Georgia Snowflakes: The Offense
December 31st, 2021 at 11:49 PM ^
I think it's fair to say Georgia was the better team and also Michigan did a lot of shooting itself in the foot to make it 34-11 instead of...not that.
January 1st, 2022 at 9:19 AM ^
Yeah, 2 cade picks. I think a Cade fumble? A Corum fumble. Getting sacked on a long developing play right after the Roman bomb. Not getting in on 4th and goal late. There were lots of ways we could've lost this game by 10-14. Not sure there was really any way we win that without Georgia imploding
January 1st, 2022 at 12:13 AM ^
Michigan got its ass kicked, from start to finish, by a clearly superior team. It was never close. Michigan had no chance tonight.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:06 PM ^
Double post:
I'll just say Georgia clearly did a great job scouting us and what we wanted to do. We had no ability to get guys in space...they snuffed it all out. All of it. It sucked to watch but it had to be fun as a Georgia fan.
Our inability to be an NFL-esque offense hurt us by not having the receivers (and QB, probably) to execute plays that were blown up early but have skill guys get open somehow. That's just not who we were/are. And it's probably nothing to be ashamed of. 20 5* versus 3 5* (overall team). I mean c'mon!
I might be an idiot but I think on another given night this was a 10-20 pt game, not the laugher it was tonight.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:32 PM ^
I agree with that last sentence. Seemed about as bad as it could have been. The TOs were all really bad. I think HH had some room to run a little more. Drops. Etc.
January 1st, 2022 at 6:38 PM ^
How was that first INT not pass interference? Seemed to me that the DB was still engaged after the ball was thrown.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:06 PM ^
OLine was absolutely dominated which absolutely impacted the game plan....they needed more vertical plays but hard to do that with the Oline being bad
December 31st, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
Agree. Our offensive line was over-matched, full stop. Couldn't run, couldn't protect the passer at all. Amazing.
January 1st, 2022 at 12:14 AM ^
That's all it boils down to. O-line could. not. do. anything. right. At all. Overmatched, manhandled, beaten to a pulp, however anyone wants to put it.....they were as bad or worse than any O-line we've seen in the last 20 years, and that includes the pizza-fed lines of the Gittleson years.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^
Harbaugh came into this game thinking we would just be more physical and win at the LOS we needed to follow Alabama game plan and pass the ball attack the secondary..
December 31st, 2021 at 11:32 PM ^
Isn’t that pretty much Jim’s game plan always?
December 31st, 2021 at 11:33 PM ^
If we were allowed to keep Bryce Young, we’d probably be able to execute Alabama’s gameplan.
in the absence of a historic, heisman trophy winning quarterback, we probably did everything right
December 31st, 2021 at 11:45 PM ^
It's kinda tough because it isn't Madden. We can't magically become a 4 verts passing offense overnight. To beat Georgia we needed to do what Bama did and that's not in our arsenal.
Maybe with JJ starting it will be soon though...
December 31st, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^
Need to keep upgrading the talent. JJ like talent must play over Cade like talent.......to beat the best. We beat OSU because of our run game. Cade cannot put a team on his shoulders and beat top teams.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:08 PM ^
That was not a Broyles award winning performance from Gattis whether we had the talent to win or not.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:16 PM ^
And so we needed to do what instead?
December 31st, 2021 at 11:10 PM ^
Great year. The future is bright with JJ, Corum, Edwards, Anthony...Cade was what we needed this year...JJ is the future...Let's embrace the future.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:11 PM ^
Offense took too long to develop, but they ran into the proverbial buzz saw tonight. Tip your cap, lick your wounds, and move on. Future is very bright offensively.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:13 PM ^
Offense is limited by Cade. College offenses are so determined by downfield throws and mobility against tough defenses.
Maybe next year with an even stronger WR corpse (Bell, CJ, Wilson, AA, and frosh) this offense will take the next step.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:43 AM ^
I sure hope they're not corpses. That'd be the death of our offense.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:16 PM ^
Cade's been great for this program and he helped deliver the greatest Michigan win of my fandom, but it's apparent JJ should be the starter in the fall. The offense is capped with Cade. It sucks that Cade couldn't have come around earlier in the Harbaugh tenure because he would've been our best QB, but he's pretty clearly 2nd best on this roster
December 31st, 2021 at 11:19 PM ^
Need to acknowledge that the defense was awesome and the talent gap was huge. Cade blew a few passes by being late early on, but after that the game plan sucked. We didn’t challenge them vertically hardly at all, even in the second half down a million and after their safety got ejected.
Cade led the the team to more than anyone thought, so respect is due. But he (or maybe I should say the whole offense) isn’t built for passing to win. And every team that makes the CFP will stop the run. No defense that can’t stop the run will make the CFP unless the Big 12 champ sneaks in, so to succeed there you need to be able to throw the ball and that’s just not something Michigan did well enough to compete.
