JonnyHintz

September 11th, 2016 at 9:31 AM ^

That's really the only thing you can do. You only have 5 linemen. When they have 8-9 guys in the box, how do you expect the OL and one TE to block that? THATS why our rushing stats reflected that. The entire goal when you sell out on the run is to force the other team to beat you through the air. Make the QB win the game. So to answer your question, yes. The passing game has to dominate. Which isn't difficult when stacking the box forces your opponent into man to man coverage on players like Darboh, Chesson, and Butt.

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Bodogblog

September 11th, 2016 at 9:35 AM ^

A wonderful outcome of yesterday's game: Speight proved he could make defenses that make this choice pay dearly. Level of competition and all, but the kid played outstanding and with the receiving options he has, I'm not sure many teams will want to make that same choice. Lots of teams would have gone into yesterday's game saying "we're going to make that new QB beat us." Wee, he did, resoundingly.

Joined: 06/08/2010

MGoPoints: 26674

NorcalBlue

September 11th, 2016 at 10:14 AM ^

Indeed.  That's exactly what happened last year early on when Jake was struggling.  Once he improved, teams started honoring the pass and that opened up the running game - see the Florida beat down.  UCF never adjusted to defend the pass and got blown out.  Better teams will adjust and that will open up our running game.

Joined: 06/16/2013

MGoPoints: 557

LKLIII

September 11th, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^

Exactly. In our case Speight is putting film together early that says "if you force us to beat you through the air....we will." Granted, teams with great defenses night discount the film due to inferior opponents, but for most teams it'll give them pause.



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UMich87

September 11th, 2016 at 9:34 AM ^

does not seem to use the "hardest hitter" statistic in its analysis. It did keep track of the "ran scared from a perfectly good pocket into defenders" category. I wonder how that figured into Scott Frosts We Tough matrix?

Joined: 09/07/2009

MGoPoints: 4142

UMProud

September 11th, 2016 at 9:39 AM ^

Funny you mention that...I was watching ESPNU Sunday Morning CFB roundup today.  Anyway, the hosts were deadpanning Scott Frost and shaking their heads.  Must say I enjoyed this segment...the whining schtick doesn't work so well when you're a 40+ year old man.

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MGoPoints: 2705

PopeLando

September 11th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^

I was fairly impressed with Frost's coaching. I was less impressed with Frost's comments. UCF got paid a lot of money to come up here, and they made a good showing of themselves, definitely not an embarrassing loss. Personally, I believe they could hang with the mid-level teams in the power 5 conferences.

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MGoPoints: 69672

Bambi

September 11th, 2016 at 9:56 AM ^

I said this yesterday a few times, but it was clear that UCF was selling out to stop the run. I'll be interested to see the UFR grade outs for the OL, but I'm definitely encouraged after yesterday. Teams now have seen that if they stuff the box, Speight can beat them with his arm which is huge going forward. It gives us a big advantage schematically and in terms of game planning.

It's also encouraging to see that all 4 of Speight's TDs were on blitzes. He's able to make plays under pressure and not just when he has a comfy pocket to throw from, which once again is definitely a good sign.

Braden clearly didn't have his best game which is a little concerning. But I'm not going to worry just yet. He struggled in his first game last year and then improved drastically. Granted that was against Utah, but still, he now has had a game to shake off the cobwebs. Also he still might be a little dinged up. If this becomes a re-occurring thing, then I'll worry.

The biggest thing I wanna keep an eye on is the run defense. Obviously Brown's calling card is stopping the run, and we did that incredibly well yesterday, minus 4 plays. I'm sure some of that had to do with no Lewis/Charlton/Mone. Also it takes time to adjust to a new defensive scheme so some of this might be growing pain stuff. But I really would like to see our defense to a better job at not getting edged like the 87 TD yard run, and not getting beat big on QB scrambles like UCF and Hawaii did. If those don't improve I'll be concerned.

I'm really looking forward to the Colorado game next week. Competition level caveats apply, but they look a lot better than expected and have done what they're supposed to do. Next week should be the first game that I think we can actually learn something tangible about this team.

