Mailbag: How will the blocking schemes change?

Tag: Patrick Omameh


27Jan 2011
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Mailbag: How will the blocking schemes change?



The California Golden Bears use a zone blocking system



Hey Thunder,
I’m curious as to how you think the Michigan offensive line will perform in 2011. What are the main differences in zone blocking vs. man blocking schemes, and do you think Michigan’s current group is up to the task? I’ve never coached offensive line (or defensive line) in my brief career, so I’m curious. Thanks!

To first get some terminology out of the way, no team out there runs a true “man blocking scheme”, at least not the way many people interpret those words  That phrase can be disingenuous. 

When one talks about zone blocking, it usually refers to a play in which a running play is intended to go in a general direction, not necessarily to one particular hole.  The offensive linemen do follow some rules about who to engage, but generally, a linemen tries to lock on to a defender, take him in whichever direction he wants to go, and then let the running back find a lane to follow.  A good explanation from a blog I like comes from Smart Football’s post on the matter.

When one talks about man blocking, it often refers to rule blocking.  There are some plays within man blocking schemes in which the offensive linemen choose who to block based on counting the number of defenders to their side of the ball.  For example, on a running play to the right, the center might block the #1 guy to the right of the ball (whether it’s a defensive lineman or linebacker), the guard takes #2, the tackle takes #3, and the tight end walls off #4.  In that type of situation, it doesn’t matter how the defense aligns – the linemen just count at the line of scrimmage and then try to drive defenders off the ball.  A post from footballcoaching.com provides a list of pros and cons for each type of scheme.  Man blocking schemes do have the ability to run complicated plays, such as the counter trey, on which the backside guard and backside tackle pull and lead through a hole.  Unlike zone plays, these plays typically are intended to go to one particular hole.

As for how Michigan’s linemen will fare in what we can only assume will be a more man blocking-oriented scheme, I think they’ll be just fine.  Rich Rodriguez and Mike Barwis realized last year that 290-pound linemen can’t get the job done at Michigan, so several of them bulked up to 300 pounds for the 2010 season.  I don’t expect that Michigan will return to having oodles of 320-330 lb. behemoths, but some of these guys should be able to hit 310-315.  New strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman has talked about keeping down his players’ body fat percentage, so I don’t expect Michigan to turn into a bunch of Wisconsin Badger-like fatties.

Individually . . .

LT Taylor Lewan. He was somewhat light this past season due to his youth, but I think he can be successful in any scheme.  He’s strong, nasty, and athletic.  I’ve said since he was recruited that he plays like Jake Long.  He’ll continue to add some weight and continue to be a mauler.

LG Ricky Barnum (?).  I’m operating under the assumption that Barnum will replace the departed Steve Schilling.  Barnum has flirted with playing offensive tackle in the past, but he doesn’t have the length to play tackle.  To me he’s a prototypical bowling ball of a guard.

C David Molk. Molk might be the lightest guy on the offensive line, but he’s also the strongest.  Centers are typically the smallest offensive linemen, so I’m not concerned about his lack of size.

RG Patrick Omameh.  I still think that Omameh would be a good fit at offensive tackle, although I’m not sure he’ll switch positions at this point.  He doesn’t have the prototypical body type for a guard in a man blocking scheme; he might be heavy enough, but he’s more the athletic guard type than a straight ahead mauler.  He’s excellent on the move, like former UCLA Bruin and Baltimore Raven Johnathan Ogden (although obviously not as big and probably not as good), so I expect offensive coordinator Al Borges to run counters, waggles, and traps to utilize Omameh’s athleticism.

RT Mark Huyge.  I’ve never been impressed with Huyge, but maybe he’ll take a leap as a senior.  He’s got the size, but I’ve just never thought of him as a great athlete.  If another guard steps up (Rocko Khoury, maybe), I wouldn’t mind seeing Omameh bump out to RT and having Khoury step in at right guard.  We’ll see what happens.