But that’s definitely moving the goalposts: they did enough to win the conference and beat OSU, it’s only after that happened that we could even talk about what kind of offense you need to contend for a national title.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:20 PM ^
Needed to pay attention to the Alabama film, and game plan around it. Unfortunately we don't have a pass to win offense.
Lacking Bama WR talent, and it was obvious quickly that man ball was out.
OSU had its weakest defense in a decade, seems like the staff thought they could plow through a superior front 7.
Really seems like a poor game plan, compounded by poor execution.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:24 PM ^
We faced several elite running defenses and ran fine.
I'm frustrated they didn't go for the change up pitch sooner, but I have zero problem with them trying to stick to their identity to start the game, even if you're right they needed a more extensive back up plan.
January 1st, 2022 at 7:50 AM ^
No, we faced one elite defense.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
The Alabama film and game plan only works if you have the horses and athletes like Alabama has across the ball on both sides.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:22 PM ^
I don’t want to see a backwards pass ever again. Especially on 4th and goal against the fastest defense in the country.
If JJ can sharpen his understanding of the offense I think the job is his. His ability to run makes him far more dynamic. In fact I think if JJ played the entire game, the score is probably more like 34-20 than the beat down we received. McNamara did not play well at all.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:22 PM ^
Oh no, it appears Georgia's QB controversy was transmissible.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:24 PM ^
I was hoping for not in the face. Still proud of this team. But ouch.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:26 PM ^
JJ played a nice game. 7/17 doesn't seem all that great, but he was a true freshman thrust into a big time game against a big time defense during desperation time. He made some good throws, some good runs, and absorbed some hits. And, unlike Dylan McCaffrey, didn't break anything after taking said hits. I have to think JJ is the odds-on favorite to start next season. I hate that it means Cade might have played his final game in the winged helmet, but I would be over the moon if they both stayed no matter who starts.
The O Line really met their match and then some. I think back to Cade's 2nd pick when he was looking for Baldwin...and Ryan Hayes is getting flung like a ragdoll, thus speeding up that play. It will be interesting to see what the starting 5 is next season--with another year of experience and the UVa transfer coming in, the O Line could conceivably be even better next year. And they were already good enough against all but pretty much the elite/semi-pro SEC teams.
It was rough with all the turnovers (and several turnovers on downs) but we did finally get that fucking touchdown!
December 31st, 2021 at 11:28 PM ^
Georgia's defense reminded me of Don Brown's defenses except with superior athletes all over the field and Ray Lewis 2.0 (Nakobe Dean) playing LB. We should have borrowed OSU's playbook to attack it the way OSU did against us so many times: short, quick passes, read-option rushing attack, crossing patterns and rub routes over the middle, take your shots deep when available. The power, gap-blocking, drop-back offense wasn't working against Georgia. JJ needed to start the second half.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
Do you really think Michigan would’ve had a shot if they abandoned the style of play they were built around and tried to implement completely new systems and reads in under a month?
we got beat by greatness. It stinks, but that’s what happened tonight. It shouldn’t take away from a program restoring season though
December 31st, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
First of all, we know what happened when we didn't. We saw it in all its agony and we didn't adjust until way too late. Secondly, we already had the read-option playbook available--the JJ package--and as we saw, again, it was the only package that yielded any success.
To answer your specific question, I don't know if playing JJ and implementing his playbook would have meant we win this game, but I definitely think it would have given us a better shot to win this game. I don't fault Harbaugh at all for going with Cade to start and running what got us here. But it was obviously not working and adjustment to JJ should have been made at half-time. It's not unprecedented. Tua took over for Jalen at half-time and we know what happened after that.
January 1st, 2022 at 12:28 AM ^
It wouldn’t have given us a better shot to win. He would’ve gotten absolutely smoked today. He played really well towards the end and showed his potential, but Cade had to grit through some massive hits early on when Georgia was flying around.
I genuinely think what we saw is what gave us our best chance to win. If we were going to win, we were going to do it by the way we won 12 other games this year. You can’t just magically switch things up in the playoffs. That’s when both teams roll out what they’ve been building all year for and figure out which team is the best.
Georgia is going to have a shot of setting the record for most draft picks in a single year this year, legit kudos to them. Phenomenal team that took care of business.
January 1st, 2022 at 1:46 PM ^
Respectfully, I'm not sure how anyone could look at the first half and conclude doing the exact same thing gave us the best chance to win. Granted, I have the benefit of hindsight, but after the first half, we all did--we saw what happened. It's called making adjustments.
Again, I'm not suggesting Michigan throw out their entire playbook and install Hawaii's three weeks before this game. I'm saying run different plays (and players) that are already part of our playbook. Harbaugh clearly agreed and put in JJ and ran his package to greater success--he just did it too late IMO.
