2021 washington
game columns
ryan hayes
100% mauling obliteration
blake corum
blake corum: denard but thick
cornelius johnson
hassan haskins
aidan hutchinson
mike morris
jordan whittley
junior colson
giles jackson
jake moody
brad robbins
furries
fourth down decisions
maize-out
[Bryan Fuller]

Someone Is Wrong On The Internet; Someone Is Flat On The Field Comment Count

Brian September 13th, 2021 at 11:40 AM

9/11/2021 – Michigan 31, Washington 10 – 2-0

It is not, in fact, true that the Michigan fanbase is unique amongst fanbase in its capacity to self-immolate amongst news that in any non-sports context would be taken as "good." Take it from someone who spent years writing This Week In Schadenfreude, a trip through the most psychotic reaches of college football's internet underbelly. TWIS often featured teams who had won (in the sense that their team had a bigger number than the opponent) but had lost in a much more immediate and real way (because the third-string cornerback gave up a touchdown that one time). Sports brain always works the same way.

However, your author will concede if there was a national championship for hand-wringing, Michigan would be in the playoff conversation annually. On the one hand, this makes total sense given the last seventeen years. On the other, it is very annoying. The responses I got to this tweet…

…were split between "this tweet is annoying" and replies like "JJ MCARTHY NOW" that I found annoying. Sports tweeting is like driving: the only appropriate speed to be going is exactly the speed you are going. Everything else == jail.

In the cold, hard light of day on this Monday I can see both sides of the equation. Yes, it is pretty good that Michigan took a P5 opponent with some recent history of being a good defense and paved them in a way I haven't seen in a long time. On the podcast I referenced the 2019 ND game, but even that featured a large number of stuffed runs interspersed with big plays based off misdirection. In this game if Michigan didn't get four yards on a run it was a surprise. When's the last time that happened? Probably at some point when honorary captain Steve "Not Aidan's Dad" Hutchinson was roaming the field. And honestly, my recollection of Lloyd Carr offenses doesn't have anything like this in it. This felt like a game from the 70s.

Yes, it is pretty bad that Michigan seemed to have an aversion to passing that was also out of the 1970s. You can say this makes sense given the game context, and maybe it did. But it nonetheless feels bad when you end up in situations that are obviously passing downs and then barely pass. It conjures up ideas about what the offense will look like when it inevitably runs up against a team that doesn't get paved.

You can be forgiven if the internet has beaten this fact out of your head but it is possible to hold both of these thoughts in your head at once. I am not immune to this, either, despite my clucking. On the podcast I said that I didn't think this offense could beat Ohio State, and then immediately apologized because my expectations going into the season weren't "beat Ohio State," they were "ehhhh… bowl eligible?"

This is the grandeur and glory of sports fandom: you literally never have to be sane or happy. You can hop from grumbling about 7-5 to grumbling about 9-3 to grumbling about beating a P5 team by 21 in a game that wasn't actually that close, spiritually. These avenues are open to you, and you can take them, and anyone not going at your speed will seem insane. But also you can literally never be dissuaded from optimism. There was a certain kind of Cubs fan who thought this was the year, every year, and anyone not going at that speed was insane.

So you get these camps of people and give them a common allegiance and a way to communicate to each other and you get a great firestorm of anger in the midst of Michigan grinding a name brand Pac-12 school into a fine dust. Here too there is a choice. This is what is great about sports; this is what is stupid about sports. If you sit very still in a forest for several months you will find they are the same thing.

AWARDS

Known Friends and Trusted Agents Of The Week

51456724059_322917bfbb_k

mmm dump truck holes [Fuller]

-2535ac8789d1b499[1]you're the man now, dog

#1 Your Offensive Line. This column generally punts on specific OL for this section because it does not have time to form an opinion on every dang guy; that's a process that requires UFR. So when the OL needs to be in this bit of the column they get it as a unit. Their placement here should be self-explanatory. If you need an explanation: 345 rushing yards on 55 carries.

#2 Aidan "My Dad's Name Is Chris" Hutchinson. 2.5 sacks and down-to-down terror whilst being frequently matched against a tackle that people think could go in the first round of the draft. One of the lingering Qs from the WMU game was whether Hutchinson could be an every-down problem. The answer appears to be an emphatic yes.

