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[bamf16]

Watching the game again, this thread idea just popped into my head.

Entire offense = A-. 3 offensive touchdowns on only 39 offensive plays, big plays, solid OLine play, no penalties or drops. Looked good.

QB - Denard solid, and while the first throw to Koger damn near got him killed, and the second throw to him was long on 3rd and 3 (when he could/should have run it) that 3rd and 6 pass to Gallon with about 5 minutes to go in the first half was right on the money. He released it before Gallon made his break and it was right where it needed to be. On the final drive in the second quarter his 12 yard run was exactly what teams have to worry about. I formation, play action, pocket collapses, he zigs and zags for a first down.

RB - All three looked good. Two big runs, and while I'd have liked to see Fitz get in the endzone on first and goal at the beginning of the second quarter, he powered it in on 2nd. I LOVE the single back formation with the HB two yards behind Denard under center and running the quick hit into the line.

WR/TE - Solid blocking, no drops, big catches by Gallon and Hemingway.

DLine - C - They're undersized and susceptable to the power running game. Would like to see pressure w/o having to blitz. Roh and Black too invisible today. Not a good first half, and I think this group was the biggest reason we gave up 199 yards in the first and had to dial up the blitzes in the second more often. What happens when we play a game when the blitz isn't as effective?

LB - A- - Two TDs from the group is damn nice. Demens a nice upgrade over what we've had the past couple years. Remember Kevin Leach at Illinois? Ugh! With 1:03 to go in the 1st half, WMU had the ball 1st and 10 at the UM 19. Three straight blitzes (3 STRAIGHT!) results in three straight up for grabs throws into the end zone, none of them completed, and on all 3 Carder was hit and knocked down by a LB (though Demens did miss a sack by not breaking down on the rush.)

CB - B- - Floyd beat for a TD pass that was dropped, Avery again in good position at times but not making the play. See pass into endzone towards end of 1st half and 3rd and 9 completion for a 1st on WMU's first drive of the second half.

S - A- - Jordan Kovacs with a pass breakup midway through the second quarter and the FF on the sack. I thought Thomas Gordon played a very good game today. Nice to see some depth with Marvin Robinson and even Jared Van Slyke getting in the game. Few big plays allowed and good tackling.

ST - D- - Would have been an F but no TDs allowed. Kickoffs flat and short leading to big returns, blocked PAT.

 

[wlvrnstlr4life]

DLINE assessment is spot on. They are scaring me. Granted the LB's were not filling the holes or scraping off very well, but they(the DL's) were getting pushed around again.

 

[biggunsbob]

Biggest stat for Michigan fans is a plus 3 on turnover margin. That did not happen much the last three years. I agree with you and I am impressed with the coaching staff using the talent they have.. We all want Power football back as soon as possible but as we saw in the game there was plenty of spread type plays being run.. I like that we are using it all... I may be wrong but I thought his Robinson best throw was in that driving rain down field.. Now it was behind the receiver and he made a great catch but the weather was awful on that play and I thought Robinson had a lot of strength into that throw.. I wish the weather would not have stopped the game.

 

[michlady77]

kind of agree

but remember RR had smalled D line so they are still adjusting to ne scheme, workouts and diet

 

[masterscorpio77]

I definitely liked the Offense, but then again with the talent on this side we knew they should be pretty good.

The defense and your assessment Bam was right on cue. They are undersized up front, but I thought in this game the staff did make adjustments and they played alot better from the second quarter on.

Special teams-......ick!!

 

[hungry]

Watching the game again, this thread idea just popped into my head.

Entire offense = A-. 3 offensive touchdowns on only 39 offensive plays, big plays, solid OLine play, no penalties or drops. Looked good.

QB - Denard solid, and while the first throw to Koger damn near got him killed, and the second throw to him was long on 3rd and 3 (when he could/should have run it) that 3rd and 6 pass to Gallon with about 5 minutes to go in the first half was right on the money. He released it before Gallon made his break and it was right where it needed to be. On the final drive in the second quarter his 12 yard run was exactly what teams have to worry about. I formation, play action, pocket collapses, he zigs and zags for a first down.

