Well THAT was fun, right?  After three quarters of abysmal output that saw the Irish just hammering the Wolverines under the lights, Denard went all like "wait, I'm Denard Robinson and you're Notre Dame: NOW I remember," put on his Irish Slaying Shoes (untied of course), and managed to construct a comeback made primarily of duct tape, dreams, and Jeremy Gallon streaking downfield somehow uncovered.  The result?  Ah hell, just watch it again:

Say what you will about Brent Musberger, his "I can't believe this!" call is pretty awesome.  I would have liked it better if he had said "THAT JUST HAPPENED" but that's a minor gripe.  I certainly hope the team hasn't spent all week basking in the glow of Irish tears like I have because they have an Eastern Michigan team paying them a visit this week who's 2-0 for the first time since 1989.  I haven't looked that up, that's just what Brady Hoke says, and right now that man could say the sun is evil, and I'd stay indoors until Hoke deemed it ok to once more return to the light.  Eastern is a great opportunity for Michigan to get out there and work out some of the kinks that saw the Irish put up 500+ yards of total offense and force the Michigan offense to multiple, frustrating 3 and out's and turnovers before Denard went Denard on them. 

Vegas has Michigan as the 30 point favorites, which like, yeah that's probably about right.

When Eastern Michigan Has The Ball

Our friends over at Eagle Totem, an Eastern Michigan blog, described the passing game thusly:

Last week I described the passing offense as "an afterthought you wish you hadn’t thought of"

Ok then.  Let's start with the running game, shall we?  Eastern Michigan splits carries with their two backs, Dominique Sherrer (JR) and Javonti Greene (SO).  Both are described as quick and able to make a cut, but probably not guys who are going to move the pile.  Quarterback Alex Gillett will also take off if he doesn't see anything available.  Eastern Michigan is currently...wait...fifth in the nation (?!?) in total rushing yards averaging 333 yards per game.  Of course, I'm not sure how useful that really is given that their two opponents have both been FCS schools, but Alabama State, who they beat 14-7, is one of the tougher FCS opponents out there.  The bottom line is that Eastern is going to run the ball, and they've had some pretty good success in doing so this season.  It must be because Mike Hart is coaching them.

via uspresswire.com

Trying to stop them will be a Michigan defense that allowed 198 yards rushing at 6.0 yards per carry against Notre Dame.  Against Eastern, I'll be watching for a couple things: Brandin Hawthorne's sticking power at linebacker, and William Campbell's ability at defensive tackle.  Both players came off the bench against Notre Dame and made some plays when the defense needed them the most.  Hawthorne's signature play came when he knifed into the backfield for a TFL on a crucial 3rd down.  Campbell, and I can't believe I'm saying this, generally just wrecked shit when he was in, tossing Notre Dame linemen around, getting held, and overall having a...pretty...solid...outing...If Campbell becomes the one man wrecking crew he was supposed to be as all-everything 5-star recruit, he will become my new favorite player.  This is your reward, Big Will.  The adulation of one blogger.  I will write posts dedicated to you.  Hell, if you're awesome the rest of the year, I will write 1 post a week referencing your beastliness on the football field, compassion and caring off the field, your ability to woo the fine ladies of Ann Arbor - it's all yours. 

Well then, erm, getting back to Eastern Michigan, they do have a passing game, and it is not so good.  Like, 117th in the nation not so good.  When you're way down there in any particular catagory, and you've only played FCS schools, you've got a problem.  The man to turn that around is the aforementioned Alex Gillett, who I am hoping will be spending most of his Saturday on his back having felt the loving caress of Jordan Kovacs facemask implanted in his sternum.  He will be getting some help though, as Kinsman Thomas returns from a 2-game suspension.  Thomas was his #1 receiver last year, racking up 4TD's, 473 total yards, and 18 yards per catch in 2010.  Even with the addition of Thomas, I think the Eastern passing game is going to struggle.  Their offensive line, which was dicey to begin with then became moreso with the loss of Guard Korey Neal, will have their hands full with a Michigan defensive line that is eager to prove themselves.  Craig Roh, invisible these past 2 games, will hopefully start to make an impact, as he's threatened (if not already passed) by Jibreel Black.

When Michigan Has The Ball

Al Borges has said that he thinks the key to a more consistent offensive output is getting the tailbacks into a rhythm.  In order to get tailbacks into a rhythm, you need to be under center:

"Some of that (offensive consistency) will come from running more under center," he said after practice Tuesday. "We're still so much more shotgun than we are under center, and as long as you're under the gun, your tailbacks aren't going to be featured as much."

Regardless of whether I believe this is a good idea (I've made it abundantly clear that I prefer the shotgun with this offense) this appears to be the direction we're headed.  As long as we keep winning games I don't really think it matters.  The running game, no matter what, depends on the offensive line who frankly hasn't been very good this year at the point of attack.  Your thoughts, Mr. Lewan:

"I’m pissed – what do you want me to say?" Lewan said Tuesday. "That’s awful … you need to run the ball and that’s a direct correlation on us."

Fitzgerald Toussaint returns this week after missing ND with a shoulder injury, which should help matters, but it all starts up front.  The offensive line, with newly minted starter Ricky Barnum, will have to be better at the point of attack to get the running game going.  With the emphasis off Denard running the ball, I expect to see a lot of handoffs against Eastern to get some reps for the line and the running backs.  To be fair, they did seem to start to open some gaping holes against Western before that game was called, but against ND?  Michigan tailbacks had 10 yards on 9 carries.  That's not so good.

Brad Ohrman In Pursuit

Defensive playmakers for Eastern Michigan include Brad Ohrman, a senior defensive end, and Marcus English, a junior weakside backer, and Justin Cudsworth, a sophomore corner.  Of the three, only Ohrman is a home grown guy, with English transferring from JUCO and Cudsworth transferring from UCLA.  While these are the three to watch, I do not expect the Michigan line to have much trouble opening lanes for the combination of Toussaint, Shaw, and Smith. 

In addition to getting a better rhythm on the ground, I'll be looking to see if Denard has really figured it out at game speed, or if the 4th quarter last week was a mirage.  As great as some of those back-shoulder fade throws were, he also made some terrible decisions, including the endzone pick, and the "chuck it to Hemingway in double coverage" that ended up being caught, but yeah, let's not do that again.  I'd like to see more accuracy, and a little more "design" to the passing game.  There were a few throws, including the FB rumble and the zip to the uncovered Gallon, that were dead-on, and I'd like to see more of those from Denard. 

....More After The Jump....

Continue reading this post »

Some caveats: this is not to say that Denard Robinson is incapable of becoming a pocket-passing quarterback with a deadly ability to run built in.  This is saying that the offense, as it's built right now, is not as effective from under center as it is out of the gun.  Let's take a look at every play run from under center against Notre Dame, courtesy of mgoblog:

That comes to 16 total plays run from under center, of which 4 were TD's, 1 was a TD that I think we can all agree shouldn't be replicated (Denard's fumble recovery), 1 went for a first down, 4 were so-so gains, 4 went for no yards, and 2 were INTs.  My disagreement with Mgo's analysis of this is that I'm not sure you can count Denard's fumble recovery as a "positive" play.  The result was positive, the means were a huge negative.  I'm going to throw it out of the equation altogether.  Even with it in, it doesn't change much. 

6 of these plays were unmitigated "bad" results: 2 INTs and 4 zero yard gains.  3 of these plays were good, but not nearly as good as "average" out of the shotgun - about which more later.  These include those designated with misopogon's MANBALL reference.  6 of these plays were positive results, including the the FB wheel route, all TD's and a Denard scramble for 7 yards.  That means, with fumble-whoops-TD! excised, that you're looking at results like this from under center:

bad: 40%

Below Average: 20%

Positive: 40%

35% of Michigan's plays were run from under center, with the remaining offensive plays being run from shotgun.  Let's take a look at the Yards Per Attempt from each:

The big number to pay attention to there is rush yards per attempt.  That is a significantly lower percentage from under center than from out of shotgun.  What this does is render the "under center playfake" pointless.  We're not a rushing threat from under center.  We are from the shotgun.  When 35% of your plays are run from a formation that you're not very good at running from, you become 1 dimensional, and when you become 1 dimensional you throw interceptions.  The majority of plays run from under-center were either turnovers, negative yards, or middling gains that were far out-gained by their shotgun counterparts.

Apparently, you also throw touchdowns.  This argument is not to take away from those - those were great plays.  Let's take a look at the scoring plays:

1) Denard throws a jump-ball to Hemingway who makes the catch and dives for the pylon

2) Denard drops back, throws a jump-ball to Gallon who goes up and gets it.

3) Denard runs a very well drawn-up screen to Smith who picks his way through defenders for the TD.  This play was an awesome call, but not exactly awesomely executed.  Smith made a tremendous individual effort to find the endzone as his blockers totally whiffed in front of him.

4) Denard throws jump-ball to Roundtree in the corner, pandemonium ensues.

Now I understand that scoring plays are scoring plays, and bitching about them is the equivalent of bitching about rainbows.  But which of these scoring plays feels like something that is sustainable as the primary weapon of the offense?  Jump balls to tall receivers?  This might actually work, I'm not saying it won't, but it is a concern.  The one scoring play I felt really good about - the screen to Smith - wasn't even executed well from a blocking standpoint:

Fast forward to 9:08 to see two linemen whiff on one guy.

Do you really feel particularly good about running a system that relies so heavily on jump balls?  You might!  I'm not saying that it's 100% bad, I mean, we have the receivers that can do it, and Denard throws a pretty good jump ball.  I'm still leery, and for reasons why see "Denard throws pick number 2 in endzone."  FWIW, here's Al Borges' thoughts on jumpballs, and he's the only one who really matters:

What are your thoughts on throwing jump balls? "I’ve changed my thinking on this as a coach over the years, particularly on deep balls. I remember way back when I was coaching at Oregon with Chris Peterson, and we were talking about throwing the ball deep, and I always used to have the philosophy that if you throw the ball deep, overthrow them so the ball’s not intercepted. And I remember Pete telling me, he says, ‘We got a couple guys who can go get it. Let us touch it.’ I argued with him. Today, he was totally right. The ball has to go up to an area where [the receiver] can touch it. Now, you have to make it so that only the good guy can get it, and when it is a jump ball, the worst you can get is an incomplete pass.

Is throwing jump balls part of your game plan? "We don’t want to throw it up for grabs. But we want to give our receivers, who are good receivers. Jeremy Gallon, who’s not a big tall guy, but can go get high balls, and Junior Hemingway, who is a big guy. We want to give them a chance. And Roy Roundtree, for that matter."

Not to be lost in this whole thing is the fact that we did indeed run 65% of our plays out of the shotgun.  These plays were, on aggregate, more effective than the 35% from under center.  When Michigan had to make hay, we were largely operating out of the gun.  What I don't understand then is why we're not out of the gun even more.  It has better YPA, utilizes our primary weapon more effectively, and isn't relying on the "under center look" to keep defenses honest.  The mere fact that our QB is deadly on the ground keeps defenses honest, and from under center we lose that. 

The numbers show under center doesn't work as well as shotgun.  That's the evidence to this point. Where do we go from here?  Well, Al Borges is going to continue to operate out of both formations.  This means that execution has to get better in order to have a viable offense from under center.  Borges and the coaching staff will work on this, and I have no doubt that they'll get better as the year goes on.  Fortunately we have Eastern Michigan coming in this weekend that will hopefully allow for some more gametime reps.  I'm not saying that the under-center offense is "bad" and shotgun is "good."  I'm saying that the shotgun offense is more productive right now than from under center.  I'm also saying that I believe our personnel are better suited to generate yards and points from shotgun than they are from under center.  This is not to say that our personnel can't improve from under center, it's just that as of right now - with this extremely limited sample size - I think we should be operating even less from under center.

It's on.  First night game in the Big House.  115,000 on hand.  KILL THEM WITH LIGHTNING DENARD.

I get a kick out of the reaction of people who learn that Michigan has never hosted a night game.  Most  I've heard say "wow that's weird" then make some disparaging remark about how behind the times Michigan is.  Wait a second - when the Cubs installed lights many thought it was a sign of the apocalypse.  "True" Cubs fans, a rare find indeed, still think night games open some sort of gateway to baseball hell.  Why, when the Cubs play only day games, is it considered "traditional and the right way to do things" whereas Michigan is behind the times?  I liked the fact that there were no lights at Michigan Stadium.  I liked when they had to truck in the portables for games like 2005 Penn State.  I'm embracing this night game thing for all it's worth - I think it's going to be awesome - but still, I think I prefer Saturday afternoon.  Of course, if Michigan wins, this is all moot.

Michigan plays Notre Dame this weekend, who I grew up hating more than any other school but have been replaced by Ohio State (and understandably so) since Michigan has taken 4 of 5 from Notre Dame over the past 5 years.  I kind of want Notre Dame to be somewhat good just so that I can hate them again.  Will Brain Kelly be able to do it?  The jury's still out.  This week Vegas likes Notre Dame by 3.5 points, which surprises me, but there it is.  You like Michigan?  You like money?  Here's your chance.

