Neck Sharpies: What If Your Quarterback is a Run Threat?
Michigan's quarterback-centric running game has been a shell of itself this year. Our understanding is Shea injured his oblique on the first play from scrimmage against MTSU, and has since been loathe to keep the ball on reads. Since Michigan spent all offseason transitioning to an extremely read offense, this was a bad development.
I wrote a few weeks back how Army used this to their advantage by having the backside LB option the backside, flying outside when he read a mesh point to force a keep read against a crashing DE and slanting DL.
Shea compounded the issue by letting the backside LB off the hook when he didn't fly far enough outside. With Patterson not able to keep, Michigan shelved the zone read stuff, ably demonstrating (as much as the awful camera angle allows anyways) why a zone read is important if you're going to leave a guy unblocked:
That brings us to this week, when the flerp doodly poop experts themselves came to Ann Arbor. For most of the afternoon, Michigan ran from the shotgun without bothering to read anybody while Rutgers Rutgered. When you run from the shotgun without a zone read you don't get much—there's a lot of ground to cover from a stopped position after the handoff. As such Michigan's ground game met safeties after three yards and ground out another two because Rutgers for most of the day. In other words, we got to see just about zero of Michigan's real offense as long as the starters were in.
But Shea wasn't the only quarterback who played Saturday. Up 38-0 with 1:32 remaining, Michigan put in Joe Milton, and flipped the quarterback keeps back to the On position. It was our first chance since literally the season's first snap to see what the Gattis offense is trying to do. And it was actually kind of interesting. Wanna see?
[After THE JUMP: R-E-S-P-E-C-T, s-o-r-t-a]
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1. Zone Read With an Actual QB Run Threat
Michigan's running a vintage 2002 zone read. Rutgers is getting cute with their front, and I'm pretty sure their backup tackle (the guy they go to great lengths to keep off the field) went the wrong way. Sorry: if we're going to do Rutgers we're going to have to squint past a few Cable Subscribers who seemed intent on sabotaging their defense.
What's spread about it? Shotgun, flexed TE, three wide, pulling all but six guys out of the box for seven offensive players still in it. Also a zone read.
Who's being read? The "JACK" which is a standup defensive end/linebacker hybrid. Here he is at the mesh:
What's the run play? Inside zone that gets a backside cut.
How'd it go? Lol. Not only is the JACK hanging around outside, but #88, the DT over Mayfield, slanted out to the edge and went upfield. I think that guy got the play wrong because the JACK already has contain, and the linebacker Haskins is pointing at buried himself into the other side of Onwenu (thanks guy!).
Taking the ball left would have worked too. The nose slanted to the backside A gap and the other DE slanted inside of Runyan, with the SLB starting to pinch from the hash expecting a spill to him. That would be the play if DE#88 and LB#3 weren't trying to get Chris Ash fired (congrats guys!). Haskins reads this while getting the handoff, and he gets as many yards as he gets before the unblocked JACK can catch up.
Ruiz left before Bredeson got that nose tackle under control but Bredeson got away with a hold to get Haskins into the secondary.
quick reminder you can hit left arrow to slow down, right arrow to speed up, spacebar to pause, and click the "SD" and speaker buttons to watch in HD or turn on the sound
What did the read do? Held the JACK outside. Very much so in fact. Contrast with this play from the Army game. This Edge player is technically outside but his weight's all ready to take him inside to hit the running back after a short gain. We call this "shuffle" technique:
What did the threat of a QB running do? Patterson got a ton of these shuffles before Michigan threw out the zone read/arc read game because the shuffling was allowing Michigan to fall into the trap of doing what the defense wanted them to every time. The Rutgers guy isn't shuffling; he's hanging outside where he can stop a quarterback run for no gain and can't help on a running back run until it's near the first down marker.
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2. But What If Rutgers is Trying to Defend This Instead of Trying to Give the CPU Free Rushing Yards So That It'll Stop Passing?
We got a play like this on the previous snap. This is a very basic zone read, with a little bit of interesting blocking on the backside.
What's spread about it? Again, shotgun with receivers spread across the field to create space between the running game and the potential pass threats.
Who's being read? The middle linebacker, or more accurately, whichever defender on that side is setting up outside of Runyan.
