8A — Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Film breakdown: How Michigan’s first drive set tone for Gattis to follow
Of all the contrasts to draw
between Michigan’s first three
games and its win over Rutgers
on Saturday, the most striking
was also the first.
For the first three games of
the season, the Wolverines put
the ball on the ground on their
first drive. And all three times,
it foreshadowed a disappointing
offensive performance.
Against Rutgers, Michigan
came out firing. The Wolverines
played mistake-free football to
start, stuck to their guns and
scored in five plays. Then they
marched down the field again
on the second drive, going up
14-0 before 10 minutes of game
time had passed. Call it a result
of Josh Gattis calling plays from
the field or a result of simply
playing a defense as porous as
Rutgers’. But, as the Wolverines
worked off their script for the
opening
drive,
the
offense
looked the way it was advertised
for the first time all season.
The Daily dove into the tape of
that drive to find out why.
First-and-10:
Zach Charbonnet 6-yard run
In the wake of last week’s loss
at Wisconsin, we heard a lot about
offensive identity. Specifically,
the Wolverines wanted to run
the ball more after throwing
more than 40 times against the
Badgers.
Against Rutgers, Michigan
starts by running a counter,
clearly with establishing the
run in mind. But this play has
jet motion attached, so the
linebackers get caught going the
wrong way. In theory, senior
quarterback
Shea
Patterson
could turn this into an option
with receiver Ronnie Bell, the
player in motion, as well.
Second-and-4: Ronnie Bell
14-yard catch
This is a slight tweak to the
way Gattis ran things for the
first few weeks. It’s a run-pass
option, but instead of Patterson
standing
back
in the pocket,
the play turns
into
a
naked
bootleg, as the
offensive
line
goes left while
Patterson
goes
right,
without
any protection.
Patterson
has
looked
uncomfortable
running RPOs with dropbacks
attached. Rarely had he gotten
to break the pocket and throw
on the move, an area in which
he excelled in 2018. Here, Gattis
puts Patterson in a position to
do that without
compromising
his
own
philosophy.
First-and-10:
Christian
Turner 2-yard
run
Gattis
keeps
it basic on first
down again, this
time with a pin-
and-pull.
Like
the first run of the game, it
seems to have an RPO attached
with
Bell,
but
Patterson
hands the ball off and Rutgers
linebacker Avery Young makes a
nice play on the stop.
Second-
and-8: Christian
Turner 10-yard
run
This is the first
run of the game
that
appears
to be a straight
give,
with
no
read of any kind
attached. It’s just
inside zone, hat
on a hat — the
kind of thing Michigan excelled
at doing last season, which is
apparent here.
The
line
moves
people,
Turner hits the hole and it goes
for a considerable gain. This is
just as you draw
it up.
First-
and-10:
Nico
Collins
touchdown,
48-yard catch
There’s
nothing
complicated
going on here,
and
that’s
the
beauty
of it. Collins is matched up
against a smaller, less athletic
cornerback. Gattis isolates him
with a flat route while freshman
tight end Erick All runs the
other way. It’s what everyone
clamored for Collins to get — a
chance to win a 1-on-1 matchup
with his physical ability.
And
he
does
just
that,
getting initial separation on
the route, then runs right by
the defensive back and has a
clear path to the end zone.
Gattis’ problem for the first
three weeks of the year was
that he couldn’t find a way to
imprint his philosophy onto
Michigan’s
personnel.
For
all the talk about identity, all
you had to do to see what the
Wolverines wanted to be was
go on Twitter at any point in
the last six months. Actually
doing it in a game, though, is
a different matter altogether.
On Saturday, from the first
play, Gattis seemed to have it
figured out.
That all comes with the
asterisk that it was against
Rutgers. But the emphasis
on
getting
Patterson
out
of the pocket was obvious
throughout. So was using their
best receivers in the passing
game.
Collins,
Donovan
Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black
were noticeably more involved.
More than that, Gattis put
them in positions to use their
physical skill, like that throw
to Collins, or a fade to Peoples-
Jones on the next drive.
