"Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss." - Wall Street
Overall, we did what we needed to do and rebounded for the victory. I saw some good things, but, I'm still quite concerned about some other things that will lead to more losses if not fixed. To start, I was surprised that Gattis was down on the field to start the game, but, by the end of the 1st quarter, it certainly felt like everything flowed better in terms of the speed of the play-calling, substitutions, etc. And, there's certainly more accountability when a player has to come to the sidelines and see both the OC and the Head Coach. So, a good move.
Offensive Line:
a) Pass protection - BETTER overall, however it was Rutgers, and Rutgers did not stunt or blitz nearly as much as Wisconsin did in terms of amount and variety. #73 was also beaten a few times off the edge. Shea had plenty of time all game long to make plays, which is what he needs to be successful.
b) Run blocking - BAD...and, if you didn't recognize this, you didn't watch closely enough. Several examples: the 1st and 2nd down goal line runs before the TD bootlegs by both Shea early and Milton late, and, the several early runs by Haskins, where, in each case, there was absolutely ZERO push and ZERO room to run the ball. Pad levels are still too high, particularly in the interior. We won't win many games without significantly better run blocking.
QB:
a) Shea - benefited from strong pass protection and some good-playing by Gattis to roll the pocket at times (which I've called for earlier this week). Shea missed a wide-open DPJ early, then threw his best pass of the season to DPJ on the perfect throw to inside the 5-yard line. He also threw nice balls to Eubanks and Bell across the middle, yet, under-threw Collins on a deep pass (a play which should have been a 1st down call, not a 3rd and 4 call). Overall, Shea played a good game with still room to improve. He's a decent QB; he's just not that elite QB we thought. But, look, neither was Brian Griese, and we won a title. Shea must still improve his progression reads faster and see the field better. And, better read decisions in the run game is imperative - the QB has to be a run-threat in RPO! While Shea's is probably unlikely to improve materially at this point in his career, even a small improvement in these areas can help us win the tougher games.
b) Milton - has the arm, no doubt about that...a total rifle...and has a great field presence. That was an excellent TD pass to Jackson, but, I was even more impressed with the slant he threw to DPJ over the middle. Thought he ran the team well and played with composure. There was one read play at the goal line where if he keeps the ball, he walks into the end zone. Bright future. Hope he stays patients and keeps developing, as too many kids want to enter the transfer portal early and not pay the development dues.
WR/TEs:
a) Strong overall performance from everyone. Bell had a heck of a game, as did Eubanks. And, DPJ's ability to go across the middle is a big weapon - that was a heck of a throw and catch by Shea to DPJ on the deep slant that was called back. Whether there were issues by some guys in this group during the early part of the week, as rumored on Twitter, it certainly didn't look like it during the game. Still, against the better defenses, Gattis needs to incorporate our quick slot WRs like Sanistril, Johnson, Jackson on some rub-routes and crossing-routes (which other teams kill our defense on consistently)
DL:
a) Paye was outstanding all game and definitely unblockable as Harbaugh indicated. Hope Hutchinson is okay after that nice goal line stop - it looked like a helmet-to-helmet to me on that play, so maybe a slight concussion there as to why he didn't return. Dwumfour presence certainly made a difference with less push from Rutgers OL. And, I thought Rutgers, which has two solid RBs, would have rushed for a lot more yards, so credit to the defensive line on playing more stout. Still, I would have liked to have seen Smith and Hinton play a lot more. Hinton made the final tackle of the game (I think). The comments about they would play if they were ready isn't good enough - both were highly rated tackles and Alabama starts 3 freshman DTs. So, we need to raise expectations if we want to play like the Alabama's of the world. It's up to the coaching staff - namely Nua - to accelerate their learning curve. And, with Jeter not getting much time after being abused in Madison, the need for Nua to get Smith and Hinton ready is important to line depth.
LBs:
a) McGrone is a stud. Period. And, I wrote this after the Spring Game, where you just could see the tremendous closing speed, hitting and tackling ability. Kid is super fun to watch! That's a football player. Meanwhile, Uche had another solid game overall. Hudson was solid. And, while Glasgow struggled in space, for sure, he's been one of our best defensive players so far this year (he's played better than Hudson). The reality is that offensive coordinators are isolating Michigan LBs and Safeties against faster slots and RBs on rub-routes and crossing routes. Today, Glasgow was the victim. This is an ongoing issue for Don Brown, and, he's yet to figure out an answer. For all the love Don Brown gets on this board, any objective viewer can see that he's consistently being out-schemed on these types of plays. Whether it's dropping a linemen back in coverage occasionally, playing more zone coverage on certain downs/distances, or bringing up an extra safety in the box at times, or other things - clearly something has to be done to cause more confusion for the offense.
DBs:
a) Dax Hill made his presence known - fast and physical. His safety hit and special teams coverage hit just set a tone of toughness, which we've been desperately missing. Needs to be on the field more. Hawkins got lucky not to get a helmet-to-helmet call as he was guilty. The run support by the defensive backs was very good, with Thomas making a nice 4th down stop. Pass coverage was quite good (besides the crossing / rub routes), as I didn't see too many other WRs open down field based on the TV broadcast.
A tough, physical Iowa is next.