When Notre Dame has the Ball

As you're aware, Tommy Rees is now the starting quarterback after this happened last week:

Then-starter Dayne Crist was the recipient of the worlds scariest tongue position.  I don't even know what color Kelly's face is there.  Mauve?  Eggplant?  Purple just doesn't seem to do it justice.  Either way, last week's offense for Notre Dame was a turnover filled disaster that drove the field consistently then crapped all over their shiny new drive by throwing interceptions, or fumbling, or getting called for stupid penalties.  If any Notre Dame fan asks you how Michigan managed to lose to App State, just point to this game and say "that's how."  Rees, for his part, did pretty well, going for 296 yards on 34 attempts.  When I asked SBN blog One Foot Down about Rees, they had this to say:

Rees brings a little more consistency to the position.  That doesn't mean he won't make the occasional bad decision like Crist, but he also won't throw bounce passes or badly overthrow receivers.  Plus, like I said earlier, Rees just finds a way to get Floyd the ball.

That last part might be the most terrifying.  Rees does tend to find Michael Floyd, who absolutely destroyed USF in the loss.  Jordan White had himself a great game against Michigan last week, and much like White, Floyd is a big bodied presence.  Floyd will be the best receiver we face this season.  My guess is that he'll have something like 10 catches for 100+ yards this game, but as long as we don't allow him the big play he probably won't kill us.  If he starts picking off 25 yard plays on the regular though, we're in trouble.

Michigan will likely put Woolfolk on Floyd primarily, although the coaches have said that they won't change what they're trying to do personnel-wise regarding Floyd.  Woolfolk is pretty big for a corner, and should be able to keep Floyd in front of him.  We'll try to bracket Floyd as much as possible, and take our chances with designated "other receivers" Theo Riddick and T.J. Jones. 

Last week, Michigan was able to zone-blitz (something I missed until re-watching the game) with good effect, causing Carder - who is probably a little better than Rees right now - to start throwing off his back foot and eating grass.  The Notre Dame offensive line is much better than Western's.  If Michigan is able to get pressure with that zone blitz, which dollars to donuts is the first thing they try, then Rees will throw some questionable balls.

The run game for Notre Dame is spearheaded by Cierre Wood.  Wood is good, and he's being blocked for by a massive offensive line.  Wood's got a laser-sharp cut, and hits the hold hard.  Michigan is going to have to hold up at the point of attack, and force Wood out of his primary hole.  Brennen Beyer last week came in for some harsh picture pages on how to not defend power last week, and will likely be replaced by Jake Ryan who had himself a great game against WMU.  Will this be enough to mitigate some questionable run defense?  The temperature not being either a zillion degrees or torrential will help.

When Michigan has the Ball

The major question here is whether Denard will "go off" or not.  Brian pointed out, in a post I can't seem to find, that Michigan's first drive against WMU is likely more indicative of what we'll see against Notre Dame, and I agree with him.  That drive saw Denard-designed runs, primarily shotgun formation, and was in general just a little more aggressive.  I think you'll see a more committed effort to the zone read.  Notre Dame couldn't defend Navy's option to save their lives last year, and Borges is going to test them to see if they learned their lesson.  If Denard's able to get on the edges, he'll have a big game.

This opens up that little "one step forward" play action pass that Denard ran so well last year, and just missed Dileo last week on it for a touchdown.  I wasn't as down on Denard as some were after his game against Western - I thought he looked pretty comfortable out there - but I do think that his accuracy should improve from Western as he's able to get more into the flow of the game. 

Defensively, Notre Dame is led by Manti Te'o, last seen being posterized by Denard in a picture that I will post again because it makes me happy:

And now I'm happy.  Honestly though, Te'o is the real deal - he's fast, strong, and he hits.  Here's ND defensive coordinator Bob Diaco on the Michigan Offense:

"You need to be perfect," the Notre Dame assistant said. "Any little crease and it’s over. He’s gone. It’s not like somebody hits a crease and rattles for eight, 10 yards and you get him on the ground. This guy hits a crease and he can punch a hole in the top of the defense like that [snapping fingers]. Watching him live and really having a chance to see it, that’s the job.

There is little chance that Denard repeats his 500 yard+ performance of last year.  He's not sneaking up on anybody this year.  Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith had this to say about Denard:

"As a defense, we’re excited to get another crack at him because last year we obviously gave up a lot of yards to him throwing and passing," senior safety Harrison Smith said. "Going against him again is kind of a test for us and something that we’re excited about.

So they're expecting it this year.  The Notre Dame defense is a confident bunch, having held their last 4 opponents to under 10 points.  The bottom line here is that the Notre Dame defense is improved, but probably not enough to expect to hold Michigan to under 10 points.  Against USF, they had real trouble defending the screen.  In the run game, Notre Dame will outsize Molk at Nose Tackle with Cwynar and Nix.  Notre Dame runs a 3-4, and being able to smoke the nose tackle is paramount in the rushing attack. 

Special Teams

Special teams, somehow, remains a disaster.  Wile is servicable as punter, but his kickoffs failed to reach the endzone, and Michigan players were quite literally tripping over each other in kick return coverage, regularly allowing WMU out to near the 40 yard line.  This defense is not good enough to be put in that situation.  Woolfolk's return to special team duties could help, but I have trouble believing that one player will make so much a difference as to start pinning Notre Dame deep in their own territory.

Alternatively, we didn't drop the ball once, which is a win.  We have yet to embark on the great Field Goal Adventure of 2011, so we'll just have to see, man.

Notre Dame, alternatively, averaged 34 yards per punt and missed a FG of their own.  Is this actually a push?  Probably not.  This remains Michigan Special Teams, which requires a haz-mat suit to get within miles of.

Final Prediction

The Notre Dame offense, despite throwing Turnover-Fest-2011 last week, scares me a bit.  Rees is going to find Floyd come hell or high water, which might be a mistake in other circumstances, but Floyd's good enough to bail him out: remember Braylon for Freshman Chad Henne?  I also think that Woods is going to get his on the ground.

So that means we need to score points.  I just don't know enough about this offense to see if they're capable of that. Notre Dame wins 24-21.  Prove me wrong, Michigan.

Key Matchups to Watch

Denard vs. Ability to play-action with his legs:  Denard's ability to run will set up that "two steps forward, whoops it's a pass!" play that is so devastating.  We'll need this play during this game, and Denard's going to have to be accurate enough to hit it.  He missed last week for 6 - let's hope he doesn't miss this week.

Molk/Barnum/Guards in general vs. ND Nose Tackles:  BLOW THEM AWAY and we'll be able to run the ball.  If the nose is holding up at the point of attack, we're in trouble.

Woolfolk vs. Floyd:  We can't allow Floyd the big play.  He's going to get his yards; as long as they're in 6-7 yard chunks instead of 25-75 yard bombs we might be OK.

Tommy Rees vs. The Yips:  If we're able to pressure Rees into just throwing it up for grabs in Floyd's general direction, he'll give us the ball back.

Gametime Drink of Choice

I'm letting my wife pick this one.  She has so far suggested Bailey's Irish Cream.  Not. Helpful.  She's just stated that she's a "beer person" before going back to looking at paint swatches.  Ok, here's to beer.  This summer, we were able to visit the Rogue Brewery out in Oregon.  I had this:

It was good.  So grab you a beer that you wouldn't normally try tonight, crack it open and get drinking.  It's a night game!  Enjoy it!

Alternate Programming

TWC is running an "It Could Happen" marathon, including titles like "Tornado in DC," "Mount Rainier Eruption," and "Tampa Hurricane."  They should run one called "Notre Dame beats Michigan" and focus it on the Beauford household.

Inanimate Object Threat Level

Obligitory Threat Level Red.  Night game == Drinkin' == Ragin'.  Hide Yo Remotes.

Recommended for Survival

via mgoblog and user Chunkums

For More

Fighting Irish vs Wolverines coverage

Fighting Irish vs Wolverines preview

One Foot Down

Yesterday, I was able to exchange emails with One Foot Down, SBN's excellent Notre Dame Blog.  Below are my questions with OFD's responses.  Head over to OFD tomorrow to check out his questions and my answers.  I'll front-page something when it goes up.  On with the show:

Much ado about Brian Kelly's sideline manner.  Does this really bother ND fans?  Or is this something that is going to blow over, and probably wouldn't have been an issue had ND won?

This isn't really an issue outside of the HARUMPH type ND fans.  Lou Holtz was a, shall we say, passionate man on the sidelines and many fans complained of Willingham's stoic sideline demeanor, so I think this is a case of Irish fans being impossible to please.  Kelly has always been known for sideline tantrums and with last Saturday being the first game of the season and the shear number of stupid mistakes, he just went off more than usual.  And certainly if we won, we would all be praising Kelly's intensity and passion.

What do you anticipate Denard's stat-line to be?  What would be considered a "successful" day against him?

Well, I think it's safe to say Denard won't put up 500 yards again simply because it's almost impossible to duplicate a performance like that.  Robinson will be the centerpiece of the offense and will get his yards, but if the Irish can hold him to around 300 total yards (i.e., 200 yards passing, 100 rushing) I think I would be happy with that.  It's ludicrous to expect to completely contain him, but if Notre Dame can force UM to use its running backs and throw more often than they would like, that will go a long way towards winning the game.  I would rather have Michael Shaw running with Denard throwing than Denard running any day.

Jordan White (WMU receiver) had 12 receptions for 119 yards against Michigan in 3 quarters.  Michael Floyd is probably the best receiver we're going to face this year.  This isn't a question.  This is me being terrified.  Discuss Michael Floyd, and how you would play him if you were Michigan's defense.

Floyd had a huge game against USF, exploding for over 150 yards.  The bad news for Michigan is that Tommy Rees will be playing quarterback and he always makes sure Floyd gets the ball.  For whatever reason, Floyd is just more productive with Rees at QB rather than Crist.  If Michigan wants to contain Floyd, they need to limit his jumpball opportunities.  Floyd isn't a burner; he makes his money out-jumping defensive backs.  The Wolverines need to keep Floyd in front of them and make Rees nickle and dime them down the field.  If you decide to press him one on one, he'll just streak downfield and Rees will just throw one up like on ND's first touchdown against USF.

Like the uni's?

I do.  I really like Notre Dame's.  They don't look overly "nontraditional" and I kinda like the shoulder stripes.  The shamrock helmet is also kind of cool.  Not something I'd want to see all the time, but nice for one game.  I'm not a huge fan of alternate uniforms, but I think they're fine once a season, and ND's are well done.  I'm not as high on Michigan's because I don't particularly care for the big "M" on the front, but, again, I kinda like the shoulder stripes. [ed - you mean the Notre Dame blogger likes the ND uniforms better?  No way.]

OK, Tommy Rees gets the nod at QB.  What's he going to do that Crist couldn't?  Nervous for this?  Excited? Discuss.

Oh boy.  I could go on for pages on this, but I'll try to be brief.  Crist did not have a particularly good day against South Florida.  He came out sharp but started making bad reads and making bad throws.  He did that last season too, and I think a lot of the frustration over his performance comes from everyone assuming he was over that.  His receivers dropped a lot of balls, making his stat line look worse than it probably was, but he looked like he hadn't progressed at all from last season.  Rees brings a little more consistency to the position.  That doesn't mean he won't make the occasional bad decision like Crist, but he also won't throw bounce passes or badly overthrow receivers.  Plus, like I said earlier, Rees just finds a way to get Floyd the ball.  I'd say overall I'm nervous about the quarterback play on Saturday.  Rees won't be rattled by the atmosphere, but I worry if he'll be able to avoid the costly turnovers, making us go back to square one next on Sunday.

I know that I could probably write your answer for this next one, but who ya got?

I make no secret that I'm going to look at this game through green-tinted glasses.  As I said before, QB play may be a question mark, but the running game was fantastic against USF before Kelly had to abandon it and play catch up.  The line opened up huge holes and Cierre Wood ripped off big chunks of yards.  If they can run the ball like that, the Irish will be fine.  Granted, USF doesn't have a player like Mike Martin on their line, but I'm hoping the line can neutralize him somewhat and give Wood room to run.  That kid is electric with the ball in his hands.  In the Michigan game, I saw a defense that, while better than they were under the GERGening, allowed a MAC team to march up and down the field.  That game could have easily been tied at halftime.  The offense looked better than I expected and I fear they will put up some yards against the Irish, but the defense fared pretty well last year, holding the Michigan offense to 28 points despite all of the yards Robinson put up.  If they can put in a similar performance, I like Notre Dame's chances.  It will be a close game for sure, but I got ND winning 31-28.

Many thanks to One Foot Down - you're encouraged to cruise on over there if you're interested in the Domer perspective.

This post could alternatively be titled "Beauford Contradicts Himself Again."  In a post on Tuesday, I wrote this:

Obviously, the defensive scores were nice.  Jake Ryan's play to force that first INT was a special play.  It's hard to analyze these plays as much more than flukes, however.

