Rich Rodriguez: Spread offense will work at Michigan
Rich Rodriguez scrapped Michigan's plodding pro-style offense in favor of a wide-open spread, and he remains confident his system will pay dividends in the Big Ten.
"I understand why people would say" otherwise, Rodriguez said. "I think that's probably misinformed as far as comparing leagues to leagues.
"The weather's not an issue. The style of teams in the league are varied in this league, in the Big East, SEC, the ACC. There's not much difference. Some teams are power teams. Some teams are spread teams. There's not much difference there. I don't think it's a systematic issue at all."
Michigan leads the Big Ten in scoring offense at 31.3 points per game, its highest total since 2003 and its sixth-best output in the past 32 years.
The Wolverines have scored 30 or more points six times this year, but have struggled against some of the Big Ten's better defenses. They scored 10 points against Penn State and needed late rallies and/or defensive touchdowns to reach the 20-point mark against Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Rodriguez said he never considered gradually installing his offense as he got more players to fit his system. With just two recruiting classes under his belt, most of Michigan's upperclassmen are more compatible with the old offense.
"That argument came up last year about having a system or adjusting your system to fit what you have," Rodriguez said. "I said that last year, our guys on offense, there's 10 of them that never started. They didn't play in any system. They didn't play in the old system or the new system. So no matter what system you ran, they hadn't played in it."
With true freshman Tate Forcier starting at quarterback, Rodriguez said the offense should be even better next year.
"Every season you have, fall to spring, fall to spring, it's invaluable," Rodriguez said. "It's like having that math or English class over and over and over again. Eventually you get it."
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
TXteacher
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 11:41 p.m.
"A glorious dynasty on the horizon?" I didn't know the air was clear enough up there to see all the way to Austin, Tx!
wolverine73
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 10:18 p.m.
What fourth dimension are you people who forsee a " glorious dynasty for years to come " living in? What is going on now, today, is killing Michigan. No good or great recruit is going to want to come here and play for a poor team when he can go to OSU, Texas, Florida, etc. and have a great experience winning. This cycle just feeds on itself - no recruits, poor team, no recruits, poor team - on and on. Our great history and past mean nothing to kids who have been raised in the now atmosphere of today's parenting/society where everyone is a " star. " They don't want to " rebuild " anything. The only thing driving college sports is $$$$ - if the luxury suites don't sell out and attendance goes down then maybe a change will be made. Or maybe when it becomes obvious to the UofM powers that be that this guy just can't coach here. Either way, Michigan is in for a long downward spiral that has no known bottom. We were crummy for years before Bo came in to start us on the road to winning. We will not be lucky enough to find another Bo after this current regime ruins us. And to add to our winter of discontent we will get pummeled by Ohio State... again.
GoblueinNE_PA
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 5:34 p.m.
To the RR supporters, I have a question and it's an honest question. What is it about RichRod that has engendered this blind loyalty? I'm serious here. If you look at his record at Michigan, the progress (or lack thereof) of the team, his recruiting (or lack thereof), integrity, etc., none of it add up, IMO, to anything but a questionable performance. What has he done to convince you that he's anything but a failure up to this point? If this were any other sport at Michigan, we'd look at a coach with this level of performance as a disaster, but for some reason, you are willing to give him a pass. Why?
BlueFan97
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 11:58 a.m.
Theo212, It's nice to be optimistic, but you're actually saying "a glorious dynasty on the horizon." Really? What proof do you have to support that, other than blind optimism. Is it the 7th ranked scoring offense and 11th ranked scoring defense in the Big Ten? Is it the 3-12 (soon to be 3-13) Big Ten record over the past two years (and by the way Tressel has 13 losses over 9 seasons)? Is it the lack of progress from players on both sides of the ball? Just asking, did you also believe that Matt Millen was going to turn the Lions into perennial Super Bowl contenders?
djuninho
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 9:40 a.m.
Forget the spread, UM would have had two straight winning seasons if RichRod had bothered to keep Ryan Mallett in A2...
Jimaize
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 9:38 a.m.
To Flintmaize...ditto!
FlintMaize
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 9:16 a.m.
