The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1169070
OCTOBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 25 advantage in the first half, but that it ended up with an advantage of only 3:10 in the game, Gattis had a ready answer. "The thing that evened it out was we didn't turn it over in the second half," he said. "We had five drives in the first half, and three of them ended between the first and the fourth play, on a fumble. Those things are drive killers. "They put your defense in a bad po- sition, put your offense in a bad posi- tion. We need our kids to settle down. Just settle down, play the type of foot- ball we want to play, and not hurt our- selves with the costly mistakes." The new coordinator, frustrated as he was over some of what took place in the season's first fortnight, offered some compassion for players harbor- ing high expectations and producing considerable effort. "Our kids are just pressing," he said. "They want to be great. There's a high level of excitement, and a standard for them. There's a lot of pressure. Right now, it's a perfect op- portunity to get them calm. Hey, let's play loose, play our type of football. "We'll spend the bye week, hope- fully get some voodoo expert in here and get rid of the curse of the fum- bles." Gattis proved quick to point out that putting the ball on the turf hasn't been an issue in practice. Only in games has it become so common. They all know the holes in the ship need to be patched before it sails to Madison. The Badgers took no pris- oners in their first two games, beat- ing South Florida and Central Michi- gan by a combined score of 110-0. Give Wisconsin the football via turnover three times in a half, and there won't likely be any overtime. The Wolverines have time to fix it, and know they must. "Our kids just want to be great," Gattis said. "The pressure from the outside, there's been a huge bubble that's been around our program, as far as wanting our kids to be suc- cessful. And our kids want to be suc- cessful. "No one wants to fumble the football. It's not part of the game of football. No one chooses to go out there and fumble. So these kids get it. They're embarrassed and hurt. They want to be great. I have no doubt in my mind, we'll clean it up." ❏ The potential returns of junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones (above) and fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. could provide the offense with a huge boost following an underwhelming performance against Army. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Five Biggest Concerns On Offense Michigan's first bye week of the season couldn't have come at a better time. The Wolverines have some issues to work out on offense, and clearly know it. Here's a top-five list, from the first 120 minutes of the season: 1. Shut off the turnover spigot: Two games, five fumbles lost. As widely noted, that's two more than U-M gave away via fumble all of last season. There's plenty that goes into not playing giveaway, most notably senior quarterback Shea Pat- terson covering the football better when he's about to get hit, and Michigan's pass protectors keeping the blitzers off him. A year after just 10 total fumbles, the Wolverines have put the ball on the ground eight times in two games. 2. Slow the penalty roll: Ten of Michigan's 17 penalties in the opening two games were on the offensive side of the football. Those are often drive killers and have taken points off the board early in the season. 3. Stop the drops: By offensive coordinator Josh Gattis' count, the Wolverines have dropped seven passes in the first two games. Pro Football Focus noted that U-M had just 14 in 13 games last fall. When you're looking to run an aggressive, vertical-passing-game attack, drops add another layer of ineffectiveness and angst to the planning. Michigan has more than enough receivers to make plays, and it needs to happen on game day. 4. Heal up quickly: There's no question that a first-team All-Big Ten fifth-year senior left tackle would help the offense, just like a junior wideout who doubles as the top punt returner would. That means many are looking for Jon Runyan Jr. and Donovan Peoples-Jones to be back sooner, rather than later — like at Wisconsin. Patterson also played through discomfort in the first two games, and should benefit from the bye. 5. Gain confidence and avoid the shutdown: If Michigan's offense makes the plays it can, while curbing the turnovers and penalties, it could become a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten. If it doesn't, the tendency will be to pull back on the reins and go to a safer, more run-heavy attack. Presumably, that's not why Gattis came to Ann Arbor. — John Borton