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August 2007
Michigan 2007, Part III: Special Teams & Conclusion
Special Teams
Return Game
Rating: 3?
Yes, Michigan will miss Steve Breaston even if the team's maddening refusal to double the gunners limited his effectiveness. (Breaston's PR average dipped from 13.8 as a freshman to two years around 12.2 and finished at 11.4.) Why worry about Breaston making the third guy miss instead of the first? This is a preview, not a grumble-filled review. I should move on.
At punt returner, Johnny Sears sits atop the depth chart in Breaston's stead; Greg Mathews is behind him. No one knows what to expect from Sears -- he's never returned a punt -- but if that athleticism is for real he seems like as good a choice as any. Mathews, on the other hand, is an obviously safe choice, a guy who will not pull a Whitley but also will be happy to gain ten yards and get tackled. I would prefer someone with higher upside.
Brandon Minor is listed as the top kick returner, which might be okay. He showed quite a bit of speed as a freshman and might be suited for the north-south shallow cuts that seem most effective on kickoffs.
Carlos Brown is a wildcard. A top-50-ish speed back out of high school, one of the reasons Brown stuck around was the promise of a long look at both return positions. His ill-timed broken hand stripped him of the last couple weeks of camp and may hold him out of the Appalachian State game, but when he returns he'll be tried at both.
Kickers
Rating: 2.
Everybody is nervous about kicker. Redshirt freshman Bryan Wright, a scholarship kid, has a big leg but struggled with his accuracy so much that walkons threatened and took his job. Jason Gingell is the new guy. KC Lopata and Sam Buckman are also kicking around. How will they perform? It is MGoBlog policy not to speculate on kickers, but... obviously this is uncomfortable.
One note: Wright did win the kickoffs job, which is significantly more important this year what with the kickoffs from the 30 and all. Michigan might get a couple extra yards of field position out of it if Wright's leg is as big as they say.
Zoltan The Inconceivable returns for a sophomore year of punting. Last year he alternated the boomers that will win him the Heisman and the Space Emperor-dom some day with meh liners and a Ross Ryan-esque effective duck. Though ZTI managed a respectable 38th in gross punting (41.6 per), the net was good for only 57th. Some of this has to do with Ross Ryan's 14 punts, which averaged only 33 yards. But while I'd like it to be clear that I'm not criticizing ZTI in any way, lest my pitiful unworthiness draw attention from his terrible visage, it should be clear that his choice to occasionally zing a liner did not help matters. Most of Ryan's punts weren't returned, and yet Michigan allowed 27 returns on 64 punts. Zoltan punts were returned at an approximately 50% clip; though AJ Trapasso is obviously an inferior punter not even worthy of Zoltan's spit he managed to keep that down to around 25%.
Clearly this was all a ploy to lure others into a false sense of security, but improvement would be helpful to Michigan's endeavors this year.
Special Teams in Summary
BLEAH. Returners like Breaston don't come around every day; a major step back is in the offing. Kicker terrifies. There are three of them! The last time there were three they were Brabbs, Neinberg, and Finley. I recently downloaded the 2002 Washington game from MGoVideo, which at this moment in time is the most unpleasant possible win to expose yourself to. I will pray to Zoltan for good fortune in this area.
Zoltan himself is flawless, but his punting remains erratic. Major upside here and the downside is MOTS, which was still pretty good. Punting remains in good (flawless!) hands.
Schedule
Appalachian State is hot hot hot and maps and stuff.
Oregon scares the everloving crap out of me. I take heart in a run defense that was pretty bad last year and their quarterbacks' tendency to toss three interceptions a game, but when they aren't making errors they are rolling up yards like whoah. This game will be no joke.
Notre Dame, a small Catholic school of no importance in northern Indiana, is next. The same offense-defense matchup that ended last year's game before it started persists, except the one matchup that clearly favored Notre Dame (Abiamiri versus Riley) is kaput. Both teams turn over the other side of the ball extensively, but ND has no receivers and will have a QB in his third game (or less if they switch).
The Big Ten schedule opens up at home versus Penn State, which has a more experienced offensive line and a senior Anthony Morelli, but no Tony Hunt or, um, defensive line. (As time passes I get more leery about the PSU DL and sort of regret the optimism expressed in that preview.) A tough, losable game.
Michigan ends up @ Northwestern next. I didn't preview the Wildcats, but no losing here.
Eastern Michigan is worse than Appalachian State.
Purdue returns to the schedule after a two-year absence. This is not a gimme. Purdue is better suited to attack our secondary than anyone on the schedule save perhaps Oregon and returns a ton of starters. Their defense would have to improve vastly to stay in contact, though. Should be a comfortable win; could be dangerous.
Then it's @ Illinois. I dunno... will Juice Williams hit the ground in three tries? Can their defense stand up to Juggeroffense?
Minnesota will be a disaster area this year.
@ Michigan State. Decent offense, worst defense on the planet.
Playing Wisconsin @ Wisconsin looks to be the toughest test of the year. Though I believe the offense likely to founder, especially in the run game, the Wisconsin defense will be difficult to do anything against. I do think this is a spot we are fortunate to get them at, as they're a more veteran team and the season runup to this will help our highly touted but young players acclimate and get better. If Justin Boren and Steve Schilling had to deal with the Badger front seven in the Big Ten opener, serious concern would be had. As it is there is still concern but not overwhelming.
Ohio State is The Game.
Heuristicland
Turnover Margin
The theory of turnover margin: it is nearly random. Teams that find themselves at one end or the other at the end of the year are highly likely to rebound towards the average. So teams towards the top will tend to be overrated and vice versa. Nonrandom factors to evaluate: quarterback experience, quarterback pressure applied and received, and odd running backs like Mike Hart who just don't fumble.
2006 | Int + | Fumb + | Sacks + | Int - | Fumb - | Sacks - |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.08 (4th) | 12 | 14 | 3.23 (4th) | 8 | 4 | 1.85 (52nd) |
Ut-oh? Maybe. There's no way you can reasonably expect Michigan to maintain that ridiculous turnover margin. Sacks will probably go down significantly, reducing the number of turnovers forced, and twelve giveaways in a season is not replicable. Michigan is marked as overrated in this category.
But!... there's reason to expect Michigan to
remain significantly above average. Mike Hart, who everyone will tell you hasn't lost a fumble since the Iowa game his freshman year*, will receive the vast bulk of the carries. Chad Henne's thrown only eight interceptions over the past two years. Some of this safety has come at the cost of more effective offense and Michigan will be more likely to risk danger with experienced hands all around, but if there's one team in the country that can be expected to keep its giveaways down, it's the one with four-year starters at running back and quarterback.
A step back is likely, but turnover margin will still be significantly positive at year's end.
*(this is a technicality. A Ball State defender punched the ball out and forced a first-half safety, but apparently that doesn't count.)
Position Switch Starters
Theory of position switches: if you are starting or considering starting a guy who was playing somewhere else a year ago, that position is in trouble. There are degrees of this. When Notre Dame moved Travis Thomas, a useful backup at tailback, to linebacker and then declared him a starter, there was no way that could end well. Wisconsin's flip of LB Travis Beckum to tight end was less ominous because Wisconsin had a solid linebacking corps and Beckum hadn't established himself on that side of the ball. Michigan flipping Prescott Burgess from SLB to WLB or PSU moving Dan Connor inside don't register here: we're talking major moves that indicate a serious lack somewhere.
None unless you want to count Justin Boren's shift from guard to center... which is pretty harsh by the standards of this category. There are also similarly minor moves from possible (but not probable) starters: Obi Ezeh moves inside from the strongside at linebacker and Charles Stewart goes from corner to safety. Generally corner to safety moves are given a pass; it's the safety to corner thing that raises red flags.
None of those is alarming. One that was until recently: Andre Criswell from fullback to tight end. Carson Butler's return pushes him down to third on the depth chart, but unless there's a major surprise Michigan goes two deep at TE for 2007.
Dumbest Thing In CFN Preview
Just because.
Actually... there's nothing that egregious. Good job, CFN?
Flickr Says...
This is Sam's and I've posted it before (and put it in a book) but...
An Embarassing Prediction, No Doubt
Worst Case
Oregon is losable, so are Penn State and Wisconsin and Ohio State and Purdue. But realistically Michigan should win at least two of those games even in the cold-sweat nightmare scenario and go 9-3, because that's historical imperative.
Best Case
12-0, obviously.
Final Verdict
Perhaps this is foolish, but I believe the Michigan offense will come fairly close to living up to all the hype. This is not likely to be reflected in the stats as Michigan will never go all Louisville on anyone and roll up a 73-10 victory, but in terms of meaningfully effective offense Michigan will be amongst the best in the country. This was the case in Brady's senior year and Navarre's senior year and Henne should be no different. You can even argue that Henne's got better talent surrounding him than either of those players. (This goes out the window if we meet USC, because evidently we have it in our Rose Bowl contract that Pete Carroll rushers are not to be blocked. But other than that.) Obviously this assumes full health. That 12-point difference between a healthy Mario and an injured Mario is highly encouraging... assuming Mario is healthy. But predicting injury is a rube's game (rubes I tell ya!) and so all these previews blithely assume everyone remains healthy, even if they mention a certain player being injury-prone. This one follows that model, but it's worth pointing out that Michigan has more to lose if Henne goes down than Wisconsin would or Minnesota would or Northwestern would.
The defense should be okay, difficult to run against and prone to getting opponents in third and long but frustratingly yielding improbable conversions. Big plays against will increase but not that much: no Mundy. The run defense will seem awful but only because of last year's dominant unit. A cornerback or two will prove decent. A return to the bad old days is not coming.
