PerfectionOriginally Posted by 5am6oody72
Originally Posted by trunks206
Originally Posted by 5am6oody72
LSUfreek never disappoints.
ok, even i can laugh at this, lol.Originally Posted by 5am6oody72
It's crazy how that tradition started, and has been going on for years now.Originally Posted by shabooyah1124
All that's missing is the Washington St flag. Genius
I'm disappointed.Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo
It's crazy how that tradition started, and has been going on for years now.Originally Posted by shabooyah1124
All that's missing is the Washington St flag. Genius
OJ/Cam gif-
In 1939, Chicago Bears head coach George Halas knew he needed to make some offensive changes if his club was to keep up with the firepower Sammy Baugh and Don Hutson brought to their teams' passing games.
Halas started by adding future Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman, but the Papa Bear knew he needed to augment his team's talent by overhauling the playbook to give his offense more ways to attack defenses. Halas did this by hiring the most brilliant offensive football mind of that era, Clark Shaughnessy, who gave the Bears more playcalling options than any other team in the NFL had. It made their offense nearly unstoppable and helped Chicago lead the league in scoring in four of the next five years on the way to winning three NFL championships.
Michigan Wolverines coach Brady Hoke took something of a similar approach this past offseason. Hoke inherited a team with plenty of offensive talent (Michigan's 32.8 points per game ranked 25th in the FBS last season), but he wanted more than that. As he said in May, "we want to be multiple enough in our shotgun offense to show one thing and go to another."
It turns out that may have been an understatement. A review of the Wolverines' playcalling against Northwestern shows that the Michigan offense is so diverse and dangerous that this team should actually be considered the favorite to win the Big Ten.
The multiple-look mindset was on display throughout the game, but the series of plays on Michigan's eighth possession (midway through the third quarter with the Wolverines down 24-21) provides a perfect microcosm.
The best way to illustrate this is by going through this series play-by-play:
Play No. 1 -- Denard Robinson runs a lead draw out of a single-back shotgun formation and gains 25 yards.
Play No. 2 -- Robinson fakes an inside handoff out of a two-back shotgun formation and completes a 9-yard hook route to Roy Roundtree.
Play No. 3 -- Robinson fakes an inside slant run out of a single-back, four wide-receiver set and keeps the ball. The Wildcats read it well and stop the run for a 1-yard loss.
Play No. 4 -- Robinson runs a counter play out of a single-back shotgun formation and gains 4 yards.
Play No. 5 -- Here is where it starts to get interesting. Michigan puts Devin Gardner in at quarterback and lines up Robinson as a wide receiver on the right side of the formation.
Robinson comes in motion right before the snap and, as the ball is snapped, runs right behind Gardner. Gardner fakes a jet sweep handoff (an example of which can be found here) and flips the ball out to Michael Shaw running to the very area that Robinson vacated when he went in motion. The play gained only 4 yards but the defense now had to worry not only about the jet sweep (something Michigan had run with Gardner earlier in the game) but also about a play fake element off that run.
Play No. 6 -- The Wolverines had Northwestern's defense on the ropes and decided not to let up. They had Robinson take a shotgun snap between two running backs in the backfield. At the snap, the backs both faked liked they were going to run a screen pass to their side of the field. The center and right guard pulled to the right and the left guard pulled to the left to add to the subterfuge, and Robinson faked like he was going to throw the screen to the left.
Once this spread out the defense, tight end Kevin Koger, who had lined up as a wingback in a two-point stance on the left side of the offensive line, stopped faking like he was pass-blocking for the screen and released upfield to catch a pass. A Northwestern linebacker realized what was happening but was too late to stop the play from gaining 19 yards.
Play No. 7 -- Robinson took a snap from center and pitched the ball out on a standard sweep play that gained 1 yard.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Tony DingInserting backup QB Devin Gardner into the offense gives Michigan another dimension.
Play No. 8 -- Gardner was again at quarterback and Robinson was again at wide receiver, but this time he was on the left side of the formation.
Robinson repeated his motion trick from a few plays back and Gardner faked the jet sweep, but this time did a bootleg to the right side (the same side that Robinson was running toward).
