1) Last week I wrote that a game like Washington - under the lights against a ticked-off opponent - would be exactly the kind of game someone like McNamara should excel in. The knock seemed to be coming out of the preseason that he's not physically as talented as other QBs (like JJ) but even Harbaugh noted that Cade makes those around him better. He's a leader with the intangible qualities that you want to see out of the guy commanding your huddle. Thus, a game like Saturday night should be his wheelhouse. It didn't turn out that way, obviously. And debate the lack of passing attempts or not, but McNamara still finished 7 of 15 (46.7%) for 44 yards with 2.9 yards per attempt. The latter is John O'Korn level performance (he had games of 2.9 and 2.2 before getting replaced by Peters in 2017).
McNamara was pretty awesome against Rutgers a year ago, throwing for 260 and four touchdowns with a yards per attempt of 7.2 (a respectable number in today's CFB). He was efficient in the opener against Western Michigan. What concerns me is that as a starter, he's had two absolute clunkers in three games, including Penn State last year. I know he got banged up in that one but they took him out pretty soon afterwards. Overall, in three starts (the Rutgers game he came in as a backup), McNamara has completed 54.9% of his 51 attempts for 271 yards total and 5.3 yards per attempt. All really bad numbers compared to his peers.
This is a game Michigan will dominate and Cade should have a really nice game. What we need to see is him perform back-to-back against Northern Illinois and Rutgers before heading to Madison. And Jim can say all he wants about playing to a defense's weaknesses (Washington game plan) but McNamara needs a lot more work than he's gotten if he's going to be an asset for the Wolverines in October when the schedule gets significantly harder.
2) Games like this one are perfect for players on both sides of the ball to gain confidence and rack up stats. I'd like to see some of those stats come in the form of TFL and sacks from players not named Aidan Hutchinson. He's been a beast and he should certainly continue to be such. But you know what's coming - more attention and better offensive lines than what Michigan has seen so far. Right now, Hutchinson has half of the DL's 7.0 TFL. No one else has more than one on the line. David Ojabo picked up his first career sack against Washington and that was good to see. I've liked the brief glimpses of Mike Morris so far and Taylor Uphshaw has overachieved compared to my personal expectations of him, but someone needs to become a more consistent playmaker opposite or alongside Hutchinson for him to be as good as he can be this year.
I interviewed LaMarr Woodley over the summer for a podcast and he said over and over again the only reason he had 12 sacks in 2006 was because Rondell Biggs, Terrance Taylor, Alan Branch and Shawn Crable were also commanding so much attention and making plays. Woodley had 12 sacks and 15 TFL as a senior. Those three other DL (excluding Crable) had 18 TFL. Another good example is Brandon Graham in 2009. Dude was insane, with 26.0 tackles for loss. Best individual defensive season I've seen at Michigan since Woodson in 1997. The starting DL next to him combined for 22.5 tackles for loss. Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh kept offenses honest. Better yet, with the attention on BG, they took advantage. I want to see more of that now that Hutchinson has so clearly announced himself to the college football world two weeks in.
3) Michigan is one of only 22 schools without a defensive pick this year. For as much talent as U-M has in the backfield, it has ranked as one of the worst teams nationally in creating turnovers in the passing game. Under Don Brown from 2016-19, Michigan ranked 44th, 67th, 59th and 76th in interceptions forced. Now, at the same time, let's give Michigan some due as they were consistently one of the best pass defenses in college football during that time. Their DBs were great in coverage and made it really hard for opposing QBs to throw on. That said, interceptions are game-changers. They're playing more zone now than in the past and defenders have their eyes looking at the QB and instead of locked in on their man, but we've already seen a few dropped picks. That's not unique to U-M. Every defense has interceptions go through their hands but as the competition gets better, the Wolverines need to make a few of those plays. Players like Gemon Green and Brad Hawkins are consistently around the ball but they rarely come up with the pick.
