UNLV Snowflakes: The Offense
September 9th, 2023 at 6:51 PM ^
What in the world has happened to Edwards? Is he banged up? He looks extra tentative and slow.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:04 PM ^
He's fine. Hasn't often had a lot of space to run in. You'll note that his few opportunities with space have been fine; if you remember that nice catch-and-run he had, he made a perfect turn and then turned on the jets for a nice gain.
It's early. There haven't been that many touches available and they're trying to force touches to him a bit, which is honestly a good idea. The yards will come.
September 10th, 2023 at 9:13 AM ^
My take on Edwards so far in his career is that he’s struggled a bit with CREATING space, but he’s lethal when the space is there. As a runner it seems like he gets a lot of 1-2 yard gains and breaks a chunk here and there.
As you mentioned, the space simply hasn’t been there for him much so far.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Reading his press clippings and talking being Barry and Walter and such garbage.
September 10th, 2023 at 1:37 AM ^
Yeah, that was cringy. Hopefully, he'll learn and let his performance do all the talking.
September 9th, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
Defenses are overloading defenders at the LOS and the OL is not blocking as well as they did last season. Those two things are slowing Edwards down. Edwards doesn't cut as well as Corum and is really being bogged down by these things. The weaker teams really don't have any other choice than to expend a lot of resources stopping the run. The better teams we face will likely try to be more balanced and I am expecting by that point the OL will have gelled and we'll start punishing on the ground like we did last season. Difference this year is JJ is hammering teams through the air so we could see a true balanced explosion of offense as the season rolls on.
Back to Edwards, I am hoping we have some nice RB wheel routes dialed up for him in the tougher games on the schedule. Feels like he is ready to explode as a route runner this season.
September 9th, 2023 at 6:52 PM ^
JJ picked up where he left off last week: EXCELLENT! Corum had a better game and looked sharper. The OL got the push we were expecting last week but still need more work. Donovan needs to improve his run game. Roam Wilson was open a few times and JJ didn't see him but Roman had another great game with 2 more TD catches. Cornelius was solid and had a great YAC run, came up a little short of the end zone.
The back ups sputtered after Jack Tuttle made a great play so the 4th quarter was a disappointment.
September 10th, 2023 at 12:22 PM ^
+1 for “roam Wilson”, which I will be stealing and using!
September 9th, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
JJ is the real deal. Throwing absolute dimes, one of them was an NFL pass into a very tight zone near the sideline.
Corum is rusty but seems to be slowly getting better...he looked better than last week. 80 yards and 3 TDs isn't exactly bad. Not worried about him.
Edwards seems off for some reason. Hasn't really done much so far.
OL isn't run blocking as well as last year, but they have time to improve.
Cupcakes are at least giving us their all the entire game and making some nice plays. Not great for the scoreboard, but will be invaluable experience for developing our backups.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:53 PM ^
Edwards isn't off. They are calling plays that the OL aren't executing. Why not throw delayed screens to Edwards, and give him some space.
September 10th, 2023 at 9:04 AM ^
...because they do not need to right now-from a variety of perspectives...none that prioritize the wishes of the fans. They are working on what they are not doing well. Michigan did the same thing, and more, last year and ascended to an elite level.
What Michigan is doing is the best way to get better-individually and as a team. And I would say/assess this regarding JJ as well. They are perfecting that short to intermediate passing game but I guarantee that, in practice, the longer game is getting plenty of attention. It will be interesting to see if Michigan begins putting more on film over the next several games-I'm not convince that they will.
September 10th, 2023 at 2:03 PM ^
I saw a few plays where Edwards left some yards on the field…it looked like he could have broken long runs but gets tackled at the last moment instead. He’s great in space but not reliable in tight spacing. He needs to either break tackles, or hit those opportunities quicker. It’s not all on the OL…Corum is #1 precisely because he can routinely make those plays positive even if the OL isn’t blocking perfectly.
September 10th, 2023 at 2:30 PM ^
Yeah, it sure looked like the Edwards at the end of the season last year had a bit better vision and made some faster cuts. Maybe he's just pressing too hard, but it looks like something's up with him aside from the run blocking and defenses packing the box.
September 9th, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
I am really disappointed that J.J. had three incompletions. We’re screwed.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:05 PM ^
If we look at the pattern he’ll have a 100% completion rate for the Nebraska game
September 9th, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
Bench Hinton and put the reads on and the run game will be fine.
September 9th, 2023 at 6:56 PM ^
JJ is a beast. They are comparing him to Burrow on the post-game.
September 9th, 2023 at 8:52 PM ^
Joe Burrow. . .but fast!
September 9th, 2023 at 6:57 PM ^
JJ looks like an NFL pro QB out there! OL still has not gelled in the running game.
September 9th, 2023 at 6:57 PM ^
The run game has not been good and it's beginning to worry me.
JJ has been awesome.
September 9th, 2023 at 9:56 PM ^
It would be more accurate to say that it hasn't been up to last year's stellar standards yet. The line was working with such precision as the year wore on. Given the way teams have defended us through two games, I'm just not sure we know yet.
September 9th, 2023 at 6:58 PM ^
I wonder what's up with Orji - we saw 4 QBs and he wasn't any of them. He also wasn't on an injury list or anything.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:08 PM ^
How many games did he play in last year? Possible that we are working on a redshirt year, but also saving his 4 games for opponents that might matter?
