2020 citrus bowl
shea patterson
queensbury rules football
8 mile analogies
jordan glasgow
zach charbonnet
giles jackson
josh gattis
speed in space
donovan peoples-jones
hassan haskins
don brown
cam mcgrone
[Patrick Barron]

Not Technically A Private School Comment Count

Brian January 2nd, 2020 at 1:27 PM

1/1/2020 – Michigan 16, Alabama 35 – 9-4, 6-3 Big Ten, season over

Well, that could have been worse.

The last time Michigan played Alabama I was rapidly drinking a beer in the second quarter because that was the obvious thing to do. I think it was the second play from scrimmage when Roy Roundtree tried to run a route up the sideline and the Alabama cornerback blasted him five yards into the sideline. The outcome was never in doubt, only the exact nature of the humiliation.

This, by contrast, was a football game. It was a football game despite early indicators that it would be another ritual spanking. Michigan had a halftime lead, and it felt like they should have had a bigger lead. This was a correct take since Michigan scored zero second-half points and Alabama covered easily. But until Shea Patterson threw an interception directly at Josh Jobe, it was worth your time.

Yes, this is a low bar to clear. I love low bars to clear. I love stepping over a six inch obstacle and celebrating like I have cured polio. I have successfully breathed in and out several times while writing this paragraph and am high-fiving myself madly. I am an accomplished individual. I clear bars. Do not ask where they are located.

-----------------------------------------------

And heck, almost everything that's relevant for next year was pretty good. Josh Gattis came out with an excellent gameplan that saw Michigan put up nearly 300 first half yards before Alabama adjusted and Michigan had to rely on out-executing the Tide with a crew of people who are mostly not five stars. Zach Charbonnet got a lot of work done on the ground and in one memorable pancake in pass protection. Giles Jackson popped out for downfield completions, and by the end of the game Alabama was popping kickoffs to the 35 to prevent him from getting the ball. Chris Hinton survived as a lone nose tackle, mostly.

If the point of a bowl game is to encourage you about the next season this was about as good as a win. If the point of a bowl game is to win it, well… that was not as good as a win.

This is because the loss largely went back to Patterson, who threw zero passes longer than 15 yards that a receiver could touch, let alone catch. As documented on this site, Patterson's late-season yardage surge was always a false dawn based more on Josh Gattis giving him eight-yard RPO throws that Michigan turned in to great piles of yardage. But even at his meh-est, Patterson was always a guy you could rely on to throw an arcing deep ball that gave his receivers a chance. This was in fact his greatest strength.

In this game his deeper throws were weirdly flat and always off. Early, Nico Collins beat a Josh Jobe jam badly enough that on a ball that hit him in stride Jobe was either going to make a shoestring tackle or give up a touchdown; Patterson zinged a rope that the king of catching radius couldn't get a finger on. And that was pretty much his day until he threw it right to Jobe right after Eubanks had turned his route up at the sideline, wide open. That was the ballgame in a neat little bow.

To a large extent it also was the season. Michigan had two other major issues—defensive tackle and Gattis transition costs—but Patterson dropping from a guy PFF ranked ahead of Dwayne Haskins to a guy nine slots behind the noodle-armed dude Michigan played in the opener (as of week 12) was the biggest single factor in a disappointing season and the one most emblematic of the frustrating spot Michigan finds itself in. A lot of TV stats are weird, cherry-picked, and meaningless, but Michigan going 0-20 against top 15 teams in road/neutral games since Lloyd Carr retired does actually say it all about where it's at.

And while I said it badly right after the Ohio State game, the thing that sticks with me after this season are the two relevant quotes from the OSU/Michigan rivalry. Justin Fields is in the football building so eternally that he described the campus where he is nominally a student like it was a European city he'd like to visit some day. Josh Gattis on Patterson before the season:

"I was a little bit worried about him coming into camp, because he spent so much time on the golf course this summer," Gattis told media Wednesday in Ann Arbor.

Michigan has a recipe for a nice little program that never beats anyone of import.

Michigan is the Papa Doc of college football. Pretty good at its subject matter. Rolls deep. Excellent at beating up on the Cheddar Bobs of the world.

Fundamentally, though, Michigan is named Clarence and went to Cranbrook. They'll let some guys into school but not other guys. If they're bagging they're the worst school in the world at it since they managed to turn the Michigan money cannon into zero guys ranked higher than 92nd in this class. The culture of the program is such that the starting QB gets called out for golfing too much.