#3(t) Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. 155 and 171 yards, respectively, maybe not a missed cut between them, and plenty of yards generated themselves after the OL set them up. Full points for both! They're made up and don't matter!

Honorable mention: Mazi Smith got a ton of push on the interior. Josh Ross was quite a bit more active and ended up with 11 tackles, a TFL, a PBU, and three hurries. Brad Robbins had 4 punts with a 46 average and one return for four yards. Jake Moody had a 52 yard field goal and put almost all of his KOs out of the endzone.

KFaTAotW Standings.

(points: #1: 8, #2: 5, #3: 3, HMs one each. Ties result in somewhat arbitrary assignments.)

8: Ronnie Bell (#1 WMU), The OL (#1 Wash), Blake Corum (#2 WMU, T3 Wash)
6: Aidan Hutchinson (HM WMU, #2 Wash)
4: Hassan Haskins (HM WMU, T3 Wash)
3: Dax Hill (#3 WMU)
1: Andrew Vastardis (HM WMU), AJ Henning (HM WMU), Mike Sainristil (HM WMU), Brad Robbins (HM Wash), Jake Moody (HM Wash), Josh Ross (HM Wash), Mazi Smith (HM Wash)

Who's Got It Better Than Us(?) Of The Week

51461465192_b9f175f9a7_k

lol nope [Barron]

Blake Corum. Meep meep.

Honorable mention: Pick anything off the third quarter drive that was seven runs, zero passes, and a touchdown. John Donovan calls a run play on fourth and four. McNamara and Cornelius Johnson execute an excellent back shoulder throw to convert third and long.

image​MARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK.

This one goes out to the people in the crowd booing when Michigan was up 10-0. Yeah, some frustrating playcalling. Let's get it together.

Honorable mention: Haskins is stuffed on fourth and goal from the one. Various McNamara dropbacks go Not Well.

[After THE JUMP: successful coordination, shirts edition; unsuccessful coordination, football edition]

OFFENSE

Made 'em quit. Ryan Hayes is the willowy converted tight end left tackle who's mostly a pass protector, and also on Michigan's final touchdown he blew his guy inside the hash:

This was a game in which you could just feel the opposition defensive line wilt as the game went along. Those do not happen all that often these days.

51455998086_7650d54acd_k

[Barron]

I promise that if he gets hurt I will never speak to anyone again about anything. Okay so the thing that I thought when Corum broke into the open field and the safety came up to take an angle that was so very, very wrong was "that is Denard fast." Corum let up over the last ten yards and nobody got any closer. Is that crazy? I asked Seth if that was crazy and he was like "…maybe not?" I feel like it has to be crazy, and then I feel like it's not crazy.

Also in this game, Corum jump cut over two gaps at the last second to hit a hole that was indeed there and busted another chunk run.

That is what I am talking about when I say "Mike Hart but fast." It figures that Michigan gets the Chosen One at RB as soon as I don't get to chart him.

51450822676_6a020682f5_k

hey WRs exist [Fuller]

A palpable hit. Michigan did do one good thing downfield in the passing game when McNamara hit Cornelius Johnson on a slick back-shoulder throw to convert a third and long. There's always some consternation about whether the QB in fact meant to do that when a back shoulder is completed (*cough* Mitch Leidner *cough*) but this one saw Johnson stop very early, look prepared for it, and achieve a ton of separation. Verdict: slick.

Overrun on the edge. Washington was extremely prepared for Michigan's edge dinks. We had a slack discussion about a particular play that probably should have worked but for an MA; other instances of bubbles were crushed. This is a natural thing to happen when you're not really threatening downfield. In that case those throws are not valid because you haven't backed anyone off.

Thunder and lightning manifest. One thing about that long Corum TD: I think that's an example of why Thunder and Lightning backfield combos are powerful. That safety's very bad angle probably had something to do with tackling Hassan Haskins earlier in the game. Haskins isn't going to go around you; he's going to run you over, so you need to match momentum with momentum. So you go forward fast. That's death against Corum.

DEFENSE

Caveats apply. We talked about this in the run-up to the game and to be consistent now we should reiterated: against Montana the Huskies did not look snakebit or unfortunate or on the verge of putting it together. They just looked bad. They continued to look bad in this game. To be perfectly honest, two drives in I thought to myself "these guys aren't scoring." Their late surge-type substance where they hit some shots between levels in the zone and actually put up points were maybe the most surprising occurrences of the day. I think we're going to find out this is a MAC caliber offense.

