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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Michigan State 29, Michigan 6

This picture could have been taken about 18 times on Saturday night (image via MLive)
This is what it used to feel like to be Michigan State. I have to admit I was not excited about this game at all. Especially once I saw the weather, I had a bad feeling that the Spartans' defense would dominate Michigan up front because, well, everyone except Indiana does these days. The fact is that Michigan hasn't scored a touchdown against MSU since 2011, and when Michigan had the ball, I was mostly hoping that it wouldn't result in a pick six or a decapitation of Devin Gardner. Michigan's best hope was to hold the Spartans to a low-scoring game and hopefully create a big play on defense or special teams. The Wolverines aren't good enough to dink and dunk their way down the field against MSU, and it showed. The most productive drive of the day was a fourth quarter drive that resulted in a failed back-shoulder fade to Jeremy Gallon that was intercepted by Darqueze Dennard.

The offensive line is terrible. In my opinion, this is the position coach on the hot seat this year. Youth or not, I have not seen improvement from Michael Schofield or the current interior guys, and last year's senior guard-center-guard combo also seemed to regress. Darrrell Funk seems to be the current staff's Jay Hopson. I've heard people talk about how much Funk knows about the offensive line, but what offensive line coach at this level doesn't? Production has been lacking, and that's what really matters. Michigan allowed 7 sacks for -49 yards, and the team had just 44 positive yards on the ground.

Devin Gardner was battered and bruised. Gardner wasn't really on his game the whole night. Michigan State's blitzes and Michigan's porous offensive line had something to do with it, but before the hits even had a chance to take a toll, Gardner was already off. I felt like Gardner wasn't loose and relaxed for this game, because he was hesitating on some of his throws and running tentatively, even at the beginning. He looked like a quarterback who let the other team's reputation get into his head, not to mention the 7 times he was sacked for -49 yards.

The offensive play calling. I've seen a lot of negative comments about Al Borges, which always happens after a loss or a close game. I'm not a Borges apologist, but I don't want to sell him down the river, either. I have yet to see any realistic suggestions for ways to improve the offensive philosophy at this point. The center can't snap, whether it's under center or from shotgun; there's been at least one botched snap every game, and this week's was an airmailed shotgun snap that cost Michigan 20 yards. The offensive line can't blow people off the ball, and they also can't pass protect. Borges called rollout passes and screens, which didn't work. The throwback screen to Jeremy Gallon got them a decent gain, and a bubble screen to Devin Funchess gained 5 yards, but throwing more bubble screens wouldn't make up the difference in a 23-point loss. Borges has tried power, iso, zone, long-developing pass routes, short routes, screens, quarterback draws, read options, etc. I will agree that a bubble screen here or there would help Michigan a little bit, but the bottom line is that bad offensive line play will submarine just about any offense.

What is it about Michigan State's defensive coaching that makes them so good? I really have half a mind to go to an MSU coaching clinic this offseason. That is, if Pat Narduzzi hasn't accepted a head coaching job by then. I see a lot of these MSU-bound kids coming out of high school with unimpressive physiques, skills, measurables, etc., yet they tackle like crazy, don't get themselves out of position, and blitz like madmen. I wonder how their practices, game planning, lifting, etc. differ from Michigan's. You can't tell me that their kids are just flat-out better athletes at every position. It's obviously a different mentality (attacking vs. conservative), but the Spartans manage to stay fundamentally sound, too. I've seen too much poor tackling by Raymon Taylor, too much poor coverage by Channing Stribling/Jourdan Lewis/Jarrod Wilson, too much lost leverage by Michigan's edge guys, etc. It's not that Michigan has a bad defense, but it's obviously lacking that little extra something that gives MSU its nasty edge.

Michigan choked. I think the Wolverines are typically a pretty resilient team. They always seemed to be a "second half team" under Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, and they've held tough under Brady Hoke in most games. However, there's a long list of players who did not play well in this game and made unforced errors - Devin Gardner, Graham Glasgow, Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Derrick Green, Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan, Jourdan Lewis, Cam Gordon, Raymon Taylor, Matt Wile. Hell, true freshman quarterback Shane Morris even got into the act by getting tripped up by the turf monster on Michigan's final drive.

What does this mean for the rest of this year? Well, this is the best defense Michigan will play all year, so at least that's out of the way. No other team is going to hold Michigan to single digits unless Gardner gets injured. Each of the next three games is winnable - though challenging - but I'm chalking up Ohio State as a loss already unless something happens to Braxton Miller and  Kenny Guyton in the meantime. It appears 9-3 is a best case scenario at this point.

