2016 PSU Offense Comparison
I came across this post on Twitter this morning and thought it would be worthwhile to share:
https://twitter.com/chrisnielsen44/status/1181752944825421825?s=21
So I’ve seen a ton of the Michigan media I follow saying how awful the offense is thru 5 games. Here is how they compare to the ‘16 PSU team going thru a similar scheme change:
Total O YPG - PSU 365/UofM 367
Total O PPG - PSU 29/UofM 28
Record - PSU 3-2/UofM 4-1
If the link doesn’t work, the tweet shows that through 5 games, UM’s offense has very similar statistics to PSU’s offense through 5 games while going through a similar offensive transition. Hopefully we see a similar turnaround the second half of the season as well.
October 10th, 2019 at 8:58 AM ^
Just start chucking the ball up a couple of times on every drive. That’s what PSU did in ‘16 and that’s what we need to do.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:01 AM ^
McSorely was all armpunts that year and they won a lot of games due to chucking the ball and their WRs and coming down with an improbable number of them. Now if we had some tall, talented wide receivers I'd say we should do the same thing but....
October 10th, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
Yeah, sure would be nice if the coaches had bothered to recruit some WRs to the team...alas, we're all linemen and fullbacks so we just aren't capable of throwing the ball :/
October 10th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
There have been a lot of comparisons. This one has good data. Interesting how the offensive outputs have been nearly identical. It’s not like we don’t have talent; just a matter of can these players and coaches synch with whatever they decide they are going to run?
October 10th, 2019 at 9:01 AM ^
I hope they can put together 1-2 competent looking drives against Illinois.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:03 AM ^
Hey! We had two good drives against Iowa!
October 10th, 2019 at 9:05 AM ^
Doctor, the Iowa defense is really good, we need to give them credit. We could have had THREE good drives if it wasn't for those meddling Hawkeyes.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:08 AM ^
Let’s not get showy. Who are we, Oklahoma?
October 10th, 2019 at 9:10 AM ^
wE'rE nOt TrYiNg tO bE eXpLoSiVe
October 10th, 2019 at 9:12 AM ^
*we're not not trying to not be not explosive, not.
fixed it for you.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:13 AM ^
... it was a joke, hence the alternating cApS. It's a meme.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:14 AM ^
Yes I know. Not.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:15 AM ^
Are you saying you don't not know?
October 10th, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
I'm not not saying that.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:23 AM ^
Don't never punt.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:26 AM ^
You’re not not Tom Brady
October 10th, 2019 at 10:28 AM ^
You’re not even Mineral King. And I’m not WD.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Don’t never always not punt.
October 10th, 2019 at 1:08 PM ^
Don’t never always not punt.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:06 AM ^
There is one key difference you are missing. 2016 PSU had Rutger at the end of the season, we have already played that outlier.
October 10th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
This doesn’t hold water. We have played Iowa, Wisconsin, and Army. The only decent defense PSU had played through five games was us.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
Well Penn St did employ the arm-punt it to Godwin and if he comes down with it 50% of the time and incomplete the other 25% and int the remaining 25% strategy to good use.
Also....we don't have Saquan who is there with C-Mac as the most talented college RBs of this decade.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
Saquon put up 1500 yards rushing at 5.5 ypc, had another 400 yards receiving, and scored 23 touchdowns that season.
That would be....nice to have.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^
And Zach is current sitting at 260 yards on 61 carries through 5 games...no way in hell he puts up 1740 yards for the rest of the season.
We can make all the comparisons we want to try and feel better about the state of the program, but there's not a snowball's chance in hell that we pull a 2016 PSU in the second half of the season. Why you may ask? Because this is Michigan fer god's sake! And we can't have nice things. And every time it looks like things might be finally coming together for us, the wheels all fall off the bus at once and then the bus spontaneously explodes as it's going over the cliff that suddenly appeared in front of the road.
Basically, we're the Wile E. Coyote of college football. Every new season we've cooked up some new fabulous scheme that's going to take everyone by surprise and we'll finally catch the roadrunner...and then the roadrunner blows by us and we get run over by the oncoming train that wasn't there half a second ago but magically appeared just in time to squash our hopes and dreams. I'm half-surprised Gattis didn't strap roller skates with rockets taped to the bottom to the feet of the players on offense...#SpeedInSpace
We might as well lean into it and start wearing jerseys with "Acme Co." in big bold letters.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:50 AM ^
I think I heard Parris Campbell say "meep, meep, meep" when he ran by Metallus.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
OSU has at a minimum 6 players on offense faster than our fastest offensive player.
Speaking of fastest offensive player it would probably be...DPJ or Turner? Dobbins would dust anyone on our offense at probably 85% speed.
October 10th, 2019 at 12:11 PM ^
That’s a bit of a stretch. Does dobbins run a 4.2 I didn’t know about?
October 10th, 2019 at 9:19 AM ^
You know - I feel bad for the coaches at this point. It is obvious their best chance is to somehow coach up a QB with "seeing the field with speed" issues, because #2 is not as accurate and his go to check down is to run and expose himself to injuries, and #3 needs another year.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
Let's see if they can make a step change this Saturday, it will be a good opportunity on the road against a team with a half-pulse. Hoping to see:
- Repeated "cripsness" in the short and medium passing game to move the ball downfield at a regular cadence.
