Preview: Ohio 2012

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#19 Michigan vs. Ohio

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH

Kickoff 12:00 pm EST

ABC

Forecast: High-30s, 0% chance of rain 

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Last week
Ohio State 21 - Wisconsin 14 (OT). Ohio State continued its meaningless undefeated season last week by beating Wisconsin in overtime. Wisconsin's third starting quarterback this season, Curt Phillips, acquitted himself well by completing 14 of 25 passes for 154 yards and 1 TD. Meanwhile, Monte Ball did his Monte Ball thing by averaging  4.9 YPC on 39 (!!!) carries. Sacks removed, Wisconsin actually managed 4.69 YPC as a team. Those sacks may be what won Ohio State the game. Defensive end terror John Simon was nigh unblockable, marking the team's four sacks. The rest of the team managed only five tackles for loss.

Braxton Miller had a typical day: 10/18 through the air for 97 yards, and 20 carries for 70 yards. Carlos Hyde also had a good game averaging 5.8 YPC on 15 carries. Despite these performances, Ohio State was only able to manage 14 points in regulation. In overtime, the Buckeyes got away with a couple of glaring holding calls that allowed them to march into the endzone on four plays. And Wisconsin couldn't move the ball at all, resulting in an undramatic extra period.

Offense vs. Ohio State

Despite the Buckeyes' undefeated season, this is not a vintage OSU defense. A quick rundown of their statistical rankings proves as much: 17th in rushing defense, 28th in pass efficiency defense, 38th in total defense, 34th in scoring defense, 34th in sacks, and tied for 77th in tackles for loss. Those are good numbers, but they're not typical Ohio State numbers.

The defense is led by defensive end John Simon who is a scary dude. On the season, he has 22 solo tackles, 22 assists, 14.5 TFLs, and 9 sacks, in addition to 4 PBUs and a forced fumble. The scary thing for Michigan's offense is that Simon will probably be lined up across from Michael Schofield who I spent the better part of the first few games this season bemoaning his lack of speed and strength. This could be bad. Next to Simon is manchild Jonathan Hankins, an NFL-sized nose tackle that has lived up to every bit of his hype this season. Hankins has 23 solo tackles, 29 assists, 4 TFLs, and a sack, but his biggest impact is the ability to get into the backfield and disrupt plays.

So running the ball on Saturday is going to be difficult. Given the weakness of Michigan's offensive line and the strength of the Buckeye D-line, moving the ball on the ground will take some sort of randomness. Fortunately, Michigan showed a whole bunch of new running formations against Iowa with Denard Robinson in the backfield intended to get to the outside of the field where Michigan can make hay against OSU.

the Buckeye linebacker corps is led by sophomore Ryan Shazier who leads the team with 68 solo tackles. He's also marked 14.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, 1 interception, and 12 PBUs. He is the heart and soul of OSU's defense, but he's also mistake prone. If Michigan can get him moving in the wrong direction on counter plays, he's liable to overrun plays. The LOLZ from OSU's defense come at the middle linebacker spot where converted fullback Zach Boren has taken over the starting position. Boren began the season as a fullback by moved to the other side of the ball when the existing linebackers proved to be miserable. Think Rich Rodriguez moving Mark Moundros to linebacker. How did that turn out? At the final linebacker spot is senior Etienne Sabino, who feels like he's been around forever. Sabino is and always has been good-not-great, and his numbers this season back this up: 24 solo tackles, 19 assists, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 INT.

So despite a hilarious middle linebacker situation, OSU's front seven is relatively stout. The weakness of the defense is, shockingly, in pass defense. When's the last time OSU didn't have a fleet of lightning fast corners that locked down receivers? Sophomore Bradley Roby and senior Travis Howard are the two Buckeye corners. Howard is the better shutdown man but Roby has more physical gifts. And neither of the starting safeties Christian Bryant and CJ Barnett are particularly threatening. Of concern for Ohio State is that three members of the secondary are in the team's top-five tacklers. They allow a lot of completions: against Big Ten competition, the OSU secondary has allowed QBs to throw for 144/256 through the air (56%) with 10 TDs and 6 INTs. Calibrate for the awfulness of Big Ten quarterbacks, and you have a secondary that's giving up a lot of completions and not particularly threatening with regards to turnovers.

