It was and ugly game. Pretty much all the way around. Not much excitement. Boring.
Both defenses played well enough to win. Our offense gave up 6 turnovers to ND's two. Can't win a game that way when you stop your own defense.
This is what is being proven to be true.
If you have a pretty good defense, and you force Michigan to win by throwing, you have a good chance of beating us.
We do not have an offensive system of any type, just a collection of plays that highlight the special skills of Denard Robinson. Take away his run, as Alabama did, and ND did by having their All American Linebacker shadow him, and you can win the game.
Notre Dame did exactly that. That's why they won.
Our Defense played well.
I'm thinking we need to install on offense.
Still, It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, Beat the Boilermakers.
Go Blue.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Michigan 31 AirForce 26--We're a work in progress
A victory is a victory. So it's better than a loss. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
The defense was on it's heals all game. Maybe still feeling shell shock from the Alabama game, maybe having to play Air Force's flying circus of a offense, but they were on their heals all game long. Except for maybe the end of the first two AF drives that ended up being FG attempts, and the last AF offensive series where they stepped up and stopped to save the victory.
As a result we saw lots of arm tackles or late tackles all games.
Denard played a Denard type of game. Lots of spectacular running. Some good passing. Some crummy passing also. Erratic in other words. I suppose if our defense had played better I wouldn't be complaining about the offense. We did score 31 points. But our offense, even when scoring, was on and off the field. Only one real sustained drive.
I've come to a conclusion about Denard. He's as exciting of a college football player as I have ever seen. But I think having him at quarterback is hindering our progress as a football team. Our offense is a hodge podge of plays to take advantage of Denard's unique talents, but it isn't truly a system. Some times it's a spread and the blocking that comes from that, some times is a pro style with the blocking that goes with that. We jump back and forth from styles, and the line and team don't get enough reps at each to be great at either.
This is best demonstrated by the lack of production from our running backs? Do we have any? And do we know how to block for them?
Our receivers are strong. Love this new freshman Tight End Devin Fuchness. Gardner is turning into good receivier. But I wonder what a game would be like if they didn't have to wait on the ball so much, or adjust to the throws so much. Denard is a better passer this year, but he will never be a really good one. He really only works as a passer on pass run option passes. Just doesn't have the accuracy.
My son summed it up on the way home from the bar. "I felt like we were watching the RichRod Wolverines from two years ago.
Still,
It's Good, To Be, a Michigan Wolverine
Go Michigan , Beat the Minutemen
Hail to the Victors Valiant.
The defense was on it's heals all game. Maybe still feeling shell shock from the Alabama game, maybe having to play Air Force's flying circus of a offense, but they were on their heals all game long. Except for maybe the end of the first two AF drives that ended up being FG attempts, and the last AF offensive series where they stepped up and stopped to save the victory.
As a result we saw lots of arm tackles or late tackles all games.
Denard played a Denard type of game. Lots of spectacular running. Some good passing. Some crummy passing also. Erratic in other words. I suppose if our defense had played better I wouldn't be complaining about the offense. We did score 31 points. But our offense, even when scoring, was on and off the field. Only one real sustained drive.
I've come to a conclusion about Denard. He's as exciting of a college football player as I have ever seen. But I think having him at quarterback is hindering our progress as a football team. Our offense is a hodge podge of plays to take advantage of Denard's unique talents, but it isn't truly a system. Some times it's a spread and the blocking that comes from that, some times is a pro style with the blocking that goes with that. We jump back and forth from styles, and the line and team don't get enough reps at each to be great at either.
This is best demonstrated by the lack of production from our running backs? Do we have any? And do we know how to block for them?
Our receivers are strong. Love this new freshman Tight End Devin Fuchness. Gardner is turning into good receivier. But I wonder what a game would be like if they didn't have to wait on the ball so much, or adjust to the throws so much. Denard is a better passer this year, but he will never be a really good one. He really only works as a passer on pass run option passes. Just doesn't have the accuracy.
My son summed it up on the way home from the bar. "I felt like we were watching the RichRod Wolverines from two years ago.
Still,
It's Good, To Be, a Michigan Wolverine
Go Michigan , Beat the Minutemen
Hail to the Victors Valiant.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Michigan 14, Alabama 41: That was a beat down.
There is no other way to see it. Bama kicked our a__.
Here's how they did it.
Bama's defense took away our run. Both our running backs and Denard Robinson, although he didn't attempt many runs. They gave Denard the pass. Our offensive line gave him time to make the throws. He couldn't make them. Bama covered our receivers pretty well, but not perfectly.
Robinson is only effective as a passer, when he is also a threat as a runner. So why didn't we run him more. Not sure if this is a strategy problem, trying to make him run an offense that he can't run, or that Bama really took the run away from him. I suspect it's a bit of both. Either way Robinson needs to be running the ball to be effective as a passer. And we miss Toussaint Fitz.
How good are we: not as good as our 11-2 record from last year indicated. We aren't fully recovered from the RR years yet. Getting better. But not ready for prime time yet.
BTW: The referees were abysmal last night. Lot's of no-calls that were obvious calls. Not an excuse for our loss. But will we be facing poor officiating all year, because a number of college refs are filling the void during the NFL strike? I hope not.
We have a tough schedule in front of us, and Alabama just demonstrated to the country our weaknesses as a team and how to beat us. Lots of work ahead of us. Time for the real coaching to begin. Let's hope the old adage is true, that a team improves the most between their first game and their second.
Still
It's great, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, beat the Falcons
Go Blue
Here's how they did it.
- Their offensive line dominated and shredded our defensive line and linebackers.
- On defense, they dared Michigan to beat them throwing. And we couldn't.
Bama's defense took away our run. Both our running backs and Denard Robinson, although he didn't attempt many runs. They gave Denard the pass. Our offensive line gave him time to make the throws. He couldn't make them. Bama covered our receivers pretty well, but not perfectly.
Robinson is only effective as a passer, when he is also a threat as a runner. So why didn't we run him more. Not sure if this is a strategy problem, trying to make him run an offense that he can't run, or that Bama really took the run away from him. I suspect it's a bit of both. Either way Robinson needs to be running the ball to be effective as a passer. And we miss Toussaint Fitz.
How good are we: not as good as our 11-2 record from last year indicated. We aren't fully recovered from the RR years yet. Getting better. But not ready for prime time yet.
BTW: The referees were abysmal last night. Lot's of no-calls that were obvious calls. Not an excuse for our loss. But will we be facing poor officiating all year, because a number of college refs are filling the void during the NFL strike? I hope not.
We have a tough schedule in front of us, and Alabama just demonstrated to the country our weaknesses as a team and how to beat us. Lots of work ahead of us. Time for the real coaching to begin. Let's hope the old adage is true, that a team improves the most between their first game and their second.
Still
It's great, to be, a Michigan Wolverine.
Go Michigan, beat the Falcons
Go Blue
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