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| Drew Dileo |
Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Jackson. Denard Robinson targeted Jackson deep a couple times, and it was uneventful. Jackson is a slow possession receiver. If you want to run someone deep, send Gardner, Roundtree, or Gallon. Heck, even Amara Darboh runs better than Jackson, though the former is just a freshman. Jackson isn't even that great of a blocker, so I'm not sure why he's seeing so much time.
Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Raymon Taylor. I'm not Taylor's biggest fan, but I'm starting to get concerned about the cornerback depth once again. With starter Blake Countess out for the season and his replacement Taylor knocked out of the game on Sunday, Michigan was nearing the bottom of the barrel. The only scholarship corners left are sophomore Delonte Hollowell and freshman Terry Richardson, both of whom are tiny and inexperienced.
Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody. The defense is playing very well.
Play of the game . . . in a tight game like this, there were lots of key plays. One was Thomas Gordon raking the ball out of the tight end's hands on the goal line. Another was Robinson's late throw to Dileo to set up the field goal. But I have to give this one to Brendan Gibbons for hitting the 38-yard, game-winning field goal.
MVP of the game . . . Drew Dileo. Yeah, somebody had to throw the passes, but Michigan's receivers were struggling to get open and struggling to hold onto the ball. But Dileo didn't really have those issues. He was also the holder on all four field goals.
My favorite play of the game was nowhere near as big, just fun. Jake Ryan coming back and getting a twofer out of a big hit on Gallon's very nice punt return.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed Dileo looking around and covering the football on his catch and run. Clearly, Drew has been caught from behind before.
Dileo...another RR recruit who turned into a fine college player. Nothing flashy just gets the job done.
ReplyDeleteDileo...another RR recruit that Hoke and Co. turned into a fine college player.
DeleteFixed it for you.
It's both. Can't we all just get along!?
Deletenot giving image credit is as if I copy-pasted your analysis to another website and put up a paypal "Donate" button next to it.
ReplyDeleteA valid point. If this blog had a "let's see more of this" on it - it'd say 'proper attribution'.
DeleteOT: The exchange starting with Sgt Rock's 8:57 post is an awesome demonstration of the schism in our fan base. There was one with Stevie Brown on MGoBlog this morning. First post (paraphrased): "Poor Stevie -- his college years were ruined by RichRod." It was followed by a couple noting that he flourished when moved somewhere better by GERG.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, I think the suggestion that Dileo became a player only under Hoke is a bit condescending.
Also, plenty of RichRod's recruits didn't even make it to campus. I wouldn't say that Dileo is typical of them ('cept for the slot ninja trait).
Plenty didn't make it and plenty did. You can't argue that Ryan, Robinson, Lewan, etc. aren't excellent talents. You also can't argue that GERG was a good coach.
DeleteThe RR debate is bit tiresome at this point. Very few things are really going to change anyone's mind. Even if he totally flames out (or wins a national title) at Arizona people are going to argue that things could have been different (or the same) at Michigan, depending on what they already think.
I agree... the RR hate is so over done at this point. He's a good coach, it didn't pan out at Michigan, historically bad Defense, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut, if that doesn't work... then if Hoke & Co. deserve credit for turning Dileo into a fine college player... do they deserve criticism for Roundtree's fall in Offensive production? Just a thought.
WillyWill9
Denard isn't getting any flavors from the current staff either relative to his numbers under RR. But RR's D was sooooo bad that really isn't an issue.
DeleteRR is 4-3 now, if he upsets USC next week I will tip my M cap to him (game is at Arizona I might add), could be interesting. AZ stomped on Washington last weekend.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree on Dileo. He needs to be in on every 3rd and long for the rest of the season and should probably see a lot more snaps in general.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly and inexplicably, the walk-on WR (Reynolds) was seeing crunch-time snaps this game and not just in blocking situation. I don't know what's up with that at all. He seemed to do OK, but you have to wonder who is hurt or in the doghouse for him to enter the game. Doesn't speak well for Darboh either...
