Upon Further Review 2019: Defense vs MTSU
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FORMATION NOTES: So: lots. There was a lot of standard 4-2-5 stuff that you've probably seen before. There were also some stack snaps, and ways to get Uche on the field. Here Uche is the standup guy on the LOS. Michigan is in a front with a pure nose tackle lined up right over the C; I've called this "30 nickel slide" for reasons that I do not remember:
Note that this package has Woods as a fifth DB.
This lineup has Uche, Danna, Hutchinson (at NT) and Paye. Glasgow is the only linebacker-type person on the field, and Woods has come in as an extra safety. I called this "jetpack" because it sounds cool and noted the 3 S look by calling this specific thing "jetpack S". These were the only jetpack snaps but if a CB gets in the game that'll be jetpack CB, etc.
JETPACK
This front was declared "5-1 fold" or "5-0 fold" depending on whether there was someone in the box behind the LOS. Because Uche and Glasgow are folded inside the very wide DEs.
I did not call this out specifically but an interesting wrinkle was Michigan dropping Hudson as a single high deep safety on a number of snaps.
They evidently like Hawkins and Metellus better in coverage.
SUBSTITUTION NOTES: So: lots. The starting DL was Paye/Kemp/Mason/Hutchinson. Danna and Uche mostly got passing down snaps but did also get in some on standard downs. Hinton and Speight got in the game late. Hutchinson and Paye almost never left the field; Kemp only got pulled on jetpack downs. Dwumfour got one snap, the first TD, leaving after aggravating his hand injury.
At the LB level Hudson did not come off the field. Ross only got pulled on passing downs; Glasgow got about 3/4ths of the snaps with Gil getting a dozen or so. Anthony and McGrone got in late. Uche got slightly under half of Michigan's snaps.
DBs: Metellus and Hawkins didn't leave the field until garbage time; Thomas, Gray, and Hill were in a near-equal rotation for CB snaps, and there were never any 3-CB snaps. Kelly-Powell got a few eventful snaps at the end.
[After THE JUMP: I hope you like the perimeter]
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M42 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press two high | Pass | 5 | Flare screen | Thomas | 17 | ||||||||
Orbit motion from slot and then they throw it to the perimeter. M has two high safeties, which usually meant zone last year. Here it’s apparently man. Hawkins(-2) is watching the backfield after shooting forward on the orbit motion and gets cut off by the WR, way too vertical here on a play that is always perimeter. Thomas(-1) doesn’t recognize the play fast enough to fall off; also this is going to be tough because of man to man, RPS -1. | |||||||||||||||||||
M25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Half press two high | Run | N/A | Speed pitch | Hudson | 4 | ||||||||
Odd look from M with Hudson outside of the tight bunch and Hill withdrawn from the LOS. Outside pitch with no one to set the edge; Hutchinson(+1) and Hudson(+2) both dodge cut blocks and converge but even with a +3 from the two most relevant defenders it’s still four yards because Michigan has one edge guy near three blockers. RPS -1. | |||||||||||||||||||
M21 | 2 | 6 | Shotgun 4-wide | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Run | N/A | Jet sweep | Ross | 3 | ||||||||
Hudson drops back to FS, corners in press with safeties off. Jet motion, Hawkins swaps with Hudson(+0.5), who comes flying down and is able to bend the WR but not tackle. Dude stops for a second; Metellus(+0.5) is containing. Ross(-1, tackling -1) gets on his horse to get over there but gets juked; delay does allow cavalry to rally. | |||||||||||||||||||
M18 | 3 | 3 | Shotgun empty | Dime S | Dime even | Press one high | Pass | 5 | Scramble | Dwumfour | 18 | ||||||||
Dime S = LB removed for Woods. This is Dwumfour’s only snap. Hand clap gets Hudson(-1) and Dwumfour(-1) to jump but also causes an MTSU false start; this play should be blown dead (refs -1). Thanks to the jump QB is getting swarmed on a freeze play. Dwumfour(-1) and Paye(-1, tackling -2) somehow conspire to not tackle the dude. Metellus(-2) is brought up to pop a crossing route and then he assumes the QB has been sacked and starts bumping up on the WR as the guy runs by for a TD. Not great. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-7, 12 min 1st Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 | 3-3 stack | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Scramble | N/A | 7 | ||||||||
This is going to be a flare screen that Hill(+1, cover +1) has jumped and has a high chance of a PBU or pick six on, and this QB aborts. He’s going to be frustratingly good at avoiding disaster. Kemp avoids a cut block and is right there but understandably starts pursuing the flare screen. There is no play where the OL all cut blocks and then the QB runs a draw. I’m not minusing this; just one of those things. | |||||||||||||||||||
O32 | 2 | 3 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 3-3-5 | 30 nickel slide | Off two high | Pass | 4 | Tunnel screen | Hawkins | 10 | ||||||||
First snap under Don Brown I’ve typed off for coverage, I think. Fake flare screen, tunnel the other way. DL all buy it; Hutchinson is spying, I think, but goes to the flare. Bad news backside. Gil(-2) is in the area but hesitates and gets put on his butt by an OL. Hawkins(+1, tackling +1) fills well and tackles in space. | |||||||||||||||||||
O42 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Run | N/A | Outside zone | Mason | 2 | ||||||||
Mason(-2) goes straight upfield on an outside zone an is gone. Kemp(+1) forces it back by splitting a double and staying on the LOS, even getting a yard of depth. Cutback lane is big because of Mason but Ross(+1, tackling +1) is able to shut it down on a rare open field tackle within 3 yards of the LOS. RPS +1, this is a no-read run 6 v 5 in box. | |||||||||||||||||||
O44 | 2 | 8 | Shotgun empty quads | 4-2-5 | Dime even | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Drag | Hudson | Inc | ||||||||
RB motions out, Ross goes with. Play is to use the 3 WR to the top to clear space for the RB coming back through on a drag. Hudson(+1, cover +1) reads this and is going to plug for minimal gain. Ball is incomplete; Paye(+1) and Kemp(+1, pressure +2) both won blocks are and ripping up the middle, ball is a jump pass off the back foot. | |||||||||||||||||||
O44 | 3 | 8 | Shotgun trips | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press one high | Pass | 5 | Sack | Glasgow | |||||||||
Jetpack = Danna, Hutch, Paye, Uche DL plus Glasgow. S = bonus S, in this case Woods. This is a jailbreak as MTSU pulls the LG across the formation on a passing down. Glasgow(+1) just shoots through. Uche(+1) swims under a T and is through; Danna(+0.5) is around at about 8 on the puller. Glasgow(pressure +3) does the honors. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 3-7, 6 min 1st Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O5 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2TE FB | 4-2-5 | 4-4 over | Press two high | Penalty | N/A | False start | N/A | -2 | ||||||||
I don’t see anyone move. Refs +1. | |||||||||||||||||||
O3 | 1 | 12 | Shotgun 2TE FB | 4-2-5 | 4-3 over | Press two high | Run | N/A | Power O | Hutchinson | 0 | ||||||||
Torn about Mason here. He gets a double and splits it sort of. He’s into the backfield, off balance, and not able to do anything useful. Push, I guess. Hutchinson(+1) dives down, getting inside of an H-back and to the hole. He grabs. Ross(+0.5) has moved through the trash to get to the back and stick him to prevent any YAC. Kemp(+1) chucked his guy to the ground and got over to help tackle as well. | |||||||||||||||||||
O3 | 2 | 12 | Shotgun trips TE | 4-2-5 | 4-3 over | Press one high | Pass | 5 | Rollout out | Gray | Inc | ||||||||