49 comments:

  1. No trick plays, no count jumping, no unnecessary roughness, no maniacal over preparedness led to msu dominating this game. They are just better, tougher, more disciplined, more confident. They have their one thig they do on o and d and they do it all year long while M flips week to week adjusting personnel to scheme then scheme to personnel. I still don't think the roster is where it needs to be, too young in too many places, but that excuse is so played and hard to repeat when even sparty is getting productions out of young guys and a oL made of 3 stars and d linemen. I agree that M can win neb, nw and Iowa, they won't get pantsed by those ds the way they did yesterday. Hopefully these young pups saw what is expected of them and understand where they need to get to. I sure am tired as a Michigan fan of waiting for opponents assistant coaches to leave or star players to leave early for Michigan to win a game...

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    1. Well, MSU did hit a long reverse and they were a little extra physical at times. But either way, they were the better team.

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  2. Yup... I am very disgusted. I've been calling for Funk's firing for a while now -- I hope either (or both) Dave Brandon and Brady Hoke realize that their O-line coach doesn't deserve the 200k salary and fire his incompetent ass for someone who knows a thing about the line. You are absolutely right -- Borges can't call anything if the O-line completely sucks and gives up several sacks. I just don't understand how this douchebag still has a job coaching the O-line at a high level. Fire this moron, or Borges needs to move his big ass more in practice to get to his O-line guys.

    Ohio State will kill us at this rate -- around something like 49 to 14 thrashing that they gave to Penn State. This really kills me inside as an alumnus and fan. I hope both Hoke and Brandon are as well, because Meyer will absolutely run up the score on us in his bid for the BCS. This game might turn out to be worse than when Woody went for two, I fear.

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  3. M *can* win vs. Neb, NW and Iowa, but each of those games won't be easy. We are easily looking at 7-5 year.

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  4. I just don't get it. We have highly touted kids. Indiana last year was starting 3 true sophomores last year, when 2 of them started as true freshmen. They only managed a 4-8 record, but they were pretty competitive in every game, excluding the last 3 (don't really know what happened there..)

    Points per game last year they ranked 52nd. Michigan ranked 57th. 52nd with 3 true sophomores on their OL.

    I look at this year - we have the 2 senior tackles, we knew they were going to be fine.
    Juniors - none
    RS Sophomores - Bryant, Miller. I've been disappointed with how both of these players have developed. It's been 3 years. Lewan put on around 50 pounds from his red shirt year to having to play as a freshman. I remember him saying he came into school at around 245 and bulked up to closer to 290 by the time they had him playing. Miller for whatever reason has not added the strength necessary to ever be a big olineman.
    RS Freshmen - Bars, Magnuson, Kalis, Braden. I understand it's only been a year, but Kalis supposedly came in ready to play at 300+ pounds and 6'5". Magnuson needed a little bit of weight gain. Braden is a little raw technically. Bars was going to be a developmental prospect, and he's also the worst of this group. I'm surprised at how many missed assignments Kalis has when he is playing. I am disappointed he hasn't lived up to his 5 star potential. Is it mostly on Kalis? Is it mostly on Funk? I've seen other teams insert true freshmen at OL, or redshirt freshmen at OL, who are not nearly as highly touted, and they seem to do fine offensively. Indiana in 2012 for chrissakes.
    TRUE Freshmen - Samuelson, Dawson, Kugler, Bosch, Fox, LTT. Now the most college ready of the bunch appeared to be Kugler and Bosch. Bosch has a decent playing weight, Kugler does not. I don't expect much out of true freshmen on the OL.

    I just don't know what to make of this OL situation. I understand RR kind of screwed the pooch recruiting more slot receivers than OL in his time here... but Christ it's year 3 of the Hoke regime, he needs get his show on the road.

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    1. I've said for the past couple years that 2014 is the aiming point to have a good offensive line. Granted, Taylor Lewan will be gone, but the guys who are playing for the first time (Bosch, Glasgow, Kalis, etc.) will have a full offseason to evaluate themselves and improve upon their weaknesses. Your biggest leap is almost always from year one to year two of playing, so I think next year's crew will be better overall - without the one dominant player.

