Sorry but to me they aren't talented at all. I dont care what Burnett's star rating was in high school, look at his career. Same goes with Nkamhoua. These are guys that are role players on other teams but are now counted on to score in double digits. They've never shown in their careers that they're capable of consistently scoring in double figures and playing big minutes. For Juwan to put together this roster and expect to compete in the Big10 is ridiculous.
I don't think any fan in their right mind thought Howard was going to be a better coach than Belein. But I think alot of us me included thought Juwan could get more elite recruits than Belein which would've somewhat masked his coaching inexperience. But he's not bringing in great classes and frankly this roster he put together outside of Mcdaniel is a joke. Does anyone honestly think he's capable of turning things around and winning like Belein did? I don't see us making the tourney again with him as our coach, I like Juwan but its just not working.
Walker looked absolutely terrible in the spring game. He obviously felt like guys like Waller, Hill, and Mcborrows would beat him out and honestly they should. You can have all the athleticism in the world, but when you're getting burnt by recievers that don't even see the field in the regular season its a sign he needs alot of work. Thats not to say he can't develop into a good corner, but just seems like he doesn't have a feel for it. Look at guys like Sainristril, or not to compare Walker to Woodson but...Just saying those guys made the transition from offense to defense ratber easily, or at least from the start they had a much better feel for it than Walker showed.
Jessie Minter said before the season he felt Jyaire Hill would make an impact later in the year. That didn't happen because Wallace was playing well. The sample size is small, but watching Hill in the spring game he was a ballhawk and every time they threw his way he was right on the receiver. At 6'2 he needs to add wejght as I believe hes only listed at 170lbs. But IMO the secondary is going to be very good, especially with guys like Moore, Graham, Stewart etc pressuring the QB. This secondary will get alot of takeaways IMO. By the end of the year, Hill and Johnson could be the best Duo we've had in quite awhile. Getting Wallace was a great addition last year, but I think going to the portal again in this instance can make a guy like Hill or Waller transfer. Again this is just my opinion but I think Hill would be just fine, especially against the majority of Big10 offenses outside of the obvious few.
The '97 defense gets a slight edge IMO over the '23 defense, mainly because of Charles. Some fans do forget though that we had 3 future pros at LB(Sword, Gold, Jones). The offense is night and day different. Even though '97s OL was loaded with NFL talent, we featured kind of a weak RB group. Howard was a solid college RB, Anthony Thomas was only a freshman. The recievers were also very average. Streets was a good college WR, but after that Russell Shaw and Co. were average at best. People say Michigan would've been crushed by Nebraska that year which is ridiculous. Just like what the defense did this year to a relatively one-dimensional Washington offense, that '97 defense would've stuffed Nebraska's one dimensional offense. I think OSUs '02 NC team is alot like '97 Michigan. Win with defense and a running game, with a QB that makes good decisions. Well, nobody gave OSU a chance against Miami if I remember right before that game. The perception is that because Michigan didn't blow teams out and Nebraska did, that Michigan didnt stand a chance...It's alot like the '02 Buckeyes and Miami although I hate comparing our team to an Ohio team.
I think Jyaire Hill will win the spot opposite Johnson. From what i've seen of him, hes a ball hawk like Johnson is. Walker could eventually develop into a good corner for us, but I feel like he has a ways to go still compared to Hill and even Waller.
Idk how you look at that play and say that was Johnsons fault..Hell even if JJ underthrew it, Johnson could've waited and caught it.....It was high and behind Johnson with absolutely nobody around him. It was a terrible throw period.
That's because we expect JJ by now to not make mistakes like the goal line interception...We expect him to hit a wide open Johnson on what wasnt even that deep of a throw. If Michigan is going to beat OSU, and actually win in the playoffs...JJ has to be playing his best ball. I don't think fans are making unreasonable complaints. He played poorly today, and has played poorly in the 3 games Moore was head coach.
Not only that, but the one play action with JJ under center and CJ wide open.....They only tried that once. So ya, its pretty frustrating when it feels like Moore is using a Tecmo Bowl playbook.
Hopefully they just took Wilson out as a precaution. Because without him, the only reliable reciever is Johnson. Tyler Morris has shown flashes, pretty disappointing that Clemons hasn't done more this year. We need Wilson next week or I just don't see us making enough plays through the air.
Harrison is going to go over 100 yards. The question is it gonna be a quiet 100 yard game or is he going to be converting for them on 3rd or 4th down etc. I expect OSU to attack Wallace, who's been solid all season but that was mostly due to opponents ineptitude in the passing game. I think Mcgregor has really come on the past few games, he beat PSUs all american tackle several times but didn't get the holding calls. Mccord is very average under pressure, hopefully we can get to him without having to blitz.
Wallace was a serviceable pickup and Michigan needed a veteran at corner, but let's face it....He's not going to be able to hold up against the better passing teams in the country. I'm a little suprised Jyraie Hill isn't playing more, I expected him to come on late like Johnson did last season.
Harrison Jr is gonna get his catches and yards....Even last year he was over 100 yards although it seemed relatively quiet. I think Josh Wallace is a weak link in the secondary, but they've been able to hide it because of our pressure and the fact that we haven't faced many great passing teams. I fully expect OSU to throw at Wallace, hell even Will Johnson was getting beat. We have to be able to pressure McCord the way PSU did, otherwise they will toast our secondary. Also I think OSU having Henderson is going to make it that much tougher on our defense. Michigan needs to play much better overall on defense than they did against Maryland. I don't think Mccord is going to make mistakes like Tua always does, and lets face it Maryland was moving the ball pretty easily for most of the game.
OSUs defense is better I believe this year. However, their offense isn't quite as good with McCord. Traveyon Henderson could be the X factor. I felt better about this game a few weeks ago, I just don't know if Michigan can make enough plays in the passing game. The QB advantage goes to Michigan, but JJ doesn't have a Marvin Harrison to throw to. I don't see OSU defending us like they did last year. Idk I just think with no Harbaugh on the sidelines, JJ isn't at his best and he'll need to be to win
The playcalling against PSU was understandable...Their pressure couldn't be stopped. Maryland was different and I thought the playcalling was brutal. I dont care if JJ is in rhythm or not, Cornelius Johnson was so wide open there was no excuse for how poorly thrown that pass was. Moore has coached 3 games now this season, and despite the wins JJ has looked bad in all 3. Maryland really could've picked him off a couple different times. Michigan's gonna have to make plays in the passing game, I would really be shocked if we were able to run all over OSU. I think not having Harbaugh on the sidelines definitely effects JJ.
