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| Devin Funchess |
Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Derrick Green. If the line isn't opening holes, then I think De'Veon Smith should be getting more carries. Green actually ran harder than I thought he did last week, but he made one confusingly bad cutback when he should have gone to the front side, and he just doesn't have the same power as Smith. I still think Green is the more explosive player, but this line doesn't create enough room for that to matter much.
Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Jabrill Peppers. Peppers rolled his ankle against Appalachian State, so he wasn't able to play against Notre Dame. I think that may have had a huge effect on this game. Peppers is a playmaker with his speed and hitting ability, and it seemed like Notre Dame was picking on replacement Delonte Hollowell. I think Hollowell is a decent backup, a solid tackler, and someone you can throw in there in dime packages or for short stretches. But if you're counting on him to be nearly a full-time guy as your nickel corner, that's going to be an issue. Hopefully Peppers gets healthy soon.
Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Channing Stribling. Once again I'm addressing the cornerback position, but I just don't think Stribling has "it" yet. He doesn't have great recovery speed, he's not particularly physical, and he just doesn't make any plays. He let Corey Robinson beat him on a skinny post for a 22-yard gain, and Stribling had a bead on a quick screen but proceeded to biff the tackle. The lack of healthy corners (Peppers and Raymon Taylor were both injured) forced Stribling into the game, but Michigan just needs to get healthy at the corner position.
Play of the game . . . why must I choose? There's almost nothing to pick. Michigan didn't score or create any turnovers. The only sack they notched was a snap over the quarterback's head. I guess I'll have to go with Devin Funchess's 33-yard catch over top of cornerback Cody Riggs's head down the right sideline. Whoopee.
MVP of the game . . . Devin Funchess and Jake Ryan. I thought both players had good games. Funchess (9 catches, 107 yards) was every bit the mismatch problem we expected, and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier moved him around to prevent the defense from keying on him. I also liked that he made an attempt to re-enter the game after getting hurt. Ryan made 11 tackles and was flying all over the place to stop the run. I could have done without his 15-yard penalty for hitting Everett Golson late, but the game was out of hand by then, anyway.
Lets see less of this guy... Brady Hoke.
ReplyDeleteEven Terry Foster is saying Hoke need to go.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140908/SPORTS0201/309080015/Brady-Hoke-should-fired-unless-he-beats-MSU-OSU?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
There seems a rather loud drumbeat for Hoke's dismissal.
DeleteOTHER THAN Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles, who would you hire? (Neither of those are viable candidates.)
That's the question everyone demanding Hoke's dismissal be forced to answer.
It's really easy to say "Fire Hoke!" It's a whole different thing to answer the next question.
"Other than Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles" presupposes that we have to hire a guy with Michigan ties. I think we all need to get past that notion, because it's what got us here inthe first place. Jim Harbaugh would obviously an incredible hire because he's an awesome coach who has succeeded at every level, but it seems unlikely, given both his ego (and Dave Brandon's) that he'd want to come back to college given his NFL success. Beyond that, if a new coach is in order, I'd hope that the athletic department conduct a legitimate search to find the best available candidate for the job. Meaning that it cannot be the sham "process" that Brandon conducted the first time around that resulted in Brady Hoke.
DeleteI agree that we have to get out of Michigan circles to find someone. While I am not sure if he'd be fired with MSU and OSU losses (provided that he wins every other game and goes to 9-3), if they suck this bad they might lose the Penn State game, Maryland, etc. -- that would result in 6-6 type of record and Hoke would be canned.
DeleteI don't want Miles coaching Michigan.
DeleteWell, if Terry Foster says it, then it MUST be true...
DeleteYeah, I don't want Miles here, either. What's disheartening is that he's the most viable candidate and evidently a great coach.
DeleteGot to hire a guy who's smart/updated and has passion about the game. I think Hoke isn't smart enough sometimes. Miles would be a bad choice, because he is wacky and I don't think he fits with Michigan.