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    2. You seem to have more optimism about the o-line next year than I do. We lose our only two offensive linemen who have proven they are Big Ten caliber players and they happen to be our starting OTs. Another year in the program should help the development of the young guys, but we're counting on a lot of growth from at least 5 players to get us an average offensive line.

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    3. I am also fretting that the OL will not be significantly improved next year. The fact that no guards have really seized the position (Kalis, Bryant, and Braden all faltered) and they have resorted to playing a freshman and a guy who is obviously not a guard in Mags. And Glasgow does not look like a natural center either. Hopefully, Bosch solidifies LG. But UM could go into the offseason with all five OL positions in question.

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    4. I too have a lot of hope for 2014, but I think we need a new OL coach. Hopefully Kalis, Glasgow, Bosch, and Kugler can hold down the interior while Magnuson and Braden handle tackle duties.

      I've heard great things about Braden's physical prowess, but not seeing him on the field makes me think he still has a lot of learning to do, and I can blame Funk for that. He's been given an athletic freak and can't get him on the field.

      Magnuson I was extremely impressed with his high school tape. His footwork and athleticism seem like a perfect fit for LT. Hopefully he can add the strength needed to start next year.

      There is a name nobody has thrown out there yet: Aaron Wellman. Is he the answer for S&C coach? Our players often look out muscled and over powered. Like I said earlier, Lewan came in at 245 and threw on 45 pounds in a year with Barwis. Could Wellman be part of the problem here?

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  5. I think Michigan matches up way better with Ohio State than they do with Michigan State. The fact that the Ohio State Defense is really lagging, and that Mattison stopped Ohio State pretty handily last year makes me have some hope for this Ohio State game. Not to mention this is the biggest rivalry in all sports, so Michigan players will have more motivation. If Michigan could take down an undefeated Ohio State team and put the biggest dent in their schedule since 1969 I'd consider this season a success. I definitely would not count this as a Michigan loss just yet.

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    1. I don't think Michigan was lacking motivation in this game. Fitzgerald Toussaint said it, and lots of other guys felt it, too. Michigan is not at a point where they look at MSU as being below them. This is a legitimate rivalry.

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    2. OSU defense is improving week after week - I know Purdue and PSU are not world beaters but they are doing what they should be doing to bad offenses. Unlike what UM does to bad offenses. ....like everyone said MSU was.

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    3. OSU defense is improving week after week - I know Purdue and PSU are not world beaters but they are doing what they should be doing to bad offenses. Unlike what UM does to bad offenses. ....like everyone said MSU was.

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    4. "put the biggest dent in their schedule since 1969." Or 1993, 1995 or 1996 when they were undefeated and ranked top 5. Those mid-90s 8-4 squads all had offenses that were prone to bogging down, but had some good defenses, which is no surprise since they were Mattison's.

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    5. If we can pull it off I'd consider the season a success as well, but the chances of that are almost nil. Being a homer/fan/alumnus that I am, I would hope for a chance with even a mediocre O-line. But what we have is a POS O-line that gets us negative rushing yards so no. Those 90s teams were at least functional -- trust me I watched those games. Meyer will run up the score for his BCS bid. We'll turn into the sacrificial lamb.

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  6. I think the fumbled snap by Glasgow was the turning point. Before that we were moving the ball well but after that 2nd and 40 it all went to hell...

    Do you have any explanation on why we give up so many 3rd and longs this season? On every 3rd and 15 it seems like we rush three and the secondary gives up the big play... I remember a lot of Raven' fans complaining about Mattison and his lack of blitzing when they lost to the Steelers in the 2011 divisional round. His first season here our secondary had no talent (compared to now) and yet we brought a lot more pressure with Kovacs. There is now talent with guys like Ross, Morgan, Ryan, Beyer and yet we still can't make key stops. If the D-line sucks this bad why not play a 3-4?

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    1. I'm not really sure about the lack of blitzing. Michigan should have good blitzers (Ross, Ryan, Beyer, Cam Gordon) from the second level. I do think Michigan lacks the third-level blitzer like Jordan Kovacs was, and Mattison is probably trying to protect Jarrod Wilson by keeping Thomas Gordon back there with him. But you don't need to bring a safety to get home on blitzes. I just think the corners give up big plays too easily, and when you blitz, you have to put those guys on an island. I don't really trust Raymon Taylor, Jourdan Lewis, or Channing Stribling on an island.

