Mailbag question: Tate's decision making
GBMW,
I was at the Illinois game in the Michigan section.
It seemed to me that Tate Forcier was not making the read-option at all, but simply handing the ball off to the running back. I saw many plays where the Michigan line slanted to the left and the Illinois were also slanting the same way. That includes the defensive end on our right side. Tate would seem to make a read on the right defensive end, but always handed the ball off. It looked to me like if he would have kept the ball and went to the right side; he would have been the only person on that side of the field and would have made a big gain.
Did you notice that? Do I have the right idea on the read option?
BTW: You guys are hands down the best Michigan blog. I read it every day. Thanks!!!
AnnArborAl
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Thanks for the question and the very nice comment.
Tate's reads have never been fantastic. This is one thing we have noticed either by watching the film over and over again or seeing it "live" at the games as well.
He was, early on, making up for some bad decisions with his overall athletic ability and quick feet.
As the season has gone on, Tate has regressed some and his reads have not improved.
To make things worse, his reads and presence in the pocket passing have also regressed.
Tate also has been late getting rid of the ball to his receivers. There have been many times, especially when viewing in person at the games, that receivers are open for several seconds before Tate sees one he is satisfied enough with to throw. By then, sometimes it is too late. On the other hand, the protection in the Illinois game was simply unsatisfactory.
When Tate scrambled earlier in the season he was able to get away with this probably because of the competition level, but now that we are in the Big Ten conference end of the schedule, teams have been able to prepare for him along with noticing how he usually puts his head down when scrambling, and most of the time Tate is now just tucking the ball and taking off.
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Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine
1 comment:
Yes the early competition was questionable except for the ND game. ND IMO would fit into the upper third of the Big Ten race about now. What it looks like is that now the BT teams can plan for Tate and his tendencies and force him to do things that he was not prepared to do. When you couple that with the fact that he is a true freshman and is showing that he is thinking and playing like a freshman and not superman, we see the problems.
However, I consider this a blessing in that at least for this year, these weaknesses can be identified and addressed for next season. He should be a far better QB because of those things that are correctable now.
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