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History - Coaching Staff
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First, lets dispell with the myth that, Harbaugh is great at going out and finding talented coaches "coaching turnover is never a concern"
Except it is a concern..... He hasnt exactly put together a Stanford level staff here
Coaching misses
- Drevno
- Hamilton
- Frey (1 Season)
- Baxter (1 Season)
- Campanile (1 Season)
- Washington (1 Season)
- Jackson (1 Season)
- McElwain (1 Season)
Conflicts in personality
- Wheatley (also a miss)
- Mattison
Coaches he probably regrets letting go at the time
- Fisch
Coaches that left for promotions
- Durkin
- Partridge
- Smith
Thats 14 coaches turned over in 5 seasons, almost 3 per year. 8 that were easily coaching misses and probably 9 with Wheatley.
6 were only around for 1 season.
This offseason will be no different if Harbaugh is retained as several are likely to be shown the door in the offseason.
So if we are keeping track on the continuity meter we have
OC (4) - Fisch (2015 - 2016); Drevno (2015 - 2017); Hamilton (2018); Gattis (2019 - 2020)
QB (3) - Fisch (2015 - 2016); Hamilton (2017 - 2018); McDaniels (2019 - 2020)
RB (2) - Wheatley (2015 - 2016); JayBaugh (2017 - 2020)
WR (4) - Fisch (2015 - 2016); Hamilton (2017); McElwain (2018); Gattis (2019 - 2020)
TE (3) - JayBaugh (2015 - 2016); Frey (2017); Moore (2018 - 2020)
OL (3) - Drevno (2015 - 2017); Frey (2017); Warriner (2018 - 2020)
DC (2) - Durkin (2015); Brown (2016 - 2020)
DL (2) - Mattison (2015 - 2018); Nua (2019 - 2020)
LB (5) - Durkin (2015); Partridge (2016 - 2017); Washington (2018); Campanile (2019); Jean-Mary (2020)
CB (1) - Zordich (2015 - 2020)
S (4) - Jackson (2015); Smith (2016 - 2017); Partridge (2018 - 2019); Who the Hell Knows (2020)
Thats 7 of the 11 position groups (6 I suppose if you consider Harbaugh as a constant at QB) that have had 3 or more different position coaches over the 6 seasons.
3 or 4 OC's depending on how one views Fisch's involvement in either his first or first 2 years.
5 LB coaches in 6 years
Just a messy situation that is another data point of why we struggle to get everything moving in the right direction, coaching continuity has been a continued red flag and the fact we still have significant deficiencies (as will be discussed in the next section) shows we arent near the point of getting it right.
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Present - Coaching Staff
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If I'm assessing the staff, they fall into the following buckets:
Bucket #1 - Should be let go:
Nua
- poor coach/poor recruiter
- the lack of depth at DT isnt his fault, but not getting much out of 2 experienced skilled DEs and not maximizing anything out of DTs
Analysis - Not sure one can view this as anything else than an epic fail
JayBaugh
- couldnt teach TEs how to block, so moved to RB which is the most instinctual position
- RBs have been average throughout his 4 years (sorry, this is not the best RB room in 25 years as some hyped in the offseason)
- took over STs (previously assistant ST coach) has taken an average unit that has regressed (Moody misses 3FGs - replaced, experienced Hart regresses, replaced, kick returner runs backwards and makes poor decisions fielding the ball/bringing it out of the endzone, awful "cute" onside kick vs MSU)
Analysis - This was a situation when Harbaugh was hired where you grit your teeth and said "if it takes hiring Jay to get Jim, its a worthwhile trade off" the hope was that he could grow into a good position coach despite his inexperience. He has been mediocre at best at the two position groups hes been responsible for and quite honestly, Jim hasnt been good enough to justify having Jay on staff and Jay hasnt shown that under different circumstances, he'd deserve to be here in my opinion.
Brown
- the book is completely out on him now and he's shown he's not able to adapt to personnel or to opponent
- has a personnel philosophy that has left the team extremely thin and talent depleted on the DL. The further the team gets from the Hoke DL recruits, the more his philosophy is exposed.