OOC | ||
---|---|---|
9/1 | Appalachian State | Functional DNP |
9/8 | Oregon | Tossup |
9/15 | Notre Dame | Probable Win |
10/6 | Eastern Michigan | Functional DNP |
Conference | ||
9/22 | Penn State | Probable win |
9/29 | @ Northwestern | Auto-win |
10/13 | Purdue | Probable win |
10/20 | @ Illinois | Probable win |
10/27 | Minnesota | Auto-win |
11/3 | @ Michigan State | Auto-win |
11/10 | @ Wisconsin | Tossup |
11/17 | Ohio State | Probable win |
Absent: | Iowa, Indiana |
Sometimes the binomial distribution bothers me. Like here. If you assume Michigan has a 90% chance to win all games -- which is pessimistic for a few but wildly optimistic for others -- it says:
Chance to win 12 games: .90 ^ 12 = 28.2%
Chance to win 11 games: 12c11 * .90 ^ 11 * .1 = 37.6 %
With a 90% chance to win every week! The binomial distribution is mean. It basically says to everyone except USC "never predict an undefeated season." So I don't, even when I am vastly overrating a particular Big Ten team that will go down in flames (Hi, Iowa 2006 and Purdue 2005.)
And I won't here for various reasons both arcanely mathematical and more practical. Like the cornerbacks. And the kicker. And the general bloody-mindedness of the universe. (This latter may not be so much "practical" as the immense paranoia of the Michigan fan circa 2007 but you'll never convince me of that.) Honestly, if you take a team with Michigan's talent and put it up against this schedule and play it 10,000 times the median record is probably going to be 10-2. There are too many potential hurdles, too many losable games, too much youth in key positions and too much vulnerability should any one of a number of players go down. Life in college football is hard.
(How does one justify this while simultaneously ranking Michigan in the top five? Everyone else's median is even more likely to be 10-2 or 9-3 or worse. Anyone in the top five is set up to fail unless they are a true juggernaut like USC or have a Florida State-in-the-90s schedule with no conference threats whatsoever.)
But... whatever. This is the reality of every season. Predicting the top three teams in the Big Ten to go 10-2 every year would probably be more accurate in the long run but it would also be a soulless exercise... and if college football has anything, it's got soul. Official on the record offering: 11-1. You have my permission to round up a posse and hunt me down if the team
implodes.
Michigan 2007, Part II: Defense
The offense, if you missed it. Also I'm not even going to pretend this got finished at a reasonable hour. It goes up now because otherwise it goes up at noon.
Defensive Line
Rating: 4.
WDE | Yr. | NT | Yr. | DT | Yr. | SDE | Yr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tim Jamison | Jr.* | Terrance Taylor | Jr. | Will Johnson | Jr.* | Brandon Graham | So. |
Adam Patterson | So. | John Ferrara | Fr.* | Marques Slocum | Fr. | Greg Banks | Fr.* |
Nobody | N/A | Renaldo Sagesse | Fr. | Jason Kates | Fr.* | Ryan Van Bergen | Fr. |
Last year's theory:
If Jamison lives up to the hype perpetrated by... well... me, this Michigan line will own.
Jamison did not; the line did. Unfortunately, three-quarters of said line is now in the NFL. But things here look good enough, albeit somewhat shallow.
Terrance Taylor |
---|
Plowing Central |
Penetration |
Shooting the gap |
More penetration |
Defensive tackle Terrance Taylor is the lone returner. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but whatever: a squat, immensely powerful fireplug of a defensive tackle, Taylor was a top 100 recruit of out Muskegon who saw immediate time as a freshman and drew into the starting lineup as a sophomore. While he was clearly a step behind Branch and Woodley, he was by no means out of place. Difficult to block due to his low pad level and preposterous strength, he is likely headed for All Big Ten this year.
One concern: Taylor entered Michigan a three-time Michigan state powerlifting champion and saw the field quickly because he was physically ready to, but his stature may place a limit on his ability to continue improving. He is closer to his ceiling than most players his age, and those expecting another Branch will probably be disappointed. Still: a very good player.
Will Johnson |
---|
ND third and one dies |
Snuffing a draw |
Will Johnson draws into the starting lineup to replace that Branch guy. He is unlikely to replace the production of a man who was possibly the best defensive tackle in the program's history, but he did flashed serious ability as a redshirt sophomore. Those interested in statistics may have to just trust me here: the two plays at left were two of but seven tackles. There were other fine plays scattered throughout the year that did not result in video highlights. It's telling that Alan Branch was lifted for Johnson on an important third and one in the Notre Dame game. The coaching staff believes in him. This offseason he's drawn nonstop praise; everyone expects that he will be immediately one of the better defensive tackles in the Big Ten. They're probably right.
Lamarr Woodley is gone but Brandon Graham is about as close to Woodley as you're going to get in a true sophomore. Both were five star in-state prospects who were tentatively linebackers in high school but found themselves on the defensive line by the time the oranges were passed out at the first practice. Graham actually saw most of his time as a freshman as a defensive tackle in the 3-3-5 Michigan deployed against spread offenses. This was because he was pushing 290 pounds; he is now down to 262 and ready to fill Woodley's shoes. Or maybe not exactly "ready," but possibly capable maybe? Graham didn't bust into the starting lineup in his freshman season. Then again, Lamarr Woodley wasn't exactly competing against a senior version of himself. This should play out like Steve Schilling at right tackle: some confusion due to a lack of experience early, competence by midseason, and good to very good by the end of the year.
Tim Jamison is finally the weakside defensive end after three years of nonstop hype interrupted by injury and Rondell Biggs. It is time to step up, as they say. Jamison's featured as a pass rush specialist for the last few years and has done well. Last year five of his thirteen tackles were sacks. Given the constant torrent of practice hype, Jamison's recruiting rankings, and his evident ability in small doses, Jamison should also be an instant star. (And oh, everyone thinks this is rank homerism. Just wait until we get to the corners.) Double digit sacks are probable. He won't be nearly as good against the run as Biggs -- he's smaller and I bet he spends some time rushing headlong upfield when he should be paying attention to his assignments -- but he should be a major plus.
Tim Jamison |
---|
ND sack |
Easy PSU sack |
Indiana sack |
Depth is, er, shallow. Eugene Germany got booted off the team; James McKinney transferred to Louisville after an undisclosed medical issue. At defensive end there is highly touted recruit Adam Patterson, who frustratingly blew a redshirt last year for no reason whatsoever, moderately touted freshman Ryan Van Bergen, and untouted Coloradan Greg Banks. Only Patterson has seen field time, and that was erratic garbage snaps. It's redshirt freshman Banks who is leading the pack; any serious injury to the starters will be a major dropoff.
Things are similar but less iffy on the inside. Marques Slocum is finally eligible after a two-year odyssey in pursuit of academic eligibility and amorous big cats. A totally shirtless recruit from the 2005 class who dominated that year's Army All-Star game much like Justin Boren and Ryan Mallett did, Slocum has all the potential in the wo
rld. As a 20-year-old he's more physically developed than your average freshman, but he's played no football since enrolling at Michigan after prepping for a semester at Milford Academy. Plus the whole amorous big cat thing -- which is totally my fault for linking Slocum's colorful description of a shoulder injury and exposing it to the world at large, sorry Marques -- maybe kind of got him suspended for the opener? In any case, production early will probably be limited, but he's got serious upside.
Meanwhile, redshirt freshmen John Ferrara and Jason Kates will also step into the rotation. Ferrara was a limited-upside middling recruit who is actually drawing a lot of praise for his work ethic and technique. He could project to be a Bowman or a Heuer. Kates was a guy the recruiting services disagreed upon wildly. Scout rated him a two-star because his senior year was slovenly and spent pushing 400 pounds; Rivals saw a guy with an outstanding strength/speed combination and rated him a solid four-star. After a year at Michigan he's dropped from a listed 358(!!!), to a plausible 318; probably a year or two from serious time. Incoming freshman Renaldo Sagesse is Canadian and will redshirt.
Linebackers

Rating: 3.
WLB | Yr. | MLB | Yr. | SLB | Yr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chris Graham | Sr. | Johnny Thompson | Jr.* | Shawn Crable | Sr.* |
Jonas Mouton | Fr.* | Obi Ezeh | Fr.* | Marell Evans | Fr. |
Brandon Logan | Jr. | Austin Panter | Jr. | Brandon Herron | Fr. |
The questions run deeper and more disturbing at linebacker in the absence of Prescott Burgess -- arrrrrgh wasted redshirt -- and David Harris, the best Michigan linebacker of the past decade. There's plenty of experience with two seniors and a fourth-year junior, but how much of it is any good?
Shawn Crable |
---|
Vandy stunt |
Kill Nickson |
Swing speed |
Shedding a Gopher |
State TFL |
PSU sack |
Is he a DT? |
If this blog was obsessed with Norse mythology instead of The Big Lebowski, Shawn Crable would be Loki. Last year Crable had the luxury of being a freelance sower of chaos next to Burgess and Harris and in front of that line. His responsibilities against the run were limited; he spent most of his time screaming up towards quarterbacks. This is evident in his statistics: despite racking up only 37 tackles he managed 4.5 sacks and 10.5 TFLs. Fully 28% of his tackles were behind the line of scrimmage, a number more in line with a defensive end than a linebacker.
Part of the reason for this is that Crable was often deployed as a de facto defensive end in the 3-3-5 Michigan used extensively against spread offenses. When in this formation Crable would move from outside linebacker to defensive end to an odd stand-up defensive tackle, sometimes moving between these spots pre-snap. This was an effective response to spread teams, especially those with ideas about running the ball. Even when teams occasionally caught Crable as a DT, he managed to knife past guards used to dealing with wider, slower players and make plays in the backfield. While that's not a tenable strategy in the long run it does demonstrate just how hard Crable can be to block. He's a pure attacker.
