Hot take on the offense
So, this is not going to be well received and I acknowledge that but, I’m legitimately curious if I’m alone on this train of thought.
Is Michigan’s offense better when there is just 1 RB? If Corum was good to go would Haskins truly get going like he did in the second half, because there’s no way he gets 31 carries in that scenario. Do some of the passes come off the board to accommodate a second RB? Corum is supremely talented I don’t want it to seem like I don’t want him to play but, if we went rush heavy this game is Corum making the same plays as HH? Just dragging people with him to get the extra yards.
Side note: Really missed having a “hurdlin’ fools” highlight for Haskins this week.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:37 AM ^
Michigan still benefits for a backfield that has both Haskins and Corum. Corum provides a receiving threat out of the backfield that Haskins cannot provide. On that 3rd and 5 inside our 10, Corum takes that likely for 10 to 15 yards. Michigan would've really benefited from Corum out of the backfield against Penn State, in specific situations that warranted a screen.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:40 AM ^
Agreed. Corum is a super valuable asset for this offense. I just wonder if he shouldn’t be more of a Darren Sproles role instead of a split feature back.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:08 AM ^
Blake was dropping important passes the past couple games. I don't know if he'd hit a wall, but he wasn't as effective in the games proceeding the injury.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:13 AM ^
Corum is an out of this world athlete that we could really use on the field. My point was the usage of the backs. Does it make more sense to let Haskins hammer away for 60-75% of the plays and let Corum swing for the fences on 25-40% of the plays.
November 15th, 2021 at 11:57 AM ^
I love Haskins as a player, so don't hear this as "Hassan Sucks!". Corum can do almost all of what Hassan can do. Blake absolutely runs with power, but isn't as powerful as Hassan, but powerful enough. Hassan just cannot match Blake's athleticism. Blake is the first back in a long time here at UM that can take it to the house.
If I had to give a back the majority of snaps, it would be Corum all day every day.
November 15th, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
I get the HR thing, but with this offense I actually prefer a guy like Haskins is always going to get you that extra yard, 5 yards, 19 yards. Think about all the short yardage wins we've had simply because Haskins has made those extra yards. Corum runs tough, no doubt, but I don't think he makes most of those short yardage wins. And while Corum is a more dangerous receiver, we have plenty of receiving weapons at WR and TE to make the passing game go.
All that said, I love having both. I'm really wishing we get the two-headed monster back for the Buckeyes, but I'm not hopeful. Once again, Indiana does nothing but injure our guys heading into The Game.
November 15th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
Against Michigan St Wisconsin and Penn St. give me a Haskins heavy game. In all the others 50/50 is fine with tough yard runs all going to Haskins.
Notice when we play stout run Ds what happens with Corum. Ill take Haskins for those 2 yard runs that turn to 4 yard runs. Corum cant bull rush his way out of a run where he has 3 guys in his face. I love Corum but our offense faces those loaded boxes and you need brute strength sometimes.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:58 AM ^
noticed this also. maybe a slight regression. temporary, preparing for another breakout.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
Haskins did pretty well catching the ball - 5 catches for 45 yds. Michigan did run a screen to Haskins that was a successful play. On the slat to Haskins inside PSU"s 10, I'm a big fan of Cade but that was a poor throw to Haskins. If Cade puts that ball around Haskins waist or on the numbers, Haskins is picking up some good YAC.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:41 AM ^
It probably just seems that way because both Haskins and Corum are unbelievably good
November 15th, 2021 at 10:17 AM ^
It’s believable. They are good.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:42 AM ^
Actually, I was thinking the opposite. The offense has been a little too inconsistent and while Haskins is great it really needs the home run punch from the backfield that Corum provides to operate at its capacity.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:42 AM ^
We need them both. Corum brings an added dimension and there's a limit to how long Haskins can carry that kind of load.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:10 AM ^
Hassan was better in the second half. There was never any drop off from him. If Hassan has a limit, perhaps he'd reach it if we played back to back games, lol.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
We have 2 more games. I am hoping that we can get out to a good lead against Maryland so that Haskins can rest up and avoid taking too hard of a pounding. I would like to see him fresh and rested for OSU.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:52 AM ^
I would play Edwards 90% of this game
November 15th, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
We have 2 more games.
Or 3 more games then the postseason.
November 15th, 2021 at 10:11 AM ^
As is common with running backs he got better as the game went on. The question is how many weeks can you keep that up.
It didn't seem like they wanted to trust Edwards against PSU - hopefully he gets some run vs. Maryland.
