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Monday, October 14, 2013

Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Devin Funchess had 4 catches for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns
Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . Dennis Norfleet. If Norfleet's going to be a slot receiver, he needs to be on the field. And not just in special packages where it's a near certainty that he'll get the ball. I somewhat understand not putting him out there a ton if he's your full-time returner, but now that Drew Dileo has taken over the punt return duties, Norfleet's duties have essentially been cut in half. Michigan needs to spend more time in the spread and less time with two or three tight ends and a fullback. And if that happens, Michigan will have to spell some guys with the likes of Norfleet.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . a fullback. Whether it's Joe Kerridge or Sione Houma, I don't really care about whether this team employs a fullback anymore. The offensive line is too porous to make a fullback relevant, and Kerridge isn't a threat to run or catch the ball. His role is to lead block on run plays that result in zero yards. There's just no point. Spread teams out horizontally and hope that Toussaint can find some alleys.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Delonte Hollowell. The junior cornerback has lost playing time this year to freshmen Channing Stribling and Jourdan Lewis, but Hollowell is the feistiest of the bunch. I've never been impressed with his athleticism or ball skills, but he is physical and seems to be in position most of the time. At the end of regulation, I would have preferred to have seen Hollowell in there instead of Stribling.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Channing Stribling. Stribling's a freshmen, and I'm fairly on him. But the bottom line is that the game moves very quickly for true freshmen, especially in clutch situations. In my opinion, he's not the guy you want in there during crunch time. He mistimed a couple jumps and flat-out whiffed on a couple passes completed to Brandon Felder and Allen Robinson, allowing the Nittany Lions to march down the field and tie the game. Stribling has to take some responsibility for that, but so do the coaches who chose to put him out there.

Play of the game . . . Frank Clark's fumble return for a touchdown. It wasn't just the return, either. Defensive end Keith Heitzman got some great penetration to slow up Penn State running back Zach Zwinak, who cut back only to be tackled by linebacker James Ross III. Ross reached across with his right hand to punch out the ball, Clark scooped it up, dodged PSU quarterback Christian Hackenberg, and raced 24 yards for the score. Prior to that play, Michigan was down 21-10 and looking for a spark, and Clark helped to provide it.

MVP of the game . . . Devin Funchess. I was very close to picking Devin Gardner for this award, but Gardner's two interceptions gave Penn State short fields that resulted in 14 points. Instead, I'm picking the tight end who had 4 catches for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns, from 59 and 37 yards, respectively. Gardner has had a hard time hitting anyone over the top except Funchess, who has proven to be more of a deep threat than wide receivers Jeremy Gallon or Jehu Chesson.

15 comments:

  1. Thinking about Gardner as MVP? 2 picks ending up at our 14 and 20 yard line. If he came back and had a td drive at the end to win the game, that may have redeemed him.. but he didn't.

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    1. That's kind of exactly what I said.

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    2. Because, you know, he was given the chance to do that. And we didn't run Toussaint into a wall a billion straight times during that drive. Oh, wait.

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    3. Remember that game we ran the ball not terribly? Gardner didn't have to do everything and threw no picks and fumbled zero times.

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  2. The Stribling case was definitely a head-scratcher. Was really excited for Frank Clark's progress -- could become a dominant lineman like Mike Martin by next year. You are also absolutely on the point about fullbacks. Phew. Maybe they could hire you as a staff member or something. That would be good for everyone.

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    1. I don't know if I could give up this blog for $200,000 a year... I'd have to think long and hard about it.

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    2. You can still run the blog on the side ;)

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  3. Thunder,

    Do you think the issue with the offensive line is related to coaching or youth? given his success with recruiting,iIs it even plausible to think Michigan would replace Funk?

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  4. I thought Clark was MVP. I know it isn't any of his fault but Funchess was anonymous from mid-4th quarter onward. Clark had 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and a TD. His TD gave M momentum at the start of the second half. He's starting to come to the fore now.

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    1. I think that's more on the coaches than Funchess. He didn't even have a target after the 13-minute mark.

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  5. Hi Mangus, just wondering...If I call Dave Brandon do you think he'd answer? His phone number is listed on MGoBlue. I wanted to talk to him about Al Borges.

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  6. The Shrinking thing was so frustrating. He was in perfect position each time .. freshman.

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  7. RE: Funchess. Is is still accurate to call him a TE? I didn't track it closely but is he lining up more as a WR now or TE?

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  8. I got no problem with playing Hollowell in Dime situations I guess, but I think the better option is moving Avery back to his familiar nickel spot and keeping Countess and Taylor outside, rather than asking Avery to defend players out there.

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  9. In all seriousness, I know we don't know every last detail about Borges, but would you fire him if you were Dave Brandon/Brady Hoke

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