America’s Rollout Out. Gray in okay position on this, likely to tackle after a few yards. Winged wide anyway. | |||||||||||||||||||
O3 | 3 | 12 | Shotgun trips TE | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press one high | Pass | 6 | Rollout comeback | Danna | Inc | ||||||||
Another rollout. Danna(+0.5, pressure +1) unblocked but does a good job containing the QB, forcing a throw this guy is never ever gonna make. Hawkins(+1, cover +1) in this guy’s grill. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 3-7, 1 min 1st Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press one high | Penalty | N/A | Delay | N/A | -5 | ||||||||
oops | |||||||||||||||||||
O20 | 1 | 15 | Shotgun 2-back twins | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even SAM | Press two high | Pass | 4 | PA Fade | Gray | Inc | ||||||||
PA, quick fade at Gray. Gray does give up a step here and is in definite trail; since the ball is off that’s push coverage. Ball out too quickly for a pressure metric, as these instafades often are. Kemp(+0.5) looked like he was going to surge up the middle here. | |||||||||||||||||||
O20 | 2 | 15 | Shotgun 2-back twins tight | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Off two high | Pass | 4 | FB flat | Gray | 0 | ||||||||
This is a flat route at an obvious zone configuration that Gray(+1, tackling +1) sticks on the catch. RPS +2. | |||||||||||||||||||
O20 | 3 | 15 | Shotgun 4-wide | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press two high | Pass | 5 | Tunnel screen | Hawkins | 4 | ||||||||
Gray(+0.5) goes upfield of the CB and pushes the WR inside a bit; Paye(+0.5) flows out and forces the WR away from his blockers. Hawkins(+1, tackling +1) gets an open field runner in some space and ends him confidently. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-7, 14 min 2nd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun empty tight | 4-U-5 | 5-1 split | Press one high | Run | N/A | Power read keep | Mason | 14 | ||||||||
4-U-5: Uche replaces LB level player. Here, Glasgow. Three man line from M flanked by Uche and Paye as a standup end. Mason(-2) and Kemp(-2) both end up pancaked. Paye(+1) did a great job to read the pull and ole the OL pulling to him and has a play if there’s any delay from the DTs; There is not. RPS -1; MTSU pulled a guy around instead of blocking Hutchinson; they had more dudes. | |||||||||||||||||||
O39 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Run | N/A | QB zone stretch | Hutchinson | 5 | ||||||||
Bad snap. QB bails on play design after getting it back. Hutchinson(-0.5) a bit flat footed but able to track it down after a few. | |||||||||||||||||||
O44 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun empty | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Pass | 5 | In | Hill | 12 | ||||||||
Hill(-1, cover -1) gets beat here but this is pure man coverage with Glasgow blitzing and he’s in outside leverage with no interior help so, yeah. Kemp got a little push but pressure(-1) not getting through. | |||||||||||||||||||
M44 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips TE tight | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press two high | Run | N/A | QB power | Ross | 5 | ||||||||
Danna(+0.5) fires down and shoves the RT, who is releasing to Glasgow(+0.5). Glasgow uses that to dodge around the dude and get to the POA. Ross(-1) comes up and thunks a running back leading it out but does not put himself on the outside and funnel to help. QB is able to shoot outside Ross; Hudson(+0.5) comes off his block to help tackle with Glasgow. | |||||||||||||||||||
M39 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun double stacks | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Rollout out | Thomas | INT | ||||||||
Y’all don’t know how hard this is. I’ve watched a billion America’s Rollout Outs and this never happens. This isn’t even a bad example of the genre but Thomas(+4, cover +3) provides zero window and makes MTSU pay when the zero window on ARO gets tested. Absurd. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Interception, 17-7, 11 min 2nd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O3 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 3-3-5 | 4-3 over | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Fade | Thomas | Inc | ||||||||
Another quick fade with Thomas(+0.5, cover +1) step for step. This was a prayer and it’s off. Uche(+1, pressure +1) is about to drive the RT into the QB’s back when he chucks it. | |||||||||||||||||||
O3 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 3-3-5 | 4-3 even | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Wheel | Thomas | 18 | ||||||||
Uche(+2, pressure +2) instantly around the RT and hits on the throw here. Ball flutters, and MTSU seems to bust a route; they’ve got two guys next to each other. Thomas is in press on a guy running a fade and in great position against him. The guy running an (incorrect?) wheel behind him is open because Ambry is covering his guy and this is zone.Possible Ambry should come off this guy and pass him to the S? Or just weird. We’re going with just weird. | |||||||||||||||||||
O21 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press one high | Run | N/A | Jet sweep | Mason | 0 | ||||||||
TE pulls backside to lead out a QB run and I kind of want M to steal this. They give it on the jet, big gap up the middle as Kemp is dealing with the other half of the play but two unblocked LBs dissuade a cut. Hutchinson(+1) gets the edge and forces it back; Mason(+2) gets push on a stretch double and then comes around the outer guy for a near TFL, solo. Ross(+0.5) gets there to help prevent YAC. | |||||||||||||||||||
O21 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun empty | 4-2-5 | Dime even | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Out | Kemp | Inc | ||||||||
Kemp(+1, pressure +2) oles the right guard, which is new from him. Paye(+0.5) hammers the RT back into the QB. Throw enforced, badly missed. If accurate looks like Ross(-1, cover -1) is beat for YAC. | |||||||||||||||||||
O21 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun double stacks | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Flare screen | Thomas | 7 | ||||||||
Hutchinson, the NT here, drops out to spy. Thomas(+0.5) comes up to turn it in at the numbers; Uche(+0.5) and Hutchinson(+0.5) arrive well short of the first down. Ball comes out but can’t really credit a FF here since it’s Hawkins’s knee inadvertently bashing the ball free. Thomas(+1) does jump on it smartly. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Fumble, 17-7, 7 min 2nd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Off two high | Pass | 4 | Flash screen | Thomas | -4 | ||||||||
M shows press and then drops into off two high coverage(!). Flash screen to WR is crunched since Thomas(+2) is a hard cover 2 corner; he makes no mistake on the TFL. RPS +2. | |||||||||||||||||||
O21 | 2 | 14 | Shotgun trips | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Fade | Metellus | Inc (Pen +5) | ||||||||
Mason(-1) jumps offsides. More zone; WR jumps inside Thomas and Metellus has to get over the top. His angle is a little flat and the WR does get over the top by a fraction; would have taken a perfect throw, and this is not one. | |||||||||||||||||||
O26 | 2 | 9 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | Jetpack S | Nickel even | Off two high | Run | N/A | Zone read keeper | Woods | 4 | ||||||||
Uche drives inside of the RT hard, which induces a pull from the QB. No minus as this might be according to plan with Woods(+1, tackling +1) in an overhang spot at about eight yards. He comes up to tackle; Thomas(+0.5) forced it back at the numbers again. | |||||||||||||||||||
O27 | 3 | 5 | Shotgun trips | Jetpack S | Dime even | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Flare | Ross | 1 | ||||||||
