Very good article in The Athletic about Matt Weiss
September 15th, 2022 at 3:29 PM ^
I'm the poster you asked if I had looked at Minter's defensive rankings. Yes, I have and I'm 100% certain that you have not. From maizenbrew.com
- Indiana State: 2009-10 (linebackers coach), 2011-12 (defensive coordinator)
The Indiana State defense ranked third in the FBS in scoring defense in 2012 (14.32 points per game) and sixth in total defense (296.4 avg). During Minter’s time at ISU the Sycamores had three winning seasons in a row for the first time in over 40 years.
- Georgia State- 2013-16 (defensive coordinator)
Georgia State had the biggest improvement in scoring defense in the nation from 2014 to 2015. Georgia State allowed 15 fewer points and 122.3 fewer yards per game. Minter was nominated for the 2015 Broyles Award, which goes to the top assistant coach in college football. Georgia State ranked in the top-25 in 2016 in red zone defense, yards per play allowed, and pass efficiency defense.
September 15th, 2022 at 4:20 PM ^
Maize and Brew is cherry picking a bit there, but I will say he showed pretty decent improvement here. More than I remembered.
- 2013 (Georgia State): 117th (last, Sun Belt) in SP+, 128th in DFEI
- 2014 (Georgia State): 127th (last, Sun Belt) in SP+, 119th in DFEI
- 2015 (Georgia State): 88th (4th, Sun Belt) in SP+, 57th in FEI
- 2016 (Georgia State): 49th (4th , Sun Belt) in SP+, 52nd in FEI
Given his Vanderbilt line here:
- 2021 (Vanderbilt): 115th (last, SEC) in def SP+
Perhaps he needs time to get things together. Hopefully given our defense was coached by MacDonald last year will skip that Year 1 issue, as well as the talent level being completely different.
I still want to see it on the field before I anoint the man as a quality DC. Don Brown's numbers were much better and we know how that turned out.
September 15th, 2022 at 2:07 PM ^
@carpetbagger Tell us you don't know anything about Michigan football without telling us you don't know anything about Michigan football.
September 15th, 2022 at 2:56 PM ^
Tell me you know someone is good at their job before they have actually done their job.
September 15th, 2022 at 8:29 PM ^
Troll.
September 15th, 2022 at 11:49 AM ^
Thanks - this works!
September 15th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
I took notes as I read it:
- Chuck Pagano talks about Weiss as a numbers wiz who could break analytics down for the other coaches and staff
- Harbaugh says Weiss' analytics style complements his own
- Weiss is creative and enjoys making/analyzing plays
- Weiss (via Browns/Lamar) adds to Harbaugh's (9ers/Kaep) conception of QB run game, mentioning gap-schemes. This tweet embedded:
- Harbaugh hired Weiss at Stanford in 2007 and he's been with Harbaughs ever since, so there is a philosophical congruity.
- In 12 years with the Ravens, he worked with various offensive and defensive groups. He also was "football strategy coordinator" looking at different consequences to various strategic scenarios (end of game, 4th down, for example). This involved collecting and analyzing lots of data.
- Had to learn the ropes of recruiting, since there's little of that in the pros
September 15th, 2022 at 2:21 PM ^
There was improvement in every room he was assigned to at Baltimore. He's gold.
September 15th, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
I'm thinking we might need to wait for a few more games to see how effective Mr. Weiss is as an offensive coordinator. Al Borges at the helm would have put up gaudy numbers in those first two games.
September 15th, 2022 at 11:41 AM ^
It seems like Harbaugh keeps reaching into the NFL - and bringing in younger, creative position coaches or analysts - that the players relate to - communicate effectively with - and, that introduce NFL style packages to position groups and the O or D, as a whole.
Does anyone think these prospects are buying into this approach - and - that’s it’s making a difference?
Though it may have taken a bit longer than many (including me) would have hoped for - it seems like Michigan has a sound foundation in the key position groups (again, to me) - the OL and DL. And, that other position groups are solid and trending in the right direction.
The only position group that I am sensitive to - in the future - is QB. I think JJ and Cade are great - and, am VERY glad both are on the roster. The key will be.. to keep that talent level high - with the right prospects….
Go Blue!
September 15th, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^
The younger assistants have really only been recent as his initial strategy of hiring experienced old timers (Drevno, Pep, Durkin, Brown) didn't work great, especially on the offensive side.
IMO, it's definitely better to hire a rising star than a person with lot of experience but who has clearly hit a modest ceiling which is what many of his early hires were. Now he's going after more risky but potentially higher upside guys.
September 15th, 2022 at 2:58 PM ^
2003, I think Harbaugh’s approach has evolved - in a good way. I am very comfortable with the apparent “pipeline and trading” that seems to have been established recently between Jim and John.
If my son was a prospect - and saw two things - 1) the development of Michigan players, and 2) the NFL experience of the coaching staff - he would definitely have Michigan on his list of schools to consider.
Though it’s early in the season - it definitely feels like the coaching staff and team are taking steps forward.
September 15th, 2022 at 11:42 AM ^
OP, you must work for the Athletic and are trolling for new subscribers.
September 15th, 2022 at 11:49 AM ^
Haha, nope. I'll try to remember not to post paywalled stuff in the future. My bad. I got in a while back for $1/mo and try to find some value from it. If anybody wants a PDF of the article, happy to email it to you.
September 15th, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
People can get fussy about the paywall stuff. My advice? The combination of your "Here are the highlights" reply and then the link to the article should suffice and be a good share. Do that next time. If you're going to just post the link, then it should probably not be something behind a paywall.
September 15th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
Good advice. I should know better, but I'm usually more of a lurker here than regular poster, and mostly it's just front page stuff. Thanks.
September 15th, 2022 at 4:06 PM ^
Reading this article, in particular highlighting Weiss's involvement in analytics, end of game situations, and QB run games is VERY promising for our offense this year.
Add that to the diversity of arc plays we've already seen in 2 games in limited snaps by JJ and I think the sky is the limit for this offense. VERY exciting
September 15th, 2022 at 9:44 PM ^
An interesting part of the piece was Weiss talking about coming to grips with recruiting. He said relationships are very important to kids, very much in contrast to NFL guys who choose teams based off business reasons. He said relationships being important to NFL players is "laughable". So he's working on that phase, while reminding kids that while the cool guy recruiting them is playing Fortnite with them at midnight, he's working on ways to put them in the position to win and showcase their skills to the NFL. We'll see.
September 16th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
Think the answer will come real soon...get Jayden Davis and have an outstanding year offensively then all the talk about how well hes building relationships and his lack of recruiting prowess goes away.