Michigan Football: Offensive identity should be based on wide receivers

Michigan football needs to find an identity on offense and it should start with the most-talent rich position and that’s wide receiver.

There was a lot to take away from Michigan football‘s performance at Wisconsin Saturday but one thing that was clear to anyone watching was the Wolverines lack of identity on offense.

Back in January, we all thought hiring Josh Gattis was genius. It seemed like it was the perfect solution to an offensive system that felt behind the times.

But maybe it wasn’t the system, after all, maybe it was coach Jim Harbaugh.

Last season, it wasn’t necessarily the system that let down Michigan football, it was the playcalling. The Wolverines didn’t lose at Ohio State because they didn’t have the right offensive system, it’s because they came out running when they should have been throwing.

Oh, and the defense did what it has always done under Don Brown and that’s fail miserably in big games.

It would have been tough to win that game no matter what the offense did, but if the Wolverines were throwing the ball all over from the start like they did in the second half, they might have had a chance.

You can say the same thing about last Saturday in Wisconsin.

Late in the fourth quarter, when the pressure was off, Shea Patterson started throwing the ball up to his guys and not surprisingly, Nico Collins and Tarik Black started to make plays. Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was held out for a quarter or so then strangely inserted, caught a touchdown.

Ronnie Bell set up with the Wolverines with a first-and-goal at the five on their opening possession. But after that, things fell apart, partly because instead of throwing the ball again to Collins or Black, Michigan handed it off to someone that was a defensive tackle until a week ago.

That’s where the identity crisis comes into play.

Here it is outlined for a former player who is quoted by Michael Spath of Wolverine Maven:

"“Guys that know Coach Harbaugh and know who he is have been asking themselves, ‘Does Coach really believe in this? And the answer to that is a definitive no. How do I know that? Ben Mason. In Josh Gattis’ offense, there is absolutely no place for Ben Mason.”"

The player who isn’t named added more about the identity crisis involving Harbaugh and Gattis.

"“Because if this is Gattis’ offense, that’s not a speed-in-space play. That’s not his guy. That’s not his play design, his play call, that is 100 percent, Harbaugh. So then it blows up in their face, and now you’re an offensive guy and you’re looking at the sideline and you’re saying, ‘My coaches aren’t even on the same page. And Coach Gattis, is he in charge? Or is it Coach Harbaugh?’"

Harbaugh wants to play old-school football and likely thought turning to Mason was the right thing. Instead, the Wolverines should have probably utilized the mobility of their quarterbacks and the talent and size of their wide receivers.

Gattis attempted that on first down and Patterson made a poor throw, which resulted in an incompletion. Then came the Mason fumble and the rest was history.

Now, the Wolverines have to figure out what to do and who they are. How they respond to this will determine the fate of 2019 season. Either they will rebound and fight their way into Big Ten title contention, or they will fade and finish with seven or eight wins.

However, if they are going to turn this season around, they have to find a consistent approach on offense, one that can move the ball. And make no mistake, the best bet is throwing the ball as much as possible to Collins, Black, Peoples-Jones and Bell.

It shouldn’t take a brain surgeon to figure it out or being down 35-0. Whether the quarterbacks, running backs and the offensive line can execute is another question. But if Michigan football is going to go down, it might as well go down swinging.

The wide receivers are the strength of this team and it’s time to make them the focal point of the offense. If that happens, this team will have a chance. If not, then there is a good chance Harbaugh finds himself on the unemployment line sooner rather than later.