With Michigan's newfound ability to throw the ball, this matchup actually slides slightly toward Michigan. OK, so Michigan's wide receivers are bad, but Michigan may not need to break a ton of long plays if OSU is allowing a bunch of mid-range throws that Devin Gardner has proven to be really accurate on. Running is going to be a harrowing affair, so getting John Simon blocked on drop backs (paging AJ Williams or Devin Funchess' non-existant blocking abilities) and giving Gardner time to survey the field and possibly scramble for first downs will be crucial for Michigan's offensive success.

Defense vs. Braxton Miller

So a few years ago, Michigan fans had to listen to that ridiculous stat that Denard Robinson accounted for 197% of Michigan's offense and every time someone said that, I got especially stabby. That receivers are not "responsible" for any of the yards on catches and YAC is dumb, but I digress. Now its Ohio State who has a quarterback responsible for their entire offense, but because Miller is an OSU quarterback and never gets injured, and because the Big Ten is atrocious and OSU hasn't played a decent defense to date, you don't hear the same conditionals about Miller's play: he is unequivocally awesome if you ask the media. And OK, fine, he's really good but he also has obvious limitations.

Miller is completing just 56% of his passes on the season with 14 TDs and 6 INTs. His yardage total is also fairly impressive but largely because safeties are bugging out against the run and getting caught out of position. He also has Devin Smith to throw to, which doesn't hurt. You might remember Smith from making one of the best catches of the season in week one. Or from any one of his long touchdown catches this season (he's averaging 19.8 yards per reception this year).

The rest of the OSU receiver corps is acceptable without a ton of gamebreakers. Corey Brown leads the team in receptions but is basically just a possession guy. And the name that you already hate and probably will more after Saturday's game is Jake Stoneburner, a senior wide receiver whose catches are all one yard further than the necessary yardage for a first down.

So that's passing which will be an annoyance but won't be a major threat to Michigan's defense like it was in last year's The Game. Beating the Buckeyes stops and ends with stopping their running game, which is no small feat. The offensive line starts four juniors and a senior and don't have any particularly weak spots. Combine that with rumbleback Carlos Hyde and Miller's top-end speed, and you've got a scary offense. Miller leads the team in carries and yards (207 and 1,416 respectively) and is averaging 5.9 YPC. He has breakaway speed, but he's less effective between the tackles and among defenders where he doesn't have the shake that someone like Denard does. Keeping outside leverage on Miller is essential, and hopefully Mattison has the defense better prepared to maintain the QB than they did against Northwestern. Hyde, meanwhile, is averaging 5.2 YPC this season and makes a lot of yardage after contact.

The one thing that has gone unmentioned is Greg Mattison who was Urban Meyer's defensive coordinator at Florida. Mattison has struggled with option teams in his two years at Michigan mostly because his gameplan is deficient heading into the game. He has something theoretical that he draws up which doesn't actually work. Against Meyer, you would expect Mattison's schemes to be more effective because of his familiarity with Meyer's schemes. If the linebackers and defensive ends properly execute whatever containment scheme Mattison has for the running game, I expect Michigan's playcalling on this side of the ball to produce good results against OSU.

Prediction
How does Michigan win? Shut down Braxton Miller and don't turn the ball over. Despite Miller's gaudy numbers this season, the Buckeyes have had a tendency to have sub-par offensive outputs. Given the state of the Big Ten, that's especially damning. If Michigan can allow Miller to gain over 4 yards per carry instead of 5 or 6, OSU will eventually sputter out offensively. On the other side of the ball, Gardner needs to build upon the performances he's shown the last three weeks. Michigan has new wrinkles in the offense now that will allow Denard and a fleet of blockers to get to the outside, away from OSU's defensive strength. Hold onto the ball and Michigan can probably move the ball more consistently.

How does Ohio State win? Braxton Miller and sacks. Miller has to throw the ball a lot better than he has all season because Michigan's front seven is stout while the secondary will struggle against faster receivers like Devin Smith. If Michigan's gameplan isn't designed to shut down Miller, this will be an ugly, frustrating day. They also need a big performance from John Simon who, if he is going up against Schofield, will almost certainly be able to produce.

Arbitrary chance Michigan wins: 50%

Final Prediction. In my heart of hearts, I want to predict a Michigan victory. Gardner is playing really well, the defense has the speed to shut down OSU's rushing attack, and I firmly believe that Mattison will be a game changer. But... I just can't. This is Michigan and Ohio State in Columbus. Michigan has a QB who has been notoriously bad until the last three weeks. The Wolverine offensive line is bad. The defensive secondary is not good. And I can see nothing but Braxton Miller scampering for 19 yards over and over and over again. So if I'm being honest, 28-17 Ohio State. But like, fuck it, Michigan 23 - Ohio State 21.

