One of the top recruits in the 2015 class, George Campbell committed to Michigan yesterday afternoon! For those of you not familiar with Mr. Campbell he is a 6'4 185 pounded WR from Tarpon Springs, Florida. Did I mentioned he just recorded the fastest time at the Opening earlier this month? Yea, he ran a 4.37! That's Denard Robinson speed there folks! Most juniors don't get invited to the Opening, but George got one.
This is a huge pick up for the Wolverines for the 2015 class. Only two services have their 2015 rankings out and they both agree that George is the #1 WR in the class. ESPN has him as the #3 overall player in the country and 24/7 follows up with #17. Not sure how he could be a 4 star player and ranked #3 in the nation on ESPN but he is. On 24/7 he is appropriately rated as a 5 star recruit. Expect George to be a 5 star on Scouts and Rivals when they get their rankings out.
"Soup" (too early?) already had 20 offers from the likes of OSU, Florida, FSU, ND, Georgia, Clemson, Texas A&M and many more. If he didn't pull the trigger this weekend, that list would have probably doubled.
As you know, George is teammates with 2014 OL commit Mason Cole and former Michigan recruit Artavis Scott (Clemson). Michigan fans can now start dreaming about an offense with WR's Drake Harris and George Campbell running deep routes on all of Michigan's future opponents.
This is an Elite WR and will be a great addition to Big Al's offense. Let the Anthony Carter comparisons begin!!
The BBQ is already a huge success!
PS: I don't believe Leonand Fournette ever made it to Ann Arbor this weekend. His Grandmother came down ill and we believe he cancelled his trip.
Showing posts with label Al Borges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Borges. Show all posts
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Soup is On at the BBQ!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Michigan Friday: Moe Ways Then One
Sorry the post is late today, life got in the way. Short and sweet today.
Michigan got their second WR commit yesterday in local boy Maurice Ways. Moe is 6'3 and 185 pounds from Detroit Country Day and is in the mold of the prototype WR that Big Al wants. Moe is a 3 star WR to all the services and had offers from The MAC, Pitt, Rutgers, Kansas and Iowa.
The reported downside is, he is not a "burner" and has questionable hands. Either way the Wolverine coaches like what they saw and think he has a nice upside. I like when Michigan keeps local BCS talent home, even if they take a bit of a "risk" on a 3 star prospect. (insert Mike Hart was a 3 star prospect here)
I believe Michigan would take 2 more WR's in this class if one of those guys were elite and attrition moves the class closer to 20 then 16. If not, only expect one more. Moe is the 7th player committed to the Wolverines in the 2014 class and now there are less then 10 spots remain in this small class.
- If you are watching the NFL draft tonight, this should be the night Denard goes off the board. I think the best spot for him is with a traditional pro style QB where he can get some easy throws and can sub in for the wildcat or even a couple surprise throws every now and then. My prediction is a team like he NY Giants. Just a guess.
- Ricardo Miller will graduate from U of M next month and will play for UMass next year. He will also try to get a redshirt year back when he got injured his freshman year.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Michigan Friday: It's the Final 4 Countdown
Basketball is a funny game, it's sort of like golf as a team sport. Sometimes you can play a really good round of golf and your putts just don't fall. Shooting a basketball is sort of the same way, your form could be good and you could miss everything. Or you could catch fire and make everything you look at. See Hardaway and Stauskas's season for an example of that theory. Both guys are great shooters and at times they haven't been able to throw the ball in the ocean from the beach.
If Michigan is going to play on Monday Night, they need Hardaway and Stauskas shooting well from outside the zone. To me that is the #1 key to Michigan's success. I already expect Burke to push the ball and limit turnovers and McGary to play with energy and make a few bunnies. We just need our shooters to shoot well to break that suffocating Syracuse zone.
Here are what the experts are saying on how you break that Zone:
- Push the ball and don't let them set the Zone. Which means Burke needs to get out quick off a Syracuse miss. McGary is huge here getting boards and getting the ball to Burke.
- Attack the high post around the free throw line. Look for Michigan to send Hardaway and GR3 there. They both need to hit a little "free throw" jumper. Tim struggled from that spot against Florida.
- Shooters at the corners - Stauskas will get a ton of shots.
Syracuse is not a great offensive team and if Michigan struggles in the half court offense they will need to lock down Syracuse on the defensive side of the court. Michigan will then need to rebound and get a few easy GR3 outlet lay-ups and dunks. Teams play zone defense to stop the pick and roll and they are betting they can't get beat by outside shooting. I don't see Burke being effective working the ball into the lane and then kicking it out or making a fading away lay-up. There will be too much traffic in the lane. Burke's job will be to beat the Orangeman down the court, getting Michigan some easy baskets and being an effective shooter from 3.
If shooting the 3 is going to be the #1 key to Michigan's success, what is #2?
Michigan must play very good defense and get easy points off turnovers. Michigan bombed Florida's 2-3 zone but Syracuse's zone is much better. Michigan also got a ton of turnovers on Florida that led to easy baskets that killed the Gators momentum and made the Wolverine shooters job very easy.
No matter what happens this weekend, I have nothing but pride and a sense of accomplishment for this group of young men lead by a Sophomore from Columbus, Ohio.
- More hardware for Trey: Update: Trey wins Wooden Award!. He won the AP Player of the Year and the Cousy Award.
- I was reading the transcript from Big Al's press conference yesterday and this line concerned me: Hoke said you talked to Shane Morris after Russell Bellomy’s injury. How does the injury impact Shane, and how does this impact how you coach him?“Really not as much as you might think. He was going to come in and compete anyway. There’s one less slot there to go through, so that’s really all it impacted. He knows there’s one less body. Doesn’t affect him as much as you might think.” --- What the hell does that mean? Big AL your #2 QB isn't even enrolled at Michigan yet, seem a little concerned.