RB - All three looked good. Two big runs, and while I'd have liked to see Fitz get in the endzone on first and goal at the beginning of the second quarter, he powered it in on 2nd. I LOVE the single back formation with the HB two yards behind Denard under center and running the quick hit into the line.

WR/TE - Solid blocking, no drops, big catches by Gallon and Hemingway.

DLine - C - They're undersized and susceptable to the power running game. Would like to see pressure w/o having to blitz. Roh and Black too invisible today. Not a good first half, and I think this group was the biggest reason we gave up 199 yards in the first and had to dial up the blitzes in the second more often. What happens when we play a game when the blitz isn't as effective?

LB - A- - Two TDs from the group is damn nice. Demens a nice upgrade over what we've had the past couple years. Remember Kevin Leach at Illinois? Ugh! With 1:03 to go in the 1st half, WMU had the ball 1st and 10 at the UM 19. Three straight blitzes (3 STRAIGHT!) results in three straight up for grabs throws into the end zone, none of them completed, and on all 3 Carder was hit and knocked down by a LB (though Demens did miss a sack by not breaking down on the rush.)

CB - B- - Floyd beat for a TD pass that was dropped, Avery again in good position at times but not making the play. See pass into endzone towards end of 1st half and 3rd and 9 completion for a 1st on WMU's first drive of the second half.

S - A- - Jordan Kovacs with a pass breakup midway through the second quarter and the FF on the sack. I thought Thomas Gordon played a very good game today. Nice to see some depth with Marvin Robinson and even Jared Van Slyke getting in the game. Few big plays allowed and good tackling.

ST - D- - Would have been an F but no TDs allowed. Kickoffs flat and short leading to big returns, blocked PAT.

I don't know If the O gets an A. Looked like they were scuffling a bit. First game jitters or whatever, but seemed like most of the passes were a bit off and the receivers/te's were making good catches, as they should. Wuold've been nice to see a little more...

Denard did OK. Like I said, most of his passes were a bit off, but still catchable. I wasn't really impressed with his runs. I know WMU was probably keying on them, but he just seemed to get a few yards, didn't break any long ones. Some seem to like that for some reason.

Rb's seemed decent. Maybe it was the O-line that wasn't doing that great at first, because neither Denard nor the RB's were doing that good. Of course, it was 134 degrees down there, so its hard to tell what would happen in better conditions.

You're right about the D-line. They put absolutely no pressure on Carder. The runs were getting into the 2nd level.

I saw Demens getting tossed around a couple of plays. Disturbing and I saw Herron running around looking goofy on a few, too, similar to Mouton of the last couple of years. He definitely looked better on 2 other plays, though...

I didn't get to see enough of from the DB's, but it did seem that before the blitzes, when Carder was getting time, he was able to pick apart the secondary with ease. It was disturbing. I didn't alway see who was getting burnt, but for a little while, it didn't look pretty.

Kickoff coverage was horrible. They commented on it and said they would work on it.

 

[hungry]

biggunsbob[/color]]Biggest stat for Michigan fans is a plus 3 on turnover margin. That did not happen much the last three years. I agree with you and I am impressed with the coaching staff using the talent they have.. We all want Power football back as soon as possible but as we saw in the game there was plenty of spread type plays being run.. I like that we are using it all... I may be wrong but I thought his Robinson best throw was in that driving rain down field.. Now it was behind the receiver and he made a great catch but the weather was awful on that play and I thought Robinson had a lot of strength into that throw.. I wish the weather would not have stopped the game.

A plus 3 turnover margin is nice to see. SIck of hearing about how we didn't see this or that during the last 3 years. After year 1 under that coach, Michigan handled MAC teams with ease. I don't specifically remember the turnover margins from those games, but the 09 team smacked around Western and that team was horrible.