While they were doing that, running back Vincent Smith was hiding behind the offensive lineman for a count and then releasing to the left side of the field. Two linemen followed him right after that to set up the throwback screen that ended up gaining 6 yards.
Play No. 9 -- Robinson took a shotgun snap with a single running back in the backfield and ran a standard option run to the left that gained 12 yards.
Plays 10-12 -- By now Michigan was at the Wildcats' 1-yard line and tried two straight quick dive runs. Northwestern stuffed them both, so the Wolverines put Gardner back in at quarterback and had him fake a lead run up the gut and then bootleg to the right. He beat the defender to the corner for a 1-yard touchdown run.
Now consider everything Michigan did here. It used an incredibly varied amount of subterfuge, but it also was able to make the defense think about stopping dink-and-dunk passes, power rushing plays and assignment football (necessary to stop option plays). Every one of those elements is difficult to stop in and of itself, and the Wolverines can switch between them at will.
And while the Wolverines' biggest concerns likely still lie on defense (after last season's unit couldn't stop anybody), it's important to note that UM ranks eighth in the country so far this season in points allowed per game (12.5). When facing a remaining schedule of teams that are having more than a few issues moving the ball (Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa and Ohio State all rank 59th or lower in the FBS in offensive yards per play), that, along with their dynamic offense, should give the Wolverines enough to win the Big Ten Legends division.
(If you want a real concern for the Wolverines, it could be the unfamiliarity of playing away from Ann Arbor. Last week they got off to a slow start in their first road game, and that was in Evanston, where they often have half the fans anyway.)
Michigan's offensive diversity might also be just the type of edge the Wolverines need to get past a very tough Wisconsin Badgers team that is likely to win the Big Ten Leaders division, and is currently the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the polls. The Badgers are certainly the most talented team in the conference but they do not look to have anywhere near the offensive playcalling diversity the Wolverines have showcased thus far this year. (They also play a schedule that features four road games in their last six.) That could be just enough to vault the Maize and Blue to their first Big Ten title since 2004.
In 1939, Chicago Bears head coach George Halas knew he needed to make some offensive changes if his club was to keep up with the firepower Sammy Baugh and Don Hutson brought to their teams' passing games.
Halas started by adding future Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman, but the Papa Bear knew he needed to augment his team's talent by overhauling the playbook to give his offense more ways to attack defenses. Halas did this by hiring the most brilliant offensive football mind of that era, Clark Shaughnessy, who gave the Bears more playcalling options than any other team in the NFL had. It made their offense nearly unstoppable and helped Chicago lead the league in scoring in four of the next five years on the way to winning three NFL championships.
Michigan Wolverines coach Brady Hoke took something of a similar approach this past offseason. Hoke inherited a team with plenty of offensive talent (Michigan's 32.8 points per game ranked 25th in the FBS last season), but he wanted more than that. As he said in May, "we want to be multiple enough in our shotgun offense to show one thing and go to another."
It turns out that may have been an understatement. A review of the Wolverines' playcalling against Northwestern shows that the Michigan offense is so diverse and dangerous that this team should actually be considered the favorite to win the Big Ten.
The multiple-look mindset was on display throughout the game, but the series of plays on Michigan's eighth possession (midway through the third quarter with the Wolverines down 24-21) provides a perfect microcosm.
The best way to illustrate this is by going through this series play-by-play:
Play No. 1 -- Denard Robinson runs a lead draw out of a single-back shotgun formation and gains 25 yards.
Play No. 2 -- Robinson fakes an inside handoff out of a two-back shotgun formation and completes a 9-yard hook route to Roy Roundtree.
Play No. 3 -- Robinson fakes an inside slant run out of a single-back, four wide-receiver set and keeps the ball. The Wildcats read it well and stop the run for a 1-yard loss.
Play No. 4 -- Robinson runs a counter play out of a single-back shotgun formation and gains 4 yards.
Play No. 5 -- Here is where it starts to get interesting. Michigan puts Devin Gardner in at quarterback and lines up Robinson as a wide receiver on the right side of the formation.
