Elliott Mealer, this has not been a good week

We saw yesterday how Elliott Mealer struggled to identify the proper defensive lineman to block on Devin Gardner's eventual interception. Unfortunately for Mealer, things didn't get much better throughout the day. One play in particular stood out even during the game: an I-formation run in which Gardner appeared to call an audible at the line of scrimmage, which, saywhatnow?

It's 2nd and 1 after Michigan's defense forced a punt following the Gardner interception. Michigan comes out in a traditional pro-set I-formation. Minnesota has stacked the box with nine players. Michigan will run the ball anyway, but that's not the real problem. Michigan will run a power running play (including a pulling lineman; Patrick Omameh) to the strongside of the field (bottom of the screen). Mealer has a defensive tackle lined up directly over him who he should block he up, especially because Omameh--to his right--is pulling across the formation. But...

...as the ball is snapped, Mealer totally ignores the defensive tackle (highlighted). Omameh has started to pull across the formation essentially leaving a wide-open hole for the DT to run through.

The defensive tackle is now running into Omameh, who isn't expecting contact (highlighted). Notice also that Taylor Lewan is also blocking the player that Mealer reached for, so Lewan, Mealer, and Ricky Barnum are all blocking one player.

By the time Gardner hands the ball off to Fitz Toussaint, Omameh has been pushed four yards behind the line of scrimmage by the unblocked defensive tackle....

... who runs over Toussaint in the backfield for a four-yard loss.

Video

The Takeaway
Elliott Mealer is not working out. Mealer has struggled all season, but it hasn't been quite as apparent until this game. I don't know how much of this performance falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff (Mealer looks totally unaware of his responsibilities) and how much is Mealer just failing to get the job done. I'm inclined to think the latter because of how well the coaching staff has done with everyone else. I had high hopes for Mealer this season as someone who was recruited by Carr and finally getting the chance to work in a system like that again, but he's clearly in over his head. Getting beaten by a defender is one thing, but Mealer doesn't even appear to know who he's supposed to be blocking. I don't know if Michigan has any other options at center this year without burning a redshirt, but it may be time to start considering all options (at least if Michigan is back in contention for the Big Ten title).

How Vincent Smith saved Michigan's season

During Michigan's game-saving two-minute drill against MSU, one play stands out as the most unexpected and perhaps most important play of the game: Vincent Smith's 12-yard first down run to move the chains and stop the clock. The thing is, he never should have touched the ball, but because of a terrible read by Denard, Smith had to engage super-ninja mode to get any positive yardage.

It is first and 10 with exactly two minutes left on the clock. Michigan has just forced a three-and-out against MSU to get the ball back. Taking a tackle for loss here would be devastating: Michigan would either lose 10-15 seconds or have to burn its only remaining timeout. Michigan comes out in a four-wide, one-back set. MSU is in a nickel package with four down linemen. The playside defensive end is actually Max Bullough Marcus Rush.

As the ball is snapped, Bullough Rush (highlighted) is left unblocked by Taylor Lewan. The only problem is Denard is reading one of the linebackers and fails to see Bullough standing there.

Michigan is running the inverted veer here, so if the defensive end stays high like he is, Denard is supposed to pull the ball and head upfield. The linebacker that Denard is currently reading is actually the assignment of Patrick Omameh who is pulling across the formation. But because that linebacker is staying in the middle of the field rather than bouncing out to defend the Smith run, Denard hands the ball off.

Omameh has now pulled around the formation and is about to block the MSU linebacker that Denard was reading. Meanwhile, Bullough has started to move outside to contain Smith.

I mean holy crap:

[insert Chris Berman noise]

Denard squares up to block someone, but the rest is all Smith...

....sneaking through defenders to pick up the first down.

Video

The Takeaway
Under Borges' system, Denard has spent a lot of time reading linebackers on the option, but this is an emphatically bad read. MSU's best player had Vincent Smith dead-to-rights in the backfield on the game-winning drive until Smith reminded everyone why he's Michigan's best space player. There's a reason Rodriguez utilized Smith so much on passes out of the backfield and running plays: if you get him into the open field with a single defender, he's going to make that guy miss. Do you trust Fitz Toussaint to make that cut this year or would you expect him to try and bounce outside past Bullough? Not only does Smith keep this play alive, but he makes it past the first down marker, stopping the clock and allowing Michigan to set up the rest of the drive.

All hail Vincent Smith, Michigan's most underrated player for three-years running.

