Of any of the groups on the Michigan football team that have improved the most week over week, the offensive line has to be at or near the top. And that's with a lot of shuffling across the line due to injuries.
But coming off a loss to Iowa, O-line coach Jim Harding says it's not good enough.
The line has certainly shown more every week that they've taken the field, and have been surprisingly adept in pass protection. But the run blocking still isn't quite where it was a year ago, and Harding the offensive coaches are still looking for answers.
As Harding says, it's not on the players that the line hasn't lived up to internal expectations; it's on him.
"Truthfully, it's not where I want it to be and where I think it can be. And that falls on me,"
Harding said. "Ultimately, you could say, well, you've had this many injuries or this many missed games. And frankly, nobody cares. There's injuries all across the country. And so we've got to do a better job.
"I think our pass protection so far has been really good, especially when just looking at comparing the same players last year -- just a different philosophy, things like that. But I think we can be more consistent in the run game, getting more push. I do think that there was more surge at the line of scrimmage. If you're looking at the sideline copy, the line of scrimmage was moving this past week. So that's progress. But it's nowhere where it needs to be, in my opinion. And it should be.
"And so as frustrated as maybe some people are, there's not anyone more frustrated. Because I believe that how the offense plays is a direct reflection of the offensive line. If we play well, everybody else is going to play well. If we're not doing what we're supposed to, it doesn't matter what skill kids we have around it; it's not going to be as efficient and as explosive. And so we're not where we need to be offensively. And so that's the same answer for the offensive line. We're not where we need to be."
So, with that in mind, what has been going wrong?
One aspect that Harding identified is that the players, at times, are overthinking. But it's more than that: it's attitude, it's pad level, it's footwork -- it's all of the above.
Still, Harding feels like he's seeing improvement, but it's still not up to snuff as far as the unit playing at the level he would like.
"Sometimes early on, I think probably our demeanor -- meaning that we're a little bit too top heavy," Harding said. "And when movement would happen, we'd be off-balance rather than being underneath our pads and behind our toes, so to speak.
"And so I thought these last couple of weeks we've been better. But again, there's got to be more progress. But pad level can always improve. You'll never hear an offensive line coach say that their pad level's great. And that's never an issue. So that's always going to be a focus.
"But certainly, it's not a mental error. It's not a lack of understanding of the scheme or something like that. These are really smart kids. Sometimes our technique, our footwork can be a little bit cleaner, can be a little bit. Rather than having big, long steps, we have to take short steps and be able to redirect. When we're taking long steps, not to get into a philosophical thing, but when you take big, long steps and a defense moves in front of you, it's going to take time for you to react because your foot's in the air. We've got to do a better job of taking short, choppy steps. And I think we're making progress there. But it can be better."
Michigan will next take the field against Minnesota in the first away game of the season. Kickoff at Huntington Bank Stadium is set for noon EDT, and the game will be broadcast on Fox.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jim Harding takes blame for Michigan line struggles