Eventually i'd like to see more of Hill and less of Wallace. I think teams will be throwing at Wallace more and more. He's serviceable but against the better offenses he'll get exposed.
I am by no means a Cade fan, but he started playing at a time where a Michigan QB couldn't even make an accurate throw 15-20 yards downfield. When I think of a Michigan QB that was a turnover waiting to happen, that's Shea Patterson. Mcnamara if I remember right had 6int's for the season. He was a poor man's Brian Griese in my book.
Nobody on this board is talking about the play of Jyaire Hill. CB #20 in Maize...Had an INT called back on a penalty and a big hit on a screen pass. He looked in position and like a CB all game and yet I see people talking about Walker. Walker looked pathetic and yes I know its the spring game, it doesn't mean a whole lot but cmon Walker was holding guys, couldnt find the ball in coverage....He looked pathetic compared to Jyaire Hill. All i'm saying is I think we're gonna hear alot more about Hill come Fall camp, and he should be in position to get some playing time this year for sure.
He absolutely scored too quick, he even said so on the field after the game. How can you say otherwise? OSU shouldn't have even had a chance at a winning FG....Ruggles and Moody were the best in the Big10 this year. Georgia was very fortunate that Ruggles missed. I know you're not trying to compare JJs last possession with Bennetts. Lets see, JJ starts just shy of the 25 yard line with no timeouts and like 45 secs on the clock. Georgia had timeouts and over 2 mins. Just stop. Once again your blame is misplaced. That was Jim Harbaugh letting clock bleed down before Michigan made it 51-45. That was Michigan's defense giving up a 7 yard run on 2nd and 8, making an easy 3rd and 1 conversion, burning more clock and making Harbaugh burn his remaining timeouts.
Ya i'm making a point that the future is bright for JJ and this team, and brought up Bennett only to convey that even NC QBs can make a wrong read. Don't give me this college teams score more now baloney...Michigan's defense held the best offense in the country(OSU) to 3 2nd half points. They either completely underestimated TCU, or Minter let them down..Probably a combo of both. Thats why Michigan lost. You feel it was JJs fault they lost. How many times was TCU in 3rd or 4th and short dude? Michigan was in 3rd and 8 or more so many times. Again according to you this is all JJ's fault. JJ didn't bring his team back because his defense failed him. Bottom line. Despite the 2 pick 6s, despite all the silly goal line plays and the embarrassing defense, Michigan was down 41-38 and all they had to do was cover a 5 yard out pattern. Not only could they not stop the first down, they gave up a 75 yard TD. Oh by the way what did Stetson Bennett have to do with Ruggles missing a 50 yard kick? That was like Moody missing from that distance. Bennett and Georgia scored too fast and it should've cost them the game.
Well the shitty unsophisticated passing game was the only thing keeping Michigan from getting completely embarrassed. They did nothing else well all game.
He collided with Will right around the same time the ball got to Johnston. I don't think there's anything there, I think Michigan was dumb to blitz. Furthermore, Michigan's defense was swiss cheese against the run. Duggan really didn't do anything. Wasn't like the guy was dropping dimes all over the place. They took advantage of our stupidity, that play went for 76 yards, Duggan threw for only 225 the entire game.
Idk its strange, is what they do in bowl prep to blame for the idiotic goal line play calling? Or the defensive calls? I do question how much film Michigan watched on TCU...As they seemed to struggle all game with missed blocks. Mccarthy seemed confused by their defense as well at times. Or maybe Michigan was just on fire after OSU and Indy, and the layoff screwed them up mentally.
I agree completely...Its the final step, the defense despite their poor performance yesterday has the players and the scheme to be just as good if not better next year. Lets develop these young WRs so they're confident in November and beyond. There's no excuse anymore to over rely on the run almost like you're scared to make a mistake passing the ball. That's almost what it felt like at times this year, don't try to reign in JJ, let him be himself he's only going to get better. People are overreacting acting like JJ is all of a sudden turnover prone. He had what? 4 interceptions after 12 games? We've certainly seen plenty of QBs alot more careless with the football than JJ Mccarthy the past 20+ years.
I don't think we're giving OSU enough credit(I know a suprise). Alot of the things they tried to do against us, we tried to do against TCU and it backfired the same way. I don't really understand why Minter played TCU that way, maybe because we were behind? It just didn't make sense especially when it clearly wasn't working. Nobody is going to convince me TCU has a better offense than OSU. I don't want to use the word fortunate, but I feel like if we ended up playing OSU again the game would've been much closer.
Well if we're being honest, the QBs haven't been able to allow for it. We've seen it here and there in a few games by a few different guys. Milton is the only other one I can think of that had the arm to really push the ball downfield. His accuracy was severely lacking at the time, and while JJ made some huge mistakes in this game, I thought for a guy that wasn't used to throwing every down and abandoning the run he single handedly kept us in the game. I don't expect them to reinvent the wheel here, but more passing on 1st down, or just in general would be a start. Harbaugh can't be that blind/dumb not to see the common theme with all these playoff teams is playmakers at QB.
I understand that JJs were pick 6s and of course they hurt. We can agree to disagree....One is an upperclassmen that finished Heisman runner up, and the other is a true Sophomore that never was put into an abandon the run throw it every down type game. Against an unfamiliar team running an unfamiliar scheme. Credit TCU they were able to confuse JJ at times, these are things to be expected of a young QB. You can't single out the 2 pick 6s but then give him no credit for keeping Michigan in the game. Cuz it certainly wasn't the defense or the running game keeping us in it. I'd like to know what these wrong reads were on RPOs cuz guess what, Stetson Bennett had a huge blunder in the beginning of the Georgia game. He kept the ball for a minimal gain and the RB would've scored. Thats a NC title winning QB making a bad RPO read. And you're probably talking about goal line stuff. The fumbled snap Kalel Mullings took responsibility for, unless you're talking about the end of the game when JJs looking at the sidelines and the ball was snapped. JJ also out rushed Duggan, sorry I wasnt impressed with him...He had 150 yards passing if you take away that ridiculous all out blitz where Johnston caught a 5 yard out and ran 75 yards. JJ "Couldnt do it" in your words because everytime he closed the gap, the defense was an absolute joke. How do you not see that? And it was from running the ball, with their backup RB I might add. Michigan scores 45 points despite the blunders they should win the game. Against ANYONE, with the way the defense played all year. If I told you before the game Michigan scores 45pts but loses, you would automatically say JJ was the reason why? No, the defense didn't show up. TCU has a good offense but are they better than OSU offensively? Hell no they're not.