Then they pretend to some sort of nobility. But there's no such thing as halfway crooks.

[After THE JUMP: Gattisization complete though]

AWARDS

49312023553_168f4b9ce4_k

when not chasing Jeudy it went well [Barron]

Known Friends And Trusted Agents Of The Week

you're the man now, dog

-2535ac8789d1b4991f1c37dee-a502-44d9

#1 Jordan Glasgow. Everywhere when Alabama tried to go horizontal, which they did far too often until it was four-minute drill time. 10 tackles, one for loss, and several others at or near the line of scrimmage to set up long yardage situations. Generally not liable for what happened with the WR crew.

#2 Zach Charbonnet. 84 yards on 13 carries, many of them featuring Charbonnet running over Alabama guys like he was still in high school. Also one murderous blitz pickup and several other good blitz pickups.

#3 Giles Jackson. Michigan's leading receiver with 57 yards, 40 of them on a wheel route catch and run where he popped out of the backfield. Also had an inside zone carry for three yards, which is an interesting wrinkle that helped set up the wheel route. Had kickoff returns to the 50 and 35 and induced Bama to pop another kickoff up to the 35. Should be real fun next year.

Honorable mention: Dax Hill wasn't primarily responsible for the 85-yarder and had 11 tackles of his own, with some almost plays. Quinn Nordin banged through three FGs, including a 57-yarder. Nico Collins had four catches for 48 yards and could have had more if Patterson was more on point. Aidan Hutchinson made several plays on the ground. Cam McGrone had a number of plays in the second half, but did blow a coverage on Bama's TD to go up two scores.

KFaTAotW Standings

NOTE: New scoring! HM: 1 point. #3: 3 points. #2: 5 points. #1: 8 points. Split winners awarded points at the sole discretion of a pygmy marmoset named Luke.

23: Shea Patterson(HM MTSU, #1 Rutgers. HM PSU, #2 MSU, #1 Indiana)
21: Josh Uche (#3 MTSU, #3 Army, T2 Rutgers, #2 Illinois, HM ND, T1 Maryland, HM MSU, #3 Indiana), Jordan Glasgow (HM MTSU, T3 Iowa, #1 Illinois, HM Maryland, #1 Alabama)
19: Nico Collins (HM Rutgers, HM Iowa, #1 PSU, #3 Maryland, HM MSU, #2 Indiana. HM Alabama),  Aidan Hutchinson(#1 Army, HM Rutgers, T1 Iowa, HM Illinois, HM ND, T1 Maryland, HM Indiana, HM Alabama)
18: Zach Charbonnet (#2 MTSU, #2 Army, HM PSU, HM ND, HM Maryland, #2 Alabama)
15: Whole Dang OL(#2 PSU, #1 ND, HM Maryland, HM Indiana).
13: Cam McGrone(HM Rutgers, T3 Iowa, HM Illinois, #3 PSU, #2 ND. HM Alabama), Ronnie Bell (HM Army, T3 Rutgers, HM Illinois, #1 MSU)
10:  Ambry Thomas (#1 MTSU, HM Rutgers, HM Illinois), Kwity Paye (T2 Rutgers, T1 Iowa, HM PSU, T1 Maryland)
9: Khaleke Hudson (#2 Iowa, HM Illinois, HM ND, HM Maryland, HM MSU)
7: Josh Metellus (HM Army, HM Iowa, #2 Maryland), Hassan Haskins (#3 Illinois, #3 ND, HM Maryland)
6: Lavert Hill (HM Army, HM Iowa, HM ND, #3 MSU)
5: Giles Jackson (HM Maryland, HM Indiana, #3 Alabama)
3: DPJ (T3 Rutgers, HM MSU), Mike Danna (T1 Maryland, HM MSU), Dax Hill(HM Rutgers, HM Iowa, HM Alabama)
2: Tru Wilson (HM ND, HM Maryland), Will Hart (HM MTSU, HM Maryland), Carlo Kemp(HM MSU)
1:  Josh Ross (HM, MTSU), Sean McKeon (HM, MTSU),Brad Hawkins (HM Army), Christian Turner (HM Rutgers), Nick Eubanks (HM Illinois), Brad Hawkins (HM ND), Michael Barrett (HM Maryland), Quinn Nordin (HM Alabama).

