Snap count and (lack of) adjustment at the line
A couple of things I noticed during the game that I thought were interesting and worth discussing:
1) There were zero adjustments at the line of scrimmage that I could discern. We would call the play in the huddle, line up, and run it. I never once saw either QB make any checks or get us out of bad plays. One play in particular that sticks out was the 2nd offensive play of the game where we pull the TE to the play side. Presnap, there was a safety that walked down outside that TE obviously going to blitz. There's no chance of that play being successful yet we ran it anyway, and lo the safety was unblocked and made the tackle in the backfield.
It wasn't just the QB. I didn't see a lot of protection adjustments by the OL either. Defenders would come down presnap, and there wasn't any pointing or communication between the OL. Sometimes they would adjust, other times they seemed to get caught with defenders overloaded to one side without sliding over, and let guys through unblocked as a result.
Was this part of the "simplifying" we heard about? Or is it an artifact of Shea being relatively new to the offense still? Rudock and Speight earlier on also seemed to be kept from making checks at the line, if I recall correctly.
2) In shotgun, we went with a wonky way of calling for the snap. The QB would clap to get the center to look back between his legs, then point to the ground. The center would then get his head up and after a beat, snap the ball.
I don't think I've ever seen a team do both methods, it's usually one or the other. This was fine for the most part but was infuriatingly slow in hurry up time.
The other problem is it's really easy to time up the snap based on the center's head coming up. I don't think Michigan ever varied the timing or called for a fake snap to slow the defense down or try to get them to jump either.
On a similar note, DCaf also had an annoying habit of starting to move back before the ball was snapped under center, again tipping the snap to the D.
Hopefully we put some stuff in to address this. The OL needs all the help they can get and giving away a split second of reaction time advantage to the D doesn't seem like it's something we want to do.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^
Crowd noise
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:11 AM ^
I get that, but why clap at all then, it just adds time and is another chance for the center to not hear something (which happened a couple times).
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:30 AM ^
He's clapping first so the center doesn't have to keep his head down looking through his legs the whole time. Ruiz needs to see the defense too so he can make line calls. When he hears the clap, he knows to look and wait for the signal to snap.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
We all know why he’s clapping - it’s stupid. Many times Shea would clap several times bc the clock was running down - then he had to point to get the snap.
Clap or point or cadence or have the guard look and tap C, pick one.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:49 AM ^
The center can simply look when he's ready, at which point the QB calls for the snap. That's how most teams do the point/stomp method.
September 4th, 2018 at 10:54 AM ^
Were there any false starts in this game? I was there and was pretty impressed with the lack of issues related to noise - especially for a first game. It was pretty damn loud and I was in the "Michigan" section (half ND anyway).
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:10 AM ^
If you care to look at my post history, I'm definitely in the optimist club. I'm just bringing up a couple concrete things I noticed for discussion.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^
I think Jim needs to put more options out there for Shea. Give him the reins. Let him do what he does. I think (hope?) that will happen gradually as the season progresses.
When things get tight though, it seems like Jim still has the tendancy to turtle and play that same old conservative and predictable Lloyd-ball type stuff that is so easy to sniff out. My fiance was literally predicting what the playcall would be and was correct 90% of the time.... and she is just a casual observer.
Every offense has a shelf life... ours has been LONG expired.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:21 AM ^
I actually thought the play calling and game plan were pretty decent. Lots of spread looks, quick hitters, roll outs, mixed in with some max protect and deep routes worked well for the passing game. The problem is Michigan isn't really equiped to run the ball out of that look, nor is that something this staff knows well, so you end up with two different offenses that don't really work off of each other.
I do think they could run Shea more out of the empty looks. Defense was pinning their ears back on those and thinking pass all the way.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:27 AM ^
Word.
Another thing that interested me is that we’ve been hearing all offseason about how the new strength and conditioning program will pay dividends this year. Speed wasn’t sacrificed for strength gains... or so we were told.
Is it just me or did our skill position players look slow and lethargic? No burst after the catch, no exploding out of the hole.
We looked like a Michigan team from the 1970s out there last night.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:35 AM ^
A team from the 70's would have ground ND into dust.
