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Michigan Football 2007-Michigan 48, Penn State 21-Toughening Up

The Michigan Wolverines displayed fortitude, aptitude and effort on both sides of the ball Saturday for 59 minutes while humbling Purdue’s Boilermakers 48 to 21.  The Boilers were left steaming and clanging ineffectively before a Homecoming crowd of 110,888.

Even the run right or left on first down play calling that had seemed to contribute to Michigan recently being among the statistical bottom feeders in Big Ten scoring offense, and some other offensive categories, was abandoned at times, with much success.

With temperatures in the low 50’s and blue skies mixed with fleecy clouds, it was a perfect autumn afternoon in Ann Arbor to tailgate, listen to the Blast from the Past (Michigan’s musical has beens from prior bands), and the current Marching Band.  I never grow tired of Temptation and the Hawaiian War Chant.

It was a great day to enjoy a victory over a team recently ranked 23rd in the nation and a definite stumbling block on the Maize and Blue road to a Big Ten title.  Purdue’s fine Marching Band was not on scene, nor was the much admired and missed “Golden Girl”.

Prior to this game, most Michigan fans wondered how we would fare against Coach Tiller’s usually productive “spread” offense. Not to worry.  Coach Tiller’s lack of success against the Wolverines in Michigan Stadium was to continue.

Michigan fans witnessed the finest Chad Henne performance of the season, He was a sterling 21 of 28 for 264-yards, 2 TDS and no interceptions.

Both the offense and defense played well for a 31-7 Wolverine lead at the half.

Credit the Boilers that they did not give up and produced not one but two successful on side kicks, and scored TDs on a couple of drives with little time left in the game.  Both the resulting scores came late against Michigan’s reserves.  Since those onside kicks and drives came against reserves, and in the last minute, they really are not indicative of the game as a whole.  This was a good, old fashioned, country butt whuppin.

Perhaps, the successful onsides happened because Michigan had failed to put in a “hands” team, with Carr explaining that his “hands” team was cold since they had not been in the game for fifteen minutes, so he did  not put them in.  I suppose to avoid risk of injury.  He also said it would give people something to complain about.  I agree with that.  They should and will complain about those two errors and resulting scores.

Otherwise the special teams acquitted themselves well enough, allowing no really big run backs, except one early one which approached really big. With KC Lopata hitting a couple of FGs and Mesko hitting some towering punts and Wright kicking kick offs to the short returners instead of to the proficient Purdue deep returners (after getting burned a little bit first), they seemed more  proficient than usual.  At least one FG was nearly touched, but  it went over the cross bar with room to spare.  Lopata’s FG kicks looked strong.  Brandon Minor had a 35-yard KO return to set up an early field goal.

While it was still Hart on first down for little gain on some occasions, they did toss it downfield to Manningham who had an outstanding game after returning from the “dog house”.   He snagged 8 catches for an outstanding 147 yards.  This ties his career best number of catches.

Mike Hart had 102 yards on 21 totes, and a couple of TDs.  Another outstanding day, a record seven 100-yard games, but again leaving the game nicked, limping off not to return.  Carlos Brown replaced the also nicked Brandon Minor who had replaced Hart at TB and had the best day of his career.  In contrast to Hart, Brandon Minor came off the field on the cart. Carlos Brown demonstrated his speed on an outstanding 29-yard scamper for a TD, scored another TD, and totaled 66-yards on 13 carries.  Minor and Milano also rushed, but not as successfully as Brown.

Both Hart and Henne are over 1,000 yards for the season.

Henne hit a variety of receivers besides Mario, with Adrian Arrington having 6 receptions for 55-yards.  Mathews, McLaurin, Moundros, Butler, Hart and Clemons all snared one or more aerials.

Michigan’s first possession of the game started with a Henne roll out and nice pass to Carson Butler for a first down and 13-yards on the first play of the game.  While our offensive coaches were not exactly riverboat gamblers Saturday, this seemed a better offensive scheme, and the results show it.  It was an efficient plan, and more importantly, a convincing winner.