Which is something that I now disagree with.  SCM has contributed mightily to this post, and it was a discussion with him, during which he disagreed with this statement, that I have generally come around to another line of thinking.  The spirit of my original thinking, and the spirit of many of those in the MSM (AHEM Bob Davie), is that the Michigan performance is somehow lessened by having two defensive scores that skewed the results.  This is bullshit.  I kind of hedge away from that when I go on to state that a 2-0 turnover margin (Ok fine, 3-0 when you count the center-exchange-fumble) is sustainable, but I want to make my position perfectly clear.

The team, namely the defense, played pretty darn well last week.  To simply chalk up those turnovers to some kind of "luck" is a discredit to the defense and the plays they made.  When a defense works hard, gets in the right position, and has some athletes go out and make a play, the expectation should be that they get a turnover.  This isn't a fluke, this is expected of a defense.  Under Rodriguez, anything good that happened to the defense was either self-inflicted by the offense, or the product of chance.  I'm not saying this defense is all-world, but those two turnovers (I'm not counting the serendipitous center-fumble) were forced turnovers that happened as a result of some fantastic individual plays.

The first INT by Herron was the result of Jake Ryan crashing through the line, beating a double team, and tipping the ball as it leaves Carder's hands.  That play was a result of Ryan making superior effort, and Herron taking it the rest of the way.  The Carder fumble was caused by Kovacs laying the most beautiful hit that a Michigan player has made in 4 years.  Again, Herron was there to make the play. 

When a defense gets turnovers from things like the QB just dropping the ball, or a center-snap-over-the-head Yakety Sax type deal, then maybe their flukey, and maybe you can't count them when you're evaluating the overall performance of a team.  But when turnovers are forced like they were on Saturday, that seems - to use a new favorite word of mine, apparently - sustainable.  The touchdowns, sure, you can't expect those to happen every game.  But this defense played well enough, and made enough plays to be rewarded with turnovers.  To chalk it up to anything else but (gasp) good defense is selling them short.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame has no discernable starting Quarterback, and a defense that allowed USF to go up and down the field on them.  Somehow, they are perceived as the more stable team...why?  Because their defense didn't score points? Because they lost the "right way?"  Make no mistake here, had those two turnovers not gone for scores, the Michigan offense would have come out and if future events were any indication, they probably would have gotten points.  It's not as if this is a 10-10 game if Michigan doesn't score those points defensively. To say that, somehow, the fact that the Michigan defense scored 12 points (not counting special teams) is a weakness is selling this team, and the defensive effort last Saturday, short.  Hopefully Notre Dame thinks this way too.

During the season preview portion of this blog, I had written the following about runningbacks:

Bottom line:  If running back becomes a carousel of different players it's likely because none of them are really that good, and if this transition is going to work it needs a good running back.  Last year, our rushing yards were made by Denard's ability in a spread-out attack.  This year, Denard's carries are going to be reduced.  The differential in yards is going to have to be made up somewhere, and having a primary back who can do it will be a key factor in this year's success.

Well, it's one game in, and we're still searching for an answer at that position.  I thought that both Shaw and Toussaint had good, albeit brief showings during the rain delayed victory over Western, but if it weren't clear that afternoon that neither had "won" the workhorse roll, it is now - Brady Hoke:

Did Toussaint solidify his spot at all with his performance Saturday? "No, well -- I think right now he’d be the guy to start the game."

Could Hopkins win starting job? "Oh he could. We’ll let the week play out. I think he’s done a nice job. He did a nice job in fall camp." Could he play fullback? "He can play some fullback. Can … Has."

So Stephen Hopkins is throwing his name back into the mix as a potential starter.  While Toussaint has tenuously solidified his spot as the starting back, that doesn't exactly sound like a huge vote of confidence from the head coach.  Expect to see a heavy rotation of Toussaint, Shaw, and maybe Hopkins against Notre Dame.  

What does this mean?  Well, it means that we're not any closer to establishing a workhorse back, which would be the preference of Borges and company.  How this will affect what Borges and the offense is able to do remains unclear.  While it would be my preference to get a primary guy in there who Denard can build some trust with in the pass blocking game, it certainly didn't hold back the rushing attack last Saturday.  

Anyone else feel kind of cheated out of a quarter of football?  After a day that was mostly hot and wet, I sat back and tried to ask what I learned from this team and coaching staff.  I'm not sure I have an answer on this.  Michigan drove the field at times, and at times looked really out of sync.  The defense caused me to text "2010 called and wants its defense back" to SCM at one point, but also gave us this:

via mgoblog.com

I'm not sure there's been a better picture of the Michigan Defense since an unconcerned Alan Branch stomped away from Zac Morelli (I think...do I have my PSU QB's right?).  The defense scored two touchdowns, which seems unsustainable.  The offense sputtered, scored, and seemed about ready to start really imposing their will when the game was called.  I'd be a lot more comfortable if I had seen a 21 point 4th quarter explosion.  This seemed ready to happen.  It didn't, so I remain unconvinced.  The rushing stats are OK, but are primarily comprised of two long runs.  Do these long runs happen against Notre Dame?  Michigan State? 

Defense

The defense looked about how I expected them to look.  On the first drive, the fundamentals looked improved, even if the alignments and coverages didn't.  Check out this Mgodiary for a frame-by-frame of some of the missed alignments.  The Western offense came out with some no-huddle, which took Michigan by surprise, and Carder was accurate-as-advertised.  WMU moved the ball with ease.  What happened next did not happen last year.  Mattison, sensing that pressure was going to be the only way to knock Carder off his rhythm, brought the house.  At his own 35 yard line (ish) he brought cover 0 3 times straight, sending Mouton [Demens.  Mouton is graduated.  See comments for shaming purposes] up the middle only to massively whiff on the sacks.  It didn't matter as Carder chucked up deep prayers off his back foot that each fell harmlessly to the turf.

Did this happen last year?  The last 3 years?  That was a mid-quarter adjustment that took a WMU offense surprise (no huddle, quick drop) and neutralized it.  Later in the game, Mattison would start mixing his pressures, getting Kovacs free numerous times, and causing Alex Carder to start yelling at his sideline that he needs more time.  This is encouraging.

Less encouraging was the pressure exerted just by the front-4.  This needs to get better.  Against Big 10 teams, and indeed against Notre Dame, there is no way that we're going to be able to go cover-0 3 times in a row and get away with it.  We need to be able to generate some happy-feet in the pocket using just a 4 man front from time to time, and I didn't see that on Saturday.

Obviously, the defensive scores were nice.  Jake Ryan's play to force that first INT was a special play.  It's hard, obviously, to analyze these plays as much more than flukes, however.  The team will likely not score 14 defensive points per game from here on out.  Herron did well to be in the right place.  What was nice, and possibly sustainable, was the 2-0 turnover margin.  If we're able to sustain a +2 on turnover margin, that's worth a game or two.

Offense

The offense is harder to judge.  First of all, Denard was indeed in the shot-gun the majority of plays.  He made some nice throws, Koger had a nice catch, and he threw one hilariously behind Drew Dileo that possibly would have gone for 6 had he hit him in stride.  There were a couple long throws that I thought he could have scrambled for the first down, but he looked pretty calm and comfortable out there.  What I liked to see was the lack of panic on 3rd down.  3rd and 5 was death to this team over the past 3 years.  This offense, while obviously wanted to pick up as many 1st as possible, seems designed to pick that up. 

Toussaint looked good when he was in, Shaw looked like the same Shaw that he's always been - deadly fast in the open field, but a little to dancy at times.  Both had pretty good games, and were on the doorstep of having really good games before the Lightning Gods saw fit to cancel the 4th quarter.  If there was ever a time to say "sample size too little" before making a judgement, this is it. 

Special Teams

Ugh

Upshot:

This was a weird game.  While I feel comfortable that Michigan would have won in many different ways, the exact way it went down was weird.  There were 14 points that the defense scored, the offense never had the ball, we missed an extra point, and only the first TD drive appeared to be a sustainable look at the offense - the other was two homerun runs that probably wouldn't happen against, say, Nebraska.

The bottom line is that our sample size of evidence is small, and made even smaller by the unlikely way in which this game went down.  There are things that happened positively.  The defensive adjustments were great, the fundamentals were there, and Denard looked fairly comfortable.  There were also bad things, like the 3-out, the WMU opening march down the field, general confusion on the defense, and kick coverage.  It was an incomplete game in more ways than just the minutes.  I feel that it was incomplete as a means to judge this team or reset expectations as well.  Next week we go back into the breach against Notre Dame.  We'll have a much better picture after that one.  Final grade: incomplete.

Wooooooo it is on. Game time is at 3:30 let's go blue!

FOOTBALL!  FOOTBALL!  FOOTBAW!  FOOBAW!  It's finally, finally here!  I'm using exclamation points like there's a limited supply that expires at midnight!  !!  !!! !! !!!! !

After months and months of AGONY we finally have football again.  Last night, Wisconsin played!  It was terrifying to see what they did to UNLV, and thanks to ESPN we got to watch every. excruciating. minute. instead of, say, that Wake Forest v. Syracuse game in which 'cuse came back from 15 points in the 4th to win in OT.  THANKS ESPN! 

Michigan plays Western Michigan this weekend; the first game for new Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke.  Hoke's done some neat things.  I like how he led the team into the Big House a week ago at night, and had them watch a montage of Michigan greats.  I like how he's developed the 2011 guide to senior leadership and given it to each senior.  I like how he's given everyone a trident...wait what? Yep, everyone's got a Trident now - Trident's for everyone!  This is a throwback to Lloyd, who used to pick an organization, a movie, or a theme for his teams to follow during the season.  During the 1997 season, it was "Into Thin Air" which is about Mt. Everest.  You'll remember the Cinderella Man team of the late 2000's as well.  This year, it's Navy Seals, which I guess if you're going to have an organization to model yourself after, it might as well be the most elite military outfit in the world.

Anyways, they play football this weekend in Ann Arbor, and Vegas has the Wolverines as a 13.5 point favorite.  Colin Cowherd picked WMU to cover, so you can safely bet on Michigan because that guy's a jerk. 

When Michigan Has The Ball or I Wonder What This Is Going To Look Like

First thing's first here, I don't think anyone really has a clue what Michigan's going to look like here.  Borges has said that he's going to be in shot-gun more than he's ever been.  One thing is for certain - Denard is not sneaking up on anybody this year.  Last year, in the post-game glow of the thrashing of Uconn, I wrote this:

Uconn did fun things against the Michigan offense, including keeping 2 safeties deep on certain plays and letting Michigan just run the QB draw against 6 or 7 in the box.  This proved to not be a good idea for Uconn, and allowed Robinson to complete arguably the most productive day for any Michigan quarterback EVAR.

This was back in Denards infancy, before we realized that he was just going to do this, or die trying, to everyone he faced.  Against Western, Michigan's got some stuff to exploit.  Last season, Western finished with the 73rd best total defense and gave up 24 PPG, which isn't good.  They are led by senior linebacker Mitch Zajac, who was 10th in the MAC last year in total tackles.  Another guy to watch out for is consensus three star linebacker, sophomore Desmond Bozeman, who has been playing very will this fall.  The defense, while not stellar last year, does return a a lot of starters, and is looking to improve.  Rush end Paul Hazel is looking to improve on 8 sacks from last year.  Coach Cubit on Hazel:

"Hazel’s just a different guy out there," Cubit continued about his lanky junior defensive end. "I don’t know at our level if you’ll find another guy like that guy. He’s just so fast."

Taylor Lewan will likely be tasked with stopping Hazel, and since he turned Adrian Clayborne into a non-entity last year, I think Lewan will be up to the task.  However, stopping a until that is self-titled "Team Train Wreck," well, I don't know what to say about that.  Here is "Team Train Wreck:"

via media.mlive.com

The Secondary is a position group that might prove to struggle. SO CB Lewis Tolar is a returning starter, all MAC selection, and Freshman All American, which means he'd likely start for Michigan, but behind him is recent-receiver-convert Aaron Winchester and a whole bunch of air.  They're young and inexperienced.  Tolar will lock down his side, but the safety and "other corner" spot should be vulnerable.

With that said, I expect Western to load up with 7 or even 8 in the box and try to make Denard beat them with his arm.  My guess is that Michigan is going to line up and run right at this defense until they prove they can stop it.  If they can't stop it, I think any fancy-pants stuff Michigan has will be shelved for Notre Dame.  The concern, harkening back to Carr days, is whether Hoke and Borges will adapt quickly enough once it's clear that Western can stop the power game.  Will Denard be able to run and gun his way out of it?  As has been mentioned at mgoblog, when running power goes from constraint play designed to keep a defense honest to bread and butter designed to open up spread-type-offense, you'd better be able to run power well.  We'll get a glimpse of that.  I'm taking bets on whether the first play is going to be power-left over Taylor Lewan.  Any takers?

