Michigan Football, Team 137, 2016 Season.

[SeattleLionsFan]

I was streaming the game and had a pretty weak signal so it was a little blurry. Does anyone have a video of them bounce pass?

[WingsFan]

I got it, hold on a sec

[Jeff Buchanan]

If you want to get to the underlying cause of why MSU ran the ball consistently early and why that early success didn't remain consistent enough to close the scoring gap, Seth did one of his best Neck Sharpies articles at mgoblog.

Cliff Notes:

What happened:

• Seth gives credit for Dantonio's offensive game plan. He argues for the MSU offense to come up with what they did required a huge amount of watching tape to diagnose the M defense and identify tendencies. Then coaches went to work with play design, then all of that was reped, we suppose, a bunch to get it to work as well as it did.

The reason it worked so well on the first drive:

• Don Brown, according to Seth, may have the best designed and coached defense against the spread offense in the nation. It relies on agility not beef. Winovich, for example is very agile but he's not big. Same with Peppers except more agile than any player on the defense. Gideon is a tweener, McCray more beefy.
  
• Dantonio advantaged his offense by playing beef on the OL - a lot of it. I'm not going to take time to describe the sets - read them yourself. Bottom line: MSU had more helmets at the POA than M did almost all the time Scott or Shelton broke a big one. That is to the edges (mostly) or for a couple of big plays over the RG.
  
• Some of this had to do with motions that were designed to take a LB or S away from the play side and a pulling G to seal the back side pursuit.
  
• Play design was intended to get Scott or Shelton face to face in a hole created by the OL with Winovich or Peppers. Didn't matter if it was inside or outside. All either of these guys needed was a one on one match-up with the right undersized guy and play design was intended to do that based on defensive tendencies.
  
• If you study each of the plays Danonio drew up just for this game (Seth diagrams five or six of them), you too will definitely be inclined give Dantonio credit and Seth remarks this may have been why JH was as effusive as he was in post game comments about him and how well his team was prepared.

How did Brown adjust to make MSU's O it less efficient:

• Seth doesn't explain this but the comments that followed the article did.
  
• Two things. (1) He brought Hurst in as a DT to replace Winovich on early downs. Winovich still played but less on the early downs. (2) He brought a S up. The middle became more stout and the run chart that was done up at PFF supports this outcome.
  
• Plays were still getting run to the edges and that is because the play design was intended to advantage MSU's offense by using motions (taking advantage of how Brown has his players react to that motion - LBs and a S will flow in the direction of the motion) leaving the play side with more green helmets than blue ones.
  
• The more the D saw this, the better they got at defending it. Hence the failure of MSU to consistently get the big run plays it needed to move the chains later in the game and remain efficient without a credible passing game. This game would have been a LOT closer if MSU's passing game had been better and their OL wasn't the crap fest it is.
  
• As the game wore on, Seth picked up a bunch of missed blocks and pulls by MSU's OL but left this for Brain to explain in the UFR.

What needs to be done going forward?:

• Iowa and osu can exploit what they saw of M's defense and how it reacted to what MSU's O was doing with motion.
  
• Seth argues Brown needs to have a heavy defense ready and repped. It needs to be deployed earlier in a series than waiting to run it inside the 20 - which Brown did but not before giving up that early first drive TD.
  
• Brown needs to break tendencies. That can be hard to do.
  
• I can't say he doesn't have a heavy D but with Winovich and Peppers in there it definitely is light and under the right sort of play design, can get abused. Danonio abused it. Give him credit...... then throw him under the bus for being the turd he is. Heh.

[WingsFan]

All right, sorry my hand was shaking here - just got done working out ;-) Clearly ball bounced.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-_2Bn1XtC8"]November 2, 2016 - YouTube[/ame]

[Jeff Buchanan]

Two forward looking takes from Brain's UFR that are meaning full v. the rest of the schedule:

If (M) comes up (against) some elite NTs they're going to struggle. OSU doesn't really have those guys this year and I think that'll be an even matchup. If M comes up against a Clemson or Alabama I don't think M will hold up well on the interior.