Progress Report: The offense

I watched the first half of the Illinois game yesterday and one thing became clear: there wasn't much that happened schematically in the game. Michigan just dominated Illinois at every position. The only new offensive play Al Borges rolled out was the counter-draw that we saw last year, and the defense spent much of the game run blitzing. In lieu of regular content this week, and because the bye week came after only four games, I'm going to spend the week doing progress reports for the offense, defense, and coaching staff. First, the offense.

Quarterbacks

Grade: A-

Going into the season, we all knew what Michigan was getting from its quarterbacks: Denard is Denard, Devin Gardner was moving permanently to wide receiver, and Russell Bellomy was an unproven freshman who would get occasional snaps in garbage time or when Denard got injured. Six games later, that hasn't changed much. To wit:

Entering his third year as a starter and his senior season, if Denard hasn't already learned not to make those throws, he probably never will learn. Count on Denard to average about an interception--to 1.5--per game.

That's the pessimistic angle (the one that makes more sense in my brain) though. The other side of the coin is Denard, Heisman Contender. While I think that's possible, he's going to need to show significant mprovement over last year while playing a more difficult schedule (don't undersell this as a potential explanation for a lack of improvement from Denard). I've never seen a quarterback go from Year 1 to Year 2 under Borges/Hoke, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Early camp reports say Denard is playing extremely well, but camp reports are camp reports. Can Denard surpass his numbers from last year? Yes, but he won't come close to his breakout 2010 season, the kind of numbers he would need really lock down the Heisman.

Realistically, given the lack of wide receiver talent (about which more later this week), Denard's totals will probably remain the same while things like his yards per attempt drop as his deep jump balls increasingly fall to the turn.

For comparison, let's look at Denard's numbers from 2011, six games into 2011, and through the first six games of this season:

	Att/Comp	Comp%	Yards	YPA	TD/INT
2011	142/258	55%	2,173	8.4	20/15
2011 through 6 games	67/117	57.26%	1,130	9.7	10/9
2012	69/126	54.8%	1,101	8.7	9/8

I think it's hard to argue that Denard is anything but Denard. His stats this season are basically identical to his numbers from the same time last year. True, he didn't play Alabama in 2011, but this many similarities are not a coincidence. Despite "Denard Being Denard" being a bad thing occasionally (see: Notre Dame), Michigan is on pace to win its first Big Ten title since 2004 (!), largely because of him; take the good with the bad.

What's most impressive about Denard's passing output is the lack of wide receiver talent. Devin Funchess has emerged as a serious deep threat, and Devin Gardner is an erratic WR-convert, but otherwise, Denard is working with a bunch of slot ninjas in a non-slot ninja-friendly offense. But recently, Al Borges has changed to a quick-hit passing offense that Denard can excel at and better suits the receivers.

Though his passing stats mirror those of last year, Denard's rushing numbers are significantly improved.  He has carried the ball 101 times this season for 804 yards (8.0 YPC) and 6 TDs, a yardage mark that almost matches his total from the entirety of last year (1,176 yards, 5.3 YPC). Denard's improvement can be attributed to Borges' decision to use the inverted veer which appears indefensible.

Going Forward
Expect more of the same. Denard isn't poised to be anything that we haven't seen already. He's going to throw interceptions when he's pressured, break long runs a few times a game, and make some miraculous passes that you were certain Denard couldn't make. At this point, we should just cherish the last few games of Denard's collegiate career because Michigan is not going to see another player like him in Maize and Blue again. Next year is the Shane Morris show and a dramatic shift in offensive philosophy.

Naked bootlegs: Not working, but not for the reasons you think

Last year, Michigan ran a lot of naked bootlegs with Denard that didn't work because defenders are way more worried about Denard rolling out than any of Michigan's running backs. Case in point:

Notre Dame was similarly not surprised by the play and Denard did the Denard thing and threw a ball off his back foot that was eventually intercepted. I'm not convinced that this is a bad play call by Borges, however (about which more later).

Michigan comes out in an I-formation with Devin Funchess lined up as an H-back. Notre Dame is in a 4-3 look.

Devin Funchess motions across the formation.