Uche(+1, pressure +1) dives inside the RT this time and induces a quick throw that Ross(+1, tackling +1) has covered on the sideline after dodging traffic. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 24-7, 5 min 2nd Q. Hill muffs it right back. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
M33 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Dumpoff | Danna | 6 | ||||||||
Danna(+2, pressure +2) zips right around the LT; Hutchinson(+1) is driving his man into the QB’s lap. QB just manages to get his head around, see the danger, and dump it off to the RB. Ross is in pursuit and manages to tackle; RB spins through and gets some YAC. Push. | |||||||||||||||||||
M27 | 2 | 4 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Bubble screen | Gray | 11 | ||||||||
Tempo; M confused. Gray(-2) is nominally in press but he’s a yard off the LOS and when the WR locks on he gives a ton of ground. Metellus(-1) reads this late and takes contact passively, giving a bunch of ground. Hawkins(-1) overplays it to the outside. Too easy. | |||||||||||||||||||
M16 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Off two high | Run | N/A | Inside zone | Glasgow | 1 | ||||||||
Kemp(+1) wins his block and drives two yards to the backfield; still a big gap as Mason(-0.5) got too much depth; he also does not get his head up and attempt to get back to the ball. Ross(+0.5) comes up to hit a free releaser and funnels back to Kemp and Glasgow(+1) who read and fired fast enough to get past his blocker. | |||||||||||||||||||
M15 | 2 | 9 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press one high | Run | N/A | Speed pitch | Gray | 7 | ||||||||
Gray(-2) again super passive on the edge, getting blasted back and giving up the outside way too easily. Hawkins(+0.5) and Metellus(+0.5) flow as well as can be expected and tackle but there’s no way to stop this without some delay from the edge. | |||||||||||||||||||
M8 | 3 | 2 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Waggle drag | Hawkins | 7 | ||||||||
Good coordinating here as they run the counter action drag; Hawkins(-1, cover -1) is preparing to run to the trips side sideline again after having to do so twice already in this drive. His false step gives the WR the corner. Uche(+0.5, pressure +1) came off the line unblocked and is able to downshift and not overrun the QB here; he forces the dude in to a tough jump pass that he makes. RPS –1. | |||||||||||||||||||
M1 | 1 | G | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | Goal line | Press zero | Run | N/A | Zone read keeper | Danna | 0 | ||||||||
Glasgow(+1) zips through the line and attacks the back, so QB pulls. Danna(+0.5) is on the edge here with Metellus(+0.5); neither gets a block but both have their heads up and are able to converge for the stop. | |||||||||||||||||||
M1 | 2 | G | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | Goal line | Press zero | Pass | N/A | Bubble screen | Gray | -1 | ||||||||
Just a bust by MTSU; Gray does not get blocked. Gray(+1) duly sticks the slot guy, but given the rest of this drive I think that’s a TD if Gray plays it like he did the other two. | |||||||||||||||||||
M2 | 3 | G | Shotgun 2-back tight | 4-2-5 | Goal line | Press zero | Pass | 4 | Drag | Gray | 2 | ||||||||
Glasgow(+1, pressure +1) surges through up the middle and goes down, really looks like a hold, refs -2. Paye is surging up the field as well; rollout to the field mandatory. I don’t get what Woods is doing here. He’s on the LOS and starts a rush, then backs out after getting three yards in the backfield. If he’d continued his rush he’s probably corralling the QB and forcing a much tougher throw. As it is he is caught in no-man’s land when QB breaks the pocket. Gray(-1, cover -1) got out of the WR’s slipstream and knocks into Metellus, so even though Woods does a good job delaying the throw he can’t catch up. Woods -1; he’s got no apparent reason to stop his rush. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-14, 2 min 2nd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press one high | Run | N/A | End around | Hawkins | 5 | ||||||||
Paye flows out; Hawkins overhanging at 8 yards and has this under control. Hawkins(-1, tackling -1) whiffs the tackle, leaving it for Paye(+0.5). That’s four extra yards on something that wasn’t set up for success. | |||||||||||||||||||
O30 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press one high | Pass | N/A | Bubble screen | N/A | 10 | ||||||||
M has two defenders against three guys as just Hill and Hudson are over the trips. Hill contains. Hudson has a blocker and too much room to shut down; he actually does well just to get an arm tackle in near the sticks. That slows the WR down and makes Metellus’s tackle a glancing thing, but one that does get the dude down. RPS -2, this was free yards. | |||||||||||||||||||
O40 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 4-2-5 | Nickel over | Press two high | Pass | 4 | In | Hudson | 13 | ||||||||
Pocket clean; Mason again shoved to the ground (pressure -2). Bad zone coverage here as Thomas(-1) starts running for a fade too hard and loses contact with the guy underneath. Hudson(-1, cover -2) is run off. Easy. I don’t get why we’re running two safeties almost 15 yards deep against this team. | |||||||||||||||||||
M47 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-2-5 | Nickel over | Press two high | Pass | N/A | Bubble screen | Hudson | 5 | ||||||||
Again with the free yards. This time it’s 3 vs 1. Hudson(+1) gets outside the first blocker and draws the second; forcing the ball back inside and mitigating the damage. Gray, who started at 12 yards and was dropping, comes up to tackle with Metellus and a pursuing Hutchinson. RPS -1; baffling approach again. | |||||||||||||||||||
M42 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 3-3-5 | Nickel over | Off two high | Run | N/A | QB power | Uche | 2 | ||||||||
Uche in at DE. They run right at him; Uche(+1) gets inside a TE and drives him back, then shocks the pulling G back when he tries to clean up the situation. RB dives inside this mess, leaving Glasgow(+0.5) unblocked to force it back and help tackle with Danna(+0.5) and Ross. | |||||||||||||||||||
M40 | 3 | 3 | Shotgun trips TE | 3-3-5 | Nickel over | Press one high | Pass | 6 | Sack | Glasgow | -4 | ||||||||
Uche dives inside; Hudson(+1) and Glasgow(+1, pressure +2) blitz to the outside. Protection issue for MTSU causes RB to only try to pick up Glasgow at last minute. Glasgow takes the hit and keeps charging. Hudson has a blocker but sheds him and misses the tackle(-0.5, tackling -1) but does force it back; Glasgow(+1) is relentless and finishes the pay. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 27-14, 12 min 3rd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 3-3-5 | 3-3 stack | Press one high | Run | N/A | Jet sweep | Hawkins | 4 | ||||||||
Looks like power read but seems like no real mesh. Paye comes down to combat potential keeper; Thomas is contain; Hawkins(+1, tackling +1) is unaccounted for and at about 8 yards. He’s able to tackle after a modest gain. Ross(+0.5) got over the top of his blocker and was going to be there to clean up in a few yards. | |||||||||||||||||||
O29 | 2 | 6 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 3-3-5 | 3-3 stack | Press two high | Run | N/A | Jet sweep | Metellus | 3 | ||||||||
Same, basically. Metellus(+0.5) runs upfield and doesn’t get kicked; the lead guys run past him. He’s able to redirect and force the ballcarrier away from this blockers. Ross(+1) gets on his horse to get over; Uche(+0.5) was also there, taking on the interior blocker and shedding to help. | |||||||||||||||||||
O32 | 3 | 3 | Shotgun empty | 2-3-6 | 5-0 fold | Press one high | Run | N/A | QB draw | Hutchinson | -2 | ||||||||
