Rutgers Snowflakes - The Offense

Looks like we got a QB. I wonder if Milton is a “Practice Player.” I could see a situation where he looks phenomenal in practice.... but then wets the bed in games. 
 

Also - please don’t do the goal line run with the QB from the shot gun anymore. Please. No. That is why god created snapping from under center. 
 

finally - Imagine this offense with Nico, DPJ, Tarik, Cesar Ruiz. We graduated a lot of parts, had others not come back and still more get injured. I will be curious how this group of Freshman will be when they are seniors, because they are getting a Loooooooot of playing time. 

A STAR IS BORN.  4 TD in one half with three frosh OL.  

Some players are able to take it up a notch in games while some can't.  I find it hard to believe McNamara has been outplaying Milton in practice only to be made the backup.  He just needed meaningful snaps to prove his case.  That said, I feel bad for Milton.  He seems like a good kid, but obviously game performance is weighted heavier than practice, and his inconsistency keeps them from getting into a rhythm.

We learned a few things this evening... 

QB - Cade McNamara

RB- Hassan Haskins

K- Jake Moody

The defense is a massive jumble of bodies, some of which we have never heard of before. 

It’s time Josh Gattis earns his cash because we are gonna have to put 40+ to win any of the remaining games on our schedule.

Needed one or two more runs up the middle to soften up that stout Rutgers defense /s

McNamara on the post game radio interview: The young man has a future either in coaching or doing color commentary. 

He went through each score. Noted key contributions from other guys on each play. Also talked about his reads versus specific defenses. 

I don't know if I've ever heard a college quarterback give an interview like that. Definitely not after a wild game loaded with drama.

Interesting dude. Interested to see more. 

I think we were sold a load of crap that Milton “beat out” DMac. Seems like Harbaugh and Dmac + parents clashed, and they were left with Milton. Probably was defensible to go with Milton at that point, but I’m grateful we’ve found Cade. Suddenly everything that seemed so hard for Michigan in their passing game seems easy. We can find receivers, stretch the field, run slants. The JOK-Shea era of busting the play at the slightest pressure and missing open men hopefully could be over. Now how do we get Jim’s headset muted on all offensive sequences?

I thought Cade looked great (4 touchdowns, 1 running). After years of getting destroyed by slant passes it was nice to see us torch someone with them. Really pleasantly surprised with the OL considering 3/5 of the starters were out. We have some really great young players that are getting a lot of experience. Tough year but hopefully it’s the foundation of good things to come. 

Return of the Mack...the other Mack...the one that hopefully avoids injury better than the first one.

Cade played really well behind a bad OL. I know it was just Rutgers, but the variety of throws he made and his overall decision making were eye opening.  

What confuses me is that the playbook seemed to open back up when he came in.  Reads, screens, RPOs, slants, double moves....  Milton wasn't executing well at all, but it also felt like the plays were not what we saw against MN.  

Why is that?  Was he struggling so they shortened the play list?  Was it some power dynamic regarding whoever was calling plays?  Was he just ending drives so early that we never got to see more plays?

Cade does remind you of Forcier or even Griese.....they don't look like much and don't do anything amazing....but they make plays.  

CMac is fantastic and really excited to have him be the starter from here on out, but holy shit the play calling he gets is leagues better than the stuff Milton got. I get that Milton probably can't execute with enough accuracy to run those quick screens or pick plays, but if he can't do that, why is he your starter?? You wasted half the season with long developing pass plays that he can't hit because you apparently don't trust him with the short stuff

So absolutely confused and we still need to move on, but congrats to the players for a huge comeback and a gutty win, love seeing a gap toothed millionaire look on in defeat like Schiano tonight

Thank you Cade McNamara.  You played a whale of a game.  Had you started you may not have had to play 3 OTs

Thank you Cade McNamara.  You played a whale of a game.  Had you started you may not have had to play 3 OTs

We have an offense again?

I hope to never see Joe Milton take another snap. He fucking sucks.  I see the promise, the great arm.   Cade I see flat out better.  Makes me wonder how the fuck he beat Dylan out- he fucking sucks.  He fucking sucks.  (Christopher Walken voice). He   Fucking   Sucks.  

I basically figured a game like this would happen at some point. It is just more upsetting because I think Michigan beats MSU with Cade. 

Gattis must be out of his mind telling the announcers that he "doesn't feel like he has 25 carry back" right before the game when Haskins run over Rutgers with 25 carries. Did he not see Haskins and Charbonnet last season?

Thank you Cade McNamara.  You played a whale of a game.  Had you started you may not have had to play 3 OTs

One running back. Hot hand whatever. Just stop the turnstile 

I’ll bite. I coach soccer, different sport but I’ve coached college, high school and youth, and one thing is always consistent: sometimes kids who ball out during games simply do not practice quite as well. I’ve wrestled with decisions on who to start many times because one kid is killing it in practice while another is struggling or is simply lazy/unmotivated. A few years back I had a (college GK) kid with all the physical talents in the world who would find every excuse possible to miss training and would half-ass it when she did bother to show up.

Playoffs came and we went with the less talented, less physically-gifted kid who was dedicated and practiced very well.  And we lost a playoff game after she made a crucial error that the more talented, lazy kid would’ve never made.
 

I’m not suggesting Cade is lazy or unmotivated. I’m just saying that practice does not always paint a perfectly clear picture of who will perform better under pressure. Not gonna knock Harbaugh for starting the guy he felt gave us the best chance to win. Rather, I’ll give him credit for making a change when he did.   

Haskins should be the only back getting “standard” carries until the OL gets their shit together. He can run through garbage, no one else can. 

I think the defense has to respect Cade’s passing ability and that helps the run game and the pass protection. It seems like defenses don’t respect Milton’s passing at all. To me that’s the difference. It seemed like an entirely different o line when Cade entered the game.