MGoPodcast 14.0.a: 2022 Preview, Offense
2 hours and 2 minutes
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1. Quarterback and Running Back
starts at 1:00
Cade versus JJ, round 2…how long until McCarthy is too good to keep out of the starting lineup? More important question is how good is Cade McNamara, because he has excellent command of the offense, and had a Rudock-like second half of the season. He needs to hit next-level routes but showed he can, and still has a lot more runway than people think. Then again, McCarthy can be the Bryce Young who takes this offense to natty-level, which they may need. Orjicat? Running back is going to be sweet—you forget how good Corum was (best in the nation) before his injury. Neither he nor Edwards are probably power backs, which means they may need JJ to be a run threat to maximize their backs. Need a thunder dude to step forth; Mullings has the proverbial it if he can be spared.
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2. Receiver and Tight Tend
starts at 41:41
With all due respect to Ronnie Bell, we’re starting with Cornelius Johnson, who is tracking towards 1st round pick. A lot of the meat that Cade left on the bone was CJ getting wide open on in-breaking routes. He needs to get his contested catch rate up to be elite. Ronnie Bell: the most effective slot in 2020, uncanny ability to turn 5 yards into 15, always better hands than credited. And then there’s LOTS of good depth. Hard not to be stoked about Andrel Anthony’s Braylon impression in year 2. Roman Wilson is so fast with underrated hands and leaps, and a better weapon for a big arm, but needs to improve his routes, gets stuck at the LOS. AJ Henning is fun, but rather see the top receivers in the slot. Going to be fun watching the freshmen develop. Seth is all in on Erick All, who’s the guy Michigan decided to run behind. Schoonmaker is an incredible athlete. They’re sitting atop a depth chart that’s been waiting for those guys to clear out. Is anyone a fullback? Max Bredeson perhaps?
3. Hot Takes and Offensive Line
starts at 1:13:09
The Joe Moore Winners add a Rimington Candidate that the whole team can’t stop talking about. Zinter is taking the next step to All-American. Seth loves Keegan’s awareness—Graham Glasgow 2.0. Ryan Hayes showed his limits but he can pull and he can knock around some guys…still needs to get stronger. Trente Jones gives us confidence because he seized the job so fast. The backups are not as known because they’re the next generation, but early returns inside are very positive.
4. Offense in Summary
starts at 1:42:11
So what would disappoint you? They’re Top 5 but if they want to get to Top 1 or 2 they need to hit on McCarthy or see McNamara turn into a Drew Brees. Hard to see him do that without the zone reads that make JJ effective. Corum isn’t going to get enough carries to be a Heisman. What did they lose in Gattis? Really hard to tell, but Weiss knows how to use motion to create weird running lanes. Want to see them open it up early against bad opponents. No more Washington games.
MUSIC:
- “Are You Ready”—Rokotto
- “Crazy Feeling”—Lou Reed
- “Lady Luck”—Richard Swift
- “Across 110th Street”
THE USUAL LINKS:
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct Download Link
- What's with the theme music?
I don't want to embrace an Orji.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:38 AM ^
to quote ralph kramden, homina homina homina.
August 22nd, 2022 at 9:11 AM ^
What a pleasant surprise it was this morning to this podcast ready to go! At 2:09, it has lots of info - and I got the first ~50 minutes on the drive in. I heard about the QB's, RB's, and all but the two freshmen WR's. Have to say, though, that whatever editing error replayed Brian's intro to the WR group - it was worth hearing twice!
It's pretty nice to hear about a glut of riches on an otherwise drab, dreary, and rain soaked Monday morning...
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:29 AM ^
In for the next wave of the ongoing content tsunami. TWO HOURS. Dayum.
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^
These podcasts are so underrated.
August 22nd, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
Across 110th Street never gets old.
August 22nd, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
I've been a Michigan football junkie for 40 years. As I sit here, I cannot recall a more promising Michigan offense than this year's group. Ever.
Barring injuries, the 2022 offense should break the modern program record for scoring.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:32 PM ^
2003 comes to mind. Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant, Steve Breaston at WR, Chris Perry at RB, with a good offensive line and capable QB
Agreed though, with this offensive line, skill position, and QB talent we should be in the conversation. Playcalling remains my greatest concern.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
"modern program record for scoring"
Set in 2016 with 525 points, which was 40.3 per game.
The next highest per-game average was in 1947, when the Mad Magicians scored 39.4 per game en route to the national championship.
