What can be done to fix our lack of explosive plays?
We are getting 5.3 yards per play, thats the lowest of any ranked team. The playoff contenders are getting around 7 (OSU, ND, Clemson, PSU) with some of them even higher (Oklahoma 9.9, Bama 8.4, LSU 8, UGA 7.9). Our number is so much lower because we lack explosive plays. WHY IS THAT? Even on deep completions it seems the receiver always gets tackled shortly after. There has only been one run of 20+ yards all year. ZC for 41 in the 4th quarter against MTSU (we didn't even score on that drive). We have the talent to compete. 247 has us ranked 11th in talent on the roster and we have the same number of 4*s and 5*s on the roster as Clemson (40). What happened to speed in space? Why does it seem like our guys can't make a man miss or break a tackle? It's painful to watch all the other games where guys are regularly going for 20 after the catch or slipping out of a tackle and scoring. Explosiveness has been missing since at least the 2016 team, how do we bring it back?
October 6th, 2019 at 4:55 PM ^
Everyone keeps forgetting that Harbaugh has recruited the O-line for his Pro Style Offense. We saw significant improvement in line play last year compared to 2017. All of a sudden, they're now told to learn the RPO playbook. Give it some time, everyone. I know it's season 5 for Harbaugh, but it's season 1 for this new offense.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:38 PM ^
LSU recruited OL geared toward pro style too
October 6th, 2019 at 9:03 PM ^
Who has LSU played? A bunch of Rutgers level teams and a mediocre Texas (who should have won the game). lSU will struggle to score 14 points versus Bama.
October 6th, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
All those teams doing much better have a better:
RBs coach
WRs coach
QB coach
OC
Any questions?
October 6th, 2019 at 5:04 PM ^
Yeah the teams putting up 7+ yds/pp probably do. But teams like Troy and Charlotte can put up 6+ yds/pp which with our defense would likely be enough to keep us in every game we play this year. Surely there aren't 94 coaching staffs better than ours.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:39 PM ^
I am not meaning the whole staff. Just the ones listed.
This is a list of the top 15 passing games (going by this stats list) in Div 1 college football. There has to be at least one passing game coach in those teams that would fit in well at Michigan, would love to come to Michigan, and bring change for good almost immediately. And I'm not meaning a coach from LSU, Alabama, and Oklahoma.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:01 PM ^
Max protect and chuck and pray
October 6th, 2019 at 5:03 PM ^
It's not just Gattis talking about "speed in space", he's talked repeatedly about putting the defense in conflict and we've seen no visible, consistent effort to do that. Granted, Shea missing open receivers or trying to force the ball into tight coverage vs. checking down helps to keep the offense off-schedule and not find a flow, but when a defense is sitting on short routes and part of Michigan's offensive scheme isn't challenging them deep to "put the defense in conflict", there's some basic Football 101 not happening.
With the athletes on this offense, every route from WR, Slot, TE, & RB (when necessary), should threaten a combination of short/mid/deep patterns to truly put the defense in conflict and maximize speed in space. Stop being predictable!
October 6th, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
Chicken blood.. I think that I have discovered the problem . From an un-named source Coach Harbaugh attended a seance during the trip to South Africa. What he thought was a harmless outing to a tourist attraction, was actually a trap set by OSU and MSU alums. Harbaugh has actually been possessed by the spirit of Bo. Hence, the conservative 70s style play calling and eccentric behavior. The only thing that will fix this is a exorcism by the Long Island Medium.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
Explosive plays begin with keeping the defense honest. Iowa played pass heavy defense because they didn't respect the run. They have a disciplined defense and don't miss tackles. That said, Michigan needs a back who can make people miss and break longer runs. In fairness, Charbonett probably has a meniscus problem which i wonder, may limit any jump stepping or side movement with any force. A road grader level OL or the great back IMO is the answer keeping the DBs numbers down. Someone on mgo with a medical knowledge that could comment on the meniscus thing would be interesting.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:37 PM ^
I have a theory. I feel that if the team can string more 5.4 ypp each game it would do a couple of things. Of course it would extend drives and score more points, but as it pertains to explosive plays, the longer the other team is on the field the more their D wears down. Voila, more longer grinding drive in the first half would lead to more explosive plays in the second half. So, maybe it's not necessarily the scheme, or necessarily the talent, or necessarily the play calling. Maybe it's a touch of both that is just making the offense sluggish and being taken off to field too quickly to wear down the other team's D.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:40 PM ^
Have a QB be a credible run threat
October 6th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^
credible run threat
But with Jay Harbaugh it's hard to do that. Sorry to say it, on this beautiful Sunday.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^
Cocaine and bagmen. That’s what this team needs obviously.
October 6th, 2019 at 5:59 PM ^
Lots of running back can get you 6-7 yards on a lot of carries but can’t make a guy miss at the second level which would give you a “chunk” run. Those are our guys. Are guys can’t “break ankles”. Chris Evans could, but he’s gone.
