I guess our OL next year is Cole, Jansen, Hutchinson, Long, and, Lewan, given where...
- Thread starter maelfan
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What? We ran for over 2,700 yards and 41 touchdowns this year. Was it subpar in our tougher games? Yes. Did we have a semblance of a running game? Absolutely yes.
IMO a big problem with the running game was the running back himself. We should also be solid on the interior if we go Bredeson-Cole-Onwenu, and that doesn't account for the possibility of Ruiz snagging a starting spot. On top of that, a faster running back will likely find more creases that Smith couldn't get to, or find for that matter. We were a better rushing offense with Evans in the game, and we have a lot of carries opening up to go between Evans, Isaac, Higdon, and Walker.
I think our O-line will be just fine next year. Kalis and EM had some terrible habits and could not sustain playing sound for 4 full quarters. Mason Cole, Bredeson, Onwenu is a formidable line and likely one of the better lines in the BIG. I agree with the above post - a big part of the issue is that Smith had terrible vision and no patience. He was a fantastic blocker he would go towards defenders - he wanted contact and loved it instead of wanting extra yards. He felt like he could plow over anyone and he rarely ever did! I think Evans is the better fit for our system.
I really liked what Higdon brings to michigan offense. Can't wait to see what he does next year with another year under his belt.
I may have said this before but if you really want a great running game you have to trade a little of pass blocking for run blocking. What does that mean...it means having guys who are better at moving the pile forward and who can pull and trap.
Guys like Ruiz and Onwenu are potentially road graders. I can also see Bredeson and Ulizio as those types of guys along with Filiaga.
I don't see Cole or Kugler as those types of guys. In my opinion the key to running the football is to be able to push, pull and trap and you need guys who can blow people off the ball and find their blocks by being able to move.
The reason for this is the defense can be caught off guard (pun intended) with different calls and can where down the defense. Running the ball now against huge dl's is difficult because of their size and quickness.
UM hasn't been able to pull their guards for awhile now. You got to have a center who can push/neutralize the nose guard otherwise things get blown up. One guy as someone else stated can blow the whole play up.
Now if you have a great rb then it can offset some problems but 'we' don't have Biakabutuka on this team. The good news is Walker/Evans/Higdon can probably be pretty effective assuming a run blocking OL.
It's going to take some time to gell but I do believe UM has some pieces going forward. Yes...Smith was was too slow and that's on this staff somewhat since they also didn't have the OL talent either to make it work.
RM
Guys like Ruiz and Onwenu are potentially road graders. I can also see Bredeson and Ulizio as those types of guys along with Filiaga.
I don't see Cole or Kugler as those types of guys. In my opinion the key to running the football is to be able to push, pull and trap and you need guys who can blow people off the ball and find their blocks by being able to move.
The reason for this is the defense can be caught off guard (pun intended) with different calls and can where down the defense. Running the ball now against huge dl's is difficult because of their size and quickness.
UM hasn't been able to pull their guards for awhile now. You got to have a center who can push/neutralize the nose guard otherwise things get blown up. One guy as someone else stated can blow the whole play up.
Now if you have a great rb then it can offset some problems but 'we' don't have Biakabutuka on this team. The good news is Walker/Evans/Higdon can probably be pretty effective assuming a run blocking OL.
It's going to take some time to gell but I do believe UM has some pieces going forward. Yes...Smith was was too slow and that's on this staff somewhat since they also didn't have the OL talent either to make it work.
RM
