OSU Snowflakes - The Coaching
November 24th, 2018 at 4:42 PM ^
Matt Canada
November 24th, 2018 at 5:55 PM ^
Canada was on my list before they hired Nussmier. SMDH.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:28 PM ^
That might be a guy with some ideas that could mesh well with Harbaugh's ideas.
OTOH, M has a lot of really good receivers, plus excellent passers in Patterson and McCaffrey. Canada was really run heavy this year. Or was that just BC he lacked to QB to pass more?
I would like to see an offense that is (1) less predictable, (2) more premised on creating mismatches, (3) more premised on using/focusing on whatever guys are most talented on the offensive roster in any given year, and (4) able to use tempo if needed, (5) can win games when the D has trouble stopping an elite offense, and (6) is able to adjust better to whatever the D is doing as a game develops.
November 25th, 2018 at 3:33 AM ^
Won't matter what OC Michigan might hire as long as Harbaugh's philosophy rules. It starts at the top, and changing OCs won't matter.
Michigan's game plan was as clear as it was obvious in this game: "outphysical" them to negate any superior athleticism Ohio State might have, take few chances, and wear them down. Unfortunately, it was so obvious tOSU/Meyer/Shiano knew that Michigan was going to try to stubbornly insist on running just about every other down and unwilling to take chances, it made their job easier.
If he insists on "body shots" manball offense as though this is 1978 or 1988; if he insists on huddling up and use nearly half the play clock to get the call in the West Coast offense (and nearly all the running play clock when down by several scores), etc. it will be difficult to impossible to implement a tempo offense and other elements of Air Raid and modern college offenses.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:11 PM ^
OSU recruits like Alabama. When they get their shit together they're unbeatable, plain and simple. If Urban leaves it changes everything.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:23 PM ^
1000% Got beaten by a bunch of superior athletes today. Their coaches had dissected the Michigan tape and knew exactly what they wanted to do. And the superior athletes went out and executed.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
Precisely right. Guys who've been excellent all year like Watson got beat down by superior athletes in space. They did nothing radically different than what we expected but we couldn't stop them.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:42 PM ^
Someone forgot to tell Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland, and Purdue this.
November 24th, 2018 at 6:27 PM ^
I don't buy the superior athletes bit at all. That's just complete horseshit. Better athletes wasn't an issue for Maryland or Purdue. Ohio State had better coaching and a better gameplan. The end.
I mean...fuck outta here with "better athletes". Thats just loser excuse making. Michigan's athletes are just fine compared to Ohio State.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:38 PM ^
The one area where I might disagree is it sounds like Watson probably should have sat once it become apparent he couldn't deal with the receivers. Thomas should have played more.
But in general I agree. Guys like Hill, Long, Bush, Hudson, Gary, Winovich are all superb athletes.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^
Thank you!!! Tired of, oh they got more athletes/5-stars. We aren’t Indiana or Illinois in recruiting. We got lots of studs. Reality is they have better coaches. Somebody said it, our coaches don’t exploit other teams weaknesses. We do what we do, hoping it works. Dumb philosophy against good teams. Until it changes, won’t win anything substantial.
November 25th, 2018 at 9:13 AM ^
Actually as a factual matter, you are incorrect. OSU has better overall talent than us and that's objectively true. Now--that doesn't mean we can't beat them, and better coaching would have put us in a position to do so.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:32 PM ^
I do not think ryan day will worry too much about our coaching
November 24th, 2018 at 4:33 PM ^
But at least we just recruited a low 3* high school O-lineman to play Tight End!
That’ll help us beat their 5* athletes!
November 24th, 2018 at 4:33 PM ^
So why do you, Brutus, shit on Maizen when he says Harbaugh has to stop recruiting 3 star kids?
