1. I was livid at halftime--I don't care what the explanation is, or what they saw on film, there is not, in my mind reason whatsoever to let a team which you are pounding to have any chance to get back in the game before halftime, especially when even if it works, you have virtually no time to capitalize (my brother disagrees, but what does he know?). That said, you take the good with the bad, and I thought this was as well coached a game in terms of game plan, play calling, and most in-game decisions as we have had in a while. For those who complained about our unwillingness to throw, we threw early and often, and in different down and distance situations. For those who complained about playing soft coverage against teams which didn't throw the ball down the field, we brought the house a lot. We tested the edges,something we didn't do last week, we ran the nice sprint out pass on fourth and short in the first quarter...put another way, we adjusted. That's a very positive sign.
2. Cade threw some good balls and some bad ones--hopefully, that gets tightened up as things go along. At the same time, his wideouts didn't do him any favors until late in the first half when Roman Wilson made two spectacular plays. Everyone wants perfect passes which lead receivers beautifully, and I do too--it's important that we improve accuracy. However, upper level wide receivers have to make catches when the ball is not thrown perfectly, or even when it's slightly behind them, and we had too many situations where that did not occur.
3. If I could hit a nice gentle draw like Jake Moody, my golf game would be a lot better.
4. You can see the talent J.J. McCarthy has, and it's going to be on center stage at some point. Still, I like the way we're handling his development. Cade hasn't turned the ball over, and he made a few very nice adjustments in the pocket, including the early play in our own end where he evaded the rush and got the ball to Blake Corum (who made a great play himself to bowl over the linebacker), and later on the pass to Roman Wilson where, unfortunately, he put his heels on the sideline before coming back in to catch the pass. Starting Cade, and bringing in J.J. situationally and to gain experience seems right to me.
5. I do get frustrated listening to announcers repeat memes over and over again as if they are exceptionally important. We heard over and over again that Michigan hasn't won in Madison since 2001 (until today); while that was true, that twenty year period encompassed exactly four games, one of which was the famous 2009 Rich Rod, we're going to put 170 pound Adam Vinopal on the line to stop your running game, leading to thirty-two consecutive identical plays by Wisconsin because, well, that wasn't going to stop the running game, and one in 2007 when Chad Henne's arm was numbed when he got a shot. At least if you're going to say something like this, say something remotely relevant, such as that Jim Harbaugh was 0-2 in Madison.
6. I haven't rewatched the game, but in my initial viewing, Mazi Smith played really well. I don't have to rewatch to know how well Aiden Hutchinson played.
7. As good as Dax Hill is, I don't think he has great ball awarensss in coverage. On the other hand, he's Peppers like on blitzes.
8. I don't know how good we are yet, in part because Wisconsin and Washington, the two supposedly tough match-ups in our first five games, are not at all good. We'll see. It's nice, however, to be at least capable of pounding the teams we're playing. At the same time, getting back to a level where we can at least try to sell kids on the idea that they're the guys who can get us to the top is really significant, particularly in football where you need a number of great players, not a few surrounded by quality role players, as is the case in basketball.
2. Cade threw some good balls and some bad ones--hopefully, that gets tightened up as things go along. At the same time, his wideouts didn't do him any favors until late in the first half when Roman Wilson made two spectacular plays. Everyone wants perfect passes which lead receivers beautifully, and I do too--it's important that we improve accuracy. However, upper level wide receivers have to make catches when the ball is not thrown perfectly, or even when it's slightly behind them, and we had too many situations where that did not occur.
3. If I could hit a nice gentle draw like Jake Moody, my golf game would be a lot better.
4. You can see the talent J.J. McCarthy has, and it's going to be on center stage at some point. Still, I like the way we're handling his development. Cade hasn't turned the ball over, and he made a few very nice adjustments in the pocket, including the early play in our own end where he evaded the rush and got the ball to Blake Corum (who made a great play himself to bowl over the linebacker), and later on the pass to Roman Wilson where, unfortunately, he put his heels on the sideline before coming back in to catch the pass. Starting Cade, and bringing in J.J. situationally and to gain experience seems right to me.
5. I do get frustrated listening to announcers repeat memes over and over again as if they are exceptionally important. We heard over and over again that Michigan hasn't won in Madison since 2001 (until today); while that was true, that twenty year period encompassed exactly four games, one of which was the famous 2009 Rich Rod, we're going to put 170 pound Adam Vinopal on the line to stop your running game, leading to thirty-two consecutive identical plays by Wisconsin because, well, that wasn't going to stop the running game, and one in 2007 when Chad Henne's arm was numbed when he got a shot. At least if you're going to say something like this, say something remotely relevant, such as that Jim Harbaugh was 0-2 in Madison.
6. I haven't rewatched the game, but in my initial viewing, Mazi Smith played really well. I don't have to rewatch to know how well Aiden Hutchinson played.
7. As good as Dax Hill is, I don't think he has great ball awarensss in coverage. On the other hand, he's Peppers like on blitzes.
8. I don't know how good we are yet, in part because Wisconsin and Washington, the two supposedly tough match-ups in our first five games, are not at all good. We'll see. It's nice, however, to be at least capable of pounding the teams we're playing. At the same time, getting back to a level where we can at least try to sell kids on the idea that they're the guys who can get us to the top is really significant, particularly in football where you need a number of great players, not a few surrounded by quality role players, as is the case in basketball.
