Nebraska Snowflakes: The Offense
October 9th, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
Bowl eligible, baby!!!!
October 9th, 2021 at 11:32 PM ^
Gotta admire the resilience of this team. I agree with Cade that past Michigan teams likely lose this game tonight.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:32 PM ^
Bowl eligible, baby!!!!
October 9th, 2021 at 11:33 PM ^
anyone know where the post game press conference are available? BTN?
October 9th, 2021 at 11:33 PM ^
Give the offense a lot of credit. McNamara threw his first interception of the season and it led directly to Nebraska taking the lead. Instead of collapsing, he and the rest of the offense drove and scored. That was gutsy.
The running game was strong in the second half. Haskins and Corum both made huge plays.
Still plenty to work on, but back to back road wins in hostile environments is a major step forward. Take the bye we’ll and get ready for the stretch run!
October 9th, 2021 at 11:37 PM ^
Very proud of these guys.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:38 PM ^
32 points in a road night game against a pretty good defense. I’ll take it without complaint.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:38 PM ^
Running attack is so fun to watch. The running backs are probably the best duo in college football, it’s fun watching the receivers block for them downfield as well. Everybody’s all in.
The passing game however, holy moly do we miss Ronnie Bell. McNamara isn’t exactly Joe Montana but he gets no help from his receivers. They almost never make a contested catch, and heck there’s a couple times where they don’t even make uncontested catches. It made it even worse today watching Texas and seeing how amazing Worthy is and knowing how much he could help right now. Either way, I’ll stop being a Debbie downer. excellent win.
October 10th, 2021 at 1:00 AM ^
Agree. Worthy was awesome for Texas. We are missing a star receiver from taking the next step.
October 10th, 2021 at 8:37 AM ^
Passing: 22/38 for 255 yards. Does not sound so awful to me.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
take away that great catch by sansristal and the passing numbers are pretty mediocre.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:39 PM ^
Hassan is a f’ing beast!
October 9th, 2021 at 11:39 PM ^
Blake Corum's Corn on the Cobb Eating celebration is an all timer, right up there with DPJ.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:46 AM ^
+1 to you for figuring out and enlightening me. I had no clue what Corum was doing on that celebration. I thought he was doing the crying tears thing to the crowd. But it was down by his mouth so it didn't make sense.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:40 PM ^
Things I liked
-459 yards of offense is totally fine and so is 32 points
-Rushing offense edged back over 200 yards (123 for Haskins, 89 for Corum) on a respectable 4.9 YPC. Things were rolling in the 2nd half despite losing 1 or 2 guards (Zinter and Filiaga). #52 Barnhart did ok, I thought.
-The team had the 2nd half letdown AGAIN (like Rutger), but they overcame it AGAIN (like Rutger).
-The TEs are getting some action. All finally looks dangerous as a receiver.
-Cade suffered his first pick, but went 22/38 for 255 yards and moved the ball enough. That's without arguably the 2 best WRs on the team.
-Pass pro looked pretty darn good. One sack up the middle that I remember, but otherwise Cade had some edge rushers well off in the distance and plenty of time.
-Haskins is such a beast. The hurdle. Eliminating blitzing LBs. Always falling forward and surging for extra yards. Love this man!
Things I did not like
-32 points is nice, but it could've easily been 37 or 41 with better stuff in the red zone.
-Cade's accuracy hasn't been very good, and his deep passes were almost totally ineffective. UFR probably not gonna be kind to him. Cade's first pick was not really a GG to the defense, it was a terrible read.
-J.J. will need to throw more often to make his sub-package effective going forward. You put him in there and the defense knows what it is.
-Baldwin dropped a couple more.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:22 AM ^
I agree with basically all of this. I do think that Cade's flaws are things to live with given how adept he is at providing what the offense needs. You're dead-on here.
(Corum also provided non-trivial yardage receiving passes).
October 10th, 2021 at 12:49 AM ^
I really hope that the JJ change of pace is not a run every single time. JJ has a great arm and apparently a great feel for the game. Let him throw out of play action. Seems like the perfect time to do this would be against MSU at the end of this month.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:55 AM ^
Well he has 2 touchdown throws of 50+ and 60+ yards so I’d have to say it isn’t always a run. I do agree that throwing out of a read option type play would be great, especially on that 3rd down when the game was tied. Hard to fathom why they didn’t take that opportunity.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
Anyone else here ever wonder what the game those wheels of cheese in the Cheez-Its Locker room ad play actually looks like?
No? Okay.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
Haskins and Corum are Gods. Cade ultimately did just enough to win. Although he did miss a bunch of passes downfield. I don't know if J.J. is "the answer," as he would certainly make more mistakes, but it seems like this could be the difference between a good season and a great season.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:41 AM ^
My gosh, Ham, this is an excellent take. The downfield throwing is super painful, and the better teams at the tail end of the schedule will take advantage
October 9th, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
Gotta say... slow start but they brought it when the defense started to wilt. Made plays when they needed to which is unlike teams of the past.
Very big win, at night, on the road!