Preview: Purdue 2012

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Michigan vs. Purdue

Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind

Kickoff 4:00 pm EST

Big Ten Network

Forecast: Mid-50s, 20% chance of rain

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Last week
Marshall 41 - Purdue 51. With 1/3 of Purdue's Big Ten division ineligible to win the conference title and Wisconsin coping poorly with losing Russell Wilson and most of their coaching staff, Purdue was the hot pick before the season to win the Leaders division and potentially the Big Ten. The results to date against three mediocre-to-terrible opponents (and Notre Dame) have been vintage Purdue. The Boilermakers pulled off a late game-tying touchdown against Notre Dame before allowing a game-winning 27-yard field goal a little more than two minutes later. In addition to commanding performances against powerhouses Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Michigan, last week Purdue managed to hold off the Marshall Thundering Herd for a 51-41 win.

Despite Marshall's weak schedule (West Virginia, Western Carolina, Ohio, Rice, and Purdue), the pass-heavy squad still rank 60th in the nation in rushing yards per game, and were able to chalk up 95 yards on 23 carries (4.1 YPC) against Purdue. Meanwhile, Rakeem Cato dinked and dunked down the field and racked up 439 yards on 68 (!!!) passing attempts. Meanwhile, the Marshall defense is just as bad as you might expect when Purdue puts up 51 on a team: 98th in pass efficiency defense, 110th in rushing defense, and 120th in scoring defense.

Though Purdue led big early in the game, Marshall eventually cut the Boilermaker lead to 10 points early in the fourth quarter but wasn't able to completely close the gap. If you were looking for reasons why Purdue might be an actual contender in the Big Ten this year, last week's game doesn't offer much evidence.

Michigan: Bye week.

Offense vs. Purdue

Usually, I would put a picture of Denard here and say something like "It depends on how well Denard does", but the most important player on the field when Michigan has the ball will be Purdue defensive tackle Kawann Short. Short is a 6'3" penetrating defensive tackle who annihilated Notre Dame earlier this year and already has 4 sacks (tied for 20th in the country). While Denard's performance is still the crux of Michigan's offense, Short will largely be responsible for how this game plays out.

This puts a lot of pressure on Michigan's interior line, namely Elliott Mealer who will spend most of the game grappling with Short (or Bruce Gaston, who is also a load to handle). If Mealer's performances to date are any indication, Short is going to be trouble for this offense. We all know what happens when Denard gets pressure in his face. If Mealer, Patrick Omameh, and Ricky Barnum can't contain short, expect a repeat of Denard's Notre Dame performance: errant, back-foot throws and rushed decisions.

The way to slow down Short and the rest of the Purdue front line is with screens, which Al Borges fucking loves. Expect a lot of those tunnel screens to Jeremy Gallon and a few bubble screens that make you think Borges is changing his ways (hint: he's not). Otherwise, it will be par for the course: some inverted veer runs, high-variance vertical passing game, and plenty of under center stuff.

Purdue's defense is largely untested but might be good+. Notre Dame (Michigan's closest talent equivalent on Purdue's schedule) went 24/39 for 324 yards (8.3 YPC) through the air, but only managed 52 yards on 34 carries. You can thank Short for that kind of performance. Then again, the Irish only managed 3 YPC against Michigan, so it's more likely that Notre Dame's offense is terrible. Regardless, if Michigan is going to win this game, the interior line is going to need to play lots better than they did against Notre Dame and Denard will need to be significantly improved. The takeaway: be scared of Purdue's defensive tackles and basically no one else.

Defense vs. Purdue

With Robert Marve (likely) out with an ACL injury, the quarterbacking duties once again fall on the shoulder of Caleb TerBush. TerBush's statline for the season is very Purdue: 6.64 YPA, 7 TDs, 4 INTs, and 49 yards on 20 rushing attempts. When you think of Purdue, you think of TerBush.

All of that is not his fault, however. He's not working with very many weapons. Hey, remember that time that Roy Roundtree was kind of a "get" for Purdue and then Rich Rodriguez stole him and then he had a good season and then he reminded everyone why he was a Purdue commit in the first place? Yeah, well, Purdue's commits committed to and then attended Pudue, so, when thinking about this wide receiver crops, just think of Roy Roundtree minus the breakout season. Currently playing the role of Best Roundtree is Antavian Edison, who leads the team with 285 yards on 24 catches.

Carrying the rock primarily will be Akeem Shavers who is averaging 4.1 YPC on 58 attempts, but 11 players on Purdue's roster have carried the ball more than twice this year. Key to stopping Purdue's rushing game (which, for the record, does rank 32nd in the nation in yards per game) will be edge responsibility, per usual. No one on the Boilermaker roster is much of a gamechanger though. Michigan will have to contend with wide-receiver jet sweeps and probably a few option looks during the game, but this is the kind of straightforward, non-threatening rushing attack that Mattison should be able to shut down.