November 24th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
Harbaugh takes the best kids he can take, this truth should be obvious
November 24th, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^
Don Brown, like John Beilein, has earned a pass on recruiting 3* that fit his unique needs. Offense, not so much.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:40 PM ^
Urban recruits 3 stars too. As does Nick Saban. If he recruits the right 3 stars it's okay, as long as you're careful about it. Plus, a coach doesn't just wave his magic wand and sign 5 stars. It takes time to build a program. Harbaugh would take all the 5 stars if he could. I'm not sure what your point is honestly.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
Compare the numbers of non-kicker three stars on OSU, Alabama, Georgia, etc, vs. M. How many three stars are too many? All I know is McCurry does not get on the field for OSU.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
Okay, then you should write Harbaugh an email and tell him to recruit more 5 stars.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:19 PM ^
Oh look, the witty take of someone literally incapable of recognizing that you don't have to be good at something to recognize when someone else is bad at that thing. Dude isn't paid to recruit like Harbaugh is.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^
You're apparently incapable of reading comprehension. I'm saying that Harbaugh is recruiting the best players he can. Some people seem to think he's taking 3 star recruits over 5 stars who want to come here or something, which is what I was referring to. I don't know where you even came up with that.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:58 PM ^
There seems to be this odd section of the star-gazing fanbase that thinks that if only Michigan really tried harder, or cared more, or something, they’d get more 5* athletes.
November 24th, 2018 at 6:11 PM ^
I'd wager it's the same section that thinks losses like this happen because the fan base accepts mediocrity.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:47 PM ^
Yeah, those same pussies that are downvoting me but don't have the balls to explain why. I know exactly the type.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:09 PM ^
idk. i haven't seen him on the field all year, yet we do in this game? makes zero sense to me.
November 24th, 2018 at 6:19 PM ^
Actually Urban doesn't take many 3 stars.
They easily had 5 athletes on the field today that were better than any single athlete Michigan has.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:44 PM ^
Our offense was good enough to win this game today and it was not that great. This one is squarely on the D and the utter lack of pass rush. That #1 D (won't be any longer) was littered with high star recruits. Our recruiting has been very good. Not up to the OSU level, but only Bama has consistently been at that level. We lost today because we couldn't rush the passer. And why that is...? I have no fucking idea.
November 25th, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
Let me tell you why. Because our defensive scheme has flaws that allow an accurate QB to complete his pass in three seconds. Our DEs are dinged up. Best DT is not on the field. We need depth. In DL. That is how Clemson win games. We need four elite DL. Not just one or two so they can get double team all the time.
November 24th, 2018 at 6:32 PM ^
You are a great asset to this blog but why does it have to be like others take? "If Urban leaves.." He has the $$ to bring in any support staff he wants. This was the same excuse with Tressel, he left and we still lose.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Its almost comical how hard this punch in the face is given the majority of people here were already busy discussing who Michigan will play in the playoffs. Michigan arrogance allowed this game to somehow become a trap game. People telling themselves that OSU and Meyer are finished, on the way down, because of reports and controversies they dont even mention anymore and most people have long forgotten.
Narrative was meant to favor us, right, well it turns out that all those 4 and 5 star future NFL players and all those professional coaches on Ohio State dont care if Urban knew this or that, the world doesnt care, they ll just go on playing and winning football games.
Ohio State is better than Michigan at football. They are better than most at it. Its an obvious truth that will set you free. Maybe it will change eventually, but probably not as long as Urban Meyer, a man of questionable, self-serving morality but almost peerless football coach, is there.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
The whole coaching staff failed in every aspect of everything they did. No plan to stop OSU's bread and butter. Nothing new to run on offense. Totally unprepared. They owe the school their weekly paycheck back. Every single one of them, from Harbaugh and Don Brown down to the lowest grad assistant sucked worse at their job than they ever have before.
Fire so-and-so isn't the answer. But they have a lot to answer for. The coaching staff was fucking trash all week long. All year long, if in fact they were "preparing" for this game all year as they claim.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^
I would upvote you if this site would actually let me.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:27 PM ^
Yes I agree !! No new wrinkles on offense, poor play calling, and defense looked unprepared. But they got that Europe trip tho.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:38 PM ^
There are a lot of reasons Michigan lost this game. None of them are that the coaching staff wanted to help college students learn something in a trip seven months ago. If your perspective is, “these players should be focusing 100% on football, to the exclusion of every other life activity, including the education which is supposedly their pay,” I don’t know what to tell you.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:29 PM ^
I think OSU will be hard to catch given how much of a head-start they have. I don't see a Dwayne Haskins on our roster, likely ever. That guy is a 1st round draft choice at QB throwing to 1st round WR draft choices, protected by an NFL OL in pass pro. Michigan is just way behind that position. Michigan's QB is round 2 or 3 at best, our WRs are round 2, our OL guys are not even draft quality.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:36 PM ^
I watched this OSU line get dominated by Minnesota and a walk on DE from MSU. Purdue beat them by 29. Complaining about differential is completely misguided. The problem is players and coaches coming up small in big moments.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
This.
