Upon Further Review 2020: Offense vs MSU
BOOOOOOK: The Kickstarter for HTTV 2021 ends this week. This year you can customize which rewards you want. Also I had to write way more of it than usual, which means the Lord of the Rings references start on like Page 6. Consume!
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FORMATION NO—Wait, is this a joke?
No. Let’s get through it.
Why?
I needed the data for HTTV—both the UFR data and snap counts. Also completeness.
So you are going to UFR the defense against Penn State too?
Lol hell no.
FORMATION NOTES: I called this MSU’s 4-2-5 Eagle. They used it almost every 3rd and long. Note the FS is bailing at the snap—that happened a lot.
This was 4-2-5 Wide 9:
Because the DE is in a wide 9.
SUBSTITUTION NOTES: Line was Hayes-Filiaga-Vastardis-Stueber-Mayfield until they lost Mayfield at the beginning of the last drive and he was replaced by Barnhart. Honigford got 9 snaps as a TE—Eubanks returned and passed All after the latter had another drop. Mason was used as both tight end and fullback. Charbonnet got the most snaps of the RBs with Evans, Corum, and Haskins splitting the backup share, plays with 2 RBs and the Haskinscat they used twice in goal line situations. Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson got more time than Sainristil outside. Bell was in the slot when Jackson was not.
Also I accidentally uploaded a bunch of the clips without sound, sorry.
[After THE JUMP: When you refuse to run with your QB the WILL’s gonna have a good time.]
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M40 | 1st | 10 | Pistol Trips FB offset unbalanced | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Even | 1-high | Run | 8 | Lead Zone | Charbonnet | -5 |
Bell is covered shortside, Milton turns his back so there's no read here. Mason(-3) whiffs on DE that Mayfield passed off. That guy swallows. Everyone else was blocked. Mayfield(+.5) kicked out the S and Vastardis(+.5) picked off the LB. | |||||||||||
M35 | 2nd | 15 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Durham | All | Inc |
Mayfield(-), Prot-1 misses a stunt, Milton(+1) breaks out of it then throws too low and All can't dig it out. (IN, 1, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
M35 | 3rd | 15 | Shotgun 4-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Levels Sack | Milton | 0 |
Mayfield(-1) and Stueber(-1) botch a simple stunt Prot-2, Milton has to try to take off and gets chopped down. M running one route to the sticks, the rest are digs. (RPS-1) (PR, n/a, protection 0/2) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 14 min 1st Q. Jackson return sets up Michigan at midfield. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M40 | 1st | 10 | Pistol Trips FB offset | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 6 | Counter Backcut | Evans | 16 |
MSU blitzes where the C pulled and Steuber(+1) finds him while Fialiaga(+.5) gets just enough of his for Evans(+2) to dance around and cut back into a gaping hole because other MSU (RPS+) LB chased Mason. Extra room because Sainristil(+2) picked off a safety. | |||||||||||
O44 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Under | 1-high | Pass | 8 | Quick out | Sainristil | 4 |
Tempo. Milton locked on to out vs Cov3, ball is out a beat too late so CB can close. (CA-, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O40 | 2nd | 6 | Shotgun Twins | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Over | 1-high | Run | 7 | Power | Haskins | -2 |
Hayes(-2) gets stuck on DE he's supposed to chip, DE got away with a hold. Mason(-1) can save but runs up Hayes butt instead of taking LB inside of him. Stueber(+1) watches this expecting Mason to vamp and when he doesn't takes the OLB, meaning free MLB in the hole. (RPS-1) frippery with fake to Henning orbit motion is why there's an extra LB in the box. | |||||||||||
O42 | 3rd | 8 | Shotgun Trips 3W | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 7 | Levels | Jackson | 12 |
Same plays as last 3rd down. Stueber(-1) has nobody in his gap and doesn't find work, allowing late MLB to shoot into Milton's chest. Delivers the ball as MLB arrives. Charbonnet(+1) picked up blitzer. (DO, 2, protection 1/2) | |||||||||||
O30 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Twins Tight | 4-3-4 | 4-3 even | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Sack | Milton | -4 |
Flood and Milton is staring right at Jackson as he clears the LB level and has the out, doesn't throw it. DB bails into that finally, doesn't check down to flare to Wilson. Sacks himself. (TA, , protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
O34 | 2nd | 14 | Pistol Twins H offset | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | RPO | 6 | Arc Keeper toss lead | Henning | 15 |
The Arc but Henning is the lead instead of a TE, and instead of QB keep it's a quick toss to him. Takes the QB out of the arc so there's an extra defender for it, but that defender was playing in the parking long on 2nd and 14. RPS-1 anyway because Eubanks has no shot to seal his safety inside. Henning(+2) slips outside guy Eubanks is bothering and gets to the marker. (CA-Screen, 3, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
O19 | 1st | 10 | Twins 2TE | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 2-high | RPO | 7 | OZ/Snag | Johnson | 11 |
There we go. Read (RPO+) is on MLB who shuffles with RB, decisive pull, ball out while Johnson is still making his move. Can get YAC too. (DO, 3, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
O8 | 1st | Goal | Shotgun Twins 2TE | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Over | 1-high | Run | 8 | Power Lead | Corum | 8 |
Blocking screwed this up, particularly Mason(-1) who popped Mayfield's back and Stueber(-1) who doesn't get to the 2nd level. Filiaga gets bounced off his pull by the Mason/Mayfield mess and there's nowhere to go but the unblocked edge. Corum(+3) goes there, and edges an MSU CB for the TD. Highlight reel RB. | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-7, 7 min 1st Q. Maybe we’ll attack their LBs on the edge. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M20 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Stop | Johnson | 13 |
MSU CB is bailing and C.Johnson(+1, +route) stops and has all kinds of room. Rockets it out there so CJ can twist for four extra. Vastardis(-.5) getting pushed back. (CA, 3, protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
M33 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Twins 2TE Bunch | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 oVER | 1-high | Run | 7 | Jet Pin & Pull | Jackson | 10 |
Mason at playside TE, T and C pull. Hayes(-1) overruns charging S and turns upfield instead of letting Vastardis get him. Instead it takes out both pullers. Charbonnet(+2) is lead and thunks CB. Jackson(+1) sets this up without letting the MLB arrive first, gets edge and gains. | |||||||||||
M43 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 8 | Counter Trey | Charbonnet | 6 |
Filiaga(-1) slow to take out slanting DT, Charbonnet has to stop and dance around. Vastardis(+.5) is no Bredeson on kickouts but gets just enough on DE for Charbonnet. Mason(+2) takes out LB and flowing DT that Stueber(-.5) couldn't seal, and Sainristil(+1) turns a CB to create the space. | |||||||||||
M49 | 2nd | 4 | Pistol Twins FB offset | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Even | 1-high | Run | 7 | Counter | Charbonnet | 0 |
New guys not the old guys. Mason(-3) again no idea who to block after Filiaga(+1) turns exchanging DE. Nowhere to burrow because Vastardis(-1) got shoved and discarded. RPS-1 QB turns his back so WLB can step to playside and join in the gang tackle. Stueber(+1) got out on the MLB in a way that would have negated WLB. | |||||||||||
M49 | 3rd | 4 | Shotgun 5-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 1-high | Pass | 5 | TE Slant | All | Inc |