Playoff win at the very least, NC title at the most. IMO, with Mccarthy at QB and assuming the running game stays good/great....The only thing missing is opening up the playbook/being a more creative passing offense. Which I expect to see along with JJ getting better. Defensively, idk what Minter was doing against TCU....But i'm not going to ignore the fact that his defenses shut every other offense down they faced. The only thing that concerns me a little is honestly recruiting. I would've thought Harbaugh would land a better class after 2 straight league titles. I know we've done well in the portal but still.
All I had to do was scroll down one more, you actually said it lol. Ya Iowa has a chance to goto Indy, that's not saying much in that putrid division. But they wont have a chance in hell against anyone from the East. You are talking like Cade Mcnamara was a difference maker. Look I liked Cade, up until he acted like he couldnt be benched and performed like shit. You are dreaming if you think Iowa is going to be able to surround him with the same type of talent he had at Michigan. Their O-line is poor, they have no recievers, and average RBs. Oh and their defense loses several star players. But no Cade will makeup for all of that because hes so great. He'll be rolling right and throwing 60 yard dimes to Erick All.
What's your point dude...You think Mcnamara was/is the better QB is that it? He didn't look like the better QB earlier this year..Then he got hurt. JJ made some mistakes, it was his first full season. If you can't see how this team is better with JJ as opposed to Cade then i'm wasting my time. Honestly I blame Harbaugh and the OCs if anyone...Michigan wasn't prepared all season for someone to completely shut down their run game. It wasn't because of some lack of ability either, it was the arrogance of the coaching staff wanting to run the ball no matter what. Guess we'll see next year what kind of season Mcnamara has, because if he's as good as you think he is, Iowa should win the West.
And what games did JJ lose? We got jobbed against State(Because whats his name didnt run wild right?) But we didn't get jobbed against TCU? This is your logic im using so correct me if i'm wrong. Mcnamara couldn't complete a 10 yard pass against cupcakes this year. He assumed he didn't have to put in the work and it showed. Then he got hurt so this is a non issue anyway. Anyone that actually thinks Cade Mcnamara is going to win Iowa a Big10 title is out of their freaking minds. Unless Iowa gets freakish WRs in the portal and changes their OC, they'll be lucky to go 8-4. I liked Cade, I had no problem with him starting camp ahead of JJ....But then his performance and the way he just assumed he was untouchable just rubbed me the wrong way. He's an upgrade over Petras thats for sure, but Iowa is a horrendous offense for a QB that wants to throw the football. Want proof? Look at Jake Rudock at Iowa and then at Michigan.
Can't agree with you there man. JJ threw it only 20 times a game because thats their offense. Are you trying to tell me that JJs performance against OSU/Purdue/TCU was nothing more than game manager stuff? Michigan basically abandoned the run in the 3rd quarter and Michigan's offense was on fire. Yes, JJ made 2 huge mistakes, its his first year starting.....I'll say it right now I don't think Michigan has ever had this combination of running and passing abilities. Please dont say Denard, who I used to call Woopsie because of the amount of fumbles/interceptions he had. I'm not sure what you expect out of a true Sophomore that played sparingly as a freshman and who's only 19. Dude he outplayed Stroud and then outplays the Heisman runner up. Oh and with recievers who routinely couldn't get open or catch passes. Ronnie Bell is the only one who might catch on NFL wise. This isn't Chad Henne days with Braylon, Avant, and Breaston 3 NFL recievers.
Didn't mean this game, was talking about throughout their careers. Green especially, but Turner is also lacking those ball skills that would make him elite with the speed he possesses. There's a reason he'll run like a sub 4.4 40 and still won't be drafted till 4th or 5th round.
Ya after a few days/weeks most Michigan fans will be overall happy with the season, but still you have to be frustrated because i'm not sure Michigan will get an easier semifinal opponent. And frankly, Michigan could've beaten Georgia or OSU in the title game. No team this year is dominant. I don't know if Michigan will get a better chance to win it all honestly. With Harbaugh's bowl history, and the fact that in a 8 team playoff idk if Michigan is capable of winning multiple bowl games in a season. It sounds silly to say, and i'm not trying to slight TCU, but does anybody here really think we would've still been in the game if we made those mistakes against OSU or Georgia yesterday? Personally I think they both destroy us with all the mistakes we made. Yes I know TCU turned it over as well, but TCU didn't come up with 0 points at the goal line twice, or throw 2 pick 6s. TCU needed ALL of those things to happen AND uncharacteristic defense to win.
I think Michigan's OL was a little overrated. What I mean by that is Blake Corum's vision and toughness between the tackles would turn our running game from a 1-2 yard gain into 5-6 yard gains consistently. Edwards for all his talents just isn't able to do that, at least not yet. Michigan's rushing yards were heavily skewed against OSU, not to take away the holes the OL made but, OSU helped out by sending a mad run blitz and got caught twice. Take away Edwards first carry yesterday and the running game was average at best. Pass protection wasn't all that great either, as JJ more often than not was running around for his life. I'm not sure why Michigan makes goal line offense so hard...I've never seen a team so clueless from 5 yards and in. Especially with JJs ability to run...These are just a few things, JJ sneak it, JJ run an option and either keep it or pitch it out to RB, JJ fake option and step back and hit a TE/WR. Hell even throwing a fade would've been a better try than whatever the hell that was with Loveland, because if Loveland was supposed to throw back to Mccarthy....Why the hell was JJ just standing around at the 2 yard line looking lost? Alot of fans probably didn't notice because these things tend to not get brought up when you win, but JJ was getting away with some pretty reckless throws these past 3 or 4 games now. This time it caught up to him, but I think he had a hell of a year considering he's never really able to get into any kind of rhythm. I think he only gets better as a player, but what I don't care for is all the talking he does, and the fact that he walked out after 1 question. Hopefully he learns and doesn't double down on the talk ala a Chase Winovich. I'm not saying the talk had much impact in the game, just saying it'd be nice if all the players left the talking till after a W. Someone mentioned that it's just talk of confidence and maybe some of it is...But you never heard Charles Woodson probably the most confident/back it up player ever at Michigan spout off like JJ and some others. I thought it was bordering on disrespectful and maybe Michigan underestimated TCU. And JJ if you're gonna talk before the game, you better be ready to answer questions after and not punk out. Ok i'm done rambling, i'm sure i'll get downvoted because I criticized some things.
