Sten Carlson

January 9th, 2019 at 2:27 PM ^

If this is real, it's pretty cool.

I think the situation is pretty simple.  Shea was new and wasn't really comfortable in the pocket.  The OL isn't the greatest in Pass Pro, and needed to really rep the new run blocking schemes.  Further, I think the WR's weren't fully in synch with Shea yet, and basically Harbaugh trusted the running game more than he trusted the passing game.  Add to that the fact that he trusted the defense fully, and it makes sense that Harbaugh went with a more conservative approach.

I don't think Harbaugh will ever go away from wanting to "establish the run," but I that the offense is going to look more "modern" next season.

pinkfloyd2000

January 9th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^

Dear Valued Fan:

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Yours truly,

Captain Jim

 

(In all seriousness, though -- yes, it was nice for him to respond. And NO, Jim is NOT an idiot; he clearly is well aware that changes need to be made)

1201 S. Main St.

January 9th, 2019 at 2:46 PM ^

I mentioned this before, but it was several years ago.  I sent an email to Jim Harbaugh when I first heard they were bringing back helmet stickers, but weren't sure what to use.  I attached a pic of just a wolverine paw print, which would have a similar, but slightly different look to what Clemson uses.  I started the email by saying I wasn't sure who is hired to read Coach Harbaugh's emails, and ended it saying something like "thanks to whoever is reading this".  It was just a quick email where I explained that, although the mascot is the wolverine, it isn't really visible on any of the athletic team's uniforms.  Anyway, about a week later I got this reply:


Nick, thank you for the interest your brother and you have in Michigan Football and also your supporting the  decision to reinstate the helmet stickers. Appreciate very much your thoughts on the design,we are in process of gathering thoughts and again appreciate your input. Jim Harbaugh (I promise)
 

Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.....

I thought that it was incredibly cool for him to respond.  I know it doesn't take a lot of time to quickly type a few sentences and hit send, but it was just a very nice thing to do.  Not sure if your friend has any doubts about it actually being from Harbaugh or not, but if he is, let him know that it is not entirely uncommon for Harbaugh to respond to an email.

Tom Snow

January 9th, 2019 at 2:51 PM ^

Time for podcasting, time for responding to nonsense emails, time to go on vacation while he loses two coaches to Ohio State. Seems like a pretty cushy job. 

Blue Middle

January 9th, 2019 at 3:25 PM ^

  • S&P+ improved from 85th to 24th
  • FEI improve from 88th to 20th
  • Scoring improved 10 points per game
  • YPC up almost a half yard
  • Passer rating up nearly 40 points to the #20 rating in the country
  • INT/TD ratio 24/9 up from 9/10
  • Yards per play up by .91

The offense took a leap forward in 2018.  This is an objective fact.  Don't get me wrong--it's still not good enough or even that close to where we'd like it to be.  But damn, it sure as hell "made strides" in 2018 as JH wrote.  Arguing otherwise is not just a bad take, it's objectively false.

Sten Carlson

January 9th, 2019 at 3:44 PM ^

But damn, it sure as hell "made strides" in 2018 as JH wrote.  Arguing otherwise is not just a bad take, it's objectively false.

 

But but but BPONE! 

/s

Replying more to the idiot above, but you put all the data I wanted to respond with in your response.  Objective measures don’t count for the numbskulls who’ve taken over the fan base.  It’s all subjective looks and buzz words, no substance.  They’ll even go so far at to tell you that the new, modern offense doesn’t require players to actually execute plays, because it’s just easier.

I think Harbaugh would agree that it’s not enough, but I think he’d add that it’s an evolution, not an on off switch.  

joeyb

January 9th, 2019 at 4:28 PM ^

Comparing to 2017 is not going to give an accurate depiction as we were down to our 3rd string QB half the year.

In 2016, Michigan was:

  • 40th in S&P+ (vs. 24)
  • 11th in FEI (vs. 20)
  • Scoring 6 points/game more
  • Rushing for 0.2 more yards/carry
  • 6.2 lower in passer rating
  • 19/6 in TD/INT ratio
  • Nearly identical, but technically higher, in YPP

So, what has improved aside from bringing in a competent quarterback? The defense is going to take a step back next year and this offense is going to have to win some games for us. There isn't a clear thing that we can improve significantly on next year to take another step forward other than offensive philosophy/playcalling.

Sten Carlson

January 9th, 2019 at 5:16 PM ^

Comparing to 2017 is not going to give an accurate depiction as we were down to our 3rd string QB half the year.