- If they can get the safeties back, i.e., 6 in the box, then OL needs to open some holes--can we get one run over 20 yards please?
- A bit more simplicity in our formations, with different plays out of the same set...right now feels like we tip our hat a bit too much
It's either going to happen in the next couple of weeks or it's going to be a slog
October 10th, 2019 at 10:47 AM ^
"'Ganglike activity' in the short and medium passing game"
What's that have to do with anything?
October 10th, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
You mean the team we absolutely toyed with and beat 46-10 and it could have been worse.
Thanks for the uplifting message.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:45 AM ^
Well yeah but then after they played us they won the rest of their games including against OSU until the Rose Bowl. I don't think it's likely Michigan does the same. But it's certainly possible. That's why I'm still cautiously pessimistic about the season. We should have a much better gauge on the rest of the season in Happy Valley.
People are saying, "Well yeah they had McSorley and Barkley". Michigan has plenty of talent. A lot of the players have already shown that. Time is running out though.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:50 AM ^
No, I was referring to the team that beat #2 OSU and #6 Wisconsin, won the B1G Championship, and went to the Rose Bowl. I apologize for the confusion.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:31 AM ^
Can we get McSorley and Barkley on the team by this Saturday?
October 10th, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^
We don't have a RB on the trajectory of Barkley. A healthy Charbonnet could have got us close, but the knee issue has really impacted his speed and cutting ability. Also, McSorley is more of a gunslinger than Shea as well as more stout in the run game. Net, net I think we can make big improvements on offense but probably not on the level as how McSorley and Barkley led PSU's 2016 turnaround.
Having said that, we have better WRs. Our experience at WR needs to show better - too many lethargic routes, poor blocking in the run game, too many dropped balls and missed route assignments. When their number is called for a pass play, hey, they are awesome. But in run support they are missing blocking assignments. Black and Collins in particular need to play full out, even if it is not a designed pass to them. The NFL is watching every snap of film when it comes to draft time, not just highlight tape.
October 10th, 2019 at 12:03 PM ^
I agree with everything you wrote about WR blocking. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to be excited enough for each play when you know that the QB has one trick - the #1 option on any given play. And half the plays you know are non-starters because he can't read through zone coverage. And the #1 target on the team is the guy that is arguably the 4th best - and youngest - WR on the field.
Hard to put in the effort when you know you won't be looked at. Especially when you get shit on by the OC for being short on a route 20 steps AFTER the QB just plain didn't throw the ball. I'm still wondering if Shea was shit on like Black was. Though I suspect not.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:39 AM ^
One key difference. We don't have Saquon Barkley in our backfield.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Sophomore McSorley >>>> Senior Patterson.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
Sophomore Barkley > Any back this school has ever had in modern times.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:41 AM ^
Agreed, even with an average OL Barkley was elite. Look how he is dominating the NFL - over 2000 all-purpose yards for the mediocre Giants !
Everything PSU achieved was on that dude's back. Workhorse, bellcow, stud. Generational player in the making if he stays healthy.
October 10th, 2019 at 9:58 AM ^
keep wishing and willing...
October 10th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
In conclusion, is there a chance? Yes. Is that chance very small? Yes.
i.e. the countless other offenses that started poorly and stayed poor.
I'm a delusional fan though so I'm not giving up hope either.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:32 AM ^
2016 Mcsorley vs 2019 Patterson? If Shea can get it together or not is the key piece here. If not expect 4 losses. The plays are being called and there’s opportunities for points.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
Actually, the deep 50/50 ball play calling is way different. Shea is getting a couple of those a game. McSorley was throwing like 3 per quarter. Shea and Collins have been very effective and none of us can explain why we don't see a ton more of that deep ball combination. I don't think Shea is the play caller here and designing those 1-on-1 matchups.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Not to mention they also had Saquon Barkley at their disposal.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:56 AM ^
I am so sick of this comparison. Just because PSU had a big improvement under Moorhead's first year and Gattis was on that staff does not mean UM will experience the same thing. Gattis and Moorehead are different coaches and PSU and UM are different teams. How many games have to go by before people will accept there will be no explosion this year. We will struggle with ND, PSU, MSU, and OSU period. Anyone care to go back and look at McSorely's film from those games and see if he's as awful as Patterson has been?...because I can't imagine he was. We are doomed with Shea as our QB.
October 10th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
Nah, if you listen to DrMantis Toboggan, everything is great and this is all part of the growing pains of a new offense. He should change his name to Sam Webb lite with his Michigan Football takes.
October 10th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
The constant and continuing belief that transitive properties apply to this very complicated game are stunning-"stunning" is putting it very kindly. The 2019 Michigan football team is adequately talented to compete for a position as a top 10 team-perhaps even top 5...they may well, yet, ascend and play to this level. Such an ascension would have absolutely nothing to do with the 2016 PSU team.
October 10th, 2019 at 11:00 AM ^
If the team this year has a PSU 2016-like turnaround this season and wins the B1G, I will hump a bag of lemons and then eat them.
October 10th, 2019 at 3:37 PM ^
Missionary? Reverse cow-girl/boy?