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    2. It looks to me like UM is doing a particularly poor job of disguising blitzes this year, especially the ILB's. Pretty much every time they plan to bring heat, you see UM tip it and the opposing QB's recognize it pre-snap. In watching MSU's LB's, it was much tougher to read whether they were blitzing on most plays. Also agree that they have been very conservative with the safeties this year. Mattison was super aggressive with Kovacs in 2011, got more conservative last year, and now the safeties are out of view on most plays.

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    3. The INT by Taylor and then demolishment of UM's offense in the ensuing 3 plays was the turning point. The emotion could have turned there, it could have been a 16-13 game with a TD. The defense made their play, and the offense completely imploded sending a message there was no more game after that to play.

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  7. One more thing... where is Taco Charlton? He enrolled early, had a ton of hype and now can't even get any snaps on this terrible d-line?

    Coaching on both sides (not just Borges) seems to be lacking. Our head coach is a former d-line coach and for two years now we can't fix the line!

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    1. Charlton is mired on the bench. I don't think that should be too surprising. Freshmen aren't very productive on the defensive line. Lots of guys had a ton of hype in high school, and not many of them are playing. That's the nature of big-time college football.

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  8. All in all, a very disappointing performance. I didn't expect us to win, but I expected us to at least make a fight out of it, and be in it until the 4th quarter, but this game was essentially over at halftime. I'm beginning to have some serious doubts about whether Hoke can really get this program to an elite level, and while this game may not have settled things, it certainly did nothing to alleviate those doubts. This was a big rivalry game that we had two weeks to prepare for, and we looked like crap. No fire, no intensity, we just bent over and took it. There has not been one game in three years where Hoke has had this team really playing over their heads and beating a team they were expected to lose to.

    I didn't expect us to be great this year, but given that we have brought in two straight top 5 recruiting classes, I expected to start to see some real improvement and player development as the season went on, and there has been none of that. I agree completely about Funk..he needs to be gone. This is by far the worst performing O-line I've seen since Bo got here. I doubt very much that it will happen, though. Hoke is very much in the Michigan tradition of making coaching decisions based on loyalty and sentiment, rather than on merit and performance. That's why we get saddled with mediocre position coaches for years and years, and see teams like MSU and Northwestern outdo us with far inferior recruits.

    As you say, our next three games are all winnable, so this season can still be salvaged, even though we're dead in the water as far as the Legends division. But Hoke and Co. need to be on the hot seat from minute 1 next season. They and their defenders will have run out of excuses.

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  9. How much money for Nick Saban or Urban Meyer?

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    1. Wishful thinking. Martin and Brandon did not want Les Miles (when he had LSU on top) and Jim Harbaugh who were slam dunk candidates (with ties to Bo), what makes you think they would go after someone like Saban? Not happening... Hoke will get 5 years whether we like it or not. The best we can hope for is staff changes (Borges) and even then you never know if it will work. Texas hired Manny Diaz (hot name at the time) and they got worse.

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  10. Extending your comments on the offensive line (which I found interesting, along with -- very much -- your speculation on the source of the Spartan D quality), and assuming that the interior offensive line woes are due to some combination of:

    - Lack of inherent ability
    - Poor coaching
    - Youth

    How do think it breaks down? About how much would you attribute to those areas? Just curious ... there are many extreme opinions over on MGoBlog. Personally, I can't blame much more than 30% on youth.

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    1. Lack of inherent ability: 0%
      Poor coaching: 60%
      Youth: 40%

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  11. So I guess what I'd prefer Borges do would be to first never ever have Gardner turn his back to the defense on a PA pass. If you're going to do PA do it from the shotgun. I mean hell he was having a hard enough time staying upright looking straight at the defense.

    I also wonder why the hell he didn't call the whole game like he called that last drive that ended in the Gardner interception. The offense actually looked halfway decent on that drive (though Gardner did get clobbered a few times on that drive IIRC). I feel like that offense and pace (it seems as if that's as close as hurry up as Michigan ever gets these days) could have been effective. It might not have made the difference but I think it would have given them more of a chance. The grab bag offense (as Brian of MGo) calls it needs to be shelved.

    I'm with you on Funk... I really don't get how the OL is still this bad this far along in the season. You'd figure we'd see some improvement just from having played games against live competition but it actually seems to be getting worse.