All wide Evans slot, double slants and ball is out quick and has to be because Filiaga(-1) lost his guy and Hayes has to use an arm on that guy which gets him edged. Milton puts it on outside hip of All because there's an MLB he's got to thread, ball on hip is catchable. All drops it. (CA-, 2, protection 1/2) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 3 min 1st Q. This was 4th and 4 at midfield fwiw. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M8 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Stop | Wilson | 13 |
Good Protection (Prot+1) throw is on time and maybe a bit outside and maybe Wilson adjusted improperly because it's at the numbers. Wilson now can only catch it from his knees. (CA-, 2, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M21 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Empty 2TE | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Play-Action | 7 | Slants | Bell | 6 |
RPO with an easy read or just PA? Probably PA meant to look like RPO. Neat idea from empty with QB stepping with Pin & Pull action then pulling up and slanting to Bell who can't get around FS who wasn't that high. Would RPS this if the safety wasn't sitting on a slant here. (CA, 3, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
M27 | 2nd | 4 | Pistol Twins H offset | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 7 | OZ Arc give | Evans | -5 |
Bad blocks as Filiaga(-2) gets driven by DT, Evans has to stop and that means the backside held by the zone read can arrive. Also Stueber(-1) and Hayes targeted same guy so there was a free LB despite flare screen holding backside LB. (ZR+) | |||||||||||
M22 | 3rd | 9 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 7 | Dig/Scramble | Milton | 7 |
Not minusing him because refs(-2) miss a big hold by LB about to get crossed by Jackson. That's the only option because Filiaga(-1) and Vastardis(-1) can't communicate on a simple twist. Filiaga(-1) shoved over, Vastardis(-1) can’t get to his guy. Milton has to bail. Charbonnet(+1) stopped a late edge dead. Milton(-1) doesn't go all out and comes up a yard short of the sticks when he's met by Panasiuk. Frustrating. (SCR, protection 1/3) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 12 min 2nd Q. This was 4th and 2 at the 28. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M13 | 1st | 10 | Pistol Ace | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 7 | Arc Keeper | Milton | 17 |
OMIGOD the QB kept it (ZR+). Milton has a long mesh and MSU DE is fooled like it's 2018 then the S follows as well. All(+1) is momentarily stunned but does finally hit the guy Mason(-) lost. Extended Ronnie Bell(+2) block goes in his file. Milton has just the FS to beat now but can't hop over the diving attempt and goes down. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M30 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 2TE | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 7 | Counter | Corum | 0 |
MSU prepped this (RPS-2) but Stueber(+1) locked his DT out of the gap he's got to slash to and All(+1) rode LB out of the play, so there's room if Filiaga(-1) comes off the DE, if Hayes drives that guy and Corum(-1) sets him up and runs off Hayes, or if Mason(-1) reroutes into this gap the way teams that run Counter Trey like their bread and butter know how to. Don't like wasting the QB. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M30 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide Unbalanced | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 8 | Arc Keeper | Milton | 4 |
They cover a WR on the other side and MSU doesn't take the bait. Stueber(-1) lost slanting DT so give is a loss, Milton(ZR+) has Panasiuk who has extra time (RPS-1) to bend the edge. Milton gets him down but by then the S from the bubble side can arrive. Refs+2 let Eubanks get away with some crazy holding. | |||||||||||
M34 | 3rd | 6 | Shotgun 5-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 8 | Dig | Jackson | 4 |
MSU zero again. All of these routes are at 2 yards so this makes no sense RPS-2 unless you're planning to go for it on 4th and short. They're not. (DO, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-14, 8 min 2nd Q. This was 4th and 2 from the 38. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M25 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Twins Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 6.5 | TE Out | All | Inc |
Quick out vs Cov 3 and All drops it. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M25 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Under | 1-high | Pass | 8 | Drag | Jackson | 20 |
Prot+2 Milton can stand there forever and wait for Jackson to clear. Had Eubanks wide open underneath but waited for Jackson to OSU his CB instead. Zinged. (DO, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M45 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | RPO | 7 | Flare/Pin & Pull | Haskins | 19 |
Honigford(+2) at TE and they run off it with a flare motion away option to Bell that reads the WLB (RPO+). Honigford takes out and turns SAM, DE runs himself out of play, Mayfield gets away with a grab after DT got upfield. Vastardis(-1) can't catch LB and he and CB converge on Haskins(+3) who runs through one fool, drags a fool, then hurdles a fool. | |||||||||||
O36 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun FB-TE Empty | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 6.5 | TE Sweep Down G | Mason | 9 |
Looks like Counter with the TE getting the ball. RPS+1 gets the MLB to come at the QB, Bell(+.5) locks out a Nk, Hayes(+2) outdances a LB. Impressive agility. Mason gets to the S. | |||||||||||
O27 | 2nd | 1 | Shotgun 2TE Twins | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Run | 7 | Power Lead | Haskins | 16 |
Motion Mason across, All(+2) stones S and Steuber(+1) gets around and locks edge inside. RB is free to the CB who's unblocked bc QB isn't part of the run (RPS-1) but Haskins(+2) puts a move on that guy and runs by then stiffarms another. | |||||||||||
O11 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2TE Twins | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 0-high | Run | 8.5 | Arc Keeper | Milton | 5 |
MSU DE is good at this but Milton (ZR+) has him edged, directs All(+1) to take out SAM. S started low and arrives to hold to an okay gain. RPS(-1) not for the safety but because this was an RPO to the TE and that just kept All looking back instead of lining up a better block. | |||||||||||
O6 | 2nd | 5 | Haskinscat Pistol Mason RB | 4-2-5 | Goal | 0-high | RPO | n/a | Fade/Iso | Haskins | 1 |
Haskins looks for All, covered. Mason(-2) is lead and dives into the pile when there's one unblocked guy on the edge bc Seltzer(+2) blew out the DE. Haskins can only burrow. Not scoring RPOs from RB. | |||||||||||
O5 | 3rd | 4 | Haskinscat Single-Wing Mason RB | 4-2-5 | Goal | 0-high | Pass | n/a | TE Pop | Haskins | Inc |
Take forever to set up but it works if Haskins puts it higher. Instead LB can drift back and break it up. Not charting that. | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: FG, 10-14, 3 min 2nd Q. This was 4th and G from the 4. Unfortunate end to a great drive. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M32 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide tight to TE | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Mills | Bell | Inc |
Is watching All(route+) as he dusts LB but doesn't throw it. Waiting instead for Bell to come across late and drifts outta pocket, has to dump on the field yards away. (TA, 0, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M32 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide tight to TE | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Post | Bell | Inc |