Cole got handled by McDowell who played like the early NFL draft pick he is going to be in this particular game against M. Other than this game he's been less than that. Goes to show how MSU DOES treat this game differently than others. Cole was also rumored to be sick but there's some trends here.


I've not looked real close at Iowa, Maryland or IU but M's interior line which needs to be solid in Harbaughffense should be fine against those 3 defenses.

Paraphrasing: M's O was prepared for and hammered MSU's Double A Gap blitz with a twist that has been a staple of that D for as long as Dantonio has been at MSU.


This blitz in particular was RPS'ed by play calling and play design for some big plays - read the UFR. Watch the embedded videos. Impressive.

I'd like to see a Neck Sharpie on this because I can't explain/diagram it. MSU isn't executing it differently nor does it not have the players up front who can do damage to offenses not prepared for it. M's was prepared.

Essentially, MSU's blitz package on D is excellent; it can be devastating as it has been over the last 4 seasons when M has faced it and when MSU's D is paying attention; it most certainly was in this game. The main takeaway is that if an opponent's D wants to or, in order to try to get off the field to get the ball back in the hands of their offense like MSU was doing in the 4th, blitz the shit out of M's offense, M is going to burn said opponent and not just once.

NB: Brain was death on the officiating in this game and points to a number of M drives in the second half that were ended because of an official making the wrong call or failing to make the right one. OPI, Holding and DPI lead the list. He notes that a potential TD Fade route throw that was spot on to Darboh had he not been held. A run play from inside the 10 and for a potential TD where there was massive holding that should not have gone uncalled. A phantom OPI call on Darboh on a legal pic play to spring a wide-open receiver I can't ID at the moment for a TD. A comeback route to Darboh for a 1st down where the defender came from behind, made contact with Darboh with the ball in the air, knocking him down rendering him with no chance to make a catch.

Brian thinks that the MSU coaching staff knew in advance that there guys were going to get beat and as the game wore into the 4th quarter and becoming more desperate just told their players to hold or interfere with a receiver until the officials called it. Per Brain they either blatantly did not call it or, if they did call something, they got it wrong.

I don't pour over video like the guys at mgoblog do nor do I have the kind of eye for the things they see that I probably won't. Watching on TV, I may not have liked the calls but I think they were called consistently on both sides of the ball. Brian obviously disagrees and felt it kept M from driving the dagger in deep and twisting it in the 4th with TDs on several drives instead of FGs and punts.

[hodgkal]

Completely agree with the article about why being ranked #3 in the country is way premature at this point in the season. Agree that we were tested and prevailed in E. Lansing but I'll feel better if we demonstrate dominance in Columbus. At the start of the season I thought we had a killer schedule but things have worked out better than expected.

I think the "magic" of the Michigan name unconsciously influences the opinion of some of those who do these rankings.

[AlabamAlum]

A killer schedule? Most thought opposite, I believe. It doesn't matter, though. M controls her destiny through to the CFP. That puts the Wolverines in a good position.

[The Oracle]

Before the season at msu, at Iowa, at osu was supposed to be as tough as any. That's what doc is getting at.

[hack]

I am getting sick of the coronation by the broadcasting teams weekly. They talk as if we're expected to be there.

[AlabamAlum]

Quit sandbagging.

[hack]

Sorry. I know how much that annoys you.

[AlabamAlum]

indubitable

[WM Wolverine]

Schedule was great for a 9-10 win season. Lots of mediocre opponents that say Indiana would've struggled with. Enough top 20 but they were mostly at home.

[Detroit Dan]

Schedule was great for a 9-10 win season. Lots of mediocre opponents that say Indiana would've struggled with. Enough top 20 but they were mostly at home.

Yes, this schedule has worked out incredibly well so far.

Having said that, who knew Colorado would be so good? They surprised us and many here lost heart, but Peppers turned that game around. Peppers also was big in the MSU game. So we're one of 4 unbeaten teams, we've played a number of ranked teams and haven't had a really close call yet, we've got a Heisman candidate, and we play entertaining football.

Other than than, we don't deserve recognition.

[WM Wolverine]

Sacked, let's score again.