As unlikely as it seems, special teams breathed first life into Michigan’s effort early.  Stevie Brown, on special teams, grabbed a loose Purdue punt that had glanced off the back of a Boilermaker, and ran it into the endzone, but it was considered down and called back.  Michigan had great field position with the ball at the Purdue 31, and subsequently Chad hit Mario with a perfect 24-yard strike for the first TD of the game.  KC Lopata converted all EPs on the day.  M 7, PU 0.

The vaunted left side of Michigan’s offensive line let a blitzer through and Henne was blindsided and separated from the football.  The result of the recovery was a short Purdue drive for their only meaningful TD of the day.  M 7, PU 7.  So much for our early advantage as worry began to replace elation.

M stalled, but Lopata hit a strong 34-yard FG.  M 10, PU 7.  Maybe this field goal unit is beginning to jell.

Purdue fumbled on their 26, and M capitalized on an outstanding 10-yard run by Mike Hart in which he was on a pile, maneuvered off, and without touching down, twisted and propelled himself into the into the endzone.  This was in the south endzone, so I got a good look at it and it was an amazing effort. Ruled a TD on the field, the review confirmed.  M 17, PU 7.  Vintage Hart.  Again and amazing effort.

In the early second quarter, the Wolverines and Boilers exchanged punts.  An end around by Mario, a couple of catches by Greg Mathews, and nice Hart run, a penalty, and another Hart run for 8-yards, and the Blue looked at a 24-7 lead with 5 or 6 minutes left in the half, and the Wolverines were rolling.  This was confirmed when Brandon Harrison grabbed a Purdue pass, and sprinted to the Boiler 21.  The crowd was alive with anticipation, and they were certainly not disappointed by a perfect Chad Henne toss to Mario of 21-yards for a TD. Great throw and catch.  M 31-PU 7.

Offensively and defensively it was a great half of Michigan football.   This was the kind of performance that restores confidence and enthusiasm.

The third quarter was unremarkable except for the injury to Brandon Minor and a late 35-yard Lopata FG.  M 34-PU 7.

The fourth contained some offensive fireworks with Carlos Brown scampering 29-yards into the north endzone.  M 41-PU 7.  Jamar Adams made an interception and Brown ran another TD in.   M 48-PU 7.

Purdue then got their two last minute consolation TDs mentioned above for a final score of M 48-PU 21.

Michigan had a total of 459 yards to Purdue’s 292, passing for 279 and running for 189.

All in all an outstanding performance all around except for the last minute.

All the defensive wounded that were thought before the game to able to play did, except John Thompson, including Will Johnson, Chris Graham, and Brandon Graham.  Brandon’s return surely helped Shawn Crable’s effectiveness, and Shawn had a good game, as did Terrence Taylor and the fast improving Obi Ezeh.  LB Chris Graham led the defense with 6 tackles.  Adams and Harrison both had interceptions.

The OL wounded did not return and Schilling and Ortman manned the right side of the OL and appeared to do a credible job.

What more could we ask for?  We are still in the Big Ten race, but with successive challenges looming. At Illinois is a nasty place to play.  A night game, this one will be broadcast by network television.  The Illini will be energized by their recent difficulties at Iowa.

Hopefully we will not get Zooked, but will continue to improve.  It ought to be a great game.

Go Blue!

Andy Andersen

Andy Andersen

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Michigan Wolverines 47 Notre Dame 21- Vindicating Victory

The eleventh ranked Wolverines outplayed the second ranked Fighting Irish in South Bend Saturday to earn their first season opening away game victory in seven tries.  The Wolverines outplayed the overmatched Irish in nearly all phases of the game, in their stunning and surprising 47 to 21 upset of the Irish. 

What a relief it was. 

Those anticipating a close game, and the Notre Dame magic and gremlins, were disappointed for the ball bounced Michigan?s way today.  Their skill and effort made it so.  So much for the luck of the Irish, at least on this occasion.