This has a downside. As a 6'6" linebacker with chicken legs and a high center of gravity, he's not the sort to defeat a block and close out a hole. He doesn't make tackles three yards downfield. It's either in the backfield or after long pursuit.
Chris Graham gets one final shot as a weakside linebacker. The story going around is that Graham had won the job last year, but then lost it when he picked up a nagging injury early in the season and by the time he got back Burgess had a death grip on the job. This is dubious. Though Burgess would indeed have been hard to displace given his level of play last year, Graham was a major problem during the Year of Infinite Pain and his main contribution last year was incredibly ineffective pass defense against Ohio State. (To be fair, what was he supposed to do against Anthony Gonzalez? Let him score a touchdown? Oh, okay.) If he was truly pushing Burgess he would have at least gotten meaningful time in a platoon.
So that line of reasoning's out. We're left with his performance from his sophomore year, which was awful. Two years on he figures to be better, but how much? He remains a wall of muscle, but a short one with stubby, tackle-missing arms. His speed seems overrated and he's never figured out that whole linebacker thing. Skepticism reigns, though a Bennie Joppru-like senior renaissance is not out of the question. It is, however, unlikely.
Johnny Thompson and Obi Ezeh will carry the middle linebacker battle into the season; at the moment Thompson is the tenuous leader. Thompson's one brief run came as a weakside linebacker during the 2005 Iowa game, when the ineffectiveness of Graham became too much to bear. A number of plays and near-plays in the second half got Michigan fans clamoring for more of the man teammates nicknamed "baby Ray Lewis," but a closer look revealed some flaws:
John Thompson made a good debut as a first-string linebacker but it wasn't as good as it appeared watching it live. Thompson missed a few tackles, overran a play or two, and was in for a lot more productive rushes against than it initially seemed. However, he clearly has a knack for showing up around the ball and with some more experience should start making those plays he barely missed against Iowa. He also seems like kind of a yappy, trash-talking guy, and we need one of those.
The first half was full of indecision and error; the second half he made a significant contribution to the win... in the run game. When he was asked to defend the pass, he overran plays and got clunkily out of position. Then he disappeared into the mists of time, stuck behind David "Worf" Harris. That's understandable given the asskicking Harris dealt out in his two years at Michigan, but he'll be a major dropoff. The best comparable here is probably Sam Sword, a hard-nosed MLB who has to come off the field on passing downs.
Nobody's seen redshirt freshman Ezeh in the flesh yet, but the indicators on him are good. For one, he is David Harris: a nothing running back recruit out of Grand Rapids who Michigan unearthed and brought in as a linebacker. He even took the newly hallowed #45 once Harris
graduated. In the fall he was moved to middle linebacker to compete with Thompson and Panter so he wouldn't spend his year idling behind Crable. Whenever people try to get you on the field, that's a good sign. He'll platoon with Thompson, probably seeing most obvious passing downs if the above Sam Sword comparable holds true.
Jonas Mouton, a highly touted recruit who moved from safety midway through last year, is the backup option at weakside linebacker and, with Ezeh's move to the middle, probably on the strongside as well. Reports were very high on him throughout last fall and spring, but no one's said much recently. Another year to learn the position before serious time would be preferable. JUCO transfer Austin Panter looked fine in the spring game but by all accounts is struggling to pick up the playbook and adjust to a higher level of play. He may redshirt. Junior Brandon Logan is a forgotten man at this point; he seems destined for an Anton Campbell career of kick coverage.
Freshmen Marell Evans and Brandon Herron are unlikely to play. Evans, a high school teammate of Brandon Minor, was the first two-star recruit Michigan brought in since Andre Criswell. He reportedly got his offer on the advice on Minor, who told the coaching staff Evans worked even harder than he did. Herron, a high school teammate of fellow freshman Troy Woolfolk, is raw but very athletic.
Defensive Backs
CB | Yr. | FS | Yr. | SS | Yr. | CB | Yr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morgan Trent | Jr.* | Steve Brown | So. | Jamar Adams | Sr. | Johnny Sears | So.* |
Donovan Warren | Fr. | Charles Stewart | Jr.* | Brandent Engelmon | Sr.* | Brandon Harrison | Jr. |
Troy Woolfolk | Fr. | Artis Chambers | Fr. | Michael Williams | Fr. | Doug Dutch | Jr.* |
Oh! The depth chart of fear! Let's start with safety. We can be relatively calm about safety.
Jamar Adams |
---|
The lone sack |
Screen read |
Covering Beckum |
Unwise pick |
Overruns a screen |
NW FF LOL |
Senior Jamar Adams returns for his third year as a starter without much to his credit or detriment. Though he was the third-leading tackler on last year's team, there just weren't that many tackles to go around unless you were David Harris. He finished with 47, three of those behind the line. There was also an interception (an unwise one on fourth down that cost Michigan 35 yards of field position) and six pass breakups. Pretty meh numbers, but he was not a major culprit for any of the long touchdowns Michigan has ceded over the past couple years. (Aside from maybe the Chris Wells spinorama, but that's would be a somewhat harsh assessment.) He should improve marginally, but a steadying influence is about all Michigan should expect.
Stevie Brown fended off a challenge from former cornerback Charles Stewart to claim the free safety job vacated by Ryan Mundy. Cynics will say that Ryan Mundy vacated this job as soon as he got it; I am one of those cynics. From OSU UFR:
Ryan Mundy is a 50 yard touchdown waiting to happen. He was out of position on the Wells touchdown, blazed by Pittman on his long run, and -- most egregiously -- came up hard on what was a second-and-inches fake dive, robbing Leon Hall of safety help he expected and needed. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of safety play, but I don't think I need to when we give up a million long run in 2004 with Mundy the starting FS, one in the first half of 2005's first game that's obviously his fault, none the rest of the year with Mundy out injured, and none in all of 2006 until Mundy is pressed into heavy duty with Barringer out and Englemon inexplicably benched.
It's usually silly to expect a new starter to outperform a departed one, but in this case it would be nearly impossible for Brown not to. Ryan Mundy was the worst safety I have ever seen in a Michigan uniform. Cato June, you're off the hook. Good luck with him, West Virginia.
Anyway. A highly touted recruit, Brown has gotten more practice buzz than any other new defender on the team. He's supposed to be a lightning fast playmaker who will leap in and excel from day one. This is something any Michigan fan has to see to believe after a decade of appalling safety play, but if we set aside primal fears borne of experience the indicators on Brown are very good. Now we wait for Angry Michigan Safety Hating God to strike him down.
The aforementioned Charles Stewart will see time spotting the starters and possibly in the nickel. Though Stewart was overwhelmed a year ago...
It doesn't take obsessive tape review to see that Charles Stewart wasn't particularly good. He was beaten for both Minnesota touchdowns, had an unnecessary pass interference call, and didn't exactly display the fierce run support that was rumored to be his calling card. His momentary presence as a starter in name only now looks like a motivational ploy aimed at Morgan Trent more than a reflection of reality. It could just be one rough game, but I was skeptical about his contribution in the offseason and am more skeptical now.
...he was just a redshirt freshman and shouldn't be written off entirely. Even when he was at cornerback he was regarded a physical tackle with questions about his speed: a safety. With Brown the projected starter at that position from the day he stepped on campus, there's no particular reason Brown would need to be pumped up; he's probably doing as well as the rumblings suggest.
Fifth-year senior
Brandent Englemon |
---|
WTF Central? |
Saving a PSU TD |
Brandent Englemon also backs up both spots. A sporadic starter during his career, Englemon is limited physically but has usually been in the right place when called upon, inexplicable Vandy screwup at right nonwithstanding. It would not be a devastating blow should injury force him onto the field.
So that's safety. A third-year starter, an OMG shirtless recruit on a stardom track, and two solid backups. Not bad. Probably not outstanding, but okay.
Yeah... corner. Corner can be summarized with one terrifying statistic: Leon Hall had 15 pass breakups a year ago. All other Michigan corners had five between them. BONUS! One of those got kicked off the team along with Chris Richards and two more moved to safety with Charles Stewart. Mmmm..... Brewing disaster.
Remember when we all liked Morgan Trent? He beat Ted Ginn in a race in high school. He was the nickelback as a freshman and did okay. His sophomore season started well, blanketing Notre Dame's Rhema McKnight and only getting beaten on a dubious bomb that probably should have been offensive pass interference. When he missed the Minnesota game and Charles Stewart drew into the lineup, the dropoff was immense. Oh, we'd better have Trent back soon, we all said. Yay Morgan.
That all changed the second half of the season, culminating on a grass slip-n-slide in Columbus where he was the primary (though far from the only) Troy Smith exploitee waving helplessly at Ginn and Gonzalez and guys named Brian. In the cold light of the offseason, some things became clear: Trent was ranked as a wide receiver by the recruiting gurus for a reason. His lanky form and long stride makes it difficult for him to change direction as fast as corners have to. When receivers cut hard, they get open. Not once last year did Trent break on a ball to break it up or intercept it.
It wasn't all bad. When Michigan lined him up nose to nose with receivers and they tried to beat him deep, he was there every time. He does have elite speed. He made several nice plays in the run game, too -- and underrated skill for corners. He'll improve as most players do. But he's exploitable and I believe he'll remain so.
Meanwhile, it's hard to have much faith in sophomore Johnny Sears when the lasting image of him is a Ball State receiver streaking by him into the endzone, but there are reasons to believe he is capable of rapid and significant improvement. Sears has always possessed outstanding athleticism -- Michigan recruitniks know that he was offered tape unseen by Ron English after taking in one of his practices -- but has a remarkable paucity of experience. A transfer robbed him of his junior year in high school, then he redshirted and saw only sporadic snaps his first year on the field. He's not done developing.