As the ball is snapped, Notre Dame's defensive end Stephon Tuitt and the weakside linebacker are left unblocked. You'll see that neither of them cares about the potential hand off.

Tuitt continues to stare down Denard and isn't flowing down the line to make a tackle on a potential handoff.

Tuitt has seen Denard pull the ball and knows to head straight upfield. However, look at Gallon (highlighted; explanation below).

Tuitt is now bearing down on Denard.

Denard shuffles his feet to make a throw....

...and heaves the ball without stepping into it.

Video

The Takeaway
This play is not as bad as the interwebs will have you believe. The defensive end doesn't bite on the play action, but look at the strongside and middle linebackers in the video: both of them step toward the play action and are taken out of their coverage zones. Jeremy Gallon (the intended receiver) is wide open on this play because the linebackers bite on the play action. Are there better ways to pick up 12 yards with Denard? Probably, but this is Al Borges' offense.

The thing people seem unwilling to talk about: QBs get hit a lot when they're throwing the ball. Stepping into your throws and taking those hits is what great good QBs do. When Denard gets pressure, he goes into self-defense mode instead of standing in the pocket, delivering the ball, and taking the hit. Getting hit sucks, but that's what it takes to be a quarterback.

It doesn't help that there's a second defender in Denard's face because Michael Schofield once again gets beaten off the line. I understand the tendency to blame Borges for calling this play, but Denard is a senior quarterback that still hasn't figured out how to throw the ball away or refuses to stand tall in the pocket. Quarterbacks get pressure in their face; many of them make the right decision, but Denard never does. With an offensive line that's clearly not up to par right now, Denard is going to see more pressure as the season wears on. His ability to throw the ball away and recognize when a play is dead--or take the hit--will be crucial to this team winning games against more talented opponents.

Schofield: liability (Notre Dame edition)

After the Alabama game, there was panic everywhere--mostly here--about Michael Schofield at right tackle. After two games against mediocre-to-terrible competition, it seemed like the offensive line was starting to gel a little more, but Schofield still seemed like a liability. Against Notre Dame, that was confirmed.

It's early in the first quarter on third and goal from the 15 yard line. Notre Dame has three down linemen shaded to the strongside of the field and are in a nickel package.

As the ball is snapped, Notre Dame rushes the four players on the line of scrimmage.

A moment later, the offensive line engages the rushers. It is a little hard to see here, but Notre Dame defensive end Stephon Tuitt gets his hands inside of Schofield (highlighted).

Now that Tuitt has leverage on Schofield, he will bull rush him and deposit him in Denard's lap...

....

... and Schofield can't even take a penalty to stop Tuitt from getting the sack, though he tries his best.

Down goes Denard with Schofield running behind his assignment.

Video

The Takeaway
I'm already tired of watching Schofield staring down at Denard after a sack. You can make excuses for the level of competition--Tuitt already has six sacks this season--but Schofield's inability to hold up against top-level competition is a huge problem. On this play, he was matched up one-on-one with a defensive end who simply ran through him. If he doesn't possess the speed to pass protect against speed rushers and gets blown off the line against bull rushes, teams will continue to attack him throughout the season. This is going to be a major point of concern all year.

The inverted veer: blocking still an issue

One of the most frustrating aspects of Michigan's running game since Brady Hoke arrived has been the non-option option. Hoke's tendency to run power schemes with a pulling lineman and helmet-on-helmet blocking has led to Denard running read option plays where no defender is actually optioned. One of the things I noticed immediately against UMass was that Michigan was actually optioning defenders again.

It is early in Michigan's first drive of the game. Here, they will run an inverted veer option. This play is intended to get Denard running vertically, or the running back horizontally depending on how it's defended. Denard will read the weakside defensive end (highlighted).

As the ball is snapped, Michael Schofield and Patrick Omameh double team the weakside defensive tackle. The weakside defensive end was left unblocked. Notice also that Michigan's left guard Ricky Barnum is pulling across the formation to the weakside.

Denard is now reading the weakside defensive end (highlighted). Barnum (arrow) is pulling across the formation. Last year, Michigan used this play a lot against Ohio State, but the pulling guard would often engage the unblocked defensive end (more about this later). In this instance, he runs by him to get to the second level.

Denard continues to read the defensive end. Barnum continues to the second level.

The defensive end gets too far upfield (probably; you'll see Denard just barely slips by him) so Denard pulls the ball and begins running upfield.

