Since Michigan’s offense will call the zone-read option its bread-and-butter play for the next few years, fans are probably interested in how the play works. Slightly more interesting than “run left,” I assure you.

Most important to the smooth operation of the zone-read is not a quarterback who is blazing fast, but a signal caller who can make the right decision with the ball, and can at least do a little damage with his feet.

The play operates out of the shotgun, with either one back to the QB’s side or one split to either side of him. The running back for whom the play is called will start lined up on what will eventually be the backside of the play, since he crosses in front of the quarterback (this is not always the case in RR’s offense, but for the sake of the basic play, we will start with that). The offensive line will block down to the playside, leaving the backside defensive end unblocked. This is the player that the QB will read (hence the name “zone-read”).

The quarterback takes the snap, and the running back crosses in front of him. The QB puts the ball in his stomach, but does not hand it off. This is called the “mesh point” where either the QB or the running back can end up with the ball. It is at this point that the quarterback must be able to make a good decision with the ball, and read the defensive end. If the defensive end stays at home and holds contain, the quarterback simply hands off the ball to the RB. The offensive line is expected to outnumber the defenders, and block everyone for a good gain (or excellent depending on execution and the running back’s vision).

If the defensive end gets greedy, and decides to try to chase down the running back from behind, the quarterback pulls the ball out from the mesh point, and runs back past the end, and gets a decent gain (if the offensive line blocks well, the QB should be able to get to the second level without facing a defender). The quarterback makes this read if the defensive end turns his shoulders toward the running back, rather than keeping them parallel with the line of scrimmage, as he would if keeping contain.

For those who are visually oriented:

This is obviously the very basic play, so there are lots of other variations on it. For example, backs can be motioned into or out of the backfield, slot receivers can be used as pitchmen, the play can be designed to go towards the direction that the RB is lined up, rather than the opposite direction, etc. The option-pass can also be effective, with the play run the exact same way, but if the DE crashes, the quarterback, instead of trying to gain yards, rolls out for a pass, using the zone-read as a play-action.

If my explanation was confusing (and I hope it wasn’t), have Rodriguez explain it to you himself:

Posted under Coaching, Video

Here are VB’s videos from the spring game:

Offense
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPGhsM2KPjQ&hl=en]

Enjoy

Posted under Coaching, Spring Coverage, Video

More on the spring game coming up later today.

Posted under Spring Coverage, Video

Taking a page out of the MGoBlue.com book, instead of having a heavy a page with a lot of images, you get a slide show!

If you’d like to get high quality versions of the images you can look through them here or just click on the picture. I guess you can even order prints if you’re into that kind of thing.

I’m going to try to get my initial impressions posted tonight before the standard college Saturday night starts. Look for player and coach interviews to be up tomorrow. The footage from the scrimmage, warm-ups and position drills will be posted throughout the week.

Posted under Blog News, Photo Album, Spring Coverage

Video piece based on Coach Rod’s press conference yesterday. Only covers the most entertaining part of the presser.

Coach Rod also talked about a lot of other stuff, but this was the funniest part. Full audio tomorrow AM.

Posted under Coaching, Video

Get your enjoy on.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uux0EP5a0ps&hl=en]

Posted under Spring Coverage, Video

Tonight, Michigan kicks off its 2008 NCAA tournament quest, taking on the #16-overall seed in Niagara. For a full preview of the tournament, check out the Blog that Yost Built.

Don’t forget to vote for Kevin Porter in the Hobey Baker balloting, though he is in a pretty deep hole.

Finally, to get hyped up for the game tonight (and tomorrow if Michigan wins), accept my offering of the highlights from every game that was on WOLV this year:
Western Ontario
Alaska
Bowling Green
NTDP
Western Michigan
Northern Michigan
Nebraska-Omaha

Oooooooooooooooooooooh, see ya.

Posted under Hockey, Video

Highlight.

Also, “sideline” reporter Charles Clinton’s now-famous work at the game.