It falls on Minter sure, but it also falls on Turner. He should know in that situation with safeties blitzing he'll be the last line of defense. Instead he charges after Johnston out of control and grasps nothing but air. It was a ridiculously bad attempt by Turner.
That's not really TCUs style though to go 8-12 play drives. Not blitzing despite Duggan having time to throw was working out just fine. The guy was something like 8-21 before we went all blitz happy. Even with all of the silly offensive mistakes, I think Michigan wins the game if they didn't go all OSU Knowles on defense. You can't blitz like that unless you're sporting a pair or trio of Will Johnsons. Turner for all his speed has average ball skills/tackling. Not only that, but Turner should've known on that particular play(The Johnston out pattern and TD) that he was the last line of defense. If you're going to miss a tackle in that situation, at least make Johnston have to cut back inside and we don't give up a TD. That was a pathetic attempt at a tackle by Turner.
Funny thing about that play is if that's Will Johnson and not Turner in coverage, at the very most it's only a first down. Johnson already is our best cover and tackling corner. Turner for all his speed is lacking in ball skills when comparing the two, and Gemon Green is even worse. I was a little shocked OSU or even TCU didn't try 50/50 balls on Turner and Green. Those guys never turn around for the football.
Minter definitely screwed up, and TCU went after whoever Johnson wasn't covering. Pretty bad indictment of DJ Turner when TCU would rather throw at you then a true freshman. Goes to show that having speed at CB doesn't mean a whole lot....Turner has his moments but he certainly has been beaten or missed big tackles more often than not. And what exactly happened to this rush defense going back to Illinois?? OSU was gashing Michigan running the ball as well, but thankfully Ryan Day is pass happy or that might've been a tighter game. Idk if Michigan just didn't respect TCUs run game or what, but especially that 2nd and 8 on TCUs last possession and you give up 7 yards up the middle? That was the game right there. Targeting or not, Michigan wasn't scoring with no timeouts and a Harbaugh led 2 minute drill. Downvote me all you want, but Harbaughs 2 minute offenses are atrocious.
If they load the box like OSU, we should do some play action screen passes, Edwards slipping out into the flat and he'd have plenty of running room with good blocking. Dont really understand where our RB screen game went. I dont think we've ran one all season
Twitter is really the bottom of the barrel reading some of peoples comments on there. It's like reading Youtube comments. People are equating multiple tunnel incidents and Mazi Smith playing to a culture problem. The rumor is the All family was not happy with the way the medical staff handled his injury. He went to Florida against their advice and had spinal surgery. Maybe there's something to that? Somebody told Corum he could play then the next thing you know hes having surgery. They told St.Juste to medically retire then he goes on to Minnesota and is having a good career in the NFL.
Not that it mattered, but what was that call on the Oki sack? Forward progress was stopped in the middle of a sack? Ridiculous. Unbelievable performance all around. Excited for guys like Mcgregor and Moore moving forward. OSU didnt even try Will Johnson much so thats a credit to him.
OSU plays their best against Michigan....If they play as well as they did today Michigan has no chance. Dax Hill is a difference maker, but he can't cover all 3 of OSUs great recievers. OSU is going to spread Michigan out, and then pick on either Gray or Green/Turner. Now, if they are forced to max protect the entire game, Macdonald can play 2 deep safeties. OSU isn't stupid, Hutchinson and Ojabo will be getting chipped by their RBs to give Stroud enough time. Just my opinion but Michigan would need a few turnovers and their best game offensively all season to possibly win. If OSU gets a quick 2 score lead it could get ugly.
He was basically unavailable today. If he was at full strength today, it's probably not 56-7. OSU still wins, but...
Are you serious? OSU went up 21-0 by the end of the 1st quarter. Walker was a non factor because OSUs offense made him a non factor. The same way Michigan could've taken him out of the game if even half of those FGs through 3 quarters were TDs.....
OSU beating Sparty like they did makes it embarrassing we even lost to them. It's more an indictment on Harbaugh/Gattis. State's weakness all year has been the secondary, as much as I hate OSU...Their coaches do a great job of scouting a team's weakness and then staying aggressive with a lead. Michigan should've attacked MSUs secondary so much more than they did.
This is pretty simple. It all boils down to Harbaugh and this offense acting like it's 1985. Fans wonder why we're so bad in the redzone? Because for 7 games we played bully ball and ran, ran, ran, and ran some more. You're not going to beat the best teams on your schedule when the first 7 games of the season you barely attempted 20 passes. This offense under Gattis is absolutely atrocious. I feel like i'm watching live NES Tecmo Bowl, where Gattis has a 4 play playbook. Run up the middle over and over, or throw a 5 yard pass. Sprinkle in an occasional deep ball. Michigan under Harbaugh will never win anything trying to play power football, being ultra conservative....Can you imagine Harbaugh/Gattis on 4th and 1 going play-action and throwing deep like State did? That takes something those clowns don't have. What good is JJ Mcarthy in the coming years if Josh Gattis/Harbaugh are still trying to run the ball 35-50 times a game? Harbaugh needs to let "tradition" go meaning an aggressive passing attack, with a running game that compliments that. Look around the country, or teams that consistently are playoff contenders....Every single one of those teams have/had a dynamic, explosive passing attack. But we're Meeechigan, we can run up the middle on anyone 50 times a game. What a joke.
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Sorry but to me they aren't talented at all. I dont care what Burnett's star rating was in high school, look at his career. Same goes with Nkamhoua. These are guys that are role players on other teams but are now counted on to score in double digits. They've never shown in their careers that they're capable of consistently scoring in double figures and playing big minutes. For Juwan to put together this roster and expect to compete in the Big10 is ridiculous.
