Some exerpts for O-zone's "Michigan Monday"

Submitted by DamnYankee on

http://theozone.net/football/2012/ByeWeek/MichiganMonday.html

 

2 key observations....

 

"The interior offensive line had a rough day for the Wolverines. On the first drive of the game Elliott Mealer pulled on a running play, but couldn't get to the play in time and Toussaint was tackled for a one-yard gain. Mealer hasn't been able to get to the play a lot this year, yet Al Borges continues to think he can.

Then two plays later Mealer got dominated on third and three and gave up a sack to Ra'Shede Hageman, who simply swatted Mealer away.

Guards Ricky Barnum and Patrick Omameh had similar games. When they pull, they may or may not get to their man. Both lack the necessary mobility to make this running attack work as well as it could.

Denard Robinson does a fantastic job minimizing the offensive line's weaknesses, but nobody else does."

 

"It continues to be a very dull double-edged sword for Toussaint. Half of the time there is no where for him to run, the other half of the time when there is somewhere to run, he can't make anybody miss."

 

I am not sure I agree with his assessment of Omameh's mobility since it was his main asset in RR's offense.

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oriental andrew

November 6th, 2012 at 10:51 AM ^

No it doesn't.  They're (probably) not as strong, not as familiar with the offense, and not as familiar with opposing defenses.  The redshirts will benefit them more than burning them, as long as we have serviceable upperclassmen in those positions.  Only way you see true frosh OL play is if we have injury issues arise. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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johnvand

November 6th, 2012 at 1:26 PM ^

One of two things are true if you're playing a true freshman on the Oline:

  1. He's a once in a decade talent.
  2. Your depth is screwed, and you're in for some pain.

Kalis is the only one of the bunch who might fit into #1. 

The Bryant injury has kinda screwed up the competition level on the Oline.  The 5 best are on the field and there's a significant drop off to #6 right now since the Freshmen aren't ready.

This will be the norm until about 2014/15 when the Oline depth gets back to where it needs to be.

Joined: 02/04/2010

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redhousewolverine

November 6th, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^

Insert here Brian's analysis on why Lewans ufr numbers were so low early last season and concluding that Omameh's difficulty pulling left led us to run right for a significant portion of last year. He has improved but Omameh's ability to excel in space has been a casualty to the coaching/offensive philosophy switch. I think I remember Brian thinking Omameh wasn't able to keep his ample agility as he put on more weight. Just because Omameh was a RR OL recruit doesn't mean he has retained his nimble ability to maneuver in the field.

Joined: 08/17/2010

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ChasingRabbits

November 6th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^

Well I think the question is more with the reason he gave for his poor pulling.  "Lacks the mobility"....  DONKEY would say that this might not be it.  I see now the Magnus has questioned his feet.  That to me says agility more than mobility.   He does suck on pulling, and i would also argue his assignment recognition while pulling sucks, which has nothing to do with mobility or agility. 

Its funny when people just pick on other people rather than discuss the actual topic. 

 

Joined: 01/19/2010

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Mmmm Hmmm

November 6th, 2012 at 3:33 PM ^

But this is part of my biggest pet peeve about broadcasting.  I do not know whether it is intentional, but most announcers refuse to criticize "stars".  Almost every player has good plays during a game and some average-to-bad plays, especially on the college level.

UFR of course is not the be-all-end-all of evaluation, but it is much more than a non-football person like myself could ever put together on my own, so it is a good enough proxy for performance for me.  I recall that Omameh had some games where he pulled better, and others where he had trouble.  I did not pick up on what the different circumstance(s) of Omameh's better games, but obviously he was able to succeed at times.

Joined: 09/12/2010

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LSAClassOf2000

November 6th, 2012 at 10:57 AM ^

"The good news for the Wolverines is that they rushed for 155 yards without any aid from Denard Robinson. That doesn't sound like a lot, but at least it's something." - from the article

Minnesota qualifiers aside, this is actually rather significant considering there have only been two other games this season where players not named Denard Robinson have contributed more than 155 yards of net rushing - UMass (188) and Illinois (225) - and, of course, Robinson was in those two games. It points to the rushing game - with some work in other areas - being pretty decent post-Denard as well, and that in combination with Gardner's performance is very encouraging, at least to me.

 

Joined: 01/07/2011

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superstringer

November 6th, 2012 at 11:09 AM ^

Devin pointed out post-game what was painfully obvious during the game -- he wasn't being asked to run during the game.  No backup on scholly with two operational arm nerves.  So, by the second half, Minnie had to know Gardner was no threat to run much, and yet the RBs still put put the pedestrian numbers they did.

Why am I so not relieved.

Joined: 02/04/2009

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Magnus

November 6th, 2012 at 11:01 AM ^

Omameh is an okay zone blocker and releases downfield pretty well, but his footwork when he pulls is pretty inconsistent.

I've said all along that I think Omameh would have made a better tackle than a guard.  He doesn't have the frame to play guard, and if he were playing tackle, he wouldn't have to pull.

Joined: 07/17/2008

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Chi-Blue

November 6th, 2012 at 11:14 AM ^

This line was brought in by a different coach to play a different system. Yes, I know they are running pretty much the same running stuff, but its being coached by guys that are not experts or fans of the system. Also we have to remember that because of the RR recruiting issues we have no depth, and its not like Mealer, Omomeh, or even Barnum were even close to being All-Americans who were going to really do great things at Mich. Please dont take that to mean I dislike them, but the Offensive line has the longest way to go of any position group at Mich. Hoke knew/knows that, and our desire to take 10 plus scholarship lineman in the last two classes is proof of that. Yes we needed numbers at the position, but just as important is the fact that we needed a huge upgrade in talent.

 

Joined: 04/30/2011

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JimLahey

November 6th, 2012 at 11:15 AM ^

I don't pay attention to the individual O-linemen like the better football minds on this site, but has Christian Bryant received any playing time, and if so how has he looked? He is kind of important going into next year, no?

Joined: 01/18/2011

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readyourguard

November 6th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^

I sort of feel bad for Barnum, Mealer, and Omameh.  They seemed to have regressed as the season progresses and yet they're still asked to pull.  I applaud their effort but it seems to me that we should switch that strategy up, if at all possible. 

No MOAR pulling.

Joined: 08/21/2008

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Brian

November 6th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^

FWIW, it was Funchess who was the problem on the first play mentioned. He had to down block a guy going straight upfield and lunged at him. It was ugly. Mealer is innocent there. 

Joined: 05/26/2008

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steve sharik

November 6th, 2012 at 2:17 PM ^

...the Rimington Award Winning NFL guy to a guy who's never started before (except maybe spot duty), yeah, there's gonna be just a little dropoff there. 

From Brian's 2012 OL Preview: (http://mgoblog.com/content/preview-2012-offensive-line)

"Rimington winner and reach-block fiend David Molk exits, and Michigan will feel that loss. How keenly depends on how senior Ricky Barnum adapts to center."

Um, yeah, not so much.

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