Bell comes wide open down the middle and Milton overthrows him by 20 yards. JFC. (INx, 0, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M32 | 3rd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide Flex | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Fly | Wilson | 26 |
Zings it between the Cov 2 zones, can't place it better I guess. Wilson goes up and snags it. (DO, 2, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O42 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Snag | Sainristil | Inc |
On Filiaga(-1) who lets a guy right by him. Milton has Bell on a skinny post but doesn't come off Sainristil. Wings it high but lower could have been a pick bc guy drove hard on this. (BR, 1, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
O42 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Drag | Johnson | -10 |
DT gets inside Filiaga(-1) then falls down and draws a false flag (refs-1). Milton leaves pocket and dumps it off. (CA, 3, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
M48 | 2nd | 20 | Shotgun 5-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Fly | Bell | Inc |
Same as the one to Wilson but Bell gets his hands up a tetch too late and ball goes right through them. (CA, 2, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M48 | 3rd | 20 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Dumpoff | Johnson | 7 |
Steuber(-1) lets a DT cross his face and flushes Milton. Dumpoff time. (PR, 3, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-14, 2 min, 2nd Q. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M29 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 2-high | RPO | 6 | QB Buck Sweep/Bubble | Milton | 1 |
Cool idea to use Charbonnet(+1) as backside kickout, QB reads WLB. Honigford(+2) in as TE and he turns playside DE inwards. Steuber(+1) gets the kickout and Hayes(+.05) harassed backside LB enough so this could be big. It's not because Mayfield(-2) gets discarded by NQ Jones. Filiaga is taking out the last guy but inside-out and Milton(-1, RPO+) doesn't have the patience to get around that. Great play by MSU's DT but still, maaaaan. | |||||||||||
M30 | 2nd | 9 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 6.5 | Dig | Sainristil | Inc |
LB comes late, picked up by Corum(+1, Prot+1) which opens up the dig. Sainristil(route+) gets open then drops it. Bad. (CA, 3, protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
M30 | 3rd | 9 | Shotgun 5-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Levels | Milton | 3 |
Stunt, Vastardis picks it up. Filiaga's guy falls down on his own after he runs by and goes down on the leg of Hayes, which causes him to lose contact with the edge rusher. Hayes looks at the ref because yeah, he's trying to fall on the T's leg there. Edge guy tackles Milton but there were two LBs. All was breaking open on a skinny post inside Cov3 but Milton never looks that way. (TA, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 10-14, 13 min 3rd Q. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M25 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 2TE Twins | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | RPO | 8 | Arc TE Pitch | All | 0 |
The goofy Arc read with a pass to the TE instead of a keeper and MSU is all over it. RPS-2 you're giving up the man advantage!!! All(+1) slips a tackle to save a loss but there are two guys on him. (CA, 3, protection n/a) ZR+ I guess. | |||||||||||
M25 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Stop | Wilson | 11 |
Results-based but this is a throw non-Miltons will get picked off. MSU shows blitz right before snap, it's the 2A twist and stoned with max pro, 3-man route. Milton has all day and finds Wilson a little late so a Cov3 nickel gets a finger on it but that doesn't matter because it's got extra mustard. Prot +2 (CA+, 2, protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
M36 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 8 | Flood | Charbonnet | 4 |
Prot+1 and Milton calmly steps around a DT that Filiaga is riding. He's got time now but gets jittery, starts moving, then dumps it to Charbonnet a few feet in front of him for a short gain. This is a flood so Charbonnet(route-) should get depth before turning. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M40 | 2nd | 6 | Shotgun trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | RPO | 7.5 | Flare/Pin & Pull | Haskins | 2 |
Wilson motions and it's the PnP option (RPO+). Hayes(-2) stood up, Filiaga(+1) IDs inside DE and turns him but they're in the backfield and LB can cover cutback lane and inside Stueber's kickout. Good run D by MSU. | |||||||||||
M42 | 3rd | 4 | Shotgun Trips Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 8 | Mesh curls | Wilson | 17 |
MSU stacks box then rushes three. Ref-1 steps into Bell's path and they collide and Wilson is running the stick route too shallow and Sainristil is running a follow behind so there's four Wolverines in the area. Milton rolls and Wilson finds a spot between the safeties. (DO, 2, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O41 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Fade | Sainristil | Inc |
Prot+2 pick up a twist blitz and Milton has time to hit Wilson who was opened by the clearout by Bell. Instead he launches it at Sainristil who's got a CB right on him who was in Cov1 so he's supposed to be there. (BR, 0, protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
O41 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | RPO | 6 | IZ/Bubble | Jackson | Inc(Pen+15) |
All split out at X. Milton reads the OLB (RPO+) then has to start running at him to entice him to leave the bubble. Good football but then he wings it way above Jackson's head, which takes him right into the guy Bell was kicking out. Big yards if accurate, RPS+2. MSU picks up a taunting penalty. (IN-screen, 2, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
O26 | 1st | 10 | Pistol Heavy offset | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Even | 1-high | Run | 7 | Power | Charbonnet | 1 |
Old fashioned power with Mason(+1) coming from backside and moving out the edge and Filiaga(+1) moving the DT. But Hayes(-1) blocks backside LB leaving one free (RPS-) and Charbonnet(-.5) tries to duck inside that guy instead of exploring Mason's space. | |||||||||||
O25 | 2nd | 9 | Shotgun 2TE tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Run | 7.5 | Jet Counter | Henning | 9 |
Another interesting way to use a read without using the QB (RPO+) as a runner. Fake dive holds the WLB while backside G and TE sweep. Filiaga and Eubanks(-2) both kick out the same guy because this team doesn't practice. Henning(+2) fixes it by running by LB and Bell(+1) has an extended lockout. | |||||||||||
O16 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | Play-Action | 6 | Snag | Bell | 15 |
Eubanks motions in, LBs bite (RPS+) and Milton fits it through a tight window where Bell can make a play at the endzone. Refs(+1) miss Stueber(-1) getting downfield which might have affected the LBs. (DO, 2, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
O1 | 1st | Goal | Shotgun 3-wide tight | 4-2-5 | Goal | 0-high | Run | n/a | Belly | Corum | 1 |
Tempo, Hayes(+1) clears out DT for the inch Corum(+1) needs to leap in. ZR+ | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-17, 8 min 3rd Q. | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M25 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 7 | TE Out | All | Inc |
Milton decides he's throwing the TE out before the snap and this time it's not Cov3 so it bounces off two Spartans' hands before All gets a stab at it that he can't bring in either. Had Henning or Evans to dump to. (BRx, 1, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M25 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Pass | 7 | TE Seam | Eubanks | Inc |
Prot+1 as they bring 5 and it's picked up. Milton has time vs Cov1. CB has arm around Eubanks (Refs-2) for 2 seconds before he breaks it up. (CA, 1, protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
