Overview:I know this is not going to be popular, but the Notre Dame loss was one of the five worst Michigan games I’ve seen. It was no Iowa 1984, but it was bad. As I peruse the Michigan sites and chat boards on the net, I realize that I am in the minority. I am not saying UM did not do some things well….
Overall:
This was a terrible performance by Michigan. We took an average Notre Dame team and made them look like a BCS team. The most upsetting thing about the game was that it looked like Notre Dame was hungrier and wanted it more.
For those who believe otherwise, just re-watch the game. You’ll see Notre Dame fighting for those loose balls. You’ll see Notre Dame digging, clawing, and scratching for every inch. Michigan had their chances to recover some Notre Dame fumbles and even some of their own, but Notre Dame got after the ball and got the job done. Coach Bo said it best: you cannot turn the ball over and give up big plays on defense and hope to win many games.
Special teams:
The only word we can think of to describe Michigan’s special teams play is: absolute disaster. OK, it was so bad it takes two words. We keep hearing that except for the fumbles, special teams play was good. That is like saying, “Besides your husband getting shot Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”
How about some examples of “except for the fumbles”? Donovan Warren dropped a punt and lost field position. Notre Dame’s punting game pinning Michigan inside the twenty-yard line numerous times (well, maybe a contributing factor was that Michigan’s punt returners stopped trying to catch the ball after awhile). Michigan lost the special teams battle by a large margin and it hurt any chances the Wolverines had to win.
Offense:
Every time Michigan started to show improvement, they made a mistake that negated their gains. Fumbles, dropped passes, poor cuts, interceptions. Offensive linemen pushed into the backfield on short yardage plays. We understand the need for some patience, but some of the mistakes were unforced, and in our opinion, that is not acceptable.
Defense:
Ouch! Yes, they can sue the offense and special teams for lack of support. And yes, the first interference call on Warren was terrible. But there is no excuse for the poor tackling and positional play. No pressure on Clausen, losing contain, allowing long passes and penalties all contributed to Michigan’s loss and none can be blamed on the offense or special teams. And will some one please tell John Thompson to quit giving up his outside arm and take lead blockers on with his inside shoulder, please!
written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine
7 comments:
In the Top 5 Worst Games? Really? I disagree:
1. 2007 Appalachian State - clear cut winner for all-time (hopefully)
2. 2007 Oregon - our veteran team physically dominated and made to look silly
3. 2001 Tennessee - again, batted around like little bitches for the full 60 minutes, humiliating
4. 1986 Minnesota - team gacks their last best chance at a MNC for Bo - at home!- against a terrible team with a losing record!
5. 1984 Iowa - again, that batted around like bitches thing
I recorded the game but have yet to re-watch it. I guess I'm still too disgusted. All the drive killing fumbles absolutely drove me crazy. It's one thing for a freshman playing in his first big game in a downpour but a couple fumbles were from "seasoned" players. That is totally unacceptable. "NO back is worth TWO fumbles."
I think the optimism on the offense comes from the fact that we at least had good opportunities and drives to screw up. The previous two games we didn't get the offense going enough to blow any good opportunities. I know that is a weird way to look at it (and screwing up those opportunities is not ok), but I'll take what I can get.
The defense still worries me some - too many mistakes and a soft interior run defense(?).
I haven't re-watched the game, but I felt like part of the fumble recovery problem was guys looking down and trying to scoop up the ball instead of falling on it and just keeping possession. What do you teach people to do in those situations? I don't know what the protocol is.
I like you guys, but I have to disagree a bit here:
First of all, to compare the Notre Dame game to other games with other coaches in other eras is pointless, at best.
Secondly, Michigan showed a lot of improvement from the first two games and actually statistically outperformed Notre Dame in all categories except scoring (which obviously matters the most.) How that makes them look like a BCS contender, I don't understand.
To castigate the whole team for the butter-fingers of a couple of players is unfair. Despite the first two fumbles, Michigan came close to recapturing the lead by the end of the first half. (Yeah, yeah, I know close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades, yada, yada....)
I DO agree with you that the defense has been a disappointment all year. RR's spread--the NEW system--effects the offense, what's the defense's excuse? They have more return players and are supposed to be dominating. I don't think the defense deserves any patience from anybody. If anything, the offense is showing more potential than the defense.
I was impressed with Threet. He's come a long way. And it's promising that he hasn't thrown an interception yet. He deserves to be the starter and he is showing improvement every game.
And McGuffie? Can you say Heisman? (He'll probably be competing for the Heisman against Pryor in a couple of years.)
I like you guys, but I have to disagree a bit here:
First of all, to compare the Notre Dame game to other games with other coaches in other eras is pointless, at best.
Secondly, Michigan showed a lot of improvement from the first two games and actually statistically outperformed Notre Dame in all categories except scoring (which obviously matters the most.) How that makes them look like a BCS contender, I don't understand.
To castigate the whole team for the butter-fingers of a couple of players is unfair. Despite the first two fumbles, Michigan came close to recapturing the lead by the end of the first half. (Yeah, yeah, I know close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades, yada, yada....)
I DO agree with you that the defense has been a disappointment all year. RR's spread--the NEW system--effects the offense, what's the defense's excuse? They have more return players and are supposed to be dominating. I don't think the defense deserves any patience from anybody. If anything, the offense is showing more potential than the defense.
I was impressed with Threet. He's come a long way. And it's promising that he hasn't thrown an interception yet. He deserves to be the starter and he is showing improvement every game.
And McGuffie? Can you say Heisman? (He'll probably be competing for the Heisman against Pryor in a couple of years.)
I'd like to politely disagree. The turnovers were obviously ridiculous, but (once in a rare while), these things will happen.
On the sunny side, the offense looked like an offense! And the defense, except for a few plays, looked pretty good.
I am anxious to see the Wisc game -- my feeling is a BIG win for Michigan.
nice site, btw - lots of neat info here.
you guys make some good points...but let's be honest: the turnovers were freaky....like "wake up the echos, Rockne's ghost hit me" freaky. Seriously dropping balls with no one around is extremely rare and probably (hopefully) will not be seen in this excess for another twenty years or so.
As for "wanting it more" well...that is apparent when the ball mystericaly bounces to the ND guy EVERY time *(see Rockne above) which was the weirdest damn phenomenon.
on the plus side, the improvement in offensive execution to at least get on to normal game type levels was enough for most Michigan fans to forego suicide for another week...or two as in this case.
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