You're moving the goal posts.  Michigan's offense improve YoY in S&P+ for the first time since the improvement seen between '14-'15.

2014: 89
2015: 38
2016: 41
2017: 85
2018: 24

If we were charting a commodity this would be a very encouraging chart : hit an historic low (even 2008 was 77), rebounded off that low to a near-term high, leveled off, fell back to retest the low, and has now rocketed past the near-term high and could possibly be closing in on the long-term high (11 in 2011).

Returning QB, WR's plus new talent, nearly fully intact OL ... I am glad I doubled down when it retested the low in 2017.

FrankMurphy

January 9th, 2019 at 3:07 PM ^

I emailed him about my son's birthday and he responded with a nice happy birthday message (along with a word of advice to attack each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind). Putting aside some of his off-field antics and our disappointment with how the 2018 season ended, he is a very classy guy. 

Sauce Castillo

January 9th, 2019 at 3:07 PM ^

Some comments in this thread triggered me to look up Time of Possession (TOP) for Clemson and Michigan this year. 

In 15 games, Clemson "won" the TOP battle in 5. in 13 games Michigan only "lost" the TOP battle in 2, WMU and UF. 

The point I'm making is Harbaugh needs to do away with "protecting" the defense and "body blow" mentality. That may work in the NFL (that is changing), but not in college with the best vs best matchup. 

Get a couple great personnel groupings out there (Evans, DPJ, Black, Collins, Eubanks/Mckeon) that can line up in a bunch of formations, which all those guys can do, and run a little tempo. It doesn't have to be hyper speed, but making it more of a playground type game is proving to be the way to go.

willywill9

January 9th, 2019 at 3:12 PM ^

I love that he answers e-mails even while on vacation.

(ducks)

But seriously, classy dude. I'm still a believer- i do agree that there needs to be flexibility in the offensive game plan to push the tempo a bit, but i'm still a believer.

Mgoeffoff

January 9th, 2019 at 4:16 PM ^

Pretty cool and well played by your friend.  I can't imagine how many emails JH must get.  On a somewhat side note, I know JH is a Bo disciple and all, but who'd think a former QB would want to just run the ball up the gut and not have a wide open throwing offense?  He was Captain Comeback after all.

Sten Carlson

January 9th, 2019 at 5:30 PM ^

I saw Shea running around a lot, M-Dog.  Sometimes it was by design, and sometimes he was improvising.  I think part of what he lacked was the skill/authority to set the protection.  Did you watch the Colt vs Texans game?  Luck delivered a masterful game by letting the fierce Texans pass rush go around him, then stepping up in the pocket, and escaping into the flat that he worked open pre-snap. 

I think we'll see a lot more from Shea next year.

MgoWood

January 9th, 2019 at 7:27 PM ^

Do you guys wonder if he has "people" for his email dealings?

I've written Harbaugh as well in 2015 and felt awesome that he wrote back! But had this in the back of my mind because he has to be getting tons of emails

cornman

January 9th, 2019 at 8:25 PM ^

Probably.  I send him a full frontal nude photo of myself every morning and he responds every time with this exact message:

I saw your enclosed photo and feel you are moving to revolutionize your body.  You made great strides in '18 and will continue to move forward in '19.

Thank you for your balls.

Go blue,

Jim Harbaugh

uminks

January 9th, 2019 at 8:36 PM ^

Harbaugh has never replied to any my letters!  My last letter requested him to hire the best pass happy OC in the country. I told  him  we  have great talent at WR and QB and we need to use them next season.

BlueBallBoy

January 10th, 2019 at 9:48 AM ^

I'm not sure I am buying this. As a fan I know I was glad to see Shea Patterson come back, however, if I were in Columbus, OH I would be even happier. He's a good QB, but not the savior he was overly sold as. 

My guess is we see less 3 TE sets and we'll really "spread" it out with 2 TE's ... hah

AndArst

July 28th, 2020 at 11:16 AM ^

Wow, how interesting. I'm an apple user by the way and I use email to the maximum. I recently generated an email signature for myself. Not myself, of course. If you also need such a signature, I can tell you where to do it. If you also use apple then use mac mail signature generator to do as I do. I wish you all good luck.

UserAbuser

August 4th, 2020 at 3:15 AM ^

It looks cool and I am very happy for your friend. However, it will not help me at all. Now I want to help all the people who are going to work with real estate. You should have a real estate email signature and you need special software for it. When you have it, your working day gets better and carrier moves forward.