The good news for Michigan's defense is that the Notre Dame game was a revelation for the defensive line, though as mentioned above, Notre Dame's offense is probably not very good. If Will Campbell and Quinton Washington can build upon the performance they showed last week, the defense might not be as terrifying every week. The real players to watch, however, will be the linebackers. Purdue's short passing game and rushing attack will test Michigan's young linebackers.

Speaking of Purdue's passing attack, JT Floyd is going to have a good game. Last year, Floyd specialized in jumping short routes and being aggressive on dink-and-dunk teams. Though he's been a borderline liability this season, Floyd has a big bounce back game and returns to the aggressive, attacking corner Michigan fans came to love last year. Raymon Taylor, however, will probably be victimized a number of times tomorrow as his youth will lend itself to cushions that are too big and a few missed tackles on short routes.

Prediction
How does Michigan win. The key to winning this game is controlling Kawann Short. If Michigan's interior line can shut him down or at least limit his effectiveness, Denard should find plenty of time to find open receivers and running lanes. Stopping Short is just as critical in the running game. Fitz Toussaint has struggled all season, largely because Michigan's offensive line has been getting dominated. Getting Toussaint room to run and space in the backfield will be crucial.

Defensively, Floyd, Courtney Avery, and Taylor need to make sure tackles and break up some of Purdue's short passing routes. The Boilermakers will have some frustrating long drives, but key to stopping them is forcing penalties (on the shoulders of the defensive line) and breaking up a few short passes.

How does Purdue win. Kawann Short. If he plays to his potential, he should crush the Michigan offensive line, at which point, it's up to the Purdue secondary to pick off Denard's sure-to-be errant throws. Short will also disrupt the Michigan running game which hasn't been able to get off the ground all season.

Offensively for Purdue, they need TerBush to take care of the ball, complete everything underneath, and manage the game. TerBush doesn't have the arm or legs to really punish Michigan's defense, even when it becomes undisciplined. If he doesn't have any crucial mistakes this game, Purdue could find a way to march slowly down the field as Michigan struggles to get pressure on short drops.

Arbitrary percentage Michigan wins: 58.34%

Final prediction: It's hard being optimistic about this game given Short and Denard's most recent performance. Michigan's offense is going to stall a lot in this game. But I'm not sure that Purdue's offense will have much success. The over/under for this game is somewhere in the mid- to high-50s, which, if I were a betting man, I'd take the under. This is a low-scoring game with both quarterbacks making a number of mistakes. Short's strength and Michigan's interior line weaknesses actually dictate how this game goes, but Denard breaks a long run that ends up being the difference. Michigan 17 - Purdue 16.

Packaged plays

Throughout the season, Michigan has been showing bubble screen motion by their slot receivers on running plays. This was something I took note of after the Air Force game:

The other think to watch, which isn't pertinent to the play, is Jeremy Gallon at the bottom of the screen, who bends out for a screen pass that isn't thrown. Michigan showed this motion a lot in the first two weeks but only threw the screen twice (both against Alabama, both for 8-yard gains). The Air Force defenders don't look at Gallon on this play, despite him waiting in the flat with a blocker in front of him. My hope is that eventually, this becomes a read for Denard and isn't just smoke and mirrors. If Borges is trying to use this formation/motion to draw defenders and keep the defense honest, opposing defenses actually have to react to it or Michigan will be wasting blockers who could be downfield.

As reader Ryan pointed out in the comments of yesterday's post and what became obvious as I rewatched the UMass game is that Borges has actually started to use that slot receiver motion in plays by packaging running and passing comments. Says Ryan:

I actually wonder if this is a 'packaged play,' employed by spread offenses like WVU, Oklahoma St and Oregon. Chris Brown has a write up about it here:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8287610/packaged-plays-rethinking-concept-modern-play-calling

It appears that the offensive linemen are run blocking and the quarterback has the option to hand it off or throw based off of what a read does... watching clips of the other schools running this concept shows their offensive lineman get a little downfield as well

This is more or less spot on, but let's take an example of what Michigan was doing throughout the UMass game.

It's early in the first quarter still and Michigan comes out with a 3-WR, two-back shotgun set. UMass is is a base 4-3 defensive look.

As the ball is snapped, the strongside defensive end (highlighted) is left unblocked. Denard will read him on this play. Notice also: right guard Patrick Omameh will begin to pull across the formation and Jeremy Gallon will begin to bow out for a bubble screen in the slot.