I don't think any fan in their right mind thought Howard was going to be a better coach than Belein. But I think alot of us me included thought Juwan could get more elite recruits than Belein which would've somewhat masked his coaching inexperience. But he's not bringing in great classes and frankly this roster he put together outside of Mcdaniel is a joke. Does anyone honestly think he's capable of turning things around and winning like Belein did? I don't see us making the tourney again with him as our coach, I like Juwan but its just not working.
Walker looked absolutely terrible in the spring game. He obviously felt like guys like Waller, Hill, and Mcborrows would beat him out and honestly they should. You can have all the athleticism in the world, but when you're getting burnt by recievers that don't even see the field in the regular season its a sign he needs alot of work. Thats not to say he can't develop into a good corner, but just seems like he doesn't have a feel for it. Look at guys like Sainristril, or not to compare Walker to Woodson but...Just saying those guys made the transition from offense to defense ratber easily, or at least from the start they had a much better feel for it than Walker showed.
Jessie Minter said before the season he felt Jyaire Hill would make an impact later in the year. That didn't happen because Wallace was playing well. The sample size is small, but watching Hill in the spring game he was a ballhawk and every time they threw his way he was right on the receiver. At 6'2 he needs to add wejght as I believe hes only listed at 170lbs. But IMO the secondary is going to be very good, especially with guys like Moore, Graham, Stewart etc pressuring the QB. This secondary will get alot of takeaways IMO. By the end of the year, Hill and Johnson could be the best Duo we've had in quite awhile. Getting Wallace was a great addition last year, but I think going to the portal again in this instance can make a guy like Hill or Waller transfer. Again this is just my opinion but I think Hill would be just fine, especially against the majority of Big10 offenses outside of the obvious few.
The '97 defense gets a slight edge IMO over the '23 defense, mainly because of Charles. Some fans do forget though that we had 3 future pros at LB(Sword, Gold, Jones). The offense is night and day different. Even though '97s OL was loaded with NFL talent, we featured kind of a weak RB group. Howard was a solid college RB, Anthony Thomas was only a freshman. The recievers were also very average. Streets was a good college WR, but after that Russell Shaw and Co. were average at best. People say Michigan would've been crushed by Nebraska that year which is ridiculous. Just like what the defense did this year to a relatively one-dimensional Washington offense, that '97 defense would've stuffed Nebraska's one dimensional offense. I think OSUs '02 NC team is alot like '97 Michigan. Win with defense and a running game, with a QB that makes good decisions. Well, nobody gave OSU a chance against Miami if I remember right before that game. The perception is that because Michigan didn't blow teams out and Nebraska did, that Michigan didnt stand a chance...It's alot like the '02 Buckeyes and Miami although I hate comparing our team to an Ohio team.
I think Jyaire Hill will win the spot opposite Johnson. From what i've seen of him, hes a ball hawk like Johnson is. Walker could eventually develop into a good corner for us, but I feel like he has a ways to go still compared to Hill and even Waller.
Idk how you look at that play and say that was Johnsons fault..Hell even if JJ underthrew it, Johnson could've waited and caught it.....It was high and behind Johnson with absolutely nobody around him. It was a terrible throw period.
That's because we expect JJ by now to not make mistakes like the goal line interception...We expect him to hit a wide open Johnson on what wasnt even that deep of a throw. If Michigan is going to beat OSU, and actually win in the playoffs...JJ has to be playing his best ball. I don't think fans are making unreasonable complaints. He played poorly today, and has played poorly in the 3 games Moore was head coach.
Not only that, but the one play action with JJ under center and CJ wide open.....They only tried that once. So ya, its pretty frustrating when it feels like Moore is using a Tecmo Bowl playbook.
Hopefully they just took Wilson out as a precaution. Because without him, the only reliable reciever is Johnson. Tyler Morris has shown flashes, pretty disappointing that Clemons hasn't done more this year. We need Wilson next week or I just don't see us making enough plays through the air.
Harrison is going to go over 100 yards. The question is it gonna be a quiet 100 yard game or is he going to be converting for them on 3rd or 4th down etc. I expect OSU to attack Wallace, who's been solid all season but that was mostly due to opponents ineptitude in the passing game. I think Mcgregor has really come on the past few games, he beat PSUs all american tackle several times but didn't get the holding calls. Mccord is very average under pressure, hopefully we can get to him without having to blitz.
Wallace was a serviceable pickup and Michigan needed a veteran at corner, but let's face it....He's not going to be able to hold up against the better passing teams in the country. I'm a little suprised Jyraie Hill isn't playing more, I expected him to come on late like Johnson did last season.
Harrison Jr is gonna get his catches and yards....Even last year he was over 100 yards although it seemed relatively quiet. I think Josh Wallace is a weak link in the secondary, but they've been able to hide it because of our pressure and the fact that we haven't faced many great passing teams. I fully expect OSU to throw at Wallace, hell even Will Johnson was getting beat. We have to be able to pressure McCord the way PSU did, otherwise they will toast our secondary. Also I think OSU having Henderson is going to make it that much tougher on our defense. Michigan needs to play much better overall on defense than they did against Maryland. I don't think Mccord is going to make mistakes like Tua always does, and lets face it Maryland was moving the ball pretty easily for most of the game.
OSUs defense is better I believe this year. However, their offense isn't quite as good with McCord. Traveyon Henderson could be the X factor. I felt better about this game a few weeks ago, I just don't know if Michigan can make enough plays in the passing game. The QB advantage goes to Michigan, but JJ doesn't have a Marvin Harrison to throw to. I don't see OSU defending us like they did last year. Idk I just think with no Harbaugh on the sidelines, JJ isn't at his best and he'll need to be to win
The playcalling against PSU was understandable...Their pressure couldn't be stopped. Maryland was different and I thought the playcalling was brutal. I dont care if JJ is in rhythm or not, Cornelius Johnson was so wide open there was no excuse for how poorly thrown that pass was. Moore has coached 3 games now this season, and despite the wins JJ has looked bad in all 3. Maryland really could've picked him off a couple different times. Michigan's gonna have to make plays in the passing game, I would really be shocked if we were able to run all over OSU. I think not having Harbaugh on the sidelines definitely effects JJ.