November 15th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
It’s more of a “how many games can he shoulder that much of a load before wearing down” than it is how he performs in a single game. 30 carries in one game and it’s not a big deal. Doing it every single week and your body is going to start wearing down.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
Wow. I'm not sure I could disagree more. Corum provides more of a breakaway element than H2. He provides a different type of stress on the defense because of his more speed-based run style. A defense that has to whipsaw between speed and power-style backs is going to eventually make a mistake - especially late in the game. These two running backs complement each other bettter than any I have seen in a long time and each is lesser without the other.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:50 AM ^
Also - you're not alone in getting excited about the hurdlin' fools part of a football weekend.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
Maybe Mike Hart suggested we lighten up on the hurdling moves while Corum is still out.
November 15th, 2021 at 10:50 AM ^
A perfect response here. There's a reason that Thunder and Lightning is a significant thing. They are both awesome, but they bring different skillsets, and we are better with both of them in the lineup.
Our offense seems to be best when we pass a bit more and run a bit less, like against MSU in the East Lansing Screwjob Game.
November 15th, 2021 at 12:22 PM ^
user name checking out.
November 15th, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
This has already occurred with the NIU game being the most obvious example (maybe more but none jump to mind right away). Corum had a 50+ yd TD run because the Safety took a poor angle basing his attack on HH speed and not Corum. This stands out in my mind because the color guy ended up doing a quick recap and calling out the Safety's mistake as a direct result of a Lightening/Thunder combo.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:46 AM ^
I get where you're going with this. I think it's better when there's one main RB who gets 50+ percent of the carries, with there being a good 25+ to RB2, and the rest being QB runs or RB3. That being said, it really seems like Corum and Haskins are building each other up. At least publically, I've never seen either of them saying they want more carries. However, Corum and Haskins are 2 totally different RB's. Corum isn't going to be dragging anyone like Haskins because Corum already slipped the tackle and got ahead of them. Would Haskins have had 156 yards last game with Corum playing? No, but they both would've had 80+.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:02 AM ^
Agreed. It’s like when the Saints had Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles. Ingram plays 60-75% of the snaps and then Sproles came in to do special things (big fan of prime Sproles in ye olde fantasy football).
November 15th, 2021 at 9:16 AM ^
Sproles is a GREAT example. Still cannot imaging tearing an acl and breaking an arm on 1 play.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
You raise a good question. It almost seems like H2 wears the opposing defensive line out. Plus he seemed as fresh going for that last first down at the end of the game as he did in the first quarter.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:53 AM ^
Just my thoughts:
1) Michigan absolutely needs another RB in the mix. If not for the most basic reason of needing someone to spell Hassan and keep him fresh, Blake has an extra gear to kick into that Hassan simply does not have. Blake is just flat out faster and can outrun most everyone on the field. Hassan does not have that attribute, and that's okay. He's got things to offer that Blake doesn't have. Great RB, but if Hassan breaks free into the open field, I'm usually expecting a member of the opposing secondary to catch up to him and bring him down before he can find the end zone unless they're inside the opposing 20 or 30 yard line.
2) Hassan may simply be playing better because his team has needed him to. They've needed him to step up, and he's delivered thus far. Think about it: you're stepping into high pressure moments with your entire season on the line, you know the offense goes through the run game, and your other half is down for the count. Hassan may really just be digging down deep and finding that extra "oomph" to get his team over the finish line until Blake is back to help share the load. Kind of that "I will not be denied" mindset.
I think they can get by against Maryland without Blake. That should be a time for Donovan to step in more and get his feet wet. But if Blake can play and is anything close to 100%, he needs to be on the field against OSU, and I'm sure he'd tell you that himself as well. You need any and every possible weapon you have just to even give yourself a fighting chance against those guys.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:07 AM ^
I agree with all your points. I just wonder if maybe Haskins might be more effective as your feature back and Corum is more of a home run / pass back. Haskins gets 60-75% and Corum gets 25-40%. Like I said, I knew this wouldn’t be popular because Corum is so good but, Haskins did to PSU’s defense what Aidan and Ojabo did to Clifford. If they’re splitting snaps evenly does Haskins have the same effect?
November 15th, 2021 at 9:12 AM ^
I like that mix; Hassan pound and grind, Blake slice and dice.
November 15th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
I'm curious if Harbaugh and Gattis have designed a few "gadget plays" just for OSU where both Corum and Haskins are on the field at the same time? I don't think that's happened up to this point, what it would look like in terms of how its executed, I don't know, but that's definitely the time to empty the playbook and see if it can help throw OSU off balance.
November 15th, 2021 at 11:31 AM ^
Might as well throw Edwards out there too. And I heard a rumor that Michael Barrett will become the FB. Take out Cade too because since he cannot run he is worthless to us so put in McCarthy.
Sorry Perkins. Had a really hard day. I shouldn't be snarking you for it. Yet I still click "Save".