M25 | 3rd | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Flood | Jackson | 15 |
Prot+1, Milton fits this in a window between zones but gets his WR lit up. Jackson hangs on. RPS-1 Ronnie Bell is in the flat and his CB can play this because why guard the guy at the LOS on 3rd and long? Would love to see all-22 here bc I think Sainristil was wide open on the corner route. (CA+, 1, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M40 | 1st | 10 | Pistol TE Twins | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | RPO | 8 | Flare/Pin & Pull | Corum | 6 |
Well blocked but another example why QB in run game matters. RPO holds SAM but Milton (RPO-) misses he's got numbers in passing game. Filiaga(+1) clears out edge on kickout, Hayes(+.5) held up his DT, Stueber(+.5) connects as well, but unblocked LB keeps the gain down. Corum(+1) churns out 3 more. | |||||||||||
M46 | 2nd | 4 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Run | 7 | Power Lead | Haskins | 18 |
Motion in Mason but it's All(+3) who bails out this play, chucking a safety then kicking a CB after Hayes(-1) mis-ID's the edge when MSU slant away. Haskins(+2) had an unblocked LB in the hole (RPS-1), sets him up then steps outside where Mason(+1) has buried his guy. Nobody till the next level. Compare to Charbonnet on same situation earlier. Replay. | |||||||||||
O36 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 1-high | Play-Action | 7 | TE Slant | All | Inc |
PA sucks in the MLB and opens up a slant to All that Milton puts 2 yards behind him. All can only put a hand out behind himself. Perhaps he's expecting All to stop--All seems to be right behind the LB when the ball arrives. (IN, 1, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O36 | 2nd | 10 | Pistol 3-wide tight | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Over | 1-high | Run | 8 | Arc Give | Haskins | 0 |
MSU scraping this but Milton(ZR-) doesn't change his read when he's got numbers outside, probably because it's a TE dumpoff bullshit instead of a real QB keeper? RPS-1 I guess but the way the LB played this... | |||||||||||
O36 | 3rd | 10 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 1-high | Penalty | 6 | False Start | Hayes | (Pen-5) |
They set up before this and a hard count got MSU to jump offsides, but they let Tucker call a timeout instead. After the TO, same guy jumps at the hard count, head is clearly in the neutral zone, Hayes(-1) stands up and they flag him. Hard to minus this because they always give it to M opponents. | |||||||||||
O41 | 3rd | 15 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 2-high | Pass | 6 | TE Wheel | All | Inc |
LB is covering this wheel, gets some contact while the ball is in the air but pass is so high All had no shot if he wasn't impeded. Announcer "nobody open" canard here as Johnson is breaking in at the sticks on the play's primary read. (INx, 0, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
M23 | 1st | 10 | Pistol 2TE Twins | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | Run | 7 | Counter Trey | Corum | 0 |
No read RPS-1 and MSU is now sitting on this. Won it anyway because Slade inside-outs Filiaga(-2) who had the downblock. That eats up Mason(-1). Might be a backside lane where Mayfield(+.5) and All(+.5) but Corum looks to bounce, decides against it, and cuts back into Filiaga. The way out of this is to have Mason read the block and go inside, fyi. | |||||||||||
M23 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Under | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Throwback screen | Corum | 13 |
All(+1) doesn't know play at first but locks his guy out. Bell motion and now we get the counter to the Flare/P&P. Mayvield(+1) dives at a CB to kick, and Corum(+1) makes several guys miss to pick up the 1st and extra. (CA-screen, 3, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
M36 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Run | 8 | Jet Counter | Jackson | -3 |
Vastardis(-2) blown back into his path and Jackson has to stop and work around this. Mayfield(-1) lost his LB and Jackson(-1) gives up ground instead of taking the loss. | |||||||||||
M33 | 2nd | 13 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 5 | Snag | Johnson | 5 |
Soft coverage so M takes 5 yards to set up 3rd and not as long. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M38 | 3rd | 8 | Shotgun Trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Comeback | Bell | 12 |
Prot-1, as M doesn't have a guy for the CB blitzer on a zone protection set the other way. Milton spins out of it then finds Bell(route+1) working back. Perfect throw and Bell can step around S and get YAC. (DO, 2, protection 2/3) | |||||||||||
50 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun Empty 2TE | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | RPO | 7 | QB Buck Sweep/Slant | Wilson | Inc |
Correct read (RPO+) and is going to draw a PI (or a def hold) since CB was beat and was tackling Wilson the whole way. Beasley worked inside by Hayes and makes a good play to close off passing lane just as Milton throws and it goes into DE's chest first. (BA, 0, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
50 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 2TE Twins | 4-3-4 | 4-3 Under | 1-high | Run | 7 | Power Lead | Charbonnet | 1 |
Slant (RPS-1) and Hayes(-2) panics at LB going outside him. That's not your guy anymore! That guy gets into Charbonnet's legs and he goes down. Haskins would not have. | |||||||||||
O49 | 3rd | 9 | Shotgun 3-wide TE Flex | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 7 | Fade | Sainristil | Inc |
Fade to the 5'10" guy all the way and Cass Tech CB grabbing and tugging. No call. Refs-2. (CA, 1, protection 1/2) | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Punt, 17-20, 10 min. 4th Q. Apoplectic. M gets ball back on the 7 with 5 minutes down 2 scores. Let’s see if they hurry, shall we? | |||||||||||
Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Pack | Front | Cover look | Type | Box | Play | Player | Yards |
M7 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Drag | Bell | 13 |
Ball has to get out because Filiaga(-1) shoved deep into the pocket. Bell(+2) has to dig it out a little then puts on the jets vs a LB for an extra 10 yards. Seems like attacking their LBs on the edge is a good strategy. (CA, 2, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
M20 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Skinny post | Jackson | Inc |
Same Nk who almost got the last one high-points it perfectly to pop it in the air. Nowhere else to put it just a good DB play. (BA, 0, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M20 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Flare Screen | Corum | 4 |
Simple RB screen, MSU DE reads it (RPS-2) and Corum(+2) slips that guy. I want to minus Hayes for lollygagging when it's his DE who chases it down, but he's hopping on an ankle. Also Mayfield has to leave after this play. (CA-screen, 3, protection n/a) | |||||||||||
M24 | 3rd | 6 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 7 | Circle | Bell | Inc |
Has a small window to hit Bell and puts it high and behind him. (IN, 1, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M24 | 4th | 6 | Shotgun 5-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Eagle | 0-high | Pass | 5 | Levels | Milton | 6 |
Nobody open until Johnson late, so Milton takes off and meets a mass of humanity at the sticks. Slows to hit a CB for the last yard. (SCR, n/a, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M30 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun trips | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Wide 9 | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Durham | Milton | -8(Pen+5) |