August 22nd, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
Set in 2016 with 525 points, which was 40.3 per game.
Which is kind of crazy, considering that talent-wise I'm not sure I would have even considered them one of the top five M offenses of the last 20ish years. Greater than the sum of their parts maybe, with solid pieces but lacking in star power other than Jake Butt. Though I'm sure one of the best defenses (as well as special teams) of that time period certainly contributed, and a 78 point game definitely carries a lot of water too.
So from that aspect, would have to think that the record should be in the crosshairs. I'd say each offensive position group this year is easily better than 2016's save TE, which is probably at least close. A lot will depend on playcalling, which held back some very potent early 2000s offenses despite some crazy talent, but yeah, I'd say it'll be at least a mild disappointment if we don't break 2016's record...
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:49 PM ^
My Bold Prediction: after his performance this season Eric All will be considered the best TE in program history.
IMO, his combination of pass-catching ability, open-field speed, and LEGIT blocking might be the best I have ever seen at Michigan.
This year should give us a big enough sample size to confirm it as a FACT.
August 22nd, 2022 at 2:23 PM ^
1999: Brady, Henson, Terrell, Walker, Tuman, A-Train, multiple future pros on the O-line. Not shabby!
I'd put '03 up there too, but I think we all hope & feel that the QB play in '22 will surpass the best of Navarre.
August 22nd, 2022 at 11:34 AM ^
I'm not buying CJ first round draft potential at this point.
He's had plenty of opportunities and is still trending as Great Value Darboh.
August 22nd, 2022 at 6:37 PM ^
I'd say this topic is incomplete as of now. If Cade had targeted CJ last year in a way that reflected his actual consistent openness, you might have a completely different opinion. Having watched all of DG's breakdowns last year, I lean more toward Brian's assessment. I think CJ is a bit of a monster waiting to be unleashed.
August 22nd, 2022 at 7:03 PM ^
I agree. CJ isn't anywhere near top 5 in WR rankings. He's firmly behind Jordan Addison, JSN, Kayshon Bouette, and Quentin Johnson. CJ needs to be incredible to get into 1st round and he has been solid but not great.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:24 PM ^
I think my biggest fear is that we are all excited about the shiny fast athletes at RB and WR who run spread splays and yet we're going to struggle to grind out first downs without Haskins and with a historically "man-ball" approach to offense. I think we'll be more explosive, but maybe more erratic when that swing pass to Corum gets stuffed for a loss or the handoff on 3rd-and-3 gets 2 yards instead of 4.
The path to success for this team is to open things up on offense and be both aggressive and creative. We saw a lot of that last year, and yet we still were extremely dependent on Haskins churning out positive yards 25 carries per game. While having a short-yardage back would be great, the real key is when the opponent doesn't know what's coming.
August 22nd, 2022 at 2:37 PM ^
Based solely on the Spring game, I foresee Mullings will be the guy to get the must-have yards to keep the chains moving.
Re-watched the 4Q of psu on BTN the other day. We all remember the strike to All to take the lead, but maybe forget the 5 plays before it & the 5+ plays after getting the ball back from psu:
H2, H2, H2, H2, H2, Cade to All 47 yds TD -> H2, H2, H2.. repeat til Victory Formation.
I don't think any one back will be asked or expected to carry a load like that this year, but on 3rd & 3, 4th & 1 "gotta get em" plays, Mullings showed something.
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:29 PM ^
It's Jim Harbaugh. He will never have a team with a truly open offense (at least in comparison to what others are thought of as "open" at any given time).
He just believes in ball control and eating clock. This is a man that had Nico Collins and DPJ but almost never looked to them until they absolutely had to. Nico Collins was not coverable as a college WR. No CB did it with consistency and he still just didn't use him.
This year *should* have possibly the most statistically impressive offense ever in modern Michigan history. I just wouldn't bet on it due to who Jim is. Now, he just won a B1G Championship! You can still win with his greater mentality but you have to pair it with an insane defense and we'll see if UM has that this year. Jim is just who he is and he may jand over the keys to the offense but there is zero chance he isn't dictating the general philosophy. How "open" it seems will probably be dependent upon the QB's efficiency more than scheme.
August 22nd, 2022 at 11:41 PM ^
I mean, you do realize one of Harbaugh's teams already holds the program's modern-day scoring record, right?
40.3 PPG in 2016.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
I want a carpet bombing offense. I want to see OSU style games where it's 42-3 at halftime. No more 24-7 halftime versus bums.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:49 PM ^
Im with you, full throttle right out of the gate and pile it on!! Thats how you get your back-ups real game experience in the late 3rd into the 4th quarters up by 50 pts.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:47 PM ^
The OSU game proved once again... you win in the trenches!!!