November 15th, 2021 at 8:53 AM ^
I get where you're going and your point is somewhat valid, but I would wager that if you polled every coach in the country as to whether they'd rather have Corum AND Haskins available in their arsenal, as opposed to only Haskins, every single one of them would say yes.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:54 AM ^
Of course Corum wouldn't be doing the same things Haskins does. That's sort of the point of rotating them for their unique individual talents.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:55 AM ^
Your offense is at its best with all of its weapons. Let’s hope Blake is back for the OSU game
November 15th, 2021 at 8:56 AM ^
From the perspective of the running back I'm sure there's an argument to be made for more touches equals better running.
From a defense perspective it's more difficult to adapt to two different running styles and offensive skill sets.
From an offensive perspective, having two running backs keeps each of them more fresh for an entire game and gives more opportunity to vary your play call.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:57 AM ^
I don't know if better is the right word. Haskins suits the current offense better because of the lack of a downfield passing game (RIP Ronnie Bell). Both RB's get hit early a lot because of stacked boxes and only one is really great at churning out a ton of extra yards despite that. That said, we still the guy (Corum) really badly because I don't like the amount hits Haskins is taking. Sooner or later that will catch up with him.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:58 AM ^
I guess I'm in the no crowd, as well, though the last significant time we saw from Corum involved two key costly miscues.
I do buy your premise this much: that game on Saturday may have been one where UM benefitted from having their mudder run the race. I suppose the counter to that is, with a mix of Corum downs in the running game PSU couldn't have cheated their linebackers as much to the inside runs.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:58 AM ^
Unfortunately have to agree that it was a blessing to have only Haskins for PSU. He gets so many yards after contact while Corum goes down ion contact often and is more of an open field threat than between the tackles.
Would love to see Corum do the skip jump and take it outside more as a designed play like MSU does a lot. Gotta get Corum in space to do what he does best and let Haskins take care of the power while obviously mixing in a bit for both to change it up.
It was so great to see them finally run outside against PSU with great success. If M is going to play manball then Haskins has to be the guy.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:59 AM ^
Their success is not mutually exclusive. Corum is a home run hitter. Haskins gets you consistent singles with some doubles mixed in. It’s reasonable to assume half of Haskins’ touches would have gone to a healthy Corum with similar or better results.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:59 AM ^
I've said this before, but I would love to see some 2-back packages if Corum comes back for OSU. As an example, on the 4th and 2 that got stoned, if you have both Haskins and Corum in the backfield, running a flare or wheel route with Corum probably draws more than one defender, so he effectively blocks more than an extra TE would, and you wouldn't have defenders selling out against the run. Even Corum faking that he would be receiving a pitch could hold either a crashing edge or a LB. Also, part of the reason PSU was able to align the way they did was that the TE to the left was Trente Jones, who is not going out for a pass, so there was no need to have a safety to that side. Obviously Corum wasn't available, but if that TE is All, and you have Haskins deep with Edwards as a FB, PSU has to be more honest with their alignment.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:52 AM ^
This is what I was paging down to see if anyone was addressing. The reality of life is that "the more things change the more they stay the same". And here, I am a bit surprised that Coach has not tapped into "the past" with the old pro-set, split-back formation. Here we are with Csonka and Morris-maybe better than both, actually. A defense can account for one of these fairly well but having to account for both of them on the same play is another matter. In this set, with a good TE, the defense is forced to either single cover the WRs or to get run all over. The Dolphins went to 3 consecutive SBs-won 2 of them and had the only perfect NFL season with this strategy.
November 15th, 2021 at 8:59 AM ^
Sorry to thread hijack but had a stupid question. What was the ruling in the Penn State game when we punted and a Michigan player caught the ball at the 2 but fell into the endzone? I was sure it was a touchback but Harbaugh argued with the refs and they placed the ball at the 2.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:07 AM ^
They placed the ball at the 2 because, per college rules, the Michigan player was deemed to have full possession before he stepped into the end zone.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:08 AM ^
the ball is dead when its possessed by the kick team. It was ruled he possessed first before he attempted to throw it backwards.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:10 AM ^
Wow didn't know that. Interesting. Thanks
November 15th, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^
In college, when a kicking team player possess the ball in thay scenario, the play is to be ruled dead, immediately. So our gunner, they ruled, did maintain possession of the ball before his momentum took him into the endzone (and he of course tried to pitch it backwards) and that was at the 2 yardline.
In the NFL that likely would've been a touchback.
November 15th, 2021 at 9:01 AM ^
That's a good point, actually. The great backs get better as the game goes on and Hassan is one of those guys. We definitely don't drop off any without Blake being there. To say not having Blake available makes the team better is inaccurate, but we don't lose much - style, I suppose - when Hassan is the only back. The dude is 'Nails'; 'I'm doing all the work? No problem'