Players that we had hoped would step up did as ND was held to twenty-four net yards rushing.  Prescott Burgess for example appeared to me to have his best game as a Wolverine.  The entire defense, and especially the defensive line featuring Branch and Taylor, along with Crable, gave Heisman Trophy hopeful Brady Quinn fits all day.  Early, when Michigan?s offense was still sputtering and the game undecided, they were there.  Late, when ND was pressing, they were still there. LaMarr Woodley capped the Michigan scoring with his TD gallop down the sidelines.  This opportunity was gratuitously provided by Brady Quinn, when he let the ball slip from his grasp as he cocked his arm to pass.  Quinn tried to cover, couldn?t, and LaMarr scooped it up and completed every defensive players dream of  a fifty-four yard TD run.  The Wolverine DBs were tattooing the Irish.  Morgan Trent started on one corner and his speed was obvious.  He made some mistakes, but contributed to the victory.

Sure Michigan performance wasn?t perfect, but they didn?t have to be to beat the mistake prone Irish.  Five ND TO?s.  Michigan?s stiff defense caused many of those errors.  While the Blue made some mistakes with late hit and interference penalties, and Chad Henne threw an interception while trying to avoid a sack that ND turned into a TD to knot the score at seven up in the first quarter.  He more than made up for that with three beautiful TDs to Super Mario to put the game out of reach.  They were as nice as any you?ll ever see.

He otherwise played well under pressure and ND stadium is a pressure cooker. Chad passed for two hundred twenty yards, on thirteen of twenty-two, with three TDs and only the lone aerial miscue.  I don?t recall a more masterful performance against Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium ever by a Wolverines quarterback.  He displayed poise, smarts, ability, and performance maturity.

Chad clearly played better than the very disappointed Brady Quinn.    Fortunately he didn?t have to face the defensive line Quinn faced.  Quinn was twenty-four of forty-eight with three TDs and three interceptions.  Respectable numbers, but three interceptions and two fumbles destroyed Irish hopes for victory.

Mario Manningham went a long way toward making Michigan fans quit yearning for Braylon Edwards by running great routs and making outstanding catches all afternoon. He had four catches for one hundred thirty-seven yards with a long TD of sixty-nine yards.  A  great performance.  He and Henne were usually very much in synch.  When Mario fell into the band after his last TD in the first half, he hurt his wrist, and came out in the second in a light cast.  He endured the sideline for a time, cast aside the cast, and caught a great 1st down pass.  Michigan has found a go to guy.  Yes, Virginia, there really is a downfield Michigan passing game and it alive and well.  I heard Jamie Morris talk last Tuesday and he said it existed, but I was still concerned until the performance today.

The Wolverines even avoided costly special team mistakes, although it was a surprise Steve Breaston didn?t break more.  One reason was the Irish punter.  He is outstanding in distance and hang, and the ND coverage was outstanding.  Steve had some nice first down runs, but seemed to drop some catch able balls.  Yet, he is going to tear someone up this year.  There will be plenty of opportunity to come.

The scoring went like this:

Prescott Burgess grabbed a pass that bounced off the ND receiver?s hands, and rambled thirty?one yards to six points.  Rivas converted.  M 7, ND 0.  Michigan never relinquished this lead.

On the very next possession, Chad threw an interception setting up a three-yard ND pass for six. EP converted.  This was a stunning change of circumstance.  M 7, ND 7.

Later in the 1st Quarter Mario gathered in a 69-yard TD, using speed and deception to gain the advantage over the DB.  He was wide open.  M 13, ND 7 after a failed EP.  It seemed to me this could be a problem later.  

 

Not to worry, the Wolverines got great field position from a ND miscue and drove twenty-seven yard for a Hart two-yard leap into the end zone.  This kid is a player.  M 20, ND 7 and the second quarter hasn?t even started.  What a great start, but the great coaching of Charlie Weiss and arm of Brady Quinn still seem a threat.

Chad and Mario soon eased these fears a little, by driving fifty-four yards in six plays, featuring a twenty-nine yard TD pass to Mario. Rivas converted.  M 27, ND 7.

This was a nice and unexpected lead, but there was still that sneaking suspicion that ND would battle back.

