Roy Roundtree looks like he will be an integral part of the 2010 offense.

There’s not much left to say about the 2009 season, so I’m going to go ahead and take a look at what the 2010 team will look like. First up is the offense, which should see little turnover from a very young unit. Just a note: I’ll be referring to players by what class they will be in for 2010 (for instance, I’ll be calling Tate Forcier a sophomore).

Quarterback: There will be a lot of speculation about the quarterback position, especially with the way Tate Forcier finished his freshman campaign. Forcier obviously has the inside track at the starting position in 2010, with a full season as the starter in Rich Rodriguez’s system under his belt. Denard Robinson has shown value as a situational quarterback, but hasn’t shown the passing ability to be a full-time solution at the position. The wild card will be the presence of incoming freshman Devin Gardner, Rivals.com’s #1 quarterback in the Class of 2010 and a threat to start from the moment he steps on campus. Unfortunately, Gardner will not be able to enroll early, and will have a tough time learning the offense quickly enough to unseat Forcier. In all likelihood, we’ll see the same quarterback rotation that we saw in 2009 — I doubt Rich Rodriguez wants to put his job on the line with another true freshman starting at the most important position on the field. Forcier should be an improved player when we see him next fall, and hopefully the rookie mistakes that marred the Ohio State game will be largely absent from his game a year from now.

Running Back: Michigan loses two talented (but oft-injured) tailbacks in Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, but there is still a lot of talent returning at the position. Junior Michael Shaw and sophomore Vincent Smith should provide a solid one-two punch similar to how Michigan rotated Minor and Brown when they were healthy. They could be pushed for playing time by redshirt freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint (a highly-regarded four-star who put up very impressive numbers in high school) and redshirt sophomore Mike Cox, who at the very least will provide some depth at the position. Smith showed flashes of real promise in the second half of the season, and scored Michigan’s only touchdown against Ohio State on a nice 18-yard reception — he has showed an ability to run between the tackles despite his small stature, and could turn into a workhorse-type back. Shaw is more in the Carlos Brown mold (right down to the consistent nagging injuries), a guy with track-star speed who is a threat to take any run the distance. The Wolverines will also add Livonia Stevenson running back Austin White, a three-star tailback who is a very good receiver out of the backfield, and the large (6-0, 235 lbs.) Stephen Hopkins in the freshman class, although both will have an uphill climb for playing time. Despite losing two senior backs, Michigan looks to be in good shape at running back in 2010.

Outside Receiver: Michigan only loses two players, Greg Mathews and LaTerryal Savoy, from a unit that couldn’t consistently produce in 2009. Juniors Darryl Stonum and Junior Hemingway are your likely starters for 2010, and have the potential to provide Forcier with two solid deep threats if they continue to develop as players. Michigan will also return sophomore Je’Ron Stokes and redshirt freshman Cameron Gordon, a couple of four-star players from the Class of 2009, and will add some young talent in incoming freshmen Ricardo Miller, Jerald Robinson, D.J. Williamson, and Jeremy Jackson. Miller, an early commit who moved to Ann Arbor after playing his first three high school seasons at Dr. Phillips (FL), has the best chance to see the field early, although Jerald Robinson is the highest-rated player (Rivals.com four-star, #45 wide receiver) of the true freshmen and could also have an impact early on. The issue with the outside receivers isn’t talent — Stonum, Stokes, and Gordon were all four-star recruits, and Hemingway has been impressive when healthy — but consistency. Expect to see a lot of rotation at receiver until somebody steps up and establishes themselves as a consistent threat.

Slot Receivers: An injury to Martavious Odoms gave Roy Roundtree an opportunity to show his ability at slot receiver, and Roundtree may have edged out Odoms as the starter with his performance over the latter half of 2009. Both players should see ample playing time in 2010, and Roundtree’s emergence as Forcier’s go-to guy could mean Michigan shows more four-receiver sets next fall. Before his injury, Odoms had established himself as Michigan’s most consistent receiver under Rich Rodriguez, and also garnered praise for his downfield blocking and knowledge of the offense. Each player brings a different set of skills to the table, and Michigan will likely utilize both with regularity in 2010. There is a lot of depth at this position, with junior Kelvin Grady, sophomore Terrence Robinson, and redshirt freshman Jeremy Gallon all returning, to be joined by incoming freshmen Drew Dileo and Tony Drake. Grady, who saw his playing time decrease as Roundtree’s role expanded, could see more playing time as his transition from basketball to football continues. Many thought Gallon would contribute this season, but a late start because of academic clearinghouse issues forced him to redshirt — he’s a dark horse guy who could have a breakout season if he gets the opportunity. Overall, there’s a lot of talent in the slot, and Michigan should once again see the majority of their receiving production come from the position.

Tight Ends: Big things were expected from the tight end position, especially junior Kevin Koger, in 2009, but a strong start from Koger was followed by a disappointing string of drops as the position became more of a non-factor as the season wore on. However, there is still a lot of talent at tight end, with Koger joined by senior Martell Webb and redshirt sophomore Brandon Moore. The position will be one to watch in 2010 — Rich Rodriguez rarely utilized tight ends at West Virginia, but Koger has shown the potential to be a huge weapon in the spread. Along with Webb, who also struggled with drops this season, Koger may just be playing for the survival of the tight end position at Michigan next season. If he can catch the ball, Koger could be an All-Big Ten player next year, and a great safety valve for Forcier.