These guys probably won’t be the equivalent of the mean, nasty, road grading offensive linemen that populated Michigan in decades past, but they should be able to hold their ground.  If Borges and Brady Hoke hold to their promise of making changes to the offense based on personnel, then they should be able to take advantage of this line’s strengths.  I don’t want to see Borges forced into zone blocking if that’s not his specialty, but he needs to get these guys on the move.

15Aug 2010
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2010 Countdown: #19 Patrick Omameh


Name: Patrick Omameh
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 299 lbs.
High school: St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, OH
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #65
Last year: I ranked Omameh #44 and said he’d be a backup offensive tackle. He was . . . until he started the last three games of the season at right guard. I also said he’d be in line to take over the left tackle job vacated by Mark Ortmann in 2010, but it looks like he’ll still be at RG.

Omameh was a lightly recruited defensive end prospect coming out of high school, garnering a late offer from the Wolverines once Rich Rodriguez took the helm. He was very light for an offensive lineman, but was 276 lbs. by 2009 and now weighs in at a svelte 299 lbs. He played sparingly at the beginning of last season, looking up at offensive tackles Mark Ortmann, Perry Dorrestein, and Mark Huyge. However, with the offensive line rejiggering triggered by the David Molk injury, Huyge moved inside to guard but couldn’t cut it inside. That’s when Omameh stepped in and took the RG position by the throat, looking powerful and athletic over the last three weeks, including tough opponents Wisconsin and Ohio State.

The departure of David Moosman leaves the right guard position as Omameh’s to lose. There’s a possibility that redshirt freshman Taylor Lewan might win the left tackle position, but otherwise, Michigan has six offensive linemen with starting experience (Omameh, Huyge, Dorrestein, Molk, Stephen Schilling, and John Ferrara). This gives Michigan an experienced unit that should be perhaps the strongest group on the offense. Omameh himself is perfectly suited to the athletic line play that is required for Michigan’s offense. He has the speed, agility, and power to get up to the second level and latch onto linebackers. Between fifth-year senior Schilling, veteran center Molk, and Omameh, Michigan should be able to run the ball effectively, no matter who wins the starting running back job by September 4th.

Prediction for 2010: Starting right guard

Only 17% of voters picked Omameh to be #19 in the poll. The leading vote-getter was Brendan Gibbons, with 20%.

30May 2010
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Chris Rock, Wolverine

St. Francis DeSales defensive end Chris Rock

Six-foot-five, 250 lb. defensive end Chris Rock committed to Michigan on Friday. He’s the first BBQ at the Big House attendee to commit this year, having visited Michigan for a cookout the previous weekend. While Rock hails from the nether reaches of Hell (a.k.a. Columbus, OH), he didn’t have an offer from Ohio State. However, he did choose the Wolverines over offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Stanford, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

St. Francis DeSales is a private school of about 1,000 students, and the football team finished second in the state during Rock’s junior year. As a sophomore, Rock had 60 tackles and 16 sacks. He nearly equalled those stats as a junior, racking up 15 sacks in the follow-up effort.

Judging from Rock’s offer list, he looks like possibly a low 4-star prospect. Right now he’s a 3-star to Scout and ranked the #49 defensive end, although rankings this early are questionable. Nonetheless, Rivals will be releasing its rankings later this week, so we’ll see where he starts off in their listings.

To be honest, I’m not enamored with Rock. A large part of that is due to the fact that his highlight film is full of offensive linemen completely forgetting to block him. I find it difficult to get excited about a player who accrues a bunch of sacks while barreling unimpeded into the offensive backfield.

That being said, DeSales has produced a significant number of FBS prospects in the past few years. From 2008-2010, the school churned out seven FBS players, five of whom went to Big Ten schools; that includes Patrick Omameh from the class of 2008, a current guard for Michigan. When teams gameplan for the junior and senior playmakers on a team, that gives the unknown underclassmen a chance to shine. That might explain why Rock goes untouched in probably 75% of his highlights.