The buzz from coaches this offseason has been both very positive and very public, which introduces a new dynamic. A large portion of the "coaches say" and "buzz" stuff comes from various locations around the internet underground and occasional helpful emailers. Little of it is actually said to the public. Though it can be wrong because a coach is wrong or the telephone trickle-down distorts the message, it's usually someone's honest opinion. Publicly broadcasting encouraging comments can have an ulterior motive: to boost the recipient's morale. This is a long way of saying I'm also a bit skeptical here. I want to believe as badly as Mulder does, but um... this is a prove-it situation.
Johnny Sears |
---|
Poor coverage |
But there is another. He is Donovan Warren, a five star corner recruit from legendary California power Long Beach Poly. Warren started for three years at Poly, a distinction shared by few people, most of whom had long NFL careers: Mark Carrier, Willie McGinest, Marcedes Lewis. As you might imagine, Warren is reputed to be the most polished cornerback entering college football this year. Practice reports praise his speed and ability but also note he's small and something of an iffy tackler.
Junior Brandon Harrison has moved from safety to corner to safety to corner etc., etc., etc. Technically, he's a corner now but the distinction is one of little import. Last year he was the nickelback and spent his time overrunning the quarterback on blitzes and missing tackles on crossing routes. He could be all right as he improves, but a 5'8" guy who's not clearly something otherworldly in terms of athleticism and technique is not likely to star. As a dimeback, okay.
Freshman Troy Woolfolk is a track star and the son of legendary Michigan tailback Butch Woolfolk. He'll also play, but meaningful snaps will be few.
Five Questions and Five Answers
Am I crazy?
Um... should/could we run a 3-4 this year? If you look at the personnel, we have a classic 3-4 NT in Taylor, a guy who should be a very good 3-4 DE in Johnson, two 3-4 OLBs that would excel in Jamison and Crable, and then a couple of MLBs who could stuff the run and get lifted on third downs. Brandon Graham might not be ideal, but he did spend parts of last year carrying a lot of weight and playing DT. It seems a good fit for our personnel.
This will not so much happen, but I would not be surprised to see scads and scads of the 3-3-5 not just against spread teams but in any passing situation. Though the defensive tackles both look stout against the run, neither is likely to replicate Alan Branch's superior pass rush (you can't look at the stats for this -- Branch had only two sacks -- but the UFRs tell a tale of a guy who put a lot of pressure on opposing QBs). Lifting one in favor of a blitzing Crable seems an obvious move.
Actually, blitzing lots looks like the order of the day in general. If the linebackers are fast but can't cover, may as well send them across the line to harass the noob quarterbacks that dot Michigan's schedule from La Jolla to Leo Carrillo and up to Pismo.
Is Steve Szabo some sort of golden god or something?
It is possible. The one-year turnarounds of Crable and Burgess were remarkable as was the continued development of Harris into a thumping, screen-wrecking Klingon of destruction. It thrills and amazes after the same three players were hideously ineffective during the Year of Infinite Pain. And, hey, after getting knocked for not doing much in recruiting he's spearheaded Michigan's most successful foray into New Jersey in the modern era of recruiting, wresting four-star linebackers Marcus Witherspoon and JB Fitzgerald from Rutgers and Florida and putting us in the lead for top 100 safety Brandon Smith. I kind of wish he was 35.
Szabo's rep as a linebacker guru will be put to the test this year, though. If he can wrangle Chris Graham into an effective player and figure out a way to get decent production out of the middle linebacker spot, I am going to make a tasteful Szabo shrine next to my Mike Hart one.
What about cornerbacks not named Leon Hall?
Yeah... this is a repeat of last year's "What about cornerbacks not named Leon Hall?" only this time around Leon Hall is a Cincinnati Bengal and
the hives I get when I think about this are softball sized.
The coaches have talked up both Morgan Trent and Johnny Sears in the fall, but does that mean anything? As mentioned, there is a certain genre of preseason praise designed to calm and steady nervous starters because they are the only alternatives, and the cynical -- aren't we all these days -- can clearly fit any positives about Trent and Sears into these categories. Both should improve naturally
And then there's Warren. He will play and play often; if he follows the typical M corner shutdown track he'll be in the starting lineup by midseason. Honestly, though, that would probably not be a good thing for the 2007 team. Though Jackson and Hall were vaguely acceptable as freshmen, they were not actually good. Only Woodson, praise be his name, can make that claim. It's not out of the question Warren can replicate that -- he is reportedly very polished -- but banking on that is unwise.
I hope for average here. One possible positive: the return of Vance Bedford to his role as Michigan's secondary coach. To say former UW DBs coach Ron Lee did not work out is an understatement. Bedford is the proverbial Michigan Man and should fit in just fine with the rest of the group.
How much of a dropoff will the defensive line have?
Well. No. That's not a good question. "Lots" covers so much ground.
Can this defensive line still be the best in the conference?
Probably not. I made this assertion in HTTV 2007 but that was before looking around the conference. Iowa returns four starters and the ends are very good; Wisconsin has a hole at end by the rest of the line looks excellent; I could be wrong about the OSU defensive tackles. Michigan starts two juniors and two sophomores and has one returning starter. Probably asking a bit too much for them to be the best in the Big Ten.
...and when you add it up you get?
Not last year's defense but not 2005's either. Both defensive tackles should be good to very good. It's reasonable to expect Johnny Thompson to play like he did in the Iowa game with significantly fewer mental mistakes, which would be excellent against the run. Crable is a unique weapon that will greatly help against spread attacks and inexperienced quarterbacks. The defensive ends should be pretty good, and the John Beilein-Ryan Mundy trade will go down as one of the all-time great heists in coach-fifth-year-safety-who-sucks fictional trades. It's not that grim. Except at corner, and depth, and linebackers covering guys, and there's that whole Chris Graham issue that I feel very uncomfortable about. That's all pretty grim.
Other than those totally insignificant issues, things are great. This should be a very tough defense to run against, say 15th or 20th or so. Passing... well. The truest herald of joy is the inexperience of every quarterback on the roster save three iffy starters prone to bad decisions and poor play: Dennis Dixon, Curtis Painter, and Anthony Morelli. The rest will be green. I have no illusions the secondary will be dominant or even particularly good, but given the offense on the opposite side of the field the goal is to just be okay. Anything better than Todd Howard's "Suspects" will suffice, and there's enough at safety to prevent that. Survey says: good enough.
One thing to watch for: tight ends. If our linebackers are garbage in coverage, they'll benefit extensively. Sadly, there are many good ones on the schedule -- John Carlson, Travis Beckum, Dustin Keller, Anthony Moeaki -- and this potential weakness looks ripe for exploiting. Third and medium could be a problem; third and short and third and long will look good.
Stupid Predictions
- Jamison equals Woodley's sack numbers but is much worse against the run.
- Aw, hell: Brown has a great debut and gets everyone totally excited about his potential. The safeties are good.
- Run defense remains resilient, finishing second to Wisconsin in the league
- Tight ends do very well against us all season.
- The 3-3-5 is way more frequent than a conventional nickel.
- 23rd in scoring defense.
Side note! These were last year's stupid predictions:
- The run defense improves radically.
- Chris Graham is replaced by Prescott Burgess a few games into the season.
- Woodley turns in a year essentially identical to his '05: very good but a tiny bit disappointing.
- Brandon Harrison sees an awful lot of time.
- Johnny Sears does not.
- Michigan finishes 23rd in total defense. [way different than this year's prediction! -ed]
- Projected postseason grade: yeeeesh. Fully acknowledging that the above assumptions may be trashed by the second quarter of the ND game... B+.
Holy crap! I mean... seriously. That's badass.
JB Fitzgerald to Michigan
Huzzah: NJ LB JB Fitzgerald has committed. He's an outside linebacker currently sitting just outside the top 100 of both Rivals and Scout, an excellent pickup. No googlestalking just yet, what with the previewing going on and all. I'll try to fit it in next week.
Unverified Voracity Preps
Ok ok ok ok. That chick from South Carolina...
...is going to Appalachian State. As someone who's going to be on actual TV (Sunday! 11:30! Channel 4!), I can't possibly make fun of her, though. Projected first MGoAppearance:
So I think, um, Wolverine Michiganders will like football, and... um... such as South Africa is everywhere such as and the 2010 World Cup in the Africa maps. Football.
And I won't look nearly as good doing it, although I do have a snappy block-M tie.
Fluff!!! Usually this gets shunted into mgo.licio.us, but not when it's about Mike Hart. Run, you tiny wonderful bastard.
Meh. Rosenberg's latest is on the Big Ten Network and I have to take issue with some stuff. He's right that neither side is Crusading For The Children, but is that really relevant? Viz:
So whose side are you on in this Big Ten Network-Comcast showdown?
Are you with the guys trying to make money?
Or are you with the guys trying to make money?
I am with the guys trying to make money who are the Big Ten, and I imagine every other Michigan and State fan in the state is. If they aren't they should be: getting the BTN on basic cable provides both schools better exposure and more money without raising ticket prices.
This PR war is pretty odd to me, since I don't care about who I should be angry at about this, I just want the games and will put myself in a position to get them when the time comes. (Since I'm going to every game this year except maybe Wisconsin, "the time" is basketball season for me.) The debate about who is "right" and who is "wrong" is completely irrelevant; media guys would be using their time better to dig up sports business media inside baseball like this:
A report issued by Pali Research, though, suggested that cable operators would be wise to include the Big Ten Network on expanded basic by basketball season or risk losing stock value. It also charged that Time Warner and Comcast occupy contradictory positions because both operate sports networks on expanded basic cable, such as Comcast's Versus network.