DeleteJust some recent hires that I think would've worked at Michigan: Charlie Strong, James Franklin, Sarkisian, etc. All proven winners and competitors. If I am Brandon I would start a short list right now, and I'd open up that damn checkbook. If we keep losing that revenue will dry up, and his own ass might be fired by the new president who doesn't really like Brandon. Open up the checkbook for $5 mil for a highly sought after guy. Give him 3~4 mil for assistants, not those Darrell Funk type of lame assistants, but those at the top of their game like VanGorder.
His being a great coach is not evident. "The results speak for themselves" you might say. Well, no, not really. He's been plagued by serious allegations of cheating at each step. LSU is not playing clean. I don't think that's what Michigan (or great coaching) is about.
DeleteThe abundant talent and "financial support" he gets at LSU will not be replicated at Michigan, regardless of what the rankings may tell you.
I will say this; he does a good job of putting quality coordinators around him.
DonAZ asks a good question - if not Hoke, then who? - and literally no one could answer it. Maybe we should think about that first before jumping on the fire bandwagon.
DeleteRegarding the injuries ... Michigan seems to have a lot of them. Is there reason to suspect or be concerned about the strength and conditioning program there?
ReplyDeleteIt's football.
DeleteDuh it is football. But we do have a lot more than other teams. Ring a bell now?
DeleteSX- Do you have some evidence that we have a lot more than other teams, or just a narrative that you want to use?
DeleteIt's a valid question ... one I've heard elsewhere. I'm thinking specifically about problems we've had with injuries sustained in practices (Jake Ryan's ACL was in practice; Darboh's foot injury was in practice). Combine that with the complaints I've read here and elsewhere about Michigan's lack of "push" and other complaints about quickness, size and strength and it adds up to a question about S&L.
DeleteI don't myself know. I'm just questioning out loud. The "Duh, it's football" type commentary is what I'd expect at other sites. Sad to see it injected here.
Pssh. Looks like we are having a lot more injuries than other teams do. Just look at the ND game. How many starters out? Notre Dame? And how many ACL tears since Hoke took over? How many during Rich Rod regime? Just something to think about.
DeleteInjuries are just a coincidence sometimes. Notre Dame was missing Collinsworth, at least, but I don't know about the other guys on their depth chart. Michigan was missing Morgan and Peppers, and then Taylor and Funchess got hurt in the middle of the game. I didn't see what happened to Taylor, but what are you supposed to do about guys getting their ankles rolled up on like Funchess and Peppers? I'm not sure any amount of S&C work can prevent those things.
DeleteND lost Collinsworth the week before the game. Arizona has 3 players out for the season already. Maryland has four. Nebraska, four, including three knee injuries. Ohio State four. Stanford lost two LB's during the game against USC last week.
DeleteFrom a guy who has sprained his ankles a lot, you can't do a whole lot to prevent the initial sprains, and you obviously cannot control how guys hit you, especially lower. It's pretty random. You can control rehab and PT, but how they occur is often quite random and frustrating.
DeleteJake Ryan's "late hit" penalty was absolute horseshit. That exact play happens in the NFL constantly with no flags, and they're much more uptight about protecting QBs. I think he alleviated a bunch of concerns from last week.
ReplyDeleteLate in the game, one of Gardner's interceptions looked like a potential Hill TD. He got behind everyone. Granted, it was at a point where it wouldn't have mattered, but Hill did a nice job.
I thought it was a pretty good call on Ryan. It would have been fine 15 years ago. If you've watched football over the last 10 years or so, you know that referees/rules/leagues go out of their way to protect quarterbacks.
DeleteSmith's 1 yard run, where he ran through 5 guys to avoid a 3 yard loss was the play of the game to me.
ReplyDeleteMore concerning than Stribling was Lewis and Hollowell getting picked on and Countess getting beat. Looks like our CBs in general, are a step or two off elite.