MSU has 12 guys and LB still trying to sprint off when this is snapped. Free play turns into a sack when Stueber(-1) is blown by NJones. Evans was tripped by DE when leaving the backfield so nowhere to dump it. (PR, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
M35 | 1st | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide TE Flex | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Under | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Scramble | Milton | 9 |
Milton spooked when Barnhart(-1) pushed into pocket, now has to escape that guy and does, jogging to 1st down and gives himself up at a CB. (SCR, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
M44 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 6 | Self-sack | Charbonnet | Inc |
Milton drifts forward in the pocket until he runs out of room and panics, dropping it behind and at the feet of Charbonnet. (TA, 0, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M44 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Over | 2-high | Pass | 6.5 | Smash | Eubanks | 5 |
CB is breaking on the TE out with Wilson clearing on the corner but throws to Eubanks anyway. CB there on the catch. (BR, 2, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
M49 | 3rd | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | RB circle | Charbonnet | 6 |
Gus notes MSU has time to keep changing linemen to stay fresh....with clock running. Filiaga(-1) run by, Vastardis(-0.5) can't help and Milton has to throw with a guy wrapped on him. Charbonnet kept fighting after being knocked back,and refs(+1) call forward progress after the 1st down anyway. (CA+, 2, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
O45 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Mesh | Wilson | 4 |
MSU DT running on the field, M lets him. Ref(-2) lazily steps down right into Wilson's route and he has to slow down and go under. Milton has time and Eubanks opening up on the curl but throws to Wilson anyway. He's brought down for a minimal gain. (BR, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O41 | 2nd | 6 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Scramble | Milton | 11 |
Milton(+1) sees a gap and stumbles through it, sets up a LB for YAC. (SCR, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O30 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | TE Curl | All | 5 |
M loses 15 seconds after 1st down as the refs allow MSU to complete a leisurely change. Q: They can't do this outside 2 minutes but I guess if it's 2:01 they can start the clock? Prot-1 as Hayes and Filiaga blow a stunt that gets Milton hit on the throw. (CA, 3, protection 0/1) | |||||||||||
O25 | 2nd | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | TE Curl | All | 8 |
Too many men again as MSU is still changing on the snap. Doesn't matter bc same play gets same result. (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O17 | 1st | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide Tight | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 1-high | Pass | 7 | Self-sack | Milton | 0 |
RB stays in, Milton starts dancing for no reason and runs into the CB hanging out on the edge. Milton (TAx, protection 2/2) | |||||||||||
O17 | 2nd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Fly | Bell | Inc |
Bell clears Cov2 but mistimes his jump. (CA, 2, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O17 | 3rd | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-2-5 | 4-2-5 Even | 2-high | Pass | 6 | Drag | Johnson | 16 |
Johnson(+2) breaks out of a tackle on the dumpoff then outruns a LB and barrels toward the endzone w an assist from Wilson(+1) (CA, 3, protection 1/1) | |||||||||||
O1 | 1st | Goal | Shotgun 3-wide Tight | 4-2-5 | Goal | 0-high | Run | n/a | Belly | Evans | -1 |
Milton(ZR-1) is reading a safety who's literally in the air and gives. Evans has to go outside the safety into the teeth of the defense. RPS-1 everyone knows they belly here and S was waiting if Milton kept. | |||||||||||
O2 | 2nd | Goal | Haskinscat Shotgun twins | 5-3-2 | Goal | 0-high | Run | n/a | QB Power Lead | Haskins | 2 |
Works as Mason(+2) audibly collides with edge and puts him into S. RPS+1 MSU was selling out inside. | |||||||||||
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-27, 35s 4th Q. Over but for the onsides. |
Well, I asked for more front page content so I guess I deserve this.
Do you want to talk about it?
Not really. Get what you came here for and let’s put a book out.
Sounds good to me.
Good. Offensive line chart.
Offensive Line |
|||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | + | - | Total | Notes | |||||||||||||||
1.5 | 3 | -1.5 | Clearly playing hurt. M ran away from him. | ||||||||||||||||
Barnhart | DNC | ||||||||||||||||||
Stueber | 3.5 | 4.5 | -1 | Tough day against MSU’s great DTs, especially Jones. | |||||||||||||||
Vastardis | 0.5 | 4.5 | -4 | Strength an issue, protection issues mostly on him and… | |||||||||||||||
Filiaga | 4 | 6 | -2 | Mashes when he finds his target. Eaten alive in pass pro. | |||||||||||||||
Hayes | 4 | 10 | -6 | Mis-ID’ed a lot of blocks. | |||||||||||||||
All | 10.5 | 0 | +10.5 | This is why we’re here. | |||||||||||||||
2 | -2 | Good pass pro though. | |||||||||||||||||
Schoonmaker | DNC | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | 13 | -7 | Plan was to mash face but he couldn’t find the right face. | ||||||||||||||||
Honigford | 4 | +4 | Useful sixth lineman | ||||||||||||||||
TOTAL | 34 | 43 | 44% | Beat up by DTs, had trouble finding their blocks. | |||||||||||||||
Backs | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes | |||||||||||||||
1 | 2 | -1 | 7/8 on RPOs, 6/8 on zone reads, fwiw | ||||||||||||||||
McNamara | DNP | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | 0.5 | +2.5 | All his +s were for blocking. Should have been a fullback. | ||||||||||||||||
Haskins | 7 | 0 | +7 | Did that on just 16 snaps. | |||||||||||||||
Corum | 8 | 1 | +7 | Did that on 18 snaps. Hello young man. | |||||||||||||||
2 | 0 | +2 | Will find more snaps on his NFL team. | ||||||||||||||||
DNP | |||||||||||||||||||
TOTAL | 21 | 3.5 | +17.5 | Add a five-star to those two and LFG!!!! | |||||||||||||||
Receivers | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes | |||||||||||||||
Bell | 5.5 | +5.5 | Locks dudes out and master of YAC | ||||||||||||||||
Sainristil | +3 | +3 | Mountain goat blocking | ||||||||||||||||
Wilson | 1 | +1 | Not always a tell that they’re passing but sorta | ||||||||||||||||
Johnson | 3 | +3 | Lloyd Carr approves | ||||||||||||||||
1 | 1 | - | Mostly a receiver in this game. | ||||||||||||||||
Henning | 4 | +4 | Fast. | ||||||||||||||||
DNP | |||||||||||||||||||
TOTAL | 17.5 | 1 | +16.5 | Speed in spacers blocked, sped in space. | |||||||||||||||
Metrics | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | + | - | T | Notes | |||||||||||||||
Protection | 17 | 10 | 73% | Filiaga–6, Stueber–3, Mayfield–2, Barnhart–1, Vastardis –1 | |||||||||||||||
RPS | 7 | 24 | -17 | MSU watched the Army tape, Gattis more concerned with not exposing Milton. |
My podcast hot take is Michigan should have the receivers block instead of the offensive linemen.
Context matters. MSU’s defensive line is really good, especially the DTs, and especially Naquan Jones, who wasn’t drafted but was signed by the Titans. Filiaga in particular was a mess; I was not surprised that Keegan replaced him later in the season. He can move people as a run blocker but his feet are heavy, and he often lost the hand battles. Jones gave everybody headaches though. This clever play was about to go for many yards (because Michigan deigned to use the QB in the run game) until Jones shed a downblock from Mayfield and appeared in the hole.
watch the bottom of the formation after it cuts to sideline view
MSU got away with multiple edge defenders because they could trust the DTs to get there. That was Michigan’s defense in the Glasgow-Hurst period too.