Offensive Line: The unit with the most turnover is the offensive line, which loses starters Mark Ortmann and David Moosman, as well as backup Tim McAvoy. However, Michigan returns five players who earned starts in 2009 in Steve Schilling, David Molk, Mark Huyge, Perry Dorrestein, and Patrick Omameh. Schilling (right guard) and Molk (center) will likely hold down their current positions, but the other three spots on the line are up for grabs, with a bevy of talented linemen all competing for playing time. Omameh performed well at right guard in the last few games of the season, and will likely earn a starting spot somewhere on the line. Huyge is another player that can play multiple positions, and should compete with Dorrestein and redshirt freshmen Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield for a shot at one of the tackle positions. On the interior of the line, redshirt sophomores Ricky Barnum, Rocko Khoury, and Elliott Mealer, as well as redshirt freshman Quinton Washington, will provide depth and push for playing time. Regardless of who earns starting spots on the line, the experience and talent at every position should mean an improved unit for 2010.

2010 Outlook: The 2009 offense improved drastically from a disastrous unit in Rich Rodriguez’s first year at Michigan. With Tate Forcier having a full year at Michigan under his belt — and hopefully with a greater appreciation for holding on to the football — the Wolverines should once again have an improved offense in 2010. Forcier will be the key — the offensive line should be better with experience, and there is a lot of talent and depth at all the skill positions. If Michigan can get more efficiency from the quarterback position — and they should — we could be seeing one of the nation’s most potent offenses next season.

Similar Posts:

• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Tight Ends & Fullbacks
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• The Denard Conundrum
• Wolverines on the Web is All Manny, All the Time
• Recruiting Update: Part I (Early Enrollees)

With a (relatively) healthy Brandon Minor ready to go, Michigan needs to feed him the ball.

Before I start on the keys to the Purdue game, I guess I’m obligated to go over the ones for last week. Ugh.

1. Run, run, run — Yes, Michigan ran 43 times, so I guess they literally ran, ran, ran. However, 2.6 yards per carry and four misses from the one-yard line puts this squarely in the “fail” column.
2. Keep the Illini off the board early — I guess this should have been “Keep the Illini off the board late,” since Illinois scored 31 of their 38 points in the second half. I guess this is a pass.
3. Show me something, safeties — Congratulations to Mike Williams for somehow amassing an incredible -12 on Brian’s UFR, thanks to his complete inability to keep contain on Juice Williams and blowing a couple coverages to boot. In other news, Jordan Kovacs remains a freshman walk-on who is physically unsuited to play deep safety. The safeties did manage to show me something — unfortunately, that something was “disaster”.
4. Get the outside receivers involved — Final totals: Mathews — 3 catches, 34 yards; Hemingway — 2 catches, 87 yards; Savoy — 1 catch, 7 yards. Hemingway’s numbers are helped immensely by a 66-yard bomb caught when the team was already down 31-13. The team still is not getting much production whatsoever from the outside guys.
5. Just go for it — I was hoping Rich Rod would open up the offense and take some shots. Instead, we didn’t see any deep passes until after Illinois had built a sizeable lead. The obnoxious part was that the deep passes worked. We can’t win even when we win.

Alright, now allow me to never talk about that game again (or at least any time in the near future). On to Purdue!

1. No more Turnover Tate — I hope Tate Forcier was instructed to walk around campus this entire week with a football tucked firmly between his elbow and his chest, Mike Hart-style. His carelessness with the ball has taken more potential points off the board than I care to think about. I love how the kid plays, and I want to see him keep being aggressive and trying to make things happen, but ball security is Priority 1A. I can forgive a freshman interception. I have a lot tougher time letting it go when he fumbles while holding the ball like a pigskin lunchpail.
2. Feed Brandon Minor — With proclamations that Brandon Minor is getting healthier coupled with the news that Carlos Brown is battling tendinitis in his knee, Michigan should get Minor a lot of touches this weekend. Add in the fact that Purdue boasts the 88th-best rushing defense in the country, and it’d be inexcusable (barring injury) for Minor not to get at least 20 carries tomorrow. He has proven time and again that, when healthy, he is a force to be reckoned with. [Insert played-out "Minor needs to be Major" pun here]
3. Don’t break — Yes, the whole “bend but don’t break” defense thing is a totally overused cliche, but at this point, bending is really the best we can hope for from Michigan’s defense. If the offense can keep from turning the ball over, the defense may need to make only a couple timely stops (and maybe force a turnover for the first time in four games) and hold a couple red zone possessions to field goals for this team to get a much-needed victory.
4. Force Joey Elliott to be Joey Elliott — Yes, Elliott has 17 total touchdowns this year (14 pass, 3 rush), but he’s also thrown 11 picks. Get in the guy’s grill (I’m looking at you, Brandon Graham), and even our sorry secondary could be on the receiving end of some gift interceptions. I’d like to see Greg Robinson get aggressive early — if our safeties can’t guard anyone, you might as well see if you can get to the quarterback before he has the time to exploit them.
5. Play with an edge — This team has shown the ability to play with a chip on their shoulder — they looked ready to take down all comers after the Freep scandal threatened to destroy the 2009 season before it ever began. Last week, this team looked just about ready to quit on Rich Rodriguez. With the stakes now higher than ever, how will the team respond? They’ve battled through adversity once already, and it’s time to do it again.