Does it concern you that you have to go into the season with a true freshman as your backup quarterback?“Eh, the numbers are what they are. I’m not going to lose any sleep over that. I’ve been in this situation before. So it’s not a completely novel concept.” ---- I sure hope this is coach speak, because I'm about to lose my mind on this attitude and approach. I normally would consider this 100% "coach speak" but the way Big AL handled the QB's last year, I have my doubts. If you want to compare coaches, see how Greg Mattson answers questions during his press conference.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Michigan Tuesday: Burke Receives More Hardware
Trey Burke continues to win individual awards as he and his teammates prepare for the Final 4. His latest awards are being a member of two All American Teams in the 10-member John R. Wooden All-American team and was named to the 1st team of the AP All American team. Michigan hasn't had a member on the 1st team AP AA team since Chris Weber in 1993.
Michigan Spring Roster QB's:
| 6 | Brian Cleary | QB | 6-3 | 199 | RS FR | Detroit, Mich. (Detroit Jesuit HS) |
| 8 | Russell Bellomy | QB | 6-3 | 213 | RS SO | Arlington, Texas (Martin) |
| 13 | Alex Swieca | QB | 6-1 | 210 | RS SO | New York, N.Y. (The Frisch School) |
| 15 | Shaun Austin | QB | 6-1 | 204 | RS FR | Plymouth, MI (Plymouth HS) |
Starter:
| 12 | Devin Gardner | QB | 6-4 | 210 | RS JR | Detroit, Mich. (Inkster) |
With the loss of Bellomy to an ACL tear that leaves Michigan with 1 scholarship QB on the roster. This is why it's important to recruit a QB every year. Michigan didn't in the 2012 class and that could come back and hurt the Wolverines if Gardner goes down next year. Shane Morris will be on campus this summer and I expect there will be a ton of time with Big Al in the film room and in his office learning the Michigan offense. (Big Al can't do any on field coaching with Shane but there can be some off field interaction and peer coaching by Shane's new teammates).
I'm guessing the #2 QB on the active roster right now is probably Brian Cleary who was a borderline MAC type of recruit who elected to walk-on to Michigan. Brian is 6'3 and 200 pounds and has the frame that Big Al is looking for in a QB. We will see how these guys play in the Spring Game. With the entire Devin at WR and not prepared to play QB in the Nebraska game strategy has me concerned that Michigan doesn't have a dedicated QB coach on staff.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
ND Post Game
and sometimes your Masterpiece ends up to be a pile of crap. Tonight was a wasted effort and a comedy of errors. It was Geraldo Rivera and Al Capone's vault.
Michigan lives and dies on the arm and legs of Denard Robinson. That arm and legs have won the last two games against ND. Tonight it threw and fumbled it away. Michigan Football right now is the equivalent of John Daly or Phil Mickelson on the golf course. Sometimes you boom it 350 yards, make an eagle and win a major. Sometimes you shoot 85 and find yourself on the next bus or flight out of town.
Tonight was an 85. With a ton of shanks, penalty shots and poor play.
I think there are two people to blame. Denard of course and Al Borges. When is Al going to understand how to use Denard? He is not a drop back passer. You also have to have the threat of the run to open up the passing routes. When everyone knows he is going to throw, bad things happen.
I love Denard but he is making the same mistakes he did his sophomore year under center. He is not throwing the ball away, he is making terrible decisions on who is open and who isn't and he is trying to create a highlight with every play. Sometimes you have to live to play another down. Even his short throws were bad today. If you noticed he had a very strange motion where the ball started to dive after he threw it. There isn't any touch on the ball. Quite frankly, it's terrible and things a senior should not be making.
Now on to Big Al. You F up the first series from the 10 by calling a sweep on first down. Then Michigan gets back there and you call a Vincent Smith RB pass, which was clearly set up from the previous series. How many points did that cost us Big Al? At least 6 and maybe 14. Terrible just terrible. How about mixing in a few running plays in the first half or maybe some hurry up offense?
Or here is an idea, how about giving Denard a few "safe" throws to get his confidence up. Instead you are running deep routes to the full back thrown by our wide receiver. Let Denard be Denard and get the F out of the way. You are over thinking the room and it's making you look foolish.
September 1 was embarrassing because Alabama beat Michigan in every aspect of the game. This game was embarrassing because we beat ND in every aspect of the game besides the scoreboard and turnover margin. ND's defense played well but all of those turnovers were very poor decisions by Denard.
Tonight's game was a total wasted effort by Michigan's defense. Michigan was a pass interference penalty by a true freshman way from ND kicking nothing but field goals. Greg Mattison had a great game plan and the likes for Ryan, Demens, Gordon and Kovacs came to play. The offense instead of scoring just threw the ball to ND linebackers and cornerbacks.
A Masterpiece that went wrong, way wrong.
What's next? A terrible time for a bye week or a good time? This team clearly needs some work and now they have 2 weeks to fix it. They find themselves 2-2 heading into the Big Ten season. The goal of Indy is still alive in a weak Big Ten. Those are the two positives from tonight, the Big Ten is still ahead and the defense played it's ass off.
I maybe the only person that feels this way but I think Brady Hoke has to do a better job of managing the game from the sideline. If Big AL has a moment, you might be able to stop it if you have your headphones on. He clearly intervened at half time and adjusted the strategy. He needs to do that during the game as well.
I don't have anymore to say, it's late and that game was hard to watch.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Wolverine Wednesday: Wonders About 2013 Starting QB?
I know we should just sit back and enjoy Denard for 10-12 more games. He is an electric talent and it's been an honor to watch the future legend run wild most Saturday's in the fall.
With that said, it's mid-week against an opponent Michigan is nearly favored by 1/2 a hundred and there isn't much news brewing. So, I start to ponder what Michigan's QB situation is going to look like next year. Denard will be gone and the guy that was expected to play will have gone a full year as a full-time WR. There are plenty of possibilities at QB next year, for example:
- Devin Gardner could move back to full time QB.
