Josh Metellus Orange Bowl Performance

Submitted by Unfiltered Manball on

In trying to find silver linings in yesterday's loss- it was encouraging to see next season's possible contributors showing promise.

Looking over the game's box score, I see that Metellus had 7 tackles.  In this his first game with an expanded role (was he playing in place of Peppers?)- all things considered- I thought he performed quite well.

Looking forward to seeing Metellus playing more in the coming years.

Any other freshman or sophmores who played yesterday you feel could be major parts of the 2017 season?

 

 

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reshp1

December 31st, 2016 at 1:40 PM ^

The counterpoint is there weren't many creases to be found and Smith is far more adept at grinding a few yards out of a would be tfl. The only thing I thought they used Smith for that I didn't like were the sweeps. By the time he got to the edge the entire defensive back field had already rallied there to meet him

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DairyQueen

December 31st, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

100% 

It's 6 of one things or a half-dozen of the other.

Smith can grind nothing into something, but not hit a homerun, and Evans can hit a homerun, but can't break tackles like Smith can.

When you don't have a consistent O-Line, there isn't an obvious choice who to hand it off to.

And seeing the pass blocking, our O-Line got shown for what it is, workable against middling competition, but outplayed against the big boys.

The upside is they were seniors so either way the ceiling was reached and now we'll see what kind of O-Line recruiter and developer Harbaugh and Drevno are.

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Mr. Owl

December 31st, 2016 at 3:45 PM ^

Evans may also weigh 30-40 lbs less than Cook.  The reason he broke those runs had quite a bit to do with the pounding Smith took.  Smith can block better too, and with the game that the line had blocking was kinda needed wherever you could get it.  If Evans had gotten the ball a lot early, he wouldn't have had nearly what he had that beat them.

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MGoStrength

December 31st, 2016 at 8:52 PM ^

Evans is listed at 5'11" 200 lbs and Cook is listed at 5'11" 213 lbs.  Coming out of high school Cook was listed at 196 lbs, so essentially the same weight as Evans coming out of high school.  At this point, Cook carries more muscle mass, but he's older.  My guess is in another few years when Evans is Cook's age they weigh about the same.  These two ahtletes are very similarly sized. 

Joined: 07/29/2010

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MGoStrength

December 31st, 2016 at 11:56 PM ^

Athletes carry their weight differently. Weights are not easy to assess eyeballing it.  I've been a strength coach at a number of colleges and worked with hundreds of athletes.  I've seen 5'7" and 6'5" guys both weigh 200lbs.  It would be hard to look at the two and say they are the same weight.  Unless a guy is a similar height and weight to you and you can stand next to him in shorts and a t-shirt it's difficult to assess them by eye.  I don't think I can accurately assess a guys weight within 20 lbs when he's wearing a football uniform and pads.  Unless you stood next to him in warmups when he was wearing a t-shirt I find it hard to believe that simply seeing a guy in his uniform can be an accurate assessment.  

Joined: 07/29/2010

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uncle leo

December 31st, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^

Do Smith any service. He had 16 carries for 36 yards, Evans had 49 on 8 carries.

I get a little exhausted (not picking on you specifically) hearing about that "He can get you 2, 3 yards when you need it." Honestly, what running back can't? Sure, if it's 3rd and 1 or 2, he may be a slightly better option but Evans should have been the guy this whole season.

 

Joined: 07/29/2012

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bamf16

December 31st, 2016 at 11:52 PM ^

Smith is what he is, an incredibly hard working and determined short yardage back.  Some backs have the ability to make a mediocre offensive line look good, and others make mediocre offensive lines look worse.  Smith isn't a "make a mediocre OL look good" type.  

 

Evans is the kind of back who if things are clogged, can make a single cut and get outside and gain yards, which we did see against FSU.  The problem is Evans doesn't break tackles all that well (as we saw throughout the season) so it's understandable why he wasn't made the feature back, though I'd have liked to have seen more of him in UM's 3 losses.

Joined: 01/05/2014

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The FannMan

December 31st, 2016 at 4:50 PM ^

Smith was supposed to be the tough, grinder in that class.  Derrick Green was supposed to the five-star bell-cow running back.  Smith stepped-up and became "The Man."  Green did not live up to the expectations.

Like you, I am not disrespecting Smith.  He exceeded expectations.  However, I would have loved to have a senior, elite level back on this team.  That role was supposed to have been Green's.

Joined: 11/25/2008

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Inflammable Flame

December 31st, 2016 at 1:23 PM ^

First, not to nitpick, but I believe you spelled his name two different ways.... Second, I was pleasantly surprised with his performance...All things considered. And do look forward to watching his growth as a player.

Joined: 11/14/2015

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904GoBlue

December 31st, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^

I thought the guys who had the best game last night were mostly guys coming back...Mo Hurst, McCray, Evans, Bunting...Going to really miss Taco! He was a beast last night.

Joined: 09/08/2016

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ColeIsCorky

December 31st, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^

I for the most part agree, but I think that had a bit more to do with the commentating as well. Taco was all over the backfield against a 1st round offensive tackle while Walker was facing offensive linemen that weren't exactly to that caliber. Taco improved his draft stock if you ask me. Taco - 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 2 QB hurries Walker - 4 tackles, 1 sack, 4 TFL, 0 QB hurries I didn't see the QB hits stat, but Taco was destroying Francois all game long. Again, this against a 1st Rd OT. I think both were pretty equally dominant. Taco had the tougher task if you ask me.

Joined: 11/15/2016

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Fab and Fresh

January 1st, 2017 at 12:21 AM ^

I love when people say "I've been saying for weeks now blah blah blah." Like, dude, you don't have a show. You're not a sports talking head. Nobody cared when you said it the first time. The fact that you keep saying it is annoying. Your sense of self worth with regards to your sports opinions are incredibly overestimated.

Not an apples to apples, but a similar situation nevertheless.



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Ihatebux

December 31st, 2016 at 2:09 PM ^

I'm torn on McCray.  He is very big and hits hard.  He generally makes good decisions against the run, but he is not very good at pass coverage.  He is not fast enought to keep up with TEs or WRs.  

On the other hand I was very impressed with Dymonte's speed on one long Cook run.   He chased him down from a long way.  

Joined: 09/11/2008

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MFanWM

December 31st, 2016 at 4:01 PM ^

Having either McCray or Gedeon on Cook out of the backfield was a match up that FSU wanted to get all game.  Honestly, both improved significantly through the season getting back into coverage.

Cook is on another level than any back Michigan faced this year in terms of ability.

Joined: 09/19/2010

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atticusb

December 31st, 2016 at 5:08 PM ^

The issue is that we never flip our D, so with McCray a true MLB, it's easy for an offense to line up, then motion into a highly favorable matchup against McCray.  Either get and play all "hybrid" LBs, and give up meat against the run, or have the LBs switch, at least some of the time, when offenses motion in order to mitigate possible RPS damage

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BlueintheLou

January 1st, 2017 at 1:19 AM ^

McCray drastically improved in this department throughout the season. Even last night, the long gain on the wheel route to Dalvin, McCray was right on him and it took a perfect throw to beat him. Even slightly underthrown and McCray breaks that up. I thought he performed admirably late in the season in coverage. I'm excited at his potential next season. 

Joined: 09/13/2008

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bamf16

December 31st, 2016 at 11:56 PM ^

He did indeed.  Between him, Wheatley, and Asiasi, and with Speight looking pretty poor in his 3 game losing streak, I have to wonder if there's any buyer's remores either from him or the coaching staff in changing positions.

 

And if he does stick at WR, going to be tough with the more prototypical wideouts on the roster.

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