Even so, you'd be very happy if Michigan came out and put this beating on a MAC caliber offense given preseason expectations. Alex detailed some major problems with one guard spot in particular for the Huskies, but other than that this OL should be at least okay, and Michigan's defensive line whipped them. Going into the season we were worried that the DE/DTs as a potential fatal flaw. This was at least a reasonable step forward.

51451788185_5090b9936b_k

Tight end on Hutchinson: inadvisable [Fuller]

No caveats there, though. Washington LT Jaxson Kirkland is universally considered a candidate to go high in the draft; PFF had him for two pressures allowed in 124 pass blocking snaps during Washington's abbreviated 2020 season. There were bonafides to establish here; consider them established.

Hutchinson just sucked some of that draft status into himself, Highlander-style.

Let's read a lot into a butt tap. Junior Colson is a true freshman linebacker who is rotating in for meaningful snaps early in his career. That's a good sign for a guy who was ranked around 100th, since those rankings often rely more on physical presence than aptitude. Many of Michigan's best linebackers have been badly misranked—hello Devin Bush—because they don't look like superheroes. Then they blow up because they've got a mind like a diamond.

Anyway at some point in the third quarter Colson was in and butt-tapped Mazi Smith into a different technique because he realized he was lined up wrong. Then Michigan stuffed Washington—which okay they were always doing that. Let's keep a careful eye on Colson; if he's ready to be on the field this early and has a preternatural grasp of the D combining that with his top-100-ish athletic status would be real nice.

51451070838_5ea5458dd3_k

moving on up [Fuller]

Useful depth? Mike Morris seemed to have another productive game as an OLB/DE sort in the Wormley mold, and Michigan even got some snaps out of mountainous Oregon State transfer Jordan Whittley, who came in on short yardage and was relative immovable. Also in Whittley news, Michigan wisely put a single digit on him after the first game. He's now #3, and it is always deeply entertaining for a person the size of a small moon to have a single-digit number.

There was a little bit of woofing. Giles Jackson was not welcomed back warmly, which is to be expected I guess. The team got in his face a little too:

51462247601_932ad7beff_k

woo! you did not get many yards! [Barron]

WHAT ARE WE DOING DOT COORDINATOR. There was much merriment on the podcast about John Donovan, particularly the fourth and four where the Huskies—who had approximately 15 rushing yards at the time—decided this was their best move:

Note also that Moten has the QB keep nailed if that's the way it went. So it looks like Michigan… run blitzed here? On fourth and four when the opposition cannot run? And was right? Somewhere Christian Hackenberg was very itchy Saturday night.

Secondary: ask again later, again. I still don't want to draw any grand conclusions about the state of the secondary after that game. I tentatively believe they'll be significantly improved, give up more chunk plays on zone breakdowns than we're happy with, and will still be vulnerable to bad things when they go up against elite WRs. Doesn't look like there are a ton on the schedule until the end of it.

SPECIAL TEAMS

A continued strength. Special teams rundown, like last week. Michigan:

  • Hit a 52 yard field goal.
  • Punted four times for 46 yards gross with just one four-yard return, that on a 59 yard punt.
  • Converted a fake punt.
  • Allowed Giles Jackson just one kick return, which ended inside the 25.
  • Almost broke both kick return opportunities, with Corum getting ankle-tackled just before afterburners time on both.

Punt returns were a notable exception. Caden Kolesar did have a 20 yard return on a line drive; to me it didn't look like he got more yards than were there on the catch. He also didn't field a couple of punts, costing Michigan a significant amount of field position on the second. In the aftermath it kind of seems like Michigan should be auditioning other guys; if Kolesar isn't actually the reliable option then we can have an unreliable guy who runs really fast try his hand at it.

I probably shouldn't put all the special teams bits into a single bullet point. Looks silly.

MISCELLANEOUS

Slice of life.

51461265177_8c7ad2c8ff_k

[Barron]

"So what are you doing after the game? Want to get a beer?"
"I'm sorry, but my lupine jaws are incompatible with your human glasses."
"You could just take the suit off."
"Oh… this isn't a suit."