I do know that Devin Gardner's not making plays out there. Way too many drops on balls that could and should be caught by a 6'4 WR. Pure talent only gets you so far. Give me a WR who knows how to play the position (like Dileo) over a guy who doesn't have the body control, awareness, experience and overall polish to play it.
Right now, I only feel good about Funchess, Dileo, and Gallon. Roundtree isn't bad, but has limited talent - and that late off-sides was awful. Gardner is useful, but mostly as a decoy. I don't want him getting the ball in 3rd down situations at all.
Jackson isn't good, but those throws looked to be on Denard, if you ask me.
Add me to the list of recruitniks crossing their fingers for Treadwell. Otherwise, some of those DBs are going to switching to O.
I don't think Reynolds is a star or anything, but I will say that I've liked what I've seen from him in practices and such. He's pretty solid for a walk-on. He did get a penalty on Saturday, though, which was frustrating.
DeleteDarboh is out there on special teams and doing a pretty decent job. I don't think he's in the doghouse or anything. Maybe he's just having issues learning the offensive playbook. That's not too awfully concerning to me.
I agree that Gardner's drops have been frustrating, but he's in his first year of playing the position. I don't think you can count on him in crunch time, but he's made some big plays so far this year. He'll get better.
Gardner's only frustrating because of his lack of production for such a great athlete. Jeremy Jackson is basically just as tall and has been playing the position much longer, but I'd rather see Gardner out there any day. Gardner's made some key 3rd-down conversions, too.
DeleteDarboh looks gigantic when he's on the field. I agree with Magnus that he's probably still learning the playbook, as he's appeared hesitant when on the field. Reynolds is decently quick and got a sick-nasty cut block on a safety on one of Toussaint's nice runs, so I have no problem with him being out there. This coaching staff loves rotation.
Gardner should play in a fairly limited role IMO. Just run simple routes on the outside and be an occasional deep threat in low-pressure situations. Basically, his purpose should be to keep defenses honest.
DeleteI think Gardner has 6 more games left at WR, and I don't think he'll get much better in that timeframe. He might not even practice there after Ohio State. Part of why Reynolds plays is because Gardner isn't a guy who wants to block.
Even if you think Bellomy or Morris are going to beat out Gardner because of his performance in the spring game, he'll be a senior next year. He's not going to get THAT much better at WR.
I don't think Darboh is doomed or anything, but it's clear that right now we don't have many receivers that can both block and pass. The two that do both reasonably well (Gallon and Roundtree) seem to get the majority of snaps. Darboh is a freshman, sure, but seeing walk-on's play ahead of him is a little disappointing.
I'd rather Denard not throw it to a covered Jackson than throw it to an uncovered Gardner, if Garnder is just going to let it go off his hands. At least Jackson can block a bit.
DeleteSo you're saying Richardson and Hollowell are short? Hadn't heard anything about that yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm really impressed with how good Desmond Morgan has looked the last few weeks. I was a skeptic of his ability, but he has really come on and pushed Bolden and Ross (who still look very good IMO) to bench roles.
ReplyDeleteI thought Gordon and Kovacs (who was really an LB on this day) played really well too. Thought I noticed Floyd playing the deep safety position on some 4th Quarter plays. Courtney Avery stepped up when needed.
Sounds like Taylor will be alright, but I suspect the next DB in will be Wilson at Safety (with Gordon sliding to nickel.)
The DL still isn't getting enough pass rush, but other than that, you have to be very happy with this D.
I know this isn't anything new coming from me, but Morgan can really play. He's a very solid tackler and a smart player. He's not the fastest guy around, but he's a thumper. I still think he'll be a solid replacement for Demens next year at MIKE, but he'll be fine if he stays at WILL, too.
DeleteYes, you've liked Morgan since he was a recruit. I didn't disagree, but I thought he had a limited ceiling. He's really stepped up this year and I'm glad he's going to be around for a couple more. However the positions shake out, we're in good hands with Morgan, Ross, and Bolden at ILB for the next 2 years.
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