The only media reporting on the a la carte implications and the business aspects here is the communications trade press, and that's ultimately more important to the consumer. Not "who's at fault" but "what is likely to happen." Finger pointing is pointless, especially when it's directed at both entities.
Woo Cronin. The center commit cracks ESPN's top 150 at #130, and boy are they enthused($):
The only word to describe Cronin is "space-eater". He is quite unathletic at this point and he runs the floor like he's mad at the ground (heavy-footed). Right now his footwork needs improvement and he must stop bringing the ball down so low.
The only question: is he a one-and-done?
Entirely awesome. Two outstanding Buckeye-related newsbits in recent days:
- Former president Karen Holbrook denounced the "culture of rioting" at Ohio State, accused people of having "drunken orgies," and a university spokesman's response: "hey, they KILL people in Italy!"
- Jim Tressel loves Celine Dion. Loves her to death. Knows all the words.
Finally something to taunt. Do you know how hard it's been to say anything about Ohio State for the last eight months?
THEY DON'T LEARN. Last year's Blue-Gray Sky prediction post proved to be increasingly hilarious as the year progressed and this one promises to be even better. Highlights:
- 6 of 9 pick Notre Dame over Michigan.
- The average record predicted: 9.2-2.8.
- The nuttiest BGSer, Dylan, goes for 11-1. Dylan, if ND goes 11-1 this year in the regular season, you can run MGoBlog for a week. This I vow.
He's not alone, either: Rakes predicts 9-3. So this is the baseline according to ND fans: 9-3, even given the Willingham recruiting. If Weis fails to reach this marker, he's obviously a bad coach.
Etc.: The MZone presents Great Moments in Jim Delany Negotiations.
Michigan 2007, Part I: Offense
I stole all these pictures from RBUAS. What can I say? The man finds some damn pictures.
The Story
I decided I would go to Football Armageddon, or at least what seemed like Football Armageddon at the time. (One compensation for this offseason's nonstop torrent of SEC triumphalism in the aftermath of Ohio State's national title game pantsing is that last year's Michigan-Ohio State game now seems vastly less important than it did at the time. The comforts of a Michigan fan are small these days.)
Anyway, four of us rolled out of Michigan early in the morning: myself, a friend, and two people I didn't know, one a friend of my friend, the other his coworker. The coworker, who we'll call "Skeeter" for no reason whatsoever, cracked open a beer as we hit the highway. At 8 AM. It will turn out that Skeeter is a very, very stupid man. Friend of Friend, who is an exec type and I believe Skeeter's boss, has a posh house and a wife who made us all buttons.* Encased in plastic that would occasionally pop open and expose its contents to the wind were pictures of Bo Schembechler culled from that morning's Detroit News. I pocketed one. And we drove.
So four hours in a car in the early morning driving to Columbus pass, and then there's cars and parking's all full and there's chaos and I'm antsy because the scalpers are all asking for lots of money. When we finally managed to find parking -- an arduous process -- Skeeter took the opportunity to relieve himself by the side of the car, in plain site of portajohns. Oh, Skeeter.
I managed to locate a callous scalper and acquire a decent enough endzone ticket 30 rows up for a few hundred dollars; then we experienced authentic Ohio State-style tailgating, which involved waiting in line to get beer from a convenience store, then watching others drink that beer in a dingy, crammed, and depressing parking lot as an Ohio State fan attempted to convince me that fan behavior was just as bad at Michigan mere moments after describing High Street paved in beer cans. (For the record, 2006 was a huge step forward from 2002, which was probably the nadir; this isn't really about OSU fan behavior, it's about this irritating rat-faced guy I was talking to.) Eventually I decided to go into the game preposterously early because it was better than waiting around not drinking beer.
I entered. When I crested the threshold of my section and looked up... students. I was in the student section. I was going to die. I wore my Bo pin, stood stiff and unmoving, and made no eye contact. I managed to not break down during the pregame tribute, sat down several times so I would not die, and then when kickoff finally came watched Michigan rip off an opening touchdown drive that was a thing of beauty. When I inadvertently let a "go, Mario, go" slip out after the first play of the game an ornery looking Ohio State fan would turn around and glare, then complain to his friends I was going to ruin the game. I didn't say anything afterward, even when Michigan punched it in.
When I felt a tremor, I looked down at my hands. They were shaking uncontrollably. We were a third of the way to enough points to win the game. We were going to win. The Year of Infinite Pain was but the first act of a remarkable redemption story.
Then we kicked off.
It turns out 2006 was not the second act of a two-act play, or at least not one with any message other than "God has it in for you, specifically, for no real reason." No Michigan fan needs to be reminded of what happened from then on. It was a dour finish to a year that had been a triumphant return to... er... glory for a program in need of some. In my particular case, the agony of the Ohio State game was magnified tenfold when Skeeter, who had gone down to Columbus fully expecting to not go to the game because of its cost, failed to show at our agreed-upon meeting point after the game. Cell-phone reception being what it is after a major sporting event (nonexistent), the next hour -- I kid you not -- was spent in front of the same convenience store I had been lectured next to by the rat-faced man from hours before, watching Ohio State fans go "WOOOOOOOO" and wanting to die. Eventually we decided to walk back to the car and get something to eat at a local chain restaurant; Skeeter finally showed up hours and hours later, drunk and with some new buddies from the bar. It was 10 PM by the time we finally left; by that hour my rage had bubbled and re-bubbled and boiled over and erupted in little spasmodic fits for hours and hours and hours. When we got in the car, Skeeter cracked another beer.
And it is because of this that I can tell you that no matter how mad I get, I will never choke a man to death with his own intestines and then drink warm Bud Light out of his skull.. If it was going to happen, it would have happened. One of the great regrets of my life is going to be not leaving that twat in Columbus, preferably after stealing his wallet and all forms of identification. And his pants.
So, yeah, that's the end of last year.
This year the stakes are simple: send out Mike Hart, Chad Henne, Jake Long, (very probably) Mario Manningham, and (very probably) Lloyd Carr as triumphant victors completing a three act play, or it's Skeeter time. No pressure.
*(Skeeter and FOF being cordial enough to go to a football game in Ohio together was surprising, on reflection.)
Unit By Unit
Quarterback
Rating: 5.
QB | Yr. |
---|---|
Chad Henne | Sr. |
Ryan Mallett | Fr. |
David Cone | So.* |
In the course of three years Chad Henne has gone from wonder boy to whipping boy to quarterback... uh... man. Or something. Quarterback man, quarterback man, doin' the things a quarterback can. I have wandered off topic.
Anyway: as a sophomore, Henne was bad. This was covered in last year's preview, but a brief recap: Henne propped up his numbers by throwing a ton of read-free wide receiver screens and were further supported by a year in which every Big Ten secondary may as well have been Michigan State's; when he went downfield he was highly inaccurate, the primary culprit in Michigan's loss to Wisconsin and possibly those against Minnesota and Notre Dame. Though there were many valid excuses (no real deep threat, horrible offensive line play, no Mike Hart, general bloody-mindedness of the universe in general and Angry Michigan Safety Hating God in particular), this remains an apt summary of his 2005:
Henne's '05 environment was not a good place to do anything but fail. This, by in large, he did.
Things were much different in 2006. A brief tour through Henne's season via the magic of UFR (Ball State and the Rose Bowl did not get UFRed):
- Vandy:
Not particularly good... not particularly Henne's fault, though. He attempted to throw 27 times; approximately 7 of those times were either screens or three-step rhythm throws. 25% of the time when Henne attempted to throw something longer than a screen or short west coast pattern he had Vandy players in his face, usually unblocked after a stunt or a missed blitz pickup. Late in the game, he started expecting and fearing pressure, forgot his mechanics, and started short-hopping balls. It was reminiscent of last year's Notre Dame game ... Henne was fine at first. He was excellent on the opening drive, and at least good through much of the game. The stats don't show it because of the drops.
However, when he lost faith in his protection late he started scrambling unnecessarily, misfiring on simple passes, and generally reverting to the bad old days at the beginning of last season. Notre Dame has no doubt noticed this -- the first hint of it was against them, after all -- and will blitz and stunt extensively, hoping to get him rattled.
There wasn't much evidence to go on, but he came through when he was asked to throw. I do have some concerns about his tendency to check down when he has a lot of time, but with the umbrella CMU was putting around the deep receivers it's understandable. He should have some opportunities to go deep against Notre Dame. [boy, was I right about that. -ed.]
Manningham's getting all the accolades but his three touchdowns were all inch-perfect throws by Henne and tough ones. (Maybe the first one wasn't so tough, but Henne laid it right in Manningham's chest anyway.) ... yow. Five passes in the negative categories, 16 in the positive ones. Last year Henne's numbers were propped up with a copious number of screens of all varieties, but remove the five he threw in this game (4 CA, 1 IN) and you still get 12-4, a 75% "good" rate. Last year he often hovered around 50%.
Another fine performance... At this point I think it's safe to declare Henne's accuracy vastly improved. He still makes the occasional Morelli-esque throw into a Mongol horde of defenders, but he's performing more like the Henne from last year's OSU game than last year's Wisconsin game.
Commenters questioned whether or not that was the best performance of Henne's career and waited for chart to decide. Chart says? Probably, and it would say "almost definitely" if it could accurately reflect how ridiculous every one of those DOs was and remind you that one of the INs was another bomb.The delightful thing is: it's not all that different from his performances over the past three weeks. He had a rough game against Vandy, but since then he's been insane. It would be one thing if the Minnesota game was an aberration, but Henne's been laying it in between his WR's numbers for three weeks now. The deep ball has gone from a high-risk maneuver to a staple of the offense.