Denard is running by the weakside defensive end. Barnum (highlighted) is looking for someone to block downfield. He'll eventually block the man in front of him that Michael Schofield is currently engaged with.

Denard just barely sneaks by the defensive end. Schofield is losing his block (highlighted), and Barnum is moving to double downfield. Despite Schofield being unable to maintain his block any longer, it probably doesn't matter on this play. It would have been more beneficial if Barnum got downfield and blocked one of the UMass safeties.

Since Barnum didn't get to a free defender upfield, the UMass safety (highlighted) is left unblocked and able to eventually make the tackle on Denard.

Video

The Takeaway
Michigan ran the same play against Ohio State last year, but there were either different blocking assignments (which seems likely given Hoke's option blocking tendencies) or Michigan's personnel struggled with their assignments in real time. Last year, Schofield (#75) was at left guard and pulling across this formation. Denard should be optioning the highlighted Buckeye defender, but Schofield will actually block him leaving Ohio State's safety unblocked...

....

The way Michigan ran this play last year wasn't really an option at all. If you're blocking the player that you're supposed to be optioning, your QB is just taking longer to hand the ball off/run. This schematic tweak against UMass hopefully signals a change in philosophy where the offense will block defenders by optioning them.

However, it still wasn't run perfectly. Like against Ohio State, Michigan's pulling lineman eventually blocked the wrong defender, negating the numbers advantage that the option gives an offense. In both instances, the opposing safety was left completely unblocked and was able to make the tackle. However, last year, I had this reaction,

This seems like a repetition issue. Neither Omameh or Schofield have practiced this blocking scheme as much as they probably should, and pulling across the formation and finding the right defender to block is probably one of those things that just takes getting used to.

That said ARGHHH. Block the right guy. I wonder what goes through Denard's mind during a play like this. "Yes, yes, got'em. Remember, take a knee. Troll Tebow. Chest bump. Hoke Point." Tackled.

We'll see if this really is a repetition issue; it seems like it. With a new left guard, it may take time for Barnum to be able to quickly pick out his proper assignment. I'm just encouraged that Hoke and Borges have decided to actually option defenders.

"It's always good to win"

Air Force 25 - #19 Michigan 31
Preview

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Were you to look only at the box score, Michigan's offense against Air Force appeared more like a 2010 Rich Rodriguez-led team: Denard accounted for all but 7 of the team's total yards (208 through the air and 218 on the ground) and chalked up four touchdowns. But this is not the high-powered option offense that turned Denard into a Heisman contender. In fact, there might be serious problems with this edition of the offense.

Denard didn't dominate this game because he was Michigan's best option, as in previous years. Denard dominated this game because he was the only option. Not knowing the intricacies of offensive line play, it seems that the loss of David Molk has had a far more catastrophic effect on the offensive line than anticipated. Though that can't explain Taylor Lewan or Michael Schofield getting outright beaten off the line of scrimmage, it's clear that something is not right. After being unable to run the ball against Alabama, Michigan fans maintained hope: Bama is a defensive force with a stifling run defense. But after looking incapable of moving the ball against Air Force's porous run defense, it's time to start looking a little more closely at what's going on.

Without rewatching the game, the best I can offer is what everyone else can see. The offensive line just can't get any push upfield, which, against Air Force's undersized defensive front is a major red flag. It could be that the line is still trying to gel, but it seemed like Michigan was running power blocking techniques most of the game, which would negate many of the double teams that could cause confusion on the line. Michigan's offensive linemen were going one-on-one with Air Force and losing the battle.

The good news is Denard Robinson specializes in making something out of nothing. He carried the ball 20 times on Saturday, a number he only surpassed five times last season. Denard is always a weapon, but having to use him this extensively against Air Force rehashes concerns about durability. But you do what's necessary to win the game you're currently playing.

Through the air, Denard was slightly improved, bolstered by the emergence of Devin Beanpole Funchess. In Funchess and Devin Gardner, Michigan might actually have a pair of pass-catchers that can threaten teams downfield and in the red zone. We'll see how Funchess fares when teams actually guard him, but this was an impressive coming out party.