51455236362_9d0871a132_k

not a good place to be [Fuller]

An operative demonstration of "go for it" philosophy. I don't think we need to argue about whether going for it on fourth and goal from the one was the right move, right? At this point in the evolution of football that is the conventional wisdom. The stuff, while not so great for winning football games, was an excellent example of why it makes sense.

Washington, which had no run game, was stuck on their own one. They ran for zero yards, threw incomplete, and would have been facing a third and ten from their one if they hadn't gotten bailed out by a terrible roughing the passer call. In those situations teams almost always run for a few yards to give their punter room, and then they run a max protect punt with horrible coverage that sets the opponent up 30 or 40 yards away from goal.

A bizarre sequence. So we got 1) a fourth down measurement for Washington that was ruled a first down despite a seemingly obvious gap between the ball and the sticks, 2) a review of that spot that actually overturned it, which never happens. Also we had the more familiar "we're gonna go for it, timeout, nah" sequence from Washington in the first half.

Maize-out: accomplished. Michigan Stadium heeded the internet bullying and actually did something coordinated for the first time ever.

51456933060_d9a165a11d_k

[Fuller]

I, too, yielded to the bullying and found something "maize" to wear. This was the strength of the peer pressure. As previously stated, I have found the fanbase's absolute refusal to wear a particular colored shirt endearing. Alas, all half-ass traditions must pass. I promise you that if there is a night game and it's cold that this temporary unity will evaporate like so many motes of snow, because ain't nobody got a bright yellow coat.

HERE

Best And Worst:

A vocal smattering of Michigan fans had booed the predictable playcalling, and I have to assume that a key part of  Washington’s halftime adjustments was shifting formations and bringing safeties even closer to the line in order to dissuade Michigan from running the ball.  Even people who were very much content with the first-half playcalling (I count myself in that group) likely assumed Michigan would be forced, whether by gameplay circumstance, expected adjustments to counteract the UW defense, or sheer human nature to seek out variety, would switch up the playcalling a bit and maybe throw the ball around a couple of times.  It would be like making a full song out of a single riff – it’s gotta be unlistenable.

You would, of course, be wrong in this assumption –  we’ve got popular one-riff songs and Michigan proceeded to run the ball 7 straight times for 73 yards and a TD that felt like the end of the game with a half to play.  First it was Haskins just grinding forward for 4 yards, 4 yards, then ripping off a 20-yarder and then a run featuring him (and the rest of the line) turning a 6-yard run into 11 through sheer spite.  Corum followed that up with runs of 17, 6, 4, and 7 for a TD, each one featuring clockwork line blocking and surgical running.

A mini-UFR on the passing game:

In conclusion, I think the pass calls made sense for the most part. There were a couple of duds from a play-calling perspective for sure, and Cade made a couple of bad reads and had a bad throw. But the biggest issue on these pass plays was that the blocking was just not ideal, especially by the receivers. However, the good news is that these are all fixable. The blocking issues were more about angles and technique. And that can be taught and improved week by week. Honestly, this is where I think losing Ronnie Bell really sucks.

Michael Scarn is certainly on one side of the divide in the column:

And yet, grumblings of "pass the ball" repeatedly rained around me in the stands all game.  Board posts reflected many of the same thoughts.  "Give McNamara experience," "develop the receivers" yada yada yada.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?

And the state of our open threads:

Across 2,030 posts, there were 894 instances of tracked words, which translates to an efficiency rating of 2.26. This is consistent with the more frustrating wins of the Harbaugh era, as well as some of the more heart-rending losses, which to me means that for as much as some of us sometimes bitch about not caring, we do. We certainly engage in these games to some degree anyway, even if it is merely to drop a "fuck".

ELSEWHERE

Apologies to the rest of the Michigan football internet but I got socked with a head cold yesterday and have to get this out due to another commitment. We'll fire up the UV machine tomorrow.

Comments

OldSchoolWolverine

September 13th, 2021 at 1:08 PM ^

As many times as I my wife can attest of me screaming at the tv to stop running up the middle, it was the right call when Washington leaves their safeties 20 yards back.  Running over and over assured us a win whereas we pass in this situation and one int from their stellar CBs can make things go sideways.  Great win.  Great to see the program rise again, which it is, even if you cannot see it.  