 

[michlady77]

the dline does hurt in size - leftover from RR era - could be trouble when some of the big ten games roll around

robinson wasnt' stellar but he wasn't bad -

defense just needs a lot of work overall -

 

[Guest]

Special Teams still too .........special

Wile give me hope

 

[wheels002]

I saw some things I liked and some I didn't Western is one of the top MAC schools for what its worth with an experienced game plan. We seemed to play better as the game went on and we would have continued to pull away had we played the 4th qtr. I didnt expect a championship level team this year and we arent one. They seemed to lack confidence in the beginning and some organization which you have to expect with wholesale changes. Western was a good test to start with we have a long way to go. Hoke needs time and the players need time to adjust. I have always said we will be a better team at the end of the year than the beginning.

 

[rayhowland3]

As far as concern with the D-line, Michigan might have been playing very "vanilla"- meaning not many stunts/ twists/shading. I would bet that as the season progresses we may see more activity along the LOS with guys stunting to create gaps in the blocking...especially against bigger O-line teams...

 

[meechigan4]

Watching the game again, this thread idea just popped into my head.

Entire offense = A-. 3 offensive touchdowns on only 39 offensive plays, big plays, solid OLine play, no penalties or drops. Looked good.

QB - Denard solid, and while the first throw to Koger damn near got him killed, and the second throw to him was long on 3rd and 3 (when he could/should have run it) that 3rd and 6 pass to Gallon with about 5 minutes to go in the first half was right on the money. He released it before Gallon made his break and it was right where it needed to be. On the final drive in the second quarter his 12 yard run was exactly what teams have to worry about. I formation, play action, pocket collapses, he zigs and zags for a first down.

RB - All three looked good. Two big runs, and while I'd have liked to see Fitz get in the endzone on first and goal at the beginning of the second quarter, he powered it in on 2nd. I LOVE the single back formation with the HB two yards behind Denard under center and running the quick hit into the line.

WR/TE - Solid blocking, no drops, big catches by Gallon and Hemingway.

DLine - C - They're undersized and susceptable to the power running game. Would like to see pressure w/o having to blitz. Roh and Black too invisible today. Not a good first half, and I think this group was the biggest reason we gave up 199 yards in the first and had to dial up the blitzes in the second more often. What happens when we play a game when the blitz isn't as effective?

LB - A- - Two TDs from the group is damn nice. Demens a nice upgrade over what we've had the past couple years. Remember Kevin Leach at Illinois? Ugh! With 1:03 to go in the 1st half, WMU had the ball 1st and 10 at the UM 19. Three straight blitzes (3 STRAIGHT!) results in three straight up for grabs throws into the end zone, none of them completed, and on all 3 Carder was hit and knocked down by a LB (though Demens did miss a sack by not breaking down on the rush.)

CB - B- - Floyd beat for a TD pass that was dropped, Avery again in good position at times but not making the play. See pass into endzone towards end of 1st half and 3rd and 9 completion for a 1st on WMU's first drive of the second half.

S - A- - Jordan Kovacs with a pass breakup midway through the second quarter and the FF on the sack. I thought Thomas Gordon played a very good game today. Nice to see some depth with Marvin Robinson and even Jared Van Slyke getting in the game. Few big plays allowed and good tackling.

ST - D- - Would have been an F but no TDs allowed. Kickoffs flat and short leading to big returns, blocked PAT.

I think you are being a bit generous with the grades. Overall, I agree with Hungry's assessment.

While it was nice to win, much like the game against UConn last year, the first game pointed to several problems ... especially on D.

 

[meechigan4]

As far as concern with the D-line, Michigan might have been playing very "vanilla"- meaning not many stunts/ twists/shading. I would bet that as the season progresses we may see more activity along the LOS with guys stunting to create gaps in the blocking...especially against bigger O-line teams...

With as much blitzing as we did, I am not sure I would describe the D as vanilla (and thats what concerns me a bit since it was just WMU). We will know more next week.

 

[meechigan4]

I definitely liked the Offense, but then again with the talent on this side we knew they should be pretty good.