- If Devin doesn't get his 5th year medical redshirt, does it make sense to have him run the offense for one year?
- Russell Bellomy will have three years under his belt working with Big Al, would he be the best choice?
- Michigan will have 5 star QB Shane Morris hitting campus sometime in the summer. Does it make sense to start from scratch and give the Wolverines up to 4 years with the same QB?
I find it hard to believe the Michigan coaches don't know the status of Devin's redshirt. I would assume the NCAA has given them the most likely scenario. Which may have helped the coaches with the decision to move him to WR.
It's clear that Bellomy is the #2 QB right now and I expect to see Russell sometime late in the first half or early in the second. (Let's not risk Denard a week before ND, please!). How much time will Devin get at QB on Saturday? He doesn't have a ton of experience and could use a few series at least.
As far as Shane Morris goes, I would prefer to redshirt him and let him learn Big Al's new system. I don't like living and dying on every decision a freshman QB makes. His high school won't allow him to enroll early so the earliest he is going to get to work with Big AL is during Fall Practice in August.
What would you like to see post Denard?
- Frank Clark pleads guilty to second degree home invasion. Many expect probation but the max he could get is 15 years in jail. I wonder how this is going to effect his status with the team? On 10/23 he will be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which allows him to have the charge expunged if he successfully completes probation.
- It's nice that Michigan State and ND are playing before the Michigan game this year. The Wolverine coaches should be able to get some good film on both teams. A common question is, who should Michigan fans root for? Someone has to lose which is the first positive. We need MSU to lose in the Big Ten and we play ND next week. So either way works for me.
- Speaking of enrolling early, Jake Butt said recently he has worked out a plan with his high school and the Michigan coaches to enroll at Michigan in January. Expected to join him are Kyle Bosch, Taco Charlton, Ross Douglas, Logan Tuley-Tillman and Dymonte Thomas. You can back date up to 3 scholarships to the 2012 class.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Michigan Tuesday: What Did We Learn?
It's important we don't let the Alabama game beat us twice or three times. Back in 2007, Michigan gets shocked by App. State and gets blown out the next weekend by Oregon. That can't happen this year.
With that in mind, Michigan needs to find some positives from the film and play better football on Saturday against Air Force. I feel bad for the coaches and players having to watch that film again.
Here are some things that stood out to me:
- We need Fitz. We have to have a play maker in the backfield next to Denard. I don't think he would have made a difference against Alabama but our back ups are not close to his skill level.
- Denard needs to run more and has to make better throws. (obvious)
- Gallon is Michigan's best WR and Roy Roundtree is not an outside receiver.
- Gardner has a ton of work to do at WR. Flashback: Remember in high school when you played flag football in gym? You always told the best athlete from the basketball team to run deep because you knew he could run faster and out jump the entire defense. That guy right now is Devin Gardner.
- Big Will showed some nice things on the Dline. I would like to see how he does against a line that isn't full of NFL first round draft picks.
- When I first saw #15 Ross out on defense, I thought who is that? I was a little surprised to see James Ross get so much time. Doesn't seem like there are going to be a ton of redshirts from the 2012 class on defense this year.
- Dennis Norfleet is fast. Use him on offense, somewhere.
- Big AL either thought he was going to kill Denard running the ball or that Vincent Smith sweep play was going to work because he ran it 100 times.
- Countess ACL is a huge loss for the Wolverines DB's
- I almost threw up when the Michigan WR's dropped the first two passes. I also yelled at Roundtree when it was really Gardner.
- We are very thin at TE and we might not see much from that position this year. Brandon Moore is out this week with an MCL injury.
- This Saturday can't get here fast enough.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Michigan Tuesday: Is Devin Gardner the next Ryan Tannehilll?
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| Photo from Ann Arbor.com |
Ryan yesterday was named the rookie starter for the Miami Dolphins. There seems to be a few parallels in the careers of both quarterbacks.
Let's take a look:
-Devin was the #1 ranked Dual Threat QB in the 2010 Class (Rivals)
-Ryan was the #21 ranked Dual Threat QB in the 2007 Class (Rivals)
-Devin hopes to have a medical redshirt his freshman year.
-Ryan was redshirted his freshman year at Texas A&M.
-Devin is behind 3 year starter Denard Robinson at QB.
-Ryan was behind starter Stephen McGee and Jerrod Johnson
-Devin is moved to part time WR in the 2012 season in year two of the Brady Hoke era.
-Ryan is moved to wide receiver in 2008 in year one of Mike Sherman's tenure at Texas A&M.
-In 2012 Devin's true junior year he is expected to get snaps at both positions.
-In 2010 Ryan's redshirt junior year he starts the year at WR and finishes it at QB.
-Devin's senior year (next year) he is expected to be the full time starter after Denard is gone.
-In 2011 Ryan starts all 13 games at QB as a 5th year senior.
-Ryan is drafted with the 8th pick by the Miami Dolphins. That is clearly Devin's goal.
I sure hope he gets that medical redshirt for another year.
- Derrick Green visited both Georgia and Auburn over the weekend. This was his first visit to Georgia and second to Auburn. There is also a rumor he could commit this weekend during his first high school game that happens to be on ESPN. This is just a rumor at this point as he has been telling reporters he plans to take some official visits.
- Leon McQuay now a 5 star player to Rivals tells Tremendous he is planning to visit Michigan again.
- Peewee Pipkins was back at practice on Monday. That is great news!
- Shane Morris has been upgraded to a 5 star player on Rivals. Which is considered the harder service for a 5 star ranking.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Michigan Tuesday: Big AL Gets Paid!
Raise your hand if this has happened to you?
Boss: Employee come into my office
Employee: Ok
Boss: I know you are making $350,000 a year.
Employee: Yes
Boss: I have decided I am going to add 3 more to your salary?
Employee: $3,000?
Boss: Nope, $300,000
Employee: Is this a joke?