The first drive set a tone
that went on for the rest of
the game — Gattis’ ideology
tailored to this roster. It’s no
coincidence
that
Michigan
scored 52 points once the
coaching staff started to think
about how those two elements
could work in tandem instead
of forcing one on the other.
Whether
the
Wolverines
can replicate it against Iowa
or Penn State is another story.
But for now, they at least know
what the plans should look
like.
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Senior quarterback Shea Patterson displayed his ability to make a bevy of different throws and rushes, scoring four total touchdowns in a 52-0 win over Rutgers.
The first drive
set a tome that
went on for
the... game.
Against
Rutgers,
Michigan came
out firing.
Collins remains patient with offense
Nico
Collins
leaned
back
against the ledge at Schembechler
Hall and smiled. His semi-
sarcastic laugh didn’t nullify the
validity of his answer, though.
“I’m always open,” he joked,
before the next question came
flying in.
It’s a phrase many players
say, with varying degrees of
seriousness. But it’s easy to get
the sense that the 6-foot-4 Collins
believes it.
“I feel like as a receiving
corps,
we’re
always
open,”
Collins reiterated. “I believe in
our guys, and Shea believes in
us. And I believe he can give us
opportunities to go make a play.”
Collins’ answer, though basic,
stripped down the essence of a
potentially potent passing attack
to its bare bones. It underscored
the
optimism
that
was
so
pervasive around this unit before
the season, and even offered a hint
of what Collins and others believe
could still be coming.
Collins himself posted 632
yards and six touchdowns in 2018,
seemingly a sign of an impending
breakout year before a legitimate
NFL
decision
would
arrive.
Then Michigan hired offensive
coordinator Josh Gattis, who
brought a history of producing
current and future NFL talent,
like Chris Godwin, DaeSean
Hamilton, Jerry Jeudy and Jordan
Matthews, among others.
He brought a concept of “speed
in space”, which was quite an
appealing vision. Put your best
players in the best position to
make plays.
By any measure, Collins is one
of Michigan’s best players. And by
those same objective measures,
his 10 catches though four games
tell the tale of scant usage in what
was supposed to be a defining
year.
In the Wolverines 35-14 loss
at Wisconsin, Collins was among
those who outwardly displayed
signs of frustrated On one
particular route in the fourth
quarter, Collins’ cornerback fell
down mere yards past the line of
scrimmage. Collins, hand raised,
watched with the entire crowd as
Patterson’s pass sailed well over
the intended receiver, draped in
double-coverage.
“We were losing — there’s
always going to be frustration
when you lose,” Collins said. “Not
really, it was just open, it’s alright,
it is what it is, next play. I’m not
going to hold a grudge. There were
times I was open, but I know Shea
is going to find me next time.”
Late in that game, Collins
started to become more involved.
On one drive in the fourth quarter,
he caught three targets for 79
yards, though one of the catches
was nullified for pass interference.
Still, the downfield sequence left
fans wondering where that was
two hours prior.
That loss led to a week of
introspection, both with the
receiving corps and with the
offense writ large. Collins said
the group honed its emphasis
on attention to detail, which
translated to a clean 52-0 win
against Rutgers. The win included
a 48-yard touchdown for Collins,
who caught a seven-yard out
route, turned upfield and sprinted
down the sideline for the score.
It looked easy. Speed met space.
Almost as though finding your
best players is both simple and
smart.
Still, Gattis has been adamant
that this offense, at its best, does
not force-feed anybody. When
it’s
humming,
everyone
and
everything will be an option, he
emphasized.
“We talk about being balanced;
balance for us is not run or pass,”
Gattis said. “Balance is how many
guys touch the ball. We want to
be balanced from that standpoint;
that the ball is being distributed
to all of our playmakers and all of
our skill guys.”
But when a player of Collins’
caliber only has 10 catches, there
is a reasonable question as to
whether everything has been
over-thought. Collins and juniors
Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik
Black are among the three best
weapons — if not the three best —
this team has.
To not use them repeatedly,
particularly
amid
offensive
troubles, would be to self-restrict
this group’s ceiling.
Asked where this offense can
still go, Collins started down a
laundry list.