Who's Got It Better Than Us(?) Of The Week

Nordin nails a 57-yard field goal to give Michigan a halftime lead.

Honorable mention: The back half of the first quarter when Michigan was running with abandon and Alabama kept punting. McGrone time.

​X4OROG3KOKTIFUY4YU4SNSLDIY_thumb_thuMARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK.

Patterson throws an interception directly at Josh Jobe's chest to functionally end the game.

Honorable mention: Several people try to pronounce "VRBO" as a word instead of an acronym. Michigan gives up an 85-yard TD on the first snap. Pretty much any Jerry Jeudy thing. Henry Ruggs makes a shoetops catch on which Dax Hill gets a rake in.

OFFENSE

All systems go. The most optimistic thing about the way the year finished: Josh Gattis dialing up several gameplans that were, as the kids five years ago say, straight fire. Gattis straight up dragged Shea Patterson to a finishing stretch that disguised his season-long regression with a ton of RPS+ plays on which he was able to turn short throws into big gains. Michigan nuked MSU's defense in their Super Bowl and had first halves against OSU and Alabama in which Michigan put up nearly 300 yards but did not convert those yards into points efficiently because of execution errors.

Second halves in those games did not go nearly as well; even so  Michigan put up an average of 400 yards against the SP+ #2 and #7 defenses. Failing to score the way you should is an issue but Michigan's players spurned tons of opportunities that were there. You can't argue with the approach, just the execution.

This was not the case early in the year, to say the least. But the arc here is very encouraging and should pave the way for a very good offense next year.

49312008598_8d1c2d3241_k

[Barron]

The difference. Donovan Peoples-Jones was the #1 WR in the class of 2017. #3 was Jerry Jeudy. DeVonta Smith was #9; Henry Ruggs was #11. All three of the Bama receivers were outstanding. Peoples-Jones had one catch and run for a chunk off Michigan's clever wildcat flea flicker and (IIRC) just one other target, that a deep ball on which he lost the route. Alabama's got some dudes in the secondary, of course, but DPJ was supposed to be the dude of dudes. Bama's guys were getting separation that DPJ hasn't really gotten thus far in his career. Lavert Hill got torched by Jeudy so badly that his intentional PI afterwards was widely regarded as a smart play. DPJ events like that were rare this year.

It's pretty frustrating that Michigan's elite recruits have panned out like Rashan Gary, who was good but some distance from an All-American, and Peoples-Jones (ditto). Even when Michigan's managed to get a big-timer they haven't gotten full measure from them. Jabrill Peppers is the exception.

One potential caveat: I've complained repeatedly about Patterson not taking shots to open guys, and frequently these were Peoples-Jones. Might not be his deal.

49312029433_3ef935bde2_k

burly but not 80 yards fast [Barron]

Need some lightning. Hassan Haskins and Zach Charbonnet both had quality days against the Bama defense. Haskins didn't have the YPC Charbonnet did but had a number of tough interior short yardage runs that are a burgeoning trademark. Both guys are good backs.

But Michigan again struggled to pop chunk runs. Michigan's long on the day was 12 yards. This has been a season-long issue, one that didn't really go away even as the offense started living up to the "speed in space" offseason chatter. A large part of this seemed to fall on the backs. Michigan presented a thunder and thunder approach.

Next year they'll have quite a bit of lightning. Chris Evans is going to return; Michigan adds turbo jet guy Blake Corum as well. Giles Jackson should continue to have a role as a RB/WR hybrid. This should be the year when the "spread H" spot I keep talking about actually emerges into a big part of Michigan's offense.

DEFENSE

Come on. Aidan Hutchinson's terrible roughing the passer penalty was at least a four-point swing; given Alabama's issues in the kicking game it could well have been seven. The officiating analyst seemed as baffled as anyone about that call. Meanwhile a little bit later Ronnie Bell had his head taken off; you could say that Bell was not defenseless but that seemed more like targeting than any call I'd seen this year.

I don't know what to think. Steve Sarkisian got his QB a 13 YPA day thanks to what seemed like a download of Michigan's defense:

After that he continued screwing around with outside runs and screens and throws while virtually ignoring Michigan's clear weakness up the gut. There was one power play early in the third quarter that went for a chunk and I thought "okay here we go", and then Alabama didn't bother doing it again until their four-minute drive, which went right into the endzone as Najee Harris clubbed Michigan.