Yes, Michigan got beat by a better team, but banging your head against a brick wall over and over again makes no sense to me. Even stodgy 'ole Lloyd Carr was able to adjust in his final bowl game against Florida. He didn't scrap his playbook, he just opened up a different part of it and ran a more wide-open offense--and won! I'm saying Harbaugh should have done the same sooner.
January 1st, 2022 at 7:13 PM ^
We did throw the ball a lot more, and we did open it up. I'm not sure if you noticed, but there wasn't a single thing we could do to block Georgia's front outside of finding more eligibility for Taylor Lewan and Mike Onwenu.
January 1st, 2022 at 9:23 PM ^
You lost me. I have no idea what you're talking about anymore. What exactly is your point then?
Never mind. Fun talking with ya. Take care.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:42 PM ^
Dean is a 3rd yr 5* - that is the impact that a guy like Colson should make in 2023 if we can put 4 monsters in front of him. UM needs to commit to NFL talent at every position with recruiting and development on par with the top 5 programs.
Better days ahead as Macdonald build the defense with his talent.
January 1st, 2022 at 12:17 AM ^
Um, every top level team wants NFL talent and tries to acquire it. It’s not like Michigan somehow made a decision to NOT get the best players. It’s just not as simple as “deciding”! to get the best players.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:28 PM ^
I have zero hot takes. This is what happens when you put a very very good team (Michigan) against an elite team with freaks across the board designed to take away what Michigan does best.
there was no answer outside of playing better than them, and once it became clear the Dawgs were dialed as hell, it would be a long night.
that was an all time elite defense in the history of college football. I’ll live even though this sucks ass
December 31st, 2021 at 11:34 PM ^
Fully agree.
It's all gravy anyway, and we were playing with house money. Fuck it -- what a great year!
December 31st, 2021 at 11:36 PM ^
I know this sounds and looks dumb now, but I'm not at all convinced that was an unwinnable game. Poor execution and poor game plan.
I feel like people love blaming the recruiting gap, but their QB, as Georgia fans love to point out as they call for his head, was a walk on.
I really feel like this entire team seemed in its own head for this game, they got gut punched early and they played like it.
January 1st, 2022 at 12:24 AM ^
That’s fine, but look at the legit super athletes all over Georgia’s defense.
they have way more freaks than we do. I’m not even saying they have way better players, but that have more special bodies that can clean up space so quickly when they’re coached at an elite level.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:48 PM ^
House money. We put it on the middle of the table and lost to a flush. They were clearly the more talented team & more dialed in. They were really the superior team in the front lines.
Regardless, the program must commit to top 5 recruiting to legitimately compete for national titles. We don’t need top 5 every year, but the talent gap cannot be sooooo wide.
January 1st, 2022 at 12:39 AM ^
To reach the level Georgia is at, you basically need top 5 classes every year with great development.
Thats how you get the super freaks that make up the majority of Georgia’s starting defense. Nolan Smith, Travon Walker, and Nakobe Dean we’re all 5*, top 20 players in the same class. George Pickens was there too.
the year before they got top 40 players Tyson Campbell, Quay Walker, Jamaree Salyer, and Zamir White. They also got Jordan Davis, but he was actually a lower end prospect with high potential.
my only point being: to put together the depth and elite talent Georgia has, you need to be getting the players that would lift you into a top 3-5 recruiting position
December 31st, 2021 at 11:29 PM ^
That is a generational defense that Kirby Smart has built. They had a bad game against Alabama, but my god those guys are bigger, faster, and stronger than everything Michigan threw out there. That entire front seven has first round potential, and Michigan just didn’t have the talent across the board to compete. They would’ve needed their own Deshaun Watson to level the playing field and they flat out don’t have one right now.
Can’t even get mad. You just have to know when you’re beat. There probably wasn’t anything Michigan could’ve done to change the ultimate outcome tonight. That team is on a mission and they will be out for blood against Alabama.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:37 PM ^
Yeah, I've been on the end of losses like this, and they don't even sting so bad. You just say, "wow, those guys are good." Not a damned thing we could do against them. I was actually kind of impressed with our defense, even in the first half -- yeah, they scored every possession, but holding them to field goals twice was impressive.
Those guys are flat-out great, and their QB clearly played the game of his life. What are ya gonna do?
Go Blue!
December 31st, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
I love Michigan, but College Football sucks. It's broken Do Bama fans even get excited for this shit anymore?
December 31st, 2021 at 11:33 PM ^
Not really. Pathetic, isn't it?
January 1st, 2022 at 12:00 AM ^
Honestly, I have thought the same thing for a while. Does it really prove that Saban is the greatest ever for keeping the factory churning each year? He still has the results on his side. But, go to Oregon State and make them perennial contenders! That will cement you as the greatest ever!