“Trusting the play-calling,”
he said. “Receivers working on
our details. Watching film from
Wisconsin, what can we do
better? We can always improve
as a receiving corps, and Shea can
always improve as a quarterback.
We can always improve.”
What
wasn’t
said,
though
seemingly implied: He’s always
open.
Christian Turner staying level
after first career touchdown
Ten months removed from the
hype of the Peach Bowl, in front of
an emptying stadium as a blowout
took hold, Christian Turner finally
scored.
He emerged from the pile, a
grin visible from inside his helmet
and briefly celebrated before
jogging back to the sideline as
Michigan’s lead over Rutgers grew
to 31. He didn’t want to bask in it.
Still doesn’t. “Don’t want to make
that some spectacular moment I
think about for the rest of my life,”
Turner said Tuesday evening.
Turner, a sophomore running
back, has already experienced the
fleeting nature of these things. In
Michigan football’s ecosystem — a
fan base yearning for the next hit of
serotonin and a roster constantly
churned by competition — hype
doesn’t last long. High praise
about practice performance is met
with wariness until anybody sees
it in a game.
In the run-up to last year’s
Peach Bowl, Turner was the
subject of that spotlight. He heard
it from Jim Harbaugh, from his
fellow running backs, from the
rest of the offense. “He’s been
tearing it up all Christmas camp,”
Jon Runyan Jr. said in the days
before, echoing general sentiment.
In the game, for a brief moment
before everything fell apart, he
delivered on it, darting across
the formation, taking a handoff,
cutting
upfield,
hugging
the
boundary, going into the end zone
untouched. Then the touchdown
got called back on a penalty, and
Turner finished the game with
32 yards — less than he would
have gotten on that play alone had
it stood. As spring approached,
conversation turned to a new
offense and a new running back,
Zach Charbonnet. It stayed there
this fall, as Charbonnet racked up
48 carries, even as Turner notched
more touches in four weeks (34)
than the 21 he did all of last season.
On Tuesday, Turner was put
in front of the media and gave
a rush of cliches in a low voice.
Buried underneath them, a quiet
confidence simmered.
“It took some pressure off,”
Turner said of his touchdown.
“I finally got to the end zone, but
now I just want to get comfortable
scoring. I don’t want to just get
complacent.”
Turner said his pass protection
is still developing, a lingering
product of the
transition
to
college.
He
stressed that he
didn’t get down
last year when
he sat nor when
he got hurt. He’s
staying
level
now, too, as the
Wolverines try to
develop a more
steady
rotation
of carries. All the right things.
In
high
school,
Turner’s
coach stressed the importance of
keeping things steady. Turner was
splitting carries with Anthony
Grant, now a sophomore at Florida
State, and Derrian Brown, a Texas
signee in the 2019 class. They
had a great backfield, but Turner
played a lot less than most three-
star recruits who get high-major
offers. He kept his coach’s advice
in mind last year. It’s not far from
his mind now, either.
“You can’t control everything
that’s gonna happen to you in your
life, but you can control how you
react to it and how you respond
to it,” Turner said. “That’s the R
factor.”
Still, when he got to Michigan,
Turner got caught trying to run
straight forward. Asked Tuesday
about what he carried into this
year from those bowl practices
in December, Turner mentioned
complacency
twice.
“Or
just
thinking
I’m
already
there
when
I
hadn’t
really
done
anything yet,” he
said.
To be clear, he
knew there would
be
a
learning
curve, and still
acknowledges
that there’s aways to go. Last
year, Karan Higdon told him to
be patient. Turner brought it up
in the context of running the ball
and waiting for a hole to open up.
It was hard not to see a bigger
picture coming into focus.
“I was just trying to outrun
everybody,” Turner said. “He was
the one that told me, if you keep
trying to do that, you’re gonna
get hit pretty hard.”
On Saturday, instead of going
down when he got hit, Turner
moved the pile and crossed the
ball over the plane.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Junior Nico Collins caught a 48-yard touchdown pass on Saturday.
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Sophomore running back Christian Turner scored his first career touchdown.
Don’t want to
make that some
spectacular
moment...