In the end I don't think the approach made a whole lot of sense because Bama ended up with 28 points before that drive; sure, take the shots downfield but if you're not taking shots downfield stop dicking around with anything but power football.

This is not in Sarkisian's nature, so Michigan's weak interior barely got tested.

McGrone doing freshman star things. Michigan got a couple of great plays from Cam McGrone to set Alabama up with third and eleven; Bama converted, got another giant catch and run chunk from Jeudy immediately after, and then McGrone got lost on a delay route from the TE for a 20-yard TD. He's going to be very good; that play was a learning experience.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Good field goals. That one from 57 was good from 58 easy.

Good kickoff returns. Jackson's opening kickoff return was a no no no no YES YES YES moment. His ability to pick down the sideline and then cut back has served him well a couple of times this year. Hopefully a prelude to a breakout 2020.

Not so good punting. Why did Michigan insert Brad Robbins—who I thought was no longer on the team—for a 19-yard punt midway through the game? It's filed as a TEAM punt in the stats so I guess it must have taken a deflection. Still baffling.

Comments

True Blue 9

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^

I'm with you like 95% of the way, with the exception that I think that Charbonnet is potentially a home run threat at RB. Problem is, they just refuse to give him more than like 10-15 carries a game. I get it that Haskins is talented but yesterday showed me even more what Charbonnet brings to the game. He's not only a powerful runner, he's a hell of blocker when necessary. I'm hoping he gets way more snaps next year but sadly, with our RB stable, it's not likely. 

Joined: 11/25/2012

MGoPoints: 7963

Mongo

January 2nd, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^

I agree.  Also, Ben Mason should get some props as a lead blocker. When he and Charbonnet were on the field together, the team seemed unstoppable.  And then both kind of disappeared in the second half and were replaced by a bunch of wonky pass plays.  To me that was a real head-scratcher.

Joined: 06/25/2016

MGoPoints: 9585

MGoBlue96

January 2nd, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^

And the people saying this are missing the point, it has nothing to do with the outcome of the game, it has to do with if the NCAA wants to make player safety the priority they can't have dudes launching their forearms into people's heads at full speed. That kind of hit is the type that we are trying to eliminate from the game. Certainly a much more dangerous play than hitting the QB a millisecond after the ball is gone and not even landing directly on top of him.

Joined: 12/26/2010

MGoPoints: 26099

Tex_Ind_Blue

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:04 PM ^

So the season boils down to a lack of execution which can be safely ascribed to lack of preparation (planning, practice). What's going on with the Michigan team? 

Joined: 12/31/2014

MGoPoints: 7717

imafreak1

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:05 PM ^

Right now, Michigans reoccurring problem on offense is lack of attention to detail. They make too many mistakes--dropped passes, missed receivers, etc--on plays that have to be 100% given the lack of explosiveness. That is how you end up with lots of yards but not enough points. That could be blamed on lack of focus and reduced practice time.

But on Wednesday, Michigans bigger problem was Patterson's inability to throw a long pass any where near his receivers. Ever. The gameplan clearly focused on getting the "great" WRs one on one down the field. And it succeeded.  Patterson didn't hesitate on to try to exploit that on the first play from scrimmage. I don't know what to make of Patterson's total inaccuracy on those throws but it might explain why they didn't throw more of them during the season. But I don't see how you can blame that on lack of focus and reduced practice time. He just couldn't do it. 

Good offenses turn those into TDs at enough of a clip to force a change. Alabama sure did. With their backup QB. OSU sure does. Why Michigan was totally unable to do it is mystifying. For Michigan they were wasted downs. 

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 2844

AlbanyBlue

January 2nd, 2020 at 4:47 PM ^

Harbaugh is exceedingly risk-averse. And he's breaking his QBs because of it.

The only proof of this I have is how no QB in Harbaugh's tenure throws more than a couple balls in rhythm. They don't trust their ability because I think they've been drilled over and over not to throw INTs.

So you get, check, ball pat, ball pat, hitch, happy feet, check, late throw. It's happened with every QB since JH got here.

Joined: 09/11/2010

MGoPoints: 22136

Shop Smart Sho…

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^

Not sure why you would think Robbins isn't on the roster. He punted four times against OSU. 

As for the chance at improvement in QB play, I'm still wondering why Jim Harbaugh, the guy who played professional football as a QB isn't the QB coach. 