Boss: Nope
Employee: Yes, I will take it and thank you. I will no longer consider that job with the competitor.
Boss: Great! Have a good day.
Big Al Borges just signed a new 3 year contract that bumped his salary from $350,000 to $650,000 a year. He also was not under contract in 2011 and Florida was very interested in him during the off season. I think Big AL was eating a steak dinner last night.
- Michigan Basketball Transfers Update: Evan Smotrycz is going to Maryland and Carlton Burndidge hasn't made a decision yet but he has gotten calls from Detroit and Akron.
- Michigan losses a Walk On: Sparty offered soon to be Michigan walk on and long snapper Taybor Pepper a scholarship for next year. Taylor "I'm a" Pepper took the offer to get his college paid for. Pretty funny stuff.
- It's currently evaluation period for NCAA Football coach around the country. Which means they can go out and visit kids at school. The period is open until the end of May.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Spring Game Thoughts and Visitor Reactions
If the Spring Game was an ice cream it would have been Vanilla. The coaches were real careful not to show Alabama and other teams too much to plan for. Denard played one series and Devin and Russell played the rest. Here are my Spring Game Cheer and Jeers:
Cheers:
- Running Game - Fitz is clearly the #1 back. I also like what Thomas Rawls did as well. Justice didn't get too many carries but you can tell he has a nice burst. Vincent Smith is always good, always.
- Offensive Line - I thought it played very well and protected the QB's well.
- Defensive Backs - It was hard to see on TV but the QB's couldn't find anything down field and it seems they covered well. Marvin Robinson looked very good!
- High School Seniors - Michigan has 3 early enrollees and saw most of them on the field. Lots of Joe Bolden and Jarrod Wilson.
- Back QB Russell Bellomy looked good and could be the #2 QB if they want to use Devin in some other situations on offense.
- Over $200K raised for Mott!
Jeers:
- Down Field Passing Game - there wasn't any.
- A few bad snaps. That has to be fixed.
- Defensive Line played ok, not great. They were a little up and down during the game. Coach Hoke called out both lines not being physical enough. I felt the O Line played better then the D line.
- Chip shot field goal missed.
Spring Game Visitors:
Levenberry: Loved his visit. The Michigan fans were yelling "Come to Michigan EJ!" and that had a huge impression on the high school junior. The coaches also made a great impression on the family and they are very comfortable with Coach Hoke and staff. He is down to 3 schools: Michigan, FSU and Oklahoma. His decision time frame is August or the Army All American game. Chances will be Blue: Very Good.
Lacouture: Also had a good time and wants to come up again with his Dad. His visit this weekend was with his mom and it seems Michigan left a good impression on both of them. He wants to make a decision soon (late spring/early summer) and is down to Michigan, LSU and Nebraska. He has been to LSU a few times and would guess they are leading. Chances will be Blue: Good.
Bosa: Didn't have Michigan in his top group before the visit. They are now in it. He is still early in his decision process and will see many other top programs before making a decision. Chances he will be Blue: Not Likely
Treadwell: Said this visit to A2 was his top visit so far and helped Michigan even more. He got to spend time with Big Al which helped a lot. He got a better understanding of Al's pro style offense. He is not close to a decision and will take most if not all of his official visits.
I guess we never got those 2 commits before the Spring Game (we got 1) and didn't get any this weekend. The above guys are very high profile recruits and the sooner they go Blue the better. I don't like any of the above recruitment's if they continue past the football season.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Michigan Thursday: Gets #12 for the 2013 Class
Michigan kept the commitment momentum rolling with another Ohio player in WR Jaron Dukes. Jaron has great measurables coming in at 6'5 and 200 pounds and plays his high school football in Columbus, Ohio. Jaron has been a life long Wolverine fan and is good friends with Michigan commit Taco Charlton.
Jaron is not rated by Scouts, Rivals, ESPN and a 3 star to 24/7. Which means he is probably a "high" 3 star prospect to all the services. He will get a chance to up his ranking during his senior season. The "knock" on Jaron is his speed, but he is a walking miss-match at 6'5. His coach says he runs a 4.6 which is pretty fast but that might be deflated by a few points.
A great example that he can play is that he matched up against Ohio State commit Cam Burrows who is considered a borderline 5 star CB and the top player in Ohio. Jaron had 6 catches and 173 yards on Mr. Burrows. Which shows Jaron can play and is also very hard to cover.
His early offer list included: Illinois and Toledo but was getting interest from places like Ohio State, ND, Wisconsin, MSU and others. He also visited OSU a couple times but did not come away with an offer. You could say Jaron is a bit under the radar right now but I have a ton of faith in Al Borges ability to evaluate players. Michigan's last commit from Columbus that didn't have an OSU offer seemed to work out well in Ann Arbor in Tre Burke, so I am excited for Jaron to be on this team and giving Shane Morris a huge target. I can see a ton of jump ball touchdowns in Jaron's future. As the Sugar Bowl showed, Michigan needs WR's that cause miss-matches with CB's on size or speed.
Michigan is telling recruits that they will take 3 WR's in this class. So this is the first commit at that position and probably won't push Treadwell to commit anytime soon. I am still sticking with 20 total spots in this class right now. I would not be shocked if it got to say 24 overall.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Michigan Thursday: Denard Kicks The NFL 's Tires
I expect he will be back and facing Alabama next year in Dallas.
- Congrats to Paul Chryst, Wisconsin OC who it seems will be getting the Pitt head coaching job.
- Josh Garnett tweeted that a reporter asked him: Why Michigan? He tweeted 1) He loves Erik Magnuson and 2) He hates Ohio State. Come on down big fella!
- David Brandon doesn't like OSU or any school having two coaching staff recruit during the December. He believes it gives teams with 2 coaching staffs an advantage: "No one will ever convince me of the merits of allowing anyone — including the University of Michigan — to have this kind of advantage, or that this is sensible in terms of being a fair and equitable approach," Brandon told The Detroit News last week. "Our coaches right now are sleep-deprived. They've got to plan to get 130 people to New Orleans (Michigan plays Virginia Tech in the
Jan. 2Jan 3 Sugar Bowl), practicing and preparing a game plan and doing all the things coaches do, and yet this is one of the busiest recruiting seasons of the year."