Overall, we did what we needed to do and rebounded for the victory. I saw some good things, but, I'm still quite concerned about some other things that will lead to more losses if not fixed. To start, I was surprised that Gattis was down on the field to start the game, but, by the end of the 1st quarter, it certainly felt like everything flowed better in terms of the speed of the play-calling, substitutions, etc. And, there's certainly more accountability when a player has to come to the sidelines and see both the OC and the Head Coach. So, a good move.
Offensive Line:
a) Pass protection - BETTER overall, however it was Rutgers, and Rutgers did not stunt or blitz nearly as much as Wisconsin did in terms of amount and variety. #73 was also beaten a few times off the edge. Shea had plenty of time all game long to make plays, which is what he needs to be successful.
b) Run blocking - BAD...and, if you didn't recognize this, you didn't watch closely enough. Several examples: the 1st and 2nd down goal line runs before the TD bootlegs by both Shea early and Milton late, and, the several early runs by Haskins, where, in each case, there was absolutely ZERO push and ZERO room to run the ball. Pad levels are still too high, particularly in the interior. We won't win many games without significantly better run blocking.
QB:
a) Shea - benefited from strong pass protection and some good-playing by Gattis to roll the pocket at times (which I've called for earlier this week). Shea missed a wide-open DPJ early, then threw his best pass of the season to DPJ on the perfect throw to inside the 5-yard line. He also threw nice balls to Eubanks and Bell across the middle, yet, under-threw Collins on a deep pass (a play which should have been a 1st down call, not a 3rd and 4 call). Overall, Shea played a good game with still room to improve. He's a decent QB; he's just not that elite QB we thought. But, look, neither was Brian Griese, and we won a title. Shea must still improve his progression reads faster and see the field better. And, better read decisions in the run game is imperative - the QB has to be a run-threat in RPO! While Shea's is probably unlikely to improve materially at this point in his career, even a small improvement in these areas can help us win the tougher games.
b) Milton - has the arm, no doubt about that...a total rifle...and has a great field presence. That was an excellent TD pass to Jackson, but, I was even more impressed with the slant he threw to DPJ over the middle. Thought he ran the team well and played with composure. There was one read play at the goal line where if he keeps the ball, he walks into the end zone. Bright future. Hope he stays patients and keeps developing, as too many kids want to enter the transfer portal early and not pay the development dues.
WR/TEs:
a) Strong overall performance from everyone. Bell had a heck of a game, as did Eubanks. And, DPJ's ability to go across the middle is a big weapon - that was a heck of a throw and catch by Shea to DPJ on the deep slant that was called back. Whether there were issues by some guys in this group during the early part of the week, as rumored on Twitter, it certainly didn't look like it during the game. Still, against the better defenses, Gattis needs to incorporate our quick slot WRs like Sanistril, Johnson, Jackson on some rub-routes and crossing-routes (which other teams kill our defense on consistently)
DL:
a) Paye was outstanding all game and definitely unblockable as Harbaugh indicated. Hope Hutchinson is okay after that nice goal line stop - it looked like a helmet-to-helmet to me on that play, so maybe a slight concussion there as to why he didn't return. Dwumfour presence certainly made a difference with less push from Rutgers OL. And, I thought Rutgers, which has two solid RBs, would have rushed for a lot more yards, so credit to the defensive line on playing more stout. Still, I would have liked to have seen Smith and Hinton play a lot more. Hinton made the final tackle of the game (I think). The comments about they would play if they were ready isn't good enough - both were highly rated tackles and Alabama starts 3 freshman DTs. So, we need to raise expectations if we want to play like the Alabama's of the world. It's up to the coaching staff - namely Nua - to accelerate their learning curve. And, with Jeter not getting much time after being abused in Madison, the need for Nua to get Smith and Hinton ready is important to line depth.
LBs:
a) McGrone is a stud. Period. And, I wrote this after the Spring Game, where you just could see the tremendous closing speed, hitting and tackling ability. Kid is super fun to watch! That's a football player. Meanwhile, Uche had another solid game overall. Hudson was solid. And, while Glasgow struggled in space, for sure, he's been one of our best defensive players so far this year (he's played better than Hudson). The reality is that offensive coordinators are isolating Michigan LBs and Safeties against faster slots and RBs on rub-routes and crossing routes. Today, Glasgow was the victim. This is an ongoing issue for Don Brown, and, he's yet to figure out an answer. For all the love Don Brown gets on this board, any objective viewer can see that he's consistently being out-schemed on these types of plays. Whether it's dropping a linemen back in coverage occasionally, playing more zone coverage on certain downs/distances, or bringing up an extra safety in the box at times, or other things - clearly something has to be done to cause more confusion for the offense.
DBs:
a) Dax Hill made his presence known - fast and physical. His safety hit and special teams coverage hit just set a tone of toughness, which we've been desperately missing. Needs to be on the field more. Hawkins got lucky not to get a helmet-to-helmet call as he was guilty. The run support by the defensive backs was very good, with Thomas making a nice 4th down stop. Pass coverage was quite good (besides the crossing / rub routes), as I didn't see too many other WRs open down field based on the TV broadcast.
A tough, physical Iowa is next.
