Had a long conversation with an assistant coach at a BCS school. Some highlights of conversation.
Q) What is your opinion of the Michigan season?
A) It is easy to say "I told you so" (which he did), but what people do not understand is the type of offense Coach Rod runs (and any other spread team) the quarterback play is worth about 20 points per game either way. Michigan simply did not have any type of quarterback play which probably cost them 20 points per game offensively and also allowed opposition to score on average of 20 points more than they would have.
Q) Do you expect to see improvement next year?
A) Two answers:
1) I expect Michigan to be a pretty good running team out of the spread next year and I expect to see Michigan have many more big plays offensively running the ball.
2) Overall success will depend on quarterback play and since I have seen very little true freshmen play consistently and Michigan's returning quarterbacks have limited upside in the spread I see a small improvement, but not close to Michigan standards.
Q) What happened to the Michigan defense?
A) Michigan's offense happened to Michigan’s defense. That and players not playing up to potential and add in there seemed to me to be some confusion and tendency for staff not to make quick adjustments. It is obvious Defense played under expectations and Michigan's continually giving up such big plays is a mystery to everyone. But as I stated before I think Michigan's offense cost the Defense an average of at least 14 up to 20 points per game. The number of times Michigan punted and had three and outs is amazing in today's football.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
****Here are some Michigan offensive stats (ErocWolverine found)****
#113 in passing efficiency out of 119 teams
#111 in total offense out of 119 teams
#108 in passing out of 119 teams
#107 in turnovers out of 119 teams
#97 in scoring out of 119 teams
#60 in rushing out of 119 teams
Yes we knew the offense might be bad, but never thought it would be that bad.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q) Do you think there will be improvements in Defense next year?
A) Again depends on the offense since I do expect the running game to be the team's strength the Defense will spend less time on the field which will help. But unless Michigan's overall offensive performance improves then expect minor improvement.
Q) Do you think Coach Rod is building the program the right way?
A) I can see both sides on this. I can completely understand those who are upset that he seems to breaking down the program when many felt it just needed to be "modernized". I also can understand the argument that unless you break it down and start over you will stay in the rut of 3 loss seasons. Honestly I do not which side is correct. But I do know one thing Coach Rod needs to be Coach Rod and you hired someone who only knows one way to coach. So understanding that I don’t see how anyone can be surprised what has happened. Yes nobody could expect this many losses and it is not a given that he will ultimately be successful. But this is the only way he can be successful so Michigan fans are just going to have to ride through the tough times which I think will continue for another year or two. Who knows maybe by 2010 or 2011 Michigan fans will start to appreciate how tough it is to win in modern college football.
written by MaizeMan and ErocWolverine
No comments:
Post a Comment