- The Michigan Basketball Team plays Bradley today at 6:30 BTN
- If you didn't hear, when Big Al was asked if he was interested in the Florida OC job, He responded: “No. This is Michigan Fergodsake -- the noble words of someone we all know and love. Next question.”
Thursday Funny from the 7th Inning Sketch
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Ohio State ReCap: The Winds of Change
This game is not what I expected. For some reason Ohio State plays like Ohio State for 11 weeks and when they see the Winged Helmets they turn into the Pittsburgh Steelers. Miller was doing his best Vince Young impression with his arm and legs. They moved the ball against the Michigan defense like only ND has this year and still Michigan found away to win both games.
Denard almost played a perfect game, minus the fumble it was one of his best efforts. Big Al Borges knew this was Denard's game to win or lose and put it 100% on his shoulders. Denard was
Cheers
- Denard "freaking" Robinson
- Michigan's O-Line
- Fitz Toussaint
- All the Seniors
- The Big House Crowd
- Brady Hoke being 10-2 in year 1
- JT Floyd (are you kidding me, you let Posey behind you on the last drive?)
- Will Hagerup, Come on man.
- Troy Woolfolk, Struggled all day.
- Greg Mattison (first time on the list but OSU should not have not been able to move the ball so well on your unit)
- Steve Watson and Pat Omameh those penalties almost cost Michigan the game.
This was a great win and I have some more random thoughts.
- Enough with the "days since OSU lost to Michigan" For the record, Michigan didn't beat OSU last year but since they played with "Professionals" the game officially didn't have a winner.
- For those that enjoy conspiracy theory's: The replay booth over turns the Fitz TD run, when one replay shows he was short of the goal line and another replay shows he got in. If I am correct, if they have two conflicting views, they have to go with the call on the field (which was a TD). Michigan was a 7.5 favorite and that would have put them up by 10 points. The refs called two penalties on the next play almost guaranteeing a field goal attempt making the lead 6 points.
- I'm not sure how Michigan got on the bad side of the replay booth refs but they need to send them a fruit basket or something. It seems every close call goes against Michigan these days.
- I hope Michigan gets a BCS bid and if I could put my vote in, I would vote for the Orange Bowl. How about a Virgina Tech - Michigan match up?
- Where did this season go? It seems like it just started.
Let's hope the recruits enjoyed themselves and we can wrap up the 2012 class in the next month or so. I was really impressed how the team competed today and didn't give up even when things started to go wrong.
It seemed that "the Wind" played a big role in this years team. The wind blew Rich Rod to the desert and brought us Brady Hoke from the West Coast. Brady and Greg Mattison blew into town and turned this defense right around. Michigan learned from the Wind Storm in East Lansing and under similar conditons it didn't phase them against Illinois. Today the wind blew through the Big House and blew away 7 years of loses and it even might have blown in a new head coach for the Buckeyes. Whether it was Miller's arm or that Ann Arbor wind, the winning pass blew a few yards away from Posey to seal the game for the Wolverines. The winds of change feel good to Wolverines fans everywhere. It's a wind we remember, it's a wind that feels right.
Whether it's the BCS or the Citrus, this team can hold it's head high and the seniors can get a good nights sleep that the Buckeyes went down today. All is right in the Wolverine Nation again.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Nebraska Gets Husked at the Big House
We all have been critical of Denard and Al Borges for Michigan's 2 losses this year. The play calling and decision making in Iowa City and East Lansing were questionable at best. Saturday they got their revenge.
Denard played a near perfect game (minus the tipped screen pass) and Al finally figured out that for this offense to be effective they have to run the Spread primarily and the pro set power game secondarily.
Credit also goes to the Michigan defense and Greg Mattison who has to be a leading candidate for best assistant in the country award. Last year the Michigan defense gave up 35 points a game which ranked 108 in the country. This year Michigan is giving up 15 points a game, which ranks 7th in the country. Same players, better coaching and fundamentals. An unbelievable turn around.
The Michigan offense was moving the ball and the defense was stopping Martinez and Burkhead, so all the Michigan special teams had to do was protect the ball and not make mistakes. Instead, for the first time this year the Wolverines Special Teams unit were a game changer. There were good returns, made field goals, fake field goals, a blocked punt, 2 fumbles recovered, and a roughing the kicker penalty. It's hard to beat any team with those type of results out of a special teams unit.
Cheers
- Denard Robinson
- Al Borges Playing Calling
- Mike Martin and Ryan VanBurgen are playing great!
- Greg Mattison's defense transformation
- Fitzgerald Toussaint running the ball strong and staying healthy
- Michigan's offensive line
- Jordan Kovacs for his consistent good play
- Urban Meyer for a lot of things. OSU really? The Buckeyes over health concerns and family? Florida over Ohio? The last straw was Urban trying to make the case for Devin Gardner playing QB over Denard Robinson during the game. I know Urban clearly understands football so he must not understand the Michigan Wolverines very well. There are 1000 reasons to keep Denard on the field.
- Will Hagerup has to be better punting the football, his punts to me look low and not very far.
- Gallon's mistake to let that punt behind him changed the momentum of the game, luckily for Michigan the roughing the punter call changed it back. After that the tired Nebraska defense had enough.
- Michigan couldn't stop Nebraska's LB David at all. It seemed like he was in on every tackle.
- Denard's screen pass was not thrown very well but the defense held the Cornhuskers to a field goal.
- The big dollar HD scoreboards that weren't working. Not good Mr. Brandon!
