Posted at 8:00am -- 10/15/2009What Happened and What is Means? – Iowa Game
Some preliminary comments are in order to set the stage.
First, I expected UM to lose by two touchdowns. The team played better than at MSU, excepting the turnovers. Minor showed once again why all of us who follow UM football will miss him so much next year. He gets the tough yards that no other Michigan back can get. His success leads to the obvious question of who will be the next UM big back?
Second, I fully expected UM to load the box and that happened to the bitter end. Coach Robinson could not let the Iowa tailbacks control the game from beginning to end. And so many of the defensive alignments witnessed last night looked at times like some of the blasts from the past; a 5-2, a 5-3, or even my old favorite the 6-2. In addition, many times only one true deep back was present.
Third, the amount of UM turnovers was unexpected and these turnovers eventually decided the game more than any factor.
Fourth, the offensive line played very well, better than at MSU, and better against an arguably better defense. But the MSU staff did an A+ job in calling the schemes and blitzes. And so on to the game discussion.
Again, Michigan demonstrated that if one is a casual fan just looking for some Saturday entertainment, this might be the team to watch. This team came to win and was very well prepared. Even misfiring so often, UM scored 28 points against a pretty sound defense. Even playing on band-aids and with a sell out package, begging to be countered by basic strategy, UM “only” gave up 30. But 30 points are still better than 28 and that is the final analysis.
The writer agrees with Coach Robinson’s sell out strategies on defense. It could have been a long night watching Iowa chew up the field with fifteen-play drives. Coach Rob knows quite well that the Iowa offense is basic and time tested, like that of Vince Lombardi. If a defense adapts and overloads to stop one facet, another is in line. Last night the other facets were the rollouts (which Iowa always uses), the naked boots (which Iowa frequently uses) and the tight end disappearing into seams or vacated areas. Coach Rob knew these simple adjustments would eventually rear up and he hoped that robbing Peter to pay Paul could provide enough tax money to stay out of jail.
In the end the strategy should have worked, but the unforeseen event of five turnovers reared its ugly head. This is the third straight game that the defense has reared itself and stopped opponents short of the goal line in several circumstances. Again the defense kept the offense within striking range by providing damage control. In the end, for the second straight week, the offense had a chance to win, and with this current UM defense that is all Coach Rob can ask.
Some good news is that a few select UM players on defense continue to play magnificently. Stevie Brown is a joy to watch nowadays and B. Graham is clearly UM’s best player, hopefully heading to postseason honors. But take note, both of the above are seniors and no replacements wait in the wings.
The defensive backfield is being recrafted for the remainder of this year and Woolfolk’s move is likely to be permanent, unless UM puts Turner there as a 2010 experiment. Warren is playing at an NFL draft level (lower rounds) and an early exit by Warren could devastate UM’s defense even further next year. UM’s failure to recruit quantity and quality on defense could mean that the offense may have to score more than 30 points a game to win next year.
And so, UM must rely on hope the rest of the season:
• Hoping that the band-aid personnel can execute Coach Rob’s desperate schemes.
• Hoping that Coach Robinson stays.
• Hoping that Warren stays.
• Hoping the offense misfires on going deep against the UM backfield.
Much will be written and spoken about Tate’s little brew-ha at the end of the Iowa game. Coach Rod sent a strong message; regardless of what the media says you, Tate, have things to learn and this entire show will be run my way and not your way. Coach Rod basically sacrificed his best chance at winning to make this point to a true freshman. Now it will be most interesting to see how the California kid reacts mentally. Will he pout or work his ass off to get it right? Tate just started to wing the ball and made some bad reads, both running the read option and in the secondary. In short, he was impatient and reverted back to a very human method of dealing with adversity: the easiest and quickest path. But this path (letting it fly) was dangerous to the team and against what he was being coached to do.
This game demonstrates that UM can play with many of the Big Ten teams on the road. But to demonstrate improvement to all, a breakthrough win or two must be forthcoming.
The Iowa match-up was somewhat favorable to UM. Iowa does not have blazing speed or complex schemes (on either side of the ball). Iowa did not flood the linebackers on pass patterns. UM did not hesitate in filling holes yesterday, having a Kamikaze attitude. Future opponents will provide match-ups not as pleasant, especially Ohio State.
The season boils down to winnable games against Delaware State, Illinois and Purdue. Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State provide mountains that may not be overcome, although if the turnovers are erased UM can likely play well enough to hang with Penn State and Wisky.
But remember in closing, Coach Rodriguez comes to win. Some may be upset that he gets upset on the sidelines, not me: he gets upset because he wants to win and someone or something gets in the way. He will prepare his team to have a shot to win some tough games that are on the horizon. But, like Coach Rob, Coach Rod needs experienced talented, tough players to get it done. Will power is great, but athletes far surpass will power.
UM had every chance to win against Iowa Saturday night and the team blew some toes off. So, will this be a bitter pill to further motivate, or will a downward slide known to geologists as creeping engage and destroy? I am betting on the first, these guys want to go to a bowl
Written by Doc4blu
Go Blue -- Wear Maize!
4 comments:
Eroc,
One of the MSU players was recently quoted that "Michigan played just how we practiced." That makes me suspicious. Why were they ready for Michigan and why did it take Michigan so long to get untracked? Iowa wasn't quite as ready to stuff Michigan's offense. I thought this type of offense had many options. What's going on?
FWIW, Michigan only scored 21 points against the defense because of Donovan Warren's interception.
Nice article, but 1 question. I thought Tate was taken out because of the concussion he suffered, not because RR wanted to make a statement.
I believe what you just described was a team that shows improvement from the last game. While still very young and inexperienced, this team will eventually meld into a good team. I agree that Tate attempted to take on too much and didn't effectivly utilize his teammates. Tate is good, but has much to lern about college football. While I did not like the loss, I hope a few lessons were learned from the past two games. Delaware State should be a practice session to hone skills. We shall see.
Post a Comment