With about two minutes left in the half, Chad tossed Mario another one for thirty-two yards, culminating a nine-play fifty-two yard drive.   Rivas converted.  M34- ND 7.

Notre Dame answered by marching seventy-two yards in eight plays and scored on a four- yard pass. This drive was very disappointing as it seemed possible it put a little gas in the Irish tank. M 34, ND 14.

Half over, with a commanding Michigan lead of 34 to 14.  This was a great Michigan football performance, offensively and defensively.  But that late Notre Dame drive seemed too easy and seemed a bad omen for the second half.

In the third quarter both defenses caught up, and Michigan was held to two Garrett Rivas field goals of twenty and thirty-three yards.  M 40, ND 14.  At this point I had forgiven Rivas for the missed EP as it now seemed immaterial.  I could not tell from the tape whether it was just a low kick or leakage that caused the block.

In the fourth quarter, ND managed a nice eight play, eighty yard drive, ending with a twenty-eight yard TD pass.  M 40, ND 21. Will Michigan fade?

LaMarr Woodley erased some of any remaining heat, with his recovery of Quinn?s fumble and long jaunt for a TD.    M 47, ND 21.

As a Michigan fan, it just doesn?t get much better than this.

This game against ND, as always, was on a big national stage, was against a team of wide national interest with genuine and impressive traditions of its own. All the rewards of winning football, such as national respect were at stake, including a shot at a BCS bowl. The game was against a much hyped, if over hyped, program and Coach. M was matched against a team that is a prime recruiting competitor of the Wolverines, and it was a game in which Michigan was a huge underdog.   Michigan was a team with a recent history of ordinary play away from home, a team that in the recent past had played many close games and lost some they shouldn?t have, had lost major bowls recently.  They were deemed by many of their most stalwart fans as perhaps a program on the way down.

The football lesson the Irish received Saturday is proof that the program is not on the way down.  This win vindicates as wise the moves that Coach Carr made in this off-season.  Such as the appointment of Mike DeBord as Offensive Coordinator, and Ron English as the Defensive Coordinator, Ron Lee as DBs Coach, Steve Szabo as LB?s Coach.  Also, last year?s acquisition of Steve Stripling seems sound in light of the way Michigan is playing defensively.  It appears the change in conditioning has also been beneficial.

This may mute some of the criticism of the program for a while, at least till the next loss, and will certainly improve the esteem in which Chad Henne is held among the Big Ten?s Quarterbacks.  It will provide a launching pad for a run for the Big Ten title.

I don?t know about you but I am happy as hell with this one.  Granted it is only one game, but it was a big one.  You know that defense is genuine, just as you knew in 1997 that the defense was genuine early in the season, when they pummeled Colorado.

Thank you Wolverines for providing an old fashioned country thumping to the Irish.   Michigan has never scored so many points against the Irish.

Admittedly, they can throw all this away with just one loss before Ohio State.  The Big Ten season will start next week and those pesky Badgers will clutter up Michigan Stadium next Saturday with those big W?s on their helmets and all that red and white. It is also possible that Notre Dame is more of an average football team than anybody thinks. 

It will be interesting to see what the Irish are able to do to stymie that productive Spartan offense next week.

Now for a final word on Notre Dame.  They have a great program, a great football tradition with sound academic standards.  I actually like their fight song.  The Victory March approaches the Victors in quality, their helmets and uniforms look good, but those homer NBC broadcasts are hard to stomach.  They extol the greatness of the ND players, even when they are losing etc. with canned adulation.  Come on, NBC, you can do better.

I am anticipating the reception the fans will give the Blue next Saturday after this Saturday?s program win.  Enthusiasm has been restored.  Seven and five is history.  It is a great way to start the Big Ten season. 

Thank you Wolverines, and?.

Go Blue!

