tells his OC’s “this the kind of offense you are going to run”. Gattis, might be calling the plays, but they aren’t his plays.
This offense will Look the same regardless of OC, because it is Jim Harbaugh that shapes the offense.
September 27th, 2021 at 7:58 AM ^
Jim is the one constant......he has been here from day one of his tenure and the offense struggles year after year to move the ball with any consistency against top opponents. Look at our road record vs quality opponents. Look at our bowl record. You would have to have your head up your a$$ not to see where Jim has this program today.
September 27th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
Ah, there you are, back whining like god intended.
His statement proves nothing, and isn't even accurate, but gave you a chance to piss and moan as is your wont.
September 27th, 2021 at 8:38 AM ^
In '15, and '16, Michigan moved the ball in a pretty balanced way with Jedd Fisch. I mean, the team scored. Who can really put a finger on what has been happening since. There's teams around college football that have offenses consistently ranked high. Get a coach that is behind one of those offenses, and hire him. As Thunder suggests, maybe Sean Gleeson is that man.
September 27th, 2021 at 11:24 AM ^
Bad post, rudock struggled most of the year hitting downfield passes..
Speight was far better until the iowa injury
September 27th, 2021 at 5:16 PM ^
The second half was open for the passing game. The more I watch the replays the more I think Cade got rattled. He clearly didn't want to get hit after the targeting call. This changed his performance and I think brought our OC to limiting the calls. I find Devin Gardners take on Cades play insightful having the college experience at QB.
He actually said this morning on MMQB that he liked the play calling in the game and Cade was sort of leaving the OC with little choice.
This is the second game that Cade looked like his timing was off. I would say that was the case in the second half. There is little doubt given Wisconsin's track record and Cades tendency's I would look for them to hit him as hard as they can given how much it changed his game against Rutgers.
Here's hoping that JJ gets up to speed asap.
September 27th, 2021 at 9:23 AM ^
You mean that "explosive" MSU offense that scored 13 points in regulation against NEB? That is what you are jealous of?
September 27th, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
You're missing the point. A mediocre team like msu is miles ahead of us on offense at this point. We don't aspire to be msu - and yet, even then are able to throw. Get it? I don't aspire in life to be in moderately good shape, but I have to get there before I can look like Arnold.
Even that guy does 10 pushups without collapsing --- oh, you want to be able to do 10 push ups? big deal! Youre right - it isn't a big deal. But we can't do 10 pushups, so lets start there before we get to 100.
September 27th, 2021 at 7:20 PM ^
Well, first off, Rutgers isn’t weak. They are a decent football team. Also, aside from the Washington game, Michigan has been up so much that they mostly pulled the starters by the start of the second half. So I agree our playmakers should get the ball more, but against “weak” competition we are blowing their doors off and haven’t had as much usage with the starters.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:53 PM ^
Worthy highlights.
I watched a little of Texas. Worthy is lightening. And he's just a freshman. Sarkisian knows how to use super talented players. Maybe Worthy is going to be the next DeVonta Smith.
September 26th, 2021 at 10:55 PM ^
Agree. If he was here, what would we do with him? Have him return kicks and block. With an occasional jet sweep. Mcdoom part 2.
September 27th, 2021 at 5:35 AM ^
Things would look a little different if Bell was playing. Tough to have our best WR out
September 27th, 2021 at 6:17 AM ^
agreed. i think not having bell as a security blanket has made mcnamara a little less willing to look for shots.
September 27th, 2021 at 6:19 AM ^
I’ve said for a good 5 years now if my child was a skill position player Michigan would not be on his list from a football standpoint.
Above poster you are greatly overvaluing what Bell is. Michigan misses him more as a blocker than a WR.
September 27th, 2021 at 6:37 AM ^
Yea not sure why any skilled WR would come to Michigan. Even if you’re talented prepare to tank your draft stock.