What's the run play? Inside zone. Block your gap. When inside zone gets a slanting defensive line, their job is to wash those guys down while the running back cuts behind them. But somebody's got to provide a lane, and Michigan gets that from Runyan locking that DE out of the gap he's supposed to slant into and riding him downfield.
How'd it go? Rutgers is slanting their line to the (offense's) right, and bringing the overhang linebacker around on a "Scrape Exchange" sorta like what Army was doing. The difference is this time Runyan correctly read the slant (Rutgers tipped it by having the LB set up outside) and cut that guy off, riding him 10 yards downfield. The scraper comes in on an angle to take out a quarterback run and can't redirect as Haskins goes by.
I should also note the other Rutgers WLB here made things worse by standing around like Obi Ezeh until Ruiz got down and sealed him. Why Rutgers is still giving this guy snaps over Drew Singleton is beyond me.
(Bonus: Watch it again but this time pay attention to DPJ's block. He's coming down at first like he plans to crack the same guy Eubanks is kicking out, but DPJ is also watching the mesh point. I think if it's a keep he's supposed to slam into that OLB so Milton can break out into the alley. Once it's a give, DPJ lets Eubanks take care of it and heads out for high safety. A quarterback keep might have broken big.)
What did the read do? The defensive call is meant to stop this offensive play. Slanting the defensive line and bringing a scraper behind is meant to force a give into the unblocked DE, or a bounce into the frontside gaps the rest of the line slanted into. So the read played into the defense's hands, but still takes out a player with the quarterback. The defense is knowingly sacrificing that linebacker in order to win the RT vs B Gap defender battle with a slant. Runyan winning that anyway means they sold their LB for nothing.
What did the threat of a QB running do? The threat of the QB keep left the LB out there where he couldn't be of any help. This linebacker is going hell for leather against the quarterback, creating that all-important space for the running back to get by and make use of Runyan's good block. The greater likelihood that Milton would keep it meant they couldn't risk tempting him with the kind of soft edge Patterson, in his current state, wouldn't wish to try.
Later on Michigan ran this with their backup OL in. Rutgers again left an overhang guy out there, but this time the guy shuffled inside where he could help hold down the give. Milton gave it too quickly and that guy stopped VanSumeren for a minimal gain.
The way Army and MTSU were playing it, that scraper was shuffling at the edge of the play and ready to spring into the running back's legs just like the VanSumeren carry here. He did this only after five straight gives, and was rewarded.
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3. But Why Don't the Other Defenders Just Come Down?
Michigan's first play with Milton took advantage of the idea he might want to run by threatening a QB run to both sides while running a play that was really handoff with a skinny post RPO.
What's spread about it? Shotgun, and Michigan has three NFL-bound wide receivers spread out to the field side, which has to be terrifying. The threat of all this talent has to be weighing on the mind of the linebackers, whose job in this defense is to split the difference between those receivers. The effect is to pull defenders out of the box, giving the run game numbers in the run game.
Who's being read? The strongside linebacker. They're running an RPO on him with Tarik Black. It's unlikely he'll shoot into this given the setup, but now he can't because he's being read.
What's the run play? Counter. This is "Power-O" reversed, with the running back stepping down initially like he's going to run to the strongside (the side with the TE on it) then bouncing back to the weakside (no TE) with a puller as escort. It's supposed to attack the "B" gap between Mayfield and Onwenu, but since there's a Rutgers DE in that gap they just adjust mid-play (that's part of the puller's and RB's job).
How'd it go? Mayfield let the DE get back outside of him. Otherwise Runyan and DPJ are plowing that MLB out of the way and
What did the read do? Made sure the SLB didn't arrive until some yards were made.
What did the threat of a QB running do? A lot of subtle things. During the counter step, Milton at first looks at the cornerback on the backside, which is enough to get that guy to set up out there like he's being read. Then Milton's eyes sweep to the other side, and it looks like the MLB is getting read for a second. See how the CB and M both hold up?
They're both reacting to the ghost of a quarterback run that's not even part of the play unless a keep results in the safety trapping himself inside Black, which would probably induce a scramble. By the time the MLB is reacting to the run play he's got to stop, Runyan and DPJ are converging on him. Even with Mayfield's bad block this gets four yards.