Analysis - at the time he was hired, he was the ideal candidate to counter OSU's run first power spread under Urban. When OSU evolved in 2018 with the pass first mobile QB in Haskins and now Fields, he became perhaps the most ill equipped coach vs OSU. Along the way, his defense has allowed too many explosive plays resulting in losses to PSU (2019), MSU (2020), bad bowl losses and 2 of the worst losses in program history regardless of opponent to OSU. He simply cannot be retained.
Bucket #2. Known deficiencies, but what they do well compliments what the other does poorly
Zordich
- very good position coach (5 years of a body of work as a position coach outweighs a bad performence with weak talent)
- poor recruiter
Analysis - I think one could argue that our CBs, considering they have been playing within the design of Don Browns system have been really good for 5 years, perhaps the most consistently performing position group (along with Mattisons DL's). You can't play Browns system without CBs that can consistently cover in space.
Now people can argue about the merits and flaws of Browns system, but the position coaches job is to prepare his players to play within those constraints. And he has, consistently prior to this year where the team misses Ambry Thomas terribly.
Moore
- excellent recruiter
- average position coach at a position where you can hide a an average technical coach
Analysis - Gentry had the drops, so too does All, Eubanks and Gentry never advanced as blockers and McKeon was really a non factor. For how much Jim likes to utilize the TE, it hasnt been a position group that has excelled since having Jake Butt. Given the recruiting deficiencies of others on staff, Moore becomes a necessity.
Note that applies to both: When Jim was hired, he said the cliche that a staff is only as good as its weakest link. To that end, both Zordich and Moore have deficiencies that don't meet that bar.
Bucket #3 - Earned the right to stay
Warriner
- fixed the post apocolypse Funk and Drevno lines to get back to respectability
- line still struggles with stunts and twists
- young group of OL that they talk highly of, but can reports coming out of this staff be trusted?
Analysis - Theres a track record here that he's probably the one guy on staff that has earned his stripes. Put 4 OL last year in the league, no surprise that the new group has had troubles, moreso now that there are injuries. Have to hope that their evaluations of the younger OL were on point and they can grow over the course of the season.
Bucket #4 - Not enough information
Gattis (2 years in system)
- still a very inexperienced play caller
- tough to believe the power running game or incorporation of FB and TE fits with the philosophy
- 5 games into year 1, it looked like he wouldnt make it to year 2 as Jim and Warriner jumped in to reimplement the power running scheme of previous years
- For how strong WRs were at PSU and Bama, his development of WRs here have thus far left a bit to be desired
Analysis - Its a fair question to ask if Harbaugh can coexist with a system he does not have experience with, is Jim fully vested? Or are we tryig to run a blended system? Is Gattis the right guy to take that step learning on the job given his inexperience as an OC? This was a gamble of a hire, will there be enough time to see the change come to fruition? Or will Gattis prove to not be the right guy? If Gattis isnt the guy, will Jim revert back to what he knows (i.e. promote Warriner)? Or will he try to bring in a more experienced OC with a modern system.
Many questions, not many answers.
McDaniels (2 years in system)
Analysis - Shea was in his 4th system in 4 years in what was McDaniels 1st season and was essentially the same QB he was the season prior (lower completion %, more yards, similar YPC and and touchdowns/int). Peters and McCaffery are on Jim. For having cancelled spring ball and limited pads fall ball, Joe is ahead of where I thought hed be for being so raw coming in, 4th string as freshman and 3rd string as a sophomore. For me, its tough to make an argument against the job McDaniels has done, the end of next year should provide better information based on Milton's development.
Jean-Mary (1 year in system)
- linebackers struggling with fits and assignments
- Barrett had a strong opener vs Minny, but otherwise, the group has stuggled to make an impact
Analysis - Like the rest of the defense, the linebackers have been disappointing to date. He is the 5th position coach in 6 years and did not have the benefit of spring ball and it shows. Ross and McGrone have played enough ball to be performing better than they are. Appaers to be a strong recruiter and has a reasonable resume, tough to discern where this will go based on the information available.