Joined: 11/03/2013

MGoPoints: 27649

Spitfire

September 13th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^

What was the story on that strange measurement? Couldn't believe the ref called it a first down as the ball was clearly short of the pole. Then they overturned it.  

Joined: 11/08/2016

MGoPoints: 6680

ChuckieWoodson

September 13th, 2021 at 1:16 PM ^

I was watching the game with 3 other Michigan fans and one other guy who doesn't care about Michigan.  His exact words - you guys easily won the game, and yet you're not happy?  Then the 4 of us dive into the fact of "we didn't pass enough - if we do that against good opponents we're going to get killed!".  Kind of hilarious and simultaneously sad if you think about it.

Joined: 01/13/2012

MGoPoints: 26325

dragonchild

September 13th, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^

Yes, it is pretty bad that Michigan seemed to have an aversion to passing that was also out of the 1970s. You can say this makes sense given the game context, and maybe it did. But it nonetheless feels bad when you end up in situations that are obviously passing downs and then barely pass. It conjures up ideas about what the offense will look like when it inevitably runs up against a team that doesn't get paved.

You can be forgiven if the internet has beaten this fact out of your head but it is possible to hold both of these thoughts in your head at once.

Hear, hear.

FWIW, since there are a few around here who can grasp nuance, lemme try to put it this way.  Michigan, in this game, was a gorram tank.  UW got paved. . . in hindsight.  The engine sputtered a bit before it got going.  Before Corum broke away, the offenses (both teams) went:  punt, punt, punt, FG, punt, downs, punt, at which point I'm inclined to forgive fans thinking they were watching both HCs try to win the Borges-DeBord Award for Most Paleolithic Offense.  Second, Michigan didn't necessarily run the ball because it was working, at least at first.  See the above sequence.  There's a difference between not passing because you're cackling with assurance, and not passing because you're scared to.  Michigan abandoned the pass before the lead was safe and the run game took off, implying they avoided the pass like they couldn't do it.  Meaning, if this didn't work. . . there was no Plan B.

Edit:  Also, Alex (per FFFF) had talked up UW's DTs as difficult to move.  And since they were keen to take away anything that challenged the edge, after their goal-line stand with UM clinging to a 3-0 lead, for a while it really looked like UM had no way of scoring.

So, it's entirely reasonable if you clapped your hands and giggled when UW's defense crawled into a hole to avoid getting Haskorum-ed, but it was also fair to ask if the tank's armor is a wee bit thin in a few places, look at the sort of anti-tank weapons our opponents have, and engage in a little nervous collar-tugging.  Especially given Harbaugh's track record, some folks be thinking this might've been a case of looking at a broken clock at just the right time of day.

Joined: 10/13/2011

MGoPoints: 61347

gbdub

September 13th, 2021 at 2:18 PM ^

This is a good point - the run game didn't really look like a paving, free yards generator until pretty deep into the game. And even then, other than Corum's long TD, it was a grinding sort of thing that looked from the outside like it was always in imminent danger of coming to a halt. The runs were good, sure, but they were 6 or 8 yards each, with only a couple long ones in there. Lots of 3rd downs. Part of the frustration of fans was that it simultaneously felt like we were dominating - but at the same time never really putting the game out of reach. 

Which in an odd way may have factored into the decision to shelve the passing game. Michigan was clearly going to win if they stayed on schedule. They needed to keep running and keep burning clock, and didn't really have the cushion to risk wasting downs on passes or worse, risk interceptions.

Joined: 02/16/2010

MGoPoints: 26776

1VaBlue1

September 13th, 2021 at 3:07 PM ^

"The runs were good, sure, but they were 6 or 8 yards each, with only a couple long ones in there. Lots of 3rd downs."

So, uhh, you apparently are not aware that this is the very definition of a "paving"...  Michigan ran the ball straight down their throat - literally!  The vast majority of those runs were between the tackles - cutbacks made a lot of those look like outside runs.  UW did nothing to stop it (ie: bringing the safeties down), so Michigan kept doing it.

First QB start in a big game, under lights, on national TV, against a good defense hell bent on stopping your passing game without your star WR.