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    1. I agree on the pace of the drive that ended with the Gardner interception, but I get the vibe that Hoke is more to blame there. Hoke is not a coach, from what I understand, who likes fast-paced offenses and the like. He wants to huddle and slow the pace down. In my opinion, that allows blitzing teams to come with lots of different blitz packages. Hurry them up and they have to run more of a base defense. So I agree with you on philosophy, but Hoke is probably the culprit there.

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    2. Thunder: "He [ Hoke ] wants to huddle and slow the pace down."

      It seems to me that overall philosophy in football is drifting towards a faster pace. Maybe not to the far extreme of Baylor, Oregon or Washington State ... but towards a quicker tempo. Speculate (if you will) ... what's Hoke's reasoning for the slower game? Is there a solid rationale for it? Or is it really just what he "grew up" with and that's what he prefers?

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    3. Ok, I guess I didn't want to entertain that possibility because it's so damn depressing. It seems like Michigan wants to play checkers while everyone else is playing chess.

      As question for you Thunder, does the D seem exceptionally terrible at tipping its blitzes to you? I don't know if this intentional or not but I seems like it to me.

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  12. Thunder,

    In your opinion, is Narduzzi the best DC in the country? Also, why does Mattison insist on playing such a conservative style of defense? Has this been his M.O. throughout his career? I just don't believe you can be a title contender playing a bend but don't break defense. A defense must force turnovers and not simply hope the opposing offense will make errors on their own.

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    1. Well, I don't study all the defensive coordinators throughout the country, but I have a hard time believing there's another DC out there who does more with less. The guy turns a bunch of 3-stars into perhaps the best defense in the country. Even if he's just the second or third-best DC in the country, that's pretty amazing.

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    2. There are whispers about MSU's S&C guys using some "unnatural" means to build their guys up. To be honest it wouldn't shock me given how so many of them seem like better athletes now than they were supposed to be coming in. Of course that wouldn't explain it all (since there are probably lots of football players on the juice). They're obviously really well-schooled on technique and seem to rarely ever miss their assignments.

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    3. Steroids have nothing to do with athleticism. They impact muscle recovery speed allowing you to work out more often and get bigger/stronger at a faster rate with a higher ceiling. They don't make you more athletic.

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    4. Because muscle strength has nothing to do with athleticism. Got it.

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  13. The most disturbing part of the game was the Offense did not seem prepared for the on slaught of blitzing that State brings each and every play (almost) and each and every game. If constant blitzing was the holy grail for success, we would be seeing it on Sat and Sundays, college and pro's, 100% of the time. The reason it doesn't work consistently is that teams scheme and play call to negate it and even bigger... make the D pay for sending the house. Something is missing with the Hoke/Borges/Funk....these 3 Amigos, the brain trust, is out of order...malfunctioning! Brandon needs to force change, unless of course they beat Ohio and then all is forgiven!

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  14. I sit back and think how I want to fire funk/Borges sometimes mattidon when he doesn't blitz but then I think our players just aren't there yet finally I just realize I miss denard

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  15. You can't say Borges didn't try things that worked, the problem with Borges is he tried everything. He tries things that work, he tries things that fail completely, and he switches back and forth between play calls so much it feels like there's no rhyme or reason to his adjustments. He doesn't seem to be capable of finding out what we do successfully and focus on it. In last years Ohio State game he called a brilliant first half then quite bafflingly adjusted away from that and called a second half so bad it seemed doomed to fail. We're unable to string successes together because the play calls seen to be coming in via magic 8 ball. The abysmal offensive line play is a major factor, but making our offense into a Jack of alll trades has helped us to be masters of nothing.

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  16. I'm not kidding, I'd put out even 10M a year for Saban or Meyer this is UNACCEPTABLE

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  17. How quickly do you think Jourdan Lewis will mature? I'm not an expert, but I thought watching that he was responsible for most of the busts in coverage before the defense fell apart. He gave up the touchdown before the half and was beaten/ looked confused some other times. I think we can score somewhat on the rest of the teams on our schedule. I also believe (hope) that with Jake Ryan's return and some growth by some other players, we can slow down the Miller/Hyde rushing attack and maybe even have some token pass rush. However, if that's all for naught if Braxton gets an easy read towards the weak link in the secondary.

    BTW I'm not trying to rip on a guy who I think has a bright future here, just some thoughts. Also, I thought Clark played the best game of his career here but that's probably for tomorrow's post.

    Thanks, and sorry for the ramblin'.