Hutchinson(+2) rips down the C and zooms to the backfield for a TFL. Help from Ross(+0.5) and Glasgow(+0.5), who both get to the backfield and help tackle. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 27-14, 6 min 3rd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O23 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 3-3-5 | 30 nickel slide | Press one high | Pass | 5 | In | Gil | 4 | ||||||||
Ross blitzes and gets a free run but MTSU has a hot route right were he came from; this is fine as Gil(+1, cover +1) is there to tackle immediately. Pressure +1. Thought Ross could have timed his blitz a wee bit better. | |||||||||||||||||||
O27 | 2 | 6 | Shotgun 4-wide | 3-3-5 | 30 nickel slide | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Yakey snap | Uche | -13 | ||||||||
Snap fumbled. Uche(+1, pressure +1) is coming off the edge and gets a freebie sack but did have to put the QB on the ground after he picked it up. | |||||||||||||||||||
O14 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 3-3-5 | Nickel even | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Heave | Paye | Inc | ||||||||
Paye(+1) dives inside a tackle and gets pressure up the middle; Hutchinson(+1, pressure +2) comes around the outside and contains after the QB flushes. Dude throws a duck off his back foot that Hill(-2) has for the world’s easiest pick six; dropped. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 27-14, 3 min 3rd Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun empty | 3-3-5 | 3-3 stack | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Bubble screen | Metellus | Inc | ||||||||
Metellus(+1, pressure +1) blitzes off the slot and bats the pass down. Glasgow looked like he had this in check. | |||||||||||||||||||
O25 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 3-3-5 | 30 nickel slide | Press two high | Pass | 5 | Flare | Gray | 9 | ||||||||
This seems to be the technique M is using on these zone drops, with the guy getting his head around late after chasing the outside WR to the sticks. It’s been vulnerable underneath it and continues to be. Hudson tries to shut it down but has too much ground to cover; Gray is never relevant. RPS -2, blitz got got and too easy. | |||||||||||||||||||
O34 | 3 | 1 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Pass | 5 | Waggle flat | Thomas | 4 + 15 pen | ||||||||
PA, rollout, Thomas initially has the flat covered. Behind him both Hawkins and Hudson are in the area and hesitate. Ambry attacks the QB, flat open, first down. Either one of the safeties has to be more aggressive about picking up the flat or Thomas(-1, cover -1) needs to hold his water, cover the flat, and let the rest take care of itself. I think the latter. M had this covered but didn't execute, RPS +1. Hudson(-1) gets a borderline late hit PF, but no reason to risk it. | |||||||||||||||||||
M47 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back twins | 3-3-5 | 3-3 stack | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Flea flicker | Hudson | Inc | ||||||||
Hudson(+2, pressure +2) engages the tackle, dives inside him, adjusts to the pitch back, and nearly sacks. QB boots it OOB. | |||||||||||||||||||
M47 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 3-3-5 | Nickel over | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Out | Uche | Inc | ||||||||
Uche(+2, pressure +2) chucks the LT past him to the outside and is about to sack when this guy tosses a panicked out wide of his WR. Hawkins(-1, cover -1) beat and will probably allow YAC if this is caught. | |||||||||||||||||||
M47 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun empty quads | 2-3-6 | 5-0 fold | Press one high | Pass | 5 | Throwback screen | Uche | Inc | ||||||||
Uche(+1, pressure +1) unblocked on a screen but bursts so fast to the backfield that QB doesn’t have time for his WR to get to the spot; balls ends up turfed because dude is throwing in a panic again. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 33-14, 14 min 4th Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O1 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back 2TE | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Off two high | Pass | 4 | Out | Hawkins | Inc | ||||||||
Playcall win here as single route gets zone heavily biased towards run/screen D and Hawkins is on an island with a WR from a deep S position. He can’t do much more than tackle. WR bobbles the ball and brings it in an instant before his hand is OOB but they call it incomplete; no review. I think this is barely a completion, refs +1. RPS -1. | |||||||||||||||||||
O1 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back 2TE | 4-2-5 | 4-3 over SAM | Press one high | Run | N/A | Power O | Hawkins | 0 | ||||||||
Push from Hudson/Hutchinson around the intended gap. Ross(+1) runs up and sticks the FB. FB goes backwards into pulling G. Pulling G disrupted. Hawkins(+1, tackling +1) gets an opportunity for a stick and makes it. | |||||||||||||||||||
O1 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | Jetpack S | 5-1 fold | Press two high | Pass | 5 | Fade | Metellus | Inc | ||||||||
Pressure(-1) not imminent on the quick prayer throw; Metellus(+2, cover +2) over the top of this and a more accurate throw is a potential INT.) | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 33-14, 9 min 4th Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips tight bunch | 4-1-6 | Nickel even | Press one high | Run | N/A | Power O | Hutchinson | 0 | ||||||||
No read power O with 4 WRs is a look, I guess. No second level release so Glasgow is always going to be free in the hole. Hutchinson(+1) fires back playside OT into back, stalling him. Hudson(+0.5) shed the pulling G and came back; Glasgow(+0.5) there; RB cuts into Hutchinson for doom. | |||||||||||||||||||
O25 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 4-2-5 | Nickel over | Off two high | Pass | 4 | Fade | Hawkins | Inc (Pen +5) | ||||||||
Anthony at MLB. Kemp(-1) and Paye(-1) both jump offsides. Free play. QB takes a bad idea shot at a fade that Hawkins(+2, cover +2) is over the top of and PBUs. Gray(+1) in good position to contest anything shorter. | |||||||||||||||||||
O30 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun 4-wide tight | 3-3-5 | 30 nickel slide | Press one high | Run | N/A | QB power | Anthony | 6 | ||||||||
Speed pitch fake into QB power, good play. LB level appears to bust as DL slant away and replacement doesn’t happen. Glasgow(-0.5) moves with the slant, which is almost always wrong. Anthony(-1) chases the potential pitch for too long. Hutchinson gets cut but gets up to tackle after Glasgow gets back to take up a blocker and force a cut. RPS -1. | |||||||||||||||||||
O36 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | 3-3-5 | 30 nickel slide | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Flare | Glasgow | 1 | ||||||||
Flare to RB, nobody blocks Glasgow(+1, tackling +1), who makes no mistake. | |||||||||||||||||||
O37 | 2 | 9 | Shotgun trips | 3-2-6 | Dime even | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Slant | Hudson | 10 | ||||||||
Uche(-1) and Paye(-1) both jump. Free play; DEs are both getting back on snap and no rush. Hudson gets turned outside but flips his hips and drives on this to hit basically on the catch for an immediate tackle. This is a ten yard route so not excellent but feels like a push to me. | |||||||||||||||||||
O47 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun trips | Jetpack S | Dime over | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Sack | McGrone | N/A | ||||||||
McGrone(-2, cover -2) gets the RB out of the backfield; he gets way too aggressive and tackles the guy, easy flag. Plan here is to dump it to the back so yeah. Uche(+1) drives to the interior and is Uche to RT never gets off him, Hutchinson(+1, pressure +2) loop results in sack. Hutchinson’s upfield explosion is impressive. QB grounds ball, so penalties offset. If he’d just gotten sacked MTSU gets a first down. | |||||||||||||||||||
