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Michigan Monday — The Worst of Times
I don’t know what the five stages of grief are for Michigan fans, but I imagine after this last dozen years or so, at least the first two stages are pure numbness.
After watching Michigan’s 24-17 loss at Notre Dame on Saturday, the third stage is probably disbelief that nothing has changed, followed by a fourth stage of anger at so many wasted years.
The fifth stage is acceptance because if Jim Harbaugh hasn’t figured it out by now, he’s no longer even looking at the instructions.
Watching Michigan’s conservative offense on Saturday, I kept finding myself wondering what Jeff Brohm could do with Shea Patterson and Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins and Chris Evans and Karan Higdon.
I have long said that bad offense is a choice, and for as much as people like to talk about Harbaugh’s complex offensive system, maybe it’s only complex to Michigan.
Jim Harbaugh has now been at Michigan for 40 games. His offense has seven games of at least 500 yards of total offense and nine games of under 300 yards. In 2015, the Wolverines had two 500-yard games. In 2016 they increased that number to five. Last year, however, there was nothing.
Each year the number of games with fewer than 300 yards has increased — from two in 2015, to three in 2016, to four last year.
Over Ohio State’s last 40 games, they have 16 games of 500 yards or more and just four games of less than 300 yards. Two of those 300-yard days came in the postseason, including last year’s 24-7 Cotton Bowl win over USC.
The Buckeyes have six 600-yard days over the last 40 games, compared to Michigan’s seven 500-yard outings.
Ohio State fans get mad at Urban Meyer’s stubborness when it comes to his offense, but even through that stubborness his offenses have averaged 480 yards per game since his arrival in 2012 and rewritten OSU’s record books.
The only thing Jim Harbaugh’s offense is rewriting is expectations.
I came into this game expecting much more than 307 yards of total offense and one offensive touchdown, and after considering all of the struggles last year, we can only blame ourselves for the expectations that we brought into this game.
At this point, Jim Harbaugh now has to prove it, and not just here and there. Just as Ohio State needs a quarterback who can get them over the hump against elite defenses, Michigan needs an offense that doesn’t allow opposing defensive coordinators the confidence to upgrade from a 6-pack to a 12-pack on the way home from work the Tuesday before the game.
I don’t believe it is time to panic. I lived through Ohio State’s 2014 season, so I know an offense can look average for a bit before things start clicking. But so much of what Michigan’s offense is right now is choice.
The confidence in the offense will build over the next few weeks, but will it actually be better by the time they head to Northwestern, or will we once again see what we saw on Saturday?
Will we again get suckered in by the potential of an offense that could be every bit as good as the 2016 offense, or will we find out that this is just what Michigan football is. We look at it and think it should be more, but if Harbaugh never takes the offense out of second gear, why do we keep expecting them to win races?
When Michigan Was On Offense
The Wolverines rushed for 58 yards against a Notre Dame defense that allowed 215 yards rushing per game over their final five contests last season.
Even removing the 32 yards lost on sacks and the 11 yards on a botched field goal attempt, Michigan still only rushed for 107 yards on 29 carries (3.7 ypc). Running back Karan Higdon rushed for 72 yards on 21 carries (3.4 ypc), while Chris Evans apparently didn’t show up until the second half, and only carried the ball twice for a yard. I don’t know if he was serving some kind of secret suspension, but he’s a guy that would actually help a struggling offense — as Michigan found out later in the game when they threw it to him twice for 37 yards.
This was also the much-anticipated debut for transfer quarterback Shea Patterson. Patterson was okay on the day, completing 20-of-30 passes for 227 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, and one game-clinching fumble.
There was plenty to like about Patterson, but there was the same old, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” that we have come to expect from Jim Harbaugh’s quarterbacks. Decision making continues to be an issue. And it’s not always interceptions. Michigan had a third down at Notre Dame’s 25-yard line, but Patterson ended up getting sacked for a 16-yard loss, knocking Michigan out of field goal range.
The receivers were okay, I guess. Nico Collins has stepped in for the injured Tarik Black and came down with a 52-yard reception. He was the only receiver who averaged over 10 yards per catch on the day, which gives you a pretty good idea of the kind of routes these guys are running.
Donovan Peoples-Jones — arguably the most dynamic athlete in the Big Ten — caught six passes for 38 yards. That’s two straight games with six catches, but he’s not doing anything with them.
Somehow, Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, and now new receivers coach Jim McElwain have managed to turn Donovan Peoples-Jones into Donovan Peoples-McDoom. This is a guy that Ohio State assistant coaches risked their lives driving through a blizzard for, and now he’s averaging six yards per catch while running routes like he has a curfew so he better not get too far from home.
There may need to be another independent investigation in the Big Ten in order to figure that one out.
The offensive line wasn’t great, obviously. They gave up three sacks and paved the way for a running game that found less and less room the longer this one went on.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan McCaffrey also got in due to cramps late in the game for Shea Patterson, which simply cannot happen. He didn’t play poorly, which is a plus.
Middle linebacker Devin Bush also cramped up earlier in the game. Patterson cramping up late when the game was on the line was something that the strength and conditioning coaches need to answer for. That was completely unacceptable.
Overall, this was not an offensive outing that is going to worry anybody in the Big Ten. Individually, there are definitely players to be concerned about, however, right now the execution is lacking. I expect that execution to be much better in November, but it will be interesting to see how things go early on in Big Ten play.