Stay healthy and coach up the back-up 2nd stringers as its a long rough season!
August 22nd, 2022 at 1:39 PM ^
Got here a bit late for this, but my impression is also that this should be the best Michigan offense in my 40+ years as a Michigan fan.
The only issue in my mind is that the offense is missing the one thing that Coach Harbaugh loves to lean on -- a HulkSmash power back. My worry is that we will miss a number of 3rd-and-2 conversions as Coach tries to shoehorn someone into the Haskins role. Last year, Haskins showed an amazing ability to pick up tough yards even when the defense knew he was going to get the ball.
Other than that, I am very excited for this offense -- if it is allowed to flourish.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:00 PM ^
Good podcast and love the upbeat nature after last year's funeral-esc tone.
I do want to push back again on the idea that McNamara is terrified of throwing to these wide open WRs that seemingly only Al Borges and Devin Gardner see on film. They surely know more about football than I do but I've also watched this team the past couple of years and Ronnie Bell was the only guy last year who I confidently believed could get separation and catch balls thrown to him in coverage. I like guys like Johnson, Wilson, etc. but they absolutely struggled at times last year to get open consistently and holding onto the ball when it got to them. It feels a bit like when DPJ and Black were at Michigan and all I kept hearing was how Patterson kept missing them"screamingly wide open" downfield and then you'd see on film they were technically open 45 yards downfield as the play broke down or dropped the ball when a defender was even in the vicinity. And not to rag on those guys but the fact both of them struggled to play with more consistency at subsequent stops somewhat validates that reading that they weren't completely wasted at UM.
I don't remember the game (it was an early one) but I remember seeing Devin and Sam Webb talk on WTKA about how Sainristil was wide open and Cade missed him, yet on review there was a corner about 2 feet away and a safety cheating over to that side. Again, maybe there's some all-22 where that looked more open than it was or there are dozens of college QBs who hit that (I doubt it) but it certainly didn't seem like the gross negligence it was made out to be.
And that's my concern with McCarthy being pushed ahead of McNamara based on potential. Absolutely McCarthy brings an athleticism that McNamara lacks and opens up the running offense, but McNamara showed a great ability to make the smart play and work within the offense last year. That will change this year without Haskins and a defense that likely won't be as lights-out as 2021, but like boring safeties I like my QB making sound decisions with the ball and hitting open guys when they're actually open, and assuming one guy will show the ability we've seen in another guy feels speculative.
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:33 PM ^
I kinda know what you mean but, no. Cade missed some really, really, really wide open guys last year. He was good for about 4 a game where you just had to scratch your head because it was obvious from .5 after the snap that they had what they wanted and he just wouldn't see it or pull the trigger.
I'm well on record that if Cade has progressed mentally as a QB, start him. I'd trust him that much if he is 2021 Cade with the ability to read a defense post-snap. Consistently. I'd actualy take that over JJ and I'm very high on what I think JJ is capable of.
Yet, if he is still anywhere near 2021 Cade, you go with JJ day 1. Now or never.
August 22nd, 2022 at 4:34 PM ^
Cade's gonna Cade. But, damn - I want to see him pull back and bolt on 2 or 3 ZR's/game this year. That might get him to a working poor man's version of Brees.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:24 PM ^
Brian sounds much happier this year and that shit makes me happy.
August 23rd, 2022 at 1:51 PM ^
My man was CHIPPER
August 23rd, 2022 at 1:30 AM ^
My hot take: "ARUHGUHRGUHAUGHHHHH ALL FIVE OFFENSIVE LINE STARTERS WILL EARN ALL BIG TEN RECOGNITION!!!!"
August 23rd, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
This is a very good offense, with quality, depth and experience everywhere. They could lose a starter at every position group and hardly feel it, and they will not depend at all on contributions from guys who haven’t seen the field yet.
The one thing they lack is proven elite players. If Harbaugh will really unleash the passing game, this could still be an elite offense, but my guess is that he will want to overuse the running game, and our starting QB will have another typical, unspectacular season- 225 ypg, 61% completions, 23 TD, 7 INT.
August 23rd, 2022 at 12:53 PM ^
Perfect pod. Got me through my morning and afternoon walks. Can't wait for the Defense.
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:15 PM ^
Go Flip Yourself
RIP Toby
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