Eventually i'd like to see more of Hill and less of Wallace. I think teams will be throwing at Wallace more and more. He's serviceable but against the better offenses he'll get exposed.
I am by no means a Cade fan, but he started playing at a time where a Michigan QB couldn't even make an accurate throw 15-20 yards downfield. When I think of a Michigan QB that was a turnover waiting to happen, that's Shea Patterson. Mcnamara if I remember right had 6int's for the season. He was a poor man's Brian Griese in my book.
Nobody on this board is talking about the play of Jyaire Hill. CB #20 in Maize...Had an INT called back on a penalty and a big hit on a screen pass. He looked in position and like a CB all game and yet I see people talking about Walker. Walker looked pathetic and yes I know its the spring game, it doesn't mean a whole lot but cmon Walker was holding guys, couldnt find the ball in coverage....He looked pathetic compared to Jyaire Hill. All i'm saying is I think we're gonna hear alot more about Hill come Fall camp, and he should be in position to get some playing time this year for sure.
He absolutely scored too quick, he even said so on the field after the game. How can you say otherwise? OSU shouldn't have even had a chance at a winning FG....Ruggles and Moody were the best in the Big10 this year. Georgia was very fortunate that Ruggles missed. I know you're not trying to compare JJs last possession with Bennetts. Lets see, JJ starts just shy of the 25 yard line with no timeouts and like 45 secs on the clock. Georgia had timeouts and over 2 mins. Just stop. Once again your blame is misplaced. That was Jim Harbaugh letting clock bleed down before Michigan made it 51-45. That was Michigan's defense giving up a 7 yard run on 2nd and 8, making an easy 3rd and 1 conversion, burning more clock and making Harbaugh burn his remaining timeouts.
Ya i'm making a point that the future is bright for JJ and this team, and brought up Bennett only to convey that even NC QBs can make a wrong read. Don't give me this college teams score more now baloney...Michigan's defense held the best offense in the country(OSU) to 3 2nd half points. They either completely underestimated TCU, or Minter let them down..Probably a combo of both. Thats why Michigan lost. You feel it was JJs fault they lost. How many times was TCU in 3rd or 4th and short dude? Michigan was in 3rd and 8 or more so many times. Again according to you this is all JJ's fault. JJ didn't bring his team back because his defense failed him. Bottom line. Despite the 2 pick 6s, despite all the silly goal line plays and the embarrassing defense, Michigan was down 41-38 and all they had to do was cover a 5 yard out pattern. Not only could they not stop the first down, they gave up a 75 yard TD. Oh by the way what did Stetson Bennett have to do with Ruggles missing a 50 yard kick? That was like Moody missing from that distance. Bennett and Georgia scored too fast and it should've cost them the game.
Well the shitty unsophisticated passing game was the only thing keeping Michigan from getting completely embarrassed. They did nothing else well all game.
He collided with Will right around the same time the ball got to Johnston. I don't think there's anything there, I think Michigan was dumb to blitz. Furthermore, Michigan's defense was swiss cheese against the run. Duggan really didn't do anything. Wasn't like the guy was dropping dimes all over the place. They took advantage of our stupidity, that play went for 76 yards, Duggan threw for only 225 the entire game.
Idk its strange, is what they do in bowl prep to blame for the idiotic goal line play calling? Or the defensive calls? I do question how much film Michigan watched on TCU...As they seemed to struggle all game with missed blocks. Mccarthy seemed confused by their defense as well at times. Or maybe Michigan was just on fire after OSU and Indy, and the layoff screwed them up mentally.
I agree completely...Its the final step, the defense despite their poor performance yesterday has the players and the scheme to be just as good if not better next year. Lets develop these young WRs so they're confident in November and beyond. There's no excuse anymore to over rely on the run almost like you're scared to make a mistake passing the ball. That's almost what it felt like at times this year, don't try to reign in JJ, let him be himself he's only going to get better. People are overreacting acting like JJ is all of a sudden turnover prone. He had what? 4 interceptions after 12 games? We've certainly seen plenty of QBs alot more careless with the football than JJ Mccarthy the past 20+ years.
I don't think we're giving OSU enough credit(I know a suprise). Alot of the things they tried to do against us, we tried to do against TCU and it backfired the same way. I don't really understand why Minter played TCU that way, maybe because we were behind? It just didn't make sense especially when it clearly wasn't working. Nobody is going to convince me TCU has a better offense than OSU. I don't want to use the word fortunate, but I feel like if we ended up playing OSU again the game would've been much closer.
Well if we're being honest, the QBs haven't been able to allow for it. We've seen it here and there in a few games by a few different guys. Milton is the only other one I can think of that had the arm to really push the ball downfield. His accuracy was severely lacking at the time, and while JJ made some huge mistakes in this game, I thought for a guy that wasn't used to throwing every down and abandoning the run he single handedly kept us in the game. I don't expect them to reinvent the wheel here, but more passing on 1st down, or just in general would be a start. Harbaugh can't be that blind/dumb not to see the common theme with all these playoff teams is playmakers at QB.
Max Duggan 14-29 225yds 2td 2int
JJ Mccarthy 30-42 343yds 2td 2int
I understand that JJs were pick 6s and of course they hurt. We can agree to disagree....One is an upperclassmen that finished Heisman runner up, and the other is a true Sophomore that never was put into an abandon the run throw it every down type game. Against an unfamiliar team running an unfamiliar scheme. Credit TCU they were able to confuse JJ at times, these are things to be expected of a young QB. You can't single out the 2 pick 6s but then give him no credit for keeping Michigan in the game. Cuz it certainly wasn't the defense or the running game keeping us in it. I'd like to know what these wrong reads were on RPOs cuz guess what, Stetson Bennett had a huge blunder in the beginning of the Georgia game. He kept the ball for a minimal gain and the RB would've scored. Thats a NC title winning QB making a bad RPO read. And you're probably talking about goal line stuff. The fumbled snap Kalel Mullings took responsibility for, unless you're talking about the end of the game when JJs looking at the sidelines and the ball was snapped. JJ also out rushed Duggan, sorry I wasnt impressed with him...He had 150 yards passing if you take away that ridiculous all out blitz where Johnston caught a 5 yard out and ran 75 yards. JJ "Couldnt do it" in your words because everytime he closed the gap, the defense was an absolute joke. How do you not see that? And it was from running the ball, with their backup RB I might add. Michigan scores 45 points despite the blunders they should win the game. Against ANYONE, with the way the defense played all year. If I told you before the game Michigan scores 45pts but loses, you would automatically say JJ was the reason why? No, the defense didn't show up. TCU has a good offense but are they better than OSU offensively? Hell no they're not.