Of all the big moments this year to lay a fucking egg, it just had to be today, didn't it.
Fuck.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
Difference is they get up for us and treat it by their actions. We talk a lot but our actions say we are unprepared and not tough enough to go out and get what we want vs. a good opponent.
Didn’t look great last 3 weeks. Some of that tells me the problem we have had under Harbaugh, can’t close seasons.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:22 PM ^
Don’t forget Maryland took them to the wire and should have won. After the season they’ve been through??
November 24th, 2018 at 4:32 PM ^
Yep. If people can't see this truth I'm not sure what else to say.
EDT: this reply was to BLueMK above
November 24th, 2018 at 4:46 PM ^
This is precisely the take I have.
The Michigan we saw today was the antithesis to the Michigan team we saw all damn year long. ON D, absolutely ZERO QB pressure, receivers open all day long (scary to think of how many wide open receivers Haskins actually missed today), and a running game that gashed us everytime they did run. On offense, our OL suddenly forgot how to block anything (run or pass, didn't matter), our best TE forgot how to catch, and playcalling showed absolutely no creativity at all.
This was a teamwide failure from players to coaches. Every last one of them, except for maybe DPJ and Nico Collins. I think they started believing they were hot shit and couldn't lose...OSU came out and punched them in the mouth over and over again, and rather than fight back they wilted for the first time all season.
We might have lost anyway had Michigan put its best effort forward, OSU has the talent and coaching to do so regardless of how inept they've looked at times this year.
But to lose this way is an unmitigated disaster, and the coaches have a lot to answer to.
November 24th, 2018 at 6:14 PM ^
Yes, many on this blog have been justifying the vanilla look of our offense in games by saying "we're saving wrinkles and new looks for OSU". Well, where the fuck were they today? All we saw was the same old same old, and trying to run the ball down their throat long after it was clear it wasn't going to work. I'm firmly in the "Harbaugh is overpaid" camp now until he proves otherwise. Michigan is paying him a shit ton of money, and 0-4 against our biggest rival, and a blowout loss today isn't close to cutting it. Unless he changes his philosophies on offense, his best days of coaching are behind him.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:04 PM ^
Preach!!!
November 25th, 2018 at 8:48 AM ^
All year to plan for this game and this is what was trotted out there is absolutely inexcusable! Can't wait to see what they come up with in a meaningless bowl game. Maybe the staff will open up the mythical playbook. Should be pretty vanilla. Wonder if the team will be up and focused for that. After this beat down me thinks not.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Well JH has to completely reevaluate the entire offense, hire a really good college OC, and realize the even very good Ds will get smoked by a really good OSU offense.
The fact that it was this much of a blow out was down to (1) M getting demoralized in the 3rd, (2) but mostly just an approach to offensive football that will never do well against opponents with really top offenses.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:39 PM ^
I’m not sure I agree. Was the offense good? No. Do changes need to be made? Yes.
but, I didn’t come away from watching that game more disappointed in the offense than the defense.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
The thing is that in today's CFB there will be some games that are shoot outs, even if you have a top 10 D.
The best offenses today are going to score and get 500 yards against even top 5 Ds. That is just a fact.
And JH/Pep have put together an offense that simply is not going to be able to compete in that sort of game.
Even worse, they have are stubborn. They built an O that runs 2/3ds of the time (more on 1st and 2nd down), even though the o-line and RB groups are weaker position groups than the QB and receiver/TE groups. That is stubborn. That is...not smart.
And no matter how good a D. Brown D is, there will always be games against the best offensive opponents where the D cannot win it unless the offense is built to score a lot too. That is just a fact. Even Alabama Ds will give up lots of yards and scores against the best offenses.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
Absolutely. If someone told you before the game we would score 39 points, would you have picked us to win the game? I would bet 95% of the people on this board would have said yes.
November 24th, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
You give up 62 points you will lose. I agree that the offensive strategy needs to shift and modernize more than it has already (and it has, don't forget). But nobody gives up 62 points and wins. Except maybe Oklahoma. But probably not even them.