Andy Andersen

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Michigan Football- The Waiting is the Hardest Part

My good friend Tom Petty likes to say that the waiting is the hardest part.  Ok, I actually don’t know Tom Petty, but I did see him last year and that should at least count for something.  As another season of Michigan football approaches it seems as though the days start to drag out even more. The encounters with rivals’ fans seem to increase and become slightly more serious than those odd exchanges back in March and April; you know the ones where Joe “I just crawled out from a hole and bought this shirt because my team went 9-3 last year” Commonfan makes some insipid remark about your Michigan hat and/or shirt with that sly smirk on his face and you pretty much have to grin and bear it?  I think we all have had at least five of those run-ins this off-season.  It’s hard enough waiting through this long stretch when your team is playing well, but when they struggled the past season, it suddenly becomes a torturous gauntlet of self-restraint and building anxiety.

I mention this because there’s a disturbing trend that’s becoming more and more a yearly occurrence, and I’m not referring to our team’s performance on the gridiron.  There appears to be a large portion of the Michigan fan base that expects this team to slide into mediocrity again this season because, “they do it every year”.  This kind of group self-loathing is beginning to become eerily similar to that of pre-2004 Red Sox fans and pretty much any Philadelphia sports fan over the last two decades.  Each of those groups reached a point (or is at a point) where they expected their teams to lose, expected the worst to happen, and then would wallow in their teams’ failures when they came to fruition.  These groups have become identified with the failure of their teams to come through when it mattered most, and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy year after year.  Now before anyone flies off the handle, in no possible way do I think that the Michigan football program has gone through a drought that in any way resembles either of those teams.  It’s only been 9 years since we won a National Title, and we have won three Big 10 titles since 2000, the well hasn’t been dry, but it’s not at the level that anyone would like at this point in time.  What I’m saying is that the familiar symptoms of self-loathing and expected failure are starting to manifest themselves within the Maize and Blue faithful.  This is not a good thing…

Well, actually, part of this is a good thing; it means that people are realizing what Phil so effectively underscored in his most recent article regarding expectations.  More and more Michiganfans are reaching the, “hey, we’re stuffed to the gills with talent every season, we should be doing more than this,” conclusion.  I don’t disagree; we should expect more out of this football team.  In part, I think the growing pressure for this team to perform at a higher level and to do so immediately is a great thing.  What puzzles me is that many times the very same people who are so passionately mad about our performances are the very same people who are now expecting those kinds of performances in the first place!

This line of thinking is particularly prevalent at this point in the year.  Now that the spring games and practices have passed, the doldrums of summer bring out the annual ritual of previews and predictions that make every college football fan prick his or her ears up when someone so much as utters their favorite team’s name.  These subjective and all-too-often inaccurate breakdowns of teams most people haven’t seen play a single snap of football are almost always taken way too seriously and given way too much weight.  Is it a fun way to pass the off-season?  Certainly.  Does a preview that says X and Y about your team mean that those things are bound to happen?  Of course not.  What amazes me is the way many of the reviews of our Wolverines take the assumption of mediocrity before anyone has so much as seen this team set foot on the field: “When was the last time this team lived up to expectations?”  What amazes me even more is the way that many Michigan fans are beginning to expect and accept this as the truth.  It is entirely fair to ask the “when was the last time…” question, it is not fair however to extend that reasoning into the future when we haven’t played a single game.  There’s a time and a place for those kinds of questions, and I happen to think that now isn’t it in either case.

What many people might not see is that this is the easiest possible position to take, the burden of proof lies not with those who think this team will go 8-4 because “it always does,” but rather with those who seem to think that this football team is capable of doing more than that.  The pessimistic (proponents of this type of reasoning blithely call it “realism”) fan prefers not to be the one who gets their hopes up, but rather be converted by the team’s sudden improvement in performance.  A lot of posts have been made with the following words included: “until they show me otherwise” or “unless I see something vastly different”.  Now then, I’m not one who puts tons of stock in the idea of group karma, but then again, sports are kind of funny that way.  Crowds influence games, especially in football.  Fan bases can have a large affect on the attitude of a team, and I think the attitude of a team can make a huge difference in how they perform on the field.  I’m not arguing that everyone should think this team is going to be undefeated this season, not in the least, but is it too much to ask that perhaps as fans we go into this season with the idea that it is possible for this team to turn it around?