The other problem was Michigan blockers kept blocking the wrong guys. This was partly on MSU—see the RPS metric—varying their responses to Michigan’s Counter/Buck Sweep and Arc Read attacks. Usually they had the first guy dive inside with a defensive back hanging around to deter anything off the edge. They slanted and had their linebackers dodge a releasing tackle (usually Hayes). They made it hard, and Michigan’s blockers kept going after the same dude instead of adjusting on the fly.
Your RPO numbers say Mel Tucker ate Gattis’s lunch.
I got a little mad at some of the things Michigan was doing to try to be too fancy. Adding an RPO to the arc read is a good idea, but it was clear that they practiced this to go to the tight end. Not as a QB keeps and reads a guy caught between the tight end and the QB.
The only reason it worked one time was because they changed it back to the sensible thing on the fly:
MSU’s front looked like a team that had played together a long time and had this day circled all year. They had several plans in store for arc reads, and made life difficult for pullers by having the cornerbacks involved in edge defense so a lineman could waste a kickout on one.
Michigan came prepared with Brady Hoke’s bag of tricks, like unbalanced formations. Michigan does not have any eligible receivers on the bottom of this formation, so there’s one extra defender for the edge:
They also trotted out Joel Honigford in a #84 jersey to play some tight end. Here he pancakes a safety, but that is the same one for one you would get if you just put a receiver out there and had him run a route. Meanwhile there’s an unblocked defender because the quarterback is turning his back and nobody near the point of attack has to worry about him. The puller uses himself up on the cornerback, and the linebacker meets Corum in the gap.
This series was Michigan’s big game-plan. They had a screen that worked off the QB keeping it one time, but for the most part every time they just tried to run Power and Counter and Pin and Pull with it against one more guy that the offense is designed to account for. There were times they had Milton run it, but for the most part I think they went into the room before this one asking if anyone has ideas to use reads without having the quarterback get hit. Here’s what they came up with. Note where MSU’s nickel and cornerback go relative to the two frontside blockers:
Yay Henning, but the design of MSU’s defense—and everyone knows this about them—is to set up outside and force you back in. Michigan only tested the edge of that defense by accident here because Eubanks couldn’t get to his block and Henning had to break a tackle. Another thing that could have happened is Milton could keep rolling out into all of those acres until somebody was put in a run-pass bind between him and Henning. That was one of Harbaugh’s favorite tricks with Luck and Kaepernick. Here you can tell the point is to run the read so the linebackers clear off and then push the ball outside to a designated runner.
The passing game looked disorganized as well. If you know your Mesh, you know the spots he’s supposed to be looking at here. Michigan tried all last year to figure out a way to supercharge Mesh by replacing that fly route that most coaches make a pre-snap read with an extra route underneath somewhere. This time it’s running a curl (#4 in the image below) under the Hook route (#3). Also the ref interfered* on Bell’s crossing route, but even if he doesn’t sit there he’s running right into the extra defender MSU has from rushing just three.
Still, if you’re Milton and you’ve got to get this to the 46 yard line, where do you put it?
* [One of two times this happened The officiating was amateur hour in general—remember MSU got two horseshit blindside calls.]
You made Charbonnet transfer.
One thing about Michigan’s “let’s always have an unblocked linebacker” game plan is we got to see each of the running backs do a live Oklahoma drill. Here’s our control: Zach Charbonnet versus Antjuan Simmons with space to do something goes like so:
Same play, same linebacker, Blake Corum what can you do?
Nice response. Okay, Hasan Haskins, you’re up:
That wasn’t fair it’s a different LB.
This was very subtle but this is basically the same play except instead of the puller going to hunt a cornerback he gets to catch Simmons trying to fly up inside. Why does he do that? Haskins set him up. Hassan has this LB’s eyes when he threatens to cut inside, which convinces Simmons he’s got to shoot this now. Stueber turns this, and Haskins now has easier prey outside.
But also Corum.
This is what it looks like when your running back bails out his blockers:
Both Mason and Stueber botched this. Corum’s speed is something that MSU corner wasn’t prepared for.
I see the program isn’t panicking.
About…?
The whole down by two scores with 5 minutes left thing.
I am willing to UFR the offense vs Michigan State last year but I draw the line at counting how many seconds Michigan wasted on their 20-play 5-minute drill. At this point it’s just a feature of the Harbaugh era.
Wide receivers?
[0 = uncatchable, 1 = circus catch, 2 = moderate difficulty, 3 = routine]
THIS WEEK | SEASON | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Bell | 2 | 0/1 | 3/5 | 1/1 | 12 | 0/2 | 4/7 | 20/20 | |
Johnson | 5/5 | 6 | 0/3 | 2/5 | 12/12 | ||||
Sainristil | 1 | 0/2 | 1/2 | 4 | 0/6 | 2/3 | 3/5 | ||
1 | 1/1 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 5 | 2/3 | 4/6 | 7/7 | ||
Wilson | 1 | 4/4 | 1/1 | 3 | 0/1 | 5/7 | 3/3 | ||
Henning | 1/1 | 1 | 1/1 | 1/2 | 4/4 | ||||
0/1 | 1/1 | 0/3 | 3/3 | 7/7 | |||||
All | 1 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 3/4 | 2 | 1/5 | 0/2 | 9/12 | |
Schoonmaker | |||||||||
1 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1 | 1/1 | 5/5 | ||||
Haskins | 2 | ||||||||
Corum | 2/2 | 1 | 6/6 | ||||||
1 | 6/6 | ||||||||
1 | 2/2 |
Routes: All+, Bell+, Sainristil+, Jackson+, Charbonnet-
Going to miss Giles Jackson, but hello Mr. Wilson. I am wondering if I’m scoring intermediates too easily but here’s that Mesh play where everybody bunched together. Look where Roman Wilson went:
And Wilson was the smoothest at those passes Milton specialized in zipping between Cover 2 zones:
It was probably his best outing last year. Michigan State’s cornerbacks were clearly afraid of his speed, with good reason.
Erick All?
You mean the sophomore receiver-ish tight end who was supposed to be a walking catch radius? Another killer third down drop, and one in his hip that he should have brought in as well. The rest of his incompletes were a pass into double coverage that ricocheted onto his fingertips for a flash, one thrown well behind him that maybe he was supposed to settle into because there’s an LB underneath, and one 20 feet over his head that would have (probably) been interference if it was 10 feet over his head. I think the easy drops are just head stuff. If we are still not seeing the contested/wall-off stuff in games this season, we will stop believing the practice chatter about them.
Michigan did trust him at the end of the game and he brought those in no sweat. Hopefully the yips are behind him.
No I meant ERICK All. Like the Viking.
Oh THAT guy!
