You are the coach now. "Fix" M football

Submitted by Mgoczar on

Just getting around to all threads from the weekend, Brian's surrender cobra take on podcast and national media pundits (hell even Joel Klatt is having doubts on Michigan)

I am no coach (but hey would love to hear from Magnus, coyote etc). We all love M football. Besides the overriding sentiment (possibly factual) that LT is the reason we are struggling - mind you I am not sold that an even adequate LT just gives us auto wins - if you are the coach how would you go about "fixing" M football (let's not talk about recruiting here, I'm talking more tactical here)

Genesis of the post is the turnaround pen state did MIDSEASON after getting destroyed by Michigan. Their Oline ducked and yet they became better. Did they coach jump balls? Changed scheme to something unique ?? 

Thoughts?

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MgoKY

September 5th, 2018 at 12:38 AM ^

1.  I drive by the Louisville School for the blind with regularity, where they do amazing work for people in need.  2.  That statement, above anything else sports related you have said in this blog, makes you a true piece of shit human being.  Be a troll, naysayer, etc. all you want, but wtf is wrong with people and making statements like this.  If sports, or arguing sports is that important to you, then piece of advice...get a life.  Fin...

Joined: 12/23/2017

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Mgoczar

September 4th, 2018 at 11:59 PM ^

Love your comment. In an age of social media and POTUS tweeting if your sentiment is shared by many at M why cant there be a movement to let AD know of this ? I am not saying fire Harbaugh. Possibly get an innovative OC of the type you mention. Heck listening to Brian lose it in despair on the podcast was more depressing than even last season for me. Sad. I like your thought process wish we as fan base can be civilized and make it known to coaches ? Has that ever been done in a nice way? 

Joined: 09/29/2017

MGoPoints: 4198

newtopos

September 5th, 2018 at 12:25 AM ^

This is spot on, in my opinion.  And there are other examples closer to home.  Franklin was on the hot seat at Penn State, and brought in an innovative coach from the Patriot League (head coach at Fordham).  Their offense exploded.  What did Brian Kelly do after his four-win season?  Hire the OC of Memphis (Chip Long).  

In my opinion, the Warinner hire was a good one -- the OL needed (and continues to need) work.  But bringing in McElwain as a WR coach (after the short-lived hire of Dan Enos), and leaving the offensive design and play-calling to a three or four member committee (headed by a person who has more than enough on his plate) doesn't address the crux of the problem.  I hope a light goes for Harbaugh, and he sees that he could have a Don Brown type on offense, and that turning over the keys to the offense would not reflect poorly on him or lessen his involvement in the game.  

(And by the way, I think the 1947 Mad Magicians would count as innovative.)

Joined: 09/26/2009

MGoPoints: 3434

CHUKA

September 5th, 2018 at 1:38 AM ^

You worded it perfectly. We need an OC who’s willing to get creative. We need someone who’s proven they can utilize whatever talent they are given and make the best out of it. Like you said Lincoln Rileys don’t grow on trees, but people act like there’s literally nobody in the world out there who could coach an elite offense. Can I personally name a lot of them? No, but I may be incentivized to find them if you pay me a few million yearly.

Joined: 10/22/2016

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Space Coyote

September 5th, 2018 at 9:05 AM ^

Mauler's offense was ahead of the curve in a lot of ways.

But beside that, creativity is pretty pointless when you can't execute. Lincoln Riley's system works because his players can execute the scheme. If he had OTs that couldn't block, his scheme would suck too and people would be losing their minds.

I'm always reminded of when Dantonio and Pat Narduzzi took over at MSU running their Cover 4 scheme and the first couple years everyone lost their damn mind because it sucked, despite Dantonio's great background as a DC. But as soon as they could get guys to buy in and execute the assignments, they turned out one of the best defenses of the decade in 2012-2013.

I know, I know, "execution" is a 4 letter word around these parts, but "creativity" is so far down the list of what the problem is. Michigan's scheme, which isn't majorly changed, worked fine previously. Harbaugh's offense worked great in San Fran. He's plenty creative. They need to get guys coached up on some basics first though.

Joined: 06/18/2009

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JFW

September 5th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^

Thanks, SC. 

I get frustrated when I hear people with 25% of the information available questioning playcalling and starting lineups. 

I suppose the thing that does worry me a bit is why are we still struggling to get guys to execute the scheme? Is it the tackle issues that have caused a major avalanche? 

Joined: 10/20/2010

MGoPoints: 15285

BlueMan80

September 5th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^

That's where I am.  No amount of play calling can overcome 10 of 11 guys doing the right thing on offense.  One guy goofs up and a play can go south in a hurry.  They need to get everyone on the same page and execute as required.  Leading through diminished expectations rarely works.  Harbaugh is challenging these guys to make the plays.  They need to do that.  I also think things were pretty vanilla for a QB and center's first game on the road, under the lights, with a good opponent.  This is where playing a cupcake at home would have helped.  Can we hold off on the panic until we see how the next 3 weeks go?

Joined: 01/21/2011

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Newton Gimmick

September 5th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^

This is somewhat reassuring.  I admit I don't get into the weeds on football schemes, but my nagging suspicion is that coaching/scheme stubbornness has been a major issue for 10 years.  RichRod running a spread w/ Nick Sheridan gave us a 3-9 team that could have at least gone 6-6.  Then two years of 3-3-5 D that only got worse, despite decent personnel.  Then Hoke/Borges wanting to manball and run complex blocking schemes with a young o-line and spread QBs.  Now it seems Harbaugh is doing the same, trying to lean on an o-line that is the weakness of the team.  Defenses NEVER look like they're on their heels -- they look like they always know what is about to happen, and they play much faster.