Bucket #5 - WTF
Shoop
- nothing really to say here. An odd revelation at this point in time considering when he stepped away.
Overall
Tough to make an argument that this is the type of staff you'd expect out of Harbaugh. It looks like another year where significant changes need to me made. Can Harbaugh survive a major overhaul of the defense? Given the history of staff turnover and misses, is anyone confident he will make the right call?
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Position Groups
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Quarterback
Remains the biggest disappointment disappointment of the Harbaugh tenure. He we are in year 6 with the first organic QB.
Positives
- Milton has tools, very raw coming in had very limited live action as a freshman and sophomore then unfortunately had spring practice cancelled and limited in pads fall practice. Some have been critical of his performance (I imagine general frustration for the teams overall performance), but objectively, he has exceeded expectations or at the very least has not been the root cause of the teams ailments.
Negatives
- it is justifiable criticism that there should be another QB on the roster further along.
- Peters and it appears McCaffery were recruiting/developmental misses.
- there is no depth on the roster. A school like Michigan should never be in the situation where the most tenured QB on the roster is a RS Sophomore.
Running Back
The most hyped position group of the offseason kool aid drinkers had many stating that this group was the best UM running back group since the mid 90's. No doubt replacing 4 OL was going to be a challenge to a realistic observer. But the last two games have yielded 108 total yards amongst the 4 backs. Tough to assess the Minnesota game as well, Charbonnet's run was on a defensive misalignment and Haskins long run was (to his credit) a cut back on a play where the design was a mosh pit, but we have not yielded an explosive play otherwise. Haskins is clearly the best of the group and I believe was the last of the RBs to get carries today. As others have noted throughout the week, carries should be consolidated to (1) Haskins (2) Corum (3) Charbonnet and Evans either pushed out of the rotation or passing downs only.
I'm sure there will be many unwilling to depart from preseason expectations for this group, but despite the OL struggles, to me it does not look like those expectations were justified, certainly not to the hyperbole of some.
Positives
- Haskins continues to run hard and has shown better vision than last year
- Corum has the most explosive first step of a UM RB in some time
Negatives
- rotation continues to be erratic and the staff shows no desire to consolidate carries.
- Haskins and Charbonnet are inside runners only, they do not have the speed to be inside and outside runners
- Charbonnet is not quick and not shifty to make a man miss in the open field. His run vs Minny showed his knee is healed, but runs where he is untouched to get to full speed are going to be few and far between. I'm not sure the ceiling here is what I thought/had hoped it would be when fully healthy
- today's college football is one of explosive plays and this group may struggle with that at least behind the current OL and until Corum gets more experience under his belt
Wide Receiver
A tough group to get a read on, but a group that is still young (could really use Nico) and has potential to grow if the QB play continues to progress. Will be necessary that a number of receivers step up given the difficulty in the run game
Positives
- Diverse group with receptions
Negatives
- Drops
- Sometimes struggle to create separation
- No clear #1 you can count on to make a play when they need it
Tight End
A positional group that has underperformed for years. What was a staple of Harbaugh offenses and player development has turned into one of extremen inconsistency. Eubanks can't block, All can't catch. Critical drops by All have stalled drives in each of the 3 games so far. Hopefully All gets things figured out, its tough to have him on the field dropping half his targets. 6 catches for 68 yards through 3 games is a major disappointment.
Positives
- If you can find any. let me know
Negatives
- All drops
- Eubanks still can't block/misses assignments
Offensive Line
The kool aid drinkers in the offseason would have you believe this line was going to be better than last years that sent 4 OL to the NFL. We were going to have more athleticism and at worst be at the same level. Realists look at a group that needs to operate as a unit and says replacing 4 starters is always a challenge. The injury to Mayfield is a killer, this group is going to really take its lumps over the rest of the season especially in run blocking. This team needed a running game to take pressure off of Milton and it looks like its going to be the opposite, they are going to have to throw the ball and hope that it opens things up enough to establish some form of a running game. With all the young guys thrust into action, how this group performs over the rest of the season is critical to what next season will look like, regardless of who is running the show.