I can understand how the attitude begins to build, I’ve been right there to watch the losses to lesser teams, the crushing losses to key rivals and in BIG bowl games.  The underachieving nature of this team when it matters most over the past few seasons has made the subsequent off-seasons harder and harder to endure.  Naturally this has lead to this point.  The encounters with opposing teams’ bandwagon fans and true fans alike are becoming more and more of the same experience, and unfortunately we Michigan fans simply haven’t had much to respond with as of late. All of that does add up, all of it can weigh on a fan’s mind and on their heart.  What many people don’t realize is that it is at this juncture where a team and a program needs the fans the most, not when they start to prove your expectations wrong, not when they start to turn it around and put this program back on top where it belongs.  Because then my friends you have become a very sad thing, you’ve become that which comprises 99% of the Notre Dame fan base: the fair-weather fan.  We’re all better than that ladies and gentlemen, we truly are.  It is entirely possible to support this team before they pass the artificial watermark that you have set for yourself to become a “believer”.  I have no problem with the criticisms of the past failures, or of the problems that have consistently plagued this team.  It is fair to point out where we MUST improve.  What I am having a harder and harder time stomaching are those that are already criticizing a team that has yet to play a single down of football.  Criticism has its place, but so too does support.  At this point in the year there should be far more of one and much less of the other, if you’re still not sure, go back up and read that banner that’s so much a part of our tradition.

Our fans should be gearing up for the opportunity to show that last year was a fluke, that this team isn’t “owned” by anyone, and that Michigan football is not some once great program on it’s way out of the spotlight, but rather an elite program.  We should be rallying around this team, not reading it its last rights.  So next time you run into that Joe Commonfan in the store or on the street, just smile, hold your head up high, and tell him “Go Blue!”  It’s part of what makes college football so great.  Revel in the knowledge that when the roles are reversed, they’ll know you didn’t just buy that shirt because your team went 9-3 and beat two teams with better than .500 records… not that I’m singling any teams out here or anything.  Mr. Petty was right everyone, the waiting is the hardest part, but try not to let it get you into a state of lowered expectations when all anyone wants to see is improvement from this football team.  The season will get here soon enough; let’s try to look forward to it!

GO BLUE!

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The Redzone is Not The Hotzone… And Other Keys to 2006

It may be hard to believe but it is indeed JULY! Thankfully for usMichigan fans that means the offseason is winding down, and we can begin to focus on what lies ahead rather than all of those events that we’d like to forget from last year.  That being said, it is extremely important that this football team learn from what happened last year.  There have been a lot of discussions about what went wrong last season and what must change and improve going into this fall.  Clearly, there is not one singular issue that resulted in five losses, and we could spend enormous amounts of time breaking down every possible factor.  However, I think there are two key issues that Wolverine fans should focus on early in the year to see if the much talked about changes and improvements over the spring have really occurred.  It is in these two areas that I really think we have cost ourselves football games.  To me, the two phases of the game that have hampered our Michigan Wolverines dearly are:

1.) Losing battles at the line of scrimmage on BOTH sides of the football

2.) Red Zone or otherwise “crunch time” offense

Without simply glossing over several other issues, let’s just say that the offense last year was horrific.  It didn’t control the football, it didn’t put points on the board when it had the opportunity, and it never gave our defense a break when it needed it.  Why might this have been the case?  Again, I think there were several factors that contributed to our offensive struggles this past season.  First and foremost was the myriad of injuries that hit KEY players on this offensive unit. The injuries to the offensive line were bad enough before Mike Hart went down in the first series against the Irish, a team he’s only played 8 snaps against in his entire career so far, but once that occurred this offense was going to be running on fumes for the rest of the year.

