Linebacker/nickelback blitz vs. Air Force

Staples of this blog last year were posts that lauded Greg Mattison's awesome NFL-style zone blitzes. Michigan didn't really use them all that often against Alabama and rarely had an opportunity to against Air Force because of the offense they run. But fortunately, on second viewing of the game, one blitz late in the first half stood out as another piece of Mattison mastery.

(If you're new to the site this year, above is a diagram of the blitz. Michigan's players are all denoted by their numbers. The lines with arrows at the end indicate a blitz. The lines with squares at the end indicate a zone drop. The light-yellow squares indicated the approximate defensive zones.)

With six minutes left in the first half, Michigan gets Air Force in a 3rd and 8 passing down. The team lines up in its Super Nickel package: Craig Roh (#88) and Jibreel Black (#55) at defensive tackle, Frank Clark (#57) and Cam Gordon (!!!; #4) at defensive end, two linebackers, three corners, and two safeties. Almost any time Gordon lines up with his hand in the ground as a defensive end, I get angry, but this is the first time Mattison has actually done something innovative with it.

As the ball is snapped, all four defensive linemen begin to rush. In a moment, Gordon (bottom of the screen) will drop out into coverage. Courtney Avery (playing nickelback) and Joe Bolden (strongside linebacker) are also blitzing. What this will do is overload the strongside of the offensive line with pass rushers.

Below, you can see Gordon dropping into coverage. Roh and Black both slanted toward the weakside of the field, forcing their offensive line couterparts to follow them that way. This leave the Air Force left guard to block both Bolden and Avery (highlighted).

The left guard decides to block Avery (highlighted), giving Joe Bolden a free lane to the Air Force quarterback.

Black and Roh also beat their blocks, so there are now three Michigan blitzers in the face of the Falcon QB.

Before getting the sack, QB Connor Dietz throws the ball off his back foot (hey, I've seen that before) out of bounds.

Video

The Takeaway

This is what you pay defensive coordinators for. Much like some of Michigan's blitzes last year, the defense overloads one side of the offensive line in order to get a free rusher on the quarterback. Often, Mattison is able to do that with only four rushers. Here, he uses five because, well, he wants to.

You may have noticed that Jordan Kovacs is all alone in the deep middle of the field with only zone coverage underneath. This play is designed so that the need for Kovacs to make a play is the worst-case scenario. The blitz is intended to force opposing quarterbacks to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible, hence the five underneath zones.

The good thing about this particular blitz is the personnel and zone assignments. A few times last year, Mattison's zone blitzes failed because linebackers or defensive linemen were asked to make unrealistic zone drops into coverage and failed to get into position on time. Here, the only "defensive lineman" dropping into coverage is a wide receiver free safety strongside linebacker. The rest of the zone coverage comes from linebackers, corners, and safeties who are already positioned near their coverage zones. Most importantly, the blitz did exactly what it was supposed to do, forcing an incompletion and getting the defense off the field.

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.

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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.

Will Campbell holding

Twice against Air Force, a play ended with a holding flag. The ref turns on his mic, "Holding," Woooo, "Number 73 of the defense." I had never heard of a defensive linemen getting called for holding on a running play before and since I'm not watching the defensive tackles for potential holds, I didn't see it during the game. But it turns out, Campbell basically tackled the Air Force linemen to stop them from releasing to the second level.

On this play, the hold didn't make a difference, but I would venture to say that the Air Force coaches ask the refs to look for this before the game begins because I hadn't ever seen this called before.

That's all. I was confused in real time and assumed other people wanted to see it again as well.

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"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.

Preview: Air Force 2012

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Air Force vs. #19 Michigan

The Big House

Kickoff 3:30 pm EST

ABC/ESPN2

Forecast: Mid-60s, 30% chance of rain

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Last Week
Idaho St. 21 - Air Force 49. Air Force faced off against the mighty Bengals of Idaho State last week and trounced them in typical Air Force fashion: 484 yards rushing on 58 attempts (8.3 YPC!!!). Running back Cody Getz accounted for the brunt of the load (17 carries, 218 yards, 3 TDs) while senior quarterback Connor Dietz did exactly what you expect an option QB to do (8/11 for 142 yards, 7 carries for 74 yards and 1 TD). In total, 11 different players carried the ball at least once for Air Force.

#8 Michigan 14 - #2 Alabama 41. Game recap. You know what happened here. Michigan came up against the closest thing to a juggernaut that college football will see this season. Denard struggled, the running game was non-existant, and the defense was shredded. It's been a while since Michigan was that summarily beaten, but that's what happens when you face the defending national champs and oversigning devotees.

Offense vs. Air Force
Read also: Fee Fi Foe Film

Gregory Shamus | Getty Images North America

With Air Force playing against an FCS team--especially one that was so bad last year (2-9)--last week's game doesn't give us much of an indication of how good the Falcons are. What we do know: they run a traditional 3-4 defense that was pretty soft last year. In 2011, the Falcons ranked 109th in rushing defense, 81st in pass efficiency defense, and 72nd in scoring defense.

