amazinblue
09-06-2009, 10:45 AM
I think most Michigan fans are very please with the first half of yesterday's game - I certainly was. Is the team perfect? No. So, I thought I'd start this thread and get some perspectives from people about things to work on - since, I do believe that ND has the potential for a much sterner test on Saturday.
The Good:
The offense in the first half seemed to click. Tate looked very solid when he had good field position, and the O line definitely did what they needed to do - in the FIRST HALF. Tate demonstrated an ability to lead the offense, read the defense, and use his mobility to allow the play to develop. Tate's arm looked pretty damn good too.
The D was aggressive. They attacked the ball and tackled solidly.
Zoltan was his "usual self" and I can only hope we're recruiting someone to replace him, or already have another solid punter on the roster.
Turnovers - I think there was one fumble (that we recovered) and the INT by Sheridan.
The Bad:
The execution seemed to drop off from the first half to the second. Now, part of that may have been scheme and intention - not showing too much of our hand prior to next weekend. If that's the case, I'm ok with it. I honestly hope I NEVER see a prevent D (or O) return to Michigan's signal calling.
DR and all the greatness of his feet - has to give the pass a chance. Right now, he seems to be thinking "run, run, run" - though he did throw a couple of passes - he's got to get more balance - passing on at least 1/3 of the plays to force the D to respect the pass. His wheels are very impressive - and, the holes will open if / when he demonstrates that he can hit a receiver.
When the O inherited poor field position, they seemed to have trouble moving the ball. I hope this is an area where they improve. I would prefer that they pick up at least one first down when this occurs - but, I also realize that RR is keeping the ball on the ground to avoid (potential) turnovers in these situations and as Tate becomes more comfortable, I think we might see him slinging the ball to open up the field and pick up a first down or two.
I do think that Tate needs to add a bit to his frame, since he's in a position to get hit when he runs, and if he goes down - it'll place an awful lot on DR / Sheridan. The offense could quickly become one dimensional which opposing D's can really focus on.
The Ugly:
Though there weren't a lot of penalties, and the PI on Warren was a joke, IMO - the execution can improve a bit. I have no idea what the refs were seeing to call some of those penalties.
If the holding hadn't been called when Sheridan was in at QB, I think the sentiment would be a bit different about him. The holding seemed to be a questionable call to me - and Sheridan did run it well - on that down.
There wasn't much ugliness out there - which reflects what RR and the staff are doing.
And, the only other thing I'll leave on this topic is - there are comments about how much of this team RR's recruited. IMO, he's really only got ONE recruiting class. The sophomores have the benefit of having worked with RR and the staff since they arrived on campus. But, RR's really only recruited ONE class. I'm looking forward to seeing what this team looks like with four of HIS recruiting classes on the field.
It's only one game. I continue to believe the future's so bright we've gotta wear shades.
The Good:
The offense in the first half seemed to click. Tate looked very solid when he had good field position, and the O line definitely did what they needed to do - in the FIRST HALF. Tate demonstrated an ability to lead the offense, read the defense, and use his mobility to allow the play to develop. Tate's arm looked pretty damn good too.
The D was aggressive. They attacked the ball and tackled solidly.
Zoltan was his "usual self" and I can only hope we're recruiting someone to replace him, or already have another solid punter on the roster.
Turnovers - I think there was one fumble (that we recovered) and the INT by Sheridan.
The Bad:
The execution seemed to drop off from the first half to the second. Now, part of that may have been scheme and intention - not showing too much of our hand prior to next weekend. If that's the case, I'm ok with it. I honestly hope I NEVER see a prevent D (or O) return to Michigan's signal calling.
DR and all the greatness of his feet - has to give the pass a chance. Right now, he seems to be thinking "run, run, run" - though he did throw a couple of passes - he's got to get more balance - passing on at least 1/3 of the plays to force the D to respect the pass. His wheels are very impressive - and, the holes will open if / when he demonstrates that he can hit a receiver.
When the O inherited poor field position, they seemed to have trouble moving the ball. I hope this is an area where they improve. I would prefer that they pick up at least one first down when this occurs - but, I also realize that RR is keeping the ball on the ground to avoid (potential) turnovers in these situations and as Tate becomes more comfortable, I think we might see him slinging the ball to open up the field and pick up a first down or two.
I do think that Tate needs to add a bit to his frame, since he's in a position to get hit when he runs, and if he goes down - it'll place an awful lot on DR / Sheridan. The offense could quickly become one dimensional which opposing D's can really focus on.
The Ugly:
Though there weren't a lot of penalties, and the PI on Warren was a joke, IMO - the execution can improve a bit. I have no idea what the refs were seeing to call some of those penalties.
If the holding hadn't been called when Sheridan was in at QB, I think the sentiment would be a bit different about him. The holding seemed to be a questionable call to me - and Sheridan did run it well - on that down.
There wasn't much ugliness out there - which reflects what RR and the staff are doing.
And, the only other thing I'll leave on this topic is - there are comments about how much of this team RR's recruited. IMO, he's really only got ONE recruiting class. The sophomores have the benefit of having worked with RR and the staff since they arrived on campus. But, RR's really only recruited ONE class. I'm looking forward to seeing what this team looks like with four of HIS recruiting classes on the field.
It's only one game. I continue to believe the future's so bright we've gotta wear shades.