A win is a win, but Saturday's game did more to inspire uncertainty than confidence in the offense--at least the defense had an excuse for its mediocre performance. We saw Schofield struggle mightily against Alabama, but no one expected the offensive line to look so shaky against Air Force. Barring better offensive line play going forward, this season will quickly start veering off course.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Bullets

• So yeah, Funchess. A few of his catches were because Air Force just failed to cover him, but he looks like a serious receiving threat at the tight end position. He'll need to add weight, but that'll come with time. For now, he's the most versatile tight end to the roster.
• Fitz Toussaint struggled today, but that was the fault of the offensive line. There were no running lanes that weren't created from QB draw plays.
• I don't think the defense fared quite as poorly as the box score indicates. Early in the game, the fullback dive was making more yards than expected (this is either because the defensive line was getting pushed off the ball or making the wrong decision on the option; my guess is the latter), but after the half, most of Air Force's yards were on the outside. That happens against option teams. At the end of the day, the Falcons only averaged 4.1 YPC (albeit on 71 carries), which is well below their average.
• The Dennis Norfleet hype train will continue, but mark my words: he is going to make a catastrophic error on a kick return this year.
• I don't really have much insight on this game yet. I need to rewatch it and see exactly what the struggles were on defense and why the offensive line couldn't get any push.

Next Week
Alright, so let's try this again. Michigan takes on UMass next week and should finally be able to really dominate an opponent. The Wolverines have two weeks to prepare for their next real test in Notre Dame. UMass shouldn't present any problems for the offense or defense, so the game needs to be used to iron out run-fit issues and sort out the problems on the offensive line.

Shucking Schofield pt. 2

Shucking Schofield pt. 1

Earlier, we saw Michael Schofield unable to hold up a block against Alabama's weakside defensive end on a Thomas Rawls run. The play ended as you might expect (sort of; it technically ended as a holding penalty): Rawls was pushed into the backfield and taken down by Bama's weakside linebacker. On this play, Schofield (right tackle; lineman at the bottom of the screen on this play) just fails to make contact with the defensive end, allowing him a clear path into the backfield.

Michigan is lined up in an I-formation, two-WR set with Vincent Smith and Stephen Hopkins in the backfield. Michigan will run a traditional power-I run to the strongside of the field (top of the screen). Alabama is in its traditional 3-4 defense.

As the ball is snapped, Denard steps away form center and Patrick Omameh (#65) pulls behind him. Schofield is charged with filling the hole that Omameh just vacated and not allowing Alabama's defensive end (#49) to get inside.

You can see Schofield will not accomplish this task.

Schofield (#75) doesn't even make contact with the defensive end until he's two steps behind the line of scrimmage. Denard hasn't even handed the ball off to Vincent Smith yet, who is looking to follow Omameh and Hopkins upfield.

When Smith finally does get the ball, he has to juke immediately because the Alabama WDE is already in his face. You can see the weakside linebacker (#42) flowing downhill as well, but if this were blocked correctly, that linebacker wouldn't be much of a factor until a few yards downfield.

Schofield, who never got square to his man, is now chasing Bama's defensive end who is wrapping up Smith in the backfield. Omameh and Hopkins are both in good position to block downfield and allow Smith to get to the edge of the line for a good gain.

Because Smith is not superhuman, the play ends with Schofield (probably) apologizing to Smith as he picks him up off the ground.

Video

Takeaway
So those are two of the more egregious examples from the game, but they paint an unflattering picture of Schofield's run blocking capabilities. As I mentioned earlier, moving to the tackle position after playing guard last year is a big change, and this was the worst possible matchup to try out a new tackle. But keep an eye on whether or not he can adequately get to defensive ends and hold up blocks on runs to his side of the field. If this team becomes left-handed, that's just one more limitation that the offense has that perceptive defensive coordinators will attack.

Shucking Schofield pt. 1

Editor's note: For those of you new to the blog, this kind of post--schematic breakdowns and film review--is the primary content. There are a number of these posts every week discussing the interesting/awesome/depressing offensive and defensive plays from the previous week.

Also a hat tip to MGoVideo for being my primary source for downloads. And a belated hat tip to reader Tony Sinicropi for directing me to the cheapest place to buy the Adobe suite.

The amount of criticism Vincent Smith received after Saturday's loss seemed misdirected. People complained that he didn't break enough tackles or make yards after contact, but it's hard to do that when you're a 5'7" running back and you're being pulverized by defensive linemen. After watching the first half of the game again--boy, it's hard to watch more than that--one thing stuck out: Michael Schofield (Michigan's new right tackle) was absolutely dominated all game, which was one of the reasons the team had so much trouble running the ball.

