Sunday, September 25, 2011
Mike Schooler guest blogs on Michigan vs. San Diego State
As I didn't watch the game, here is Memphis Michigan Spirit Club (defacto) leader, Mike Schooler's take on Saturday's game.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Good2BMichiganWolverine: Michigan 28 SDSU 7
Good2BMichiganWolverine: Michigan 28 SDSU 7: Another victory. I called that one wrong. I didn't watch the game today, as I headed down to the Grove for the Ole Miss/Georgia game. H...
Michigan 28 SDSU 7
Another victory. I called that one wrong.
I didn't watch the game today, as I headed down to the Grove for the Ole Miss/Georgia game. Had a great time. Enjoyed seeing the score of our game flash on the scoreboard, especially the halftime score of 21-0.
Since I didn't see the game, I'm posting Mitch Albom's analysis from Freep.com. I agree almost wholeheartedly (my biggest concerns highlighted in red):
It's Good, To Be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, beat the Golphers.
I didn't watch the game today, as I headed down to the Grove for the Ole Miss/Georgia game. Had a great time. Enjoyed seeing the score of our game flash on the scoreboard, especially the halftime score of 21-0.
Since I didn't see the game, I'm posting Mitch Albom's analysis from Freep.com. I agree almost wholeheartedly (my biggest concerns highlighted in red):
'Brady Hoke crossed the field, hugged the man who took over his old job, greeted a few players who used to play for him, then headed down the tunnel.
Good-bye to the past.
Those warm moments with his former San Diego State crew symbolized the end of whoever Brady Hoke used to be and the clarion call for who he is now. His Wolverines are undefeated, but their nonconference schedule is done, the lightweight teams have been vanquished, and from this point on, everything counts a bit more.
Or a lot more.
Even his players know it.
“We want to be Big Ten champions,” said senior defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen after the 28-7 win. “We haven’t had a good record in the Big Ten — anybody on this team — since we’ve been on it. It’s a big thing for us.”
It’s a big thing for the fans. And if Hoke is true to his Bo Schembechler/Gary Moeller/Lloyd Carr roots, it’s the biggest thing for him.
So where — at 4-0 and ranked in the top 25 — does this Michigan team really stand?
Which brings us to the defense in general. How good is it? It gave up one touchdown to SDSU, yet the Aztecs were in Michigan territory 11 times. It gave up a lone field goal to Eastern Michigan, yet let the Eagles hang around longer than they should have. It beat Notre Dame with five turnovers, but allowed the Irish over 500 yards of offense.
You tell me. Is it bend-but-don’t-break, or has it not been bent by a tough enough opponent? Have the Wolverines just been lucky with fumbles and interceptions, or is it a big play mindset?
“I think we would all like to be that kind of defense … punching it out, ripping it out … I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Hoke said. “I don’t know if it’s such a good thing that, field possession battle, for a good point of this game, we were getting our tails kicked.”
In other words, the defense needs to exit faster. The Wolverines are undefeated, but the time of possession is virtually equal to their four beaten opponents.
We know Robinson is the best running back on the team. And we know every time he has a passing play, you flip a coin and pray. He is capable of accurate delivery — if he slows down, plants and is mechanically sound. He is also capable of throwing behind, over or into traffic for his receivers — which he did several times Saturday.
Let’s be honest. The defenses he has faced in the first four games are not in a league with the Big Ten elite, yet Robinson has six interceptions and a less than 50% completion rate. Neither is a confidence builder. "There were some throws that I just forced,” Robinson admitted after the game. “I should have taken my time and done what Coach taught me.”
On the other hand, the Wolverines win. They have a way. Their timing is good, their big-play mentality (on both sides) is good, and Hoke observed that “they really like each other.” Don’t downplay that. Chemistry is a big deal, especially at a college level — even though it’s true that most teams like each other more when they haven’t lost a game.
So where is this U-M squad? It is as good as it could hope to be with October looming. It has avoided upsets, it beat one severe opponent, it has shown flashes of brilliance and a taste for the big play.
It also hasn’t played a road game or a team currently in the top 25.
Next week will be different. Next week is conference play. And Hoke, who was greeted by a San Diego writer with the joking comment, “Nice place you got here” is now fully and completely maize and blue, his past on an airplane home, his present about to be measured on a big — and Big Ten — scale.'