The defense and your assessment Bam was right on cue. They are undersized up front, but I thought in this game the staff did make adjustments and they played alot better from the second quarter on.

Special teams-......ick!!

It was SO VERY NICE to see a staff that could adjust as the game went on. I almost forgot what it looked like.

 

[bamf16]

Watching the game again, this thread idea just popped into my head.

Entire offense = A-. 3 offensive touchdowns on only 39 offensive plays, big plays, solid OLine play, no penalties or drops. Looked good.

QB - Denard solid, and while the first throw to Koger damn near got him killed, and the second throw to him was long on 3rd and 3 (when he could/should have run it) that 3rd and 6 pass to Gallon with about 5 minutes to go in the first half was right on the money. He released it before Gallon made his break and it was right where it needed to be. On the final drive in the second quarter his 12 yard run was exactly what teams have to worry about. I formation, play action, pocket collapses, he zigs and zags for a first down.

RB - All three looked good. Two big runs, and while I'd have liked to see Fitz get in the endzone on first and goal at the beginning of the second quarter, he powered it in on 2nd. I LOVE the single back formation with the HB two yards behind Denard under center and running the quick hit into the line.

WR/TE - Solid blocking, no drops, big catches by Gallon and Hemingway.

DLine - C - They're undersized and susceptable to the power running game. Would like to see pressure w/o having to blitz. Roh and Black too invisible today. Not a good first half, and I think this group was the biggest reason we gave up 199 yards in the first and had to dial up the blitzes in the second more often. What happens when we play a game when the blitz isn't as effective?

LB - A- - Two TDs from the group is damn nice. Demens a nice upgrade over what we've had the past couple years. Remember Kevin Leach at Illinois? Ugh! With 1:03 to go in the 1st half, WMU had the ball 1st and 10 at the UM 19. Three straight blitzes (3 STRAIGHT!) results in three straight up for grabs throws into the end zone, none of them completed, and on all 3 Carder was hit and knocked down by a LB (though Demens did miss a sack by not breaking down on the rush.)

CB - B- - Floyd beat for a TD pass that was dropped, Avery again in good position at times but not making the play. See pass into endzone towards end of 1st half and 3rd and 9 completion for a 1st on WMU's first drive of the second half.

S - A- - Jordan Kovacs with a pass breakup midway through the second quarter and the FF on the sack. I thought Thomas Gordon played a very good game today. Nice to see some depth with Marvin Robinson and even Jared Van Slyke getting in the game. Few big plays allowed and good tackling.

ST - D- - Would have been an F but no TDs allowed. Kickoffs flat and short leading to big returns, blocked PAT.

I don't know If the O gets an A. Looked like they were scuffling a bit. First game jitters or whatever, but seemed like most of the passes were a bit off and the receivers/te's were making good catches, as they should. Wuold've been nice to see a little more...

Denard did OK. Like I said, most of his passes were a bit off, but still catchable. I wasn't really impressed with his runs. I know WMU was probably keying on them, but he just seemed to get a few yards, didn't break any long ones. Some seem to like that for some reason.

Rb's seemed decent. Maybe it was the O-line that wasn't doing that great at first, because neither Denard nor the RB's were doing that good. Of course, it was 134 degrees down there, so its hard to tell what would happen in better conditions.

You're right about the D-line. They put absolutely no pressure on Carder. The runs were getting into the 2nd level.

I saw Demens getting tossed around a couple of plays. Disturbing and I saw Herron running around looking goofy on a few, too, similar to Mouton of the last couple of years. He definitely looked better on 2 other plays, though...

I didn't get to see enough of from the DB's, but it did seem that before the blitzes, when Carder was getting time, he was able to pick apart the secondary with ease. It was disturbing. I didn't alway see who was getting burnt, but for a little while, it didn't look pretty.

Kickoff coverage was horrible. They commented on it and said they would work on it.