The Wolverines still have some unfinished business next Saturday before they make their bowl travel plans. Sure I would like a BCS invite but I would much rather have a 11-2 record and a top 15 finish. I can't wait to see how good this team can play with 15 extra bowl practices.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Nebraska Preview
Location: Big House
TV: ESPN
Weather: Cloudy and High of 50
Line: Michigan -3.5
On the line: Possible BCS birth for either team if they win out
Nebraska has been welcomed to the Big Ten by getting probably the toughest Big 10 schedule this year, they have played Wisconsin, MSU, Ohio State, Penn State and now Michigan. They have a new rivalry game with Iowa next week. I'm sure there is a corn trophy on the line. That is pretty much the Who's Who of the Big Ten. They have done pretty well with only losses to Wisconsin on the road and Northwestern at home.
Nebraska is similar to Michigan with a dynamic QB that likes to run and they have a very good RB in Burkhead who has 212 carries and over 1000 yards already. They also (like Michigan) prefer to run then pass. Both teams on defense will single cover WR's so they can add more defenders in the box to stop the run. Martinez is not Joe Montana but he can hit a wide open WR or TE. So Michigan can't sleep on the passing game.
Nebraska has always been known for it's defense and the "Black Shirts". Those shirts this year are injured but Bo Pelini is a defensive coach and will have his team ready to stop Denard and Fitz.
On offense, Nebraska played at Penn State with walk-ons Spencer Long and Seung Hoon Choi at guard. These guys had to play every snap because they didn't have any back ups on the trip. (Advatange Martin and VanBurgen). On defense, defensive tackle Chase Rome (pulled hamstring) played at about 70 percent at PSU and Nebraska is already without defensive tackles Jared Crick and Thad Randle who are out for the rest of the year.
Tale of the Tape
Michigan Running Game vs. Nebraska Defense = Michigan
Martinez & Burkhead vs. Greg Mattison = Push (maybe a slight edge to Nebraska)
Health = Michigan
Intangibles = Michigan being at home and Nebraska's first visit to the Big House
This game will come down to which defense plays the best. Both defenses were on the road last week and held the home teams to 14 points each. Nebraska got behind in the second quarter against Wisconsin and tried to pass their way back which turned into a blow out. This game will probably take about an hour to play because I doubt we will see the ball in the air much by either side. Look for Nebraska to try to keep this game close.
Sing Hail to the Victors if........................
- Borges and Mattison have come up with great game plans
- Denard is healthy and plays the entire game
- No turnovers on offense!
- The Michigan LB's have a great day and stay in their lanes
- Michigan finds away to get their WR's involved in the game
- Fitz and Denard each have over 100 yards rushing
- Martinez and Burkhead get big runs
- The Michigan D doesn't force Nebraska to pass the ball
- Devin Gardner starts under center
- Michigan turns the ball over on offense
- The young Wolverine LB's look like young LB's
This is a coordinator battle and which defense can stop the others offense. It is plain and simple as that. Both teams are going try to make hay on the ground and the Michigan defense will have to be smart against the run option with Martinez and Burkhead. If Mattison has coached them up this week and the LB's play smart, I like a one dimensional offense vs Greg Mattison's defense. I would say the same thing in reverse if Nebraska wasn't so beat up on that side of the ball.
Here is how I see it:
- Denard has to play and play well
- Greg Mattison has two running teams coming into the Big House back to back and he needs to shut down both teams.
- This will be a field possession game
- Not a ton of points
- The Michigan defense has some confidence and needs to continue to play well
- Stop the Run!!!!
- Both punters will play a big role in trying to flip field possession
- Michigan has to take advantage of Nebraska's injuries
GO BLUE
Monday, November 14, 2011
Michigan Monday: This Is Denard's Team
I like Devin but I wish he had gotten more time during Michigan's MAC season rather then the end of the Big Ten season. He made a nice throw to Odoms to secure the game and more importantly didn't turn the ball over. What I saw under center was a redshirt freshman who was a little excited to be in the game but a little over his head as well. If Michigan needed to go 80 yards in two minutes to win the game, I'm not sure Devin would have been able to pull it off.
Denard has to be the Michigan QB the next two weeks if he is healthy enough. I don't think he will be anywhere near 100% until the bowl break. Denard's threat to run is something that each DC (the next two weeks) will spend a ton of time scheming to stop. Denard's dynamic game is why Michigan has 8 wins this year and could have 10. Yes, Denard needs to stop turning the ball over but Michigan is a better offense when he is on the field. The MVP's this week will be the Michigan Trainers whose job is to get Denard healthy enough to play on Saturday.
Let's hope that Denard's wrist is only bruised and not something worse after MRI's and other tests.
The Michigan coaches need to find away to get the WR's and TE's more involved in the game. Koger needs more touches and our slot guys (Odoms, Grady and Gallon) can make some plays. I would like to see one of those guys line up in the backfield for a couple drop down passes. Roy Roundtree for example has 14 catches for 278 yards this year. That is a good game! He had 72 catches for 935 yards last year. We need to find away to get the ball in these play makers hands.
- Michigan is 18 in coaches poll and 20 in AP
- Michigan is -2.5 against Nebraska right now
- Michigan's Basketball Game is on ESPN3/Watch ESPN Tonight (online)
Friday, November 11, 2011
Illinois Preview
Location: Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC/EPSN
Weather: Partly Sunny high of 57, Windy with gusts 19-40 MPH
Line: Illinois -1
After a week of Big Ten schools making national news, we almost forgot we have a game this week. BTW: If you missed it, yesterday Ohio State got the NCAA "Failure to Monitor" violation. The Big Ten Office must be just loving all this Positive News!
Speaking of the Big Ten this year. It seems nobody can play on the road. I think maybe the best road win all year was Northwestern's upset of Nebraska last week. Illinois is coming off a bye week and Michigan is coming off a loss to Iowa.
If you remember last year, I think Michigan won 100-99 which got the Wolverines bowl eligible for the first time in two years. Even though that was a win, that game did nothing to help Rich Rodriguez get a 4th year in Ann Arbor. Both teams are better on defense this year but both teams have struggled lately.