Positives
- if you can find any, let me know. I suppose pass pro was acceptable in game 1 and ok today considering the reshuffling
Negatives
- run blocking has been bad in all 3 games
- MSU was a debacle
Defensive Line
So many things wrong with this position group its tough to know where to start. The coaching development drop off from Mattison to Nua has been the grand canyon. The combination of Brown's recruiting philosophy, Nua's lack of player development has turned a positional group of strength into one of the weakest on the team. Layer on that pressure is essential in any scheme, but especially Brown's and this is going to be an issue for possibly several years to come.
Positives
- If you can find any (outside of 1 Kwity Paye series vs Minnesota) let me know
Negatives
- 2 games -0- sacks, very limited pressure
- get walked over at the LOS on short yardage situations
- depth is a major concern at all positions, DT especially
Linebacker
A position group with plenty of experience in McGrone and Ross that shouldnt be making some of the mistakes we have seen throughout the first 3 games. The DL struggles havent helped and they have their 5th position group in 6 years, but you'd expect this unit to be far more impactful than what they have, or at the very least avoid some of the mistakes not commensurate with their experience.
Positives
- Barrett has shown he can be an impact player
Negatives
- struggling with run fits
- lack of pressure (like the rest of the D)
Cornerback
Clearly the weakness of the defense, misses Ambry Thomas terribly. Vincent Gray's confidence is completely shot, he's a PI/defensive interference waiting to happen, OSU is going to eat him alive. Defense switched to more zone today and got picked apart. Tough to see a path forward where this group isn't a liability through the rest of the year and possibly into next year. Zordich has done a good job developing corners in years prior, but poor recruiting is really exposed this year at a position that is critical to the only defense Brown wants to run
Positives
- Green has been average, often in position, needs to make more plays
Negatives
- No depth
- Too many explosive plays
Safety
Half the time you wonder what happens to safeties in Don Browns scheme. If they arent helping corners over the top and arent making plays in run support....? Tough to tell what impact the coaching musical chairs has had on impact. If Hill moves over to corner, Paige becomes an easy target for opposing offenses.
Positives
- Dax Hill is probably the best player on the defense
Negatives
- No depth
- Brad Hawkins has been M.I.A. for a senior
Special Teams
Positives
- Brad Robbins has been spectacular. Makes you wonder what Will Hart was showing in practice to justify getting the nod.
Negatives
- Hart was given the first shot at punting only to fall flat on his face
- Moody was given the first shot at kicking (I know Harbaugh says Nordin was "working through something") and fell flat on his face
- Jackson has been an adventure in kick and punt returns (fielding punts he's let hit the ground, or trying to dive today, fielding the punt that bounced over his head last week, running backwards)
- That onside kick vs MSU was egregious
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Final View
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Its tough to not look at the games vs OSU the past 2 seasons, the record vs Top 15/25 opponents, road record and the disastrous start to this season and not think the wheels have come off.
An optimist would say that next year if Milton takes the leap and the OL gets settled with a years experience that things may start to click. Milton has the tools of a pass first mobile QB that can really open things up for an offense. Questions remain about the synergy between Jim and Gattis, or if Gattis is the right guy. Plenty of reasons to be skeptical
Even if the offense makes stridese, the defense looks like it needs a complete overhaul in scheme (DC), position coaches and an upgrade in personnel. It does not look like a quick fix. If the season continues its derailment, what does a new contract look like? That is going to be a lot of money to buy out in two years if things continue to deteriorate.
This looks like it is heading towards an inevitable separation, unkown if it is 1 year, or 3 years, it seems a matter of if not when.
It seems obvious Jim isn't the same guy, in year 6, the team is undisciplined, has philosophy issues, talent deficiencies etc. All the cracks we saw in the RchRod and Hoke years. The optics of a separation would need to be well managed, he's an alum with a successful track record, should they decide to separate, they would do well to have an immediate agreement with a top candidate prior to making that move and ending up in another coaching search debacle. Given how prior searches have been mismanged, its tough to have faith the AD would be able to execute that process seamlessly.
Hope for the best, expect the worst.