This offense will work in the Big Ten! The problem, is 89 of 120 players being either freshman or sophomores! Not to mention the very poor recruiting Lloyd Carr did his last few years. Why is our defense so abysmal and where are the players he recruited? Supposedly Lloyd's classes were top 10? Where are they now? New system, poor previous recruiting classes are the main reason this team is where it is. Nothing more and nothing less.
81wolverine
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 9:04 a.m.
Tate and Denard are going to be bench dwellers once Devin Gardner gets here and gets up to speed with the offense. He's bigger, has a stronger arm, and can run better than Tate. If we can develop some better offensive linemen, find a couple reliable running backs, and use the WR's we already have, the offense should be great in a few years. The defense is easily two years off from being even solid. Until we get bigger, faster guys on the D-line and at LB, Big Ten teams will continue to manhandle us. RR better order a semi full of snake oil and hit the recruiting trail hard. With no bowl game in all likelihood this year, he and the coaches will have extra time.
KeepingItReal
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 8:45 a.m.
Tater is too small and not quick enough to run the Spread Offense in the B10. I hope that Shoelace transfers and D Gardner de-committ to M. Neither will get a decent chance to showcase their talents as long as Tater is with the program. RR and the fans will rather lose with Tater than give Shoelace a chance.
heartbreakM
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 8:34 a.m.
Tater--you refer to the "spread", and so does the article. I personally don't care what kind of offense teams run, I care how the teams execute. And execution is mostly coaching and repetition. Yes, talent makes a difference--that's why there's a difference between Jamie Morris/Mike Hart types and Jesse Johnson types. But no matter what "kind" of football you play, the plays are the same--block, hold the ball, get good footwork, tackle through somebody (not with arms), catch with your hands, don't fumble, stay in your lanes on defense, don't overpursue, etc. Does it really matter? I laugh about the offense stats--first of all, several touchdowns this year, against Iowa and Wisconsin, were on defense turnovers. There was a punt blocked for a TD if I remember correctly. But in B10, the offense has not possessed the ball, they have had multiple turnovers, they have had relatively few yards, they have had no momentum, no big runs (outside of Indiana), no big pass plays (outside of Illinois), and to me, that's bad offense. So don't give me that we scored more points blah blah blah. Most of those points were against Eastern, Western, and Delaware State. How many 3 and outs have we had this year? The coaching is flat out bad--no adjustments, no execution, no sustained drives, no defense. And now, RR is embarrassing the university yet again.
Fresh121
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 7:25 a.m.
Idk RR no RR LC was 1-6 vs the vest time for new blood even if it isent RR someone has to do better against the vest RR 0-1 LC 1-6 can someone beat the vest plz man i hate him so much.
chosen1
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 6:57 a.m.
tater...wah wah..injured qb....with the size of tate he's always going to be injured, stop using excuses to justify the pathetic attempt of coaching richy boy does. If tate was that injured he wouldn't be playing. Do you think other teams that play against michigan don't have injuries? Its part of the game and if he is in the game then he's fine to play. Stop your whining about injured qbs
UofMbeWorser
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 5:38 a.m.
When asked about adjusting your system to fit what you have, Rodriguez said. "I dont know how to do that".... "Im not an adjustment kind of guy and I wish all the other coaches in football would stop making adjustments. they adjust for their players, and they adjust for their oponents, and they adjust for the conditions, and they adjust depending on Down and Distance. It drives me up the wall with all those adjustments".
Macabre Sunset
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 12:54 a.m.
Tater, what's known as the spread in Florida bears only passing resemblance to the RichSpread. Spread is a very loose concept, just like West Coast Offense is a loose concept. RichRod has his own gimmicky version, and it won't fly in the Big Ten. I doubt it would do much better in the SEC.
Macabre Sunset
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 12:26 a.m.