Mike again: We won't really know how good we are until we play Michigan State. We should beat the Golphers and the Wildcats. After that, every game is up in the air.
Still...
Good-bye to the past.
Those warm moments with his former San Diego State crew symbolized the end of whoever Brady Hoke used to be and the clarion call for who he is now. His Wolverines are undefeated, but their nonconference schedule is done, the lightweight teams have been vanquished, and from this point on, everything counts a bit more.
Or a lot more.
Even his players know it.
“We want to be Big Ten champions,” said senior defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen after the 28-7 win. “We haven’t had a good record in the Big Ten — anybody on this team — since we’ve been on it. It’s a big thing for us.”
It’s a big thing for the fans. And if Hoke is true to his Bo Schembechler/Gary Moeller/Lloyd Carr roots, it’s the biggest thing for him.
So where — at 4-0 and ranked in the top 25 — does this Michigan team really stand?
Give and take
“Well, we can’t turn the ball over four times, I can tell you that,” Hoke said after Saturday’s lopsided yet sloppy victory. “…You can’t win your Pop Warner league if you turn it over four times.” On the other hand, Michigan forced three turnovers of its own — giving it 13 in four games.Which brings us to the defense in general. How good is it? It gave up one touchdown to SDSU, yet the Aztecs were in Michigan territory 11 times. It gave up a lone field goal to Eastern Michigan, yet let the Eagles hang around longer than they should have. It beat Notre Dame with five turnovers, but allowed the Irish over 500 yards of offense.
You tell me. Is it bend-but-don’t-break, or has it not been bent by a tough enough opponent? Have the Wolverines just been lucky with fumbles and interceptions, or is it a big play mindset?
“I think we would all like to be that kind of defense … punching it out, ripping it out … I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Hoke said. “I don’t know if it’s such a good thing that, field possession battle, for a good point of this game, we were getting our tails kicked.”
In other words, the defense needs to exit faster. The Wolverines are undefeated, but the time of possession is virtually equal to their four beaten opponents.
Passing grades
And then there’s the offense, which in Ann Arbor is another word for “Denard Robinson.” The nation’s most explosive player once again hypnotized with his feet (200 yards rushing, three TDs) and mystified with his arm (8-17, two interceptions.)We know Robinson is the best running back on the team. And we know every time he has a passing play, you flip a coin and pray. He is capable of accurate delivery — if he slows down, plants and is mechanically sound. He is also capable of throwing behind, over or into traffic for his receivers — which he did several times Saturday.
Let’s be honest. The defenses he has faced in the first four games are not in a league with the Big Ten elite, yet Robinson has six interceptions and a less than 50% completion rate. Neither is a confidence builder. "There were some throws that I just forced,” Robinson admitted after the game. “I should have taken my time and done what Coach taught me.”
On the other hand, the Wolverines win. They have a way. Their timing is good, their big-play mentality (on both sides) is good, and Hoke observed that “they really like each other.” Don’t downplay that. Chemistry is a big deal, especially at a college level — even though it’s true that most teams like each other more when they haven’t lost a game.
So where is this U-M squad? It is as good as it could hope to be with October looming. It has avoided upsets, it beat one severe opponent, it has shown flashes of brilliance and a taste for the big play.
It also hasn’t played a road game or a team currently in the top 25.
Next week will be different. Next week is conference play. And Hoke, who was greeted by a San Diego writer with the joking comment, “Nice place you got here” is now fully and completely maize and blue, his past on an airplane home, his present about to be measured on a big — and Big Ten — scale.'
Mike again: We won't really know how good we are until we play Michigan State. We should beat the Golphers and the Wildcats. After that, every game is up in the air.
Still...
It's Good, To Be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, beat the Golphers.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Michigan vs. San Diego State. Michigan wins by a touchdown.
Hard to call this game. San Diego State is a bowl winning, talented team, coached the last two seasons by Brady Hoke. Undefeated, just like us. Been playing their offense for two years now, not three weeks like us. They'll be up for the game.
So will we. But I'm not sure we will be ready for this first real test of the season. They won't fold for us like ND did. Still, we have improved every week of the season. Last week's practice game should have been a boost for both the offense and defense. And we have Denard Robinson.
If we come out of the box establishing Denard, instead of trying to establishing the running game, we could blow this wide open. Denard takes two steps left, the whole defense goes with him, opening up the receivers, and the running backs. This is backward, a Michigan team is supposed establish the running game first, but that hasn't worked. Do it in reverse.
Defense will have to keep improving. Mattison will again have to call a great game.
Michigan by less than a touchdown.
It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine
Go Michigan, Beat the Aztecs
I won't be watching the game, so I will need a guest blogger to do the follow up analysis this week. Going down to the Grove to experience the SEC and Ole Miss/Georgia Game. Any volunteers out there.
So will we. But I'm not sure we will be ready for this first real test of the season. They won't fold for us like ND did. Still, we have improved every week of the season. Last week's practice game should have been a boost for both the offense and defense. And we have Denard Robinson.
If we come out of the box establishing Denard, instead of trying to establishing the running game, we could blow this wide open. Denard takes two steps left, the whole defense goes with him, opening up the receivers, and the running backs. This is backward, a Michigan team is supposed establish the running game first, but that hasn't worked. Do it in reverse.
Defense will have to keep improving. Mattison will again have to call a great game.
Michigan by less than a touchdown.
It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine
Go Michigan, Beat the Aztecs
I won't be watching the game, so I will need a guest blogger to do the follow up analysis this week. Going down to the Grove to experience the SEC and Ole Miss/Georgia Game. Any volunteers out there.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Michigan 31 Eastern Michigan 3 --Got this one right!
Pretty good practice, not a great one though. But enough to get better and gain confidence.
When was the last time a Michigan Defense prevented an opponent from scoring a TD. Long time. Good to see.
The Goal line stand was great in the first quarter.
Mostly good tackling. Great play calling by Greg Mattison to keep the pressure up. He has to call a good game for this defense to work. We have good players and a few great ones, Martin, Ryan, Kovacs. But not enough speed overall and not at linebacker. Next year. And we are learning the defense. It will only get better.
I'm disappointed in the offensive effort. How can one be disappointed in 31 unanswered points? Because we are still too one dimension, named Denard Robinson. What a talent. Have to go with him. But have to have other runners to relieve his load. Vincent Smith might just be that running back, with 118 yds. But all running backs combined, 168 yds, did not out gain Denard, with 198. I know, most of his yards are big gains. But we need more from the backs. And our receivers seemed to have butter on their hands. Denard delivered many catch-able balls that we dropped. Gallon played well though.
Seems like the mistake we made in the first half, was trying to set up Denard with the pro-style running plays. Didn't work. Maybe we need to set up the pro-style running game and passing game with Denard running first. Once he gets some momentum going, the whole defense keys on him, opening up the run for Smith and Toussaint and lots of passing opportunities. That's what happened in the second half. Let's start the first half this way next time.
San Diego State next. Hoke's old team. He knows them, and they know him. And they are good. 2-0 and beating WSU as I write this. Good test next week.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, Beat the Aztecs.
When was the last time a Michigan Defense prevented an opponent from scoring a TD. Long time. Good to see.
The Goal line stand was great in the first quarter.
Mostly good tackling. Great play calling by Greg Mattison to keep the pressure up. He has to call a good game for this defense to work. We have good players and a few great ones, Martin, Ryan, Kovacs. But not enough speed overall and not at linebacker. Next year. And we are learning the defense. It will only get better.
I'm disappointed in the offensive effort. How can one be disappointed in 31 unanswered points? Because we are still too one dimension, named Denard Robinson. What a talent. Have to go with him. But have to have other runners to relieve his load. Vincent Smith might just be that running back, with 118 yds. But all running backs combined, 168 yds, did not out gain Denard, with 198. I know, most of his yards are big gains. But we need more from the backs. And our receivers seemed to have butter on their hands. Denard delivered many catch-able balls that we dropped. Gallon played well though.
Seems like the mistake we made in the first half, was trying to set up Denard with the pro-style running plays. Didn't work. Maybe we need to set up the pro-style running game and passing game with Denard running first. Once he gets some momentum going, the whole defense keys on him, opening up the run for Smith and Toussaint and lots of passing opportunities. That's what happened in the second half. Let's start the first half this way next time.
San Diego State next. Hoke's old team. He knows them, and they know him. And they are good. 2-0 and beating WSU as I write this. Good test next week.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, Beat the Aztecs.
Friday, September 16, 2011
UM vs. EMU: Michigan will win by 4 TDs
Let's face it, this is a practice game for Michigan, and Michigan needs one. Badly.
Although it was an heroic victory against the Irish, showing a tremendous level of heart and desire to be admired, it can hardly be called a well played game.
Our secondary was shredded regularly by the Irish.
The Irish dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Our running backs were nonexistent, forcing the offense to be one dimensional, although that dimension, Denard Robinson, is phenomenal.
Our kick off return team was miserable.
The good parts?
We were able to make adjustments on both offense and defense and find a way to win against a superior Irish team.
We forced turnovers and took advantage of them. We haven't seen that in a long time.
We never quit playing, something that happened regularly last year.
But lets face it, we are playing Eastern Michigan. Even though:
--they are the first team we face with a winning record, and
--they racked up more than 300 yds rushing in each of their first two games, and
--much of their coaching staff are Michigan Men. Ron English, Mike Hart, and several others and they will be motivated.
They are still Eastern Michigan.
So I want to see a great practice:
--Some shut down defense. Good tackling, dominance of the line, pressure on the QB. The run goes nowhere. Some interceptions. Lots of 3 and outs.
--Running backs delivering over 300 yds rushing.
--Robinson with less than 100 yds rushing because he didn't need to do more than that to win.
--No dropped passes(too many last week) and no interceptions. Robinson going 20-25 on completions or better.
We have to improve at these things before the Big Ten schedule comes up or we will be toast. Use this game to improve. Then do the same with San Diego State. Then come out blowing and going for the start of the Big Ten schedule to get ready for MSU, Iowa, Nebraska and OSU.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, Beat the Eagles.
Although it was an heroic victory against the Irish, showing a tremendous level of heart and desire to be admired, it can hardly be called a well played game.
Our secondary was shredded regularly by the Irish.
The Irish dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Our running backs were nonexistent, forcing the offense to be one dimensional, although that dimension, Denard Robinson, is phenomenal.
Our kick off return team was miserable.
The good parts?
We were able to make adjustments on both offense and defense and find a way to win against a superior Irish team.
We forced turnovers and took advantage of them. We haven't seen that in a long time.
We never quit playing, something that happened regularly last year.
But lets face it, we are playing Eastern Michigan. Even though:
--they are the first team we face with a winning record, and
--they racked up more than 300 yds rushing in each of their first two games, and
--much of their coaching staff are Michigan Men. Ron English, Mike Hart, and several others and they will be motivated.
They are still Eastern Michigan.
So I want to see a great practice:
--Some shut down defense. Good tackling, dominance of the line, pressure on the QB. The run goes nowhere. Some interceptions. Lots of 3 and outs.
--Running backs delivering over 300 yds rushing.
--Robinson with less than 100 yds rushing because he didn't need to do more than that to win.
--No dropped passes(too many last week) and no interceptions. Robinson going 20-25 on completions or better.
We have to improve at these things before the Big Ten schedule comes up or we will be toast. Use this game to improve. Then do the same with San Diego State. Then come out blowing and going for the start of the Big Ten schedule to get ready for MSU, Iowa, Nebraska and OSU.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, Beat the Eagles.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Michigan 35 Notre Dame 31--A Game for the Ages.
It was the kind of game one writes a fight song about. Time for new version of the Victors, anyone up for writing it?
What a game full of emotion. We won, no we lost, OMG we won it again. Pandemonium breaks loose at Dan McGuinness Pub. Those who left at halftime thinking we had lost, missed the most exciting ending of a Michigan game in this century. I lost my voice. And went to sleep thinking about ways to put Michigan Flags on my Notre Dame's neighbors front porch. My son tried to talk me into going over to the Cathedral with a ladder, some duct tape, and our M Flag, and tape the flap, flagpole and all, onto the outstretched hand of the Statue of Mary that guards the front door (our pastor is a diehard subway alum of Notre Dame). We thought better of it, but it sure would have been fun to watch all the faces of the Notre Dame faithful walking up the steps as they noticed it.
The Irish mauled and manhandled the Michigan offensive and defensive lines. Yet we persevered.
Rees to Floyd, made mincemeat of the our secondary. Yet we kept on trying.
The sweeps of their running backs were demoralizing. Yet we never gave in.
We adjusted, and adjusted again, and adjusted again. We forced some turnovers when we absolutely had to. We built momentum, bit by bit. "Not in Our House" became the battle cry.
Then we set Denard Robinson loose. And it all came together. With 8 seconds left.
It's going to be one heck of a fun season. We may not win any titles but we're sure going to have fun losing them.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, beat the Hurons, I mean Eagles.
Go Blue.
Somethings I learned about Notre Dame Alums and fans this week:
--They refer to the Wolverines as the "skunkbears" (I kinda like that)
--The Big House is called "The Outhouse" (sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us)
Somethings I learned about the Michigan Team this week:
--We are still learning to play both offense and defense.
--We are not yet a good team. We'll get there soon.
--This game gives the entire Big Ten a game plan on our weaknesses. How to beat us.
--What happened to our Running Backs? And the slippery fingers of our recievers.
--The coaching staff is incredible. We don't have close to Notre Dame's talent, but our coaching staff is superior and outcoached the Brian Kelly and company. They are coaching the team to become men, which is what it is all about.
--This team has heart. The Heart of Champions.
Somethings I learned about the Big House:
--The ghosts of Crisler, Yost and Schembechler stalk the sidelines on our behalf.
--The Big House looks cool under the lights. All those yellow shirts and pompoms, looked great and were kind of intimidating. I credit at least one turnover to the crowd.
--The throwback uniforms look silly.
What a game full of emotion. We won, no we lost, OMG we won it again. Pandemonium breaks loose at Dan McGuinness Pub. Those who left at halftime thinking we had lost, missed the most exciting ending of a Michigan game in this century. I lost my voice. And went to sleep thinking about ways to put Michigan Flags on my Notre Dame's neighbors front porch. My son tried to talk me into going over to the Cathedral with a ladder, some duct tape, and our M Flag, and tape the flap, flagpole and all, onto the outstretched hand of the Statue of Mary that guards the front door (our pastor is a diehard subway alum of Notre Dame). We thought better of it, but it sure would have been fun to watch all the faces of the Notre Dame faithful walking up the steps as they noticed it.
The Irish mauled and manhandled the Michigan offensive and defensive lines. Yet we persevered.
Rees to Floyd, made mincemeat of the our secondary. Yet we kept on trying.
The sweeps of their running backs were demoralizing. Yet we never gave in.
We adjusted, and adjusted again, and adjusted again. We forced some turnovers when we absolutely had to. We built momentum, bit by bit. "Not in Our House" became the battle cry.
Then we set Denard Robinson loose. And it all came together. With 8 seconds left.
It's going to be one heck of a fun season. We may not win any titles but we're sure going to have fun losing them.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, beat the Hurons, I mean Eagles.
Go Blue.
Somethings I learned about Notre Dame Alums and fans this week:
--They refer to the Wolverines as the "skunkbears" (I kinda like that)
--The Big House is called "The Outhouse" (sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us)
Somethings I learned about the Michigan Team this week:
--We are still learning to play both offense and defense.
--We are not yet a good team. We'll get there soon.
--This game gives the entire Big Ten a game plan on our weaknesses. How to beat us.
--What happened to our Running Backs? And the slippery fingers of our recievers.
--The coaching staff is incredible. We don't have close to Notre Dame's talent, but our coaching staff is superior and outcoached the Brian Kelly and company. They are coaching the team to become men, which is what it is all about.
--This team has heart. The Heart of Champions.
Somethings I learned about the Big House:
--The ghosts of Crisler, Yost and Schembechler stalk the sidelines on our behalf.
--The Big House looks cool under the lights. All those yellow shirts and pompoms, looked great and were kind of intimidating. I credit at least one turnover to the crowd.
--The throwback uniforms look silly.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Michigan vs Notre Dame. September 10th.
Those of you following this blog for the past year or two, know that I am physically and spiritually unable to predict anything other than a Meechigan Victory. To do so would be to deny my citizenship in the Wolverine Nation. Go Blue. Hail to the Victors and all that who-hah.
After studying whatever I could about the game here's what I know:
Michigan is still learning how to play football. Both on offense and defense. Mucho improvements over last year, especially on defense. We needed that extra quarter of football that was cancelled from last week's game to solidify our improvements and build confidence.
Notre Dame is a much better team than their outcome against South Florida indicates. They are further ahead on their learning curve than we are.
Kelly started the wrong quarterback. The Irish had a bad game last week. They have something to prove this week. They'll get over it.
ND has better personnel overall, ones that were recruited to play the offense and defense they are playing (not like the number of spread type players we are asking to step up to play the power game at M).
As much as I enjoyed last years victory over ND, when it gets right down to it, we got lucky. Denard Robinson lucky.
The most improvement of a college football team comes between the first and second game. Michigan will be better. Notre Dame will be better also. Notre Dame should be favored.
I'm guessing that Michigan wasn't showing all the cards in their hand last week. Felt they could beat Western Michigan without giving away the store. (Schembechler did this all the time and Hoke is a kindred spirit to him.)
The game is the first night game at the Big House. The teams will be wearing throwback uniforms (Notre Dame's look better than ours). The ghost of great Michigan teams of the past will be in the Big House (home field advantage).
My prediction: The Wolverines will step up and play over their heads. Hoke will have them stoked yet realistically prepared. They are ready for a big signature victory. Defensively intense game. Michigan wins by a touchdown or less.
It's going to be a great game no matter what.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, Beat the Irish!
Funniest prediction I read this past week. From Dennis Marks. Something like this, "Well fought see-saw battle. With Michigan on the ND one yard line ready to score and one minute to play, a swarm of locust descends on the field. Game called. Irish win 21-19."
After studying whatever I could about the game here's what I know:
Michigan is still learning how to play football. Both on offense and defense. Mucho improvements over last year, especially on defense. We needed that extra quarter of football that was cancelled from last week's game to solidify our improvements and build confidence.
Notre Dame is a much better team than their outcome against South Florida indicates. They are further ahead on their learning curve than we are.
Kelly started the wrong quarterback. The Irish had a bad game last week. They have something to prove this week. They'll get over it.
ND has better personnel overall, ones that were recruited to play the offense and defense they are playing (not like the number of spread type players we are asking to step up to play the power game at M).
As much as I enjoyed last years victory over ND, when it gets right down to it, we got lucky. Denard Robinson lucky.
The most improvement of a college football team comes between the first and second game. Michigan will be better. Notre Dame will be better also. Notre Dame should be favored.
I'm guessing that Michigan wasn't showing all the cards in their hand last week. Felt they could beat Western Michigan without giving away the store. (Schembechler did this all the time and Hoke is a kindred spirit to him.)
The game is the first night game at the Big House. The teams will be wearing throwback uniforms (Notre Dame's look better than ours). The ghost of great Michigan teams of the past will be in the Big House (home field advantage).
My prediction: The Wolverines will step up and play over their heads. Hoke will have them stoked yet realistically prepared. They are ready for a big signature victory. Defensively intense game. Michigan wins by a touchdown or less.
It's going to be a great game no matter what.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, Beat the Irish!
Funniest prediction I read this past week. From Dennis Marks. Something like this, "Well fought see-saw battle. With Michigan on the ND one yard line ready to score and one minute to play, a swarm of locust descends on the field. Game called. Irish win 21-19."
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Michigan wins a 3/4 game for Hoke's first victory. UM 34 WMU 10
The Wolverines looked like a Michigan Football Team. First time in 3 years. They didn't look great, but they looked good. Go Blue. Hail to the Victors. Welcome home Defense. Congrats Hoke, coaching staff and players. You stepped up and played Michigan Football the way we want to watch it.
The Wolverines looked like a Michigan football team again, because they played hard hitting defense. Good defense. Not great defense, mind you. The important difference I noticed immediately was the lack of broken tackles. When some one was tackled, the tackles were hard and true. Many coverages were missed, to be sure, but no long gainers after a catch or big hole in the line. Pursuit was good and opponent brought right down. This defense knows how to react, something we haven't seen during the past three years. This is a good foundation to build on. The defense will get better as the season progresses.