I might feel like an idiot (won’t be the first time) for making this prediction, but for some reason, I’m confident that this team can will its way to a victory before all of southeast Michigan reaches for the pitchforks. I think Tate will look like the kid we saw in the first four games, Brandon Minor will run angry, and the defense will do just enough (and I mean just enough) to secure a bowl-clinching victory: Michigan 36, Purdue 33.

Similar Posts:

• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Defensive Ends
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Wolverines on the Web Lays Bricks
• Wolverines on the Web Goes Old School

Jordan Kovacs, and whoever else plays safety, needs to keep the ball in front of them.

I hate to even do this, but before I hit the keys for Saturday, it’s time to look back at last week’s game:

1. Get pressure on Darryl Clark — Michigan recorded two sacks against Clark, and the defense actually did a solid job of getting in his face most of the afternoon. The breakdowns in pass defense don’t fall on the shoulders of the defensive line, just the linebackers and secondary (and possibly the coaches as well).
2. Make a big play in the return game — Didn’t happen. Even with Carlos Brown returning kickoffs, the team couldn’t muster a return longer than 26 yards on a day when the offense desperately needed the good field position.
3. Punch it in — Two scores (one TD, one FG) in four red zone chances is simply not going to cut it against a team as good as Penn State.
4. Slow down the pass rush — Penn State sacked Forcier five times, and Michigan got nothing going in the screen game.
5. Get off the field — Michigan didn’t do terribly on third down, limiting Penn State to 5 conversions on 15 chances, but it wasn’t exactly a stellar effort, either. The Wolverines put forth a strong effort early, giving the offense several chances to make it a game, but fell apart late. The first touchdown of the second half came on a 3rd and 9 from the 11-yard line, and Penn State converted three third-downs on their last drive to really milk the clock before hitting a field goal.

Well, that was ugly — at best, Michigan gets a 2/5 on the day. Let’s move on to Illinois:

1. Run, run, run — Michigan still has the 9th best rush offense in the country, and Illinois’ run defense gives up over 185 yards per game (101st nationally). The Wolverines need to get back to doing what they do best on offense — running the zone read successfully and basing everything else on that success. I expect to see a lot of touches for Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, and expect a 100-yard day out of at least one of them.
2. Keep the Illini off the board early — I’m sure Illinois will be very geared up for an opportunity to knock off Michigan for their first FBS victory of the season, especially at home in a late afternoon game on Halloween. Michigan couldn’t stop their offense last year, so if Illinois scores early, it may just give them the confidence to play far above their level of play so far this year. If the Wolverines can stop the Illini early, and maybe force them to switch up quarterbacks a couple times, it’s likely that Illinois will play like the 113th-best scoring offense in the country.
3. Show me something, safeties — Michigan has spent the last several weeks unsuccessfully trying to mask the weakness at safety, even going so far as to essentially turn Donovan Warren into a deep cover guy last week while subbing Boubacar Cissoko in for Mike Williams (and moving Troy Woolfolk back to safety) on third downs. With Cissoko gone, Michigan doesn’t have that option anymore, so Williams and Jordan Kovacs will have to show a better ability to keep the play in front of them and play their assignment. If the safeties can’t improve from their disastrous performance last weekend, it could be a long day for Michigan’s defense.
4. Get the outside receivers involved — No Michigan outside receiver has more than 15 catches (Greg Mathews, and seven of those came last week), and both Junior Hemingway and Darryl Stonum have essentially disappeared as the season has wore on. Hemingway practiced this week and should be good to go after that scary collision with Warren last week. Tate needs to get the ball to these guys — the whole point of the spread offense is to spread the field vertically and horizontally (duh). Without any threat from the outside guys, the vertical threat becomes moot, and the offense bogs down. I’d like to see at least five catches out of one of the outside receivers, and for all three to get involved in the offense.
5. Just go for it — This game is a must-win for Rich Rodriguez and his staff at this point. Illinois is so bad that a loss would be catastrophic for his public perception, and a sign that the 4-0 start was a whole lot of luck. I’d like to see the coaching staff pulling no punches on this one — empty the bag of tricks, go for it on fourth down, fake a punt, slip an onsides kick in there somewhere, whatever it takes to give this team a spark. If the team loses while sitting back, I’ll go bananas. Please don’t make me go bananas.

It’s about time for a victory, and if Michigan doesn’t get one here, I don’t know where they’re going to find one. Michigan 34, Illinois 17.

Similar Posts:

• Farewell, Donovan Warren
• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Cornerbacks
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense

Darryl Stonum could play a big role in the return game this week.