I'm not sure I would characterize Michigan's offense as "plodding" the last 20 years. In fact, only once in the last 40 years did it fail to score as many points as RichRod did last season in 12 games. It even cracked 400 points a few times, something RichRod probably will never approach here - unless he gets more games with Delaware State and their bottom-of-I-AA friends. Michigan is 7th in the conference, scoring 23.9 points per Big Ten game. Meanwhile, many Michigan quarterbacks have gone on to NFL careers, including multiple Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady. Somehow, I doubt Tate Forcier is ever going to appear in an NFL contest, at quarterback or any other position. Oh, and there's the defense. Yeah, nothing to talk about. RichRod doesn't do defense. The team is dead last in defense, allowing 35.0 per conference game. Not even close to 10th. They allow almost 200 yards per game on the ground - more than twice as much as Wisconsin and Ohio State. RichRod has turned a great program into the worst team in the Big Ten. That's not rebuilding, it's breaking through drywall, stripping all the copper pipe and wiring and leaving the program uninhabited, while all the other teams in the conference turn the Big House into a boarded-up crackhouse.
oneandseven
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 11:58 p.m.
I can't believe RR actually said: "It's like having that math or English class over and over and over again. Eventually you get it." How many times did he have to take the same classes. What a doofus. He really should be fired for that comment alone.
jwgoblue
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 10:27 p.m.
You guys and your half time adjustments... what do want Michigan to fly TCU's defense in to play the second half... Please you can't polish poop... you end up with Shiny poop yeah... The D- will be better next year and will play the best they have all year Saturday... Time is what we need but that is not going to happen it sounds like he is done and on to the next guy we go... did we not learn anyting from watching ND and Nebraska the past years.... weeee this is fun...
Furious in MI
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 10:13 p.m.
The defense stinks and this offense is nowhere near consistent. No adjustments are made at halftime by this coaching staff, and the opponents are just running away in the second half. At least we have a good punter, because he has been getting a workout.
jwgoblue
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 9:55 p.m.
Really it seems to me the Big East has one top 5 team right now and last I checked Pitt was ranked above any big ten team as well... and Lets not forget about a pretty good WV team as well.. This will take time people we have 7 new staters on defense and the third system in 3 years... we need to be patient. Last year we could not get a first down if we tried... this year we were in some games.. next year we will win some of those we lost this year...
J rodz
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 9:50 p.m.
blah blah blah, all you armchair coaches. Stay with your day jobs please.
azwolverine
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 9:27 p.m.
Theo, If you're not sarcastic, then you are delusional. Every great team has a very good if not great defense. If defense doesn't matter, why are we so bad? Oh, I forgot...our offense isn't that good either. When it's mattered in the Big Ten, we haven't been able to score. By the way, and I mean this in sincerity, I don't think the styles of play or weather are so much the issue from league to league. I think the caliber and size of opponents and the coaches RR has to work against are far greater in the Big Ten than in the Big East. Jim Tressel, Joe Paterno, Kirk Ferentz...they are FAR better than any coach RR had to go against before. I think the size of player in the Big Ten is an issue that RR wasn't prepared for either. Our small lines do well at the beginning of the season but as the season wears on, they get worn out and manhandled. Midway through the season, it happens from first half to second half. Barwis conditioning is great for the BE, but not so much for the BT. We'll see what happens, but I think RR is good in his niche, but Michigan and the Big Ten is not that niche.
Hogan
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 9:25 p.m.
Didn't this guy just say the other day that he doesn't have big enough players to impose their will and grind out in the Big Ten?? And now he's saying his small quick spread will work. Small guys on either side of the ball are worn down by mid-season, thats what has happened here. Look for a merciless pounding Saturday.
Jaxon5
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 9:17 p.m.
And another thing... the objective is to actually win the football game. Who cares how many points the offense scores? When the defense allows at least one point for every point the offense scores, the offense becomes irrelevant. The team can lead the Big Ten in points scored and still lose every game. Wait, that's what just about happened this year!
Jaxon5
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 9:11 p.m.
The offense may work, but it won't win games. Scoring occurs much too quickly. There is no ball control and time of possession advantage as we have seen over and over again this season. What we need is an offense that becomes our defense through ball control. How can we stop the other teams from scoring over 35 points per game? Hang on the ball, sustain long drives and score.
BlueMom
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 8:42 p.m.
I think RichRod would have been a great OC for Michigan. Doesn't he know that the HC needs to be concerned about defense and special teams too???
Irvine CA
Mon, Nov 16, 2009 : 8:33 p.m.
Is the DEFENSE......Dummy. We cannot stop anybody and his little brother. Every opponents modified their play calling during the half time, our coaches just took a 20 min nap. I can understand problems with the offense, but if you cannot stop people from scoring on you, you need to hire new coaches.