Offense was an A- (A minus). Basically, they scored 4 Touchdowns on 6 possessions (were on their way to maybe 5 TDs in 7, but we can't assume a TD in that drive cut short by the second weather delay even though we moved the ball inside their 25) Were you thinking more in the B or B+ range?

Denard ran effectively to say the least. On the first drive he opened with an 11 yard gain on his first run, a 4 yard gain on a 3rd and 3, and 9 more on a 3rd and 5. In the second quarter, he gained 11 on a play action pass when he tucked it when no one was open. I'd always love to see big runs like against ND or Indiana, but I liked what he did today. He carried 8 times and I think 5 of them were on the first drive. Throwing the ball, he completed a pass on 3rd and 5 that only got 4 on that first drive necessitating the 4th down conversion, but on 2nd and 11 he hit Kelvin Grady for a first and goal from the when Grady I think was the 3rd option on the play. He did have some misses, but shit, every QB does.

I think we have different definitions of "not doing that good" because I don't think I'd say the offensive line wasn't doing that good. I think in 39 plays we had one that didn't gain positive yardage. No sacks, 1 negative run, 2 big running plays, 2 TD runs from strong formation, and I think we converted every 3rd or 4th down when we ran the ball to make it. They O-Line played well in my opinion, and I was happy with all 3 RBs.

I went A minus for the offense, but I can see where maybe there is argument for closer to a B+. I don't know how much I'd agree with a grade of B or lower.

 

[hungry]

As far as concern with the D-line, Michigan might have been playing very "vanilla"- meaning not many stunts/ twists/shading. I would bet that as the season progresses we may see more activity along the LOS with guys stunting to create gaps in the blocking...especially against bigger O-line teams...

With as much blitzing as we did, I am not sure I would describe the D as vanilla (and thats what concerns me a bit since it was just WMU). We will know more next week.

I think that he was meaning that they started off vanilla and then made adjustments from there.

 

[Mich_QB_U]

Good critique. Walking around San Diego today in my Michigan t-shirt and got a few comments from fans about the game - they had similar opinions.

 

[rumseyhouse77]

With regard to the kicking game, seems like getting them to get the ball up in the air would make a big difference. No more low kicks! Get the ball up in the air and get down field to cover. That missed PAT seemed like it was kicked way to low. Do we have someone that coaches the kickers? Can't understand why we can't get someone that can kick a frickin PAT consistently! This should be automatic. My stomach still twists on PATs and FGs. Honestly, missing left or right would be better than kicking the ball into the frickin line. At least get the ball up in the air!

Regading the D, I was pleased with the adjustment made. Can the shortcommings of the Dline be offset by sending a LB in on the rush? If they can rattle the ND QB like they did Carder we will have another win next week. I think this is very doable. Are our DB so slow that they have to play 10 yards off the line? Seems like they give too much cushion to the receivers.

Go Blue!

 

[rayhowland3]

With as much blitzing as we did, I am not sure I would describe the D as vanilla (and thats what concerns me a bit since it was just WMU). We will know more next week.

I think that he was meaning that they started off vanilla and then made adjustments from there.

Specifically I was talking about the D-line, who doesn't necessarily have to do anything fancy on blitz packages. Michigan can still do stunts/twists/shades even though the LBer's are just playing gap control, dropping into zones, going man-to-man in coverage, etc. Now again, I haven't looked at the game a 2nd time, but I would be willing to bet Mattison may dial up something specifically for the D-line if they are being man-handled on the LOS...

 

[zyxt9]

While the DL is still mostly the fault of RR, as others have said it was nice to see the adjustments by the coaching staff. They get an A- as well, IMO. I would have said B or B+, but the adjustments and improvements throughout the game should always warrant a higher grade, especially since they made awesome adjustments on both O and D. Haven't seen many comments about how they made adjustments with the O, but they definitely adjusted and it paid off with some huge runs in the 2nd half.

Could have been an A if not for the ST play. I trust this staff to fix those issues as much as is possible. There's only so much they can do with the kickers not kicking correctly. At some point the players have to perform.