Opinion Roundtable: Are We Being Too Hard On Michigan's Offense?

Michigan picked up a 10-3 win over Iowa on Saturday but the offensive performance has a lot of people worried.

Michigan's defense dominated Iowa on Saturday but the offense certainly did not. When the dust settled, Michigan had just 267 yards of offense and 10 points to show for its efforts. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson only had 147 yards passing and the Wolverines ground game was held to just 3.6 yards per rush. Still, a win is a win.

With that said, Michigan has four opponents left on the schedule who are better defensively than Iowa, so the offense is going to have to get going. All things considered, are we being too hard on the offense in a win?

Brandon Brown

"I think the criticism has been absolutely warranted. It's pretty much impossible to accurately place the blame without seeing practice, hearing exactly how the plays are being called or getting confirmation from those in the know about who's supposed to be doing what, but one thing is certain — the offense has been bad.

"As things currently stand, Michigan is No. 102 in the country in rushing offense at 128.4 yards per game, No. 73 in the country in passing offense with 238.6 yards per game and No. 74 in the country in scoring offense at 28 points per game. Those numbers are bad, especially considering who's on the roster. 

"Michigan beat Iowa and that's a job well done. The Hawkeyes certainly have a pulse and will probably win eight or nine games this year, but that lack of production on offense is not going to be close to enough against Penn State in Happy Valley, Notre Dame or Ohio State. Michigan State is also bad on offense but we all know how those types of close games can go. Anyway you slice it, Michigan needs to be much, much better on offense."

Steve Deace

"I don't think we're being too hard on it at all, because the truth is this offense has been awful all season except for one quarter against overmatched Middle Tennessee. Not to mention we all recognize we can't count on historic defensive performances every week against the difficult schedule coming up. At some point complementary football is going to be needed to win those games. Then there's the personnel. A former five-star quarterback, four returning offensive linemen who were All-Big Ten last season and all the recruiting stars at wide receiver.

"Sure, there's a transition with any offensive evolution, but how is it possible LSU has made such a successful evolution from a pro-style to a spread? LSU scored more points in its first four games than any team in SEC history, and it's also on its third offensive coordinator in four years. Its offensive coordinator was once a lowly grad assistant under our own Josh Gattis at Penn State. How have they pulled this off, while Michigan looks more lost in space than speed in space? If anything, I don't think we've been critical enough, because the season is at critical mass if this doesn't get fixed." 

How critical have you been? What do you think needs to happen? Comment below!!!