Look at Jonathan Taylor or JT Dobbins. They have the ability to do a little shake-n- bake at the second level to make a guy miss which will extend the run possibly all the way to the house
October 6th, 2019 at 6:11 PM ^
I don't know if everyone remembers, but Dobbins was largely shut down for a lot of last year when their QB wasn't running the ball.
October 6th, 2019 at 6:21 PM ^
Offensive line play dictates most of that....
October 6th, 2019 at 6:10 PM ^
Throw the ball to our NFL receivers so that they can make plays. You know, #speedinspace
October 6th, 2019 at 6:44 PM ^
The QB hasn't been consistent enough and use the whole field by spreading it around.
October 6th, 2019 at 6:14 PM ^
“We have the talent to compete.”
one of the things that worries me is nearing that the WR’s aren’t getting separation. If we are having a hard time getting separation vs. Iowa that is a huge concern for speed in space. And it would seem that speaks directly to talent. It’s the receivers job to get separation.
October 6th, 2019 at 6:17 PM ^
Crossing routes and slants. I'll hang up and listen. Signed Jake from Ann Arbor.
October 6th, 2019 at 9:35 PM ^
I don’t think you are actually Jake from Ann Arbor because you didn’t finish by saying, “win or lose, Go Blue!” several times.
October 6th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
The offensive line could learn how to block better....?
October 6th, 2019 at 6:35 PM ^
Unfortunately the answer to this problem isn't very complicated. We just need to call better plays. The playcalling and offensive game planning is completely ineffective and is holding the team back. Our offense has strengths and weaknesses, the defenses we've faced have too. We haven't been exploiting them, pairing up what we're good at vs what they aren't. Brown has been generally good at imposing his will on other teams offenses. I don't even know what the fuck you call the thing Gattis is doing, but I'll stick my neck out and say it's the opposite of imposing your will on defenses. I'd even take Pep offense back at this point, at least he helped us put up 39 on the Buckeyes in Columbus. Gattis couldn't get us past 10 at home with 4 turnovers in our favor.
October 6th, 2019 at 6:39 PM ^
I know you probably got this theme from Urban Meyer on the broadcast of yesterdays game, and I also found it interesting.
First: Give up on the idea that Harbaugh coaches that kind of game. Also, give up on the idea that Harbaugh has some sort of magical fairy dust plays in his playbook that hes saving. I mean, what could he possibly be saving anything for at this point? 2040?
I dont think he coaches that kind of game, either. I dont think hes letting Gattis coach it.
Another comment I found interesting by Urban Meyer was when he said offenses cant sustain drives like Harbaugh wants anymore. Defenses are too good
I agree--look at how Michigan handled Iowas offense, which is not quick strike, and look how they handled Michigan--which is god-awful.
Yep--someones gotta be able to break a long play, catch a long pass, or make a short pass turn into a 50-yard gain.
It just looks like Michigan is not going to be the team that does that.
As for fixes? Elephant in the room: Coaching.
I know that despite three offensive coordinators with two being the scapegoats for this board, Harbaughs offensive genius has not been shown here AND ITS NOT HIS FAULT GODDAMMIT--
But as I said, ELEPHANT in the room time for the Harbaugh lovers is now.
October 6th, 2019 at 6:54 PM ^
Wisconsin does a pretty good job of sustaining drives with their archaic offense.
October 6th, 2019 at 9:12 PM ^
Wisconsin has a fucking all time great RB and current Heisman leader named Jonathan Taylor. We dont
October 6th, 2019 at 10:53 PM ^
Why don't we have one then? Wisconsin has one every damn year. I can name them from memory. John Clay, Monte Ball, James White, Melvin Gordon, Cory Clement, and now Taylor. Wisconsin usually ranks lower than 25th in recruiting but always hits on their running back.
Michigan has top 10 or 20 classes but their running backs are rarely home run hitters. Outside of Higden being a decent back, Michigan has been lacking for years.
October 6th, 2019 at 8:16 PM ^
AND ITS NOT HIS FAULT
You were talking about Harbaugh? Gattis?
There weren't a lot of complaints about Harbaugh's offense in 2016 when Jedd Fisch was OC. But lots of complaints over the last 2+ years with Hamilton and Gattis. Now it's Harbaugh's offense this, Harbaugh's offense that. Instead it should have been Pep Hamilton's offense this, Pep Hamilton's offense that, Josah Gattis' offense this, Josh Gattis' offense that.
Or has all the last 4+ years been all Jim Harbaugh's offense, and in 2016 he pulled a Jekyll and Hyde?
October 6th, 2019 at 6:47 PM ^
I feel like Turner is the faster back and he hasn't really gotten to the second level often. Plus there's isn't much option read. The LBs are all keying on the RBs. If McCaffrey or Milton was out there with a larger threat of a QB keeper it might be different. Or maybe they'll do that more aginast ND & PSU? DPJ is our fastest WR and he's been hurt. But, often times, particularly on deep balls Patterson tends to under throw. It gives the WR a chance to make the catch, but they never are able to catch it in stride. Also Collins is the benefactor of most of the deep throws and they are often jump balls and he's probably the slowest of the WRs. Bell hasn't caught much in space. Sainristill and Jackson only have a few catches a piece. Most of Blacks catches seem like out routes.