Charlie’s work prompted this reaction from a UNO message board:

I don’t think Patrick Roy or Dominik Hasek in their prime could have saved UNO tonight. In fact, I think the Weasels could have pulled Sauer at the start, gone 6-on-5 the whole night and won 18-5. UNO’s only hope was that Sauer would have switched places with Charles, the WOLV-TV “sideline” reporter. Sauer probably would have been more informative on the webcast, and UNO might have scored enough goals against the reporter to make the game a little more competitive.

The Blog that Yost Built offered the following reaction:

Poor Charles. He did kind of have “Boom goes the dynamite” potential though. At one point, I believe his report was, “Eric Elmblad is playing in his first game tonight. He had a nice hip check, though a penalty was called on the play. He really hasn’t done anything else. Back to you.”

Poor Charles, indeed. If you want to see better examples of his work, check out his blog.

Posted under Hockey, Video

Sorry for the shoddy excuse for content – I’m out of town. Regular blogging resumes tomorrow.

MGoBlue gallery.

Posted under Photo Album, Spring Coverage

Reader Adam writes:

If Feagin is not ready to start next season, what will RR do with the offense? I know he likes to have the QB run, but Steven Threet and David Cone are slow.

While Rich Rodriguez does indeed like to have a quarterback who can both pass and run the ball, he is too good a coach to suddenly become a failure if the talent on the team doesn’t sync with his mission. In 2005, West Virginia started Adam Bednarik at QB, and Pat White didn’t take over until Bednarik went down with injury (Bednarik now chills out with a headset on).

In 1999 and 2000, Rich was the offensive coordinator at Clemson. (This is prior to his years with Shaun King at Tulane, when King set an NCAA record for passing efficiency, the most commonly cited evidence that Rodriguez can run an offense with a dropback QB). In 2000, Woody Dantzler started at the quarterback position. In the NFL, Dantzler was most known for a Hesterian kickoff return touchdown while playing for the Dallas Cowboys. He was a run-pass talent, and the Clemson offense in 2000 looked a lot like West Virginia’s in 2007.

In 1999, however, Clemson had an incumbent starter by the name of Brandon Streeter. Streeter was not the athlete that Dantzler was, but went into the season expecting to start. As it turned out, the two quarterbacks ended up sharing time under center (or in the shotgun, as it were). Streeter was the starter, but Dantzler played as well, and the two had a similar number of passing attempts. I believe (but am not sure) that Streeter was injured at various points during the year. Danztler played in 10 games, starting 6, and Streeter played in 8, starting 7.

When Dantzler was in, he was able to run. When Streeter was in, he was not forced to run all that often. So, if you’re curious as to what a Rich Rodriguez offense with a less mobile quarterback might look like, take a gander at Streeter highlights from 1999.

Of course, Streeter was a fifth-year senior and Dantzler a junior. For Michigan in 2008, redshirt and true freshmen are expected to carry the load. If Threet starts, the schemes might be 1999 Clemson, but the execution will probably be much worse.

Jared asks:

When Pat White went down, West Virginia was screwed. It happened against South Florida and Pitt. Can Rodriguez not use a backup quarterback effectively?

I think the issue is not that Rodriguez can’t use a backup quarterback, but rather that West Virginia’s backup quarterback, Jarrett Brown, was not ready to carry the team offensively. In the long run, I think this won’t be a huge issue for Michigan, as the name itself should help draw more talent at the QB position beyond one starter-level talent and a bunch of crappy career backups. Evidence of this is available in Michigan’s 2007 season, where Ryan Mallett may not have been completely prepared to handle the load, but at least the Wolverines had a talented player to step in when Chad Henne went down.

For the immediate time frame, this is far more of a potential problem. Michigan has 2 current scholarship quarterbacks in Steven Threet and David Cone. Incoming freshman Justin Feagin will enroll in the fall. Depth in general (much less quality depth) will be a big issue for Michigan this season. Expect current players like Carlos Brown and/or Brandon Minor to get practice reps, if only for emergency game situations.

Thanks to Clemson site Tiger Memories for the source files of those videos, and my apologies for the watermarks on them.

p.s.: jim tressel plz dont punch our playerz

Posted under Coaching, Video