SPEAKING OF WHICH if there is one thing I'm looking forward to this year, its watching this offensive line maul people.  I know they're not built perfectly for the power game but they're deep and they're experienced.  My guess is that they will be able to push around "Team Train Wreck" this game a bit, and open some holes for Shaw and Denard to hit the next level.  Now all Shaw needs to do is stop dancing so damn much and actually hit it.

Prediction: The Michigan offense struggles at times, Shaw has a fairly big game, Denard breaks 1 big one, Lewan mauls whoever is unfortunate enough to be across from him, Tolar gets a pick.

When Western Has The Ball or OH GOD NO ITS THE MICHIGAN DEFENSE

The Western offense starts and stops with Quarterback Alex Carder, never mind that every offense starts and stops with quarterback. What a smart thing to say!  Alex is good.  Last year, he had up 33 points and over 400 yards of offense per game.  Don't think his talent has escaped Michigan's attention:

"When I say he's a great quarterback, I do mean it," Hoke said. "He's as impressive as anybody that you'll turn tape on the entire year; with what he did a year ago and 30 touchdowns, over 63 percent in completions. I think their offense starts with him, as most offenses do, but they are really a very, very good football team when you look at them. Jordan White, the wide receiver, has a sixth year of eligibility, he caught 94 balls a year ago. So he'll be something for our secondary to contend with, obviously."

Here's what he was able to do last year in handy, video format:

Western knows that in order to have a successful day against Michigan, they'll need to have a deadly passing attack.  In an article aptly titled To Upset Michigan, WMU Knows it Needs a Big Day from its Passing Attack Coach Cubit states, um, that they'll need a big day from their passing attack:

"When we’ve won the games (against BCS teams) or they’ve really been down to the wire, it’s because we’ve been able to throw the ball pretty well," Cubit continued. "In games we’ve had trouble ... you’ve either got to win that battle or it’s got to be a stalemate, otherwise it’s hard. We’re not that team that’s going to run it under center (against Michigan), run it right at you. That’s just not what we do."

That appears to be that, WMU is going to throw the living daylights out of the ball, and they're going to throw to 6th year (not a typo) senior Jordan White.  White is coming off a repair job on destroyed knees, but is a big bodied receiver who is deceptively quick.  Cubit on White:

"With his body, people probably don't read him as well, how fast he is, how quick he is out of his cuts,"

Michigan will put Woolfolk on White and likely give lots of safety help to that side of the field, which will open the field for Chleb Ravenell, a senior who sat out last year on a medical redshirt.  It will be Courtney Avery's job to shadown Chleb, and with all the attention on White that might be the matchup to watch. 

The run game will feature former Michigan player Dan O'Neill, who anchors the Western offensive line.  Another of their players who has next-level potential, Kevin Galeher, will miss this game due to injury.  Dan O'Neill knows what it's like to be at the Big House:

"That’s where I committed to first," O’Neill said. "I’m not knocking Western at all. I love it here. I committed there and grew up liking Michigan. So there’s a little bit of an emotional tie. It’s going to be fun to be on the receiving end of that."

He'll be blocking for Tevin Drake, who got the nod over Brian Fields to start against Michigan.  Last year, the rushing attack for Western was...not so good.  They ranked 93rd in the BCS in rushing offense.  Coach Cubit chalks that up to the line being undersized, but with returning starter Galeher missing this game, I don't expect the run game to feature heavily.

That leaves Michigan trying to defend an accurate passer throwing to some talented wide-outs while being protected by a suspect line.  Hey - this sounds like Indiana!  In all seriousness, pressure on Carder will be the key.  As Michigan adjusts to the 4-3 under scheme, it's going to be imperative for Roh to get in the backfield as best he can to force some bad throws.  Our secondary, while improved, is not world beating, and if Carder has all day in the pocket, he's going to score a bunch of points.  Kenny Demens should be able to get to the ball better than last year, now that he's not lined up mere inches from the DT's butt, but I'm not really sure how much Western is going to try to run the ball against Michigan.  Martin should be able to stand up to his blockers, and I would imagine we're going to force some pressure, especially in obvious passing downs. 

Special Teams

With P Will Hagerup suspended for the first four games, the onus is on FR Matt Wile to kick off and punt.  The winner of the FG derby seems to be...Brendon Gibbons?  Let's hope he's improved.  For everything you'd ever want to know, cruise over to this mgopost:

It would be very kicker-y if Gibbons finally got it together.

This is very true.  Let's hope.

Like Brian, I fail to see how Gallon has made it through coaching change after coaching change and still has the job of fielding kicks, but apparently he's our guy.  I'd like to see him actually field some punts this year rather than letting them dribble for another 20 yards, but if you're going to fumble, then I suppose the 20 yard dribble is the lesser of two evils.  How Drew Dileo or even ME hasn't gotten a shot yet, I don't know.

Final Prediction

Michigan is going to be too much for Western, but this will not be a blow-out of recent-home-opener variety.  I think the Michigan offense is going to struggle at times to move the ball at which point everyone will pine for Rich Rodriguez for exactly 1 second before flashes of last year's Penn State game cause catatonic shock. The defense will be improved.  Michigan wins 24-14.

Key Matchups to Watch

Roh vs. getting into the backfield:  If Roh, man without position under the 3-3-5, takes to the 4-3 under like he should, then he's our guy for making Carder nervous

Avery vs. WMU 2nd receiver de jour:  I'm confident that Troy will have White locked down as well as he can, and that we'll be rotating some safety help over there to blanket the big body receiver.  How Avery does on an island, which I think he'll be on fairly often, will be key.

Denard vs. Borges Scheme:  How Denard transitions to a more pass heavy offense, the prospect of being under center some, and all the other stuff that goes with Borges' offense will tell the tail for how we can expect this season to go.

Gametime Drink of Choice

I've been really into Negra Modelo recently.  It's got a nice flavor, is good to drink en masse and isn't too heavy that it can't be consumed on a Saturday that is supposed to hit 90 yet again. 

Alternate Programming

This is the first game of the season, if you start flipping I'm going to officially question your fandom on a message board behind a veil of anonymity.  Come at me, bro.

Inanimate Object Threat Level

Given this is the first game, and the first time we get to see Hoke and company, I think the remote is fairly safe.  I'm usually pretty patient.  Threat level green.

Recommended for Survival

Watch this again.  Feel better?

For More

Broncos vs Wolverines coverage

Broncos vs Wolverines preview

At this point in their careers, it's not entirely impossible to look at certain players and know what you're going to get out of them.  Even the schematic changes won't affect, in general, what Denard Robinson is capable of - both his abilities and limitations.  Mike Martin, Troy Woolfolk, Kevin Koger, Roy Roundtree, David Molk, Jordan Kovacs; these guys I'm pretty comfortable with what we'll get out of them, from potential all-american buzz to playing over their head athletically and relying on wits and cat-guts to be in the right place.

There are other players that are wildcards.  Beyond practice rumblings, and coachspeak, we don't have a lot to go on.  Here are two such players that can make Michigan's season.  If you've got more, or others, let's talk about it in the comments.  I'm already too fired up to work anyways...

Courtney Avery:

I don't think he made this tackle.

When the depth chart was released earlier in the week, every eye went immediately to the defensive secondary (ok, maybe tailback first, but whatevs).  With Troy Woolfolk the holy lock to start at one corner, the battle was between JT Floyd and Courtney Avery for that other starting spot.  The depth chart appears to your left.

It appears that Courtney Avery has won that starting spot.  JT Floyd will back up the two starters, and will likely see significant playing time in nickel situation, etc.  After Floyd?  It's collar tugging time.  However, the mere fact that there is a two deep not featuring true freshman that cause opponent QB's eyes (and scoreboards...) to light up is a plus.

Avery's recruiting profile was Michigan and a bunch of mid-tier MAC type offers.  He did claim Indiana, Loisville, and Vanderbilt if that helps.  Part of the issue with his recruiting was that he played high school quarterback [update - he did indeed play highschool qb, but the rest of this stuff was indeed me confused with James Rogers...can we get to the season?].  Last year, after JT Floyd left with injury, he stepped in a performed admirably, but given the triage in the secondary a baby seal might have performed admirably as well.  However, when he was put on the field last year, his "corner-ness" wasn't really very well developed - he had only just switched positions.  Given that he is younger that Floyd, seemingly performed as well or better than Floyd last year, and has had a year to actually play corner, he might be fringing towards "better than average."

On the other hand, Crazy Old Testament God really really hates him some Michigan DB's.  Should Woolfolk or Avery go down to injury, we're left with JT Floyd - which, OK - then a gaping maw of 2010-level secondary horror unless Countess turns out to be the second coming of Freshman Donovan Warren.  It was a theory, back when we were truly grasping at straws, that Corner was one spot on the field where a Freshman could step in and be servicable.  That was before Cullen Christian (no longer with the program) stepped out on the field last year and performed about as well as Bambi's mom. 

Bottom line:  If Avery and Woolfolk stay healthy, there is actual (gasp) reason for optimism out of the corner position this year.  If Avery turns out to be something approximating "good" then we'll be dancing in the streets.  The dropoff, however, is precipitous after the one backup, JT Floyd.

Michael Shaw

There was another #20 who I would like to compare you to someday.

The apparent winner of the great Running Back Derby of 2011 is Michael Shaw.  Your depth chart appears to the left.

I've always kind of irrationally liked Shaw.  I like that he's fast, and I think that generally when you put the ball in his hands, good things happen.  I was rooting for more playing time for Shaw last year, and am happy that he's won the starting gig.  This doesn't mean that he doesn't have some pressure from the rear.  Fitzgerald Toussaint put some heat on Shaw for that starting gig, and will likely be the one who spells Shaw in the event that he can't go for a Chris Perry like 53 carries. 

Shaw, a senior, was a 4-star out of Trotwood Madison in Ohio.  His recruiting profile was impressive, but lacked the true top-tier offers you'd expect a can't-miss prospect to have.  His headliners included Penn State, Clemson, and Nebraska to go along with a smattering of other BCS level schools.  His strength will always be his straight-line speed.  The most frustrating part of his game, aside from numerous injuries, has been his lack of vision and decisiveness.  He dances.  He flirts.  He gets tackled.  Running power, whereby there are established lanes that a running back will hit come hell or high water, might mitigate this slightly, but Shaw still needs to have the mental wherewithall to understand when he just needs to plow for 4 yards rather than dance at a 1% shot at a homerun only to be tackled for a loss of 2.

It's not as if backups don't exist here, but Borges has made it clear that he wants a number 1 guy, and right now Shaw is it.  Borges:

It's not as if Borges hasn't been successful at "running back by committee" before.  He's had Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown in the backfield at the same time, and they went undefeated.  However, those were two NFL-locked backs.  From the rumblings in Spring to Fall camp, one message has been consistent: none of the running backs have established themselves.   This offense is going to need a go-to guy at tailback who can step up to the workload of being the every down back.  Michael Shaw, if he works here, will provide continuity in the run game, take some pressure of Denard to carry the rushing load, and perhaps most importantly establish some trust in pass protection. 

Bottom line:  If running back becomes a carousel of different players it's likely because none of them are really that good, and if this transition is going to work it needs a good running back.  Last year, our rushing yards were made by Denard's ability in a spread-out attack.  This year, Denard's carries are going to be reduced.  The differential in yards is going to have to be made up somewhere, and having a primary back who can do it will be a key factor in this year's success.

College Football is a hard sport to be a fan of.  I think, in some fashion, we were all doomed from the start when that big genetic wheel in the sky (or underground, depending on who you root for) pre-destined us to be college football fans.  In nearly every other sport, there is a season of length that allows the viewer, or the participator, to say "I enjoy this activity, and I will enjoy it for quite some time this year."  Baseball, the NHL, and the NBA all have seasons that are so long, in fact, they routinely fall to criticism regarding how boring their regular-season games are.  Even the NFL, while the shortest of those three (especially considering games played), at least runs weekly events for the majority of the fall and Winter.

College Football is different.  There are three full months of it, then a brief goodbye kiss in January, and it's over.  Have fun waiting the next 9 months for the fun to start again.  In addition, the whole endeavor is run by an organization that applies its might so inanely that one often wonders if the NCAA just consults the magic 8-ball for decisions while vehemently clinging to a 1950's mentality whereby everything is just swell in the world of the student athlete, never mind the changes in professional pay, agents, endorsements, recruiting services, and every other modern-day leech that has attached itself to the money making underbelly of collegiate athletics.  During this long, hellish off-season, there have been many times where I've honestly looked at the situation in College Football - the conference shuffle, Miami, LSU, Oregon, Auburn, Ohio State - and wondered why the heck am I fan of this?  I felt like a fan of an engrained-yet-nonsensical system by which young men are essentially exploited for money while an inept organization keeps watch and arbitrarily administers punishment to those found guilty of its asinine rules.

"BUT THEY GET A FREE EDUCATION," yes yes, I get that, but so many people are making so much money off their likeness, their hard work, and their talent that it's hard to see that as equal value.  We've been bombarded from every side with stories of stolen laptops and some kind of Danny Sheridan invented "bagman" at Auburn, coaches who preach integrity but knowingly violate rules (and not matter how stupid I think the rules are, they were still violated.  We all play in the same shit-box here), players fighting Marines outside a bar, crooked mentors, and sex-party-cocaine-yacht fest in South Beach.  Being a fan of this started to feel like being an enabler of this system of exploitation.  It was like being a fan of the Evil Empire. 