Not to be one of those people, but Henne seemed kinda off, right?Yes. ... he only had six good passes downfield. The sample size isn't exactly vast, but this was Henne's iffiest performance since Vandy.
Obviously, Henne threw a lot more in this game than he has in any other this year, and he did it in a difficult environment against a good defense. It's reasonable to expect the numbers to be a little uglier. And that they are, with a full 15 attempts in the negative categories compared to but 19 in the positive ones. You may remember that at his nadir last year, Henne hovered just below the 50% mark, but that was after we stripped out batted passes and pressure. With four deflected balls -- none of which were truly Henne's fault -- and one Alford-induced scramble removed, Henne's ratio is 19:10. That's not bad at all.Still, I wish that his accuracy was better. He had Arrington open a few times and either missed him entirely or forced him into a tough catch. He missed an open Butler a few times and winged a sure first down over Breaston's head. He turns two of those inaccurate passes into completions and I'm raving... but his accuracy left a little to be desired.
On the other hand: do you know who he reminds me of right at this minute? John Navarre midway through his junior year. That's when Navarre started doing things like moving up in the pocket to buy himself time and make the correct audibles and look safeties off before firing critical third-down lasers. And that's when you, the fan, sat back and thought "is this really John Navarre? Really really?" The Arrington touchdown and the scrambling Breaston completion are things he would not have done a year ago. He's gone from staring down receivers to teleporting safeties with his eyes. He's making second and third reads with regularity. He's getting there, and fast. The best evidence of this: the one timeout Michigan took on offense was because DeBord never got the call in, and Henne spent the entire game calling two plays and checking at the line in front of 110,000 people who hate him. He's come a long way.
Henne was generally accurate but not inspiring.One issue: a high number of BRs. Only one was a dangerous throw into coverage -- the interception on the seam route -- but a total of four is high. Henne started the game doing that scramble-into-danger thing when the pocket was holding, essentially sacking himself. That hesitancy has crept into his game in recent weeks; hopefully it's more a function of no Manningham than anything else.
Par for the course for Henne. Was victimized by three drops, each of which would have turned a punt into at least a field goal attempt in all probability. He's getting better at finding guys on the run, but I still think he's a little too jumpy in the pocket.
A weird game from Henne where he was either doing something really bad (interception, misthrowing a screen, winging it wide to Manningham) or throwing lasers twenty-to-forty yards downfield. The lasers outweighed the errors, say the numbers, and I agree. That's partially an artifact of playing Saturday's red-clad men that claim they are a secondary, but a 62-yard bomb placed delicately between the 1 and the 5 on Breaston's jersey is a 62-yard bomb placed delicately between the 1 and the 5 on Breaston's jersey. Henne was also aided by a couple plays where Indiana rushers didn't come within five yards of him.
(Henne had only 15 attempts, BTW.)
Smith hardly ever had things filed "PR" because even when get got "PR-ed" he usually got off a short hitch to Gonzalez or Hall or Ginn or whoever because we couldn't cover long enough for unblocked blitzers to be useful. Henne, on the other hand, got swamped by linemen:Protection: 34
/55. Kraus -4, Ecker -1, Riley -7, Long -2, Mitchell -3, Bihl -1, assorted miscellaneous.Some of that was just the scheme: Michigan's routes need time to develop. Primary reads on each play are long gainers and our little checkdown routes are slow-developing crosses. Henne spent vastly more time with the ball in his hand than Smith did. Some of that was just bad play. some of that was no doubt Henne-caused, as there were a few more instances of run-around-uselessly theater (though, like Navarre, Henne has started to indicate that he's getting better at this late in his junior season: see the Ecker touchdown). ... Chad Henne was deployed fully for the first time since the Notre Dame game and turned in an impressive performance. He has total command of his reads and routes. His accuracy is greatly improved. His pocket awareness... needs work but is improving.
Sidenote:
How come we never throw over the middle?
What, are you stuck in 2005? This time-tested complaint should be shelved until 2008. Henne is now probing the middle of the field on digs, crosses, seams, and posts with frequency and success. Yes, this is a reminder for the first game of 2007, when we run a really boring offense against a MAC school and everyone freaks out.
(I want credit for that last bit this year, okay?)
Chad Henne |
---|
"oh, wide open" |
Wisconsin seam |
Arm strength stop |
40-yard dart |
Flag of perfection |
Deep read |
Badass post |
NW Corner |
OSU Wheel |
A few themes emerge: Henne is at his wicked best when dropping bombs on opponents' heads. His pocket awareness leaves something to be desired. His accuracy was vastly improved. He has full command of the offense. He was not used extensively. The overall picture: very good. Not great.
But it is the rare junior who is "great," especially at the most mentally demanding position on the field. The upside is there. Henne can make all the throws, from wide receiver screens to slants to fifteen-yard outs to posts to parabolic, feathery deep balls that nestle themselves between the 8 and the 6 on Mario Manningham's jersey. It might be nice if he was a little taller, but in all other ways he is a prototypical NFL quarterback. What holds him back is the flash of hesitancy, the indecision in the moment of the chase, the little uncertainties that crop up when an offense's well-laid plans crumble to dust.
You can see the problems he had last year ebb as the impressions roll by, with minor upticks when Henne ran across top defenses in the roiling hatred of State College and Columbus. And... um... Michigan State at home. Every Michigan quarterback has progressed; every senior has been in full command of the offense and let loose to do what he will. What doubts exist here seem to be unreasonable paranoia given past history. Henne should excel.
The backup situation is touchy with Jason Forcier's transfer. Ryan Mallett, the brobdingnagian freshman who can throw a ball through three Nazis, Last Crusade style, is the backup quarterback and heir apparent. Though he's undoubted the greatest quarterback ever ever, should he be pressed into service as a true freshman Michigan's offense will take a serious hit.
Running Back
Rating: 5.
RB | Yr. | FB | Yr. |
---|---|---|---|
Mike Hart | Sr. | Mark Moundros | So.* |
Brandon Minor | So. | Vince Helmuth | Fr. |
Carlos Brown | So. | Quintin Patilla | Fr.* |
Avery Horn | Fr. | Andre Criswell | So.* |
Mike Hart's various joints and limbs cooperated with the rest of Michigan's miniature dynamo, and how. Last year Michigan rode Hart to an extent almost unparalleled across the country. His 318 carries were exceeded only by those of Rutgers' Ray Rice; PJ Hill and Garrett Wolfe were the only other backs to crack 300. Anyone who seriously trots out Hart durability issues amongst Michigan's concerns this year is living in the 90s, man.
Mike Hart |
---|
ND slash |
ND ramble |
Wind the clock |
Langford stiffarm |
Typical Minny play |
Five yards of awesome |
Gold, Jerry, Gold! |
PSU grind |
Iowa zone |
OSU Draw |
OSU Iso |
On those 318 carries, Hart picked up 1562 yards at 4.9 yards per carry. Though these are respectable numbers, they are by no means great. Part of this is Hart's lack of breakaway speed, but part of it was Michigan's dogged effort to plow virtually all its opponents into bonemeal no matter the situation. Against Wisconsin, Michigan ran
on first down 20 of 26 times. Across the entire year, Michigan ran 57 percent of the time. When you run so often and so predictably, yards per carry become depressed unless you are an NFL first round sort.
Hart isn't. We all know who he is by now. He will get run down by safeties. He is not Darren McFadden or Steve Slaton. But he doesn't fumble, picks his way through line-of-scrimmage traffic like no one else, and is capable of banging out the greatest eight yard runs ever:
He is the engine; the afterburners belong to others.
Brandon Minor |
---|
Vandy 25-yarder |
State's too easy |
The backup situation verged on dangerously thin when Kevin Grady blew out an ACL in spring practice and Carlos Brown first tried out at corner then flirted with a transfer. Brown eventually decided against the transfer, easing worries, then broke his hand. The injury is minor and shouldn't hold him out of more than the opener, but it has hampered his practice time. He'll get a long look as a punt and kick returner, but it'll probably be next year before serious carries are a possibility.
Thus Brandon Minor will be Hart's primary backup. As a freshman, Minor alternated bursts through the secondary with uninspiring three-yard gains. He's a slashing, high-stepping runner with a turn of speed that defies the recruiting analysts, who rated him as a fullback. It remains to be seen whether he can pick his way through traffic like Hart can -- rephrase: it remains to be seen just how much worse he is at picking his way through traffic than Hart is. His freshman year gave some indication that without an obvious hole he just runs up into a linebacker or one of his offensive linemen. Vision can develop -- see Chris Perry -- but he's not necessarily the heir apparent.
Freshman Avery Horn is fast as hell but has no idea what he's doing. If he doesn't get drafted to return kickoffs he'll redshirt.
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends
WR | Yr. | WR | Yr. | WR | Yr. | TE | Yr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mario Manningham | Jr. | Adrian Arrington | Jr.* | Greg Mathews | So. | Mike Massey | Jr.* |
Toney Clemons | Fr. | LaTerryal Savoy | So.* | Junior Hemingway | Fr. | Carson Butler | So.* |
Zion Babb | Fr. | Martell Webb | Fr. | Andre Criswell (TE) | So.* | Steve Watson | Fr. |
Mario Manningham missed five games with a torn meniscus, only caught 38 passes, and finished 36th in receiving yards nationally. But, yeah...