It's the first quarter and Michigan comes out in a three-WR shotgun set with Thomas Rawls in the backfield. Michigan will run a counter to Rawls on the play

As the ball is snapped, Taylor Lewan (#77) begins to pull around to the weakside of the formation as Denard steps to the strongside.

A moment later, Denard hands the ball off to Rawls. At this point, Michigan actually has the play set up well: the offensive linemen are holding their blocks, Elliott Mealer has released to the second level to block the middle linebacker, and Lewan is pulling to block the weakside linebacker. If all of these blocks hold up, the first person to touch Rawls should be an Alabama safety.

Things still going as planned. Mealer connects with the middle linebacker and Lewan is in line to block the weakside linebacker but....

...Alabama's weakside defensive end has thrown Schofield (#75) aside. Now, instead of Lewan getting to the second level to block the WILL linebacker, he has to block the weakside defensive end.

Lewan engages the defensive end who is quickly heading upfield. Rawls has to cut the ball back inside where the WILL linebacker is waiting or try to get to the edge still.

Rawls tries getting outside. Despite Lewan tackling the WDE, he's still able to get a hand on Rawls and force him deeper into the backfield where the WILL linebacker can get to him...

....Rawls is toast.

Video

Takeaway
This is one of a number of examples of Schofield struggling in run blocking. His performance against the run is something to watch as the season wears on. While playing primarily on the inside of the offensive line last year, Schofield spent a lot of time doubling defensive tackles with David Molk. In our first view of him on the outside, he allowed defensive ends to rush by him and struggled to uphold blocks one-on-one. Caveats for opposition apply, but this is not a very positive first impression of the team's new right tackle.

What to expect: Offensive Line, Tight Ends 2012

Previously: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers

Offensive line projected starters (L to R): Taylor Lewan, Elliott Mealer, Ricky Barnum, Patrick Omameh, Michael Schofield

I don't know if it's fun playing offensive line. It seems like the kind of position that only gets press when they're horrifically blowing out their knees or missing blocks. But I have to imagine that it's rewarding playing in front of Denard Robinson: make your blocks and something awesome might happen on any given play.

Regardless of your feelings toward Rich Rodriguez, the one thing he managed to do was put together a solid unit of offensive linemen (sparse though their numbers may be). With the departure of last year's Rimington Award winner (center David Molk) to the NFL and last year's right tackle Mark Huyge (probably Michigan's worst lineman last year and the inspiration of the Spartans In The Backfield tag on this blog), Michigan has a number of holes to fill. Fortunately, the team has just enough experienced linemen to fill those holes, while Hoke and Co. made it priority #1 to recruit the nation's best offensive linemen.

Michigan's starters will be good. The backups will be young and probably good. But it's difficult to quantify lineman production. Since showcasing some undisciplined talent in his freshman year punctuated by false starts and holding penalties, Taylor Lewan has turned into the best left tackle in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country. Elliott Mealer will complete his tear-jerker story and take over the left guard position this year if recent camp reports are any indication. Ricky Barnum will look to improve on a shaky Sugar Bowl appearance that saw him chuck a few bad snaps by Denard when Molk went down early steps out from behind Schofield to take over for the departed Molk. Omameh will continue being Omameh: an agile, aggressive run-blocking guard. And Schofield will slide over to the right tackle spot after backing up Lewan last year.

That's about all that can be said. Despite a few new names, it's hard not to see this as one of the team's strongest units this year barring injury. The team has collectively averaged over 5 yards/carry each of the last two years, which is not something you can do without a stellar offensive line. Expect a few of these guys on the All Big Ten team by the season's end and some national recognition for Lewan, who, begin to pray now won't forego his senior year to enter the NFL early.

The Backups: Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson, Blake Bars, Jack Miller, Joey Burzynski, Chris Bryant, Ben Braden

Yes, four of the offensive line backups are true freshmen. Yes, the rest of the are unheralded recruits without much on-field experience. Yes, I am also terrified. The good news is, most of the true freshmen are highly touted recruits that come in around the field-ready size. Barring an injury to one of Michigan's starting tackles, the team should be able to (relatively) hide any of these guys on the inside. If Lewan or Schofield should go down for any significant time this year, Kyle Kalis will likely be the first off the bench at either tackle position. The rest will pick up time during blowouts early in the year as the coaching staff looks to solidify each position.