Playoff win at the very least, NC title at the most. IMO, with Mccarthy at QB and assuming the running game stays good/great....The only thing missing is opening up the playbook/being a more creative passing offense. Which I expect to see along with JJ getting better. Defensively, idk what Minter was doing against TCU....But i'm not going to ignore the fact that his defenses shut every other offense down they faced. The only thing that concerns me a little is honestly recruiting. I would've thought Harbaugh would land a better class after 2 straight league titles. I know we've done well in the portal but still.
All I had to do was scroll down one more, you actually said it lol. Ya Iowa has a chance to goto Indy, that's not saying much in that putrid division. But they wont have a chance in hell against anyone from the East. You are talking like Cade Mcnamara was a difference maker. Look I liked Cade, up until he acted like he couldnt be benched and performed like shit. You are dreaming if you think Iowa is going to be able to surround him with the same type of talent he had at Michigan. Their O-line is poor, they have no recievers, and average RBs. Oh and their defense loses several star players. But no Cade will makeup for all of that because hes so great. He'll be rolling right and throwing 60 yard dimes to Erick All.
What's your point dude...You think Mcnamara was/is the better QB is that it? He didn't look like the better QB earlier this year..Then he got hurt. JJ made some mistakes, it was his first full season. If you can't see how this team is better with JJ as opposed to Cade then i'm wasting my time. Honestly I blame Harbaugh and the OCs if anyone...Michigan wasn't prepared all season for someone to completely shut down their run game. It wasn't because of some lack of ability either, it was the arrogance of the coaching staff wanting to run the ball no matter what. Guess we'll see next year what kind of season Mcnamara has, because if he's as good as you think he is, Iowa should win the West.
And what games did JJ lose? We got jobbed against State(Because whats his name didnt run wild right?) But we didn't get jobbed against TCU? This is your logic im using so correct me if i'm wrong. Mcnamara couldn't complete a 10 yard pass against cupcakes this year. He assumed he didn't have to put in the work and it showed. Then he got hurt so this is a non issue anyway. Anyone that actually thinks Cade Mcnamara is going to win Iowa a Big10 title is out of their freaking minds. Unless Iowa gets freakish WRs in the portal and changes their OC, they'll be lucky to go 8-4. I liked Cade, I had no problem with him starting camp ahead of JJ....But then his performance and the way he just assumed he was untouchable just rubbed me the wrong way. He's an upgrade over Petras thats for sure, but Iowa is a horrendous offense for a QB that wants to throw the football. Want proof? Look at Jake Rudock at Iowa and then at Michigan.
Can't agree with you there man. JJ threw it only 20 times a game because thats their offense. Are you trying to tell me that JJs performance against OSU/Purdue/TCU was nothing more than game manager stuff? Michigan basically abandoned the run in the 3rd quarter and Michigan's offense was on fire. Yes, JJ made 2 huge mistakes, its his first year starting.....I'll say it right now I don't think Michigan has ever had this combination of running and passing abilities. Please dont say Denard, who I used to call Woopsie because of the amount of fumbles/interceptions he had. I'm not sure what you expect out of a true Sophomore that played sparingly as a freshman and who's only 19. Dude he outplayed Stroud and then outplays the Heisman runner up. Oh and with recievers who routinely couldn't get open or catch passes. Ronnie Bell is the only one who might catch on NFL wise. This isn't Chad Henne days with Braylon, Avant, and Breaston 3 NFL recievers.
Didn't mean this game, was talking about throughout their careers. Green especially, but Turner is also lacking those ball skills that would make him elite with the speed he possesses. There's a reason he'll run like a sub 4.4 40 and still won't be drafted till 4th or 5th round.
Ya after a few days/weeks most Michigan fans will be overall happy with the season, but still you have to be frustrated because i'm not sure Michigan will get an easier semifinal opponent. And frankly, Michigan could've beaten Georgia or OSU in the title game. No team this year is dominant. I don't know if Michigan will get a better chance to win it all honestly. With Harbaugh's bowl history, and the fact that in a 8 team playoff idk if Michigan is capable of winning multiple bowl games in a season. It sounds silly to say, and i'm not trying to slight TCU, but does anybody here really think we would've still been in the game if we made those mistakes against OSU or Georgia yesterday? Personally I think they both destroy us with all the mistakes we made. Yes I know TCU turned it over as well, but TCU didn't come up with 0 points at the goal line twice, or throw 2 pick 6s. TCU needed ALL of those things to happen AND uncharacteristic defense to win.
I think Michigan's OL was a little overrated. What I mean by that is Blake Corum's vision and toughness between the tackles would turn our running game from a 1-2 yard gain into 5-6 yard gains consistently. Edwards for all his talents just isn't able to do that, at least not yet. Michigan's rushing yards were heavily skewed against OSU, not to take away the holes the OL made but, OSU helped out by sending a mad run blitz and got caught twice. Take away Edwards first carry yesterday and the running game was average at best. Pass protection wasn't all that great either, as JJ more often than not was running around for his life. I'm not sure why Michigan makes goal line offense so hard...I've never seen a team so clueless from 5 yards and in. Especially with JJs ability to run...These are just a few things, JJ sneak it, JJ run an option and either keep it or pitch it out to RB, JJ fake option and step back and hit a TE/WR. Hell even throwing a fade would've been a better try than whatever the hell that was with Loveland, because if Loveland was supposed to throw back to Mccarthy....Why the hell was JJ just standing around at the 2 yard line looking lost? Alot of fans probably didn't notice because these things tend to not get brought up when you win, but JJ was getting away with some pretty reckless throws these past 3 or 4 games now. This time it caught up to him, but I think he had a hell of a year considering he's never really able to get into any kind of rhythm. I think he only gets better as a player, but what I don't care for is all the talking he does, and the fact that he walked out after 1 question. Hopefully he learns and doesn't double down on the talk ala a Chase Winovich. I'm not saying the talk had much impact in the game, just saying it'd be nice if all the players left the talking till after a W. Someone mentioned that it's just talk of confidence and maybe some of it is...But you never heard Charles Woodson probably the most confident/back it up player ever at Michigan spout off like JJ and some others. I thought it was bordering on disrespectful and maybe Michigan underestimated TCU. And JJ if you're gonna talk before the game, you better be ready to answer questions after and not punk out. Ok i'm done rambling, i'm sure i'll get downvoted because I criticized some things.