...he's kind of good. Manningham exploded onto the nation's consciousness during the FBD against Notre Dame and continued torching secondaries until felled by injury against Michigan State. Across that four-week span, Manningham caught 19 balls for an incredible 456 yards -- 24 yards per catch -- and eight long touchdowns. Every team in the
Mario Manningham |
---|
Quod |
Erat |
Demonstrandum |
Wisconsin ballet |
Wisconsin dagger |
State's too easy |
country has a player they think can be the proverbial deep threat, but Mario Manningham is Chuck Norris in the Marinas Trench. Armed with an arsenal of double moves that can sucker in the weak and strong alike (Wisconsin, beaten for two touchdowns, was the #1 pass efficiency D in the country last year; Manningham duped Buckeye cornerback Malcolm Jenkins into an "oh wide open" during Football Armageddon that Henne overthrew badly), Manningham requires safety attention at all times. Every time you leave him without a bracket you risk a precision smart bomb from Henne. Other than maybe Desean Jackson there is no better receiver in college football.
With | Without | |
---|---|---|
PPG | 36.8 | 24.4 |
One brief exemplar of Manningham's significance to the Michigan offense can be found at right; I don't think this qualifies as cherry picking, as among the opponents in the five game "no Manningham" section are Northwestern, Ball State, and Indiana.
Adrian Arrington |
---|
Wisconsin seam |
Minnesota seam TD |
Minnesota post TD |
State circus catch |
Penn State post #1 |
Penn State post #2 |
Tough slant |
Fade |
Tough Dig |
Another tough dig |
Meanwhile, Adrian Arrington finally emerged as an onfield contributor after two years of blocking, malfeasance, and injury, and then he went and nearly malfeased his way right off the team. Two solid months of 6AM stairs got him back in Carr's good graces; in him Michigan has the makings of another All Big Ten wide receiver. You can call him a more athletic Jason Avant or a less athletic Braylon Edwards, but the comparison foremost in my mind is David Terrell: good but not great speed, a lanky stride and the ability to go up and get a fade. When Manningham was out, it was Arrington who became the primary threat, catching a couple of tough posts that yielded ten of Michigan's points against Penn State. One was Michigan's only passing touchdown of the day:
He has not shown the big play ability Manningham has (or Terrell had), but did catch a deep seam against Minnesota for a touchdown and is obviously tough enough to go get those posts. As a number two wide receiver he's an excellent option.
Greg Mathews |
---|
Iowa scoop |
NW waggle |
NW post |
True sophomore Greg Mathews spent most of last year blocking but also picked up eight catches in sporadic time. A recruit who edged into the end of top 100 lists towards the end of his high school career, his stride, power, and hands are reminiscent of Jason Avant, though that comparison is obviously tenuous at this point given his limited utilization. He will be a possession complement to the deep and intermediate threats.
Behind Mathews there are but freshmen. Toney Clemons, another fringe top 100 guy, has been the most impressive in fall camp and will be the fourth receiver. Enjoy your blocking, kid! Junior Hemingway will also play; Zion Babb will probably redshirt.
Antonio Bass's knee is still severely damaged. He remains on the team but most say that's a technicality and he will be a medical casualty after the year. He will not play.
Carson Butler |
---|
CMU waggle |
Iowa cross |
Iowa tiptoe |
Iowa cross #2 |
At tight end, it's probably wrong to compare a kid who nearly got booted off a football team to Jesus, so lets just call Carson Butler Lazarus. Raw, kind of dense (the kid must have gone offsides a half dozen times last year), and wildly athletic, Butler tantalized during a redshirt freshman year in which he became the team's leading tight end. Then came a wild sequence of events: he was placed on double-secret probation along with Eugene Germany (gone) and Adrian Arrington (back) for undisclosed violations of team rules rumored to be inopportunely timed weed, arrested for playing a role in the St. Patrick's Day Nerd Massacre, kicked off the team because of the SPDNM arrest, acquitted of all charges in the SPDNM, and finally let back on the team a couple weeks ago. He's still deep in the doghouse -- not listed on the initial depth chart -- but should emerge within a few games if we make the potentially large assumption he keeps his head down and joins a church choir or something. So... a quasi-starter with big potential.
The other quasi-starter is redshirt junior Mike Massey, who saw extensive playing time a year ago but didn't do much with it. He was this close to making a couple superb catches, one a wheel route against Wisconsin, the other a potential touchdown against Penn State, but in both cases the ball just eluded his fingertips. He's been talked up in the spring, but doubts still remain about his blocking and overall upside.
Chris McLaurin and Andre Criswell back up Massey and Butler; both looked awful in the spring game. Criswell was shifted from fullback in the spring when Butler got himself in trouble; McLaurin was a linebacker who swapped units last year because of a chronic shoulder injury (... or something; it's not entirely clear). If either sees the field this year, it's probably to block. Freshman Steve Watson is the son of a former Denver Broncos receiver/coach by the same name and should be college ready; he may also see time. Martell Webb, at 6'5", 215, is headed for a redshirt.
Offensive Line
Rating: 4.
LT | Yr. | LG | Yr. | C | Yr. | RG | Yr. | RT | Yr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jake Long | Sr.* | Adam Kraus | Sr.* | Justin Boren | So. | Alex Mitchell | Jr.* | Steve Schilling | Fr.* |
Mark Ortmann | So.* | Dave Molk | Fr. | David Moosman | Fr.* | Jeremy Cuilla | So.* | Perry Dorrestein | Fr.* |
Mark Huyge | Fr. | Tim MacAvoy | So.* | Grant DeBenedictis | So.* | Brett Gallimore | Jr.* | Cory Zirbel | So.* |
(note: every Michigan lineman since the beginning of time has redshirted. Just assume "redshirt" in front of all years unless "true" is specifically appended.)
Three starters return to the Michigan line, including the two best players on 2006's adequate, but not great, unit.
Left tackle Jake Long passed on an opportunity to be a top-ten selection in the NFL draft to play his senior year. That should suffice as an indicator of his talent, which is immense. He's the best offensive lineman in the conference and possibly the nation.
Fellow senior Adam Kraus enters his third year as a starter. Though he was prone to the occasional missed read in the zone game, when he was on the right page he was effective. Capable of getting out to the second level and an above-average pass blocker, Kraus is short of great but is probably headed for first-team All Big Ten at year's end.
Sophomore (true sophomore!) Justin Boren is on a stardom track. The first Michigan lineman in forever to forgo a redshirt, Boren started one game a year ago at guard and rotated in several times during the year. Michigan was grooming him for the center spot from day one. Every indicator on him is positive: he was a highly hyped recruit, he was one of the dominant player in that year's Army All-Star game, he saw the field immediately, and he won a starting role as a true sophomore. There might be some issues at first -- Boren has never played center before -- but by midseason he will probably be an upgrade over the departed Mark Bihl.
Alex Mitchell's job came under fire in the fall even before he picked up a minor injury that will hold him out of the Appalachian State game and maybe Oregon as well. Reports have consistently mentioned Mitchell's issues with his weight; some darkly hint at potential motivation issues. At times last year he was overrun, especially on stunts and blitzes that he and Rueben Riley did always handle well. As a first year starter and a sophomore there are some mitigating factors, but there has been a constant undercurrent of discontent with his play and conditioning this offseason. Even healthy he may watch from the sidelines.
Steve Schilling, like Boren, is marked for stardom. Practice-field rumors had him running neck-and-neck with Rueben Riley, a fifth year senior and multiple-year starter (albeit one who often seemed like an out of position guard), the instant he stepped on campus despite running a wing-T in high school and not knowing how to pass block. An ill-timed case of mono knocked him out of contention in 2006 and forced a redshirt, and shoulder surgery caused him to miss spring practice. Despite all that he's beaten out Cory Zirbel and Mark Ortmann for the right tackle job.
The question with Schilling is how fast can he get up and going? All the injury downtime and the wing-T thing could lead to some dodgy moments in pass protection early. If he's shaky during the Oregon and Penn State games, Michigan's offense could sputter in an inopportune fashion.
Key backups on the line: Mark Ortmann, a redshirt sophomore who will be the first tackle on the field if either Long or Schilling goes down. He's supposed to be more of a finesse, pass-blocking type. Jeremy Cuilla is the first option at guard. A junior who's seen a start here and there and had significant snaps when other players go down injured, he has a modicum of experience but no hype. He will replace Mitchell for Appalachian State. Dave Moosman was well-regarded as a center and is probably in line to start next year (Boren would slide out to guard); this year might be a bit early. The backup situation, in general, is not good.
Five Questions and Five Answers
What could possibly go wrong?
A look back at last year's questions is a blast from the horrible, horrible past: does Henne suck ass? Does the offensive line suck ass? Does Breaston suck ass? Are we going to die? If so, how painful will it be? Will the muscles be flayed from our bodies as we watch in helpless agony? Could you describe the pain on the Schmidt scale? Are we talking yellowjacket pain...
2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine WC Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.
...or is it bullet ant time...
4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel.
...?
I tried to answer these things in a somewhat reassuring manner -- No, sort of, sort of, maybe, probably pretty painful, yeesh no, probably yellowjacket if you pushed me -- but my impression of the fanbase's zeitgeist has flipped 180 degrees from last year. Now nothing at all questions the offense. But... NSFMF!
These are the ways in which the offense could fail to live up to its potential:
- Short yardage remains problematic. Michigan sucked in many ways during the Year of Infinite Pain, but one area in which they most certainly did not was in short yardage. Michigan converted at an almost 90% clip on third and one. Last year that number dropped under 60%. I have covered this before, but to re-iterate: the zone game was a disaster in short yardage situations, sabotaging a dozen or more drives when the slow developing stretch got overwhelmed by penetration. Michigan's out-talent and out-execute approach to football has always been at its best when the odds are stacked in their favor, like on third and not much. The stretch moves us away from that. More on this later.
- Steve Schilling and Justin Boren play like n00bs. This wouldn't be totally surprising, since they are n00bs, but a large portion of the optimism rests on the assumption there will be little dropoff from Mark Bihl and Rueben Riley to either new starter. A portion of it rests on the assumption that the new guys will actually be better than the outgoing seniors by midseason.