This week, and for the next 15 weeks, we get to remember why we're fans of this.  We get to remember that Denard Robinson is so awesome that when a kid from New York writes him a letter about what it means to be a leader, he got a picture obviously taken from a cell phone back, with our quarterback, holding the letter.  What were you doing in college?  Were you taking the time to answer a kid's letter while being the superstar athlete?

via mgoblog.com

We need to remember that this is the same kid who tried to put snow in a ziplock bag to take back to Florida on his recruiting trip; he had never seen it before. 

Now that it's game week, we remember that we have an offensive lineman who was recruited under Lloyd Carr, saw the entirety of the Rodriguez era up close and personal, and now as a senior captain gets to talk about how special it is that his name is up there with all the other captains, and that his season's goals are "to be nicer to the media." David Molk has gone through more crap, I would wager, than any college football player in terms of coaching changes save for maybe the Michigan defense, and he's done nothing but get in his stance, snap the ball, and maul somebody. 

We get to remember that Mike Martin is still there on the defensive line, being an immovable object and, like Molk, enduring a Michigan career that nobody would have signed up for, saying of his upcoming Senior season:

"Coach can't be looking at everyone at the same time, so (we're expected) to coach guys up between drills and take them aside and tell them what they need to do better," Martin said. "That goes miles and miles and it really helps guys. It gives them a different perspective on how to get better. That's what you need — guys pushing each other."

To borrow a phrase from Brian in a truly well written post, I need these guys to be successful.  The fundamental difference, however, between myself, probably you, and the others out there who trash our sport is that I need them to be successful for them.  I've never watched a Michigan team that I've liked more than this one.  I love Denard Robinson like he's my own son made of puppies and pizza.  Now that it's game week, we're reminded about what's good about this entire enterprise. 

I picture David Molk, in his promise to be nicer to the media, answering honestly about what it means to be a captain, saying:

"I came here under Lloyd (and) that first season we beat Florida (in the Capital One Bowl), but still that wasn't a great hurrah season because we should have been better," Molk said recently. "And then Coach Rod came in and we had three of maybe the poorest seasons in the last decade, two decades...

Then, in a moment of pure honesty, the statement about this season:

"So (we're) stepping through that, realizing, it's time."

I don't think he meant for this to be any larger than it is, but like all true leaders, his words are now a part of whatever story this season is destined to tell.  The players, the coaches, the fans, and the program: we've stepped through that.  And now, simply, it's time.

 

 

With only a few days left until football, I think it's about it time that we make some ill-advised predictions based on flimsy evidence that mostly has to do with preconceived notions of teams that Michigan will face this year.  Western Michigan sucks right?  Wait do they?  No seriously, I'm asking.

So Dave and I were talking the other day - OK FINE, we were emailing the other day, and I said to Dave: "Dave - what do you think Michigan is going to do this year, like really?"  and Dave said "Well, I think they're going to play football!" Oh how we laughed!  And then I hit Dave with a pillow, then we talked about boys until we fell asleep. 

That's not actually how it went down.  I actually said "hey Dave - give me some predictions by noon today because I'm going to post a prediction thread" then I didn't post that thread until a few days later.  It's a good thing he made that arbitrary deadline that I set!

Beauford's Season Predictions

Western Michigan:

Quite literally everything I know about Western Michigan comes from Remember Bo's preview.  This does not bode well for this particular section, because here's what Remember Bo knows about Western Michigan:

Western is a big school somewhere in the southwest part of Michigan, I think.  They've got a good nursing program, so I hear, and Grand Rapids is pretty decent on weekends, especially at the end of summer, because you can get cider and, uh, I guess have fun?  They have a football team...

Ok, so nursing program, might be fun in the fall, and a football team that they um, have.  In depth.  Hard hitting.  Gravitas.  Those are words I do not use to describe that portion of Bo's preview.  I'm having a bit of fun here, it's actually very in depth, and a good read.  These guys return 8 starters from offense last year, which will actually give our fledgling defense a pretty nice test.  I think this one is closer than the previous few season openers.  Actually, the last time we met Western, this happened:

It's going to be a long time before that's not awesome.  I do think Michigan wins this one, but again, closer than it appears.

Notre Dame: 

Another excellent preview by Remember Bo here.  This is the first night game in Michigan history, which you totally did not know because you live under a rock.  Notre Dame is good this year.  I don't think they're so good as to have this not be close, but remember that Michigan got very fortunate last year to cause "ow my eye" to become something of an Notre Dame meme.  As I mentioned in my 1000 foot view, Michigan tends to lose to Notre Dame in various painful ways when Michigan has half a doughnut's chance in Charlie Weis's locker to be good, so I actually won't even be mad if we lose this game.

Nah, I ain't mad

As I also said in the preview, this is an out-and-out lie.  I will indeed be mad.  Maybe even mad enough to take to the keyboard, which is always an adventure.  New and creative ways to say "fire them all?"  I've got it.  In any case, Michigan might lose this game, and I am convincing myself that by losing to Notre Dame, Michigan is actually restoring some semblance of order by which they will rattle through the next ten games to glory. 

Michigan loses against Notre Dame in a new, painful fashion.

Team by team, and Dave's picks after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

When we left off, we were wondering what Al Borges is going to do with a transitioning offense, the BTPOY in Denard Robinson, and the general mass confusion that happens when you switch from spread 'n' shred to pro-style.  This is a fun topic to talk about because you're generally talking about something that is good, and how Borges and the new guys can possibly make it better.  Now we go to the not-so-fun part. 

DEFENSE (dum, dum, DUMMMMMM)

Last year, the defense sucked.  Like, it historically sucked.  Actually, the past 3 years the defense sucked so bad that a guy who installed an offense that was the most potent in Michigan history (and would have been even moreso had they had anything better to work with than 90-yard drives every time) got canned.  As you can see from the handy set of national rankings immediately to your right, the defense under Rodriguez/GERG regressed significantly during their tenure.  This was obviously not the goal of that coaching staff and I'm sure it was about as much fun living it as it was watching it, which is to say that pulling my leg hair out by the roots with a rusty set of tweezers would be more fun.  But that's not what we're here to talk about, right?  AMIRITE?

Let's talk about potentially the biggest hire of Brady Hoke's life: Greg Mattison.  Greg Mattison was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.  Like, the best defense in the NFL for the past decade Ravens.  I do not think that Mr. Mattison saw the chart I just posted above prior to accepting the job, and I pray that he is not reading now.  Either way, he's sort of committed now, so I suppose it doesn't matter.  I'm going to hazard a guess to say that Mattison's defense will play aggressively, physically, and be a blitzing defense.  Mr. Mattison?

"I know what I want to be," Mattison said. "I want to be a team nobody can run the football on. ... And I want a defense that is aggressive, that makes that quarterback nervous when it's a passing situation. The next thing we find out is do we have the players to do it or are they performing to do it."

Ah yes, an aggressive defense, that's the ticket!  Despite the Defensive Coordinator boilerplate, Mattison has the credentials to make the Michigan defense something to be feared once again.  Will he do it this season? It's hard to say.  He returns a good deal of starters from a defense that sucked, so we are left with experienced players who didn't get the job done last year.

The defensive line is likely going to be the strong point of the unit.  Mike Martin is expected to garner some all-conference awards should he stay healthy, and Ryan Van Bergan has a death grip on a starting spot.  Craig Roh looks to put his hand on the ground to fill out the line.  The main point of concern is where the 1-tech (and forgive me if I'm wrong here, and please do correct in the comments if I am) is going to come from.  Early in camp, former 5-star Will Campbell was destined for the 1 tech and the space-and-double-team eating defensive tackle that would allow Mike Martin some single-blocking and an ability to wreck havoc in the backfield.  Walk-on Nathan Brink has been getting a ton of attention lately from the coaching staff, who praise his toughness.  Also, yesterday during a 20 minute media session, this happened:

Most prominently, junior defensive tackle Will Campbell took snaps with the second-unit defense, and unheralded walk-on Nathan Brink took his place on the first team.

It is probably not good that a walk-on is taking snaps with first team over the prohibitive (extremely prohibitive, granted) starter and former 5-star guy Will Campbell.  There are a myriad of reasons, of course, that this would be happening, so probably not super-eyebrow-furrowing time yet.  However, if Mike Martin has to slide to the 1-tech, and Van Bergan play the 3-tech, the line's effectiveness will likely be diminished as the 3-tech is really what Mike Martin is designed to do.  Again - I may be mixing my tech's here.  We want Campbell to be a double-team eating immovable object that frees Martin to shed his blocker and wreck havoc.  That's the goal. 

Either way, that bit about "making quarterbacks nervous" that Mattison spoke to is going to be vital for this team's success, because the secondary still looks pretty shaky.  Troy Woolfolk returns from injury as the leader of that unit, which takes care of one servicable corner position.  The other corner will likely be J.T. Floyd.  A redshirt Junior, Floyd is a 3-star guy listed at 6'0", which makes him pretty tall for a corner.  Floyd was injured last year in November, putting then-freshman Courtney Avery on the field.  Avery makes up the competition for Floyd's spot this year.

follow the jump for the rest......

Continue reading this post »

WHOA, that was a long off season.  And hey - I didn't write for large sections of it.  What did I do with myself?  Mostly, I swam in my vast piles of blogging money, straight Scrooge McDuck style homie.  Diving into a pool of money only hurts if you're poor, and what with the lucrative jobs* that blogging offers that's not my problem. Another benefit?  Chicks, man.

Right, so Michigan kicks off the 2011 campaign in 18 days, which could even be 17 days by the time I click post.  This is an attempt to provide a huge, gaping preview of the 2011 season - did you know that Brady Hoke is the new coach? 

2011 Schedule

As a new head coach, Brady Hoke couldn't really ask for a more favorable schedule.  The first five games are at home, then Michigan gets its feet wet at Northwestern before having to face their first real road-environment opponent at Michigan State.  This isn't a slam on Northwestern Football, who could very well beat Michigan this year.  It's more a slam on Northwestern fans who are likely to be outnumbered by Michigan fans in Evanston on October 8th.  With the issues ongoing at Ohio State, this schedule is so fluffy you could take it to the park to pick up chicks.  I actually might do that. 

The Notre Dame game is at night for the first time in Michigan history.  Gameday is rumored (or confirmed?) to be on campus for that one.  I actually won't even be mad (this is a lie) if Notre Dame beats us this year.  Stick with me here: when we're good, Notre Dame tends to beat us.  But those three years when we were AWFUL?  We still beat Notre Dame.  Ipso facto, quid pro quo, lose to Notre Dame in gut-wrenching fashion = rattling off 10 straight wins en route to a BCS berth.  Write that down. 

Moving down the line, San Diego State sets up as the only game featuring a Whale's Vagina, which will be an incredibly awkward joke for the three readers who have not seen Anchor Man.  This game will likely get some ink because Oh hi Brady, didn't you used to live here? 

The Big Ten portion of the schedule is pretty awesome.  As mentioned above, the first road game is in an environment that could be described as...tepid?  Tepidly tough?  I don't know, "not very intimidating."  Let's just go with that.  Again, Northwestern could very well beat us this year (I haven't even looked at their roster), but let's hope they get more than 3 lonely people wearing purple in that stadium on October 8th.  Michigan State will be the first road test for the team, so it's a good thing we have a countdown clock installed (you wouldn't want the players and coaches forgetting to be in East Lansing.  How embarrassing!).  In a post from today at mgoblog Brian details the offensive line of Michigan State from the Detroit News:

Converted defensive tackle Dan France has emerged as the leading candidate at left tackle, but the battle at center and right tackle are far from decided.

Redshirt freshman Travis Jackson and junior Blake Treadwell, another converted defensive tackle, are running neck-and-neck at center, while redshirt freshman Skyler Burkland and junior college transfer Fou Fonoti are fighting for the top spot at right tackle.

Michigan fans are all too aware that the depth chart above, that's like, that's not good man.  You do not want a converted defensive tackle as your starting left tackle.  Pressure against Michigan State: we haz it.  And, as Brian goes on to say, we'd better because, well, just don't look at our defensive back situation.

Nebraska makes their first visit to the Big House to finally settle that debate from 1997.  That Alamo Bowl didn't count.  Stupid Sun-Belt refs.  Wait - a Michigan fan complaining about officiating?  That doesn't happen like, ever. 

Then it's on to Ohio State where apparently we've installed this sign:

via mgoblog.com

Yes, that sign hangs in our locker room.  You can tell because it just says "Ohio."  Did you know that Brady Hoke never says "Ohio State?"  He just says Ohio!  Like the bobcats are all that tough...Actually, it's been a lot longer than that since Michigan beat Ohio, given that the two have never played.  I do hear that Athens is a fun place to party though.  In all seriousness, given reasonable expectations of this season + a win against Ohio State would take the Brady Hoke freight train straight from lightspeed to plaid. 