O47 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back twins | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press two high | Run | N/A | Power O | Glasgow | 9 | ||||||||
Welp, Glasgow(-2) had to come down sometime. Paye(+1) stands up his guy, pushing him into the backfield. Kemp(-1) gets shot out of the hole so there’s sort of a two way go here for Glasgow, but he gets over aggressive and RB runs right by him to the outside. | |||||||||||||||||||
M44 | 2 | 1 | Shotgun 2-back twins | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press one high | Run | N/A | Power O | Paye | 0 | ||||||||
Virtually the same play, with Paye(+1) winning and driving his guy into the puller. This time Glasgow(+1) attacks the gap outside Paye and makes an immediate stick. | |||||||||||||||||||
M44 | 3 | 1 | Pistol Diamond | 4-2-5 | 5-3 bear | Press zero | Pass | 5 | Flare | Hudson | Inc | ||||||||
This is supposed to be a flare screen but WR picking off Hudson(+0.5, cover +1) in man is late and ineffective. Anthony(+0.5) chases the QB on his roll and forces a throwaway. | |||||||||||||||||||
M44 | 4 | 1 | Shotgun 2-back tight | 4-2-5 | 5-3 bear | Press zero | Pass | 5 | Flare | Gray | 0 | ||||||||
Pretty much an identical concept but M shows man and then Gray(+1, tackling +1) immediately falls off the WR when he breaks inside. Flat throw, Gray takes out the FB’s legs before he can turn around. RPS +1. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 40-14, 3 min 4th Q. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Rush | Play | Player | Yards | ||||||||
O20 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 4-2-5 | 4-3 even | Press one high | Pass | 4 | Back shoulder fade | Kelly-Powell | 20 | ||||||||
Nicer throw than I remember; JKP(-1, cover -1) gives up a step and has no play on the back shoulder. | |||||||||||||||||||
O40 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 2-back | 4-2-5 | Nickel even | Press one high | Run | N/A | Outside zone | Danna | 1 | ||||||||
Blocking dorf lets Danna(+0.5) through clean; cutback mandated. Hinton(+0.5) aware and able to come back to the interior gap and tackle with Danna. | |||||||||||||||||||
O41 | 2 | 9 | Shotgun 2-back | 3-3-5 | 3-3 stack | Press two high | Pass | 4 | Fade | Woods | 59 | ||||||||
On second view this isn’t nearly as bad for JKP(-1), who is in the WR’s grill. He does not make a play on the ball despite his positioning. Still tough. Woods(-4, cover -2), however. Woof. He’s got a great opportunity to light up this WR and dislodge the ball and somehow conspires to miss him entirely. | |||||||||||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 40-21, 1 min 4th Q. Last snaps for D. |
That was… annoying?
Yeah. But at least you're not a defensive end? Running at the QB repeatedly only for the guy to throw a zero yard pass has got to be frustrating, and this QB in particular barely avoided disaster time and again.
Kind of feels like Army Part 1 in that very little of this is going to be particularly useful going forward.
The secondary got its perimeter tackling work in, I guess? Virtually all of MTSU's yards came on Perimeter Crappe, starting from the first snap:
Michigan's in man-to-man, as they usually are, and it's tough for Thomas to realize the route is a crack block until it's too late. Hawkins is way too flat, moving directly upfield on the orbit motion, but even if he takes a good angle that dodges the WR this is going to be a 6-7 yard gain.
Other early issues with Perimeter Crappe came when MTSU game out in a bunch of super tight trips formations and Michigan didn't have the right tools to align with it. Here Hudson gets a +2 for defeating a block, getting a second one, and still tackling but even a great play is still four yards because Michigan had nobody else in the area presnap:
In these situations the sensible thing to do is to run a lot of cover two that allows your corners to fall off slants by design and then clobber anything in the flat, and that's what Michigan did. I've been doing some rudimentary coverage structure charting for a few years now and this is the first game where I typed the word "off":
Those CBs are… not in press. Sometimes you get that to one side of the field or the other, but that's new.
How much of this was a response to the Perimeter Crappe being the be-all and end-all of MTSU's offense and how much of it was Don Brown significantly diversifying his defense in the aftermath of last year's OSU game is yet to be seen. I lean towards the latter. There were a lot of different structures in this game. Michigan moved from press coverage to cover two a couple times, something they have not done under Brown much, if at all.
For most of Brown's tenure there have been relatively few presnap alignments that are mostly static. Sometimes this annoyed when Michigan was clearly in man coverage and opponents were able to exploit that. It seems like Michigan is trying to provide more looks overall and confuse them to mix up QB reads.
It felt bad and then they didn't really do anything.
They had the two short-field touchdowns after fumbles and the late pratfall. They also got a bonus possession because of the muff and had a lot of quick exits. Drives, excluding the last one and its very obvious issue:
- 42 and 33 yard TD drives
- five three-and-outs, one first-and-out
- noodly drives of 36, 25, 31, 23, and 31 yards, one of which ends with an INT, one of which ends with a fumble.
That's 13 drives; about half the time MTSU was able to scrape together some yards and half the time they just got clubbed. I think that's about what you would expect and everyone would feel much better if one of those TD drives was another noodler that ended with a punt.
That game plan was…
Necessary. Here's a chart:
Defensive Line |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
Paye | 6.5 | 3 | 3.5 | All three minuses for jumping offsides. |
Dwumfour | 2 | -2 | One play on which he jumped and missed a tackle. | |
Kemp | 5.5 | 4 | 1.5 | Sameish. |
Hutchinson | 9.5 | 0.5 | 9 | Rip down on QB draw impressive. |
Danna | 5 | 5 | Lot of half points and one +2 rush. | |
Uche | 12.5 | 1 | 11.5 | Winovich level day but half the snaps. |
Jeter | DNP | |||
Mason | 2 | 5.5 | -3.5 | Knocked over a lot. |
Hinton | 0.5 | 0.5 | Late only. | |
Vilain | DNC | |||
TOTAL | 41.5 | 16 | +25.5 | MTSU was right to avoid the DEs, and even then they couldn't really. |
Linebacker | ||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
Hudson | 9 | 3.5 | 5.5 | Good defending runs in space. |
Ross | 6.5 | 3 | 3.5 | Hiccups early but recovered. |
Glasgow | 10 | 2.5 | 7.5 | Legit good but nobody put a hat on him really. |
Gil | 1 | 2 | -1 | Thwacked on screen. |
Anthony | 0.5 | 1 | -0.5 | |
McGrone | 2 | -2 | Obvious holding call. | |
Barrett | DNC | |||
TOTAL | 27 | 16 | +11 | Good start for Glasgow; return to form for Hudson. |
Secondary | ||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes |
Metellus | 5 | 3 | 2 | Mostly cleaning up on the ground. |
Hawkins | 7.5 | 6 | 1.5 | Still a bit wobbly but could be worse. |
Hill | 1 | 3 | -2 | That dropped INT will haunt him. |
Thomas | 8.5 | 3 | 5.5 | That INT will haunt MTSU's QB. |
Gray | 4.5 | 5 | -0.5 | Stuck guys when unblocked; got really really blocked. |
Woods | 1 | 5 | -4 | Free TD. |
Kelly-Powell | 2 | -2 | Two completions at him as soon as he came in. | |
TOTAL | 28.5 | 27 | 1.5 | Work in progress. |
Metrics | ||||
Pressure | 30 | 4 | +26 | Game plan: explained. |
Coverage | 13 | 13 | 0 | Some of this late but number still a wee bit concerning. |
Tackling | 10 | 5 | +5 | Rarely see these kind of numbers, lots of open field. |
RPS | 7 | 11 | -4 | Third Q period frustrated. |
Their OL had no shot at keeping their QB upright for longer than two seconds.