I'll take that road paving every time.  With glee in my heart.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127623

gbdub

September 14th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^

My point was that we were running in a way that was going to produce a lot of long TD drives, not quick scores. Drives that require methodical progress on every snap. We were running in such a way that taking any sack or incompletion would put the drive at serious risk of ending in a punt (which in fact happened a fair amount in the first half). 

The run game was inexorable, not explosive. This made it hard to experiment much with the passing game, because the risk of getting off schedule was high.

Joined: 02/16/2010

MGoPoints: 26776

gbdub

September 14th, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^

Right, my point was that the "long" runs weren't long enough that you could really afford any lost yards or 0 yard plays and still sustain a drive. You had to run almost every down because it was usually taking more than 2 runs to get a first down, and every incompletion or stuffed screen seemed to result in a third and medium-long situation, which aren't going to be high probability if you can't trust your midrange passing game.

Averaging 6 YPC is impressive, but when it comes in the form of a pile of 4-8 yard runs interspersed with a just few longs and a handful of shorter, you absolutely must "stay on schedule" for a successful drive. 

Joined: 02/16/2010

MGoPoints: 26776

lhglrkwg

September 13th, 2021 at 4:06 PM ^

I agree that both takes are partly right- this wasn't a game to test a good UW secondary and make the game unnecessarily interesting, while at the same time we shouldn't just write off that we seemed to be avoiding the passing game at all costs and it wasn't just because the run game was paving people

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 88033

JacquesStrappe

September 13th, 2021 at 11:52 PM ^

Exactly. It’s not like we have a great track record in games where we have a lead of less than 2 TDS, which was the case for most of the the first half. Certainly in hindsight it looks fine, but in the heat of the moment we have seen this movie before and it has often ended in tears because the other team rips off a quick TD through the air and it is suddenly a game again. Then everyone starts second guessing the play calling and lamenting that we are not keeping our foot in the gas. The implication being that we are not trying to score, but instead trying to dominate time of possession.  Frankly, this is the more logical assumption and can be forgiven given our record in close games against teams with similar or better talent. 
 

As far as the season is concerned, that is also a valid point. Harbaugh asserted this season that the standard at Michigan is to win every game. Well if that is the case it is certainly reasonable to question, no matter how dominant your run game, when you will start to find out what you have in terms of the passing game. The time to do so is not when you are playing Ohio State. 
 

If on the other hand we are complacent with holding to preseason expectations of anywhere from 6-6 to 9-3, then this is perfectly fine. I doubt this is truly the case after a mildly unexpected good start to the season. And I guarantee that the same people who were perfectly happy with this week’s game will be bitching come the end of the season when we blow a couple of winnable games because we either go into a shell, obstinately stick to the run when we are finding the yards tough to get, or regress to Peters/O’Korn era effectiveness when we need to pass to win. Again

Joined: 04/19/2019

MGoPoints: 5019

ChicagoBlue21

September 13th, 2021 at 1:36 PM ^

I now picture Brian as my sports shamen, a guide through the lunacy of college football and of my own tortured soul. I keep thinking of Morpheus from “The Matrix” but in a winged helmet.

 

Yes please, Brian. I want the red pill…I need the red pill….

Joined: 11/18/2012

MGoPoints: 236

Reader71

September 13th, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^

I’m of the opinion that worrying about the passing game is justified, but making anything of it during this game was unjustified.

Imagine one interception making this game close for no reason at all. I’m glad M did not do that, because I like winning and really like winning comfortably. My preference for how we win is further down on the priorities list.

The time to freak out about the passing game is right around Monday after the game.

Joined: 08/30/2009

MGoPoints: 22968

rice4114

September 13th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^

The game was boring, the offense (and QB) seemed afraid to pass at times and this doesnt feel good for future opponents. That being said lets win this way 12 times and ill be happy as a clam. It was a dominating win and those are rare against solid programs. What I saw, even when we all knew what the next play was going to be, Washington was bringing reinforcements to the edge. That wasnt where we were running so I was kind of confused. In a few weeks we will see 9 green human like objects torpedo themselves into the area of our guards and center. Will we be able to do something else? MSU knows this offensive game plan and they have stuffed it many times. Beyond MSU there is Wisconsin, Penn state and OSU with even better defenses. Part of us get antsy because it was a boring game, also the commercial breaks ratchet it up another 100x, and part of us fear our one punch offense could be in trouble later in the year. Great win and GO BLUE!