Our offensive line struggled to gel as a unit with lineups constantly changing due to the injuries and starters having to rotate to different positions just to fill in the gaps.  Without an experienced running back to find the few holes that were created, our offense was dead in the water from a running point of view; you can only run so many draws into the teeth of a defense after all. This put an immense amount of pressure on former offensive coordinator Terry Malone to come up with ways to move the football… and he failed in every possible way.  Teams were able to load the box with impunity because we NEVER ran play action fakes, and NEVER incorporated the middle of the field with the passing game.  The tight end disappeared as a factor in the Michigan offense, and Steve Breaston was reduced to a player who would catch screens behind the line of scrimmage. Our complete and utter lack of an ability to control the ball hung our defense out to dry time and again.  Malone’s play calling was not only lacking inspiration, but it never seemed to set up any other plays or schemes to take advantage of what the defense was giving us.  Two words will hammer this point home: Diamond Formation.  That deserves a whole separate column unto itself to be honest.

A symptom of these problems was that when the Michigan offense found itself in scoring position, it routinely failed to take advantage of those opportunities.  Note to the Michigan offense, the red zone does not contain a deadly virus, in fact it is the land of opportunity!  We settled for far too many field goals from inside the red zone, and came up empty an inexcusable number of times. This inability to make teams pay absolutely came back to bite us last year.  We don’t have to relive the whole season to realize how badly we squandered games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin,Minnesota, and Ohio State when we had control of the football.  Suffice to say, a more effective approach is sorely needed.

So what has to change on offense?  Well thankfully, one major factor has already been taken care of: the offensive coordinator.  It’s all too easy to point fingers at the coaches when the team is struggling, but I don’t think I’d have to look too hard to find a large number of people who’d agree that Malone simply wasn’t the man for this position.  Mike DeBord may not have been the most exciting offensive mind when he was here previously, but his offenses were fundamentally sound and could RUN THE FOOTBALL, something that we have missed dearly in the last three years against the likes of Ohio State, Notre Dame, and our bowl opponents.  Oh by the way, he was a key part of that National Title we all look back fondly upon, many people forget that that offense was actually a very effective unit.  DeBord has always struck me as someone who “gets” game-planning and adapting that gameplan throughout the course of the game, his plays actually set up other plays later on in the game.  I guarantee we see the return of the tight end as an integral part of the Michigan offense, and that we rediscover the middle of the field with our skill players.  He will also bring a level of complexity to the running game that we simply lacked under Terry Malone. Furthermore, he should return some semblance of play calling back to our red zone offense.  Of all of the things that annoyed me about Terry Malone, this may have been the worst.  Every defense knew what we were going to run inside the 20, and more often than not they stopped it.  There was never a sense that we would run a waggle or play action down near the goal line.  A more aggressive and variable approach is sorely needed here, hopefully DeBord can bring that to the table.

The second issue that must be addressed on the offensive end is the play of the offensive line.  It is all too easy for us to claim that the injuries were the main culprit last year and that otherwise we would’ve been in a much better position…  HOWEVER, I would argue that our offensive line play has been lacking for some time now.  You just have to look back at our performances in the big games to see that our rushing totals are embarrassingly low, and our record is even worse, and I think a large factor has been the play of the O-line.  I think there are a number of problems that the line has been having that hopefully were addressed this offseason.  First and foremost has to be conditioning, we simply haven’t been overpowering teams despite large advantages in size on the line.  Very rarely over the past few seasons has a Michigan offense blown the opposing defense off the line of scrimmage.  Reports are this issue has been met head on, with a vast number of guys dropping weight and increasing speed; hopefully this translates into more on the field success and fewer injuries.  Lighter and faster is great, but if it doesn’t have solid technique to go with it, we won’t get too far.  Considering the number of younger guys we’re going to be using on the line this year, it’s especially important that they are fundamentally sound.

