On not converting red zone attempts into touchdowns
I think we’re very process focused. So we look at each drive as an individual case, look at each player as an individual case and, yes, it’s a place we need to coach better, we need to play better. But it’s great for us to be in a situation where when we have problems, we’re winning, and being able to get a lot better along the way and fix problems while we’re winning. It’s also great that we don’t have a long laundry list of problems, you know, where you can isolate one or two things like the red zone. Say, we need to be better here and really drill down on it and we’re focused on that confident work group.
On whether he'd like to see more downfield passing success
I would say that the pass game is working very well, the run game is working very well, we’re extremely efficient. I think if you look at efficiency, we’re one of the top teams in the country, certainly, we’re in the top 10 scoring, we’re also in the bottom 10 in drives per game, right? Because we’re so efficient, we really rarely ever punt. We drive the ball methodically down the field, which means that the other team rarely ever touches the ball, which is a great way to play complementary football and to win. Our defense is playing great football, they’re fresh, and the other team just doesn’t have that many possessions. We’ve been really, really efficient in both areas. Which is great. Now that said, obviously, we’d love more explosive plays, we’d love to have more explosive plays in the run game, more explosive plays in the pass game. I think those things will come. But we built a great foundation of an offense that we feel really good about and it’s been very effective and it’s certainly a recipe for winning, which we definitely don’t apologize for.
On whether winning the red zone is about adjusting or executing
It’s harder to run the ball because there’s constricted space, all the defenders are closer to the point of attack, right? It’s also harder to throw the ball because you don’t have the ability to stretch the field vertically. So it’s harder to move the ball in general and certainly, that takes away a lot of things you can do both run game and pass game. So you need a red zone-specific offense, which we’re really just talking about a couple of drives. Really, specifically, two drives inside the 10 where we needed to score touchdowns the last game, that we didn’t. Give credit to Michigan State, they did a good job. They had a good plan. But, as I said, we need to coach better, start to do that that will lead to play better.
On the deep-ball
I don’t think that there’s any disconnect at all. I think it’s something that’ll just come with time that—if we’re at practice, we have obviously a larger sample because you know, there’s 100 plays a day and those passes are getting completed. It’s just a matter of time before it shows up in the game. Certainly we can push the ball down the field more. But like I said, we’ve been very efficient, we stay ahead of the chains all the time and it’s been a recipe for great success. But that said, yeah, eventually, we’d like to be able to attack in every single way possible and some of that’s what the defense dictates. But I think those opportunities are gonna come.
On J.J. McCarthy not completing a long touchdown pass all season
You don’t count Hawaii? He is. But to your point, yeah, we’d love to see some more deep ball touchdowns. But we’re thrilled with J.J. and the way that he’s playing right now. He’s way ahead of anywhere we expected him to be as a first-year starter at this point, and really, a credit to him for his approach and how hard he works because he’s a really talented player. But he’s even surpassed our expectations for how fast he can grow and how fast he can develop and we’re thrilled with where he is.
On wether the offense needs to change its tendencies even further
We're always looking at ourselves. From a self-scout perspective, that’s a big part of the game plan every week, and making sure that if there is a tendency we’re changing it up when we see fit. Certainly, if we feel like we’re doing something that’s effective, we’re not going to change it up just for sake of changing up, we’re not going to stop before. Right? But at the same time, we know formationally, or motions or situationally, what our tendencies are. We have the ability to change it up when we think that it’ll pay off.
On scripting plays
The script that was something that was started by Bill Walsh. He’s kind of the one that popularized it when he was the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. But it’s a really effective tool. Because, you’re gonna get your best plays. Being able to organize thought processes of how you’re going to do it. You could also use it to see how they’re gonna play through certain looks that you want to see later in the game. You could do it that way. But it's great to have a plan, where the players have confidence that they know exactly what’s coming, and what we’re going to do, and they’re mentally prepared for it. Usually, it’s your best players going into the game plan that you feel really good about, that everybody wants to get off to a fast start and we’ve been great at that. Credit to the rest of the coaching staff, Coach more than everybody else, as well as the players who are the ones executing the plays.
On analytics playing a role in playcalling
I’ve said a lot of that stuff is kind of like overblown. I’m really just a football coach—all that stuff can be really useful. You know, we have a group of students that help us here in analytics club that provides an advanced scouting report every week, to do other little side projects for us. They do a great job, and a lot of them that I think are bright futures in sports, whether that be in media or whether it be working for teams. So we love all the information we can get. We certainly use it. But as far as, you know, a play-to-play basis, it’s really, really not that important. But any information we get we certainly take into account.
