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| Devin Funchess caught 4 passes for 106 yards and this touchdown. |
Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Denard Robinson. Twenty carries is too many. The team needs to get the running backs going. Fitzgerald Toussaint had 8 carries for 7 yards in this game. Thomas Rawls had 6 carries for 9 yards last week. And those were your starting tailbacks. Yep, 14 carries for 16 yards through two games. Michigan needs to improve the play of the offensive line and let these tailbacks run a little bit.
Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Courtney Avery. I was not impressed with Raymon Taylor's performance at cornerback on Sunday, and I think Avery should remain the starter at field corner. The coaches need to find another contributor for the slot corner spot, whether it's Taylor, Delonte Hollowell, or Thomas Gordon. The injury to Blake Countess and the departure of Terrence Talbott have really hurt Michigan's secondary.
Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Frank Clark. Clark is still too undisciplined. Yes, he made a couple nice plays, but he also made a couple bone-headed plays where he was culpable for losing contain. He needs to be more consistent. Hopefully Brennen Beyer's injury isn't too serious, because Beyer needs to get a bunch of snaps there. Mario Ojemudia also looks decent as a bit player, although his size will become more of a detriment once the Big Ten season hits.
Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson's 58-yard touchdown run. The first touchdown run was longer (79 yards), but the second was more fun to watch. He slid to the left, waiting for Patrick Omameh to pull through the hole, then burst forward, cut to the right, cut upfield, jumped outside to the right sideline, and outraced the Air Force defense to the corner.
MVP of the game . . . Denard Robinson. Jake Ryan had a great game, too, but Robinson had 218 rushing yards, 208 passing yards, and accounted for all 4 of Michigan's touchdowns. He could have thrown the ball better, but he made just about every play possible in the running game. He also seems to be developing a rapport with wide receiver Devin Gardner and tight end Funchess.
Always love reading your take on the players' performances, as you have way more insight into the game than I do. I always try to see what you're seeing in the next game. Agree on mars and the backs. Need to redistribute that load and get fitz more involved.
ReplyDeleteAlso FYI, it's "rapport". ;)
Fixed. Thanks.
DeleteI thought Clark looked quick for having added the size despite looking hapless at times against what I thought to be a nicely polished triple option attack, especially for the second game of the season. I also think that he'll be a nice player for us in the Big season as his reads become simpler.
ReplyDeleteReading the analysis above, I couldn't help but think of the old Richard Pryor bit about Leon Spinks being dumb. What do you do for a living Leon? I knock M#%&$%# F^%#*&s out. How smart does Brother Leon gotta be? He knocks M#%&$%# F^%#*&s out.
What do you do for a living Frank? I knock quarterbacks down. Yeah, I know it's more complex than that and he'll be way more valuable when and if he learns to read it better, but still.
They really need Clark to get it together right away. Beyer doesn't have it (and he is injured) and Ojemudia is probably a year away from becoming a play-maker.
DeleteI accidentally deleted a comment that said:
ReplyDelete"Let's see less of this guy on offense...Denard Robinson"
Seriously...
Did you read the rest of that paragraph?
DeleteI did.
DeleteBut until our RB's begin to produce at all his one-man performances will continue to win us games.
I understand. And that's my point - Michigan needs to get those running backs going and run Denard less. Michigan needed him to run the ball 20 times in order to win on Saturday, and that's fine. But if he has to do that every week, we're going to be in trouble because he's going to get hurt.
DeleteYeah, true... I get what you're saying, totally. I wanted Fitz, and even Rawls, to have a break-out day, but whatever gets us W's at this point (or should I say after the loss to 'Bama). UMass should be cannon fodder for our RB's this Saturday.
DeleteI'm hoping Shoelace gives us a strong cushion by halftime, if not by the end of the 1st quarter, and sits out the rest of the game.
At this point in the season how do you feel about Demens and Morgan compared to Ross and Bolden? Do you think we will see the two freshman starting by the end of the season?
ReplyDeleteChet
I think Morgan is fine. Playing the option isn't his strong suit. Some of the Big Ten opponents will suit his playing style better. Ross is very good, though, so I wouldn't rule it out.
DeleteI also think Demens will be better off once the Big Ten season starts. Bolden is still a little light.