He "gets it," if you haven't heard.

more after the jump.....

Continue reading this post »

Worthington, a small community just outside of Columbus, Ohio, is filled with tan and light blue Lexus SUV's.  This is not a damnation of that location - as uncool as it makes me I aspire to one day make enough dollar bills to drive a luxury car should I choose - it's just that Worthington is one of those spots where you tend to see young mothers rolling in cars that I cannot right now afford. 

This is not how it used to be.  Worthington used to be a very small community outside of Columbus that mostly catered to farming folks who most certainly did not own or aspire to own a luxury SUV. 

It was this Worthington in which my father, who I should mention is an irresponsible college football fan, grew up.  He rooted, naturally, for the Ohio State Buckeyes, which is completely forgivable given the circumstances.  Since those days he's moved around, to New York, California, and Indiana, and since those days he's given up his childhood trappings of Ohio State in favor of a more universal approach to College Football, mainly that it is an unwieldy carnival of personalities and teams all trapped inside the beast of the NCAA the arcane rules of which seem only to promote the possibility of scandal.  He also, for reasons unknown, let me become a Michigan fan, behavior which I find to be about the most irresponsible thing he's ever done.  I think it had something to do with the fact that he grew up with Woody hating Bo, but also grew to see the game more holistically as the two turned out to be (mostly) friends towards the end of Woody's life.  In a sport that breeds irrational passions, my dad seemed to be content to just sit back and watch the games unfold.

In 2006, I moved to Boston, and found myself outside of Big Ten country - and indeed outside of the world of College Football - for the first time.  In 2006, Michigan would dominate the schedule, somewhat surprisingly, to the last game of the season against Ohio State.  I remember sitting around my dingy apartment on Saturdays watching whatever games I could, mostly by myself, and mostly feeling pretty lonely.  I'd call my dad afterwards, a conversation that went mostly like this:

Beauford:  Did you see the game?

Dad:  Yep, you know, that 86 is pretty fast.

Beauford:  Yeah, Mario's pretty good. 

Dad:  Is that his name?

Again, my father is the very definition of a casual fan.  Then I would hang up, and look around the apartment.  There was one crack, running the entire length of the wall, that I would focus on.  Plaster chipped and peeled from that crack, leaving a semi-permanent trail of crumbs along floorboards of that west-facing wall.  I did not yet have friends, I had moved right as Football season had started, and I missed the Midwest.  I exercised frequently, I went to parties of co-workers who had clearly established their own clique of friends, and I watched Michigan football.   Anybody who has up and moved to a new city in a new region of the country knows the feeling I'm talking about.  I didn't really acknowledge it at the time, but I was lonely.

Meanwhile, Michigan kept winning, and nobody cared.  New England, not being a hotbed of collegiate sports enthusiasts, just kept humming along as if nothing was happening, as if the thing that I had talked about - Michigan actually getting past their non-conference schedule without losing - wasn't happening before our very eyes.  Instead, it was just me, the crack on the wall, and the nice but not very enthusiastic (not to mention detail-oriented) conversations with my dad after the games.  You only get a few moments in during your life where something that irrationally means a great deal to you goes really, really well.  I had to experience this one on my own.  I nearly cried for joy during the Notre Dame game that year.  On my own.  I nearly threw up during the Ball State game that year.  On my own. 

I read about Bo Schembechler's death that year.  On my own.

I did not know Bo.  His Michigan was one that belonged to the generation before me.  The generation of my father, who grew up with Woody Hayes and Ohio State football under gun-metal gray skies.  I didn't, and won't try to channel that time or place.  It belongs to those who were there.  I will say, in a cosmic sense, that it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me that this pillar of a man, a man who built the program - warts and arrogance and we're gonna beat you because we're Michigan and that's all the reason we need - into what it is today didn't get to see the apocalyptic showdown with #1 Ohio State.  I didn't cry when I read the news, as I'm sure some did.  I simply didn't know him well enough.  Then my dad called, and the conversation was different.  It was about how when he was a kid there was no one tougher than Bo or Woody, and there was this one fullback from Ohio State named Jim Otis who was biggest guy you'd ever seen run the football, and how Jamie Morris used to dart in between those Ohio State defenders.  Then he sighed and lamented that it's just not that way anymore, but for a brief minute I saw college football the way my dad had seen it when it meant as much to him as it did, at the time, to me.

As lives go on, and responsibilities grow, it's inevitable that the games we use as distraction matter less.  You're able to see the bigger picture that tells you that if Michigan loses you're probably going to wake up the next morning.  We all handle this with different coping mechanisms but the fact remains that remote controls are not nearly in the type of danger now that they were during my college years of watching football.  That 2006 season might be my favorite Michigan season for two reasons.  One, it provided a tether for my back to something familiar while I lived as an alien in a city that I didn't know, and two it provided one phone conversation with my father during which College Football had the same importance in our lives.  Michigan would lose that showdown with Ohio State, but the sun did indeed rise the next morning, and for a brief minute everything seemed, despite the loss, that it was going to be ok, and that maybe I learned to just enjoy this unwieldy carnival ride for what it is.

A caveat before we begin: this has nothing to do with Michigan.  Not that there isn't anything going on to write about, like how the stripey stitching uniforms put us a stone's throw from maize uniforms, or how Michigan great Juwan Howard's championship dreams probably died as Dirk hit another improbably ugly shot.  It's just that this is really the only outlet for my increasingly infrequent writing, so I get to post it. 

Grantland, a Bill Simmons joint founded with the backing of ESPN.com, has been live now for just about a week (if it's not a week, it will be shortly).  The site promises to be a blend of pop-culture and sports, written by some of the most respected writers, erm, writing today.  The addition of Klosterman to the masthead alone speaks to the site's ambition, and the fact that the ESPN editors have allowed Simmons et. al. some leeway in terms of content (Simmons drops an F-bomb in his "welcome" piece) might just allow it to succeed.  This alone is somewhat exciting.  Bill Simmons was the mastermind behind the universally applauded 30-for-30 series of documentaries, and has been itching for years to have ESPN give him more reign.  This appears to be that opportunity.  Simmons has, for the majority of his career as what I'm calling a "producer of content," be it podcast, columns, diaries, or documentaries, tried to push the envelope in terms of what that medium can handle.  Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.  Some might say that he defined the very medium you're reading right now: the sports blog.

I'm going to switch gears here, but I promise there's a tie-in.  Remember when The Office debuted, first in Great Britain with Ricky Gervais, then on NBC with Steve Carell?  Part of what made that series funny in the first place was the fact that the "faux documentary" style in which it was filmed allowed the actors (and writers) more leeway in what could be made into a joke.  Traditional sitcoms had always relied on actors abilities to show when something was awkward.  This required the writers to really hammer home, through dialogue mostly, the situation in which these characters were placed, and why/how that situation was funny - be it a mistaken identity, slapstick, satire, etc.  The characters were largely static across sitcoms; a protagonist, antagonist, love interest, and buffoon.  One of the reasons Seinfeld was so successful and refreshing was the fact that they always switched who played which role.  George was often portrayed as protagonist, antagonist, and buffoon - sometimes in the same episode.  I'm getting off track.  The bottom line is that traditional sitcoms had to show you what you were laughing at.  They had defined characters who acted a certain way, and when that way was "disrupted" by the situation, boom - laughter.

The Office changed that.  Instead of the writers having to show you what was funny, they could just tell you what was funny by having the actors "break the 4th wall" via the faux-documentary style.  The audience no longer had to rely on their knowledge of character and situation, and the writers didn't necessarily have to set up their jokes via dialogue between characters.  The actor could basically set up a joke by telling the audience what the plan was (interview), then execute that plan "live" with the other characters (live action), then give you reactions by those characters (interview).  Jim's antics with Dwight in the intro "throwaway joke" that precedes the credits perhaps illustrates this best.   Some could call this cheating (Community did a parody episode wherein they call out The Office on it), but it's led to a new genre of sitcom defined by The Office and mimicked by Parks and Rec, Modern Family, and others.  It's funny.  It works.*

This brings us back to Grantland and an interesting stylistic choice that seems to be intentional.  Simmon's welcome piece linked above had footnotes.  He took these footnotes as an opportunity to let the reader in on the site's creation, the increased leeway he was getting from ESPN (he explains the F-bomb in one of them), etc.  At first I thought it was just something he wanted to do in explaining the genesis of the site.  Then I read Klosterman's next piece, and it had footnotes.  Now every article on that site has footnotes, and I realized that Simmons is basically doing to print what the faux documentary style has done to television.  He's allowing a designated space to be used for the author to explain things directly to the audience.  I'm not sure this has been done before, at least as extensively as Grantland apparently is going to use it.  In the footnoted space, Simmons and Klosterman have further explained different topics, made jokes, set up future topics, and gone meta.  It's allowing them to pull back the curtain and allow the reader, if interested, to dig deeper.  It's also allowing them to not necessarily have to show everything.  In many cases, they can just tell the reader what to look for.

Take the aforementioned f-bomb.  Simmons drops it in paragraph 5 of his welcome piece, saying:

Eight and a half years have passed. I can't remember how Jimmy answered, just what his face looked like. You wouldn't call it nervous, you wouldn't call it overwhelmed, you wouldn't call it anything … he didn't fucking know.

Later in the piece, in footnote 12 to be exact, Simmons explains:

For instance, I dropped an F-bomb earlier and it felt pretty organic, you have to admit. If I dropped a second F-bomb to celebrate dropping the first F-bomb? Probably a little gratuitous. Then again, fuck it.

He uses this to go meta, then makes a joke.  Under traditional writing conventions , he could have either dropped this note into a separate paragraph within the piece, or he could have just shown us that he wasn't going to swear just for the sake of swearing by only utilizing that language when it came about "organically."  This would have either added length to his piece and felt a little out of place, or it would have come about naturally over however many years Grantland is around.  Instead he could write the column he wanted to and just tell the curious reader what was going on in a footnote.

There is probably a larger point to be made about how information is available today and reader's dwindling attention span.  Simmons has essentially created a sub-column within each piece in which a writer can do whatever he/she deems necessary to increasing reader engagement.  With the options available to today's Internet dwelling "content consumer," it might prove to be a good idea.  Or it might be incredibly distracting.  I think I'd like to see a footnote on whether the footnoting is going to stick around.  One thing is for sure though - Simmons is actively trying to push the conventions of how columns are written in digital format, and taking his cue from The Office he might have found something that allows him and his writers to make the jokes and the inside stories they want while still maintaining flow and rhythm to the main column.

*I can do it too! No really, The Office probably wasn't the first show to do this but it did popularize the style.  And of course you can go back to stage shows where actor's "asides" would bring the audience up to speed.  Heck, at the end of A Midsummer's Night Dream Puck spends an entire paragraph just straight up talking to the audience.  So right, The Office didn't invent it, but it did make it popular.  That is all.

If you have read the the internet today, you know that the world is ending tomorrow, and that blogs have found a day's worth of content from the event.  This blog, endeavoring to cover year-round a sport that lasts approximately 13 weekends in fall, is no better.  While we remain quite certain that there are going to be several disappointed people tomorrow wandering around with their apocalypse signs aimlessly until finally deciding to go to the Olive Garden, you can never rule anything out 100%.

Should the world end, I think we're all owed an apology from David Brandon, who according to the freep is planning on subjecting us to this throwback jersey for the ND game this year:

The question, of course, is throw-back to what exactly?  Michigan has never worn anything similar to these with the exception of maybe the sweaters found here with a block-M on the front:

What is missing from the above, of course, is the stripes on the shoulder.  But wait!  What say you, NCAA rule book?

Rule 1-4-4-f on page FR-33:

Clearly visible, permanent Arabic numerals on one jersey at least 8 and 10 inches in height front and back, respectively, of a color in distinct contrast with the jersey.

So yeah, unless there's an 8 inch number in maize on that prototype above, I doubt those are the actual jerseys in question.  There has been some speculation that there might be an 8 inch number on the "shoulder" portion of the jersey, FWIW.  At least Brandon doesn't pull his punches about the purposes of this jersey.  From the article:

Last week, athletic director Dave Brandon told a meeting of the state's sports editors that U-M intended to hold a nighttime unveiling of the jersey this summer and that U-M hoped fans would purchase a lot of jerseys, as they did for the Big Chill last winter.

The purpose of these faux-throwback jerseys are to...sell more jerseys.  This is almost certainly happening, so there is very little productive complaining that we can do except to say that this whole thing feels a little cheap.  I mean, isn't the appeal of Notre Dame vs. Michigan the fact that two teams who have been around since there was no forward pass are still playing each other?  The entire endeavor is a throwback; to invent jerseys in a transparent effort to make it "more throwback" (or something?) that only serve to increase 2011 merch sales is stupid. 