October 9th, 2021 at 11:44 PM ^
Too relieved and exhausted to have the Cade conversation right now. I doubt anyone's mind changed anyway. A mixed bag of data for each to exercise his own confirmation bias upon.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:48 PM ^
Cade makes some decent throws sometimes, but I'm just not sure he's the guy. I went back and forth like 10 times this game
Also, that JJ zone read on 3rd down is suddenly the new Pepcat or Haskcat. The thing that worked twice so we beat it to death with no wrinkles for the rest of the year
October 10th, 2021 at 12:05 AM ^
Cade is a serviceable QB who makes good decisions, but he doesn't look like the kind of player who puts a team on his back when they need a win. I'm not complaining about that, but saying that Michigan has to plan for that.
October 10th, 2021 at 5:02 AM ^
Michigan had the football while trailing twice today.
Macnamara led them on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive the first time, going 2-3 passing, including a first down completion on 3rd and 8 from their own half of the field, in which an incomplete pass results in a punt.
He then led them on a 9-play, 69 yard game-tying field goal drive, going 1-3 passing, including a first down completion of 3rd and 8 which prevented a 42-yard FG attempt and resulted in the ultimate 31-yard FG.
It seems, based on the small sample size, that if he has any strengths at all, it is being the type of player who puts the team on his back when they need a win. When M needed points or they would lose the game, he not only got them the points, he did so without even having to go for it on fourth down. Just ho-hum drives down the field being perfect on third down conversions until in game-tying FG range.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:49 PM ^
Pinning these threads right after an emotional victory sucks. Half the posters are pissed that Michigan didn't win by three TDs even though they were 2.5 point favorites. Enjoy the win for at least an hour, losers.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:51 PM ^
Lost two linemen, down two receivers and yet, executed when they had to.
Now, let’s find a better use for JJ if you’re going to use him.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:59 PM ^
Lost three linemen.
October 10th, 2021 at 2:21 AM ^
And all three were OGs. Had to dig deep on the depth chart on the road. One reason I am trying to abstain from picking on the offensive performance too much tonight.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:56 PM ^
5 different players played OG tonight.
October 9th, 2021 at 11:59 PM ^
Did UM throw a single pass tonight off the RPO motion?
October 10th, 2021 at 12:00 AM ^
Will get jail sexed by OSU. Offense is from the 80's.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:01 AM ^
Will have to wait for the UFR, but I thought this was one of the better called games offensively.
Officially over the JJ gadget plays.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:19 AM ^
Only because they're predictable, just like the Peppers gadget plays were. JJ has proven he can run the offense, especially put the ball on a dime so would love to see the coaches be more creative with his packages to keep defenses guessing whether he'll run/pass or hand-off, not just a one-trick pony.
October 10th, 2021 at 8:01 AM ^
JJ is running Harbaugh’s Pepcat. It’s clear as day.
October 10th, 2021 at 10:12 AM ^
Would love to see JJ just get a whole drive in meaningful time. If you can build a few plays around the zone read and add couple passes, that's a credible "limited playbook" for a part time QB to run once or twice a game. But the "one play at a time and it's always a zone read" stuff is stupid.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
They need to Show different looks to keep the defense honest when he’s in. Otherwise it’s really not effective.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:13 AM ^
Those missed opportunities in the 1st half - underthorws to Baldwin & Johnson; over compensating on throw to Sainristril - left points off the board that could've change the whole tenor of the game by taking the wind out Nebraska's sails completely. Hopefully Cade will get more comfortable/locked in with his timing re: the recievers over the bye week because the team needs to capitalize on every opportunity down the stretch to make winning the B10 a reality.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:14 AM ^
I hope the Asinine Pessimists keep their pieholes shut - this Offense answered the bell every fucking time. Great mix of running and passing. Haskins was a monster, and Corum was terrific too.
With the receivers - Bell out. Wilson out. Next man up? Baldwin. Sainristil made a highlight diving catch. Proud of those guys.
Go Blue!!!
October 10th, 2021 at 8:03 AM ^
Gattis was great on his play calls. Execution was not. Add in the Harbaugh scared to death on the road, game closer than it should be. FG aren’t winning against the meat of the schedule especially on road
October 10th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
Night game at Nebraska isn't part of the "meat of the schedule"?
October 10th, 2021 at 12:15 AM ^
Corum and Haskins were terrific. Haskins Superman run was huge and amazing. Cade was not sharp. He was hit a lot tonight. While we were down 2 receivers, looked like a few better throws could have meant more touchdowns. Glad they finally started throwing to the tight ends. Looked like they might have been open a lot. Good time for a bye. Glad JJ getting some snaps. Bet we see more passes from him later.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
Cade was hit more against Nebraska than he was hit in the first 5 games, sure. But I wouldn't say he was hit "a lot". The QB protection has been generally excellent.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:28 PM ^
Interested in seeing the UFR but the O line missed a lot of stunts. Hope they can fix that.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:16 AM ^
Double post. Sorry.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:19 AM ^
There are so many ways teams of the last 10 years would have lost this game. Offense matched Huskers down the stretch and got the win on the road. Stuff to work on, blah, blah, but this was great.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:27 AM ^
Cade had a great look on his face tonight. Just, determined.
Michigan's two drives after falling behind were phenomenal. Hope our oline injuries aren't serious.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:29 AM ^
Hassan Haskins is the best back on this team and it isn’t even close. Fucking jumps over dudes and lands in stride. Injures blitzing linebackers. Gets it done in short yardage. BEAST.
October 10th, 2021 at 12:52 AM ^
It’s perfectly reasonable to think Hassan is better than Blake (I happen to disagree but whatever) but “isn’t even close” is not true