The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1184078
DECEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 21 read game to make sure we could stay as healthy as possible. Once we got our full stable of quarterbacks back, we feel comfortable in running the offense the way we want to run our offense." "I think it just puts more pressure on the defense and we all have confi- dence in [Patterson] to run the ball," Wilson commented recently. "We all have seen him in games do it before, so it's not a surprise to us, but it defi- nitely helps out everybody when the opposing defense has to be scared of Shea running the ball, using his legs." Senior captain and guard Ben Bredeson assured that Michigan's run game remains crucial to what the Wol- verines want to accomplish. "Once you establish that run game, it slows the pass rush down, those guys are on their heels a little bit," he said. "I feel like you're able to con- trol the pace more and dictate what the defense is going to do rather than have them dictate our sets if you're leaning back and passing all the time. "Obviously, we're big fans of get- ting out there early and establishing the run game, and I feel like it just sets up the offense very well from there." Several observers noted Michigan mixed up the run-game blocking re- cently, especially in the rout of Notre Dame. The Wolverines employed more gap blocking, pulling blockers, etc., harkening back to last season. "It's changed some, but not drasti- cally," offensive line coach Ed Warin- ner offered. "Some people were say- ing, 'Oh, man, those are some cool plays.' We ran those plays earlier in the year. We ran those plays last year. "Those are cool plays. Yeah, they're cool. They're cooler when they work, you know what I mean? But it's not like we were inventing new plays. Sometimes you just disguise or deco- rate them different, put different con- diments on them." U-M'S AIR ATTACK SEEKS CONSISTENCY Michigan's passing attack is tougher to judge, just through raw numbers. Five interceptions through nine games marks a manageable number, especially given that there's been only one pickoff in the past four contests. Plus, high passing numbers some- times reflect more desperation than efficiency. For instance, Michigan's second-highest passing total (after the 335 it posted against Rutgers) in a game this year came at Penn State, where the Wolverines threw for 276 yards in the furious attempt to come back. They covered 259 yards in the air in the blowout loss at Wisconsin. U-M threw for only 134 in the rainy rout of the Irish, because of the conditions and the fact that they were running the ball so effectively. Patterson's completion percentage through nine games (57.2 percent) stood well under his connection rate in 2018 (64.6). He'd thrown for 1,773 yards and 12 touchdowns, behind last year 's pace when he finished with 2,600 and 22. Harbaugh noted that the passing game could have been better at Mary- land. "We missed a couple plays in the passing game," he said. "A couple gives [on an option] when it should've been throws. It could've led to a cou- ple big plays. Nico Collins should've probably had another touchdown on the fade if the ball would have gotten out of the quarterback's hand a little bit quicker." There seems to be a near-unani- mous call for Michigan to get Collins the ball more down the stretch. The 6-4, 222-pound wide receiver caught 22 passes for 439 yards and three touchdowns the first nine games, with some potential big ones wiped out through the aforementioned officiat- ing or missed throws. Harbaugh also noted Collins rep- resents a weapon that can be used to Michigan's benefit down the stretch. "He's really becoming a force," Harbaugh said. "He's just doing an outstanding job and people are rec- ognizing it. They're double teaming him at times. That helps the run game when you can pull another defender out of the box to overlap as a safety and give help to a corner." Sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell led U-M's receiving attack head- ing into the break, with 28 catches for 471 yards. Junior wideout Dono- van Peoples-Jones logged 21 grabs for 214 yards and three touchdowns, while redshirt sophomore Tarik Black notched 20 receptions for 257 yards and one score. It's not a matter of spreading the ball around. It's now about ramping up the efficiency and effectiveness over the final weeks of the season. Overall, the Wolverines are getting stronger, Bredeson stressed. "I think we're all working on the cohesion and we're getting a lot better with that," Bredeson said. "We started playing with a swagger, playing with a confidence and if that game was five minutes longer in Penn State, I think we come out there winning, but you can't look back on that now. "You just got to learn from it and move on." ❑ After turning the ball over eight times in the first six games plus the first half at Penn State, senior quarterback Shea Patterson had zero turnovers over the next 10 quarters of action. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN