I always love a Michigan Victory.
We played a great half of a football game. God, I love the halftime adjustments Borges and Mattison make. We played some shutdown defense. The offense looked pretty good in second half. Robinson settled down and played a great second half. Devin Gardner looked right at home too. Great catches by all the recievers. Glad ours can jump higher than theirs. Love that when we put our minds to it we can shut them down and pretty much score when we want to.
But what was this fiasco in the first half. We looked ridiculous and lost. Liked the first 3 and out, and the subsequent touchdown. The rest of the half we looked like a high school team. 3 really bad interceptions. Sloppy tackling. We were lucky to not be down by more.
Our rushing game sucks. Other than Robinson, our running backs contributed only 62 yards, none of it really impressive, although Shaw had a good couple of runs in a row in the second half.
Time for a mid season review and update of my preseason predictions.
We are really a lot better than last year. I'm really impressed with what Hoke and staff has done with basically the same team as last year. Great coaching really makes a difference. Especially on defense. They are playing over their heads, talent wise. They are tackling strong when they want to. They play together well. They know what each other is doing and reacting well.
Doing well offensively as well, but I would like the offense to be a little bit more than the Denard Robinson show. The offensive line is better, providing great pass protection. Denard seems to have all the time he needs. But on the rushing game they are average. Don't see a surge at the snap. Ever. The running backs don't have any holes. We need that big fullback-type. Couldn't punch in the end zone from inside the 5. Have to rely on misdirection to score. But I suppose I shouldn't complain. We scored in the red zone each time. Denard's passing is perplexing. He has the time to get his feet set, when he does he's as capable as anyone. But when he doesn't get his feet set each pass seems to be a Hail Mary. Especially the long ones. Kudos to Junior Hemingway for going up and bringing it down. Sign him up as an outfielder on the baseball team. But it would be nice to see a deep receiver led a little bit.
This is a good team, and will be in every game from here on in and have a chance of winning each one. It's going to be so much more fun than last year. But we aren't a team that can dominate the rest of the way. Our remaining opponents are much better than Minnesota and Northwestern. I think we can only count on splitting the rest of our games. Maybe we'll get lucky and win a few more. Everyone will gunning for us and we are still learning as a team. With lots of luck we might be able to play for the Big Ten title. I want it, but I don't see it. Here's hoping I'm wrong. Mid Season adjustment. 9-3, maybe 10-2.
We learned a lot about the Wolverines in this game, and we aren't ready yet, next year. Prove me wrong against Michigan State.
It's good, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!
Go Michigan, beat the Spartans.
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