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4. Okay But What If Both Defenders Come From Outside?
This is a pure scrape exchange without the DE diving inside of Runyan, so Runyan has to stop and hold that guy off a bit to create the lane.
What's spread about it? We've added a jet threat with Giles Jackson motioning across the formation, which is flooding the (offense's) left side with receivers.
Who's being read? Again, the idea is to read whoever's in the "zone" on the backside. Rutgers is trying to beat the zone read by putting multiple guys there. This is a more pure version of the scrape exchange. They're essentially trying to get what Don Brown did to Notre Dame a few years ago:
When neither option is actually an option. https://t.co/Kn7DnuAWyP
— Gordon McGuinness (@PFF_Gordon) November 22, 2015
What's the run play? Inside zone. Block your gap, RB picks his favorite. But Runyan sees the LB fly outside of him which is a signal that his gap is now behind him.
How'd it go? This may be too late in the game for Mr. Worldwide but I see you Mr. Runyan. Rutgers is again slanting away from this, expecting the exchange to blow up the backside, so once Runyan keeps that edge guy ("J2") just sealed enough, the MLB has blocked himself. Also the other LB was slow to fire at the A gap so Ruiz gets an easy seal on him. That LB man.
What did the read do? Again, the defensive call is meant to stop this offensive play, but the math is still the same. On a regular zone read play the tackle is an extra blocker. Usually that means he can go hunting the backside LB, thus removing the guy who's supposed to get the running back. The scrape exchange is supposed to make him wrong. He releases and there's nobody there, because the DE is on the running back and already in the backfield, and the backside LB has the quarterback.
The read is still removing a player from the defense—the WLB. So if the offensive tackle can still find a way to wipe out the crashing DE, the offense retains its numbers advantage. Runyan's response is textbook:
What did the threat of a QB running do? Rutgers is calling this play to force a handoff, gambling that their edge guy can get to the running back. The difference in this part of the game is the WLB isn't shuffling inside—he's way out there, stopped, ready for a quarterback keeper and in no position to affect the running back. Contrast with this scrape exchange from Army (the yellow arrow guy):
See how far inside the Army LB got? That's a guy in position to do something about the running back if he's trying to shoot backside, but maybe not in great shape on a keeper. The Rutgers LB doesn't have a shot at the back.
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5. Okay But What If the Defense Has More Guys Outside?
If you're running enough zone read AND you're playing the scrape exchanges off for big chunks, a defense might start activating another defender on the edge, albeit one who retains pass responsibilities. Whenever you get a defender with two jobs, you can make him choose one, and hit the other.
This is just simple play-action, but it's play-action off the play they were really good at last year: Arc Read. This was the counter to the counter to zone read that you may remember from that time "Wisconsin" wasn't a depressing word. It's blocked like zone read, but then you get a potential trap blocker coming across the formation (split zone) and then he dodges the end who just got optioned, and heads outside, and the quarterback now the quarterback has the edge and a lead blocker to boot:
While the Arc Read package stayed buried this week, Michigan did show a play-action pass off of it. Milton is reading the backside LB again, and again Rutgers is pressing outside, with the SLB now engaged while the MLB is on contain and the DE slants inside his tackle. Even the safety covering Sainristil stepped up like a run for a second. I know it's a Rutgers backup but you gotta enjoy how this SLB looks back inside just in case the quarterback is about to cut behind him.
That'll teach them.
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It's hard to read too much into this because it was Rutgers, and even they eventually adjusted to Milton's tendency to avoid keeping it. Runyan did a much better job against scrape exchanges than Hayes did previously, however it's hardly a given that better players will be so easily warded off when the opponent has one on.
But we did at least get to see a little bit of the zone read offense we expected to return from last year. And it did seem well-practiced, with a few modern wrinkles to prove Gattis isn't just running an offense from 2012. If they're ever healthy enough to run this stuff against a real team, it might actually work.
October 1st, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
Giles has to block better than that. I watch other team’s receivers donkey dbs down the field then i see our weak ass push blocks.
*Referring to the last clip
October 1st, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
First, I believe you are referring to #19 which is Sainristil. Second, if you are referring to him, he had just run a route, turned, and found the correct guy to block. He was standing still because his route had finished, and the other guy is running full speed. Not sure what else you want him to do?