BO knew how to recruit and develop OL.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:25 AM ^
A team from the 70s was a wealth of riches having 105 scholarships and 95 scholarships in 78. Ridiculous to even compare.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
We seem to have taken those reduced scholarships from the offensive line ranks. I want my line to consist of seniors and 5th year seniors. Maybe a junior or two if they are really good. Factor in a 50% hit rate on offensive linemen so I am looking for 17-18 scholarship OL. We seem to consistently have 12-13.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:42 AM ^
We definitely were slow, even the D was slow compared to last year.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:20 AM ^
I remember reading on reddit from a fan of a previous school of the new s&c coach to expect Michigan players to look jacked but be slow, lethargic, and to run out of gas.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
Well, on the more tiring side of the ball to play (defense), we got stronger as the game went on, so your Reddit pal may be wrong.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:55 AM ^
Ambry Thomas looked plenty fast and strong. The D never looked gassed like it did in the 4th Q of so many games last year.
September 3rd, 2018 at 6:58 AM ^
This. The D was fast. They were also in ND's backfield a lot. I also noticed they weren't gassed at the end of the game.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:45 AM ^
Yes, that was good. But the problem was spotting ND a 21-3 lead early in the game. To me that was a big killer. It forced Michigan to get away from their power running game too early, go to the air more, and allow ND to start amping up the pressure.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:39 AM ^
"Is it just me or did our skill position players look slow and lethargic? No burst after the catch, no exploding out of the hole. "
I didn't necessarily notice it from our skill players, although I wasn't watching particularly closely. However, the play where Bush was left flat footed and beaten to the edge while spying Wimbush on his 3rd-and-6 pickup immediately made me nervous that being at 240 was not actually going to help his game. Bush is slightly out of position, but from where Wimbush begins his scramble he manages to get the corner and advance about 12-13 yards before Long forces him into the sideline.
Maybe this isn't all that new and I'm forgetting other occurrences, but I don't recall seeing Bush losing a foot race to a mobile QB before.
Edit: Sorry if the .gif shows an ad. Hopefully you can click the x to close it out.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
Just from that clip, I don't think it's cause for concern. Bush was closing fast on the QB, which is what caused the change of direction to the sideline. The WR's block on the other defender is what allowed the gain for the first down.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:08 AM ^
My fiance was literally predicting what the playcall would be and was correct 90% of the time.... and she is just a casual observer.
A fiancé is a man engaged to be married. A fiancée is the woman engaged.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:09 AM ^
Thanks, wasn’t aware of that.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:58 AM ^
I’m tired of hearing “Lloyd ball” as a negative phrase. I’d take Lloyd ball right now. Back when we won some big games and could run the ball behind a great offensive line.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:00 AM ^
Endorse: “When things get tight though, it seems like Jim still has the tendancy to turtle and play that same old conservative and predictable Lloyd-ball type stuff that is so easy to sniff out.”
All the razzle-dazzle stuff is brought out against Maryland and Rutgers, contrary to another poster’s hopes that we’re saving stuff for MSU and OSU.
Despair.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
She have any OC experience? We may need her.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:24 AM ^
Teams have been using #2 to snap the ball for about a decade.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:41 AM ^
I saw numerous times where SP was frustrated because the snap was taking too long. There were obviously issues with this whole sequence. It boggles my mind because you would think all this would have been practiced many, many, many times in camp.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
Sure it's been practiced many, many times in camp. But in camp there isn't 80,000 fans screaming while the oline is trying to read the defense and make their oline calls and then listen for the clapping of the QB.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
Shea wants to move much faster than the snap is allowing. Which is odd as Ruiz was his center at IMG.
Also: Do we have any kind of tempo game at all? We ran the slowest spread I ever saw in my life.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:49 AM ^
Guys its simple. It doesnt matter. We have senior tackles starting and they are hot garbage. This will not get fixed this year because we have no other options. Our other "options" are a freshman and a sophomore and i'm pretty sure that we shouldn't have high hopes for them this year. If runyan and JBB are starters now and beat out hudson and mayfield, what does that say about those two. Not good at all either. Sorry but this season hinges on OL play and it is STILL bad.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:16 AM ^
Yes, the tackles are a problem, as I have stated frequently on the board.
But this is a post about a technical aspect of football, discussing Michigan's unique (never before seen here) snap count process, and how that may or may not have affected team performance. The poster is smart and it's a worthwhile discussion. I agree the tackles are the achilles heel of the team, but there are lots of other things worth discussing as well.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:14 AM ^
My impression, watching live, was that the snap count was specifically designed to give time to both Shea and the line to read the defense. Shea would read, he would clap, Ruiz would look down, hand, snap. There seemed to be deliberate time built in to force the defense to tip; whether that worked or not, I don't know.