History - Coaching Staff
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First, lets dispell with the myth that, Harbaugh is great at going out and finding talented coaches "coaching turnover is never a concern"
Except it is a concern..... He hasnt exactly put together a Stanford level staff here
Coaching misses
- Drevno
- Hamilton
- Frey (1 Season)
- Baxter (1 Season)
- Campanile (1 Season)
- Washington (1 Season)
- Jackson (1 Season)
- McElwain (1 Season)
Conflicts in personality
- Wheatley (also a miss)
- Mattison
Coaches he probably regrets letting go at the time
- Fisch
Coaches that left for promotions
- Durkin
- Partridge
- Smith
Thats 14 coaches turned over in 5 seasons, almost 3 per year. 8 that were easily coaching misses and probably 9 with Wheatley.
6 were only around for 1 season.
This offseason will be no different if Harbaugh is retained as several are likely to be shown the door in the offseason.
So if we are keeping track on the continuity meter we have
OC (4) - Fisch (2015 - 2016); Drevno (2015 - 2017); Hamilton (2018); Gattis (2019 - 2020)
QB (3) - Fisch (2015 - 2016); Hamilton (2017 - 2018); McDaniels (2019 - 2020)
RB (2) - Wheatley (2015 - 2016); JayBaugh (2017 - 2020)
WR (4) - Fisch (2015 - 2016); Hamilton (2017); McElwain (2018); Gattis (2019 - 2020)
TE (3) - JayBaugh (2015 - 2016); Frey (2017); Moore (2018 - 2020)
OL (3) - Drevno (2015 - 2017); Frey (2017); Warriner (2018 - 2020)
DC (2) - Durkin (2015); Brown (2016 - 2020)
DL (2) - Mattison (2015 - 2018); Nua (2019 - 2020)
LB (5) - Durkin (2015); Partridge (2016 - 2017); Washington (2018); Campanile (2019); Jean-Mary (2020)
CB (1) - Zordich (2015 - 2020)
S (4) - Jackson (2015); Smith (2016 - 2017); Partridge (2018 - 2019); Who the Hell Knows (2020)
Thats 7 of the 11 position groups (6 I suppose if you consider Harbaugh as a constant at QB) that have had 3 or more different position coaches over the 6 seasons.
3 or 4 OC's depending on how one views Fisch's involvement in either his first or first 2 years.
5 LB coaches in 6 years
Just a messy situation that is another data point of why we struggle to get everything moving in the right direction, coaching continuity has been a continued red flag and the fact we still have significant deficiencies (as will be discussed in the next section) shows we arent near the point of getting it right.
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Present - Coaching Staff
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If I'm assessing the staff, they fall into the following buckets:
Bucket #1 - Should be let go:
Nua
- poor coach/poor recruiter
- the lack of depth at DT isnt his fault, but not getting much out of 2 experienced skilled DEs and not maximizing anything out of DTs
Analysis - Not sure one can view this as anything else than an epic fail
JayBaugh
- couldnt teach TEs how to block, so moved to RB which is the most instinctual position
- RBs have been average throughout his 4 years (sorry, this is not the best RB room in 25 years as some hyped in the offseason)
- took over STs (previously assistant ST coach) has taken an average unit that has regressed (Moody misses 3FGs - replaced, experienced Hart regresses, replaced, kick returner runs backwards and makes poor decisions fielding the ball/bringing it out of the endzone, awful "cute" onside kick vs MSU)
Analysis - This was a situation when Harbaugh was hired where you grit your teeth and said "if it takes hiring Jay to get Jim, its a worthwhile trade off" the hope was that he could grow into a good position coach despite his inexperience. He has been mediocre at best at the two position groups hes been responsible for and quite honestly, Jim hasnt been good enough to justify having Jay on staff and Jay hasnt shown that under different circumstances, he'd deserve to be here in my opinion.
Brown
- the book is completely out on him now and he's shown he's not able to adapt to personnel or to opponent
- has a personnel philosophy that has left the team extremely thin and talent depleted on the DL. The further the team gets from the Hoke DL recruits, the more his philosophy is exposed.