So that’s the guy Ohio State decided not to offer because they weren’t sure he would ever be more than a jumbo receiver. You put him against a safety and that guy is not going anywhere. He makes linebackers go down too. He has the agility in the open field to be a problem once the ball is in his hands. Agent Sap is handling the helmet sticker.
Heroes?
Corum and Haskins, Ronnie Bell, Roman Wilson, and ERICK All the blocker.
Maybe not so heroic?
Chuck Filiaga, Erick All the receiver, the evil brain worm that infects Michigan coaches and makes them try anything to take the quarterback out of the run game.
What does it mean for 2021?
Now I can write the tight end preview (seriously, Hail to the Victors 2021 doesn’t mess around). If All can fix the thing he was supposed to be good at, he’s going to be pretty good. Also if there was any question why Zach Charbonnet transferred, it’s because he was going to end up a fullback on this team (seriously, he should try it sometime).
We might be sleeping on Roman Wilson.
Thanks, if you need me ill be in the bathroom cutting myself
Negged. Self-harm is NEVER something to make light of.
Negged because I can
Edit: Sorry I'm being a dick, you're absolutely right that self harm is something that should not be joked about. I use humor for everything. I respect you as a poster and will try to refrain from making tasteless jokes in the future.
Hey, it’s alright man. I certainly hope that you never have to witness someone you love struggle with it.
Now all of that said, fuck the 2020 MSU game. Easily the worst Michigan football performance I’ve ever witnessed in my years of fandom.
I say we take off and nuke this entire UFR from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
+1 for the a great one-liner from a great Sci-Fi thriller.
I don’t know if you’re keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!
As soon as MSU started chucking deep, it was game over, man, game over!!
I’m now excited for Roman Wilson again. I think he along with henning are going to surprise people this season.
Happy F-ing Monday to you too Seth.
This game was still early in the season when the offensive coaches were, in my opinion, making personnel mistakes.
The passing game seems focused on getting All the ball. And yet his presence on the stat sheet was minimal. It seems weird that a guy who is awesome enough in practice to warrant that type of gameplan treatment makes basically zero plays on Saturday when given all the chance in the world. Seeing as how this was not an isolated game,the only good play I recall from All was a screen that he was wide open for and just ran downfield all alone, and he dropped passes all season, that has to be a coaching/personnel error. Let the guy prove himself one time before you make a gameplan around getting him the ball why not?
Same idea with Corum. He had 2 nice plays, both of which were clipped, but ended up 5/15. All of his yards were in the clipped plays. Haskins OTOH had was 8/56. Probably too much splitting carries in this game for maximum offensive efficiency. The offense continued splitting carries between Haskins and Corum until the final 2 games when Haskins finally got starter treatment. Haskins out performed Corum all season.
The last Michigan drive was an abomination. They killed the clock for MSU. Hard to blame that on anyone but Gattis. Instead of speed in space we seemed to have gotten a pop gun offense.
God I hope Gattis breaks out this year. This offense just seems to be like a Mustang Cobra II; lots of paint and flash but not alot of real production. It really seems like he had two different game plans and sets of calls based on whether Joe or Cade was in there. But never did he seem to 'put the defense in conflict' all year. Ah well. Moving on with positivity. :-)
This game officially ended all hope for me that Harbaugh will get things back on track. This was the worst coached football game I have ever seen at any level.
Exactly. When people think 2021 will somehow be different it won’t. The way the coaches shit the bed in this game is beyond ridiculous.
This game is not “worse coached” than coming out in the 3-3-5 under Rich Rod.
But it’s definitely the worst I can remember seeing a Harbaugh coached team. Certainly it is totally unacceptable and before Carr retired I never expected to see it happen in the Big House.
This is the game where it showed Michigan doesn’t have the talent to even compete in the BIG East let alone challenge OSU at the top. Harbaugh’s coaching is only making it worse as they are constantly a mess in game planning and execution.
Harbaugh will look absolutely foolish against Tucker this year.
“Doesn’t have the talent to even compete in the East”?? Seriously? No way in hell did / does MSU have more talent than us.
For the love of god, we don’t have a talent / recruiting problem. We have a unbelievably shitty coaching problem. If last year didn’t cement that firmly into our collective consciousness then I don’t know what will.
No of course we don’t have OSU talent. Only two other teams in the country do.
But we do have the most talent compared to everyone else in the conference (could be on-par with Penn State). And considering the state of the program (let alone the talent disparity with OSU) our measuring stick SHOULD be Penn State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan State, etc. That’s who we have to prove we can beat right now, and we absolutely have the talent to do just that. We just need coaches competent enough to properly utilize and develop all the talent that we DO have. We are losing games we have no business losing. Period. This program won’t elevate to the elite level until we consistently put up 11 win seasons and win our bowl games, OSU outcome aside.
If you can’t accept this, then the only other possible conclusion one could come to is that the coaches are terrible recruiters and suck at identifying talent. But with all the “trust the coaches” sentiments on here, I don’t see how THAT could possibly be the answer to the problem. Even the recruiting services tell us that we’ve recruited very well almost every year.
Heck, even with this COVID recruiting cycle we still currently have the 12th best rated class in the country and 3rd best in the conference. And everyone keeps telling me that the recruiting services are really underrating talent because they can’t properly evaluate all the players. I mean, all things considered, what more could we possibly ask for? Especially considering our on-field results as of late. We have everything we need to attain what SHOULD be our goals: 11 win season including a bowl win, beat MSU. No, I don’t think our goals should include beating Ohio State. Because goals should be measurable AND attainable…and if we’re honest, beating Ohio State is in no way attainable at the moment. We need to figure out how to walk before we can start running.
All our problems reside in coaching room. In classic Michigan fashion, we’re our own worst enemy. Maybe things will improve with all the new blood that’s been hired in this offseason. I sure hope they do…but to be honest, I’m not holding my breath. Not any more. I’ll need to see the improvements to believe they actually exist.
Edit: Yeah, I realize how it sounds to say that beating Ohio State shouldn’t be part of our goals at the moment. I guess what I was trying to convey is that an 11 win season (including a bowl win) should absolutely be seen as a MASSIVE success (even if/when we get blown out by OSU). And therefore that’s what we (the fans at least) should be realistically expecting from the program right now. If we could start putting up consecutive 11 win seasons ending with a bowl win each season, you can bet that’s how we start to get the recruits who will help get us to the next level.
I would say this game rivals Hoke's 2013 games where we lost to MSU 29-6 and 17-13 against a fucking terrible Nebraska defense as the worst coached games ever. Hoke said "we just didnt execute" in his post game interview and my uncle said something like "Yeah, somebody needs to be executed alright".
Thanks for doing this Seth.
"Also I accidentally uploaded a bunch of the clips without sound, sorry."
Seth, no need to apologize. I wouldn't have minded a lot if you had accidentally uploaded a bunch of the clips without visuals too.