It falls on Minter sure, but it also falls on Turner. He should know in that situation with safeties blitzing he'll be the last line of defense. Instead he charges after Johnston out of control and grasps nothing but air. It was a ridiculously bad attempt by Turner.
That's not really TCUs style though to go 8-12 play drives. Not blitzing despite Duggan having time to throw was working out just fine. The guy was something like 8-21 before we went all blitz happy. Even with all of the silly offensive mistakes, I think Michigan wins the game if they didn't go all OSU Knowles on defense. You can't blitz like that unless you're sporting a pair or trio of Will Johnsons. Turner for all his speed has average ball skills/tackling. Not only that, but Turner should've known on that particular play(The Johnston out pattern and TD) that he was the last line of defense. If you're going to miss a tackle in that situation, at least make Johnston have to cut back inside and we don't give up a TD. That was a pathetic attempt at a tackle by Turner.
Funny thing about that play is if that's Will Johnson and not Turner in coverage, at the very most it's only a first down. Johnson already is our best cover and tackling corner. Turner for all his speed is lacking in ball skills when comparing the two, and Gemon Green is even worse. I was a little shocked OSU or even TCU didn't try 50/50 balls on Turner and Green. Those guys never turn around for the football.
Minter definitely screwed up, and TCU went after whoever Johnson wasn't covering. Pretty bad indictment of DJ Turner when TCU would rather throw at you then a true freshman. Goes to show that having speed at CB doesn't mean a whole lot....Turner has his moments but he certainly has been beaten or missed big tackles more often than not. And what exactly happened to this rush defense going back to Illinois?? OSU was gashing Michigan running the ball as well, but thankfully Ryan Day is pass happy or that might've been a tighter game. Idk if Michigan just didn't respect TCUs run game or what, but especially that 2nd and 8 on TCUs last possession and you give up 7 yards up the middle? That was the game right there. Targeting or not, Michigan wasn't scoring with no timeouts and a Harbaugh led 2 minute drill. Downvote me all you want, but Harbaughs 2 minute offenses are atrocious.
If they load the box like OSU, we should do some play action screen passes, Edwards slipping out into the flat and he'd have plenty of running room with good blocking. Dont really understand where our RB screen game went. I dont think we've ran one all season
Colorado, I was in that end zone right behind goal post, never heard Big House so quiet.
Same here, I was sitting on the same side he caught it but opposite end zone so I couldn't see, I only knew he caught it by the crowd reaction.
Twitter is really the bottom of the barrel reading some of peoples comments on there. It's like reading Youtube comments. People are equating multiple tunnel incidents and Mazi Smith playing to a culture problem. The rumor is the All family was not happy with the way the medical staff handled his injury. He went to Florida against their advice and had spinal surgery. Maybe there's something to that? Somebody told Corum he could play then the next thing you know hes having surgery. They told St.Juste to medically retire then he goes on to Minnesota and is having a good career in the NFL.
I dont remember Long getting torched in OSU game. Maybe once? I repeatedly remember the Buckeyes throwing wherever Brandon Watson lined up.
Not that it mattered, but what was that call on the Oki sack? Forward progress was stopped in the middle of a sack? Ridiculous. Unbelievable performance all around. Excited for guys like Mcgregor and Moore moving forward. OSU didnt even try Will Johnson much so thats a credit to him.
OSU plays their best against Michigan....If they play as well as they did today Michigan has no chance. Dax Hill is a difference maker, but he can't cover all 3 of OSUs great recievers. OSU is going to spread Michigan out, and then pick on either Gray or Green/Turner. Now, if they are forced to max protect the entire game, Macdonald can play 2 deep safeties. OSU isn't stupid, Hutchinson and Ojabo will be getting chipped by their RBs to give Stroud enough time. Just my opinion but Michigan would need a few turnovers and their best game offensively all season to possibly win. If OSU gets a quick 2 score lead it could get ugly.
He was basically unavailable today. If he was at full strength today, it's probably not 56-7. OSU still wins, but...
Are you serious? OSU went up 21-0 by the end of the 1st quarter. Walker was a non factor because OSUs offense made him a non factor. The same way Michigan could've taken him out of the game if even half of those FGs through 3 quarters were TDs.....
Sorry, but Walker wouldn't have been much of a factor if Harbaugh/Gattis weren't so happy kicking FGs.
OSU beating Sparty like they did makes it embarrassing we even lost to them. It's more an indictment on Harbaugh/Gattis. State's weakness all year has been the secondary, as much as I hate OSU...Their coaches do a great job of scouting a team's weakness and then staying aggressive with a lead. Michigan should've attacked MSUs secondary so much more than they did.
This is pretty simple. It all boils down to Harbaugh and this offense acting like it's 1985. Fans wonder why we're so bad in the redzone? Because for 7 games we played bully ball and ran, ran, ran, and ran some more. You're not going to beat the best teams on your schedule when the first 7 games of the season you barely attempted 20 passes. This offense under Gattis is absolutely atrocious. I feel like i'm watching live NES Tecmo Bowl, where Gattis has a 4 play playbook. Run up the middle over and over, or throw a 5 yard pass. Sprinkle in an occasional deep ball. Michigan under Harbaugh will never win anything trying to play power football, being ultra conservative....Can you imagine Harbaugh/Gattis on 4th and 1 going play-action and throwing deep like State did? That takes something those clowns don't have. What good is JJ Mcarthy in the coming years if Josh Gattis/Harbaugh are still trying to run the ball 35-50 times a game? Harbaugh needs to let "tradition" go meaning an aggressive passing attack, with a running game that compliments that. Look around the country, or teams that consistently are playoff contenders....Every single one of those teams have/had a dynamic, explosive passing attack. But we're Meeechigan, we can run up the middle on anyone 50 times a game. What a joke.