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 9601

Mongo

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:22 PM ^

Why did we abandon the run in the second half? The sack-adjusted success was a bit lower, but still better than a bunch of incomplete 1st down pass plays that put the team behind the sticks way too often:

  • 1st half:  135 rush yards, 27 carries = 5.0
  • 2nd half:  55 rush yards, 16 carries = 3.4

The first half game plan was excellent.  The second half adjustments were a flop.  Bama's weakness was in its front seven and our OL was owning them.  Bama's DBs are elite.  Our WR's barely had separation ... like in that photo of Eubanks above.  Had that pass been "on target", it could have just as likely been intercepted as completed.  If that was Nico, heck give it a chance, but with Eubanks it is more of a throw away.  There were a number of over-throws that were to WRs in tight coverage and there were a few complete Shea whiffs.  Shea did not have a good day for sure, but a bunch of credit is due to Bama's DBs who mostly shutdown our WRs in the second half.  DPJ was like a ghost. 

Should have kept feeding Charbonnet with play action / RPO stuff off of that.  Throws that Shea can make consistently and take advantage of LBs in coverage.  Trying to out dual Bama's 5-star DBs did not go well. 

Joined: 06/25/2016

MGoPoints: 9585

Section1

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^

Michigan is forcing the ball to stone hands Ronnie Bell is one of the biggest reasons why people continually wonder why DPJ, Tarik, and Nico weren't more productive this year. Nico and DPJ should be getting 10 targets a game each. Instead the 4th best WR on the team is getting targeted like he's a bonafide WR1 who wouldn't even see the field at any of the 4 playoff teams this year. 

Joined: 01/01/2020

MGoPoints: 73

The Baughz

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:30 PM ^

Bell is a very good route runner and tends to get open more. He certainly doesn’t have the greatest of hands, but the kid is good.

I would have loved to see DPJ/Nico getting double digit targets a game; or at least one of them, but Harbaugh/Gattis obviously didn’t think that was a good idea.

Joined: 10/08/2010

MGoPoints: 31913

Mongo

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^

Ronnie gets the ball because he is consistently open.  The others not so much.

Personally, I thought the WRs as a group were one of the biggest disappointment of the year.  So much more potential than production.  Sure Shea is partly to blame, but like the 8 drops in the OSU game was weird. Then Black goes immediately into the transfer portal.  It just seemed like there was poison in the WR room this year.  Now DPJ going ghost in the bowl game.  He and Black were best friends.  I think DPJ, if healthy, will go pro and do really well in the combine to get a decent draft pick.  Another year isn't going to help his draft stock given his elite athletic measurables will be the primary reason teams select him.

Joined: 06/25/2016

MGoPoints: 9585

Section1

January 2nd, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^

Bell gets the ball because the offense functionally is centered around the slot WR in the passing game. Bama put Jeudy in the slot yesterday and look at the work he did from there. Ronnie Bell is not a better WR than DPJ or Nico Collins. The sooner this staff accepts that the better. 

Joined: 01/01/2020

MGoPoints: 73

bronxblue

January 2nd, 2020 at 9:39 PM ^

Yeah, I got yelled at when I pointed out that both Black and DPJ underwhelmed for long stretches this season, especially when it came to drops and not getting open.  I still remember the game  where Black clearly ran the route short on 3rd down and Gattis just started yelling at him the minute he got to the sideline.  A bunch of people put that on Patterson for some inexplicable reason.  And while DPJ is quite athletic he's never cracked 100 yards receiving and only had more than 80 yards once.  

I don't blame guys for making mistakes; football is hard to play at a top level.  But all off-season and during the year I heard this was a collection of NFL WRs and, other than Collins and Bell, they didn't perform like that.  And that's not all on the QB because guys with may worse QB situations perform better.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171843

AC1997

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:29 PM ^

I do think our WR struggled to get separation far more than Bamas.  That is also a reflection on the DBs, but I don't think we can entirely give them a pass because of Shea.  In fact, I think Bell is the best at getting separation but hasn't yet demonstrated the ability to consistently make tough catches.  

 

As for the refs, I am known for blasting them after games more than most.  I didn't think these guys were that bad.  The Bell play was crazy that they didn't stop and review it and if that excuse is true as reported, than the replay guy should be fired.  The Hutchinson play was tough...it wasn't roughing but it was physical enough that if you watch enough football you expect a flag on that.  The other play I never saw a replay on was our first play where I though Collins had his atm grabbed before the ball arrived.  Otherwise there wasn't much.