I have no problem with throwback jerseys per se, but I do have a problem when the said throwback jerseys aren't a throwback to anything in particular and the expressed purpose of the non-throwback is to make money on jersey sales.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Among the many disappointments should the world end tomorrow, not finding out how this plays out will rank right up there with what will happen to Jim Tressel and whether Chuck and Blair will ever patch up their differences and realize they are meant for each other.

The NCAA has upped their investigation what is collectively being addressed as "tat-gate" at Ohio State to include at least 50 car sales to Buckeye athletes and relatives.  As I'm sure we're all now aware, the NCAA prevents athletes from receiving any benefit not available to any other student, which includes the obvious (like a car with a purchase price of $0, reportedly sold to Thaddeus Gibson in 2009), to the less obvious such as trading an autograph for a free pizza. 

This is not likely something that will impact the Tressel situation, as it would be tough to really pin this on the head coach of the football program when there are basketball players in the report as well, but how much stuff has to occur before the NCAA slaps on "lack of institutional control" for the Buckeyes?  Perhaps more troubling to Ohio State is the fact that four of the players involved in the "tat" part of tat-gate also appear in the report of shady automotive dealings:  Terrelle Pryor, DeVier Posey, Solomon Thomas, and Daniel Herron.  The dealer in question is Aaron Kniffin.

Ohio State is looking into the matter, but have seen nothing improper about Kniffin's transactions.  And here's where we enter murky waters.  As Dawg Sports put it:

This in and of itself indicates either a) that Mr. Kniffin should write his own sales self-help and networking book and be named employee of the decade, or b) that he was giving deals that other salesmen weren't matching to a discreet class of individuals to whom special deals are impermissible.

Bingo.  There might not yet be a smoking gun in this case (although that Gibson "0 dollar car" comes close), but there is definitely enough to think that there is at least something going on here.  What's more is that Kniffin claims the Ohio State Athletic Department reviews all his sales, while the AD claims they've only spoken to Kniffin once. 

I can't really add much to that Dawg Sports link I posted above.  We all know about Pryor's automotive loans, from that 'vette in high school to the car he "borrowed" for a test drive home to PA.  While Big Ten officials reviewed that case and, because dealers sometimes allow customers to take extended test drives, found no wrong-doing, it's hard to imagine a deal allowing just any Ohio State Junior to take a 2004 Denali for the weekend.

At some point, it becomes Jim Tressel's job to ask questions about stuff like this. As Dawg Sports points out, which I fully agree with, there are two cases here:

a)  Tressel was ignorant of the fact that this kind of stuff is going on in his program

b)  Tressel knows about this stuff (from tats to cars) and had kept it from compliance/NCAA

The fact that neither of these options are good or acceptable for the Ohio State football program is troubling to say the least.

A part of a series highlighting our redshirt freshman who will be actually playing on Saturdays for the first time in their Michigan careers.  Previously: Josh Furman

Jake Ryan's commitment to Michigan came as something of a surprise.  Although he was a starting linebacker at Ohio's St. Ignatius - a traditional power in Ohio's largest division - he was not ranked highly by any of the recruiting services, if they bothered to rank him at all.  A 2-star to Scout, and a 3-star (barely) to Rivals, Jake flew under the radar for most of his college career until he put on 20 pounds and grew 2 inches going into his senior year.  As he came on the scene very late - only establishing himself as a starter for his senior year - it is very possible that the analysts just missed him.  Additionally, he missed nearly his entire Junior year - when analysts are starting to really evaluate prospects - due to injury.

During his starting linebacker campaign, he put up 8 sacks, and 24 tackles for loss, seeming to excel at getting into the opponent's backfield and wrecking plays.  Take a look yourself - this is a Jake Ryan highlight tape, so while he's not spot-shadowed, um, he's the one making the plays.  The standard "volume warning" for highlight tapes applies here.

Coming into Michigan, Ryan was reported at 6'3" 220lbs, which was probably a bit generous.  At 6'2" 210 lbs, probably a more accurate measurement, he was on the smallish side of the Middle Linebacker scale, but with Michigan's depth woes (at the time) it was expected that he might actually contribute last year.  With last year's defense firmly in the cellar, there was no reason to expect that Ryan would make a more significant impact than Demens, and he was instead given a much-needed red shirt year.

Offers for Ryan's services came from mostly MAC schools, although there was reported interest from then-Brady Hoke coached San Diego State, which is encouraging for his future prospects.  His 40 time is listed at 4.57, which sounds about right actually.  Probably a little fast.  There was some speculation that Ryan could end up at defensive end should he put on the weight (getting up to the 250 range) that his body seemed to suggest he could carry.  However, it seems that he is comfortable playing more around the 225-230 range, which still puts him on the smallish side for linebacker.  I think that defensive end is probably out of the question as he looks to put on some more weight through summer workouts just to get to linebacker-ready weight.

Something not to be overlooked, Ryan played his entire highschool career actually at linebacker, unlike many converted highschool safeties, defensive ends, or running backs that end up at that position.  In high school, perhaps spurring Rodriguez's initial interest, he played a thumping downhill OLB in a 3-3-5 stack.  Similar to Josh Furman, Ryan seems most comfortable playing vertically, and may lack the lateral speed to cover faster slot or TE receivers. 

This spring, Ryan has come in for some specific praise as he's moved to the strong-side linebacker spot prohibitively occupied by Cameron Gordon.  Mattison on Ryan's development:

"Jake Ryan has done a really good job all spring as far as improving, playing a totally different position...He’s made a lot of mistakes and then every time the next day he comes back doing it right. The one thing we’ve really been pleased with Jake is he shows tremendous energy and speed off the edge, which I think is something that we need definitely in our package."

Add this to the former staff's assertions during Gator Bowl practices that Ryan was playing really well, and we might have enough evidence to suggest that Ryan can contribute this season.  During the Spring game, Ryan combined with J.B. Fitzgerald for a sack and returned a Devin Gardner interception for a touchdown.  Ryan on that play:

"I was dropping back, kind of read to the flat and leaned toward the flat, the ball came right to me. I guess it was supposed to go to an outside slot receiver"

By all accounts, Strong Side starter Cam Gordon also had a productive spring, so I'm thinking that he's your starter until we hear otherwise.  However, with Ryan playing well, any sign of struggle from Cam will probably put Ryan on the field.  My guess is that Ryan still sees special team duties, and likely spells Cam for at least portions of games.  What is most encouraging is the fact that Michigan seems to have a viable two-deep at that spot, and despite Ryan's low-caliber offer sheet and ranking, he looks like somebody who can contribute productively on the field on Saturdays.  With the glut of linebackers over the past two classes, Ryan will be pushed for playing time, but right now I think you're looking at somebody who will be a solid contributor this year in backup and ST duties, and will likely continue to push Cam for the starting spot as he puts on weight, if not this year then next.

My general excitement level over Ryan has certainly moved from "eh" to relatively excited.  It's tough to get too excited about an undersized MAC level prospect as a recruit, but the praise that Ryan's received from both the former and current staff is encouraging to say the least.  He's got the entire summer to add weight, and hopefully he works hard and sees it pay off on the field.  Importantly, Cam Gordon is not the biggest guy ever either, it's just that he seems to grasp the defense better and is probably better in lateral coverage.  Ryan, physically, is probably ahead of where Gordon was last year, and once he "gets it" will probably be a more prototypical linebacker in Mattison's defense.  Ryan's spring has at least served to put Cam Gordon on notice.  That kind of competition breeds competitiveness and, to borrow coachspeak for a minute, excellence.  I'm looking forward to what this position does in 2011.

Finally, here's a recent video showcasing Ryan's new haircut, which makes him look a little less like a 12 year old than his mug shot above.  His segment starts at 8:59:

WOO BIG HITS

UPDATE:  NOW OFFICIAL.

Story here

"There have been long discussions with my family, friends and my Michigan coaches," said Morris. "After gathering all the information possible, I have decided to stay in the NBA Draft and pursue my dream of playing professional basketball.

"This was a difficult decision; however, in the end I decided to go with my heart. Playing professional basketball has always been a dream for me. I feel this is the right time for me to pursue that goal. It will be hard to leave the University of Michigan; however, I truly believe the basketball program is moving in a very positive direction.

"First of all I want to thank everyone at the University of Michigan and all its great fans. I would not be in the position I am today without the guidance of Coach (John) Beilein and his staff. I appreciate all the support I have received from all my teammates and everyone involved with the program. I will forever be a Michigan Wolverine. Lastly, and most importantly, I must thank God for blessing me with this opportunity."

Despite projections of being a bubble-first-round choice, and the advice of scouts who said Morris would be better off staying in school, the Sophomore point guard has decided to keep his name in the draft according to this tweet by Draft Express. 

While Twitter is a tough place to glean credibility from, both Mgoblog and UMhoops have it on their front page.  UMhoops offers:

Givony [ed- author of tweet] is one of the best draft reporters out there and this report confirms all of the information that we’ve received over the past several weeks. In this context, sources close to the situation generally refer to agents involved in the courting process.

So yeah, that kind of sucks.  While Morris has not yet hired an agent, that is expected very soon.  He is currently in Las Vegas working out with other prospects.  I'll always be a Darius Morris fan, even in the NBA, but it's hard not to be disappointed by this news.  Sad face is sad:

via massmultiverse.files.wordpress.com

A part of a new series highlighting our redshirt freshman who will be actually playing on Saturdays for the first time in their Michigan careers.  Previously: none.

via gobluewolverine.com

Josh Furman, one of many bedreaded players for Michigan, was a pretty hot prospect coming out of Old Mill Senior High in Maryland.  A 4-star to Scout, he was ranked the #7 safety in the class of 2010 with reported offers from Duke, Maryland, Pitt, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.  As an East Coast kid, you've got the expected ACC schools in there, but the addition of Oklahoma late, and reported interest from LSU and Florida put Furman into the realm of "big time."  His 40 time out of highschool was reported at 4.36, which would have placed him 3rd best at the NFL combine this year, and earns him a solid 5 FAKES out of 5 on the mgoblog inspired scale.  The time, however, was at a real-live combine, so it's verified to a certain degree.  With all the variables involved with the 40 yard dash, I guess I'll go 4 FAKES out of 5.  The kid is fast, no matter what his actual time.  

Despite the impressive speed and offer sheet, Furman's recruit rankings seemed low.  He was only a 3 star to Rivals and ESPN.  This is because he played most of his high school career at running back instead of defensive back, the position he projected to (and ultimately has filled) in college.  As a DB, he definitely needed some work, and his redshirt year has allowed him to do just that.  First, he's added 7 pounds to his now-207 lbs frame, which puts him solidly in the realm of safety, the position he's now playing at Michigan.  At 6'2" he certainly has the size and speed to get physical with receivers, or play run support at the line of scrimmage.

Furman was recruited to play that Spinner spot that saw Stevie Brown's career get revived.  Under Mattison though, Furman is a straight up safety.  Some of the "why aren't his ratings higher when his measurables are off the chart?" question was the fact that Furman isn't quite right for a traditional 4-3 defense.  His frame suggests that he's got another 10 to 15 pounds he could carry - my guess is that they want his playing weight around 205 so that he can play that traditional safety roll.  His strength coming out of high school was attacking vertically, which made him perfect for the 3-3-5 "tweener linebacker/safety" role under Rodriguez.

As for this year, Josh has competition at the safety spot from Carvin Johnson, and Marvin Robinson.  All are physically imposing, but after the disaster that was "the secondary" last year, physically imposing doesn't really cout for much.  During the Spring Game, Furman played fairly well, as did the safety group as a whole.  IIRC, Marvin Robinson blew his angle of Cox's rumble for a TD, but that was about it in terms of positionally unsound blown plays from that group.

Furman will likely get a spot this year on special teams, and will be given the chance to contribute to the safety position as a backup.  His measurables are off the chart, so it's hard to imagine that he won't be on the field in varying capacities this season.  With fellow safety Ray Vinopal leaving the team for personal reasons, Michigan remains razor thin in the secondary, and Furman is probably next in line should there be an injury.  Jordan Kovacs likely has the Strong Safety spot locked down, and my guess is that the starter at Free Safety will be either Marvin Robinson or Carvin Johnson (maybe Thomas Gordon?).  Furman is next in line, in that grouping with Brandon Hawthorne, and whoever the two losers of the Marvin Robinson/Carvin Johnson/Thomas Gordon battle are.  As for the future, Furman is a part of your prohibitive safety group of the future as he continues to refine his skills.  This year, he could see time should the starters flounder, adding some much needed speed and athleticism to the Michigan secondary.  What remains to be seen is whether he can put that speed and athleticism to good use, because it doesn't make a difference if your the fastest guy on the field if you're running the wrong direction.

Oh, and there's this.  Presented without comment.

PRISON ABS

It should be noted that I've read Ramzy, most recently of Eleven Warriors, for some time now through various Buckeye outlets, and I believe that he is a very good writer, and a level headed thinker.  For reasons that are obvious, I don't necessarily like most of what he writes, but that comes with the territory of being a Michigan fan reading an Ohio State blog.  However, even if I don't like it, most of what he says is true or interesting, and mostly both.  I don't like it because Ohio State has owned Michigan over the past decade, not because it's wrong.

