Bad O-Lines and UM QBs
So I was looking at the QBs under Harbaugh and thought this was something to consider. Everyone is complaining about his inability to develop a QB, but I think they’re overlooking the poor O-Line play.
Let’s take a look at Michigan QB injuries:
Ruddock vs Minnesota in 2015, Ruddock late vs OSU after a Bosa hit (don’t remember if he came back), Speight 2016 (didn’t play even at at game manager level the rest of his UM career as the collarbone fracture against Iowa made it that he was ineffective), Speight in 2017, then Peters got hurt in 2017, McCaffrey did get hurt 2018 I think but that was on him taking a hit, 2019 supposedly had Patterson getting some sort of abdominal injury the team didn’t elaborate on, 2020 Milton had a broken hand/thumb at some point pre-Penn State and McNamara was hurt in the PSU game.
For as great as I’m told our O-Line coaching is, our QBs are getting hurt a lot and they don’t have anywhere near the time in the pocket that the playoffs teams’ QBs have.
Hard for any QB to play well when they get smoked by LBs and big lineman all game.
January 14th, 2021 at 3:29 PM ^
I agree. While there has been evidence of bad coaching and bad o-line play I did notice a lot of confusion and head scratching from the o-line under Hoke that seemed to indicate that the QB or RB ran a different play than was called. I got the impression that the o-line was never sure that the QB was going to run the play that was called or maybe they saw the defense shift and part of the -line went to the automatic adjustment and part of the line stayed with a bad initial read. I didn't get the impression it was the o-line not having the raw talent.
January 14th, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
More a reflection on coaching (and for the record I am a fan of Warinner)
January 14th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
The Michigan OL is not nor has been even close to Wisc or OH State, just for starters.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
Why Michigan can't seem to get OLs at least as good as Wisconsin has been a mystery for many years. We really can't blame it on recruiting.
The Badgers usually don't have a lot of great overall talent, but their OLs have often helped their QBs and definitely the running backs perform better.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:55 PM ^
Like almost always, none of this or what follows is analysis. Make up what you want and type it in. There is plenty of good information on our own UFRs and the PFF ratings if you would like to use it.
January 14th, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
I've identified five areas that mark great teams: 1.) Coaching 2.) Talent 3.) Xs & Os 4) Execution 5.) Intensity
Where does Michigan rank in these areas?
January 14th, 2021 at 6:51 PM ^
Michigan line gave up 36 sacks in 2017
23 2018
Was like 92nd in sacks allowed 2019
The OL just hasn't handled the pass rush. So I think its right to hang many of the QB injuries on the bigs up front.
January 14th, 2021 at 6:52 PM ^
The major issues with the offense under Harbaugh have been wholesale scheme changes, sometimes game-to-game and multiple times during a season, and awful player development, especially at QB. This has led to an OL having to learn, process, re-learn, and re-process what to do. This is very detrimental to an offense. Look at Wisconsin -- from the time their OL is recruited, they know what's expected of them and the goals they're training for. That helps them plug-and-play, even with backups when necessary. So, I see an OL that's confused and forced to overthink, making them appear to be playing poorly. Further, with the lack of QB development, they are often trying to block for a QB that can't execute well. This can also make it appear that the OL is worse than they could be.
January 17th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Sorry to say it. But I think evaluating and trying to rank or assign degrees of fault for our failures is useless without looking first at the basic departmental philosophy at UM.
We are soft. Why did Justin Fields REALLY leave Goergia? Because they were going to bench him for a better option. How many guys does Saban “process”? Especially early on in the building of his machine. CFB isn’t Bo & Woodys CFB. It’s Nick & Urbans CFB. Which unfortunately means if you aren’t performing up to a standard? You can basically leave to make room for someone who might. There is a raw brutality at top programs that we have been hesitant to emulate. There should be ZERO 4* players that get a degree from your university. They should either be drafted to the league early or processed out with a handshake. Seen as a wasted scholarship if they can’t or won’t perform at the required level. The clear expectation needs to be that your only right to that scholarship is performance on the field.
I’m reminded of Alec Baldwin’s speech in Glengary Glenross. “Nice kid? Who cares. Good grades? Fuck you. Go read books. The coffee is for closers. You call yourself a football player you son of a bitch?” I know this tastes bad to most of us. I know this might not represent what or who we want to be. But if you think Nick Saban would let some kid keep one of his 85 precious scholarships if he’s seen the best of what he has and it’s not going to be good enough? You’re dreaming. It’s “Hit the bricks pal”