 

On the other hand, I thought we got a few generous spots and avoided holding calls all game.  I even saw a hands to the face they let go in our favor.  

Joined: 09/19/2008

MGoPoints: 13824

M-Dog

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:29 PM ^

What happened to Charbonnet in the 2nd half? 

He was consistently getting 4 or 5 yards a carry in the first half, then he was taken out for most of the 2nd half. 

Why?

 

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257551

champswest

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:34 PM ^

Patterson is a pretty good quarterback. The kind that can get you a 9-3 season. If you want to be in the playoffs, you need an elite passer. An elite passer could probably have beaten Alabama yesterday.

Joined: 10/04/2009

MGoPoints: 25921

gremlin3

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:35 PM ^

When you have this:

Patterson dropping from a guy PFF ranked ahead of Dwayne Haskins to a guy nine slots behind the noodle-armed dude Michigan played in the opener (as of week 12) was the biggest single factor in a disappointing season and the one most emblematic of the frustrating spot Michigan finds itself in.

...as the same guy is first in the KFaTAotW Standings, you know your season sucked.

Joined: 10/02/2015

MGoPoints: 8383

Richard75

January 2nd, 2020 at 2:58 PM ^

Regarding DPJ: Remember that he’s been banged up quite a bit. There was the groin injury that cost him the offseason and the start of this season, plus he just got blasted a lot his first two years, McCaffrey style.

If DPJ were 100%, his athleticism would be more apparent on punt returns. Also, the fact that they aren’t making a bigger effort to get him the ball on fly sweeps and the like suggests the explosion isn’t there. 

Joined: 09/23/2008

MGoPoints: 5290

Mongo

January 2nd, 2020 at 3:19 PM ^

That could be.  A bad hamstring can linger for months.  They may have also been protecting him a bit.  I could be wrong, but something hasn't been right in the WR room all year.  Maybe its because the set of "inherited" players just doesn't fit the Gattis offense, hence, all of the shifty speed guys he has recently recruited.  DPJ has excellent long speed, big body guy with an excellent vertical.  Traits best suited to a West Coast type passing offense.  Or maybe everyone was jealous of all the Bell targets eating into their touches?   But something seemed "off" with the group's chemistry. 

Joined: 06/25/2016

MGoPoints: 9585

tspoon

January 2nd, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^

He definitely did not look explosive yesterday. He looked like a guy who everyone presumes would crush the combine bc of his reputation, but then turns in times (moreso than strength or leaps) that are okay not great. It may be his hammy -- but there aren't asterisks next to 40 times and shuttle times at the combine.

If that's the route he chooses, he needs to spend 100% of his time between now and the combine on speed training. Because the tape don't lie, and those dropsies are going to get scrutinized versus his peers ... the 2020 WR draft class is a brutal group to have to compare yourself to.

 

Joined: 07/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3814

funkywolve

January 3rd, 2020 at 12:08 AM ^

Agree.  I mentioned it in another thread but if you time DPJ in a 40 yd dash or 100M run, he's going to post a really good time.  But he's not quick out of the blocks, it takes him time to get to his full speed.  Not his full speed is really fast, deceivingly so because of his long legs, but it takes him a while to get to top speed.

The catch is though he doesn't appear to be that quick or have a good initial burst.  By 'quick' I mean quick feet/the ability to juke and beat someone in a tight space.  Barry Sanders is the epitome of quick in my bood.

Good initial burst is when he starts running how quickly does he get close to his top speed.  IMO, it takes him a bit to get to his top speed.  A great example of initial burst is the first TD Travis Etiene scored for Clemson against OSU.  The first was on a pitch where he ran almost to the sideline, came to a complete stop to change direction and then looked like he was shot out of a cannon.  

Joined: 10/08/2008

MGoPoints: 20265

MGoBlue96

January 2nd, 2020 at 3:30 PM ^

The reality is that regardless of what else happens next year we better hope DCAF or Milton can elevate the QB play to very good or better because you aren't doing any better than 9-3 most years without that in modern college football. At the end of day Gattis wanted to install a read based offense, and lets be honest Patterson was not that effective in that capacity. They left a ton of yards on the field with missed reads alone this year. For whatever reason Patterson regressed as a QB and the hope going into the season was all based around having a great offense with a very good or better passing game because we knew there were going to be holes on defense.