So far the defense has been outstanding. To take that next step, it needs to be able to create some takeaways. And something tells me with good 'ol Rocky Lombardi quarterbacking the Huskies, NIU is going throw a lot, hoping he can find some success like he did a year ago against Michigan's DBs. In other words, there should be plenty of chances for Green and Vincent Gray, Hawkins and Dax Hill to show some improved ball skills, make some big plays, and gain some confidence for the rest of the season.
So that's what I want to see. How about you?
McNamara was pretty awesome against Rutgers a year ago, throwing for 260 and four touchdowns with a yards per attempt of 7.2 (a respectable number in today's CFB). He was efficient in the opener against Western Michigan. What concerns me is that as a starter, he's had two absolute clunkers in three games, including Penn State last year. I know he got banged up in that one but they took him out pretty soon afterwards. Overall, in three starts (the Rutgers game he came in as a backup), McNamara has completed 54.9% of his 51 attempts for 271 yards total and 5.3 yards per attempt. All really bad numbers compared to his peers.
This is a game Michigan will dominate and Cade should have a really nice game. What we need to see is him perform back-to-back against Northern Illinois and Rutgers before heading to Madison. And Jim can say all he wants about playing to a defense's weaknesses (Washington game plan) but McNamara needs a lot more work than he's gotten if he's going to be an asset for the Wolverines in October when the schedule gets significantly harder.
2) Games like this one are perfect for players on both sides of the ball to gain confidence and rack up stats. I'd like to see some of those stats come in the form of TFL and sacks from players not named Aidan Hutchinson. He's been a beast and he should certainly continue to be such. But you know what's coming - more attention and better offensive lines than what Michigan has seen so far. Right now, Hutchinson has half of the DL's 7.0 TFL. No one else has more than one on the line. David Ojabo picked up his first career sack against Washington and that was good to see. I've liked the brief glimpses of Mike Morris so far and Taylor Uphshaw has overachieved compared to my personal expectations of him, but someone needs to become a more consistent playmaker opposite or alongside Hutchinson for him to be as good as he can be this year.
I interviewed LaMarr Woodley over the summer for a podcast and he said over and over again the only reason he had 12 sacks in 2006 was because Rondell Biggs, Terrance Taylor, Alan Branch and Shawn Crable were also commanding so much attention and making plays. Woodley had 12 sacks and 15 TFL as a senior. Those three other DL (excluding Crable) had 18 TFL. Another good example is Brandon Graham in 2009. Dude was insane, with 26.0 tackles for loss. Best individual defensive season I've seen at Michigan since Woodson in 1997. The starting DL next to him combined for 22.5 tackles for loss. Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh kept offenses honest. Better yet, with the attention on BG, they took advantage. I want to see more of that now that Hutchinson has so clearly announced himself to the college football world two weeks in.
3) Michigan is one of only 22 schools without a defensive pick this year. For as much talent as U-M has in the backfield, it has ranked as one of the worst teams nationally in creating turnovers in the passing game. Under Don Brown from 2016-19, Michigan ranked 44th, 67th, 59th and 76th in interceptions forced. Now, at the same time, let's give Michigan some due as they were consistently one of the best pass defenses in college football during that time. Their DBs were great in coverage and made it really hard for opposing QBs to throw on. That said, interceptions are game-changers. They're playing more zone now than in the past and defenders have their eyes looking at the QB and instead of locked in on their man, but we've already seen a few dropped picks. That's not unique to U-M. Every defense has interceptions go through their hands but as the competition gets better, the Wolverines need to make a few of those plays. Players like Gemon Green and Brad Hawkins are consistently around the ball but they rarely come up with the pick.
So far the defense has been outstanding. To take that next step, it needs to be able to create some takeaways. And something tells me with good 'ol Rocky Lombardi quarterbacking the Huskies, NIU is going throw a lot, hoping he can find some success like he did a year ago against Michigan's DBs. In other words, there should be plenty of chances for Green and Vincent Gray, Hawkins and Dax Hill to show some improved ball skills, make some big plays, and gain some confidence for the rest of the season.
So that's what I want to see. How about you?
