Friday 23 September 2011

Michigan - Eastern Michigan Offensive Breakdown


I don't know how much you can complain when the team has scored 30+ in points in all three games this season, but that certainly hasn't stopped anyone from doing it.  When the team gives to the backs out of the I a bunch of people complain that they should have used Denard out of the spread/shotgun more.  Now when Michigan was mostly Denard out of the spread/shotgun I see people complaining that Michigan didn't use the running backs enough out of the I.  Anyway, that's my little pet peevish rant for the day.

Overall the offense has been efficient, having run only 157 plays (good for 104th with all the teams below having played one less game) but racking up 1,211 yards.  That's 7.7 yards per play, good enough for 3rd in the nation.  And that's with some admittedly at times strange play calling (I'm being kind) and a QB that seems to have lost the ability to complete a pass beyond the line of scrimmage regularly.  Imagine what this offense can/will do if Robinson can regain even a semblance if his passing ability from last year.


Passing


Denard Robinson VS. EMU
           Short
      Intermediate
             Long
 Comp/Att
           6/11
            0/4
             1/3
 TD
            2
              0
               0
 INT
            1
              0
               0
 Totals
 6/11, 54.5%, 2 TD, 1 INT
        0/4, 0.0%
        1/3, 33.3%


Denard Robinson overall
          Short
    Intermediate
            Long
  Comp/Att
          15/25
           7/14
            5/16
  TD
             3
             2
              1
  INT
             2
             0
              2
  Totals
15/25, 60.0%, 3 TD, 2 INT
 7/14, 50.0%, 2 TD's
5/16, 31.3%, 1 TD, 2 INT


Short passes are anything under 10 yards, intermediate is from 10-20, and long throws are anything over 20 yards.  Note that this is all plays, plays negated by penalty included.  This to try and get an accurate idea of what the offense is attempting to do in the passing game.  Also be aware that the distances can be subjective, as this is where the ball was caught, not where the play ended up, ie. a bubble screen that the receiver breaks for 50 yards is still a "short" pass.

I'm not even sure what to say.  Denard Robinson has regressed badly as a passer.  He's missing throws he hit last year, not seeing wide open receivers and missing them when he does see them.  There were a couple drops in this game that obviously would have helped his completion percentage and I thought Koger got interfered with at least once, but still.  He's obviously still a great runner, possibly the greatest running QB of all time.  But in order for this offense to reach it's full potential he desperately needs to improve his passing.

Rushing



                Yards after contact VS. EMU
                  Vincent Smith
                                18
                  Denard Robinson
                                27
                  Fitzgerald Toussaint
                                25



                 Yards after contact overall
                  Denard Robinson
                                64
                  Fitzgerald Toussaint
                                42
                  Vincent Smith
                                20
                  Michael Shaw
                                13
                  Stephen Hopkins
                                3

I'm only tracking guys that actually got some yards after contact.  Again, this is subjective, just like all these numbers are going to be.  If a guy slipped a tackle, or ran through a weak arm tackle, I gave him yardage after "contact."  If he got hit and stopped, but momentum let him fall forward a yard, he doesn't get anything.  If he pushes the pile a couple yards, he'll get some yardage.  If he's hit behind the line he get's the YAC from where he was hit, not the line of scrimmage.

A good rushing day, which is pretty obvious when you pile up 376 yards on the ground at 7.5 yards per carry.  Vincent Smith was running through cavernous holes most of the day.  Fitzgerald Toussaint was the better runner, breaking tackles and running through defenders.  If he can actually stay healthy (which already hasn't happened this season) he could be a very good RB.  Thomas Rawls had a couple carries and actually did get about 3 YAC on the second one after tripping over a lineman on his first college carry.

Receiving



              Run after catch yardage VS. EMU
                     Jeremy Gallon
                                  21
                     Kevin Koger
                                  14
                     Drew Dileo
                                  10
                     Jeremy Jackson
                                  9
                    
                                 




              Run after catch yardage overall

                   Junior Hemingway
                                   76
                   Jeremy Gallon
                                   57
                   Vincent Smith
                                   24
                   Kelvin Grady
                                   16
                   Kevin Koger
                                   14
                   John McColgan
                                   12
                   Drew Dileo
                                   10
                   Jeremy Jackson
                                    9
                   Roy Roundtree
                                    1




                           Drops VS. EMU
                     Vincent Smith
                                     1
                     Fitzgerald Toussaint
                                     1




                            Drops overall

                     Junior Hemingway
                                     1
                     Roy Roundtree
                                     1
                     Drew Dileo
                                     1
                     Vincent Smith
                                     1
                     Fitzgerald Toussaint
                                     1

Just like the RB's above.  Players are only charted if they gained RAC yardage.  If they caught a ball behind the line and then picked up 2 yards, they get RAC from where they caught the ball, not the line of scrimmage.

Again not a great passing day.  Jeremy Gallon has done some nice things, and Kevin Koger was finally more involved in the offense.  Both guys can be mismatches if used effectively.  Junior Hemingway needs to be more involved.  When he's open (and even when he's not) Denard has to give him a chance at the ball.  He simply cannot overthrow Hemingway as often as he does.

Offensive line



               Pressures allowed VS. EMU
                       Kevin Koger
                                 1
                       Mark Huyge
                                 1
                       Vincent Smith
                                 1
                       Patrick Omameh
                                 1



                 Pressures allowed overall

                      Patrick Omameh
                                  3
                      Mark Huyge
                                  2
                      Taylor Lewan
                                  1
                      Ricky Barnum
                                  1
                      Michael Schofield
                                  1
                      Kevin Koger
                                  1
                      Vincent Smith
                                  1




                    Sacks allowed overall
                       Ricky Barnum
                                 1


The offensive line had a surprisingly poor day in pass protection.  It's not that Denard was constantly being hit or pressured when he went to pass.  It's just that it seemed like most of the pressures were simple mental errors rather than a guy getting beat.  The perfect example is a play where EMU blitzed, David Molk and Patrick Omameh both pick up the blitzing LB, then both guys inexplicably just leaving him alone to continue rushing unimpeded into the backfield.  Omameh ended up blocking air on the play.  It just seemed like an odd day all around for the offensive line.


Explosion plays vs Eastern Michigan: offense

 Denard Robinson
                5
 Jeremy Gallon
              2
 Vincent Smith
                5
 Kevin Koger
              1
 Fitzgerald Toussaint
                4
 David Molk
              1


Explosion plays overall: offense


 Denard Robinson
               10
 Junior Hemingway
                3
 Vincent Smith
                6
 Roy Roundtree
                1
 Jeremy Gallon
                5
 David Molk
                1
 Fitzgerald Toussaint
                4
 Kevin Koger
                1


As usual Denard rolled out some impressive runs, and both running backs chipped in with some nice plays.  Gallon continues to impress with his ability after the catch.  I gave Molk a play for the pull and lead of Vincent Smith.  It showed pretty impressive athleticism.


Up next: Draft evaluation and SDSU preview.

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