However, his latest missive on the situation that Jim Tressel finds himself in, entitled Mr. Clean, misses the point entirely on why the majority of the nation believes that Jim Tressel should be relieved of his duties as head football coach at Ohio State.  The caveats here are so obvious that I shouldn't have to write them, but will do so in an effort to stave off the comments that will surely follow: I am a Michigan fan, and thus predisposed to thinking the worst about Ohio State.  Read this knowing that.

Ramzy starts by detailing how Tressel has managed to keep a lid on most of the shadier incidents involving Buckeyes over the years:

...From none of the things that Maurice Clarett claimed ever being proven to Troy Smith's $500 payment from Robert Q. Baker (the only cash handshake ever!) Donald Washington's mysterious status changes toward the end of 2007, how drug test results are handled, the "punishments" for DUIs, players receiving discounted furniture and driving more rental cars while in college than you'll drive in 20 years, Tressel and his staff have handled all of the particulars in a manner that has kept Ohio State football relatively unscathed, up until now.

Taken in context, Ramzy's argument here is that we all play in the same sandbox when it comes to these kinds of things, and that the incidents detailed above are par for the course in Big Time College Athletics.  While this is true to a degree, this is simply shifting responsibility away from Ohio State, and pointing to the larger issue plaguing NCAA athletics as a whole.  Fair enough.  However, when it comes to what is collectively being dubbed as "tat-gate" Tressel's skills at sliding things under the rug seem to be waning:

Every tragedy has a well-intentioned idiot, and this one is no different.  From the moment that Columbus attorney Christopher Cicero created a paper trail to Tatgate, Tressel had his work cut out for him.  While he had options and could have acted more covertly, it's now abundantly clear that Tressel tried to abort Tatgate before it gestated into Tatgate.  Immediately notifying the compliance department would have effectively birthed Tatgate last April.  While he failed in the noble endeavor to ultimately make it go away, he kept it obscured until the Feds finally shot their publicity ray at it.

You know how many other FBS coaches would have hoped or tried for this episode to erase itself rather than give a glimpse of it to their compliance departments?  All of them.  This isn't the cop out of "it happens everywhere."  This is the fundamental principle of risk mitigation that says if you think you can make trouble disappear rather than deal with its consequences, you make it disappear.

Throughout the post, from the reiteration of shady incidents in the first paragraph to this admittedly long block-quote, the issue for Ramzy doesn't seem to be that it happened, but rather that it could have been prevented.  The "well intentioned idiot" in this case is Christopher Cicero, who created the paper trail to Jim Tressel.  So Ramzy is essentially stating that the problem here is that there was a paper trail created, and not the fact that there was something to create a paper trail to.  Immediately notifying the compliance department would indeed have "birthed" Tatgate last April, but it should have been done anyways because it was the right thing to do.  It is not the Feds fault that they shot their publicity ray at it because it should have been handled properly - and that means directed towards the compliance department - from the moment that it came it light. 

Maybe every other FBS coach would have done the same thing and tried to make this go away, but that isn't the point.  Michigan fans are painfully aware of this.  Ohio State is the one who has gotten caught here, not this mysterious "everybody else."  Ramzy states that "This isn't the cop out of 'it happens everywhere'" but his argument is essentially exactly that. He continues:

Personally, I don't get all twisted up over off-the-field stuff like players selling possessions for discounted tattoos, selling their game tickets on the secondary market for a nice profit or occasionally getting free appetizers at crappy chain restaurants because while it's all not permissable by NCAA rules, genuinely giving a crap about it happening at Ohio State or anywhere else just because it's an NCAA violation isn't enough to make me care. 

It's just my personal belief system that leads me to despise most NCAA rules - especially the draconian one about not being able to capitalize on your own likeness - and root for players from all programs to do so without getting caught.  Plus, if there's a time to look stupid, act stupid and say stupid things, it's in college.  The NCAA frowns on that essential rite of passage, and I in turn root against the NCAA as though it wears a winged helmet in November.

This is straw man.  The issue at heart here is that Jim Tressel knew he had players who were ineligible according to the governing body of the organization in which Ohio State - and every other NCAA team - participates.  I don't particularly care if some football players get a free appetizer at Applebee's either, but the NCAA does, and if they're caught doing it then there are consequences (no matter how draconian or arbitrary they seem) for those actions.  We all play in the same sandbox here.  What is more problematic is the fact that Jim Tressel knew that his players were ineligible and played them anyways, leading to a BCS bowl birth and victory.  This is the very definition of "on the field" as it pertains to these players. 

The argument that college is a time to look and act stupid is fine and well - Pryor and company will pay the consequences they have to and move on.  However, Jim Tressel is not in college.  This is not his time to look or act stupid.  Rather, he is the CEO of the Ohio State Football program, reportedly worth $117,953,712 in 2008-2009, which was the most recent data I could find.  I agree with Ramzy - I don't particularly care that Pryor et. al. did what they did.  What I do care about is the fact that Tressel knew about it, and played them anyways instead of reporting it through the proper channels and taking his medicine at the time of the incident.  Pryor and company might not have known better.  Jim Tressel certainly did, and that's why he should be fired.

The point is not what happened.  We know what happened, and the punishment for the players has been doled out, appropriately or not, and will be served.  The point is what Jim Tressel did, or in this case didn't do, after what happened happened.  Instead of reporting it through the proper channels, he did his best to cover it up, and rode that cover up - complete with ineligible players on the field - to a BCS bowl victory, and everything that comes with that.  The point isn't that a "well intentioned idiot" created a paper trail, it is the fact that the event occurred and was reported in the first place.  Tressel has been caught in his lie, and any excuse that he or his fans make, including the ubiquitous "everyone does it," ring pretty hollow.

via www.kidsolo.com

More insightful analysis to come, I'm sure.  HUNWICK FTW!

This year's Master's Tournament at venerable Augusta National (no women allowed!) in Augusta Georgia will feature a little more Maize and Blue than in previous years with Amateur Public Links champion Lion Kim among the field.  Lion qualified by winning the US Amateur Links Championship at Bryan Park:

via www.usga.org

It was dark when he won.  It was also wet.  Wet and dark.  Lion, for those who don't know, is a 22 year old native of Lake Mary, Florida (born in S. Korea, but lived in US since he was 1), and is current Senior at Michigan.  His odds of making the cut are set at 35-1.  He will be playing with Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal, which is probably good for him.  Both of those golfers are pretty easy going, and he won't have to deal with huge gallery followings. Their tee time is set for 12:31 PM. 

Lion will use a local caddy at Augusta.  Knowing very little of caddying in general, it's probably good from a golf standpoint to use a local guy who knows the ins and outs of the course.  I sure know that if I were playing the Masters, I'd want somebody on my bag who knows me and can calm me down, etc.  Maybe I'm more emotional than Lion.  Also: in my wildest fever dreams I never think about playing the Masters, so what do I know?

Lion finished the par-3 contest T-19 at even par today.  For those who don't know, you do NOT want to win the par-3 event.  If Lion does threaten to make the cut, you can expect a ton of really bad Lion/Tiger puns from everyone involved.  Rick Reilly might just break something.

For a VERY detailed interview with Lion, head over to Mgo here.

We'll be watching Lion throughout the day - he's promised to gear some Maize and Blue tomorrow - and wish him the best of luck in his first (of many) Masters Tournament.  Go Lion!  Go Blue!

In case you missed it, Michigan has torn down the old scoreboards at the Big House, originally built in 1998, and will be installing new scoreboards that include 4,000 square foot LED displays, approximately 40% larger than the current boards.  11 months ago, Athletic Director Dave Brandon told us all:

"The reality is those scoreboards are old. They're old technology and they're old. I've already looked at sketches as to what that might look at and one of the scenarios could add a few seats."

Now he's making good on that promise with the new scoreboards set to take 6th place nationally in pure scoreboard size.  Here is a picture of Tennessee and Florida's scoreboards respectively for comparison sake:

Tennessee:

via i242.photobucket.com

Florida:

via farm3.static.flickr.com

What you will immediately notice is that a good portion of the Florida scoreboard is taken up by stats, the actual score, and advertisements.  Presumably (please, Mr. Brandon?) the Michigan version will not include ads, so that's  a positive.  However, just because the new scoreboards are 40% larger than the old ones doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to be treated to enormous replays.  However, without the advertisements, Michigan will have a beautiful scoreboard that is likely to have the most square footage dedicated to actual football information, instead of a combination of ads.

via platform.ak.fbcdn.net

Within minutes of Butler's loss to Uconn in what was statistically the most boring championship game in history, I gave my friend SCM a call.  We're both from Indiana, and while we can't really consider ourselves Butler fans, we've both been to Hinkle enough to feel some loyalty to the hometown program that could.  About two minutes into the conversation, which consisted of "well they played like crap," our attention turned to football and it hit us that we're officially in the off season.  We get the Masters this week, and the Indy 500 in May (neither of which may be your cup of tea; understood) but the days of at least a weekly event to look forward to are over until September.  What we've left with is mostly speculation, and rare tidbits from various practices as the football team goes through their Spring auditions, as Al Borges put it recently.

A portion of Tuesday's practice was open to members of the media, and we got some pretty good information out of it, not to mention some great images from Ann Arbor.com.  Offensive Coordinator Al Borges held a press conference immediately following the practice, where he was able to shed some light on the things that Michigan's working on.  

Michigan will run the shotgun and run it a lot.  Al Borges said:

"We're gonna gun more than we've ever gunned...We have more QB runs, but that aside, our offense is our offense, and we're going to gear what we do to what he's capable of doing."

While the "gun more than we've ever gunned" portion is encouraging in terms of putting Denard Robinson in an environment where he is most dangerous, I actually find the second part of that quote more encouraging.  As mgo recently pointed out, part of Rodriguez's problem was his inflexibility on defensive scheme - he wanted to run a 3-3-5 - and his inability to hire a coach capable of doing so.  So he forced a scheme onto coaches who were unprepared to run it.  What Borges is saying here is that he has a vision for his offense and what he wants it to accomplish.  Part of that vision is gearing it more towards Denard's capabilities, but he (Borges) is not going to try to do something that he is not capable of doing.  If Hoke had come in and said "you're going to run the spread because that's what Denard is good at" he'd be falling into the same trap Rodriguez fell into with the 3-3-5.  I am encouraged that Borges has the reigns to tailor his offense to fit his player's capabilities, namely #16, but still works within what he has successfully taught and executed in the past.

Speaking of teaching another good sign from that presser was Borges' comment that the Wolverines are amongst the most coachable group he's been a part of.  Said Borges:

"In the eight to nine times I’ve had to change jobs -- I’d give you my resume, but we don’t have enough time -- I think this group is as receptive to what we want to do as any, maybe more so...Everybody has bought in to what we presented them, and it makes it easy to coach them."

The offense was ranked first in the Big Ten last year, and could have just as easily said "we already do things well, we don't need to learn."  Instead he's getting a group of guys who are eager to learn, and have bought into the system that he wants to install.  This is a good sign for execution come this fall.  As good as they were last year, they're not going to do well if they half-run the spread and half-run whatever variation of West Coast offense Borges is installing.  It's got to be all or nothing, and the fact that they've bought in to Borges' system points to success on the field.

The biggest challenge for Denard will likely be transitioning back to under center.  While Borges is going to run the shot gun, he won't run it exclusively, which is what Michigan did last year unless it was 3rd and 1 when they inexplicably went into that infuriating I-formation for a loss of 2 (sigh).  Picking up the mechanics of a 3 step drop and making the right reads might be challenging for Denard, but he did play under center for Deefield Beach High School, so it's not as if he's never done it.  However, the changes - mostly in speed - between the high school and college game are so immense that he's going to have to make sure that everything comes naturally in terms of getting the snap, making his drop and reads, setting his feet, etc.  If he's over-thinking any of those steps, he's going to have some trouble.

Remember last year when Denard would have 6 or 7 yards of open field in front of him on 3rd and 5, and he'd decide to throw the ball 20 yards downfield instead of just picking up the first down?  I think that was a product of youth - his coaches no doubt were telling him to look to throw first - and hopefully he'll have some better judgement in situations like that.  His coaches are going to be telling him to throw first now too, but it was nice to hearwhat they're telling Denard:

"...don't turn down wide open receivers, but if they fall off, run like hell."

That sounds about right to me.

The return of the Tight End is coming.  Steve Watson - a guy who has bounced from offense to defense - seems to have found a home in the Tight End spot, and caught a touchdown pass the other day in practice.  Borges said that "two-tight is a part of the offense" which represents a major change from what we saw under Rodriguez. 

Hopefully we'll get more information from the defensive side of the ball soon.  All Borges said about defense was that Coach Mattison is an elite defensive coach and he's sure that they'll be doing the right thing over there.  As much as we've all discussed the offense during this off season, it's obvious that if this team is going to make any kind of move up from mediocrity it's going to be via an improved defense.  I found Borges' conference to be encouraging on this side of the ball - hopefully we can get the same from Mattison in the near future.