Why is finding the right guy to block and doing it so difficult for 4 star o-lineman? This should not be a problem for guys in their 3rd, 4th, and 5th years. I never heard of this until Hoke's staff arrived and it's been a constant ever since. I've never seen so many highly recruited offensive lineman like Kalis, Dawson, Filiaga, etc not know who to block.
I know jackshit about football so this just a blind squirrel guess, but.... are the coaches possibly making things too complicated for the offense, to where they're thinking when they should be executing?
Your guess is as good as mine. Continuity might have something to do with it too. But, Warriner seemed to do well with the other two years. And, how many times have we heard o-line coaches say we are going to simplify it? I mean OSU didn't seem to have any o-line problems with figuring out who block against MSU's vaunted DTs under Warriner. Wasn't the spread supposed to be simpler than the pro style?
I can only think of one reason why. Entitlement mentality. There are plenty of plays there where the misses are SO obvious that the OC in the booth just HAD to say something. I know spending booth time at the HS level I've heard the OC's say "So and So blew that one big time" or "So and So late again" which is really just telling the HC who needs to see the bench. We don't bench at M.
I am the same not knowing much about the technical aspects, but I have read on here multiple times about how complicated the Harbaugh-led offense is and how it really requires cerebral upperclassmen with time in the system to run it. Also how each play requires a bunch of things done correctly to have any chance of success. Put those together and it's a recipe for player indecisiveness at crucial times, like when they are being figuratively punched in the mouth.
So, you're saying this isn't Gattis' offense?!? Pardon my sarcasm. The reality is no one effin knows who's offense this is.
I have no idea, of course, but I'm pretty sure that Harbaugh is involved in some form.
It could be scheme (slow, plodding, mistake averse, focusing on positions like FB and TE), (lack of) game planning (as in, "we're going to run X, try and stop us"), personnel decisions (heavy use of aforementioned FB and TE, emphasis on playing practice warriors), and/or input on play-calling (what we have heard about suggestions by committee and then a final decision is reached).
Regardless who it is, unless there are some major strides this year, I'd have to assume this is the last year of it. Gattis might get axed or the entire staff might get axed, but progress must be made for folks to be retained for a 4th year.
Well, sometimes (no disrespect to Brian or Seth) I think the issue may be a bit more complicated. Since only the coaches know the play call, it’s possible that what looks like straight up wiffs are a function of the defense not being where they are “supposed to be” per the play call. That is, the defense may be disrupting things more so than anyone can identify without a play calling sheet.
Moreover, you can see NFL linemen miss blocks every Sunday. Same way you see pro golfers miss putts and NBA screw up rotations on defense. It’s easy to say, “find somebody to block,” but it takes a great deal of focus and skill to do it consistently. Success here can’t be understood as perfection.
Also, I’m not sure that the players in this case are all that awesome.
Thanks for doing this, Seth! It's always interesting to read a UFR. Note that a couple years ago, I would have said enjoyable, but that hasn't been the case much lately. Overall, this one is another example of the Michigan offense making it as difficult as possible for itself.
I had managed to preserve exactly zero memories from this game. Did I even watch it? What with this game coming right after the big Minnesota win, and a chance to roll lil' bro, and there being LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE TO DO IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC, I'm sure I must have.
And so the only conclusions I can come to are: 1) Milton was, for a game or so anyway, not horrible like I remember him; and 2) Minnesota must have really been awful.
Reading this killed my summer hype buzz. Before reading this I was convincing myself of 9 wins or better. After reading this I am back to 6-6.
Seth,
thanks for this. I realize it brings out the ugly but it’s helpful to those of us trying to learn more about college football and understand what is happening.
eric the half a bee.
Executive Summary: UGH!
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What does that make 2 videos worth? There were a couple recent threads about the running backs. Seth’s examples of Haskins and Charbonnet runs are exactly what I picture when I think of them running.
Another year of experience and strength training should help the linemen. Haskins could be a 1000 yard runner if they commit to him and the run game. Hayes’ number was eye opening. That has to improve, right?
Two things:
(1) The M front blocking the wrong guys is a tale as old as time (or at least since Lloyd Carr retired)
(2) I've been saying to anyone who will listen (it's a damn short list) since the first game last year that Roman Wilson is slept on. That kid could be a superstar if he has the right QB and offensive coordinator.
"The M front blocking the wrong guys is a tale as old as time (or at least since Lloyd Carr retired)"
Guess the year and coach:
And that ONLY resulted in a one yard loss
This write up definitely didn’t make me want to jump off a bridge, but the UFR for the defense from this same game probably would. Please don’t do it.
Brian did.
I have no memory of this and I refuse to look it up. Brian should file a worker’s comp claim against himself/us for having to do that for emotional trauma.
Most inexcusable Harbaugh loss ever? I’m inclined to say yes.
When you make people write glowing reviews of an undrafted player, it's not about the undrafted guy. It's a mess of an offense. Just a steaming turd pile.
IMO, Gattis is no more of a solution than Nussmeier was.
And rotating Jay Harbaugh around to various locations where he's not effective and has no experience is just bald nepotism.
Aside from perpetually losing to OSU, where the "student" athletes don't physically attend classes and are athletically a level above, we were doing okay before whatever happened that took the wind out of Harbaugh's sails and he started tossing out his system and good coaches.
I think this is going to be an ugly season of Michigan football.
There is a ton to criticize about Jim Harbaugh and his program. But what part of Jay Harbaugh's career at Michigan do you hate more: The two Mackey seasons he got out of Butt while developing/recruiting Gentry, Eubanks, and McKeon? Or the running backs room of Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum, and Donovan Edwards he left for Hart?
Hmmm... devil's advocate here; if we're giving Jay credit for who populates the RB room, then he should also catch the heat for losing Charbonnet, and for (IMO) terribly misusing said RB room during games. I think we have had the worst "feel" for RB rotation that I've ever witnessed at this level of football. I've been saying this for a couple seasons now. Also, I think the fact that Harbaugh brought Mike Hart on staff (thank you) says something as well.
I wouldn't say any of those three tight ends after Butt were anywhere close to as reliable as Butt.
Also the running backs room under him has not proved a damn thing. Our only back drafted under Harbaugh hardly even played.
Well Seth, I'd say this:
Butt: Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut.
RBs: They haven't come close to potential yet.
And if there's anything that is, sadly, a hallmark of the Harbaugh era that's it: Student athletes under-performing their potential as athletes. At one point we had three five star running backs and we still couldn't run the ball. Aside from a fluke transfer, we haven't had a break-out quarterback. Swiss cheese offensive lines. Defense was great except against superior talent (which, I mean, that's how it works), save for last year which was just an entirely dumb year. So then we fired the coordinator and switched systems.
When you put it that way it looks like Jay Harbaugh walked into the luxury of Jake Butt then hasn't had a standout player at either tight end or running back since. Wouldn't Gentry (5th round NFL draft) be the only other player Jay has coached at Michigan that's been drafted. If you want to stretch I guess we can add Chris Evans getting drafted in the 6th round to that list since Jay was the RB coach for his one year return last year.
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