Joined: 08/26/2010

MGoPoints: 47575

Needs

September 13th, 2021 at 2:41 PM ^

The folks I was watching with had an argument during the TO after Washington ran on 4th and 4 over whether Washington lost track and thought it was 3rd down.

/Donovan'd

Joined: 08/05/2008

MGoPoints: 11638

MFanWM

September 13th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^

One of the things that I am the most happy about seeing is that the team is coming out excited, fired-up and ready to play the games....which is a big difference; at least to this point, of this team vs the last several seasons where the teams tended to take the field flat in both the 1st and 3rd quarters.

There "feels' like there are more team celebrations and energy which I think is a real indication of how engaged the coaching staff is with this group.

Joined: 09/19/2010

MGoPoints: 5223

BlueinLansing

September 13th, 2021 at 2:55 PM ^

I rewatched, Michigan had a couple of those swing passes and wide flat screens set up perfectly and our blocking WR simply wiffed on the block and UW made sure tackles.  If those work, there might be a lot less grumbling about the pass game.  UW has terrific DB's, it was wise of us to not challenge them over the middle or deep sidelines with a young QB is really his first true big game atmosphere.

If we continue to struggle to throw against NIU and Rutgers I think we can safely say we've got issues.

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 23520

leu2500

September 13th, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^

“I promise you that if there is a night game and it's cold that this temporary unity will evaporate like so many motes of snow, because ain't nobody got a bright yellow coat.”


blaze orange out then.  

Joined: 01/22/2011

MGoPoints: 2119

Cmknepfl

September 13th, 2021 at 3:05 PM ^

Brian, did you notice they attempted passes in 6 of the first 10 plays?

 

McCarthy was hit as he threw at least twice, one was tipped, and two others were zero or negative gainers.  Meanwhile they had 5, 9, 8, 7yd runs, and eventually the 67 yarder.  Thats when they really went to exclusively runs.  To me that is a huge distinction between coming out that way to start and ADJUSTING, which is what coaches are supposed to do.  It still leaves questions about the ability of the pass game, but not as much about coaching and playcalling. 

Joined: 01/15/2015

MGoPoints: 1135

TrueBlue2003

September 13th, 2021 at 6:44 PM ^

This is great point (although it was McNamara, not McCarthy).  They tried to throw early, but Wilson couldn't get separation on the deep ball, had one or two tipped, couldn't get anything on the edge and then just scrapped it basically.

That's a positive for the playcalling, I suppose, because it means they adjusted the right way.  But it's worse for fears about the passing game.  Harder to make the argument that it was always the game plan to just run it.  We tried and couldn't pass the ball.

Joined: 01/05/2010

MGoPoints: 38075

outsidethebox

September 14th, 2021 at 7:36 AM ^

But the greater issue was that Cade was uncharacteristically indecisive. Evidently Washington was do something to confuse his pre-snap reads-which are generally very good. Michigan is going to have to do a better job of building in good, quick check-downs for him-to remedy the issues we saw on Saturday. We have extra TEs blocking and RBs who are excellent receivers-all of whom can release and make the defense pay for stacking the box and bringing blitz pressure. 

Joined: 01/23/2017

MGoPoints: 18818

AlbanyBlue

September 13th, 2021 at 3:06 PM ^

Brian, from my perspective this is as close to a perfectly written column as can be produced. It perfectly captures my feelings from this week.

For the record, I am extremely happy we won a game I figured a few weeks ago we would lose. My reaction to the results-based way we won is "wow, that's pretty badass" and various ideas about how awesome the run game is and how we haven't seen it like that since the glory days of Bo/Mo/Carr. And it's not like Washington had a MAC level defense, either. Sure the front 7 is/was weaker than their secondary, but still pretty damn good. So, I'm happy about the score and happier that we dominated, absolutely dominated, the game. Someone pointed out that Washington got theirs to make the stats closer, but that was mostly in garbage time. This was no Brabbs-kicking-an-improbable-FG-to-win game.

This was destruction.