Illinois is on a 3 game losing streak which include losses to OSU, Purdue and Penn State. Michigan is 1-2 in it's last 3 games with only a win over Purdue at home in between road losses. The one game that sticks out to me is that Ohio State beat Illinois by completing one pass. Really? Even though playing well up front on defense the Illinois offense is struggling. The last 3 losses they have scored 7 - 14 - 7 points. The 14 came against Purdue.
Guess What? This is another no brainer game plan for Illinois. On defense they will stack the box and try to stop the Michigan run game. I would assume they tried that against OSU as well. On offense, they are going to try to get to the edge of the Michigan defense to get the young Michigan linebackers out of position. I expect a ton of options and sweeps. The weather is calling for high winds similar to the Michigan State game, so expect each team to keep the passes down to a minimum.
Tale of the Tape
Michigan's Run Game vs #6 ranked defense = Illinois
Michigan's passing game vs high winds = Wind
Illinois Struggling Offense vs Michigan D = Push
Road Borges vs Home Borges = Road Borges
Intangibles = Illinois Bye Week and Being at Home
Coaching = Advantage Greg Mattison
This game (like the MSU and Iowa games) is in the hands of Al Borges and Denard Robinson. I believe Denard is hurt. If I had to guess he has some type of knee/leg issue. He is not explosive as he was earlier in the season. I only want to see Devin Gardner if Denard is hurt or needs a blow, that 2 QB package is not fooling anyone.
Sing Hail to the Victors if..........................
- If Al Borges has learned anything from MSU and Iowa. Anything!
- Denard gets at least 150 yards on the ground
- Michigan running backs get over 100 yards
- Denard doesn't turn the ball over
- The Michigan defense gets some turnovers and even scores points
- Michigan can't move the ball consistency on the ground
- The wind and Denard's inaccuracy caused interceptions
- Illinois QB Scheelhaase and Illinois RB's are getting big runs
- Al Borges continues to not understand how to use Denard effectively
Here is how I see it:
- Al doesn't understand this offense needs to be in the spread most of the time.
- Denard is banged up and Devin is not ready
- The wind is going to effect Michigan taking advantage of a poor Illinois secondary with Roundtree, Hemingway, and Gallon.
- The defense will keep it close but will give up some points
Illinois 24 Michigan 17
GO BLUE
Friday, November 4, 2011
Iowa Preview
Location: Iowa City
TV: ESPN
Weather: Partly Cloudy High of 60 Low of 46
Line: Michigan -3.5
Each week the Michigan Football program has another test to see if they are a different team then the squad that took the field the last 3 years. This week is no exception. RR's Michigan's program had a hard time beating quality opponents on the road in the Big Ten. If my memory servers me correctly, I think the wins on the road in the Big 10 over the past 3 years are against Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue. Not exactly a murders row is it?
Michigan has done a great job protecting the Big House where they have 6 wins this season. That was a must, but they have found themselves 1-1 on the road with a win over Northwestern and a loss to MSU. So which team will the Wolverines put on the field the next two weeks? It will be easy for them to get up for Nebraska and OSU at the Big House but the season might be defined by these next two weeks.
Iowa is one of those strange Big Ten teams this year. They have looked decent at times and terrible at other times. If you had asked me if Michigan could lose to a team that lost to Minnesota after Michigan beat them 58-0, I would have given you a clear "no way". Now, I'm not so sure.
Why? You might ask?
I think teams play very hard after an embarrassing loss and mostly at home. There is nothing better to heal the team and a fan base is a big win over a named opponent. Michigan won't see the same team that played at Minnesota last week, they will see a motivated squad that will be desperate for a win.
Tale of the Tape
Michigan Offense vs Iowa D = Denard and Fitz
Iowa Passing vs Michigan's Secondary = The Count and TWolf
Iowa Running Game vs Michigan Linebackers = Marcus Coker
Intangibles = Pink locker room, home field and bad loss last week
Coaching = Push (Greg Mattison sent his son to play for Iowa)
On paper Michigan has the better team and I actually like Michigan's pass defense a little bit better with The Count and JT Floyd at the corners and Troy at Safety. Kovacs is the much better run stopper and I hope he is healthy, but if I had to guess he probably will be out.
Iowa's game plan will be a balanced one. They will want to be physical and throw to the tight ends and WR McNutt down the field. Their offense is based off the Big Ten's leading rusher Marcus Coker who is a big physical back. Iowa plays well at home and will be looking to score a ton of points to protect a pretty weak defense up front.
Sing Hail to the Victors if..........................
- The Michigan Defense can stop the run
- The Michigan offense keeps drives alive with short accurate passes
- Denard and Fitz each have over 100 yards
- Michigan has no more then 1 turnover on offense
- Michigan slows McNutt and limits big plays
Say, how did this team lose to Minnesota if............
- The Michigan linebackers lose contain on runs and forgets to cover the tight ends.
- Al Borges starts calling crazy plays from the press box
- Iowa's defense is much improved from their performance last week
- The pink locker room and the 11:00AM local start causes the Wolverines to sleep walk
I don't like this game at all. I could see a ton of things happening from a Michigan blow out to a Michigan loss. Big Ten teams have played terrible on the road this year and Iowa got embarrassed last week with a loss to the worst team in the league. Michigan might have played their most complete game of the year last week but will that translate to Iowa City? Michigan's defense has played well against the run this year and is the one of thing that Coach Mattison and Hoke stresses with the defense everyday. Though when they saw the most balanced offense they have seen in East Lansing they gave up lots of yards on the ground. Iowa has a balanced offense but was stopped last week by Minnesota. This is crazy! Time to prove Michigan is one of the better teams in the Big Ten and it doesn't matter where they play the game. Flush the last three years down the toilet and don't beat yourself. Denard had a chance to beat Iowa at Iowa his freshman year and threw a pick on the last drive. He hasn't forgot that and will finish the job this year. Look for big games from Woolfolk, Demens and Martin on defense - Denard, Fitz and Hemingway on offense.