Entire article: https://theozone.net/2018/09/michigan-monday-worst-times/
I don’t know what the five stages of grief are for Michigan fans, but I imagine after this last dozen years or so, at least the first two stages are pure numbness.
After watching Michigan’s 24-17 loss at Notre Dame on Saturday, the third stage is probably disbelief that nothing has changed, followed by a fourth stage of anger at so many wasted years.
The fifth stage is acceptance because if Jim Harbaugh hasn’t figured it out by now, he’s no longer even looking at the instructions.
Watching Michigan’s conservative offense on Saturday, I kept finding myself wondering what Jeff Brohm could do with Shea Patterson and Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins and Chris Evans and Karan Higdon.
I have long said that bad offense is a choice, and for as much as people like to talk about Harbaugh’s complex offensive system, maybe it’s only complex to Michigan.
Jim Harbaugh has now been at Michigan for 40 games. His offense has seven games of at least 500 yards of total offense and nine games of under 300 yards. In 2015, the Wolverines had two 500-yard games. In 2016 they increased that number to five. Last year, however, there was nothing.
Each year the number of games with fewer than 300 yards has increased — from two in 2015, to three in 2016, to four last year.
Over Ohio State’s last 40 games, they have 16 games of 500 yards or more and just four games of less than 300 yards. Two of those 300-yard days came in the postseason, including last year’s 24-7 Cotton Bowl win over USC.
The Buckeyes have six 600-yard days over the last 40 games, compared to Michigan’s seven 500-yard outings.
Ohio State fans get mad at Urban Meyer’s stubborness when it comes to his offense, but even through that stubborness his offenses have averaged 480 yards per game since his arrival in 2012 and rewritten OSU’s record books.
The only thing Jim Harbaugh’s offense is rewriting is expectations.
I came into this game expecting much more than 307 yards of total offense and one offensive touchdown, and after considering all of the struggles last year, we can only blame ourselves for the expectations that we brought into this game.
At this point, Jim Harbaugh now has to prove it, and not just here and there. Just as Ohio State needs a quarterback who can get them over the hump against elite defenses, Michigan needs an offense that doesn’t allow opposing defensive coordinators the confidence to upgrade from a 6-pack to a 12-pack on the way home from work the Tuesday before the game.
I don’t believe it is time to panic. I lived through Ohio State’s 2014 season, so I know an offense can look average for a bit before things start clicking. But so much of what Michigan’s offense is right now is choice.
The confidence in the offense will build over the next few weeks, but will it actually be better by the time they head to Northwestern, or will we once again see what we saw on Saturday?
Will we again get suckered in by the potential of an offense that could be every bit as good as the 2016 offense, or will we find out that this is just what Michigan football is. We look at it and think it should be more, but if Harbaugh never takes the offense out of second gear, why do we keep expecting them to win races?
When Michigan Was On Offense
The Wolverines rushed for 58 yards against a Notre Dame defense that allowed 215 yards rushing per game over their final five contests last season.
Even removing the 32 yards lost on sacks and the 11 yards on a botched field goal attempt, Michigan still only rushed for 107 yards on 29 carries (3.7 ypc). Running back Karan Higdon rushed for 72 yards on 21 carries (3.4 ypc), while Chris Evans apparently didn’t show up until the second half, and only carried the ball twice for a yard. I don’t know if he was serving some kind of secret suspension, but he’s a guy that would actually help a struggling offense — as Michigan found out later in the game when they threw it to him twice for 37 yards.
This was also the much-anticipated debut for transfer quarterback Shea Patterson. Patterson was okay on the day, completing 20-of-30 passes for 227 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, and one game-clinching fumble.
There was plenty to like about Patterson, but there was the same old, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” that we have come to expect from Jim Harbaugh’s quarterbacks. Decision making continues to be an issue. And it’s not always interceptions. Michigan had a third down at Notre Dame’s 25-yard line, but Patterson ended up getting sacked for a 16-yard loss, knocking Michigan out of field goal range.
The receivers were okay, I guess. Nico Collins has stepped in for the injured Tarik Black and came down with a 52-yard reception. He was the only receiver who averaged over 10 yards per catch on the day, which gives you a pretty good idea of the kind of routes these guys are running.
Donovan Peoples-Jones — arguably the most dynamic athlete in the Big Ten — caught six passes for 38 yards. That’s two straight games with six catches, but he’s not doing anything with them.
Somehow, Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, and now new receivers coach Jim McElwain have managed to turn Donovan Peoples-Jones into Donovan Peoples-McDoom. This is a guy that Ohio State assistant coaches risked their lives driving through a blizzard for, and now he’s averaging six yards per catch while running routes like he has a curfew so he better not get too far from home.
There may need to be another independent investigation in the Big Ten in order to figure that one out.
The offensive line wasn’t great, obviously. They gave up three sacks and paved the way for a running game that found less and less room the longer this one went on.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan McCaffrey also got in due to cramps late in the game for Shea Patterson, which simply cannot happen. He didn’t play poorly, which is a plus.
Middle linebacker Devin Bush also cramped up earlier in the game. Patterson cramping up late when the game was on the line was something that the strength and conditioning coaches need to answer for. That was completely unacceptable.
Overall, this was not an offensive outing that is going to worry anybody in the Big Ten. Individually, there are definitely players to be concerned about, however, right now the execution is lacking. I expect that execution to be much better in November, but it will be interesting to see how things go early on in Big Ten play.
Entire article: https://theozone.net/2018/09/michigan-monday-worst-times/
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He wastes no time....