Last week’s game was such a pasting it isn’t really worth looking at, so let’s dive right into the keys to the Penn State game:

1. Get pressure on Darryl Clark — Penn State ranks 16th in the country in sacks allowed (just one per game), so this won’t be the easiest of tasks. However, those of you who watched the Nittany Lions take on Iowa know how important it is to rattle Darryl Clark. While the Hawkeyes only sacked Clark twice, they were able to get in his face and force a lot of bad throws, and I believe two of Clark’s three picks came on passes that were tipped at the line. When he has time to pass, Clark can pick apart a defense, but when he feels pressure, he loses some composure and can become turnover-prone. Michigan will need that edge against this stout Penn State defense.
2. Make a big play in the return game — The Nittany Lions have had a terrible year when it comes to special teams — they’re 86th in net punting yards (despite having a punter who leads the conference in average yards per punt) and 87th in average yards allowed per kick return. I don’t expect much out of Michigan’s punt return game, as Greg Mathews hasn’t shown much ability to do anything besides catch the ball (and he failed to do that against Iowa, and was subsequently benched for Junior Hemingway). However, Darryl Stonum has looked good returning kickoffs, and his return TD against Notre Dame changed the course of that game. If Stonum can give Michigan good field position, like he did against Indiana, or simply break one off for a score, it could be the difference.
3. Punch it in — Against a defense as good as Penn State’s, you can’t afford to miss opportunities. The Nittany Lions are tied for first in the nation in red zone defense, allowing scores just 61% of the time. When Michigan gets into the red zone, they have to get points out of it, and the difference in the game could be which team can turn their red zone trips into touchdowns instead of field goals. With Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown at least healthy enough to play, there’s really no excuse for Michigan to not be able to convert when they drive deep into Lion territory.
4. Slow down the pass rush — Penn State has one of the best front sevens in the country, and should be even stronger with the return of Sean Lee this week. Their linebackers play aggressive, cover the field from sideline to sideline, and get to the quarterback. Michigan will have to find a way to slow down the pass rush, and I don’t think this simply comes down to the offensive line blocking well. With how aggressive their linebackers play, Penn State could be susceptible to the play-action pass or a well-timed screen. I fully expect Rich Rodriguez and Calvin Magee to utilize both in an effort to make the linebackers hesitant. If Michigan can keep the Lions away from Tate Forcier, they should have an opportunity to attack the weakest part of the Penn State defense — their secondary.
5. Get off the field — Michigan just could not get off the field on defense against Iowa, allowing them to convert several third-and-longs. Penn State ranks third in the country in third down conversions, getting the first at a 57% clip. Their rate can’t be that high if Michigan wants to have a chance in this one, and it will take an effort from the whole defense to slow down Clark and Co. Avoid those back-breaking third-and-long conversions, and the Wolverines have a shot at this one.

After watching Penn State play, I get the feeling that they’re quite vulnerable to an upset. However, the flaws on Michigan’s defense, in conjunction with the strength of Penn State’s, make it very tough for me to think Michigan will take this one. I think it’ll be a close game that comes down to a couple possessions late, but I think the Lions pull away at the end: 31-21 Penn State, in a game even closer than the score would indicate.

Similar Posts:

• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Wolverines on the Web Lays Bricks
• The Denard Conundrum
• Maisel: Magee Candidate for USF Job

Unlike most of this season, Michigan did a very good job in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Well, yeah, we lost this game, but there was actually a lot of good that came out of the 30-28 loss to Iowa. Here a some obsvervations from the game:

• Everybody else seems to have weighed in, so here’s my two cents on Rodriguez’s call to put Denard Robinson back in the game on the final drive: At the time, I couldn’t believe it, and on a final drive I don’t think a team should trot a player out there who causes heart attacks every time he throws downfield. It’s not just that Robinson isn’t very accurate yet; he’s never played in that situation, and he doesn’t have the arm to make up for poor decisions the way Forcier does. Yes, it turns out Forcier was concussed, and the point is moot now, but I just had a bad feeling from the moment Denard took the field. Again, just my opinion.
• The defense put in one hell of an effort, given the five (five!) Michigan turnovers on the day. The Wolverines held Iowa to just 5.1 yards per play, allowed just 34 rushing yards, scored a touchdown (albeit a gift from Ricky Stanzi, but still), AND managed a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter. If you told me they would play that well before the game, I’d have a hard time not picking Michigan to win.
• The offense, on the other hand, was somewhat of a disaster. Seven of the team’s 13 drives stalled after picking up ten yards or less, and the turnovers were so killer because almost all of them were completely unforced.
• Donovan Warren and Brandon Graham simply had monster games. I’ll never understand why Stanzi threw at Warren’s side of the field so much — he was just blanketing the Iowa receivers — but at least Stanzi had a choice to stay away from Warren. BG was blowing plays up, whether they were runs or passes, and basically lived in the Hawkeye backfield all night. These two guys are what is holding this defense together.
• Troy Woolfolk was a pleasant surprise at cornerback. He appeared to play quite well, and possesses the feel for the game that Boubacar Cissoko is lacking right now and the athleticism that J.T. Floyd just doesn’t have. Unfortunately, Mike Williams totally blew his assignment on a couple of Iowa’s touchdowns, and now we’ll have to see if the secondary gets realigned again or if the coaches will simply try to bang it into Williams’ head that he has to be the last man back at all times.
• The linebackers finally put together a complete game (at least until Brian puts out his UFR and anything I have to say here is completely mitigated). Stevie Brown clearly should have been a linebacker since day one — he made a huge play on the goal-line stand, has been a really solid tackler, and gets to plays very quickly. Ezeh and Mouton both raised their play from earlier this season — you simply don’t hold a team to 34 yards rushing if your linebackers aren’t having good games. Hopefully they can keep it up for the rest of the season.
• Huge day for the offensive line. They were opening up huge holes for the run game (which netted 195 yards on 4.3 yards per carry) and protected Forcier and Robinson very well when they dropped back (no sacks given up). Even though I think Iowa’s defense is a little overrated, that was still a big performance against a very tough defensive front. Also, nice to see Moosman snapping the ball much better — I don’t recall a single bad snap.
• It’s tough to really comment too much on the offense. Tate had a rough, rough game. He’s still a freshman, and we have to expect those kind of performances to happen every once in a while. He’s still one of the best true freshmen quarterbacks in recent memory. Denard got thrown into a really tough spot, had one great drive, and then threw a killer pick. He’ll learn from that as well. Minor’s fumble was the one turnover that shocked me — as a senior, you have to protect the ball in that situation, especially when the run was going nowhere to begin with.
• OK, I lied. Mathews’ turnover was also a stunner — he’s back there for one reason, and that’s to catch the ball. If you have to go to your knees to field a punt inside the ten, just let it go.
• Is any outside receiver going to step up on this team? Martavious Odoms and Kevin Koger continue to deliver week-in and week-out, and the outside guys continue to pull disappearing acts. This week, Stonum, Mathews, Hemingway (and Savoy, if you want to count him, since he saw a few snaps) combined for two catches and 16 yards. I realize Forcier often looks to his underneath guys first, but that’s still paltry production from a group of guys with too much talent and experience to be invisible like that.

Similar Posts:

• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Tight Ends & Fullbacks
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• The Denard Conundrum

"And tate leaps back into our hearts" (AP Photo)

Well, a win is a win. That’s about all Michigan fans can say after watching the Wolverines eke out a 36-33 victory over Indiana this afternoon. I was watching from the student section, but also was part of an almost constant stream of text messages between myself and a few friends, who I will call “Noah”, “Sam”, “Jeff”, and “Steven” because those are their names. Looking back, they perfectly encapsulated the emotions of this tumultuous victory (warning: some explicit language follows … I tend to curse like a sailor on game days; also, many spelling errors will likely follow, as I’m typing these up verbatim):

Noah (12:09 pm): In a word: pourous.
Ace (12:10 pm): Nice timing … but yeah, bad.
Sam (12:28 pm): Dear Greg Mathews, please catch the punt. Xoxo. Sam.
Ace (12:29 pm): Co-signed.
Jeff (12:43 pm): Cissoko is just not good.
Ace (12:44 pm): Quite bad, actually.
Noah (12:44 pm): That touchdown courtesy of bouboucar cissoko. I bet he still talked shit after that pass.
Ace (12:45 pm): He’s really just awful. Christ.
Noah (12:46 pm): a glaring weakness in a somewhat promising defensive unit. Good thing we seem to be scoring at will…
Ace (12:47 pm): Yeah … Carlos has been nice.
Noah (12:48 pm): Carlos brown. Carlos brown.
Noah (1:14 pm): Are you kidding me?
Noah (1:25 pm): I really like that guy.
Ace (1:26 pm): He’s decent…
Steven (1:38 pm): Whats the story with the cracker FS.?
Ace (1:39 pm): Williams is hurt, so we put in Kovacs. Safety depth is thin…
Noah (2:06 pm): Fucking Moosman.
Ace (2:07 pm): That went very wrong.
Noah (2:25 pm): For the record, the call was for a blatant hold on floyd, not P.I. proper.
Ace (2:26 pm): Then call holding … that was uncatchable regardless.
Noah (2:27 pm): Agreed. But if you saw the replay youd probably be cursing floyd more than the refs.
Noah (2:56 pm): And tate leaps back into our hearts.
Ace (2:57 pm): Dude got hops for a white boy.
Ace (2:58 pm): Two times.
Noah (2:59 pm): Moosman made his first positive contribution all day by pushing tate in on that last play.
Ace (3:00 pm): Seriously … he owed him one.
Noah (3:01 pm): Huge. We should be ok as long as indianas red zone impotency continues.
Ace (3:02 pm): Yeah … I hope so.
Noah (3:02 pm): Fuck.
Ace (3:03 pm): That’s why Kovacs is a walk-on … horrible angle.
Noah (3:04 pm): Horrible everything. Warren almost had him…
Noah (3:17 pm): Fuck yes. Im losing my mind watching this by myself.
Ace (3:18 pm): I’m losing my mind watching this with 108,000 other people.
Noah (3:19 pm): I can only imagine. At least your behavior is acceptable where you are. My neighbor probably thinks im a head case.
Ace (3:20 pm): Lockdown, motherfuckers.
Noah (3:21 pm): Can that be reviewed? You guys are about to be pissed.
Ace (3:21 pm): Is it gonna stand?
Noah (3:22 pm): No.
Ace (3:22 pm): Fuck.
Ace (3:23 pm): Fuck you for scaring the shit out of me.
Noah (3:23 pm): Ive never been so happy to be wrong.
Noah (3:24 pm): It was a bad call. But hey, at least i wasnt wrong the other way.
Jeff (3:24 pm): Warren is a beast
Ace (3:25 pm): Lockdown.

