GBMW: Coach's Corner -- Michigan Offense vs. Ohio State Defense
Well Saturday was a repeat of the last eight weeks, not that this conclusion is surprising.
Michigan has gone 1-7 over the final eight weeks because of losing the weekly turnover battle. Michigan finished in last place (along with Indiana) in the Big Ten conference with a 1-7 record, and until some of these turnover mistakes are corrected, Michigan will be in trouble and have a hard time getting back to the Big Ten Championship. The coaches must correct this shortcoming and it is correctable.
Saturday’s five turnovers basically took Michigan out of the game. Michigan will continue to have problems beating good teams until they fix the turnover problem. Michigan gave up, or the offense gave up seven quick points to Ohio State. This is like giving a defense rich coach like Tressel an Ace out of your own hole cards in a poker game. Michigan’s offense had several opportunities to score more points, but mistakes cost Michigan the opportunities for more points and the game.
Quarterbacks:
The more we watch Tate Forcier the more convinced we become that he is not the ideal fit for this offense.
There was a good reason Tate Forcier was not Michigan's top choice, or even second choice, as the quarterback for the 2009 class.
He is slow with his reads, not confident in the pocket, and continues to make poor decisions.
What stood out to us was the lack of swagger in Forcier's game. Early in the season Forcier had a confidence that the rest of the team used as fuel. There was no sign of this effect Saturday against the Buckeyes.
We continue to not understand why Denard Robinson was not given more of a chance at quarterback. It was obvious T. Forcier was rattled and struggling, but the staff kept him in the game, when at times D. Robinson was moving the team. Obvious to the entire universe is the need to let D. Robinson have more plays at his disposal than just running the ball left, run the ball right, and run the ball up the middle. You could really tell the Ohio State defense was keying entirely on the running game and this one offensive variation when Denard was at quarterback. When was the last time Denard passed the ball more than once in a game?
Running Backs:
The team definitely missed Brandon Minor's strong and physical running style. Still, no fumbles was a good thing. Vincent Smith continued to play well and Michael Shaw also showed some skills.
Where Minor was really missed was in pass protection. The other running Backs did not do a very good job at protecting.
Offensive Line:
Eighty yards rushing is not good enough to win in this offense. The Ohio State defensive front was consistently winning the battle at the line of scrimmage, this was telling. This particularly hurt Michigan in the red zone. Michigan had to settle for a missed field goal attempt and Forcier threw interceptions in part because Michigan could not run the ball.
Split Ends / Slot Receivers / Tight Ends:
The lack of a true speed guy really hurt here. Ohio State was able to crowd the line of scrimmage and Michigan was not able to either make Ohio State pay or back them out. The blocking on the edge was solid and Michigan did not have any of those annoying dropped passes.
Offensive coaching:
Give the staff credit for changing gears and using the passing game more. We also liked that Denard Robinson got more meaningful reps, we wish the number was even greater, but we will take what we can get. We believe Denard needed to be used as a decoy once in awhile as well because every time he was in the game, he was being keyed on. What we question is why was D. Robinson pulled when he was moving the team with a couple of first down and then T. Forcier comes in and throws another interception? Why such a limited package with D. Robinson, why did Michigan keep throwing the slot swing into the rolled up cornerback?
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Written by CoachBt
3 comments:
I am sorry. I know Tate has been losing confidence, but when your coach has no confidence in you, it is hard to believe in yourself. And I have no stats on D. Robinson, but he is more of a liability when in the game than not. 70% of calls are runs, and his arm is far from accurate. Even when he gets a first down from running the ball, he is not much of a threat to continue, as his options at quarterback are even more limited than Tate's, and the offense already only has 9 plays. This is fundamentally a leadership(coach) problem.
Thanks for this site. I am a longtime fan(since birth) and have been looking for the real scoop for sometime, and have found it in you. Cant say I always agree with your opinions, but I can say I always respect them.
Go Blue.
David J.
Winston-Salem, NC(the only reason I wasnt at "the Game")
Davd,
Thanks for the comments and to let you know this is what these type of blogs are for ... giving opinions ... and being able to talk football, recruiting, hockey, basketball, etc... That is what makes this fun and we do not mind when people disagree with us. We like when people bakc up their points with football knowledge and also facts that support their point of view.
Otherwise this would be very boring if everybody agreed 100% of the time ... even though some message boards want this type of following.
E
Well, I have been to a lot of these blogs and pretty much ignored them because of the useless info or ignorant opinions. I only wish you guys had more pull with the coaches, cause I swear you guys are spot on most of the time in your analysis of the teams needs. I will say this, I 100% agree with your opinion of the defense recruiting situation. I was a football player in high school, and while our offense was good, it was our defense which consistently got us to the playoffs. I hope coach Rod has learned a thing or two these last two years about the need for a good defense. I believe this team could have been 10-2 or maybe even 11-1 with a quality defense. Could you imagine if this team had the same quality we had in even 2006? It is a useless thought, as it matters not, but until Coach Rod values the defense, I dont believe this team will contend for the Big Ten Championship, much less the National. The Hybrid position scares me as well. This is where I believe this blog is also spot on in your analysis. You guys have been worried about that scheme since day one it seems, and damn if you weren't right. Maybe Coach Rod should think of hiring you guys on in place of a few other assistants, who shall remain nameless.
Thanks again for all your work for us fans. It does NOT go unappreciated. GO BLUE!
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