Brian, you related that it is possible to keep two opposing thoughts in one's head, and I'm here to tell you it's true (!) As ecstatic as I was about most aspects of the game, I am concerned about the passing game. Various things I have read. Cade appeared hesitant (I agree) and seemed to have the yips (maybe). WRs didn't get open (yep). And the passes we did throw were mostly swings and screens, and only three (!) balls went to WRs. This could easily be seen as a problem. I have a nagging feeling that it is a problem (given what we have seen from the QB before), but it also could be due to WR issues, lack of reps, or a bunch of other issues. So, I'm trying to stay optimistic, prefering to focus on the scorched-earth ground attack we executed. 

TL;DR It's fine to be concerned, but let's not let that take away from an excellent, dominating win.

 

Joined: 09/11/2010

MGoPoints: 22241

SouthOfHeaven

September 13th, 2021 at 3:44 PM ^

I'll fess up and say I did boo, along with many others, the speed option call on 3rd and 10. That was utterly ridiculous and I'd have honestly preferred yet another handoff between the tackles to that nonsense.

Otherwise, the constant pissing and moaning about the playcalling when Michigan was absolutely DOMINATING on the ground was completely absurd. "Put in JJ!", someone from my section yelled out after an early, dropped screen pass. Yeah, like that would help the situation at all.

Y'know, over the years there's been a lot of clamoring for "star players" that "take over games" and dudes that rack up a ton of stats. Did we not have that Saturday night? Our backs are our stars, the coaches leaned heavily on them, and they amassed a shitload of yards. Michigan did exactly what a lot of fans have been craving, and yet they're still not satisfied. I know we all want to look like Oklahoma, but Michigan and Oklahoma are two separate things.

Joined: 11/26/2016

MGoPoints: 6051

FieldingBLUE

September 13th, 2021 at 3:59 PM ^

fyi... AJ Henning practiced fielding at least one punt during halftime (at the very end) - but UW never punted in the second half (on only 4 possessions) 

He might be next man up since Caden Kolesar can't even seem to read & catch the ball unfortunately.

Joined: 08/28/2008

MGoPoints: 4507

Fezzik

September 13th, 2021 at 5:02 PM ^

Mike Hart deserves a lot of love. Corum was really hyped around here but was also coming off 2.8 ypc last year. Him and Haskins both look like they are taking very few, if any, false steps with the ball in their hands this season.

Joined: 09/11/2015

MGoPoints: 5552

98xj

September 13th, 2021 at 5:18 PM ^

I promise you that if there is a night game and it's cold that this temporary unity will evaporate like so many motes of snow, because ain't nobody got a bright yellow coat.

 

I am sure MDen could fix that, if there was some communication/coordination from the Ath Dept. Ha!

Joined: 07/15/2009

MGoPoints: 4238

bdneely4

September 13th, 2021 at 5:22 PM ^

Does anyone else laugh out loud to themselves after reading some of Brian's attempted humor? It happens at least a few times as I read each game summary.  I always enjoy these on Mondays especially after a win. Go Blue!

Joined: 01/06/2009

MGoPoints: 13938

Rabbit21

September 13th, 2021 at 5:43 PM ^

It really was striking how much the defense seemed to relish tackling Jackson.  Makes you wonder what went on behind the scenes there as it certainly did not feel like a "Let's take care of business on the field and hug it out later." type of situation.  

Joined: 11/12/2009

MGoPoints: 30388

Red is Blue

September 13th, 2021 at 6:36 PM ^

Numerous points legitimate points about why limited passing made sense (Cade was jittery, some much success on the ground, UW not really a threat offensively, UW keeping safeties back, UW having great corners, first game without Bell...).  I wonder if there is another factor.  Zinter played but had a club on his hard which limits his pass protection.  

Joined: 05/13/2010

MGoPoints: 23901

MGoStrength

September 13th, 2021 at 6:44 PM ^

Hutchinson just sucked some of that draft status into himself, Highlander-style.

When is the last time UM had a better DE than OSU?  Maybe 2016 with Wormley/Charlton vs Lewis/Hubbard?  It is nice to see Smith & Harrison look human while Hutch is dominating like a first round pick.  Way to go Hutch.  In short action McGregor looked like Hutch 2.0 come next year.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

SFBlue

September 13th, 2021 at 6:53 PM ^

Big story lines of the year for me relate to Michigan's improvement on defense. It may be (simultaneously) true that Michigan needs to throw it more and that it does not matter Michigan has not thrown it more. The improvement on defense here seems at this point as big as the improvement from 2010 to 2011. 

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699