Thank goodness I’m on a plan with unlimited text messaging. I’ll have more coherent analysis on the game in the next few days, but for now, it’s time to enjoy the victory and let 4-0 soak in. The one thing I’ll say is this: Last year, when we play a bad game, we get the crap kicked out of us. This year, we play a bad game, and we pull out a victory against a 3-0 Big Ten squad (albeit a soft 3-0, but still). This game may not bode well for the rest of Michigan’s season, but every team has their ups and downs, and we just won on a down day. It feels good.

Similar Posts:

• Farewell, Donovan Warren
• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Cornerbacks
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• The Denard Conundrum

I love watching Denard run, but Michigan needs to establish him as a passing threat.

Once again, it’s time for “Five Things I Hope to See…” First, a look at back at last week’s keys:

1. Force the Irish to become one-dimensional — Well, not so much. Notre Dame had a ton of success through the air and on the ground, and Michigan never got a lot of pressure on Jimmy Clausen. This is certainly cause for concern (especially the Irish’s success picking on Boubacar Cissoko), but I also don’t think Michigan fill face another offense with as dangerous an aerial attack as Notre Dame.
2. Get pressure on Jimmy Clausen — Another miss, as Michigan didn’t record a sack on Jimmy Clausen, and the only time they recorded any pressure was when Greg Robinson brought heat. Somebody besides Brandon Graham needs to step up on the defensive line when Michigan only rushes four.
3. Another outside receiver steps up — Not just one, but two outside guys had very good games (Darryl Stonum and Greg Mathews), and even Laterryal Savoy had a few big catches (and the drop, but that was tipped). It look like outside receiver has gone from a big question mark to a major strong point on this team.
4. Michigan gets an 100-yard day out of a running back — Hello, Brandon Minor.
5. Utilize the bubble screen — As noted by Brian, Notre Dame brought up their corners into press coverage to stop the bubble screen, so Michigan almost completely stayed away from it. However, Rich Rodriguez actually did a great job of adjusting to this by having the tight end/H-back block the crashing DE on the zone read, and this was the cause for several of Minor’s big runs. It’s been great to watch Rodriguez stay one step ahead of opposing defenses with his schemes.

Against an opponent the quality of Notre Dame, 3/5 isn’t bad, especially when the success on offense managed to (barely) outweigh the shortcomings of the defense. Now, on to Eastern Michigan:

1. Establish Denard Robinson as a passing threat — We all know Shoelace can run, but thus far Michigan has almost exclusively utilized him as a rusher. Notre Dame knew Michigan wasn’t fully comfortable with him as a passer, and sold out on the run when Denard was in at QB. With an opponent the quality of EMU, Michigan now has the perfect opportunity to showcase Denard’s ability to pull up and throw the ball. I fully expect to see a lot of Shoelace on Saturday, and if he can show an ability to hit receivers while still remaining a home run threat on the ground, future opponents will have to respect the pass or risk giving up big plays through the air.
2. Establish dominance up front — To put it bluntly, if Eastern has a lot of success on the ground or Michigan can’t get any pressure on QB Andy Schmitt, this defense will be in a lot of trouble. Ryan Van Bergen has to show that he can hold the point of attack at DT, and if he can’t show that this game, Greg Robinson should strongly consider realigning the defensive front. This game is the perfect opportunity to experiment with different guys up front, and establish the front seven for the course of the season.
3. Obi Ezeh bounces back — While everybody was talking about Boubacar Cissoko’s subpar performance, Ezeh has a pretty miserable game himself, looking tentative and allowing himself to get taken out of plays as a result. If Ezeh doesn’t show he can recognize a play and attack with confidence, I’d like to see J.B. Fitzgerald get a chance at middle linebacker.
4. One of the young tailbacks shows starting potential — Vincent Smith and Michael Shaw should both see a lot of playing time, and one of those two will likely be the starting tailback at this time next year. Shaw showed a lot of potential last year, even while battling injuries, and Smith was the breakout star of spring practice. I would love to see one (or both) put up big numbers and show an understanding of the spread offense.
5. A cornerback besides Donovan Warren actually plays well — Boubacar Cissoko had a really rough game against Notre Dame, and J.T. Floyd got torched in limited action against Western Michigan. Highly touted freshman Justin Turner has not seen any game action after he made it on campus late due to academic issues. Ideally, Cissoko would bounce back and show he can play man coverage and either Turner or Floyd would show that Michigan has a viable option after Warren and Cissoko.