Do you feel validated about putting Uche on the Known Friends list despite having no stats immediately after the game?
Absolutely. Despite getting under half of Michigan's snaps he was the guy who popped out both live and on film. His edge dip is exceptional, of course, and in this game he mixed up his moves. This aimless punt gets forced because Uche simply steamrolls the RT into the QB:
standup DE #6 to bottom
The next play sees him engage for a similar bull rush and then zip right around the dude:
standup DE #6 to bottom
A little later he dove inside on a stunt and was going to at least force the QB to move around if he wasn't always going to throw the dink flare:
standup DE #6 to bottom
Inside, outside, and through. That's all the ways you can humiliate an offensive tackle.
Uche has to play more. In this game he even flashed some run defense. When MTSU ran a power directly at his grill he fired a tight end into the pulling guard and cleared the path for Glasgow.
Even if he's a mediocre run defender he's gotta play. Pass rush is the most important thing a defense can have and Uche brings it on almost every play.
standup DE #6 to top
He's just flinging dudes upfield like, casually. By the end of the game he dove inside on a stunt and the right tackle had zero thought that he would leave Uche. The result was reminiscent of that Rashan Gary triple-team play last year:
This is a man with gravity. Play him all the dang time plz.
Okay but the rest of the DEs also did well… who are you pulling?
All of them for 8 snaps a game maybe? For those guys to grade out well given the game plan means they racked up a bunch of minor points without signficant negatives—except for Paye jumping the snap—and added in one eye-opener each. Here Paye discards the LG impressively:
#19 DE to bottom
Danna was able to turn in some edge rush of his own, against the left tackle:
#4 DE to top
Hutchinson deleted a QB draw with a super-fast rip move:
#97 NT
I don't know how PFF came out with Danna as the top-ranked defender in this game but it's worth noting that he racked up his positives in about half the snaps of Paye/Hutchinson.
The other option for pulling Uche is going to more three man lines. But those are terrible run defenses. Any progress there?
Ask again later, interior MTSU runs were almost nonexistent. Also the picture might be significantly different with Dwumfour and Jeter back. As it is, though…
All three man lines?
Maybe? Kemp was okay but seemed not too different from 2018 Kemp. He did dip around a guard for some interior rush, so he's matched his interior rush clips from last year in game one:
He also had enough get off on a screen to hit the QB after the throw without drawing a flag. Any level of interior rush from him will be helpful.
Mason, er. Yards gained on the interior were either flukes or Mason issues. A fluke: MTSU's QB pulling the string on an intended flare screen that Hill might pick six turned into seven yards because Kemp started pursuing the flare.
I'm not going to ding that because there are no plays on which the entire OL cut blocks and then the QB runs a draw.
Meanwhile Mason played a lot like a 270-pound fullback trying to make it work at tackle. Since he's light he fired off super hard a bunch, which meant he was out of control. Frequently the result was a pancake:
DT #42 to top
Here he wins his block, sort of, getting his man a couple yards in the backfield, but he actually gets too deep and never tries to come off his blocker to shut down the space inside.
He also went straight upfield on an outside zone once, though he later turned in his best play of the day on another outside zone.
I just don't see how it can work. I can see how it might work next year. But you just can't get put on the ground a bunch by MTSU and expect to recover from that in a month or two.
Was Jordan Glasgow even rumored to start?
From time to time. As the preview noted, Sam Webb was asserting he was the WLB who played best through spring ball. That bore out in this game. Glasgow got the flashy stats and his level of play deserved it. His first sack was a bit fortunate as the G right over him pulled on third and eight in an attempt to sell some play action; with Glasgow going right for the QB the C had little shot at getting him. The second was relentless:
He could have had a third on what became the second MTSU TD but either fell or got tackled after ripping past a guard and getting pressure up the gut.
On his occasional interior run D opportunities he was decisive. Here he gets to the POA with a quick read and react, running past his assigned blocker before meaningful contact:
LB #29 to top
Jury still out; as encouraging as possible. Glasgow felt like a potential impact player.
Gil got a couple drives, making a quick tackle on a short pass and, uh, not making a tackle on this screen.
LB #8 to bottom
Glasgow was clearly preferred; we'll see how this year's rotation goes. At this time last year Gil and Ross were splitting snaps down the middle; for Glasgow to get all but a dozen snaps and get all the LB time on passing downs indicates this is more of a starter/backup situation than last year's platoon.
FWIW, Ross didn't have a ton to do except run to the perimeter and watch someone else tackle but he did have a Bush-like play to get to the sideline against a running back flare. The smoothness with which Ross redirects around this WR's attempt to pick him off is encouraging:
Not Devin Bush, but if he can be 80% I'll take it. Notable that Glasgow was the LB on passing downs.
I thought we were excited about Gray?
Yeah, that didn't hold up quite as much as I wanted it to. Thomas is also roped in a little bit here. The backfield sticks from the CBs were all when circumstance left them unblocked. MTSU's WR got confused on Ambry's TFL:
Gray also got a TFL when MTSU had a blocker for him who didn't block him.
Things didn't go as well for Gray when MTSU actually got after him. He gave way too much ground on two of MTSU's chunk plays:
CB #31 to top
This one was even worse, this looks like no-hit practice from Gray:
CB #31 to top
He got a tongue-lashing in film this week, no doubt. Thomas didn't have any outright bad incidents like Gray, at least.
The difference between Gray above and Hudson's ability to avoid blocks and force stuff back to his team was obvious. Gray might not be a wrecker but he's got to at least approximate this ability:
LB #7 to bottom over trips
If Hudson isn't the only guy anywhere near the trips (there was a period early in the third when Michigan had safeties at 15 yards and weird alignments that picked up RPS minuses) that's a minimal gain.
Meanwhile in the air he looked okay on some fades that weren't accurate and got bumped out of the play on the second MTSU TD because he didn't tailgate the WR and ran into Metellus. He was good on an attempted fade that was catchable-ish, but Hawkins came over the top to get the PBU before he would have been called into action.
We aren't going to learn anything about Gray's coverage this weekend but the ground game will be an excellent test of the old saw about improving the most between week one and week two.
Meanwhile, Thomas did a thing. His interception is just as outstanding as it was Saturday. These quick rollout outs are almost never successfully defended, let alone intercepted.