Denard is still reading the highlighted defensive end who is staying high and forcing a handoff to Fitz Toussaint. But OH MY GOD LOOK AT GALLON! (OMGLAG!)

Because the defensive end stays high, Denard is forced to hand the ball off to Toussaint despite OMGLAG!

Michigan's blocking gets messed up on the playside (highlighted). Omameh comes inside the formation looking for a block when he should have bounced outside to block the free defender.

Omameh (highlighted) is now blocking no one and Toussaint is forced to cut back inside where UMass' backside defenders are collapsing.

Toussaint is expectedly swallowed.

Video

The Takeaway
OMGLAG! Denard made the correct read here. His job is to check the unblocked defensive end. If that defender crashes down on the running back, Denard pulls the ball out and (probably) throws the bubble screen to Gallon unless he's covered, at which point Denard would take off. But there's a problem with not having checks at the line of scrimmage:

The closest defender to Gallon is a linebacker who Gallon will run away from. The only other unblocked guy between Gallon and the endzone is a safety that's playing 13 yards off the line of scrimmage. I know that Borges probably won't ever install pre-snap checks, but it's plays like this that are infuriating. Rather than a one-yard loss, UMass is gifting Michigan at least 8 yards here and possibly a touchdown if Gallon can make one player miss in space.

Packaging plays. I like that Borges is packaging plays here. The problem with this and similar packages however, is that the offense is optioning a defender who will most likely force the ball out of Denard's hands. Teams would rather see anyone other than Denard carrying the ball, so they instruct their defensive ends to force the handoff. It's possible that whenever a defensive end fails to force the handoff, the remaining defenders will overreact to Denard carrying the ball who can dump it into the flat for the screen.

As for whether or not this is actually a packaged play, I think it is. After Denard hands the ball off, he turns and fakes the bubble screen to Gallon. On traditional read option plays, when the QB hands the ball off, he often runs upfield to complete the fake and draw more defenders. It will be interesting to see how these packaged concepts develop throughout the year, but it's nice to see them starting now.

QB Oh Noes: The Return (also, illegal man downfield)

Another fun trick that Al Borges brought back from the Rodriguez regime is the ever-deadly QB Oh Noes. Denard and Roy Roundtree rode this play to become one of the most dynamic QB-WR duos in the Big Ten in 2010. Once this was excised from the playbook, Roundtree's numbers fell off a cliff. So did Denard's, for what it's worth.

It's the first drive of the game and Michigan coems out in a two-TE set with two receivers split out to Denard's left. Fitz Toussaint is lined up in the backfield next to Denard.

As the ball is snapped, Michigan's two receivers as well as Devin Funchess (TE on the top of the screen) release. Denard immediately looks out to the nickelback lined up over Michigan's slot receiver. Toussaint will come across Denard's face for a handoff.

At this point, Denard sees what he wants: UMass' secondary hasn't moved and more importantly, the linebackers are staring into the backfield and ignoring Devin Funchess (arrow) who has a clear lane through the center of the field.

Denard is pulling back to throw to Funchess who is wide open. There's only one problem: Patrick Omameh (highlighted) who is an ineligible receiver, is already two yards beyond the line of scrimmage. This, as you might already know, is a penalty.

As Denard lets go of the ball, Omameh is already four yards downfield run blocking. This is still illegal.

Ball in the air, Omameh blocking downfield...

...touchdown. No flags. Wheeee.

Video

The Takeaway
This is super illegal. Michigan should have been flagged and the touchdown should have been taken away. If the UMass linebackers were keying on Michigan's guards for run/pass clues, having one of the guards release 5 yards downfield on the snap is a pretty clear sign that this is a running play. Look at the offensive line on the first QB Oh Noes of 2010:

The line of scrimmage here is the 31 yard line. The furthest any of Michigan's linemen get upfield before the throw is the 30 yard line. That's a tough call for the refs to make. Omameh scampering downfield is not.

The positive sign from this play, however, is that Borges appears to be learning how to use the threat of Denard's legs as a way to set up easy completions. The one tweak here is the use of Devin Funchess to catch the seam route rather than a slot receiver. One of the concerns with this personnel is that if Funchess can't develop into a reliable run-blocker, defenses will start keying in on him as a receiver and disregard the play action. But that's a worry for another time. Right now, Funchess is a problem for just about every defense and it's nice to see Borges utilizing his skillset.

Missed blocks vs. Air Force

After Saturday's game, everyone is in panic mode concerning the offensive line, myself included:

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.

Rewatching the game, there are a lot of different plays where Michigan's offensive line just gets beat, but there were also plays that it's clear the restructured offensive line just needs more time to play together.