Hopefully, Michigan will be geared up and ready to go from the opening kickoff. Personally, I expect the team to come out fired up, and I don’t think the foot will be taken off the gas as the team tries out backups at practically every position: Michigan 52, EMU 16

Similar Posts:

• Report: Jay Hopson to Memphis
• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• The Denard Conundrum

The crowd came decked out in maize, and the block M looked great.

I just finished re-watching the whole game, and have a few thoughts:

• The defense did not get enough pressure on Jimmy Clausen, but I don’t think you can blame Brandon Graham for that. When there was pressure on Clausen, chances were BG was involved. After a third quarter pressure on Clausen that forced a throw away, Graham can be seen on the sidelines yelling: “They don’t want to f— with me.” No, they don’t, BG. I doubt there’s a player in the country more deserving of a sack right now than #55.
• I could not have been more wrong about Greg Mathews: the guy really came to play, and he was busting his ass on every snap. His first-quarter one-handed catch was tremendous, he came up with several clutch grabs (including the winning touchdown, of course), and if you want to question his effort, take one more look at Forcier’s interception. Mathews goes from being the targeted wideout to chasing down Kyle McCarthy 20 yards downfield and making a very solid effort to strip the ball.
• Speaking of outside receivers, how about Darryl Stonum? There’s another guy who put it all on the line, and he did it all Saturday: The electrifying kickoff return, four big catches for 54 yards, and batting Forcier’s pooch punt to make sure it didn’t go into the end zone. Stonum really showed his athleticism off on the kickoff return TD; not a lot of guys could make a cut like that and get back to full speed in a split second. This might be the game people look back on as Stonum’s coming out party.
• The crowd was a huge factor. By my count, Clausen used three timeouts with the play clock nearing zero (including ND’s second timeout of the second half with 13:04 left in the fourth quarter) and was guilty of two delay of games as a direct result of the noise level. It was LOUD.
• The tackling is much-improved from where it was last year. Despite Notre Dame gashing Michigan with the run and the pass, when Wolverine defenders got their hands on Irish players, they tended to go down. There were only a couple critical missed tackles (Boubacar Cissoko’s missed tackle on Golden Tate’s late TD comes to mind), and there were several tough takedowns in the open field that saved big gains or scores.
• Two guys on offense really stood out to me for their receiving and blocking: Kevin Koger and Martavious Odoms. Koger had a crushing block on Brandon Minor’s run down to the one-yard line in the third quarter (where Michigan’s drive eventually stalled), make a great play hauling in a touchdown pass, and was wide open when Forcier missed him on third down late in the fourth quarter. Odoms had two critical catches on the final drive, and looked good blocking downfield.
• Stevie Brown sure has been a pleasant surprise, hasn’t he? Brown helped cause the fumble by Jonas Grey that really swung momentum back to Michigan after Olesnavage missed the short field goal, and his speed is really a factor on defense now that he doesn’t have to keep the entire offense in front of him.
• Finally, nothing summed up the Charlie Weis era at Notre Dame better than this: after the game, as the officials were running up the tunnel, Weis tried to chase them down to start complaining about the clock. He made it three steps before giving up, then pointed towards the tunnel and sent a couple assistants scurrying after the officials. I don’t even need to crack a joke after that.

Similar Posts:

• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Tight Ends & Fullbacks
• Weekend Recap: Graham & Hoops Dominate, Hockey Splits
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• The Denard Conundrum
• Wolverines on the Web is All Manny, All the Time

Greg Mathews will need to step up against Notre Dame.

It’s time for another round of “Five Things I Hope to See…”. How did Michigan do last week? Believe it or not, quite freakin’ well:

1. Minimal turnovers from the quarterbacks — I believe zero qualifies as ‘minimal’.
2. Solid play from the starting corners — Besides a couple overzealous plays resulting in pass interference calls, Donovan Warren had a great game, and Boubacar Cissoko was very solid before leaving the game early with an injury. So, check.
3. An outside receiver steps up — Hello, Junior Hemingway.
4. Michigan gets pressure on Tim Hiller — The Wolverines only recorded two sacks, but were constantly hounding Hiller, forcing several rushed throws and a couple interceptions. Check.
5. The offense opens up — Compared to last year, this absolutely happened. The added screen element to the zone read is a huge addition to the offense, and the team’s knowledge of the offense is miles ahead of where it was last year.

So, yeah, five out of five isn’t too shabby. However, Notre Dame poses a much more formidable challenge. What does Michigan need to do to take down the Fighting Irish?