Thomas didn't get many other opportunities to show what he could do in coverage. He was in good position on a couple of quick fades that weren't accurate. Arrows up nonetheless.
Hawkins has many numbers.
Some are bad, and some are good. This is the way of it. Hawkins continues to look comfortable operating and tackling in space:
#20 backing out on top hash
He had another fill on a screen that got a +1. It's odd that the strongest part of the converted WR's game is open-field tackling.
Hawkins did pick up a PBU as a zone defender over the top of a route. This event became more notable when J'Marick Woods really, really messed up a similar situation a couple drives later:
Hawkins did get beat on a flat route but I get it. At this point it's been perimeter to trips side over and over again; when they come back the other way Hawkins has a false step and that's all she wrote.
MTSU had a few nifty playcalls in this game; this was one.
Speaking of: DISASTER LAST DRIVE?
On review the two completions on Kelly-Powell seem a lot less alarming. The first is a nice throw that a lot of people would have trouble defending:
Still a –1 for me because JKP is not in position to contest. The second saw Kelly-Powell in excellent position. He didn't get his hands up to make a play on the ball and got a minus for that, but it wasn't as bad as it looked live. For Kelly-Powell, anyway:
Woods coming up with an airball there was the worst play of the day and probably the worst from a Michigan safety in some time, busts excluded. (Yea, we are living in an age of safety peace and prosperity.) I know everyone reading this is sticking Dax Hill in that spot as fast as possible… and so am I.
Hill's absence is a lot more understandable now that we've seen the 2019 version of the defense, which has a lot of stuff in it. Understandable that Hill has not downloaded all of it into his brain.
WHO IS MR. WORLDWIDE?!
As a reminder, our criteria here are versatility, the ability to make your teammates better, being cool against long odds, and enjoying time spent under highway overpasses. Your top three this week:
- Zach Charbonnet. Massive blitz pickups, targeted on a number of screens, also can run the ball.
- Khaleke Hudson. Flipped from viper to deep safety and cleaned up a number of messes on the perimeter; fought off two blockers to force screens back to his help on two separate occasions.
- Ryan Hayes. Blocked very well in an unexpected start. Hometown is Traverse City so he may have spent some time under or at least near the Mackinac Bridge, which is like the king of all highway overpasses.
Easy 3-2-1 point system so our standings:
3: Zach Charbonnet
2: Khaleke Hudson
1: Ryan Hayes
All complaints should be directed to a ring-tailed lemur named Wilson at the Detroit Zoo.
Heroes?
Uche. To a lesser extent, the other three DEs. Glasgow, and Hudson. Ambry Thomas.
Maybe not so heroic?
Ben Mason is not yet a DT who I think M can play. J'Marick Woods… well, that was not a good play. Vincent Gray needs to work on taking on blocks.
What does it mean for Army and beyond?
Corner questions somewhat assuaged. Thomas made some plays; Gray seemed decent but fell back some on a re-watch. Still, having Thomas full go and Hill splitting snaps evenly with the other two is a good start.
Glasgow can go. He is a Glasgow and should not be considered a walk-on. He also demonstrated he could be a very good player. Passing a guy with Gil's level of experience, even if he didn't perform that well last year, means something, and his performance in this game reinforces that.
DT gives me the willies. I would have hoped that Hinton or Smith would have shown enough to start over Mason, and Kemp didn't seem like he'd blown up like a couple of offseason assertions held. It'll probably be fine if Jeter and Dwumfour come back by Wisconsin. Probably.
UCHE. UCHE. UCHE. UCHE. DO IT.
Michigan's defense is going to make a concerted effort to be more confusing this year. I'm not sure they really have a choice since the personnel doesn't lend itself to running some basic stuff and watching your DEs burn the world down, but the number of looks Michigan showed in this game, and the pre-snap movement, was new.
A role is waiting for Dax Hill. Michigan's nickel is going to be three safeties, it appears, and safety #3 just gave up a really bad 60-yard TD.
September 6th, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
(L to R) Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, UNK, Mark Spitz?
September 6th, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
(L to R) Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, UNK, Mark Spitz?
September 6th, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
(L to R) Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, UNK, Mark Spitz?
September 5th, 2019 at 4:12 PM ^
Glasgow has great reactions and hustle. Like gill, however, he is slow. Major weakness against talented teams.
September 5th, 2019 at 4:38 PM ^
He's not slow, he's undersized. They had him at Viper and Safety and a gunner on coverage and you don't put slow guys at any of those positions.
September 5th, 2019 at 4:40 PM ^
I guess we’ll see how his speed holds up against better competition. For some reason, he looks slow.
September 5th, 2019 at 8:41 PM ^
Speed is obviously not one of his strengths. He is Kovacs'esque who also was slow, but a very solid player for us. You think all of our vipers and safeties have excellent speed? I wish...
But as a LB he has decent speed, as a DB not so much.
September 6th, 2019 at 12:01 AM ^
Clearly the not slow description is in the context of "for a WLB."
September 5th, 2019 at 4:38 PM ^
Why it gill and not Gil?
September 5th, 2019 at 6:41 PM ^
He's so slow he gained an extra L
September 5th, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
I've been complaining about his speed for a year, but that was in context of Viper. He's closer to WLB speed at least. I'm curious how he will stack up against Big 10 competition but he was more than fine against MTSU.
He's an upgrade over Gil for sure.
September 5th, 2019 at 8:35 PM ^
I thought it actually looked surprisingly fast. He's clearly not going to keep up with a 4.35 WR, but how many guys on Michigan's D would?
He's pretty fast and he makes quick decisions.
September 6th, 2019 at 6:40 AM ^
He's clearly not going to keep up with a 4.35 WR, but how many guys on Michigan's D would?
shutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutup
September 5th, 2019 at 4:25 PM ^
Anyone else having videos not match up with the comments?
Nevermind. Commented, refreshed, videos and captions match?
Nevermind the nevermind. It's like roulette. I never know if I'm going to get the appropriate video. Sometimes I do, most of the time I don't. It seems completely random what I'm going to get to see.
September 6th, 2019 at 6:03 AM ^
For me, the videos were correct on this review. The offensive review the videos were way off and one particular play popped up about 7 times. Random.
September 6th, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
Having the exact same problem. At first I thought I was the idiot who couldn't identify the stand up DE #6 to bottom, but I'm glad to see he just...wasn't there. Refreshed and then no issue. Very strange, just like how they won't play that stand up DE more often.
September 6th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
I had that problem on the offense UFR but it was when I had started going through, had to shut it down to do something else and came back. First time through was fine, second time didn't match. Today all matched.
September 5th, 2019 at 4:29 PM ^
Why is Lavert in a 3 man rotation at CB? It seemed like he wasn't on the field a lot.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:28 PM ^
Just a guess but... the coaches knew they were going to beat MTSU and they know they are going to need a good 3rd CB this year - even if Ambry remains healthy - so last week was an ideal opportunity to get Gray some live reps.
September 5th, 2019 at 6:41 PM ^
Makes sense. And have Hill return punts and risk an injury.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:52 PM ^
Probably a "why not, it's MTSU" thing. Get Gray some run against live competition. They probably couldn't be positive Thomas would hold up for the whole game endurance-wise either. They're gonna need Gray regardless, so it's good to get him significant game reps here so he sees things to work on and is reading offenses other than Michigan's.