Analysis - at the time he was hired, he was the ideal candidate to counter OSU's run first power spread under Urban. When OSU evolved in 2018 with the pass first mobile QB in Haskins and now Fields, he became perhaps the most ill equipped coach vs OSU. Along the way, his defense has allowed too many explosive plays resulting in losses to PSU (2019), MSU (2020), bad bowl losses and 2 of the worst losses in program history regardless of opponent to OSU. He simply cannot be retained.
Bucket #2. Known deficiencies, but what they do well compliments what the other does poorly
Zordich
- very good position coach (5 years of a body of work as a position coach outweighs a bad performence with weak talent)
- poor recruiter
Analysis - I think one could argue that our CBs, considering they have been playing within the design of Don Browns system have been really good for 5 years, perhaps the most consistently performing position group (along with Mattisons DL's). You can't play Browns system without CBs that can consistently cover in space.
Now people can argue about the merits and flaws of Browns system, but the position coaches job is to prepare his players to play within those constraints. And he has, consistently prior to this year where the team misses Ambry Thomas terribly.
Moore
- excellent recruiter
- average position coach at a position where you can hide a an average technical coach
Analysis - Gentry had the drops, so too does All, Eubanks and Gentry never advanced as blockers and McKeon was really a non factor. For how much Jim likes to utilize the TE, it hasnt been a position group that has excelled since having Jake Butt. Given the recruiting deficiencies of others on staff, Moore becomes a necessity.
Note that applies to both: When Jim was hired, he said the cliche that a staff is only as good as its weakest link. To that end, both Zordich and Moore have deficiencies that don't meet that bar.
Bucket #3 - Earned the right to stay
Warriner
- fixed the post apocolypse Funk and Drevno lines to get back to respectability
- line still struggles with stunts and twists
- young group of OL that they talk highly of, but can reports coming out of this staff be trusted?
Analysis - Theres a track record here that he's probably the one guy on staff that has earned his stripes. Put 4 OL last year in the league, no surprise that the new group has had troubles, moreso now that there are injuries. Have to hope that their evaluations of the younger OL were on point and they can grow over the course of the season.
Bucket #4 - Not enough information
Gattis (2 years in system)
- still a very inexperienced play caller
- tough to believe the power running game or incorporation of FB and TE fits with the philosophy
- 5 games into year 1, it looked like he wouldnt make it to year 2 as Jim and Warriner jumped in to reimplement the power running scheme of previous years
- For how strong WRs were at PSU and Bama, his development of WRs here have thus far left a bit to be desired
Analysis - Its a fair question to ask if Harbaugh can coexist with a system he does not have experience with, is Jim fully vested? Or are we tryig to run a blended system? Is Gattis the right guy to take that step learning on the job given his inexperience as an OC? This was a gamble of a hire, will there be enough time to see the change come to fruition? Or will Gattis prove to not be the right guy? If Gattis isnt the guy, will Jim revert back to what he knows (i.e. promote Warriner)? Or will he try to bring in a more experienced OC with a modern system.
Many questions, not many answers.
McDaniels (2 years in system)
Analysis - Shea was in his 4th system in 4 years in what was McDaniels 1st season and was essentially the same QB he was the season prior (lower completion %, more yards, similar YPC and and touchdowns/int). Peters and McCaffery are on Jim. For having cancelled spring ball and limited pads fall ball, Joe is ahead of where I thought hed be for being so raw coming in, 4th string as freshman and 3rd string as a sophomore. For me, its tough to make an argument against the job McDaniels has done, the end of next year should provide better information based on Milton's development.
Jean-Mary (1 year in system)
- linebackers struggling with fits and assignments
- Barrett had a strong opener vs Minny, but otherwise, the group has stuggled to make an impact
Analysis - Like the rest of the defense, the linebackers have been disappointing to date. He is the 5th position coach in 6 years and did not have the benefit of spring ball and it shows. Ross and McGrone have played enough ball to be performing better than they are. Appaers to be a strong recruiter and has a reasonable resume, tough to discern where this will go based on the information available.