The defense scored twice and forced another turnover that resulted in a score, a play-making defense. Haven't seen that in a long time. Kudos to Kovacs and Herron and Ryan. By the second half they had Crowder (WMU QB) and the Bronco offense rattled. All the hard hitting piled up on the Broncos.
The offense was okay. Best part was that Denard didn't have to carry the entire team on his back. He had some good runs, and a decent day passing. Both would have been higher if we had played a full four quarters. Played with poise. What was nice to see was some running backs running downhill. Shaw and Toussaint combined for 134 yards, with Toussaint scoring 2 TDs. He reminds me a bit of Michael Hart. These running backs were on the team the past two years. What's the difference? No more of that spread offense deception stuff. Power running.
The offense will have to improve. I'm not at all convinced that Robinson has the kind of arm we need to win a title. Convince me Denard.
Special teams were average. Kickoff coverage sucked. We gave the Broncos good field position every kickoff. Blocked extra point too. This will improve also. The team has had so much to learn. This will come.
One final impression. The team is, for the most part, the same players as last year. It's amazing what coaches that coach players can accomplish as opposed to that coach we had that coached a system.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, Beat the Irish.
The Wolverines looked like a Michigan football team again, because they played hard hitting defense. Good defense. Not great defense, mind you. The important difference I noticed immediately was the lack of broken tackles. When some one was tackled, the tackles were hard and true. Many coverages were missed, to be sure, but no long gainers after a catch or big hole in the line. Pursuit was good and opponent brought right down. This defense knows how to react, something we haven't seen during the past three years. This is a good foundation to build on. The defense will get better as the season progresses.
The defense scored twice and forced another turnover that resulted in a score, a play-making defense. Haven't seen that in a long time. Kudos to Kovacs and Herron and Ryan. By the second half they had Crowder (WMU QB) and the Bronco offense rattled. All the hard hitting piled up on the Broncos.
The offense was okay. Best part was that Denard didn't have to carry the entire team on his back. He had some good runs, and a decent day passing. Both would have been higher if we had played a full four quarters. Played with poise. What was nice to see was some running backs running downhill. Shaw and Toussaint combined for 134 yards, with Toussaint scoring 2 TDs. He reminds me a bit of Michael Hart. These running backs were on the team the past two years. What's the difference? No more of that spread offense deception stuff. Power running.
The offense will have to improve. I'm not at all convinced that Robinson has the kind of arm we need to win a title. Convince me Denard.
Special teams were average. Kickoff coverage sucked. We gave the Broncos good field position every kickoff. Blocked extra point too. This will improve also. The team has had so much to learn. This will come.
One final impression. The team is, for the most part, the same players as last year. It's amazing what coaches that coach players can accomplish as opposed to that coach we had that coached a system.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, Beat the Irish.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Michigan vs Western Michigan. Saturday September 3rd.
Michigan by two touchdowns, maybe three. Being realistic with this prediction. But hoping for much more.
This team has something to prove. They are fired up. The coaching staff has them ready to go. But new system on both offense and defense. Better ones than the spread an the no tackle defense of the past three years. But only spring practice and fall practice under there belts with the new systems. Good, motivated players. Maybe even a few great ones. But untested in game situations.
Not too worried about Denard Robinson in a pro set offense. He'll be protected this year. Won't have to generate everything and carry the entire offense. Got a good receivers running real pass routes this year. And running backs running real running plays.
Okay I've just talked myself into four touchdowns.
It's great, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, Beat the Broncos
This team has something to prove. They are fired up. The coaching staff has them ready to go. But new system on both offense and defense. Better ones than the spread an the no tackle defense of the past three years. But only spring practice and fall practice under there belts with the new systems. Good, motivated players. Maybe even a few great ones. But untested in game situations.
Not too worried about Denard Robinson in a pro set offense. He'll be protected this year. Won't have to generate everything and carry the entire offense. Got a good receivers running real pass routes this year. And running backs running real running plays.
Okay I've just talked myself into four touchdowns.
It's great, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, Beat the Broncos
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