On whether the offense has the tools to be a great red zone offense
Absolutely. I think we have a great offense, and the recipe is there for us to be successful in every area. So far, we’ve been successful in most areas. Obviously, in the last game, those two drives, for various reasons you go to play level. But we ended up kicking field goals, we want touchdowns and that’s something that we’re focused on. We’re blessed to be in a position where we don’t have many things to do, or to work on and we’re blessed to be in a position where we can fix all these things while we’re winning decisively.
On J.J. McCarthy's running ability impact game planning
I think that’s one of the areas where you can see significant improvement in his game,. If you remember, you can go on back to last year, even when he would scramble, and he’s always been an effective runner, but he would take hits that maybe he shouldn’t take. Now you see him avoiding those hits at the end of runs, which we love, because not only keeps them healthy but also protects the football. Then also when to scramble, right? Whereas in the past, he’s had times where maybe he’s extended plays that he shouldn’t. Now, you’ll see him throw the ball away, and you’ll see him extend the play right on time and deliver key third-down conversions, like you said. So that’s that’s a weapon. The good thing, we always say to him and emphasize, is the defense should not stop you three times, they have to stop the play we call. If we’re throwing the ball, they have to stop you from scrambling to throw, if you throw, they have to stop you from scrambling to run. So he’s starting to really clear that area and amongst many other areas that we’re excited about that.
On Blake Corum's vision
Blake obviously is having a phenomenal season. He’s a phenomenal player. I think he’s also significantly improved. He was a great player last year and you look at him this year and he’s running through a lot more tackles, he’s always forcing missed tackles. But he’s running through a lot of tackles with power this year and I know just hearing from people in the NFL, a lot of people are really excited about the opportunity to try to get them on their team. So we’re glad we have him now. He can catch the ball in the backfield and do a lot of other stuff that we hadn’t even utilized. He’s actually excellent in pass protection, is a smart player—there’s just so many things, so many things that we love about him and glad that we have him.
On why the offense hasn't ran much counter this season
We’ve been just as effective this year running the ball. But to your point, some of this game has shifted a little bit. Really, I should say, it’s all a credit to Coach Moore and to the offensive line, and the running backs are really just like a good luck charm. But I will say that from year to year, you have to constantly evolve. Because all the stuff that we were doing last year, every team in the Big Ten spent the whole offseason trying to figure out how to stop it. So we’re seeing different looks. We’ve taken advantage of what the defense has given us. Certainly, we still have the ability to run all those counters, they’re still in the offense. But from a game-to-game basis, that seems to be, at least starting out the year, what people are focused on stopping.
On whether it's an adapt or die trying mindset
I think it just it just happened naturally. The way that people were playing us, we have other run schemes. Those run schemes kind of moved to the front, I call them a little bit more and other stuff got called a little bit less and there’s the continual evolution.
On how McCarthy is ahead of schedule
We’re just absolutely thrilled with the way that he’s playing. He understands every single progression, he makes the right footwork, he knows where to go with the ball, with very, very few exceptions and that’s really hard to get a quarterback to do that. For him to be completing whatever percentage of his passes he’s completing, speaks to all those things. If you’re not doing those things, that’s not going to happen. Everybody in the country wishes that they could have that type of completion percentage, and reason why people can do it, it’s really hard to do on a play-to-play basis, what he’s able to do. Even the basic stuff, right? Going through progressions, taking the right footwork, knowing where to go with the ball, he’s extremely smart pre-snap, being able to get us in the right play, seeing what the defense is doing, knowing where to go. And all those things have been really impressive for a first-year starter. I would also say, at the same time, it’s not a finished product. When he leaves here, it’s gonna be even better, right? It’s hard to imagine how good he can be. So we’re really excited about J.J., we’re really happy with where he is.
On Michigan being ranked 5th in the CFP
Obviously, I saw it. Not something that I pay a lot of attention to. I think everybody knows that. This is the eighth game of the season. Fortunately, they don’t pick the four teams for playoffs after the eighth game, they pick them after the 12th game. So we’re obviously focused on Rutgers and the games ahead and we all know that stuff will be decided, it’ll work itself out. So that’s not something we’re too concerned with.
On whether he's curious about how the team will perform on Saturday
Referring to the tunnel incident? No, I think we have a bunch of mature guys, bunch of guys who have a laser-like focus every single week on what we’re doing and there’s no way that these guys would ever be distracted by something like that. Obviously, it was really unfortunate and certainly, it took some of the joy out of the win because everybody has so much concern for our brothers. But we’re on to Rutgers and I’ve no doubt that the team won’t be distracted in any way with everything that’s in front of us and how important this game is.