Bucket #5 - WTF
Shoop
- nothing really to say here. An odd revelation at this point in time considering when he stepped away.
Overall
Tough to make an argument that this is the type of staff you'd expect out of Harbaugh. It looks like another year where significant changes need to me made. Can Harbaugh survive a major overhaul of the defense? Given the history of staff turnover and misses, is anyone confident he will make the right call?
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Position Groups
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Quarterback
Remains the biggest disappointment disappointment of the Harbaugh tenure. He we are in year 6 with the first organic QB.
Positives
- Milton has tools, very raw coming in had very limited live action as a freshman and sophomore then unfortunately had spring practice cancelled and limited in pads fall practice. Some have been critical of his performance (I imagine general frustration for the teams overall performance), but objectively, he has exceeded expectations or at the very least has not been the root cause of the teams ailments.
Negatives
- it is justifiable criticism that there should be another QB on the roster further along.
- Peters and it appears McCaffery were recruiting/developmental misses.
- there is no depth on the roster. A school like Michigan should never be in the situation where the most tenured QB on the roster is a RS Sophomore.
Running Back
The most hyped position group of the offseason kool aid drinkers had many stating that this group was the best UM running back group since the mid 90's. No doubt replacing 4 OL was going to be a challenge to a realistic observer. But the last two games have yielded 108 total yards amongst the 4 backs. Tough to assess the Minnesota game as well, Charbonnet's run was on a defensive misalignment and Haskins long run was (to his credit) a cut back on a play where the design was a mosh pit, but we have not yielded an explosive play otherwise. Haskins is clearly the best of the group and I believe was the last of the RBs to get carries today. As others have noted throughout the week, carries should be consolidated to (1) Haskins (2) Corum (3) Charbonnet and Evans either pushed out of the rotation or passing downs only.
I'm sure there will be many unwilling to depart from preseason expectations for this group, but despite the OL struggles, to me it does not look like those expectations were justified, certainly not to the hyperbole of some.
Positives
- Haskins continues to run hard and has shown better vision than last year
- Corum has the most explosive first step of a UM RB in some time
Negatives
- rotation continues to be erratic and the staff shows no desire to consolidate carries.
- Haskins and Charbonnet are inside runners only, they do not have the speed to be inside and outside runners
- Charbonnet is not quick and not shifty to make a man miss in the open field. His run vs Minny showed his knee is healed, but runs where he is untouched to get to full speed are going to be few and far between. I'm not sure the ceiling here is what I thought/had hoped it would be when fully healthy
- today's college football is one of explosive plays and this group may struggle with that at least behind the current OL and until Corum gets more experience under his belt
Wide Receiver
A tough group to get a read on, but a group that is still young (could really use Nico) and has potential to grow if the QB play continues to progress. Will be necessary that a number of receivers step up given the difficulty in the run game
Positives
- Diverse group with receptions
Negatives
- Drops
- Sometimes struggle to create separation
- No clear #1 you can count on to make a play when they need it
Tight End
A positional group that has underperformed for years. What was a staple of Harbaugh offenses and player development has turned into one of extremen inconsistency. Eubanks can't block, All can't catch. Critical drops by All have stalled drives in each of the 3 games so far. Hopefully All gets things figured out, its tough to have him on the field dropping half his targets. 6 catches for 68 yards through 3 games is a major disappointment.
Positives
- If you can find any. let me know
Negatives
- All drops
- Eubanks still can't block/misses assignments
Offensive Line
The kool aid drinkers in the offseason would have you believe this line was going to be better than last years that sent 4 OL to the NFL. We were going to have more athleticism and at worst be at the same level. Realists look at a group that needs to operate as a unit and says replacing 4 starters is always a challenge. The injury to Mayfield is a killer, this group is going to really take its lumps over the rest of the season especially in run blocking. This team needed a running game to take pressure off of Milton and it looks like its going to be the opposite, they are going to have to throw the ball and hope that it opens things up enough to establish some form of a running game. With all the young guys thrust into action, how this group performs over the rest of the season is critical to what next season will look like, regardless of who is running the show.