1. Force the Irish to become one-dimensional — Despite having a ton of success through the air against Nevada (the worst team in the country against the pass last year), Notre Dame only managed 4.3 yards per carry on 41 attempts in their opening game. Granted, some of that came while killing clock, but the greater point remains: Michigan has the ability to shut down the Irish run game, and if they do so, the Wolverines can focus on avoiding the big play and getting pressure on Jimmy Clausen. Speaking of which…
2. Get pressure on Jimmy Clausen — Duh, I know, but this will be huge for Michigan. Anyone who watched the highlights from the Nevada game saw what Clausen can do when he has the time to set his feet and step into a throw; the guy has deadly accuracy and receivers that will get open. However, Clausen has not done well when facing pressure in his career; he has a tendency to get happy feet in the pocket and make poor decisions when the defense is bearing down on him. Notre Dame will almost certainly be doubling Brandon Graham at every opportunity, so Craig Roh, Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen, and the linebackers will be charged with getting to Clausen and forcing him to keep one eye on his protection.
3. Another outside receiver steps up — Unfortunately, it looks as if Michigan will be without the services of Junior Hemingway, who emerged against Western as Tate Forcier’s favorite target on the outside but is questionable/doubtful (depending on which Rich Rodriguez quote you look at) due to an ankle injury. Greg Mathews had a quiet game, catching two passes for 18 yards, and Darryl Stonum was all but invisible while not recording a single catch. One of those guys is going to have to produce against Notre Dame if Michigan hopes to consistently move the ball through the air. It’d be nice to see Stonum have a big game, as he is more of a deep threat than Mathews, but he’d need to show us something we haven’t seen from him before in his thus-far disappointing Michigan career.
4. Michigan gets an 100-yard day out of a running back — It looks like Michigan will be unleashing Brandon Minor after he sat out the WMU game with a bum ankle. That could be huge, as Notre Dame looks susceptible up the middle, and Minor is the Michigan back most suitable for crashing between the tackles 20 times in a game. Carlos Brown looked good last week, and should get the starting nod while splitting carries with Minor. If one of those guys ends up cracking the century mark, I like Michigan’s chances.
5. Utilize the bubble screen — Notre Dame DC Jon Tenuta is known for bringing a lot of heat via the blitz, which could either completely disrupt Michigan’s zone read or open up the field for big plays. The screen option on the zone read was wide open several times last week, and if Notre Dame is bringing extra guys off the edge, Michigan should have a lot of space available on the outside. If Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson can make the correct read and get Kelvin Grady or Martavious Odoms the ball in space, we could see some game-changing plays off the zone read screen.

The more I look at this game, the more I think Michigan has a really good chance of pulling the upset. Obviously, Warren and Cissoko need to have strong games against Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, but if that happens, Michigan suddenly has a decided advantage against Notre Dame. This one is going to be close, potentially decided by a field goal, a broken play, or a single turnover. I picked Michigan to beat Notre Dame before the season, and I see no reason to change that opinion after a first game that far surpassed my expectations. Michigan 34, Notre Dame 28.

Similar Posts:

• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• The Denard Conundrum
• Wolverines on the Web is All Manny, All the Time

A solid game from Michigan's starting corners would go a long way towards making me feel better about the defense.

The Michigan football season begins tomorrow (for those of you who live under a rock, in which case, I’m impressed you have internet access), and, despite the naming of a starting quarterback, there are still a ton of questions to be answered about this team. Here are five things I hope to see out of the Wolverines against Western:

1. Minimal turnovers from the quarterbacks — With two true freshmen slated to play, I’m not going to be unrealistic and hope for a mistake-free game. However, if Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson (yes, and Nick Sheridan) manage to get through their first game without any egregious errors, I’ll be happy, especially if they’re making plays in the process.
2. Solid play from the starting corners — Donovan Warren needs to prove himself worthy of his high school accolades after a sophomore season marred by injury, and Michigan will need him to be a five-star corner if the defense is going to have any hope of stopping the pass. Across the field, sophomore Boubacar Cissoko will need to make the leap from freshman contributor to reliable starter. If Warren and Cissoko are at their best, jamming receivers and playing lockdown coverage, the defense could go from bad to good in a hurry.
3. An outside receiver steps up — Coming into this season, Michigan has no clear-cut number one outside receiver. Greg Mathews, by virtue of seniority, is the default top option, but he lacks top-end speed and is more suited to be a second banana to a guy with more big-play potential. If Darryl Stonum or Junior Hemingway can come through with some big gains, it’ll be huge for Michigan’s offense and the confidence of the freshmen QBs.
4. Michigan gets pressure on Tim Hiller — With only three men down on the line, Michigan will be bringing a variety of blitzes to put pressure on the quarterback. Brandon Graham will make his fair share of plays, but who else will step up and keep offenses from keying solely on BG? If Ryan Van Bergen, Brandon Herron, Craig Roh, or another front seven player makes his presence felt in the backfield, Michigan is in good shape.
5. The offense opens up — We’re now in year two of the Rich Rod era. Even though Michigan will be starting a true freshman, the offense should still have more variety and explosiveness than we saw in 2008. How much of that depends on the maturation of Forcier and Robinson, and the confidence the coaching staff has in them and the rest of the offense. If Michigan breaks out a few new wrinkles against Western, and shows that they can adapt and attack much better than last year (having mobile quarterbacks will help in this regard) than I’ll be confident that Michigan can move the ball against better squads.

Similar Posts:

• Weekend Recap: Graham & Hoops Dominate, Hockey Splits
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Wolverines on the Web Lays Bricks
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• The Denard Conundrum