No, Don't Turn Shea Loose

I'd prefer they try to win every game than just trying to win one.

I agree with sticking to the ground game against lesser opponents, but if the game is on the line or we are playing osu, psu, msu, wisconsin, then I want to see whatever is necessary to get the job done.

This is dumb

Harbaugh=Power Football.

enough said

I think we will go more pass heavy as the opponents get better, but I don't see Shea going over 25 pass attempts that often

I'd worry about winning the games before OSU before worrying about beating OSU

I think you run the offense you need in the situation at hand.  There will be games when Patterson will need to throw the ball a ton, and that's when you call it.  But Michigan is at their best when they have a nice balance between running and throwing the ball, and artificially attempting to alter that dynamic for no other reason than "he's the man" isn't important.

I think there is more value in in-game reps than there is in hiding things from the game tapes. There's this assumption that if you can do it in practice, you can do it in a game "when the time comes." But I think that's dangerous.  Putting our biggest games on the line based on plays we've never tried outside of practice but had ample opportunity to. 

There's a balance in keeping things off of game tape vs. building confidence with in-game reps.  I tilt toward a little more of the in-game reps.  

So therefore I'd like to "turn Shea loose" a bit more.  Had a good game saturday, something to build on. 

But doesn't mean we just let Shea call the offense.  Just means I'd like to see the pass/run play ratio go up a bit. 

You must eat a lot of CHICKEN

I am sick to death of having either a bad QB or good injured QB against OSU. It has become a trend.

Just read this from the Ozone's Michigan Monday, haha:

"Speaking of athleticism, Donovan Peoples-Jones caught four passes for 90 yards and three touchdowns. In a shocking development, he was actually used down the field. For most of the season, it has felt like they were worried they’d get an ineligible receiver downfield if they sent DPJ too far out into a pass pattern."

Turn.  Him.  Loose.

He has the wheels - let him use them.  He has an ability to hit receivers on the scramble, play into that.  Going run-run-pass-punt is entirely unacceptable.  Unlike when Jake was at the helm or Wilton/Brandon/JOK, this time we have a 'real deal' in Dylan backing up Shea.  I am SO not concerned if Shea goes down, we'll not skip a beat like we did in the past.

This post is bad and you should feel bad.

We had 50 yards rushing against Wisconsin last year.

Its been YEARS since Michigan has imposed their will by running the ball on a team with a pulse.  If Michigan is going to beat PSU, MSU, WIS and maybe even NW, we are going to have to throw the ball.

I don't see a reason as to why we cant throw more to open up the run. More play action on first downs would keep the defense guessing as opposed to only gaining a couple yards.

I trust Harbaugh.  It’s amazing how many people don’t.  

So I guess by 'turn him loose', he means abandon the run game and just start flinging the ball all over?  I don't get why?  The run game got largely stuffed by SMU stacking the box, yet the offense hit for 38 points.  WMU didn't stuff the box and got pasted with 300 yards rushing and 49 points.  If some team wants to stack 8 or 9 into the box to keep UM from running, then the pass will go over them.  Drop back to slow down the passing game, and the RB's will get chunks.

Everyone keeps reverting to the 2017 offense as the thing for this year.  But that offense simply could not throw the ball whatsoever.  It couldn't pass protect, it couldn't throw, it couldn't run routes, it couldn't get open, and it couldn't catch.  Even when a WR got hand-waving open and screamed 'THROW ME THE DAMN BALL', the ball was not closer than 7 yards away.

Just run the offense and see where it takes us.  It's already light years ahead of anything we saw from it last year.

Did I mention that last years offense couldn't throw the ball?

We can't waste our first two drives every game.  He does need to open it up more early in the game. 

Playing scared is no way to play football!

I don't think you and I watched the same OSU game in 2015. Rudock had nothing to do with the fact that the defense couldn't stop Elliott. The 2015 OSU game was a thorough ass-kicking. A healthy Rudock wouldn't have changed that. And for the record, Rudock seemed plenty healthy to me when he was torching IU and PSU in the two games before that. By the time he got injured against OSU, the game was already over. 

Either way, I want Harbaugh to do whatever is necessary to give Michigan the best chance to win football games. If that means Shea hands the ball off 35-40 times a game, so be it. If that means we go air raid, then I'm good with that too. Can't be afraid of getting injuries. 

I am all for boring games where we pound away against crappy opponents, then opening things up against teams like Wisconsin, PSU, MSU, and OSU. If we don't need to expose Shea to unnecessary hits, we shouldn't. 

I am going to say this and it will sound mean. I don't mean it near as mean as it will sound.

This is the dumbest, most uninformed take I have ever heard. You don't risk 2 or whatever losses by playing scared just so you might better your chances in 1 game (which is STILL not a guarantee to win) later in the season. 

Uhhhhh.... Haskins has looked scary good this year my dude. I don't think you can say we have a better QB than OSU

With as much as OSU has Haskins dropping back , or even in the game deep into 4th qtr, I'd be surprised if he's even playing in November. Somebodys gonna hit the guy in conference play

Its time to play to win vs playing not to lose. If Shea gets hurt, oh well.

Depends on the game and the opponent.

Do I want Shea running multiple times a la Denard? No

But I also don’t want him sitting back there when he can convert a first down by running either.

I believe that we have a better QB than OSU this year

IDK man, Haskins has looked really good so far.

But I agree with your overall philosophy.  Keep the rains on and maintain balance until you have to throw.  But, I do find the team tends to want to start games with manball.  I'd prefer we start games more pass heavy to open up the running game.

In 2015, we lost The Game 42-13. That had less to do with QB play and more to do with our DC having mentally checked out, and with simply not having the horses to compete with OSU. In 2016, we DEFINITELY would have won The Game with better QB play, seeing as how we spotted OSU ten points with a pick-six and and another pick that set up an OSU field goal. In 2017, we likely would have won The Game with better QB play, seeing as how we jumped out to a 14-0 lead but could only manage six points the rest of the way after OSU shut down the run game because they knew we couldn't pass to save our lives.

This year, I'm reserving judgment until we get into the thick of the B1G schedule. It could be that Harbaugh is purposely limiting Shea's exposure as you say and is planning on unleashing him when we get to the meat to the schedule after the O-line has (hopefully, for the love of God) had a chance to gel. Or, it could be that we're simply not that good. We really won't know until Wisconsin at the earliest.