Positives
- if you can find any, let me know. I suppose pass pro was acceptable in game 1 and ok today considering the reshuffling
Negatives
- run blocking has been bad in all 3 games
- MSU was a debacle
Defensive Line
So many things wrong with this position group its tough to know where to start. The coaching development drop off from Mattison to Nua has been the grand canyon. The combination of Brown's recruiting philosophy, Nua's lack of player development has turned a positional group of strength into one of the weakest on the team. Layer on that pressure is essential in any scheme, but especially Brown's and this is going to be an issue for possibly several years to come.
Positives
- If you can find any (outside of 1 Kwity Paye series vs Minnesota) let me know
Negatives
- 2 games -0- sacks, very limited pressure
- get walked over at the LOS on short yardage situations
- depth is a major concern at all positions, DT especially
Linebacker
A position group with plenty of experience in McGrone and Ross that shouldnt be making some of the mistakes we have seen throughout the first 3 games. The DL struggles havent helped and they have their 5th position group in 6 years, but you'd expect this unit to be far more impactful than what they have, or at the very least avoid some of the mistakes not commensurate with their experience.
Positives
- Barrett has shown he can be an impact player
Negatives
- struggling with run fits
- lack of pressure (like the rest of the D)
Cornerback
Clearly the weakness of the defense, misses Ambry Thomas terribly. Vincent Gray's confidence is completely shot, he's a PI/defensive interference waiting to happen, OSU is going to eat him alive. Defense switched to more zone today and got picked apart. Tough to see a path forward where this group isn't a liability through the rest of the year and possibly into next year. Zordich has done a good job developing corners in years prior, but poor recruiting is really exposed this year at a position that is critical to the only defense Brown wants to run
Positives
- Green has been average, often in position, needs to make more plays
Negatives
- No depth
- Too many explosive plays
Safety
Half the time you wonder what happens to safeties in Don Browns scheme. If they arent helping corners over the top and arent making plays in run support....? Tough to tell what impact the coaching musical chairs has had on impact. If Hill moves over to corner, Paige becomes an easy target for opposing offenses.
Positives
- Dax Hill is probably the best player on the defense
Negatives
- No depth
- Brad Hawkins has been M.I.A. for a senior
Special Teams
Positives
- Brad Robbins has been spectacular. Makes you wonder what Will Hart was showing in practice to justify getting the nod.
Negatives
- Hart was given the first shot at punting only to fall flat on his face
- Moody was given the first shot at kicking (I know Harbaugh says Nordin was "working through something") and fell flat on his face
- Jackson has been an adventure in kick and punt returns (fielding punts he's let hit the ground, or trying to dive today, fielding the punt that bounced over his head last week, running backwards)
- That onside kick vs MSU was egregious
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Final View
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Its tough to not look at the games vs OSU the past 2 seasons, the record vs Top 15/25 opponents, road record and the disastrous start to this season and not think the wheels have come off.
An optimist would say that next year if Milton takes the leap and the OL gets settled with a years experience that things may start to click. Milton has the tools of a pass first mobile QB that can really open things up for an offense. Questions remain about the synergy between Jim and Gattis, or if Gattis is the right guy. Plenty of reasons to be skeptical
Even if the offense makes stridese, the defense looks like it needs a complete overhaul in scheme (DC), position coaches and an upgrade in personnel. It does not look like a quick fix. If the season continues its derailment, what does a new contract look like? That is going to be a lot of money to buy out in two years if things continue to deteriorate.
This looks like it is heading towards an inevitable separation, unkown if it is 1 year, or 3 years, it seems a matter of if not when.
It seems obvious Jim isn't the same guy, in year 6, the team is undisciplined, has philosophy issues, talent deficiencies etc. All the cracks we saw in the RchRod and Hoke years. The optics of a separation would need to be well managed, he's an alum with a successful track record, should they decide to separate, they would do well to have an immediate agreement with a top candidate prior to making that move and ending up in another coaching search debacle. Given how prior searches have been mismanged, its tough to have faith the AD would be able to execute that process seamlessly.
Hope for the best, expect the worst.
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