I was at the game and haven't had a chance to watch a replay on TV but [MENTION=9924]calinative umstudent[/MENTION] echoed a lot of my concerns as to what I saw out of the defense.
Why the **** are we constantly trotting 3 linebackers out against spread formations with 3 or 4 wide receivers?
Why the **** are we subbing at LB so much? I swear Charles Perry was in on at least 35 snaps. That dude should only see the field if we're up 30+
Why the **** are we playing so much cover zero and/or cover one if we don't have the confidence in our corners to play bump and run? Seems like if you have guys struggling in the defensive backfield, we should try to limit the amount of times they're given no help over the top.
Why the **** does Mark Richt insist on starting every game calling plays like we're Wisconsin? It takes 13 back to back 3 and outs before he realizes we can throw the ball forward occasionally? And once he actually opens the offense a bit, they start lighting up the scoreboard. We can't be the only people noticing this.
I will not defend the defense, except to say that given our personnel, I have no problem generally lining up in a 43 on 1st and 10 when the opposing team comes out with 3 WR.
As far as the offensive playcalling is concerning, I would suggest you watch the replay of the game and let us know if it changes your opinion. UM attempted 36 passes to 26 rushes for the game. And for those asking for more passes in the early downs, there were multiple passes on first down, many of them deep attempts. In fact, in the first half that many fans are complaining about, UM passed on 1st down 5 times and ran on first down 5 times -- seems like a pretty balanced attack on first down to me. And in total for the game, UM attempted a pass 16 times on first down. Counting the victory formation kneel down, we ran a total of 36 plays on first down (4 of those with less than 5 minutes to go when the game was already in hand). So in the 1st down plays that mattered, we passed the ball half the time (16/32). Again, a pretty balanced attack, even on first down (a more traditional running down).
Upon watching the game a second time in the comfort and quiet of my home, what I observed was balanced playcalling. I saw short/quick passes to the outside to take advantage of our speed and talent at WR. I saw effective running plays. I saw the RPO work and defenders forced to respect Rosier on the option. I saw deep passes down the sidelines and to the middle of the field (with several drops in the first half, but drops are not a playcalling issue).
Watch the game again. This notion about the playcalling being too conservative during the Toledo game is a false narrative. It's just noise.