Robinson comes in motion right before the snap and, as the ball is snapped, runs right behind Gardner. Gardner fakes a jet sweep handoff (an example of which can be found here) and flips the ball out to Michael Shaw running to the very area that Robinson vacated when he went in motion. The play gained only 4 yards but the defense now had to worry not only about the jet sweep (something Michigan had run with Gardner earlier in the game) but also about a play fake element off that run.
Play No. 6 -- The Wolverines had Northwestern's defense on the ropes and decided not to let up. They had Robinson take a shotgun snap between two running backs in the backfield. At the snap, the backs both faked liked they were going to run a screen pass to their side of the field. The center and right guard pulled to the right and the left guard pulled to the left to add to the subterfuge, and Robinson faked like he was going to throw the screen to the left.
Once this spread out the defense, tight end Kevin Koger, who had lined up as a wingback in a two-point stance on the left side of the offensive line, stopped faking like he was pass-blocking for the screen and released upfield to catch a pass. A Northwestern linebacker realized what was happening but was too late to stop the play from gaining 19 yards.
Play No. 7 -- Robinson took a snap from center and pitched the ball out on a standard sweep play that gained 1 yard.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Tony DingInserting backup QB Devin Gardner into the offense gives Michigan another dimension.
Play No. 8 -- Gardner was again at quarterback and Robinson was again at wide receiver, but this time he was on the left side of the formation.
Robinson repeated his motion trick from a few plays back and Gardner faked the jet sweep, but this time did a bootleg to the right side (the same side that Robinson was running toward).
While they were doing that, running back Vincent Smith was hiding behind the offensive lineman for a count and then releasing to the left side of the field. Two linemen followed him right after that to set up the throwback screen that ended up gaining 6 yards.
Play No. 9 -- Robinson took a shotgun snap with a single running back in the backfield and ran a standard option run to the left that gained 12 yards.
Plays 10-12 -- By now Michigan was at the Wildcats' 1-yard line and tried two straight quick dive runs. Northwestern stuffed them both, so the Wolverines put Gardner back in at quarterback and had him fake a lead run up the gut and then bootleg to the right. He beat the defender to the corner for a 1-yard touchdown run.
Now consider everything Michigan did here. It used an incredibly varied amount of subterfuge, but it also was able to make the defense think about stopping dink-and-dunk passes, power rushing plays and assignment football (necessary to stop option plays). Every one of those elements is difficult to stop in and of itself, and the Wolverines can switch between them at will.
And while the Wolverines' biggest concerns likely still lie on defense (after last season's unit couldn't stop anybody), it's important to note that UM ranks eighth in the country so far this season in points allowed per game (12.5). When facing a remaining schedule of teams that are having more than a few issues moving the ball (Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa and Ohio State all rank 59th or lower in the FBS in offensive yards per play), that, along with their dynamic offense, should give the Wolverines enough to win the Big Ten Legends division.
(If you want a real concern for the Wolverines, it could be the unfamiliarity of playing away from Ann Arbor. Last week they got off to a slow start in their first road game, and that was in Evanston, where they often have half the fans anyway.)
Michigan's offensive diversity might also be just the type of edge the Wolverines need to get past a very tough Wisconsin Badgers team that is likely to win the Big Ten Leaders division, and is currently the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the polls. The Badgers are certainly the most talented team in the conference but they do not look to have anywhere near the offensive playcalling diversity the Wolverines have showcased thus far this year. (They also play a schedule that features four road games in their last six.) That could be just enough to vault the Maize and Blue to their first Big Ten title since 2004.
KC Joyner, aka the Football Scientist, is a regular contributor to ESPN Insider. He also can be found on Twitter @kcjoynertfs and at his website. He is the author of an annual fantasy football draft guide, which is currently available, and "Blindsided: Why the Left Tackle is Overrated and Other Contrarian Football Thoughts[/color]."
and supposedly hes got a true freshman covering him tonight
Stefan McclureOriginally Posted by Matt Barkley Heisman Number 8
and supposedly hes got a true freshman covering him tonight
Low Blow famOriginally Posted by GUNNA GET IT
Like Big Meach baptised Sydquan
