That is the question.
I will take nothing from Air Force which is a very well coached team. They were a much more significant threat than most folks realized. That said, our inconsistent play on offense continues to be a huge frustration. We need to begin to correct those issues. The question is how quickly can the Wolverines do so.
Purdue on the road is looming as a vastly improved team that poses a credible threat. And then MSU .... and then Indiana .... and then PSU etc. We need to get this moving in the right direction soon.
I am far from any expert and am probably stating the obvious but my observations are as follows:
OL: While the run blocking has improved over last season, the pass protection seems to be a huge issue and is not nearly as good as last season. And even the run blocking is very inconsistent with a player making a significant mistake every few downs. Is it time to replace Onwenu? If so, is John Runyan the replacement and can he shore up that side?
WR and TE: The replacement of our talented and very experienced pass catchers has proven to be more of a challenge than I expected. We all know that there is outstanding talent among the youth at those positions, but at this point, they are not making the plays. They are not getting open consistently and when open are dropping wide open throws. Clearly this will improve with experience but I am hoping that we make quick strides. Let's hope that Black is not out for long but the rumors are not encouraging.
QB: It is not clear why Wilton has taken such a dramatic step back. I realize that he is under duress in the pocket much more often than last year and that significantly affects QB play. I am also surprised that he seems to be so much less mobile this season than last year when he scrambled very effectively out of trouble time after time after time before he got hurt. And he made big plays when doing so either by running or passing. Those scrambles kept so many drives alive. Is the pass protection the reason for the lack of effective scrambles? Speight also seems to be missing open receivers this season which he seemed to pick up last year. Again, this may be a symptom of poor pass protection, but we need to see improvement there soon. I have confidence that Wilton will play better as the OL improves and gives him more time and as the WR play improves but how long will this take? We need improvement to begin now and progress quickly.
Play Calling: I am beginning to wonder if the loss of Jed Fisch is a bigger issue than I realized. Our offense in early games last year seemed to include a multitude of plays that kept defenses off balance. I have seen little of that in the last two games. And the quick passes to our WRs have not been effective at all. They have not shown that they can beat the defenders one on one. Stating the obvious, our red zone offense is not getting it done. Let's hope that Pep Hamilton can come up with better game plans going forward.
What do you think?
I will take nothing from Air Force which is a very well coached team. They were a much more significant threat than most folks realized. That said, our inconsistent play on offense continues to be a huge frustration. We need to begin to correct those issues. The question is how quickly can the Wolverines do so.
Purdue on the road is looming as a vastly improved team that poses a credible threat. And then MSU .... and then Indiana .... and then PSU etc. We need to get this moving in the right direction soon.
I am far from any expert and am probably stating the obvious but my observations are as follows:
OL: While the run blocking has improved over last season, the pass protection seems to be a huge issue and is not nearly as good as last season. And even the run blocking is very inconsistent with a player making a significant mistake every few downs. Is it time to replace Onwenu? If so, is John Runyan the replacement and can he shore up that side?
WR and TE: The replacement of our talented and very experienced pass catchers has proven to be more of a challenge than I expected. We all know that there is outstanding talent among the youth at those positions, but at this point, they are not making the plays. They are not getting open consistently and when open are dropping wide open throws. Clearly this will improve with experience but I am hoping that we make quick strides. Let's hope that Black is not out for long but the rumors are not encouraging.
QB: It is not clear why Wilton has taken such a dramatic step back. I realize that he is under duress in the pocket much more often than last year and that significantly affects QB play. I am also surprised that he seems to be so much less mobile this season than last year when he scrambled very effectively out of trouble time after time after time before he got hurt. And he made big plays when doing so either by running or passing. Those scrambles kept so many drives alive. Is the pass protection the reason for the lack of effective scrambles? Speight also seems to be missing open receivers this season which he seemed to pick up last year. Again, this may be a symptom of poor pass protection, but we need to see improvement there soon. I have confidence that Wilton will play better as the OL improves and gives him more time and as the WR play improves but how long will this take? We need improvement to begin now and progress quickly.
Play Calling: I am beginning to wonder if the loss of Jed Fisch is a bigger issue than I realized. Our offense in early games last year seemed to include a multitude of plays that kept defenses off balance. I have seen little of that in the last two games. And the quick passes to our WRs have not been effective at all. They have not shown that they can beat the defenders one on one. Stating the obvious, our red zone offense is not getting it done. Let's hope that Pep Hamilton can come up with better game plans going forward.
What do you think?
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