Sherrone Moore: Alex Orji made strides … it’s up to all to improve the passing game
Michigan threw for only 86 yards in a 27-24 win over Minnesota a week after managing only 32 in a victory over USC, but Sherrone Moore isn’t panicking. Quarterback Alex Orji did make some better throws, and Moore noted today he’s not the only one who needs to improve to make the passing game better.
Receivers have struggled to get open, for one, or haven’t been where they needed to be. Pass protection, too, needs to be much better to help Orji or whoever is behind center.
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“Work in progress. Got to get better, continue to strive to get better,” Moore said of the passing game. “It starts with me and how to organize practice and things we can do to help them. We’ll continue to do that to get better.
“But Orji did some really good things and improved, went through some progressions which was good to see. We’ve got to continue to improve in that aspect. Then we’ve got to get open for him, too. We’ve got to protect. It’s a whole part thing … a team thing.”
The pass catchers dropped only one ball Saturday, so that part has improved a bit. At the same time, Orji hasn’t always had someone to throw to when he dropped back. Moore seems okay with the scheme, more worried about the execution.
“I don’t think it’s wholesale full change on concepts. I think it’s doing a good job of scheming things, getting people open in various ranges,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to do that with everybody, and we’ve got to make the right reads.
“There are two pieces … route detail, so on every little route there’s a depth, a release you’ve got to take. We’ve got to do a better job on them. Also, as a collective, we’ve got to make sure we put all those guys in position to run the best routes they run. That will help them, and I think we’re going to be doing that this week.”
On the interception changed that Michigan – Minnesota game …
Orji’s one pick could have been a Michigan touchdown that all but iced the game with U-M up 21-3. Instead, it kept the Golden Gophers alive to mount a comeback.
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“The interception if it’s a little to the right, it’s not a pick,” Moore said. “Colston [Loveland] will tell you he’s got to help him, but we also probably need to progress on it and he had Donovan [Edwards] down the sideline. Those things … it’s football. It’s going to happen.
“But he made some steps in the right direction. Progressing all the way to a backside dig was huge, which we haven’t done here in a long time. It was good for him to do that, make a nice access throw to the field to Kendrick [Bell], and do some things around the pocket. He’s making the steps needed, and we’ll continue to push him.
“… The best thing for guys is experience, especially the quarterback spot. Those guys get experienced, they get better, take steps forward. I look forward to him taking a step forward this week.”
They could get Orji more involved in the Michigan run game, too. Moore said the reasons for running him more compared to, say, J.J. McCarthy last year were obvious.
“J.J. wasn’t health. It was just we didn’t want to run him,” Moore said. “When you have a quarterback, just because you have a running quarterback doesn’t mean we want to get him hit.
“There will be some things we’ll do to adjust [with Orji], but we’ll talk about that as a staff.”