September 9th, 2023 at 7:21 PM ^
I too was expecting to see Alex Orji out there. I'll be asking some questions on that as the week goes on.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:55 PM ^
Is there a chance Orji is JJs backup and they are saving him ?
September 9th, 2023 at 9:04 PM ^
Some of the rotation definitely seems off (like Hinton starting this week over Jones). I wonder if they're playing a bunch of guys during this "preseason" and saving the true 2nd string for the end of B1G conference blowouts
September 9th, 2023 at 7:01 PM ^
Passing game looks amazing. CJ, Roman, and Morris show why they are starters. Edwards adds another talent and wrinkle, Loveland wasn’t even targeted but is a matchup nightmare. Disappointed with our run game and line play, need to develop to win in November.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:02 PM ^
The Don has not quite surpassed Barry Sanders and Walter Payton.
September 9th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
That boast is going to follow him around like a bad odor.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:04 PM ^
JJ might be the best QB I've seen in a maize and blue uniform.
There's a lot of concern about the rushing game, but they still had 179 rushing yards.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:15 PM ^
179 is fine but 40 of em came on CJ reverse and Tuttle run.Im not seeing many of those 5 yard runs on 1st down or many explosive runs.
September 9th, 2023 at 9:51 PM ^
Is a 25-yard reverse not explosive? Plus that play and Tuttle's sweet read option opened up b/c the defense was so worried about defending our between the tackles run game.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:27 PM ^
It's UNLV and ECU It's worrying. These are not NFL players they are playing against unlike the back half of our schedule. Worried about the run game vs Rutgers defense is not a spot one wanted to be for #2 in nation.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:04 PM ^
Edwards doesn’t look 100%
September 9th, 2023 at 7:26 PM ^
There has been no hint from any of the Michigan insiders that Donovan is not 100%. Not saying you're wrong and sometimes these things are close to the vest. Donovan has been used a lot as slot receiver so far. His running game is off for sure and he doesn't seem to reading the defense like he did last season.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:56 PM ^
He has nowhere to run... watch the plays they call for him.
September 9th, 2023 at 8:56 PM ^
He did seem to get touches primarily on RPS losses.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:28 PM ^
Either did Barry Sanders but he made something out of nothing routinely. Edwards is better than Barry. Just ask him,
September 9th, 2023 at 11:08 PM ^
I am not saying Edwards is injured. It does look like things are off for his touches, the line not blocking right, his plays aren’t called for his skill set, his mind isn’t in it right now, bad luck, something isn’t going right for him these first two games.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:05 PM ^
Do you think throwing the ball more often is causing inconsistencies in the running game?
Pass protection has been good but not opening up holes like we should be in the running game imo
September 9th, 2023 at 7:23 PM ^
I still think UM Oline is seeing stacked boxes, it seems like Donovan takes 10 or so carries to really get going against this kind of defense, Blake is getting his just fine, but just with minimal touches the last 2 weeks.
Line I bet will prove to be dominant on film, just taking on stacked boxes and it looks pedestrian while Donovan is trying to figure things out. I really hope Donovan improves his vision as the season goes so that he’s hitting stuff on earlier carries instead of not seeing much from him until the 3rd qtr (he was beginning to get going in the 3rd last game).
September 9th, 2023 at 7:05 PM ^
J.J. That is all.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:20 PM ^
I understood that reference…
September 9th, 2023 at 10:23 PM ^
The Sweet Smell of Success!
September 9th, 2023 at 7:09 PM ^
I have to Lol at everyone who's panicking over the backup QBs. Imagine if our backup QBs looked like that but we were told all preseason that the starting QB was undecided and would be an in season battle? You don't have to imagine it because that's exactly what's happening in Columbus.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:21 PM ^
Totally agree, panic over the line, the running game the 2nd string. I am worried about our 4th string long snapper.
September 9th, 2023 at 9:50 PM ^
Also, give any of our backups the luxury of having CJ, Wilson, Morris, and Loveland out there and I bet it looks a lot different
September 9th, 2023 at 7:18 PM ^
JJ and the passing game is unreal, can’t wait to see the deep shots come into play more, but the chemistry with the WR’s is elite.
Wilson and Johnson have each taken big steps up, Morris looks to be solid too.
I still think Oline is having to take on a ton of men in the box, I feel like a rewatch will show that they are still taking care of business in the run game. Pass protection is very clean.
However at RB it seems that it has to go thru Blake this year, clearly looks like RB1 to me. Something about Donovan’s running style seems to take about 10 carries until he really gets cooking. He is obviously valuable as an RB, but I think there need to be more passing concepts unleashed for him. I hope they continue to develop more of an outside run game that favors Donovan, I did like the sweep call, although I’m pretty sure it was to the short side of the field and obviously minimal gain.
Love that we saw some RPO and JJ runs, although his one up the middle was a little scary and risky against UNLV.
Overall awesome, keep doing what they are doing and the defenses will be forced to drop the safeties back further, especially if more deep throws come into the equation.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:23 PM ^
JJ has made a jump from last year. The run game seems to be trying to find its way. I wonder if we are going see the offensive line get shuffled a little bit. I've become a huge fan of playing cupcakes. It gives us a chance to try a lot of things and get some guys some action without any real danger. JJ just jumps off the screen right now. It is fun to watch.
September 9th, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
The tackles have struggled, Hinton in particular. They said they would have rotation but have stuck with Barnhart and Hinton. Not sure what the coaches are seeing there.