My biggest issue with Rock is that he stands straight up on the snap. He’s able to push around weaker players when playing so high, but if he tried to push around a 310 lb. Big Ten tackle like that, Rock would get tossed around like a rag doll. He doesn’t use his hands well to shed blocks, and he also finds himself losing contain a little too frequently. He has decent speed for a 250-pounder, so he can make up for his poor fundamentals at times. But some of his habits are less than ideal.

Rock is a strongside defensive end prospect. He reminds me a little bit of Anthony Lalota, another raw defensive end that Michigan recruited in the class of 2009. Whereas Lalota will remain at defensive end for the remainder of his career (in my opinion), I think Rock could grow into a 3-tech defensive tackle, much like what Ryan Van Bergen played in 2009. I think Rock’s upside is rather low. He could be a decent college starter, but he doesn’t have the instincts or athleticism to be an elite player for Michigan. This is a solid commitment because Michigan needs defensive linemen, but I don’t think Rock is a game-changer.

TTB Rating: 58

17Mar 2010
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Spring Roster Tidbits

Ryan Van Bergen: Breakout year coming?

MGoBlog and The Wolverine have done a good job of breaking down the spring roster, so I won’t waste your time or mine in parsing the roster much further.

There are a few noteworthy bits from today’s press conference and the roster that I would like to highlight, however.

– Regarding the quarterback position, Rodriguez admitted that Denard Robinson is going to start seeing reps at wide receiver. While he stressed that Robinson is still going to compete at the quarterback position, this seems to be the beginning of the transition from the quarterback position to receiver that many of us have been expecting. I expect Robinson to be a full-time receiver by 2011.

– The popular number of pounds to gain this offseason was 17. Linebacker Isaiah Bell (237), offensive tackle Mark Huyge (305), tight end Brandon Moore (260), and offensive guard Patrick Omameh (293) all gained this amount.

– It seems apparent that the rumor we heard about the offensive and defensive lines is true: Rodriguez wants them to be bigger than they have been for the past two seasons. There’s really no other way to explain the fact that there are now five (5!) offensive linemen over 300 lbs. when last year’s only 300 pounder was freshman Quinton Washington. With almost six months left until the season, a couple other guys might get there before September, too.

– Tight ends Kevin Koger (251), Martell Webb (257), and Brandon Moore (260) are all getting in the “hefty” range for tight ends. There were a lot of people who thought Rodriguez was moving toward using tight ends heavily. This is significant evidence to the contrary. These guys seem to be blocking tight ends in the making.

– Ryan Van Bergen and Steve Watson are both listed as defensive ends. Van Bergen was a DT last year, and Watson was the third-string Quick end behind Craig Roh and Brandon Herron. Watson is likely to ride the bench once again, but as I expected, Van Bergen seems to be Brandon Graham’s replacement at DE.

– Junior Hemingway is 227 lbs. That’s too heavy for a receiver who wasn’t that fast to begin with. If he continues to play at 220+ pounds, he won’t be any kind of deep threat. This bodes unwell for Michigan’s downfield passing game.

16Aug 2009
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2009 Countdown: #44 Patrick Omameh

Name: Patrick Omameh
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 276 lbs.
High School: St. Francis Desales High School in Columbus, OH
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: RS freshman
Jersey Number: #65
Prediction for 2009: Backup offensive tackle

Omameh (pronounced oh-MAH-mee) has been the surprise of the 2008 recruiting class. Lightly regarded (and light, period) coming out of high school, Omameh was ranked as a defensive end prospect and garnered a late offer from Rich Rodriguez and his staff. Omameh was impressive right off the bat during summer workouts and traveled to away games last season; although he didn’t play a down in 2008 and therefore preserved his redshirt, he’s battling Mark Huyge for the starting right tackle position.

If Huyge falters this season or if there’s an injury at one of the tackle positions, Omameh will quite possibly be the replacement you see on the field. He remains a little light, but he has good agility and a long frame. He may not factor into the 2009 season very significantly, but with Mark Ortmann graduating this year, look for Omameh to take over the left tackle job in 2010.