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Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters that the offensive line game had improved.
Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press
Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson looks set to move, while left-winger Jon Runyan Jr. takes on Notre-Dame in the first quarter on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indonesia.(Photo: Brian Spurlock, USA Sports TODAY & # 39; HUI)
Michigan's opening season did not go as planned for the Wolverines, as Jim Harbaugh and the company are 0-1.
There is a lot of time to improve. But many questions remain.
More in this week's mailbag.
Q: How will you evaluate the improvement against a (perceived) opponent easier? – @MetaWootenPeace
AMost of the time, the Michigan offensive line focuses on this point. The Wolverines could not protect last week against Notre Dame and were haunted by some of the same problems as a year ago.
Inability to recognize and win stunts. The fights are fighting with athletics. It's hard to play a completely clean game, but that's what you're looking for in Michigan here. The Western Michigan forward conceded more than 300 rushing yards last week against Syracuse and averaged 260 pounds per run.
The Wolverines should, at the very least, be able to crush the Broncos on the ground. If this does not happen, there are serious reasons to worry. But for the moment, this seems to be a foot in front of the other situation. Michigan can not erase what happened last week. The offensive line probably can not recover all the doubters against WMU either.
But it can be functional and organized. Errors happen, it's part of football. But if you make a mistake, do it at least in unison. You will see if all five are on the same page when they start working together in concert.
More: Michigan football vs Western Michigan: screening report, prediction
More: Michigan football: How much can Jim Harbaugh change the meager offense?
Q: Does having an offensive coordinator contribute to the simplicity and continuity of this offense? Even if it's Jim's book? – @Scott________
A: The other day, a reader suggested that this became the new "why is not Brady Hoke wearing a helmet?" And although I can find humor, personally, I do not think it is as important as some people claim.
I can not imagine any scenario where Jim Harbaugh is the head coach of a football team and he is washing his hands off the offensive, giving someone a complete control of the maneuvers and actions in the game. I was wrong before, but having been around Harbaugh long enough now would be shocking.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh coaches September 3, 2018 in South Bend, Ind. (Photo: Brian Spurlock, USA Sports TODAY & # 39; HUI)
Of all that can be gathered at this point, it seems clear that Pep Hamilton is the top voice working with Harbaugh on what to call during the games. They undoubtedly work together on game plans throughout the week and, like any head coach, he receives feedback from everyone on his team.
Michigan had problems with pass protection and overall organization on Saturday. No matter what tempo was shown was not very fast and not very effective. This is not playing the call, it's just not being ready to perform something. The overall game plan seemed very clear: Keep things safe and low risk, hope the defense is an elite and get out of the city with a win. When they go down 14-0, things get tough.
And when you can not protect your quarterback, there is very little you can call to produce an explosive game.
It is a complex offense. It's just right. If you want to run a West Coast program, your timing must be exceptional and everyone must hammer the football assignment. The widespread offense relates to the reaction, it eliminates the pressure and allows athletes to be athletes in the space. Michigan is not a distributed team. He can add propagation concepts, of course.
But the biggest problem right now is twofold: the offense committed by Michigan must be able to understand what is happening, that is, the coaching staff. And Harbaugh must be ready to adapt and adapt more quickly in games when adversity strikes.
Simply placing an "offensive coordinator" in front of someone's name will not solve anything.
Q: Is the bad OL game more due to lack of recruitment or poor training of players? – @poppaTman
A: It has become very difficult to understand why this is a constant problem for Michigan. There are a ton of reasons, of course. Recruitment of workers over the years, while the Wolverines had this nightmare class in 2013, where five of the six offensive linemen signed left the program early.
This killed the depth and development of Michigan and as a result, players like Mason Cole and Ben Bredeson and Cesar Ruiz and Michael Onwenu and Grant Newsome (who has since retired medically) have all had to play immediately. Nobody could really learn behind a stable starter.
More importantly, the lack of accelerated development by coaches was clearly a problem. Michigan now has four different offensive line coaches since 2014. Ed Warinner has just arrived, so the jury is still there.
People can show what they want, the staff has not produced a good line yet. And for me, it's one of the biggest surprises of the Harbaugh era. The quarterback situation is the thing that gets the most ink. But if you asked me in 2015, considering what we saw at Stanford, what would the Harbaugh offensive line look like in the fourth year, I would have told you "very well" without hesitation.
This has been a headache and Michigan has simply not found a way to fix it.
Q: How long have you been on the pace of Michigan and what has been your worst reaction to the pace? – @ ELehman29
AMy first match was Brady Hoke's first game in 2011. So, ironically, Michigan vs. Western Michigan.
I will give you two: a victory, a loss.
The biggest reaction to a loss is probably Harbaugh's first match in Utah in 2015. Not necessarily because Michigan lost, but because many people were willing to throw in the towel when Jake Rudock became a productive quarterback after an exit. Harbaugh and his company held out and Rudock had a very good season. The line was also a nightmare and Graham Glasgow was able to circle the trolleys to put things on the right path.
Michigan, which was bombed by Alabama, sparked strong reactions in 2012. But many people were trucked by Alabama that year.
The strongest reaction to a win (it was the second part) is easily the 2013 victory over Notre Dame. People had Michigan tied for a big race after that one. A week later, he almost lost to Akron. Two weeks later, he nearly lost to UConn. In the end, the team played 7-6.
Games early in the season can become a distant memory in November. This is not uncommon.
Contact Nick Baumgardner: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner.
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