Other than those basics, I'm not really sure what to expect from this Air Force team. I haven't had time to watch much film of them so instead of me pulling out a bunch of random stats, I'll direct you to Ace's Fee Fi Foe Film:

Air Force is woefully undersized on defense, which dictates much of what they do. Starting nose tackle Cody Miller weighs just 260 pounds and is flanked by defensive ends weighing 240 and 265 pounds each; frequently-used backup nose Nick DeJulion tips the scales at just 240, which Michigan would consider undersized for their weakside DE spot.

This results in teams running roughshod over the Falcons. Despite doing a good job of preventing big plays, they gave up 4.96 yards per carry in 2011, and Notre Dame gashed them for 266 yards on 9.6(!) ypa in their matchup last season. This is the ultimate bend-but-don't-break defense

How will Michigan fare against that kind of a defense? Probably really well. The return of Fitz Toussaint and Not Playing Alabama should help Michigan find its groove on offense. Denard and Toussaint should find lanes, and Michigan's offensive line should look much improved (including Michael Schofield, who struggled against Alabama, but will have a much easier time against the undersized Air Force).

If Michigan builds up any kind of sustainable lead (not a guarantee; see: Defense vs. Air Force), this game should be used as an open practice for Denard to get into rhythm with his receivers. Though Alabama was an experience Michigan won't face again, it was clear that Denard and his receivers have a lot of kinks to work out. We need to be careful though: it may be dangerous for the team going forward if Devin Gardner dominates a team like Air Force with shoddy mechanics. If he can't iron out his route-running and blocking issues, his utilization as the #1 receiver this year may be problematic.

Defense vs. Air Force

Via ugh

Before last week, this game seemed like a tune-up on gap responsibilities, assignment football, and tackling. In the wake of the Great Linebacker Implosion of 2012, Air Force's brand of option football looks like a daunting matchup for this defense.

You probably haven't seen Air Force play, but you may have seen Paul Johnson's Georgia Tech teams. GT and Air Force both run the wishbone offense, which has an A, B, and C back in addition to a run-first quarterback. The basic setup looks like a 5-man offensive line with two H-backs (via MGoBlog):

This is a triple option offense. The quarterback's first read is usually a dive play to the fullback. (I still have no idea who the quarterback reads here, but he's reading someone.) If the fullback dive has been taken away, the quarterback will pull the ball out and run a traditional pitch option with one of the H-backs (who pulls around the formation).

On paper, the base play in the wishbone is not all that difficult to defend, but offensive coordinators who run this system have hundreds of subtle variations on that play intended to block whatever player has been making tackles. I'll let Smart Football explain:

The Navy blog "The Birddog" has a great post breaking down elements of Paul Johnson's flexbone offense. The videos he culls exhibit something I've tried to explain about defending Johnson's offense: you can't just play "assignment football." That term gets thrown around by announcers a lot, with the implication being that all you have to do is "assign" one guy to the dive back, one to the quarterback, and one to the pitch back. The problem is that Johnson will figure out your assignments and change his blocking schemes accordingly.

If Michigan's linebackers weren't indecisive against the run, this would still be a fearsome offense to try to stop. Unfortunately. Defensively, this game will come down to the linebackers properly playing the pitch option, keeping the ball to the inside of the field, and reading and reacting to what the Air Force offense is doing.

As for the passing game, this seems like the kind of game that you want following an injury to your second-best cornerback (Blake Countess; Air Force rarely throws the ball more than a dozen times a game), but it's possible to see a less experienced corner getting caught cheating against the run. Though the Falcons' passing game won't intimidate Michigan's defense outright, Courtney Avery and JT Floyd will need to stay disciplined and not overreact to the option running game.

Prediction
How does Michigan win: Michigan's offense shouldn't have any problem moving the ball against an undersized Air Force defense. However, I expect the Air Force offense to put up at least 300 rushing yards against Michigan's suspect second-level defense. If Michigan is going to win this game confidently, they're going to need improved play from the linebacker corps. The defensive line will be able to take away the fullback dive all game, so playing disciplined defense on the edges is really all Michigan needs to do.

How does Air Force win: Basically, turnovers and a terrible performance from the linebackers. Denard will have to throw two or three interceptions, and Toussaint will have to put the ball on the ground for Air Force to stop the Michigan offense. On the other side of the ball, Air Force will need to break a few long runs against the defense.

Arbitrary percentage Michigan wins: 82.36%

Final Prediction: Michigan gives up a number of long runs early, and the game is relatively close going into the second half, where Denard and Co pull away. The defense eventually forces a turnover or two. Michigan doesn't cover (21 points) but still wins confidently. Air Force 17 - Michigan 35