It's that feeling again where we don't know how close we are to flourishing, and meanwhile the losses pile up.  Maybe things will click in the next month and we'll start rolling.  Part of the downside of being a blueblood is we seemingly can't afford to be patient like MSU was with Dantonio/Narduzzi.  

Joined: 05/06/2015

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LJ

September 4th, 2018 at 11:57 PM ^

Let's see if I do this right.

  1. Call the plays that work.  Harbaugh keeps calling the plays that don't work.
  2. Unless those aren't working.  Then call the other ones.
  3. Always know ahead of time which plays work and which ones don't.
  4. Show lots of fire on the sidelines.
  5. Unless that doesn't work or is penalized.  Then calm down.  But not too much.
  6. Don't wear glasses on the sideline.
  7. Never pass near the goal line.
  8. Unless your running didn't work.  Then you should've passed.
  9. Always be aggressive.  Blitz a lot.
  10. But not too much.  Don't ever get burned deep or you're an idiot.
  11. Alright fuck this I don't want to be coach anymore.

Joined: 07/05/2008

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Indiana Blue

September 5th, 2018 at 8:06 AM ^

Wisconsin is based on their Oline.  Oline's mature together, and Wisconsin has a system to make that happen.  I have never heard of any team starting a new Oline being good at all.  It takes 2 and 3 years having a core group of Olinemen to start that build.  Ruiz and Runyan are both going to be excellent lineman.  The Jake Long's and Taylor Lewan are rare to find ... but, Wisconsin takes guys and puts them together as units ... and I couldn't name any of them.

Go Blue!  

Joined: 09/19/2010

MGoPoints: 5677

LSAClassOf2000

September 5th, 2018 at 8:27 AM ^

The other thing that helps Wisconsin is that they've been recruiting for O-linemen for essentially the same system for 500 years. By now, they know what they want and they have carved out this nice bit of territory from which they routinely get it. It has to make the process very, very easy in comparison, and it is part of the reason having an identity on offense is rather important.

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130748

Sopwith

September 5th, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^

I've been totally clear about this before. Our problem is the offensive tackles. The solution is simple:

(1) bring in Sandra Bullock

(2) she walks onto the practice field and gives her "this is your family, now protect your family" speech from The Blind Side

(3) Runyan and JBB are instantly transformed into future 1st round NFL picks without any further practice being necessary ala Michael Oher

(4) Profit

 

Joined: 06/29/2010

MGoPoints: 61197

SpaceDad

September 5th, 2018 at 12:29 AM ^

Nothing to fix. M football was an inch away from playing in the CFP in 2016 and is considered a playoff contender this year. Total team defense has been ranked #6, #2 and #13 over the past three years. The offense will come around once Michigan gets its OL pipeline flowing.

Joined: 05/15/2015

MGoPoints: 494

Bi11McGi11

September 5th, 2018 at 7:37 AM ^

I pretty much agree with this. My boss is a diehard MSU fan and I was talking to him about the game. I told him it essentially came down to the OLine. Both QBs looked serviceable, WRs and TEs looked decent (I was not able to watch their routes much, was too focused on the OLine), RBs were also decent. Per usual, Don Brown made halftime adjustments that worked and shut down ND. The only spot I consistently kept grabbing my hair over was the OLine. I honestly think they should just devote 1/4 - 1/3 of the next two recruiting classes to OLine prospects and see who sticks.

Joined: 11/03/2011

MGoPoints: 541

evenyoubrutus

September 5th, 2018 at 12:34 AM ^

I think that fans are forgetting how young this team really is because we have so many returning starters. We have virtually no help from the 14 and 15 classes. Literally fewer than half a dozen contributors are in their 4th or 5th years in the program, and a couple of those aren't even quality players. Two captains are juniors. I barely remember the last time we had a junior captain (Mike Hart?).

All of the problems left on this team boil down to the fact that the coaches goofed on recruiting tackles in 2016. In retrospect, they should have signed at least 2, but ideally 3. Instead they signed zero. BUT at the time, they had Grant Newsome who nobody knew would have a career ending injury. They had some other young tackles who they were still developing, and Devery Hamilton flipped in the last second. I think we all blew off the fact that Harbaugh was hired so late in the recruiting cycle, but couple that with the terrible 2014 class that has all but evaporated, and this is no different than a team coming off major sanctions.

Joined: 11/04/2008

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blue in dc

September 5th, 2018 at 8:03 AM ^

On a similar vein, I’ve wondered what impact coming from the pros had on the 2016 recruiting cycle.   Coaches that come from other college teams still have the relationships they’ve been developing with so e recruits since high school.  Harbaugh had to start from scratch.    I suspect that this need to build relationships was part of what led to the first summer camp tour.

Joined: 01/22/2011

MGoPoints: 20401

UMfan21

September 5th, 2018 at 12:38 AM ^

Run 5 wide out of the shotgun.  Take as many defenders and possible blitzers out of the box.  Shotgun gives the QB the ability to see everyone coming at him.  Run draws, but scrap play action and anything that causes Shea to turn his back to the defense.

If nobody is open, roll out and chuck it out of bounds and live for another down.

Joined: 09/28/2009

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