On the first play of Michigan's second drive, the team comes out in a three-wide set with stacked receivers to Denard's right. Fitz Toussaint and Stephen Hopkins are flanking Denard in the backfield. The playcall is a QB lead draw.

When the ball is snapped, center Elliott Mealer gets immediately into the Air Force nose tackle. Though he'll end up being at least partially at fault for the result of this play, how quickly he gets off the ball is impressive.

After pushing the nose tackle toward Patrick Omameh, Mealer begins to release to the second level to block the Air Force linebackers. Unfortunately, he identifies the wrong linebacker to block...

....and the inside 'backer has a step on Mealer.

Not only has Mealer been beaten by the inside linebacker, but next to him, Omameh is unable to block the nose tackle (highlighted).

Air Force now has two tacklers behind the offensive line and only Hopkins available to block them.

Denard has to juke the first defender and is eventually wrapped up behind the line of scrimmage.

Video

The Takeaway
A few things here. First, I believe this is a man-blocking scheme with a double team at the point of attack. I think Mealer is right to release to the second level so quickly--Omameh doesn't look caught off guard by the double team, but he does get beat on it--but he still fails to identify the correct linebacker to block. Regardless of who is ultimately at fault, this probably doesn't happen with David Molk at center.

The good news is that the biggest problem with this play appears to be communication/knowing the structure of the play rather than pure performance, though neither Mealer and Omameh come off looking good here. With another two weeks of practice and a cupcake game before Michigan faces Notre Dame, the offensive line will have plenty of time to watch film and get this sorted out.

The other think to watch, which isn't pertinent to the play, is Jeremy Gallon at the bottom of the screen, who bends out for a screen pass that isn't thrown. Michigan showed this motion a lot in the first two weeks but only threw the screen twice (both against Alabama, both for 8-yard gains). The Air Force defenders don't look at Gallon on this play, despite him waiting in the flat with a blocker in front of him. My hope is that eventually, this becomes a read for Denard and isn't just smoke and mirrors. If Borges is trying to use this formation/motion to draw defenders and keep the defense honest, opposing defenses actually have to react to it or Michigan will be wasting blockers who could be downfield.

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.

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.

Long Denard TD vs. Ohio

Remember that time you beat Ohio? That was awesome.

So yeah, Michigan beat Ohio and that ruled. But they also did some things during the game that they hadn't showed throughout the season, the most effective of which was a zone read by Denard and Co. that MGoBlog long ago coined the inverted veer. Though Brian acknowledges that it isn't a veer at all, I'm not really sure what to call it. Given the pulling guard (as we'll see), maybe inverted power zone? I don't know, that sounds wordy. Maybe will stick with inverted veer. In any case...

Michigan comes out in a three-wide (twins to the top of the screen), two-back set. Ohio State is in a 4-3 under (hey!). Before the snap, you can see a blitz coming from the weakside cornerback (bottom of the screen). He'll attempt to time the snap but jumps a little early.

As the ball is snapped, Michigan's offensive line begins to zone block to the right. Patrick Omameh will pull across to the weakside of the formation. Ohio State's defensive line is slanting to the strongside, so Omameh gets caught up in the wash a little bit. His pull isn't clean. Fullback Stephen Hopkins is heading upfield to block the blitzing cornerback.

At the mesh point, I'm not really sure who Denard is reading. He is either reading the middle or weakside linebacker. Omameh unearths himself from the offensive line and continues to pull.

As Fitz Toussaint comes out of the mesh point, Denard pulls the ball, but I'm not sure why. If he's reading the middle linebacker (#6 in the middle of the screen), he should hand the ball off, but I'm not sure that's who he's reading. If he's reading the weakside linebacker (just below #6), I suppose he should pull the ball because he's further outside (?). Regardless, Denard pulls the ball.

Omameh pulls across the formation to block the weakside linebacker leaving Denard in space against the middle linebacker. This goes about as expected...

...Denarded

Denard bounces outside behind Omameh and gets to the sideline for a touchdown.

Lesson: Denard is better than you. Probably. Despite the outcome, I'm not sure if he made the proper read here. With Omameh pulling to block the weakside linebacker, it seems like Denard is reading the middle linebacker who diagnoses the play and is in position to make a tackle. But then Denard Denards him and runs for a touchdown. Regardless, Michigan didn't use this play all year until Borges unleashed it against Ohio State. There frankly weren't many new plays that the team showed on either side of the ball against the Buckeyes but they few that were deployed (this one specifically) were wildly effective.

Anyone with any insight into what Denard's read is here would be appreciated.