If you want to know more information on the respective freshmen, visit MGoBlog's recruiting round-ups (linked above).

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Projected Starters: Brandon Moore, Ricardo Miller
Because Michigan lacks anyone with the combination of size and athleticism that Kevin Koger brought to the team last year, the best bet for nominal starters are Brandon Moore and Ricardo Miller. Moore will spend most of the season as an extra blocker while Miller, at a slight 6'4", 226 lbs (!!!), will be the kind of flex tight end that is essentially a wide receiver.

Before I started writing this, I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I didn't remember Koger catching a whole ton of passes last year, but unfortunately, I was wrong. Only two players (Jeremy Gallon and Junior Hemingway) caught more balls than Koger. In total, the tight ends last year accounted for 23 receptions (235 yards, 5 TDs).

The Backups: Jordan Paskorz, AJ Williams, Devin Funchess
The backups are either true freshmen (Williams, Funchess) or position switches. Williams is a battleship: coming in a 6'6", 283 lbs, recruiting sites weren't sure if he was an offensive lineman or a tight end. Williams will play alongside Moore in heavy sets on the goal line. Otherwise, he's on the bench and getting into better shape. Funchess is a highly regarded, Ricardo Miller-esque tight end/WR hybrid. Unless Miller proves unserviceable, Funchess will likely spend the season bulking up on the bench. Jordan Paskorz hasn't seen the field in two seasons on the team. He'll be a non-entity this year.

All-in-all, it's going to be touch and go at the tight end position this season. Unless Moore proves to be a more agile route runner and pass catcher, chances we'll see the tight ends used only when the offensive line could use some extra bulk in short-yardage situations. Expect their collective receptions to drop considerably: 15-18 would be a reasonable estimate. Instead, Borges will likely try and spread the field a little more with receivers and open things up for Denard as much as possible.

Blocking issues on the inverted veer

Yesterday, I broke down Denard's long touchdown run against Ohio State but had trouble identifying who he was reading on the play. It was either the weakside linebacker or the middle linebacker, the latter of which seemed unlikely, and the former was blocked by pulling guard Patrick Omameh. Brian from MGoBlog clarified in the comments that Denard was reading the weakside linebacker who was mistakenly blocked.

He should be reading Shazier, #10, and he makes the right read. Omameh screwed up by blocking the guy the play options off.

Michigan used the same zone read play a number of times throughout the game, but interestingly, the pulling lineman (in the play below Michael Schofield) appeared to have the same problem identifying who he was supposed to block. This time, Denard could not Denard the unblocked defender and Michigan lost what could have been another huge gain.

Michigan comes out in a three-wide set with twins to Denard's right, and Kevin Koger lined up as an H-back. Fitz Toussaint is in the backfield with Denard. Ohio State is in a 4-3 nickel look.

As the ball is snapped, right tackle Mark Huyge leaves the strongside defensive end unblocked and releases to the second level. Koger is responsible for blocking the strongisde end. Schofield begins to pull across the formation. The rest of the defensive line down blocks.

At the mesh point, Denard is reading the playside linebacker (circled in red). Schofield is pulling across the formation and should ignore the playside linebacker and head upfield to block the Buckeye safety...

...but he doesn't, instead blocking the linebacker that Denard was optioning off of. The Buckeye safety (circled in red) who Schofield was supposed to block is now standing between Denard and Awesome.

Denard sees this and tries to cut outside.

He is unsuccessful.

Ten-man football etc etc. If Schofield blocks the proper defender here, Denard is running 91 yards for a touchdown. Instead, he's tackled for a two-yard gain. For me, this isn't quite as frustrating as when Michigan fails to run from under center. This seems like a repetition issue. Neither Omameh or Schofield have practiced this blocking scheme as much as they probably should, and pulling across the formation and finding the right defender to block is probably one of those things that just takes getting used to.

That said ARGHHH. Block the right guy. I wonder what goes through Denard's mind during a play like this. "Yes, yes, got'em. Remember, take a knee. Troll Tebow. Chest bump. Hoke Point." Tackled. If Al Borges starts integrating this play into the offense next year and the offensive line gets their blocking assignments in order, this will be a fierce rushing attack, possibly on par with the 2010 Rodriguez-led team. This kind of play is both encouraging and discouraging. I'll take it.

UPDATE. MGoBlog has video of this play that clarifies a question in the comments about whether or not Denard made the right read (he did).