Ross and Bolden have more upside than Morgan and Demens, but they're still true freshmen.
I dont get the CLark award. You commented on the Meinke piece that you cannot judge Michigan's defense by these two games - that they will be ok once they settle down. But then you judge Clark by one game - against a triple-option offense? In a game in which so few defensive players were making plays, why would we want to see less of one of the few that did make plays? Especially when we will be seeing more traditional offenses from here on out? It seems more logical that he needs more experience to become more disciplined, to learn how to contain better - especially before we face MSU and OSU, not less.
ReplyDeleteSomebody's got to get the award (unless I don't "hand it out"). Outside contain is an issue he struggled with last year in game situations, so it's not like this is a new thing.
DeleteIs Funchess the presumed starter going forward or are there questions re: size and blocking ability?
ReplyDeleteWillywill9
I think there are still some questions about whether he can be an in-line blocker at this point (Kwiatkowski does a pretty good job, I think), but Funchess looks like he should be the starting U-back.
DeleteAlso, as the season progresses I imagine DG will play a bigger role at wide out. What does this mean for the QB position next year? Are we robbing tomorrow to pay for today? Aren't we compromising experience and development at QB for DG?
ReplyDeleteWillywill9
Perhaps, but it's sort of a necessary evil. Michigan doesn't have much at wide receiver right now. Of Michigan's three passing touchdowns this year, Gardner has two of them. Maybe other guys make those plays, maybe not...but right now he's 2/3 of our scoring production through the air. And Bellomy has already been impressing people, so maybe he's #1 for next year already.
DeleteTD receptions through 2 games isn't a very compelling argument. Especially against outlier opponents like 'Bama and AF. Gardner has clearly been a big part of the passing game.
DeleteHard not to trust the coaches on this one given their alternatives. At least teams have to respect his athleticism. But I think it probably does hurt this team in 2013.
I agree. In his press conferences, Devin had mentioned he's still a qb. Which concerns me a bit considering how little he's been able to play, especially seeing as next year could be his last in terms of eligibility.
DeleteWillywill9
Gardner and the team are better off with him on the field rather than holding the clipboard. UM has no "mismatch" guys at WR but DG has the potential to develop into that label by season's end. Gardner already has 2.5 years of practice experience at QB. An extra fall of practice at QB is not going to make a significant difference for him. Also, only two QB's get legit reps during the season anyway, so Gardner would be taking snaps from Bellomy.
DeleteClark needs to be in every down as he is one of the very few "play-makers" left on the D (Ryan also). We can live with a few "containment issues" if he can make 3rd down killing stops to get the D off the field. If not, we'll be back to a RR type D where they never could get off the field except after a FG or TD. Still having nightmares about those D's.
ReplyDeleteMagnus, I am no hater of Courtney Avery. And you're right; the biggest thing is that Michigan looks like it will be vulnerable in the secondary, against big-time BCS wideouts.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with you that we "need to see more of Avery," or that we "need to see more of Raymon Taylor." Obviously, we need to choose somebody, and I defer to the people who know a lot more than me.
What struck me about the Air Force game, and what I posted discretely at MGoBlog, was that it was pretty stunning, the extent to which Avery was so dramatically sat down after starting the game as the short-side CB. Like he stole Greg Mattison's lunch or something. Did Avery come back in once after he was taken out? What I saw (I might have been mistaken) was that even on nickel packages, they didn't bring Avery back in. And that's weird because Avery would seem to be an obvious nickel back, even if Countess were healthy.
The story with Avery seems to me to the big unreported story of the afternoon.
Section 1
I don't remember seeing him late in the game, but I'm not sure why. It could have been an injury. It could have been that he was struggling with reading the triple option offense and getting out of position. I'd have to look at the film again to see what the reasoning might have been.
DeleteI think Funchess developing being a threat and Defenses needing to account for him could open up plays for the other TE's during 2 TE sets....an suspecting options during major needs in yardage. Also, can you do a weekly update of the freshman who have not played yet, call it "redshirt tracker" or something like that....thanks
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I don't think that would be a very productive use of time. I mentioned last week the freshmen who played, and there were no new additions to that list this week.
DeleteOk....maybe a full recap obviously at the end of the year??
ReplyDeleteI can probably do that.
Delete