Joined: 12/26/2010

MGoPoints: 26099

FrankMurphy

January 2nd, 2020 at 4:07 PM ^

Gattis has turned out to be a good hire. It took him a little while to get there, but he got there. He's got a bright future.

The problem is players not performing up to expectations, as Brian pointed out in comparing DPJ with the 'Bama receivers in his class year who were below him in the recruiting rankings. Ultimately, that's a recruiting issue (i.e., signing prospects who turn out to be not as talented as their rankings suggest, and an inability to sign elite prospects who end up excelling elsewhere) and a talent development issue (i.e., an inability to get players to perform up to their potential).

I don't see Harbaugh being able to fix that problem. You can bring in new coordinators to fix schematic issues. But as talent and execution go, by year five, you are where you are. You can blame one-off execution issues on players, but when players make the same mistakes over and over, that's a coaching issue. And it's the kind of issue that starts at the top. There's a killer instinct and a laser focus that players at elite programs seem to have and that, for whatever reason, our players seem to lack.

Again, I don't think Harbaugh can fix this issue because he is the issue. I used to think that his aloof demeanor and and weird personality quirks were a form of eccentricity that often accompanies genius. But it looks like that's not really the case. What you see really is what you get, I guess. The emperor has no clothes, and there's no light at the end of the tunnel here, unfortunately.

Joined: 08/19/2008

MGoPoints: 32110

MGlobules

January 2nd, 2020 at 5:17 PM ^

You may not like the Emperor's khakis, but 9 games four times in five seasons is. exactly. what. it. is.

A naked emperor doesn't figure out that he has to modernize his approach to offense. And do it.

I don't think it's good enough. I have hated the demeanor in several bowls. Yesterday they played football, hard, and Shea missed pass after pass.

If you're going to build football coaches up as geniuses you have a lot of hard falls awaiting. What we have is an inspired, enjoyably eccentric coach who is not an egomaniac, who is trying to set things up for the long term. The institutional barriers have all been examined to death. Some of them Harbaugh APPROVES of--he wanted to be at a place where the guys went to school.

Anybody who wants to change that piece of it has an interesting implicit fight looming with the coach himself.

Joined: 11/17/2008

MGoPoints: 47817

jackw8542

January 2nd, 2020 at 4:41 PM ^

"Come on. Aidan Hutchinson's terrible roughing the passer penalty was at least a four-point swing; given Alabama's issues in the kicking game it could well have been seven. The officiating analyst seemed as baffled as anyone about that call. Meanwhile a little bit later Ronnie Bell had his head taken off; you could say that Bell was not defenseless but that seemed more like targeting than any call I'd seen this year." Totally agree, especially the call on Hutchinson, that really changed momentum and had NO logical basis.

Joined: 10/30/2010

MGoPoints: 4265

Alumnus93

January 2nd, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^

That call on Aidan was close, and he didn't attempt to at least fake letting up, so there is no complaint here, and that call crushed us.

The 0-20 stat is very telling... says we are mentally weak...that we can handle winning in front of our 100,000 fans but go soft on road.   The one thing I always appreciated about Bo/Mo/Lloyd teams was how they seemed to brainwash the team into playing the same on the road, and that hasn't gone unnoticed.   It'll take a mentally strong leader to get the team to overcome this...lets hope McCaffrey has that charisma, because the team will follow in time.

Joined: 09/10/2009

MGoPoints: 9684

MGoBlue96

January 2nd, 2020 at 5:54 PM ^

What exactly about it could logically be argued as a penalty though? It was a millisecond after he released it, even slow-mo it was bang bang and he did not even land on top of him on the ground, so he did in fact let up in that aspect. I just don't see how you can say a call is close when there is no basis under the current rules to call it. Meanwhile the Bell hit is the exact type of hit they are trying get out of the game and is targeting according to the existing rules.

Joined: 12/26/2010

MGoPoints: 26099

Don

January 2nd, 2020 at 6:04 PM ^

The 0-20 stat might be a reflection of something fundamental. Offensive line play is obviously important regardless of where you play, but I think it's particularly crucial on the road, where you're battling the crowd and frequently the officials in addition to your opponent. The best way to shut down opponent psyche and momentum surges in their own stadium is to dominate the LOS.

From 1969 through 2007 Michigan had 24 All-Americans on the offensive line. In the 12 years since Carr retired, we've had a grand total of two: Molk and Lewan.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148387