September 6th, 2019 at 8:29 AM ^
I just don't remember doing that much last year. Ambry Thomas seemed to only get mop up duty at the end of games.
September 5th, 2019 at 11:33 PM ^
He’s been having trouble catching in practice.
September 5th, 2019 at 4:39 PM ^
I'm getting some serious Kovacs vibes from Glasgow #3. Can't wait to watch him blow up some 4th and 1s this year.
September 5th, 2019 at 6:02 PM ^
Agreed! Watching it live he stood out to me and glad to see it shows through in UFR. He and definitely made some plays.
September 5th, 2019 at 7:50 PM ^
I was thinking the same thing.
September 5th, 2019 at 4:39 PM ^
Is Ambry jumping that route for the INT risking getting double moved?
September 5th, 2019 at 4:54 PM ^
No, because he made his break after the ball was thrown. Also that would require the QB holding on to the ball for more than 1.2 sec.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:47 PM ^
Doubt it. They had no intel on him, and it was pretty clear by that time that they were trying to get the ball out quick. The QB was probably as surprised as anyone else that he jumped the route so decisively. He must have felt it coming from the snap...
September 5th, 2019 at 11:54 PM ^
It was a safe bet, at that point in the game, the QB was going to get rid of the ball ASAP with the likely destination of a screen type pass to the perimeter. The likelihood of some sort of pump fake to a downfield pass without the QB getting hit was slim to none. Great read and execution by Ambry.
September 5th, 2019 at 11:54 PM ^
It was a safe bet, at that point in the game, the QB was going to get rid of the ball ASAP with the likely destination of a screen type pass to the perimeter. The likelihood of some sort of pump fake to a downfield pass without the QB getting hit was slim to none. Great read and execution by Ambry.
Edit: my first double post!
September 5th, 2019 at 10:10 PM ^
I didnt see if there was a single high safety if not it is a bit risky verse safety. But they were not attempting to go deep because their Qb would be destroyed if they ran anything that took any time to develop.
September 5th, 2019 at 4:58 PM ^
Im just an internet man, but interior DL gives me the heebie jeebies. Feels like thats gonna be the weak spot all year which is sad after we’ve had pretty at least one badass DT for like 10 years now.
Hopefully the O gets better than the D gets worse
September 5th, 2019 at 5:09 PM ^
There’s a good bit of talent but it’s a matter of health and inexperience at this point. Gotta give those young guys (Jeter, Smith, and Hinton) reps to see what they can do.
Kemp, Mason and an injured Dwumfour are liabilities going beyond Army.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:44 PM ^
This. Kemp is just a guy and Mason has even less experience at DT than the true freshmen. A Kemp/Mason interior d-line has both a low floor and low ceiling. Much rather see what the young guys can do.
September 5th, 2019 at 7:21 PM ^
I was hoping to get some clips and commentary on Hinton's snaps. But I'll take a +0.5 even if it was against MTSU's backups!
September 5th, 2019 at 7:44 PM ^
Played three plays. 1st and 3rd plays were passes completed over JKP that he rushed into a mass of humanity while the ball was thrown before any line play was relevant. Those are the last two clips above if you wanna look. He's #15.
2nd snap was a run where he was singled up on a guard, shedded him and forced the back into the tackler for no gain. Looked decent on that one.
Think that was it.
September 5th, 2019 at 7:41 PM ^
Solomon transferring was a massive blow to the dline.
September 5th, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
And a massive blow to his career.
September 5th, 2019 at 8:39 PM ^
The UFR actually made me feel a little better. Clearly Mason isn't the answer. It's not his fault, he's in a pretty impossible position, and I hope he improves. However, for now, the DL with Mason starting is disaster. The DL with someone much better than Mason starting is not going to be bad at all.
September 6th, 2019 at 12:08 AM ^
This is my takeaway too... add a healthy Jeter, hopefully healthy Dwumfour, potential from the freshmen duo, and even Hutch playing inside, and there are a lot of options for success.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:08 PM ^
So you're saying Glasgow was positively Glaswegian in this game?
September 5th, 2019 at 5:28 PM ^
I don't think we should write-off Ben Mason after one game. With the eye test, I actually thought Kemp produced less than Mason. He was credited with only one assist and zero tackles on UM's official box score. At least Mason produced 3 stops, but I agree his errors overcame the positives. Mason needs reps, game film tutorials and more reps. He will get there as a backup 3-Tech but not likely big enough for any action at NT.
Overall, I agree the DTs are vulnerable to big ass teams like Wisconsin. Kemp and Mason as the starters will not hold up against that level of beef and make minimal impact on the run game. Delivering a free-running Taylor to the next level of defenders is going to be a problem.
And even with Jeter and Dwumfour back, there is not a big enough uptick as neither has shown to be outstanding run stuffers like a Mone. Losing Solomon will prove to be that groups undoing.
Against teams like Wisconsin, we are just going to have out score them in more or less a shootout.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:51 PM ^
Last year Taylor didn't bother me so much. This year, the thought of him touching the ball at Camp Randall has me scared shitless. It doesn't help that he did a nice job catching a lot of passes last week, either. That guy is terrifying!
September 5th, 2019 at 5:57 PM ^
The idea of him touching the ball had me scared shitless last year too, until it was amply clear that Paul Cryst wasn't going to bother using him on 3rd & short yardage situations.
I don't think we can count on that kind of coaching incompetence happening again this year. This year we'll either have to win in a track-meet situation, or we find a way to force them into abandoning their running game due to either time constraints (we go up several scores early), or due to being in 3rd & long situations a bunch of the time.
September 5th, 2019 at 7:24 PM ^
I can't imagine Wisconsin getting into third and long a bunch of times against us. That would require a couple run stuffs on first and second down.
More likely a bit of a track meet situation. I'm gonna say 34-28 Michigan.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:56 PM ^
Against teams like Wisconsin, we are just going to have out score them in more or less a shootout.
Simply out score them in a shootout, or (more likely):
- Go up a few scores early & force them to beat us with their (allegedly) mediocre passing game due to time constraints; or
- Stack the box to mitigate our DL & their RB Taylor, and to force them to beat us with their (allegedly) mediocre passing game due to being frequently behind schedule in terms of down/distance.
Then--unleash the Uche & profit.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:28 PM ^
Let’s hold the doomsday scenarios for after the Army game. You’ll have two weeks to spin those....
September 6th, 2019 at 12:16 AM ^
"Mason produced 3 stops, but I agree his errors overcame the positives. Mason needs reps, game film tutorials and more reps. He will get there as a backup 3-Tech but not likely big enough for any action at NT."
I like Mason as much as anybody. Reps and film might stop him from shooting directly upfield past a play, but I'm not sure that they'll help him not get pancaked and blown off the ball by 320 lb interior linemen. In fact, reps could even unwittingly make it worse: he either has to go hell-for-leather on plays to bring momentum into contact (and thus play out of control and run himself out of the play on a regular basis) or play under control and get overpowered on a regular basis. He's being asked to do something that's nearly impossible for him to do.
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