News & Views: Jim Harbaugh on O-Line Injuries, D-Line Worries
Michigan takes on Wisconsin Saturday in Madison with an opportunity to get off to a great start in Big Ten play. There are many question marks, however … and we address some of them, with comments from head coach Jim Harbaugh, in our News & Views format:
NEWS: Michigan’s offense has set the tone (negatively) the first two games with a Shea Patterson fumble on the first series, and it ranked last in the country after two weeks in fumbles lost.
HARBAUGH: “Just everybody on that side of the ball, that unit … [we need] more efficient [play], cohesion … everybody playing efficiently and playing with good ball security. Taking advantage of big plays when they're there.
“Also, the efficiency factor, run and pass, what we do as an offense … consistently move the ball, which there have been some positives. There have been a lot of first downs. Eliminate the turnovers.”
VIEWS: The last one is the big one. U-M would have rolled both MTSU and Army minus the giveaways, and the Wolverines would lose to at least three more teams on the schedule (handily) with similar performances. Harbaugh insisted they were working on eliminating them.
“There are drills … ball security drills we do on a daily basis,” he said. “Just keep working on it. The team drills, we've made a high emphasis on the scout team … punching the ball out, ripping it out and getting the ball out in 11-on-11 drills. Same thing in seven-on-seven drills. We’ve made an emphasis of it. That's what you do.”
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What it really comes down to, however, is concentration and focus. Patterson’s fumbles to start both games were pretty much unforced. At the same time, the Wolverines have left at least 28 points on the field with dropped touchdown passes or bad throws that would have been scores (like Patterson’s overthrow down the left sideline to sophomore Ronnie Bell against Army).
Clean those up and the narrative about Michigan’s early season struggles is much different. Now is the time with a game at Wisconsin and a huge opportunity.
NEWS: Michigan will take a different offense than the one that faced Wisconsin last year — and a revamped defensive line — into Madison to face the smash-mouth Badgers.
HARBAUGH: “There are still the factors of games won up front, offensively and defensively at the lines; still the fundamental things like protecting the football and moving the football, getting stops on defense and playing efficiently on all sides of the ball — the kicking game, defense and offense.”
VIEWS: Michigan’s offensive line took it to Wisconsin last year, and the cast of characters has changed only on the other side. Yes, the Badgers appear to be improved, but how much? Their first two opponents were absolute dogs, while U-M played a tough Army team.
The U-M offensive players have seen enough of Wisconsin on film to know what they’re up against, and they seem pretty confident.
As for the defensive line — this is the big test. The Badgers have a lot of weight on the U-M line at each position, and it will take great fundamentals and technique to combat a Wisconsin O-line that seems to have jelled early. The Wolverines need to get the Badgers into second- and third-and-longs to be able to turn their pass rushers loose, but to do that they’ll need to slow running back Jonathan Taylor and the running game … otherwise they’ll be bled to death.
NEWS: Michigan is banged up at the tackle position with rumblings of an injury to right tackle Jalen Mayfield in addition to left tackle Jon Runyan Jr., who has missed the first two games. The thought is that Runyan will play while redshirt freshmen Ryan Hayes and Mayfield battle it out on the right side … if Mayfield is healthy enough.
HARBAUGH: “There's competition going on there [at right tackle], for sure."
VIEWS: In other words, ‘we’re not talking about injuries.’
This is the game in which Runyan needs to return, and senior left guard Ben Bredeson hinted he would (and we expect him to). Hayes is going to be a great lineman when he gets a bit stronger and more experienced, but this isn’t the game you want him out there.
We believe Mayfield will give it a go, and they need him. It’s going to be a chore for either right tackle against a fired-up Wisconsin defense.
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