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    1. I'd have to watch it again to see for sure, but I thought Lewis looked okay out there. Obviously, the touchdown was a bust and shouldn't have happened. It's frustrating to see Michigan starting true freshman corners who aren't absolute studs. The commentators said Fowler should have had that other touchdown, too, but Lewis got his hand in there and knocked it away - it wasn't a drop by Fowler, but a pass breakup by Lewis.

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    2. Yeah, like I said I'm no expert. I thought there was another play on a third down where he screwed up on a zone and Cook shotgunned it over the wide receiver's head. Also, although he did scrape it out it maybe looked like a better play by the Fowler or better throw would have been a touchdown. Appreciate, I did appreciate his hustle and attitude on the play.

      I suppose the good news is that with Wilson, Countess, and maybe Taylor we can say the secondary staff knows how to get players to improve. Next year we should be set in the secondary, or we'll be screaming about Thomas Gordon's replacement. Who knows?

      Anyway, I was just thinking ahead to the Ohio State and from amateur analysis perspective Miller has trouble going through his reads after the first wide receiver is occupied and I think OSU's receivers are nothing special. A difference between an easy read (throw it towards the freshman) and a hard one could be the difference in the game.

      Oh and I'm really sorry for making this so long, but I was reading some of the comments on Mgoblog and I just wanted to say something (a rant really). There some specific playcalls that could have gone better but there is no playcall or offense on earth that could put points up with an oline this bad against a defense that good.

      Thanks for responding

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    3. I definitely think Jarrod Wilson has improved, and Countess has been solid. Taylor reminds me of a couple former Michigan corners, like Curry and Howard, who were mediocre but never stars. He's just not very consistent. He makes two terrible plays then a nice pick, or he comes up to tackle quickly a couple times and then whiffs horribly like he did on Langford's long TD run on Saturday. I know no player is perfect, but "Good Raymon Taylor" needs to show up more often.

      Miller does have trouble going through his reads, but his legs help him extend plays and he constantly looks downfield for receivers to clear. I don't think he can pick apart a defense sitting in the pocket, but he looks to me a lot like Troy Smith (but faster).

      I agree about the comments on MGoBlog. There's no way to account for having a poor offensive line. Honestly, I think the best way to go when you have three bad linemen is to line up the two best guys together (in this case, Schofield at guard and Lewan at tackle) and use that as your strong side for the majority of your running plays.

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    4. Yeah, I the example I was thinking about was how Wilson went from pretty terrible in his first year (pi vs Notre Dame, last touchdown vs South Carolina, Some personal fouls) to pretty good now. Countess, I'm a pretty good fan of. His tackles are quick, nowhere near the head (no targeting), and people don't really drag him along. I also have noticed teams aren't throwing towards him as much (not sure how much that has to do with him). Taylor I 100% agree with you. He is incredibly inconsistent.

      I've only really watched Miller against Northwestern. I thought he maaaaaybe had a dark turnover side like Gardner does. I think rattling him will be the key to that game. We'll probably have to sell out a bit on Hyde to stop them from running. I think a fully healthy Ryan and Frank Clark are athletic enough to hinder his scrambles but the key is actually getting through the line. Frank Clark had a quiet good game including a hurry on a three man rush(!). If he can keep that up (or just have a random good game against Ohio State) I think we'll see miller make some bad choices in the passing game, questionable zone reads, and miss some easy bubble screens. Being at home should help.

      Do you think the Lewan, Schofield combo could have worked a bit against MSU? It would be sorta obvious wouldn't it? I'm personally hoping that Brian decides to take a step back and say "Ok that was a senior laden elite defense. We won't see another one of those this year and we are improving. Maybe I should back of on Borges". I'm not hopeful but it would be nice not to see another 300 comment thread with "WE SUCK. FIRE HOKE. WE AREN'T ELITE." written all over it.

      Anyway, I just wrote a huge post with not much real thought in it. Don't feel that you have to respond. Its really cool that you will actually respond to me. One last thing, what were your thoughts about Lewan? I appreciated that he didn't let MSU push him around but... any personal foul that hurts your team IS just stupid. MSU did a pretty good job making him look like the bad guy here.

      Thanks again

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  18. Ohio State is going to put up 50 points on this team, I don't even want to think about it.

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  19. Narduzzi runs a pretty good coaching clinic, FWIW. Does a good job going into technique at various levels.

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    1. That's good to know...but hopefully he's running it while representing a different school after this season.

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