There were occasionally odd clap arrangements. It's not clear to me if that was a deliberate obfuscation, or the QB simply repeating the "clap" because it wasn't heard the first time.
There were occasions of OL pointing to discuss assignments, but that seemed rare. What we don't know is what verbal communication was occurring amongst them, if any.
Honestly, I thought it worked pretty well for most of the game, until they had to do it at speed and it bled three or so seconds off of every play at the end of the game. The team was pretty much always lined up in time to read the D and to go through the process. There was never any confusion about snap counts or misheard signals. It just took a bit longer than you expect for what looked very much like a "tempo" offense for large parts of the game.
BTW, regarding that annoying huddle with 4 minutes to go: Someone can correct me if my memory is bad, but I thought they huddled because Shea was coming back in the game for McCaffrey. I don't like using the time, but it's possible they wanted to change/update the plan with the starter back in.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:36 AM ^
It is worth pointing out that we had zero false starts - not bad for a new QB, a new center, and a new left tackle. (The delay of game, and only delay of the game, as the first play from scrimmage after half was a bit embarrassing, but was rapidly erased by a 50 yard bomb to neat Nico Collins).
Mineral King acquitted himself well considering the 3 hr fire drill he was exposed to.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:01 AM ^
I noticed that as well. The impact of the big penalties on the D overshadowed the lack of penalties on the offense. For there to be no false starts in that environment is definitely a small silver lining.
September 3rd, 2018 at 5:15 AM ^
If the Tackle situation gets figured out. We will be a team, no one wants to play and we might get a rematch w ND in the CFP. Hoping the very experienced and knowledgeable coaches figure it out soon! If not, JUST BEAT OSU!!!
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I'm not sure there is anything to figure out.
I watched Runyan closely throughout the game and he was getting worked. He physically could not keep up. He does not have the talent to play that position. It is what it is.
Like a 5'2'' DB, there is only so much you can do when you are facing that kind of physical limitation.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:31 AM ^
Yes. Someone (skene on Twitter?) brought a similar point up. When they are showing blitz go with a good hard count to see if they are really coming or going to back off. It may not always work but you at least have to play the cat n mouse game. Give your line every chance you can to make the right call before the ball is snapped.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:32 AM ^
Prob not with a new QB. I remember someone asking Harbaugh or another coach about this in the past and he doesn't seem to be big on QBs calling audibles - that could also be that he doesn't trust the QBs he has had.
I do believe this is something that really holds back our offense. If you are brave enough to watch clips from the ND game watch the third play (3 & 10) of the 1st quarter. We show blitz and the ND WR raises his hand. Wimbush looks over and the play or at least that WR route is changed.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:15 AM ^
Why is Ruiz doing that damn head bob again right before the snap. You know where your qb is dude... that bob is so easy to time because he snaps it right after he does it every freaking time
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
The rest of the team doesn't see the QB point, so the head bob is for them to see and time up the snap too. It's fine as long as they vary it or do a fake one from time to time, but we really never did.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
Good observations. The snap sequence out of shotgun was inefficient and maddening.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:55 AM ^
I don't remember seeing the Pistol much either, if at all. The offense was extremely conservative and predictable. Maybe even more so than usual smh.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
I'm trying to say this in the nicest way possible, but did you even watch the game? They went 5 wide, read options, bubble screens, slants, designed rollouts, etc. Pretty much everything you'd want to mitigate a questionable OL and take advantage of a mobile(ish) QB, they did. Yeah, they still ran out of 22 personnel sometimes, but that's also Michigan's bread and butter on the ground and set up the long passes off of play action. If anything it was too varied and they never established any one thing they could counter off of later, except the previously mentioned play action.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
thank you.
i see people saying same old power ball and im confused as to what theyre looking at
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:33 AM ^
I thought the clapping and hand waiving were ways to throw off the ND front 7. Basically if you change which one the center snaps on - sometimes a clap sometimes a hand waive etc the defense can’t jump the snap as we saw MSU do a few years ago each time the center put his head down.
I thought I saw line calls as well. When the play clock was running down and Shea was clapping excitedly for the snap it was because Ruiz was still checking the line into a call. Maybe I’m wrong though. I don’t know that much about football.
September 3rd, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
Very well stated. Every team has tendencies. If these tendencies are not fixed it really gives good, observant football coaches / players a huge advantage pre and post snap.
Take the snap count for instance. You already have a defense that is thrashing through the OL consistently. Not changing our snap count, or the delay from head bob to snap is not intelligent or innovative coaching.