October 1st, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
You are correct. #19 not 15. He waits for the defender to come to him instead of meeting his defender and driving him. Even if he waits for the defender a little half ass push isn’t going to do anything
October 1st, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
Collins, Black, and DPJ pulverize DBs on the regular.
October 1st, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Let's assume that the successful running at the end of the game was because Milton was believed to be a run threat and not because Rutgers, who already sucks, gave up. There are lots of gifs here providing evidence to that affect. Awesome. Evidence is good. I like it.
But then. Milton didn't keep the ball. He ended up with 2 rushes for 1 yard (which was at the goal line where even Shea keeps it.)
And.
they eventually adjusted to Milton's tendency to avoid keeping it
I'm still with you. Except. Now, we've got two QBs who don't keep the ball. The QBs never keep the ball. Regardless of who the QB is. Does McCaffrey keep the ball? Difficult to say because he had 3 rushes before Wisconsin finally succeeded in concussing him.
But. The theory is that at some point in time. The QBs will start executing the offense correctly and keep the ball. They just haven't yet... For a growing list of reasons.
I am all for optimism because life is too short. But at some point, you have to wonder if what you're seeing on the field is the thing. There isn't another thing being held in reserve. This is the thing.
I mean. Yes, the QB keeping the ball makes sense. Except they keep not doing that. And quite honestly, more often than I'd like Michigan seems too stubborn to make sense. Sometimes what you see is what you get.
The next time Gattis pulls a rabbit out of his hat for Michigan, saved for some big moment, will be the first time.
October 1st, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
It's worth noting that McCaffrey kept the ball quite a bit in the MTSU game (8 carries for 42 yards) and had three carries for 21 yards in his short amount of time against Wisconsin. Of course, that also led to McCaffrey hitting one of those zone read triple option passes for a big gain and led to a couple solid first down runs from Turner in that short period. It's a shame that he got injured because the offense seemed to be moving.
The question is whether Milton and Patterson weren't reading against Rutger as a personal decision or because there was no reason to expose the QB to hits against Rutger. It's hard to say, but IIRC we largely put away the reads against Rutger last year and had a similar rushing performance. Also, Milton was very happy to run when he was in last year. I guess we'll see against Iowa. If we're not going to pull against them, I'm not sure what we're waiting for.
October 2nd, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
They have to be avoidng QB keeps on purpose. They did it last year until Wisconsin and we've seen practice footage of keepers. They must have a pitch count going where they're avoiding QB contact as much as possible until late in the season. I mean, Dylan already got a concussion after like 3 keeps against Wisconsin. If we don't start using those QB runs against Iowa, I imagine we won't legitimately see it until Notre Dame or Michigan State. Maybe Penn State.
October 1st, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
I'm no expert here but from what I've read on this site, this offense has very little chance of success without the threat of a QB keeper. Assuming that Josh Gattis and Jim Harbaugh are inept enough to not know that is kind of crazy.
October 1st, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
IF we’re operating under the idea that the coaching staff is “saving” the QB runs for later, then this is not going to end well and is terrible scheming. Last year when they “saved” the QB runs it didn’t submarine the entire offense because they could go under center and grind DLs to dust running power and some pin and pulls. But, they started having Patterson pull it against Wisconsin because they needed it to pull away. Wisconsin this year? When getting rag-dolled? Nothing. For what reason?
The offense now is entirely shotgun mesh runs so if the QB isn’t a threat 100% of the time all they’re doing so slowing the RBs down and not giving them a head of steam. Pair that with an OL that isn’t just pushing guys straight back and you get the constant 2-3 yard runs that take forever for the RB to find any semblance of a crease to try and squeeze through. Could be a function of defenses not respecting the pull or passing game, but the OL is also struggling to block in general. They’re not a zone reach blocking type of OL. The 3 guys in the middle are all huge and while nimble for their size, they’re not Lane Johnson level agile. If you’re going to handcuff the offense by not screaming at the QB to pull the ball, then don’t have those 3 guys trying to out flank defenses with a RB who has to delay his acceleration while the QB pretends to read someone.