Michigan 28 Iowa 21
GO BLUE
Friday, October 28, 2011
Purdue Preview
TV: ESPN 2
Location: Big House
Weather: Mostly cloudy with a rain or snow shower in spots high of 50, low 29
Line: Michigan -14
Event: Homecoming
There is no love between these two teams. Purdue has had issues with Michigan back to the Lloyd Carr days. Purdue coaches have always felt that Michigan eats thier lunch on the recruiting trial. Some might have thought this started back when Tiller threw the "Snake Oil Salesman" tag on Rich Rod. It did not, Tiller had issues with Michigan and Carr for years. He just never called out Carr or Michigan in public. There were plenty of rumors that Tiller would vote Michigan down in the Coaches poll and other sinster activity.
So there's that. There is also 2 recent wins by Purdue over RR's Wolverines, where they pulled pretty much everything out of the play book to get a win. Back a few years ago, they ran the hook and ladder to win a game. So clearly, Purdue and their coaches have this game circled on their calendar.
Ok, Bob Nice Set Up. Get to the game preview! (I feel ya, I am up late reading 3 and Out which pretty much pisses me off page by page too, so I'm with ya!)
Purdue has what they always have. A team that plays like a roller coaster week to week. This team lost to Sam McGuffie and Rice this year. Houston put up 73 points on Rice last night. Their other losses are to Notre Dame and Penn State. They only have one quality win over Ron Zook and Illinois which happened last weekend, which was their best game of the season. So Purdue is looking to beat top 25 opponents back to back for the first time since Drew Brees was throwing touchdown passes and Michigan is looking to rebound for their MSU loss during an inland hurricane.
Tale of the Tape:
Michigan Offense vs Purdue Defense = Edge to Denard
Michigan Defense vs Purdue Offense = Edge to Purdue
Special Teams = Purdue
Coaching = Michigan
Intangibles = Michigan coming off a bye week and a loss to MSU (Purdue could be over confident and Michigan is angry and won't let their season slip this year)
Purdue will spread out the field and try to run the ball as much as possible. They will try to get the Michigan defense out of position for big plays. We will see if Greg Mattison has coached his guys up over the last two weeks to stay in their gaps. Michigan's LB's have not played well this year and were totally absent from the MSU game. If they take the Purdue game off, it could be a long day for the defense.
I am looking for a few things from the Michigan offense after the MSU game:
1) More plays to the middle of the field. Which was 100% open most every blitz MSU ran. I want to see a RB there or a Tight end in the middle for a quick dump down pass.
2) Less gimmicks, more running. Need production from the RB's and not just Denard.
3) Shorter passes to help Denard get into rhythm in the passing game.
4) I like Devin a lot but we are all in with Denard. Unless Denard needs a rest. Please don't take him out.
Sing Hail to Victors if....................
- The Michigan offense line can protect Denard
- Michigan has a running game
- Denard throws it to the guys in the blue jerseys.
- The Michigan defense knows how to defend a running spread.
- The Michigan defense continues to get turnovers.
Say here we go again if......................
- The game becomes an offensive shoot out
- The Michigan D doesn't have an answer for the Purdue running game
- Denard is throwing off his back foot
- Big Al didn't learn anything from the MSU game
Michigan 31 Purdue 14
GO BLUE
Sunday, October 16, 2011
4th and 1 the Turning Point
The NFL has a new show called the Turning Point, it is based on the one play in a football game that dictates the outcome. That play in the Michigan - MSU game was the 4 and 1 play call in the 4th quarter with Michigan down by 7 points in the MSU red zone after a Spartan turnover.
Normally a turning point has one mistake like a fumble or an interception. I am here to prove there were a ton of huge mistakes on just this one play.
Mistake #1: Comes at the end of 3rd down. I thought Gallon got a terrible spot on his reception. It seemed to me he was on the 1st down mark when he caught the ball and the tackler pushed him back. The spot should have reflected the forward progress. There was an opportunity to challenge the spot, the Michigan coaches did not.
Mistake #2: This mistake comes straight from Coach Hoke. No timeout was called. Per his press conference: Looked like you were trying to call timeout. Did you see something you didn’t like? “Yeah, I saw the 25-second clock rolling to zero. I think we got away with one, to be honest with you.” I'm not sure the result of that play call was "getting away with something".
Mistake #3: Play Call: This is the biggest mistake of them all. From Coach Hoke: What happened on that fourth-and-one call? “We’ve gotten many first downs with that play. Same play. The guy jumps, we send the one guy in motion. We’ve gotten touchdowns, too. This was just an extension of that play.”
Why was this the worst call possible? A number of reasons:
- You have the most dynamic player in football, you need less then a yard and you have him passing the ball? (I assume it was a pass play). Denard had been having trouble throwing the ball all day and that is the play when the game is on the line? I would rather have the ball in Denard's hand trying to get a first down then faking a hand off and doing the hidden ball trick.
- The fake does not work with Denard. Why, because Denard is a running QB and the key to the entire MSU defense. When you fake the hand off and do the hidden ball trick, all that does is let the MSU DB make up ground hitting him. I am willing to bet, Denard could beat that DB to the corner and pick up the first down and probably a touchdown. You can't do a delayed fake with all of MSU defense a yard away. That play works with a QB that doesn't run and is expected to hand the ball off. Not Denard.
This is how you lose games, by not understanding the importance of the key play of the game. I think Hoke should have called a time out and made sure the right play and personnel was called. In fact, he should have challenged the spot, so he could of had time to confirm the right call. If, he wins the challenge he keeps the time out. I understand Al makes the call but it's up to the head coach to confirm that is what he wants on such a key play.
I know it's easy being a Sunday morning QB, but damn there was a ton of options available to the Michigan coaches and they didn't take any of them.
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