Mailbag question: Getting ready for the season

Posted at 8:00am — 8/26/2010

Mailbag question: Getting ready for the season

Hello guys,

I am sure you are all ready for the football season to start, just as I am!

What I am wondering is how do the Michigan coaches determine how the team is doing? I mean if the staff sees the offense running up and down the field — does that mean the defense is terrible, or does that mean the offense will be outstanding.

Can you put this thought into perspective for a person that follows Michigan football, but doesn’t get to see practices and just goes off of reports and video highlights?

Other questions for you: how does a team prepare themselves for an opponent by scrimmaging themselves? Should college football programs be allowed to schedule scrimmages with local area teams, just like the NFL and high school programs do?

Mark S.

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Thanks for the questions.

The first part of your mailbag question is easy. Yes, everyone is more than ready for the start of the season, but coaches always want plenty more preparation time.

There is an old adage in coaching; we must get better everyday. Coaches always offer this fond piece of advice to their players and the coaches usually add the warning that opponents are getting better everyday, so you must work even harder to get better as well.

That is one way (improvement) coaches judge how a team is doing early on. Another is to daily assess the team’s /coach’s progress regarding obtaining the specific team goals universal to most football teams.

Example: one goal for practice might be to become more proficient on up-field tackling, or to run a certain play much better than is being demonstrated. This makes it possible for coaches to grade the practice, position group, or individual players.

Teams also generally go 1’s versus 2’s in scrimmages. If the 2’s defense has its way with the 1’s offense, it gives the staff a good idea that the offense needs additional work and plans are drawn up accordingly.

Most teams do not prepare for opponents with scrimmages. Scrimmages are about getting better at what you do. Scrimmages are also about grading players and making personnel decisions, position by position.

It is difficult to grade players if they are running another team’s scheme. What will happen is once a team breaks camp, walk-on’s and freshmen form a “demo” or scout squad. The very important job of this group is to simulate the opponent’s offense and defense.

This early in the season teams usually will not prepare for the opener per say until two weeks out, once it can be determined who the starters are, or at the least the players that will most likely see significant playing time.

In most cases the coaches want a learned routine for the players, so much of the game preparation will start on Sunday, after Saturday’s game, to prepare for the next opponent.

Well, it would be great if college programs could schedule scrimmage like the NFL and high school programs do, but we believe the NCAA is worried about adding more cost to athletic budgets and that some teams will try and bend the rules a little bit (imagine that) and make this opportunity into what becomes in reality another game.

It is always a slippery slope when allowing 120 programs leverage and provide them latitude for such a venture. Let us say that Program A plays a team 30 miles away, where one team buses in and plays a tightly controlled scrimmage where safety and substitutions are heavily emphasized. Program B fills an 80,000-seat stadium with paying observers. There are no quick whistles, there are kick-off and punts under normal conditions, and substitutions are limited. The winner receives favorable preseason ratings and the loser drops.

It would be great to see a program like Michigan be able to scrimmage a team, like Toledo, Eastern Michigan, etc., that is close by. There are risks such as injury, a bad showing, the team not showing up, or bogus press. Also keep in mind the recruiting possibilities, one of which could be schools bringing in loads of recruits who may early sign and everyone becomes pressured to outperform teams on other recruiting trips.

Florida high schools are allowed a spring football season and it is obvious the benefits that decision has yielded, not withstanding the great talent within the state.

Written by GBMWolverine Staff

Go Blue — Wear Maize!