There have been far too many obvious pulls to make me believe that it’s Patterson not seeing them. All it would require is 5 minutes of film and a couple of reps in practice to tell him to pull the damn ball when the DE isn’t coming right at him. At this point it has to either be the coaching staff telling him not to pull it (which is stupid) or the coaching staff doesn’t know how to run a Read Option offense with the pulls (which would be hard to believe given last year).
They’ve ran “read options” with the QB facing opposite the DE who they leave free. Cutback for the RB? Maybe. But more often than not that backside DE just books it down the LOS for the RB and it goes for 2 yards. They’ve ran “read options” with the QB staring at completely open space and not a 2nd thought goes through the QB’s mind to pull the ball.
My point is, OSU runs their power option stuff day 1 because it’s the basis of their offense. Fields is running RO left and right no matter the competition. If the basis of your offense is to put the defense in conflict and get athletes in space, there is no “leaving it in the garage” for a later date. Especially when Wisconsin is giving you a swirly.
October 1st, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
On Wisconsin this year, I'm not sure the lack of pulls is telling us anything. We barely ran the ball at all.
October 1st, 2019 at 2:20 PM ^
Patterson has obviously been hurt and is limited in the pull game. It appeared that they were going with McCaffrey when behind at Wisconsin, but then he got hurt. By that point the game was over. I agree that going forward we are going to have to run the offense with a 100% read possibility or there is zero point to it. In fact, after watching Milton handle the ball for a quarter I would rather have him in there running a full zone read than Patterson under a no-pull order.
I'm also intrigued because I think there are possibilities with our receiving corps for the QB to pull with a pass option.
October 1st, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^
Shea was injured. They are not confident in McCaffrey. Agree that they need to start using it. Iowa is about as now-or-never as it gets.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:17 PM ^
I don’t post often but this idea of leaving good plays in the garage pushes a hot button for me. Watching from afar is right. All good teams run their offense as it is meant to be. Against all teams. There may be some trick plays and wrinkles held in reserve but the core offense needs to be used every week. No coach in their right mind would ever have a team run some facsimile of the core offense to be tricky. Please, please put this idea of coaches holding back to bed.
October 2nd, 2019 at 2:38 PM ^
I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you regarding other coaches. College football has a finite amount of time that you can spend with players doing football things. Therefore, it is difficult to practice a "core offense" let alone add "trick plays and wrinkles." For this reason, most if not all programs will shorten their game plans against physically inferior opponents.
October 1st, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
I don't disagree that this may be the offense, but last year they sorta looked the same early on and then did pull the ball more as the season progressed. It's depressing they haven't figured this out yet, but my tiny bit of optimism is that the staff knows this offense needs QBs to run and it's unlikely they wouldn't just for fun.
October 1st, 2019 at 2:00 PM ^
maybe it's just me but Patterson once he gives the ball just stops or jogs out his fake.
you have to sell it HARD that you still have the ball, last year his play fakes were amazing, this year not so much the guy looking at him can just run full speed for the ball carrier.
even if it is a straight give you have to sell out to make them think you may have the ball at some point.
disapointing.
October 1st, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
That flood route in the last clip showed Sainristil doing that double stutter step from the preseason Twitter link that Gattis was working on.
When you have WRs that can move like that (and WRs like DPJ/Collins/Black/Bell), use them.
October 1st, 2019 at 10:51 AM ^
Shea appears to be running fine when he scrambles and he can slide or run out of bounds to avoid hits if that's the issue. I don't get it.
October 1st, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
It could be any number of things:
1. The coaches know Shea is dinged up and his backup is out, and they are trying to limit his hits. They didn't see a need to expose him to more hits against Rutger. It's entirely possible that we planned on having him run against Wisconsin, but we shelved the running game immediately when we went down three scores.
2. Shea's in a mental funk where he's timid about pulling because he's in a lot of pain. I could buy this for Army, but not as much for this game since Milton never pulled either.
3. This one seems like the biggest stretch, but it's linked to #2. To effectively pull on a ZR, it seems like there's a lot of body twisting involved. Isn't that exactly the type of body motion that would be shut off by an oblique injury? He was very good with his ball fakes last year when he used him, but I remember him going all in and twisting quite a bit.
October 1st, 2019 at 3:32 PM ^
I think this is exactly it. Certainly Occam's Razor suggests this.