So great, we’ve solved the issues with the offense (wink wink, nod nod), so we’re set right?  To the contrary, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!  Repeat this ad nauseum, put on your bathroom mirror, in fact, make that our motto for the 2006 season.   I think the major concern on the defensive end has to be the complete lack of productivity from an experienced defensive line last year.  Like it or not we did not bring pressure on the opposing quarterback until the bowl game despite having a number of very talented guys in the front four.  Again, I think part of the problem here was conditioning, the D-line seemed to wear down at the end of games (although it didn’t help that the offense kept going 3 and out…) and was pushed back off the line of scrimmage.  The other issue resides in X’s and O’s I think.  I have to preface this by saying that I have no idea how many times blitzes were called, etc, but it seems to me that there was far to little emphasis on bringing pressure in last year’s defensive schemes.  Instead of creating an advantage for the defense by bringing pressure from different areas of the field, we often allowed the defensive line to be taken on by more than one blocker because no one else was rushing the line.  I’ve watched enough football to know that when the defense plays a reactionary “wait and see” type of style, the offense will burn them time and again, and at the important junctures last season, that was the style of football you saw from our defense.  The synonym for “wait and see” is of course the thorn in every  Michiganfans’ side: the dreaded zone.  Here’s hoping we see our corners up on the receivers on 3rd downs this year, and linebackers up at that line of scrimmage…

With all of that being said, the defense was not woeful last year.  In fact it was greatly improved over the 2004 unit, but a change in philosophy and attitude was sorely needed.  I don’t think it will take a lot of work to turn this defensive group into a very solid unit, the talent is definitely there.  I hope against hope that Ron English will bring an aggressive and attacking style back to the forefront in Ann Arbor, he certainly has advertised that he will.  The players are there now for the production to increase immediately, so with a few alterations to the schemes I think we’re going to see noticeable changes in this area, and noticeable changes in how the defense performs on the field.  The players really seem to like English and his approach, and the more he turns them lose to use their natural ability, the better off we are in my opinion.

So as we head into the season, I think we’ll know a lot from the first few games by looking at how successful we are controlling the line of scrimmage (look for rushing yards, sacks allowed, time for Henne to throw, etc), and by how efficient we are when we have the opportunities to score (another motto should be touchdowns instead of field goals).  If these areas can improve, then I think we’re going to be in store for a MUCH better season of Michigan Football, and much improved performances against the likes of our rivals, and that would certainly make the pain and agony of this last twelve months or so fade away a lot quicker.  So here’s to new beginnings and to a new season!  I can’t wait!

 

GO BLUE!

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Lloyd Carr Handshake Controversy? Free Press Stirring Up Trouble

Apparently, beating the Wolverines in overtime last season wasn’t enough for some Michigan State Spartan fans.  This week at the Big Ten meetings in Chicago much was made of the fact the Lloyd Carr didn’t give MSU Head Coach Bobby Williams a handshake after the game.

There’s only one problem.  Lloyd did shake his hand.  See the picture.  Watch the video.

 

Journalistic Integrity?

Now I’ll be the first to admit that it wasn’t exactly a ‘warm’ handshake.  But it wasn’t a snub either.  A snub would have been to ignore Bobby Williams completely.  But no matter what video shows the media seems intent to re-write history.

…They’re still pouting in East Lansing because Carr didn’t shake hands with Williams…(7/27/02)…

Who wrote this you ask?  None other than the illustrious Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press.  I vowed to stop reading Sharp (oxymoron?) long ago but happened to run across this article while researching the upcoming Big Ten season.  You have to wonder if he even watched the game.  The Ann Arbor News also repeated the fallacy in its Friday print edition.

Inferiority Complex

The ‘handshake controversy’ is just another symptom of Spartan inferiority.  Of course, some Spartan backers will deny that any such complex exists.  But the reality is that some MSU fans have a chip on their shoulder regarding the Wolverines.  They don’t feel that they get the respect that they deserve.  Wolverine fans find this humorous.  The truth is Wolverines fans don’trespect the Spartans.  Why should we?  Our all-time record versus Michigan State is 61-28-5.  Since 1970 Michigan is 24-8 versus the mighty Spartans.  Two of their latest ‘victories’ (1990, 2001) were dubious at best.  This Spartan inferiority complex even seeps into the media.  Respect is earned not given freely. 

Why Do They Care?

Michigan fans couldn’t care less what other fans think about the Wolverines.  We care what we think and that’s about it.  That’s the difference between being number one and being an also ran.  That’s the difference between being a Wolverine and a Spartan.