Around the Big Ten

[Jeff Buchanan]

The problem that Greg Robinson had to deal with during his time at Michigan was a lack of the right kind of players for the 3-3-5 that he was told to run as well as a lack of talent and depth.

I think the 3-3-5 would have worked and GRob would have looked a lot better had he had those things. The lack of depth reportedly limited tackling beyond set piece drills. There was apparently not very much live hitting for fear of injuries. That produced the horrible tackling we saw.

With that in mind, you can see why the focus in recruiting has been buidling depth in each defensive unit.

[Wild Hoss]

I never want to see an offense as predictable as M's was in Carr's later years when, IMO, his approach to football was eclipsed by teams who implemented offenses and defenses to take advantage of just the kind of football strategies Lloyd embraced.

Interesting to read this...below are some snippets of conversations I was involved with leading up to the 2005 Alamo Bowl game, based on observations of watching UM play, and especially some 2005 game replays on ESPN Classic the week before the Alamo Bowl. Some of the themes expressed above are reflected;

MI didn't show much effort in running power football, keeping mostly to zone stuff. Is that systemic, or due to the fact they were playing a very stout Ohio State defense? Probably the latter. The passing game was the usual Michigan fare; they farted around with screens, bubble passes, outs, hitches and the like beneath Ohio State's zone, then took their vertical shots when the odds were in their favor. As I told Cory over the phone a while ago, their wideouts are a little scary when they get the chance to attack the outside thirds. Great athletes, and as they have seemed to do for a thousand years, Michigan throws the fade and post-corner with lethal accuracy. They seem to depend on this too much to get them out jams however, especially late, hoping a great play by a great athlete can win them a cheap play for game-winning FG. 3rd down near midfield is a guaranteed Fade.


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Well I trooped through the Michigan State game too...I think I've seen enough bubble passes to last me the rest of my life. Their play selection was much more downhill in nature with their original OL and Hart, with a heavy dose of Power O. Still the same sissy passing game. I didn't catch every single play of the three games televised today, but I did get quite a few and never saw one single post pattern. I'm sure the opposing defense gameplan to take them away, but then every defense does against every offense and they still get thrown. I am beginning to see what frustrates UM fans about their offense.

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Much of this has been stated before, but Michigan by the end of the year ran not only a finesse running game, but a finesse passing game as well. And yet, they are still somewhat successful in this mode of passing design.

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Run game- mostly lead draws and power O leads. The lead draw is the finesse type, really selling the pass before teh QB turns and hands to the RB. Nothing great here. They can be good with the Power O play, but we should be well schooled in this run. Not much in terms of counters or stretch plays. They did run a fair share of unbalanced line against MSU, which enabled them to outnumber MSU (piss poor adjustments to the Unbal line by Sparty) and get the corner by simply outflanking them. I'd hope we are ready for this. Baylor tried this against us, and we were ready. They could always run back to the weak side, so we'll wee.

Pass game- lots of screens, as Hoss said. Screens to WRs and Rbs. Slip screens (outside-in) and bubble screens (inside-out). Lots of "get the snap and fire it out to the WR" if the CB is playing off 8-10 yards. They let their WRs try to beat the CB one on one. I saw a definite trend against MSU where they either lined up, or motioned to, a bunch formation, or de facto bunch set. The personnel could vary, but the formation and resulting pass route combos were always the same. Once they lined up or motioned to the bunch, the outside 2 WRs would release inside and run curl routes at about 8 yards in depth. These guys would get hortizontal separation from each other, to keep spacing. The inside most WR in the bunch (often the TE, but sometimes the RB who was offset in the backfield, lined up outside the OT) would release behind the other 2 WRs, and would just run a basic arrow route or banana route to the sideline.

On 3rd and long, they love to go to trey (3 WRs, 1 RB, 1 TE) and throw to the side of the TE and single WR. They motion the WR back close to the TE, and the TE runs an out, the WR a deep in. Didn't work great, but they kept running it. Near the goal line, if Michigan gets on a hash, they will throw the fade route back to the wide side of the field, and can do so with deadly accuracy. This will be a very tough matchup for us if we get in this position.

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I caught a little bit of each game. I agree with what you're saying: the ability of their WRs is very good. Avant can be a dominator. I like Henne; I think he's going to continue to become a great QB for them and looks to be a fierce competitor. As far as their passing game and what they try to do with it in terms of strategy, routes, etc. - couldn't help thinking: "Same old Michigan."

[entropy]

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/28455/sources-wisconsin-gets-its-man-in-wilson

Sources: Wisconsin gets its man in Wilson
By Adam Rittenberg

They're jumping around in Madison today.

Former NC State quarterback Russell Wilson is headed to Wisconsin to play football this fall, sources have told ESPN. Wilson chose Wisconsin over both Auburn and the chance to continue playing baseball for the Asheville Tourists, a Colorado Rockies Class A affiliate. The Tourists announced Wilson's departure Monday.

[entropy]

wisky the new BigTen favorite?

[WM Wolverine]

Yup, they were as good as anyone before Ohio lost their QB and they gained one.

[entropy]

I'd agree. I watched him play last year and he was NCState's team. Very good player. If he can learn the system quickly, they should be the favorites.

[WM Wolverine]

Looking over Sparty, they look really solid. They right up there to win the west.

[SeanB]

Nevermind my question. I read the article!

[Jeff Buchanan]

I saw some takes of Russel Wilson on ESPN today.

Looks like Cam Newton in terms of size and fundamental skills. He looks like the real deal but the film was against Wake.

I'm trying to figure out why he wants to play for the meat head when he had an opportunity to be coached by Guz Malzahn at Auburn.

Man, it would be hard for a young QB to come into a systme like Wisconsin's, learn the play book and be effective by the fall. Possible? Sure but that's a tough row to hoe.

[SeanB]

Maybe Malzahn ran out of preloaded ATM cards.

[Jamie H]

Not to mention, why would any QB want to come to Wisconsin for 1-year? I would think any 1-and-done guy would be looking for a place to put up pinball numbers and get a shot at the NFL, not a run-first shop like the Badgers.

[Hannibal]

Wisky has a better offensive line and probably an easier schedule.

[lineygoblue]

They're not on our schedule this year anyway. Who cares where he goes to?

[Jamie H]

Good point. If we are playing Wisky, it's for all the marbles.

[lineygoblue]

Yep. That game would be held in Indy.

That would likely mean that we beat the Schmucknuts. I'd love to see it.