- When Shea was committed to selling the give & keeping the ball last year, he wasn't just very good, he was often masterful. As in, faking out the announcers, the camera man, and most of the stadium masterful. Suggesting that Shea suddenly doesn't have the inherent skill or doesn't understand the importance of doing it & doing it well is absurd.
- Similarly, I'm assuming these conceptual points being made & understood on MGoBlog are pretty fundamental X's & O's concepts understood by most on the high school & certainly FBS coaching level. Hell, even *I* understand them, and I've neither coached nor played. So, suggesting that Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis are complete morons who don't understand the importance of this element in their game plan is similarly absurd.
The only logical & consistent explanation is that concern over QB health issues are either directly or indirectly putting this aspect of the offense on hold for the time being. If it's direct, then it's because the coaches are worried about actual & potential QB health for the duration of the season & are therefore instructing the QBs to either never or *almost* never pull the ball. If it's indirect, then maybe there is no explicit marching order, but physically/psychologically right now Shea is hesitant to do it as it may exacerbate his oblique/trunk injury.
There are some criticisms one could levy at the coaches at this approach, but most of them have a very rational explanation as well. Maybe they're explanationas a critic may not *agree* with, but at least rational explanations. For example:
1) "If Shea can't do it, just shelve him & put in McCaffrey." Answers:
- Maybe the coaches decided that even if Shea is limited in his QB pull execution, he still represents an overall better chance for the team to win over McCaffrey.
- Maybe for the first game or two, Shea kept insisting he COULD do it, so the coaches kept him in for awhile before realizing he couldn't.
- Maybe because they know Shea is iffy health-wise, the coaches are ALSO reluctant to risk McCaffrey's health too until they know Shea can get healthier.
- We got so far behind Wisconsin so quickly, we basically shelved the running game out of necessity to try to catch up. Also, we did try it with McCaffrey but he ended up getting knocked out of the game before we could mix in enough of it.
2) "If neither QB can do it well, why are we even bothering to run that look? Just abandon it." Answers:
- Maybe they anticipate that one or both WILL be able to do it well once health improves in a few weeks. No need to abandon the whole system just because you know you might be sub-optimal play for a few weeks while guys heal up. Switching BACK to the old method takes time/reps too, and maybe it's not worth doing just for a few weeks, only to switch back to the read option stuff later on.
- Even if this is a season-long thing, JH & Gattis may have decided it's worth repping it regardless in order to build in the muscle-memory for the rest of the offense.
3) "If the QBs are healthy enough, can do it, and it's a key component of our offense, why play coy? Why not just 'open the kimono' and rep it against everybody? Ohio State does it & they are super successful!!" Answers:
- "Open the Kimono" is one strategy. Playing coy is another very legitimate one. Critics may point to instances where anticipated wrinkles were NOT ever deployed (Pepcat, etc.), but there are several others when they were. Exhibit 1A is this EXACT SAME NO QB-PULL ISSUE IN 2018. It was one of the major critiques of this blog & Patterson at this point last year, and then Shea started keeping far more frequently mid season & onward.
- Yes, Ohio State coaches DGAF & look like gutsy play callers having Fields keep it right now regardless of QB depth issues. But it's a HUGE gamble they are taking. How will Buckeye fans feel if Fields gets obliterated with a season ending injury after keeping the ball so that OSU can go up 35-3 in the 3rd quarter against Northwestern? Would they be regarded as gutsy coaches then? Or would they be seen as foolhardy coaches who didn't prudently take steps to safeguard the linchpin of their offensive production for the duration of the season as much as possible?
- The bottom line is, either strategy you take (play coy/safeguard QB health or open the kimono/run the QB with abandon) has risks. The risks are just allocated differently. The first strategy Michigan may be employing is lower risk, lower reward (maximizes the odds of healthy QBs the duration of the season by sacrificing offensive efficiency, especially early in the season and/or against "inferior" opponents). The second strategy is higher risk, higher reward.
October 1st, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
Yes, because no QB has ever been hit during a slide, before he can slide, or before he can get out of bounds.
October 1st, 2019 at 12:12 PM ^
If he's that worried about hits, he wouldn't be dropping pack to pass. Or do qb's never get hit dropping back?
October 1st, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
I see you John Runyan. I see you.
