I’ve been keeping an eye on the letters section of the Ann Arbor News to see the stream of Rodriguez hate letters, especially after the Toledo loss. Here’s a beauty:
I hear this take a lot. Rodriguez should alter his style to get the most out of the players he has, and therefore we wouldn’t be in this mess. Translation: run Lloyd Carr’s offense.
Look, Michigan hired Rodriguez based on his track record. Few deny that Rodriguez can coach; he’s proved this everywhere. But he proved it doing things a certain way, that is, running his offense. There’s a reason why coaches would travel to Morgantown to see him and learn from him. I know they weren’t there for the fine dining.
There is clearly a learning curve that needs to be traversed to pick up this system. For Rodriguez (or Beilein while were at it) to abandon his scheme that now that he’s hit the big time would be asinine. Getting players is part of it but it’s not like Michigan has sub-Toledo talent. It has a lot to do with players being comfortable in their role on the field and having the confidence to fly to their spot once the ball is snapped.
5 Comments
Anon
Good post. It’s funny how all these fans clamoring for Lloyd’s offense are the same whiners who were whining about hating Lloyd’s boring offense and wanting something different. How many times did we hear the phrase “imagine what these players would do in a spread offense” the past few years.
Mike
You know what’s been sad this year? The amount of enemy fans in the Big House each and every week. All of these front runners whining about the bad season need to nut it up and support the team. This year sucks, but when we start rolling everyone, it’s going to feel that much better. Plus, even though the results have been subpar to say the least, these kids have played their guts out. I tip my hat to them for riding this storm out. Go Blue!
wolveron
So you adapt your offense to fit your talent. Here’s the problem. There isn’t a lot of talent! That’s been the problem with Lloyd’s recruiting the past couple of years. Yes, his classes were highly ranked but they never really addressed the team’s needs and weaknesses (e.g. stockpiling WRs when we needed DBs and Safeties). To me, this team is made up of a bunch of 2nd and 3rd stringers. I mean, if you have no accuracy as a QB, you’ll have no accuracy no matter what system you’re in! Don’t get me wrong. I’m as pissed off as anyone about this season (and I do bitch about it) and there are things I question about Rich Rod’s approach (e.g. I don’t get the value of having new team captains every week). But in regards to the piss-poor defense, just because you have players coming back doesn’t mean they’re very good (can’t tackle, can’t cover).
Steve L.
Had Michigan been a perrenial door mat with multiple 3-8 seasons, then by all means blow it up. But under the circumstances in which Rodriguez came in, there is no reason he couldn’t have utilized the talent that was here, and gradually implement his system as he recruited his players. It happens all the time at established programs, with the current exception of Michigan, and the Callahan Nebraska experiment. I’m not saying they would’ve been great or anything like that, but the transition wouldn’t have been the embarrasment that this has been.
GoBlue
What makes anyone think that the offense would be better with a pro-style offense? I know that Threet isn’t the ideal fit for the spread, but it’s not like his throws would suddenly gain more zip and be on target under a pro-set, it’s not like the offensive line would all of a sudden be experienced and start blocking better under a pro-set, it’s not like the kick returners would stop fumbling just because the offense was playing pro-style etc.
Furthermore, even if the offense was better under a pro-set, what makes anyone think it would be enough to overcome the porous D? 45 points allowed to Illinois, 46 to Penn State, 35 to MSU, 38 to ND etc. Would a pro-set have outscored those teams? I think we should be focusing on the D, not the O.