October 6th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
We could possibly try to use the RBs off the tackles as opposed to running directly straight literally every damn rushing play. Ya know change it up a bit lol fucking aye
When you watch good explosive rushing teams rarely do they get their biggest runs up the gut. Its always when they run it towards the outside. Harbaugh Gattis seem content with 3 yard rushes up the middle over and over again
October 6th, 2019 at 6:49 PM ^
More crossing/drag routes. I also don’t think we have a ton of speed at WR, just not their strength.
October 6th, 2019 at 7:17 PM ^
quite simply, Jim hired the wrong guy and the offense is a mess. Shea was always Shea, talented but flawed. This system is not a match for him and the play caller(s?) don't seem to have a sense of exploiting defenses, given our personnel.
October 6th, 2019 at 8:19 PM ^
Maybe running things has turned out to be much harder for Gattis than he knew it would be.
We can already see he needs to be replaced. I just hope Zach Charbonnet's knee's has no permanent damage from the 33 carries against Army.
October 6th, 2019 at 7:21 PM ^
We lack speed and elusiveness at the skill positions for what’s needed in a true spread system. Some of that is made up for in size, and I agree the arm punts need to be more prevalent, which have been the only big play source thus far.
DPJ is probably the only rotation player that has above average speed for their position and he’s just now getting back to being healthy. Everybody wants to rag on Shea or blame play calling (some of which is deserved) but from my vantage point we don’t have guys getting much separation. The windows are almost always tight and teams don’t have to fear a back busting lose for a big run either if they miss a run fit.
Think about the first play against Wisky where Bell is caught inside the 10. Should have been a TD and we all know what happened next. None of OSU receivers are getting caught on that play. From what I saw of Iowa’s top guys I don’t think are either. You score there, who knows where that game goes.
Speed has not been a big priority in offensive skill recruiting for this staff and I think it‘s a major factor on the field. Shrinks the margin of error greatly.
October 6th, 2019 at 8:12 PM ^
Get faster players
October 6th, 2019 at 8:18 PM ^
October 6th, 2019 at 8:41 PM ^
Get rid of Josh Gattis. He is a horrible play caller. Tries to be cute with his stupid trick plays and seems to refuse to go back to plays that are working (ex. Deep passes like the one during the Iowa game). Thank God our defense is pretty good.
October 6th, 2019 at 9:08 PM ^
Doesn't matter much what plays are called when the QB is not good enough to execute them.
October 6th, 2019 at 8:46 PM ^
Put Patterson on the bench
October 6th, 2019 at 9:00 PM ^
Ugly win. Get over it. Michigan covered 7 points on may the best defensive games I can remember. We played a 5th rank defense in the country. And barely missed a field goal. The offense struggled. We have freshman running backs. There are no ugly wins when its IOWA!
October 6th, 2019 at 9:07 PM ^
Nothing. Shea is bad. I feel like weve gone over this a gazillion times
The QB is not good. He isn't going to magically start throwing for 300 yards. He cant read defenses. He cant lead WRs. He lacks confidence in how accuracy which is why he hardly ever tries to fit the ball in tight spaces. He is a horrendous redzone QB so even if we get a big play to enemy territory we will still struggle to punch it in
October 6th, 2019 at 11:14 PM ^
Your comment is bad. I feel like weve gone over this a gazillion times
Your comment is not good. It isn't going to magically start getting better.
Are you having a bad night?
October 6th, 2019 at 11:18 PM ^
Find out why we're having trouble assessing whether there's an open receiver after three seconds, why we can't throw a fade consistently, and why we're not running the QB effectively.
October 7th, 2019 at 12:25 AM ^
Michigan has been extremely hesitant wrt the deep ball for Harbaugh's entire tenure here. Considering the success rate on deep balls with Shea, that Harbaugh tendency went from perplexing to alarming.
Someone on the staff has got to be capable of convincing Shea to loft a ball down one sideline right at the moment that he currently decides to bug out of the pocket. As it is now, he bugs out, finds nothing anyway and takes a sack, then we punt. This one simple adjustment would probably open up all kinds of possibilities that have been out of reach so far.
I'm just a fan, but I'm pointing out something that has worked for Michigan when they bother to try it and has also worked for other outfits with talent at WR, like 2016/17 Penn State.
October 7th, 2019 at 8:09 AM ^
From a run game perspective I'd say lackluster performance from the OL, and it only seems like they have regressed every game. From a pass game standpoint YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO THROW THE BALL DOWNFIELD!!! I don't know if that's a coach issue or Shea not pulling the trigger, but from the naked eye I'd say it's more on the coaches.
October 7th, 2019 at 9:16 AM ^
Shit I don’t know!! Why do we have to be coaches also!!!?? (Rhetorical) They get paid the big bucks to figure this out and fix it. Hell they been doing for the last 9 months??
October 7th, 2019 at 1:08 PM ^
They need to quicken the tempo. Best way is to use quick passes. I saw Russell Wilson do this earlier this year against the Steelers:
They may need to tweak the patterns the receivers are running to make this more effective.