October 1st, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
Seems like Shea was reluctant to run, maybe because of whatever injury he was dealing with. The rushing TD's he had against Rutger maybe broke the ice and he'll be more inclined to pull the ball back and hit the edge Saturday, if its available.
October 1st, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
Seth, when you write " It was our first chance since literally the season's first snap to see what the Gattis offense is trying to do.", are you sure about that? Last year in Gattis' offense, Tua rushed for 190 yards. Urban Meyer ran his offense last year with Dwayne Haskins rushing for 108 yards for the entire year. Where is the evidence that Gattis wants to run an offense that is centered on a rushing quarterback.
October 1st, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
The evidence is sorely lacking. That being said, how can running out of the shotgun be even remotely effective without the threat of the QB keeper?? That's like, crippling the entire concept isn't it?
October 1st, 2019 at 12:03 PM ^
Seth, this is nice and all, but...
October 1st, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
Great write up, but you missed the obvious question.
If Shea is gun shy to keep, should he play at all?
October 1st, 2019 at 12:29 PM ^
Obvious? It's a dumb question.
After the hit on McCaffrey, I wonder if the coaches are concerned about putting players in danger.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
Dumb question?
No, your answer was dumb.
Uncle Urb ran QBs and suffered many serious injuries.
Braxton Miller’s shoulder, JT got a broken leg, etc.
OSU didn’t give a shit. They ran their offense, suffered the injuries and won.
October 1st, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
They won a Natty with their 3rd string QB.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
If the coaches and players are playing tentatively, it can lead to more injuries, not less.
The QB is going to take hits in this offense. If the coaches didn't want that, they shouldn't have installed it.
October 1st, 2019 at 2:26 PM ^
As for McCaffrey, when he does come back, and if he hasn't learned it on his own by now, he's got to be coached on how to protect himself better. Twice we've seen him lay his body out for extra yardage and both times he got broken in half. At any rate it's obvious by now that with this offense you've got to have 2-3 quarterbacks ready to play at the start of the season.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:21 PM ^
Thanks for another great write-up!
As far as the keeps, as others have said, Iowa - and also the next game on the road - will be the tell. This piece makes absolutely clear that we have to have the QB keeps for the run game to be successful (it also makes the pass game more successful), and if we are intentionally shutting that part down, then the run offense just isn't going to work. So why change to this offense at all?
I will reserve judgment until after Iowa, but it's just crazy to me that we put in an offense and decide we're not going to use a key piece of it. I don't think it would have mattered against Wisconsin because of STBOTR, but still. Crazy.
OSU runs their offense from day 1, QB hits or not. I say we emulate that.
The Michigan offense: Keeping the car in first gear since forever....
October 1st, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
Maybe someone smarter than me knows the answer to this, but if you are worried about Shea getting hurt, why not have him keep it 3-4 times per game and slide or run out of bounds the second someone got close? Teams are overplaying the RB so much I'd have to imagine that they would still be able to get 3-4 yards on almost every play.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
This is one of the most inexplicable things in my Michigan fandom. Half the reason for the read is to take pressure off your running back run game by removing a defender. Why are they purposely tanking that, which is clearly one of Harbaugh's favorite things, for a miniscule* reduction in the chance of QB injury.
*I'm assuming this is miniscule but I see no reason to believe it would lead to a large reduction.
October 1st, 2019 at 2:33 PM ^
The hardest hit of the year that OSU's QB has taken was against Nebraska, when Fields handed the ball off and continued with the play fake. Since he was faking having the ball, it was perfectly legal for the defender to hit him, and he got absolutely leveled-- layed out on his back.
So if you're trying to keep the QB safe by not allowing him to keep, you also need to have him not follow through on the fake, which makes it even easier for the defense to go after the RB.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
So I am the largest proponent of the run game. All game long you can hear me saying "Run the ball".
But right now we have the best receiving core that I can remember. People say we have 3 that will play on Sundays. I think Ronnie Bell will too.
At this point I'm saying "Throw the ball!!!"
That is where the "Speed in space" is coming from right now.
October 1st, 2019 at 7:29 PM ^
It's a corps, not a core. And not a corpse.
October 1st, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
If they're ever healthy enough to run this stuff against a real team, it might actually work.
Shh. They are saving it for Wisconsin
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