Joined: 10/12/2013

MGoPoints: 23158

Bambi

September 11th, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^

There's not a lot out there about the game yesterday, but both UFR grading and PFF thought Kugler had a better week 1 than Bredeson. That may have changed this week, but from what I saw it didn't, and I don't know if either got a ton of snaps to prove otherwise. Bredeson still obviously has the most room to improve as the season goes on.

Joined: 10/12/2013

MGoPoints: 23158

LKLIII

September 11th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^

We'll see how the UFR grades out our run defense, but my understanding is that some of the busted plays weren't due to a lack of effort or physical ability, but if getting TOO enthusiastic and over-pursuing and not having land discipline. To me that can be corrected due to the D still learning Don Brown's scheme. He's now got film of superior talent getting beat occasionally by inferior athletes and he can say "see what happens when you don't trust the system? Don't play hero ball, stay in your lane & you won't get gashed." If this is the case then this can get largely corrected over the next week or two.



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EGD

September 11th, 2016 at 10:37 AM ^

I clicked the link and it brings up the entire game, starting with the opening kickoff, so I am not sure which play you are asking about. But if the push occurred inside the tackle box, that is the "legal clipping zone" where it is permissible to block a pass rusher from behind.

Joined: 09/16/2009

MGoPoints: 35199

jackw8542

September 11th, 2016 at 9:59 AM ^

of how lucky we are to have Harbaugh.  You know that if Hoke were still the coach they would have continued running into the heart of the defense until it broke!  Now, we are taking what they give us instead of continuing to hammer that square peg into a round hole.

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MGoPoints: 4265

Brian Griese

September 11th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^

UCF stuffed the box yesterday. Versus Hawaii, they were crushed on the ground. UCF, through the air. Both forms of attack have now had a Saturday in the sun so to speak and should be ready for tougher competition, regardless of the defensive scheme.

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Sten Carlson

September 11th, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^

^^^ This!!! Harbaugh, like a chess Grand Master, is perfectly comfortable saying, "if you try an Italian Game opening, I'm immediately going with Traxler's Counterattack, let's see if THEY have done their homework and if they know the lines!" What starts off as the opposition's best laid plan quickly becomes an intense liability As you said, now there is film of Michigan pounding the rock down an opponent's throat all game long, with a deep stable of RB's, and (perhaps most importantly) there is film of our previously unknown and untested QB chucking it all over the field 37 times. That will go a LONG way toward giving opposing DC's pause as they try to defend both. Harbaugh's offenses, because of their unpredictability and near instant adjustments, are notoriously difficult to stop.

Joined: 11/16/2009

MGoPoints: -56

Wood_Chuckson

September 11th, 2016 at 10:23 AM ^

Harbaugh said he was pleased with both lines as well. I mean, he knows X's and O's way better than I do but I can't say I was impressed with the O-Line. Our ground game struggles were put in perspective for me though, by Vote_Crisler_1937 http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/week-2-best-thing-you-saw#comment-4061740.

 

After taking that into consideration, I guess the world isn't coming to a fiery end.

 

 

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SNSD

September 11th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^

I find it fascinating that despite MIchigan winning 51-14, some people still hunts for every little mistakes. 

You either win big and be perfect at every aspect or you will get hordes of fans complaining on the internet. I read some of the comments yesterday on several boards and you would think we lost the game somehow with how many people complaining about the mistakes, as oppose to the positives of the game.

Truly fascinating. 

Joined: 06/07/2015

MGoPoints: 583

Roland Deschain

September 11th, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^

Admittedly, I was one of those fans yesterday. During the game and immediately following, I didn't really think the score was indicative of on-field performance. However, that's only because I'm a moron. Now, having read the PFF and bloggers much more knowledgeable than me, I think we played a great game.



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SNSD

September 11th, 2016 at 1:56 PM ^

I attribute such behaviours on selective memory. It's human nature to focus on the one negative rather than the several positives. 

There could be a play were ucf gotten pressure due to a slight mistake by an OL and people immediately forget he did great on 5-7 plays prior. Or a DL got pushed back or taken out of play by the opposing team on one play, but was great and provided intense pressure on previous downs. 

We tend to stress and worry immediately of that one play rather than judging the entire picture as a whole. 

Remember, we won 51-14! How is it when reading those comments from yesterday, it appears we barely did anything correct? 

Bizarre internet people I guess.

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