- Carson Butler and Adrian Arrington look at someone funny. Both are hanging by threads; without them the situation at receiver is basically Manningham, Massey, and a bunch of unproven sketch. Guys: stay home and play XBox.
- Key injuries. Obvs. Henne, Hart, Long, and Manningham cannot be replaced.
- Michigan gets cocky. More on this later.
- Henne remains very good, but does not improve. Also more on this later.
Will Michigan t
ake full advantage of its weapons?
AKA "Michigan gets cocky." I hate that this has to be asked, but it does. Michigan had very little in the way of creative, attacking offense except against Notre Dame and Ohio State. (I believe they would like to have been creative and attacking against USC but Michigan's inability to block anyone prevented that. Shotgun grumbing goes here.) This was most bothersome during the Wisconsin game, when Michigan ran on first down 80% of the time and 74% of the time before the game was salted away. Michigan could not have gone into that game with the idea they would plow over the Badgers, so that looks like a conscious decision to sacrifice effectiveness for safety.
For the most part I was fine with this. Michigan was in a unique situation last year because of their defense, which was so dominant it made sense to trade points for risk. (And when their defense was not dominant Michigan was obviously in full Scoring Offense mode, even if that whole blocking thing prevented the actual scoring against USC.) Against most teams Michigan was simply not going to lose unless there was somewhere between one to three disastrous turnovers; limit those and limit your ability to lose. This is the same strategy Michigan rode to the 1997 national title, and the same one Jim Tressel uses with great success when his quarterback is not a Heisman winner. It makes sense when you have a slavering, vicious defense.
It does not make sense when you do not, and Michigan looks like it won't this year. I don't think the defense is going to be 2005-level bad, but it won't be the sort of thing where a team can get the ball back down seven late and I feel no panic whatsoever. A one score lead is no longer a large one except in certain special years; hopefully Michigan won't coach like this is one of them.
So... I can't answer this. I think Michigan's conservative tendencies both exist and are overstated; I think Carr has become more aggressive in recent years; I fear he will coach this year like he has last year's defense.
Can we fix short yardage?
I don't know. I do know that every time Michigan runs a stretch from a three-wide on third and one this year, God will kill a kitten. Also I will swear so fiercely that evil-looking little imps will spontaneously generate and flit away, probably to play cornerback for Purdue. I'm pessimistic this will change because it seems like such a spectacularly stubborn and stupid approach to third and one. It's not like it takes an offseason to review and fix the problem; it was obvious and something I was complaining about it as early as the Notre Dame game.
And yet they were still pulling out the Third-And-Punt maneuver during the Ohio State game. It seems that if they thought this was a problem they would have picked up on it earlier. They will try to execute better. They might with an extra year of experience, but chances are it will be average at best, especially with two new fullbacks, no Grady, and iffy-blocking tight ends.
(On the assumption some actual journalists read this thing... the Daily guys must, at least: could someone ask about this? Here is the question: Are you concerned that third and one conversion dropped 30 percentage points last year and does that have any connection to the zone running game? Do you plan on incorporating more isos in these situations? If not, why do you hate kittens? It's no "What do you make of your schedule that features eight home games?" but it might be worth asking.)
Will Henne make another leap?
He was very good a year ago, and even if he plateaus Michigan's offense should be better with development from the line, a full season from Manningham, and the continued improvement of the players around him. But there were moments in most games that Henne showed some flaws, either by winging balls a la 2005 or, more often, reacting to pressure poorly. If he reduces these instances he can be great.
Will he? Initial returns are good. When he visited the Elite 11 Camp as a counselor he drew praise from everyone who stopped by as the guy there. When rumblings come from within the bowels of Fort Schembechler they indicate Henne has stepped up a further notch. The validity of those rumors will probably mean the difference between a nice BCS bowl and a national championship game appearance (in which we'll get dismantled by USC, natch). Since his problems seem to resided chiefly in the realm of the mental -- missed reads, some timing issues, pocket awareness -- a smooth natural progression is likely. The inaccuracy went way down a year ago, so whatever mechanics issues he had seem repaired. Henne should take another step forward.
Probably.
And adding it all up, you get...?
If there is ever going to be a year Michigan spends headbutting foes by final scores of 42-10, this is going to be it. I suppose depth could be better all over the place, but Michigan has a top five quarterback, top five running back, top five wide receiver, and top five left tackle. Carson Butler and Adrian Arrington are both outstanding targets. The only things to fret over even a little are fullback and the right side of the offensive line, which features a returning starter (once Mitchell gets back, which is apparently for Oregon) and the two most hyped offensive line recruits since Jake Long.
I think it will be a little disappointing in games here and there. Early games against Oregon and Penn State worry -- though I don't have a handle on Oregon's defense yet -- as the new offensive linemen could self-destruct frequently enough to severely limit Michigan's effectiveness. One small comfort: Penn State's defensive line is about as green as the Boren/Mitchell/Schilling trio and projected DT starter Abe Koroma is likely to miss the game.
But even with those concerns I go back to that little box in the wide receivers category that showed production with and without Manningham. The "with" Manningham number, a seven game stretch featuring three of the top twenty scoring defenses nationwide: 36.8, which would have been good for fifth in the country last year. That's a realistic goal. I believe! Praise-ah his name-ah! Yes-ah!
Stupid Predictions
- Brandon Minor gets 20% of the available carries.
- Alex Mitchell manages to fend off challengers for his job.
- Henne is invited to New York for the Heisman thingy, but does not win.
- Massey spends most of the year in front of Butler on the depth chart but Butler ends up with more catches and is the defacto starter by Wisconsin.
- Manningham: 1340, 15 TD.
- Michigan is 15th in total offense; 12th in scoring.
Preseason Blogpoll #2
Note: if you see last week's poll it's a cache thing, I think. Refresh should cure it.
Hurray, that's the poll hurray. If you're interested, you can see all the individual ballots here.
Please note that awards nattering has been shelved this week. Sorry, but I've got a preview to write.
Hmmm. Was a second preseason poll worth doing? I don't know. We have about a dozen fewer votes than last week, which undoubtedly adds some jitter, and some movement. Texas and WVU flip after a few bloggers knocked Texas. The most significant movement came from Arkansas (up four) and Tennessee (down three) after some roundtable discussion of these teams' merits. Auburn, also slammed by a few bloggers, fell two spots. No idea why TCU replaced South Carolina in the ballot but there you go.
Final differences in between blogpoll and AP:
- Michigan is #3 and
Texas #4 with WVU #5in the Blogpoll; WVU, perhaps bolstered by schedule-rankers (a practice verboten here), is #3 in the AP. [WVU up to four.] The only mid-major in the Blogpoll is #22 Hawaii, which is #23 in the AP. TCU and Boise State are #22 and #24, respectively, in the AP.TCU now in.Bloggers believe in the OBC: South Carolina is #23 and not present in the AP.- Bloggers do not believe in Rutgers, ranking them #21. RU is #16 in the AP.
- Despite the first place vote, Wisconsin comes in at #9 instead of #7 in the AP.
- Oklahoma is #6 instead of #8.
- Bloggers are more into #16 Arkansas than the AP (#21)
- Bloggers are not into Tennessee (#20, #15 AP).
Any opinions about whether or not it's worthwhile to do this dual preseason poll next year are welcome.
Wack Ballot Watchdog:
This chiding is saved for in-season thing. Now everyone's got an opinion that's as defensible as any other (not at all) because no one's played anyone.
Note: the CSS below is messed up. Sorry. Will fix ASAP.
Now on to the extracurriculars. First up are the teams which spur the most and least disagreement between voters as measured by standard deviation. Note that the standard deviation charts halt at #25 when looking for the lowest, otherwise teams that everyone agreed were terrible (say, Eastern Michigan) would all be at the top.
Ballot math: First up are "Mr. Bold" and "Mr. Numb Existence." The former goes to the voter with the ballot most divergent from the poll at large. The number you see is the average difference between a person's opinion of a team and the poll's opinion.
Next we have the Coulter/Krugman Award and the Straight Bangin' Award, which are again different sides of the same coin. The CKA and SBA go to the blogs with the highest and lowest bias rating, respectively. Bias rating is calculated by subtracting the blogger's vote for his own team from the poll-wide average. A high number indicates you are shameless homer. A low number indicates that you suffer from an abusive relationship with your football team.
Swing is the total change in each ballot from last week to this week (obviously voters who didn't submit a ballot last week are not included). A high number means you are easily distracted by shiny things. A low number means that you're damn sure you're right no matter what reality says.
Swing doesn't exist in the year's first poll.
Ohio State: That Rug Really Tied The Room Together
The Story
Ding dong, Troy Smith is dead. Church bells should peal across the state the first time Todd Boeckman throws an interception or completes like 50% of his passes or like blows a game like whoah.
Also dead are Pittman, Ginn, Gonzalez, and a couple offensive linemen, leaving the Buckeyes bereft of the offense that steamrolled the country until its inexplicable -- and highly, highly annoying -- collapse in the Not Fiesta Bowl which instantly validated for all time to everyone south of the Mason-Dixon line that their college football was WOOOO COMPLETELY EFFIN AWESOME YO!!! Congratulations! Now your decrepit school systems have been rendered irrelevant! Please rejoice in this marker of regional dominance and forget that we burned a swath of destruction from Atlanta to the coast, you traitorous confederate bastards. If it wasn't for us dragging your asses back into the Union you would be the Sudan right now. (The Sudan's in Africa. Which is across an ocean. Which is a large body of water.)
What? Where am I? Oh. Ohio State.
Anyway, the Buckeyes took a one-year detour on the spread express route to take advantage of that whole Heisman winner thing, but now figure to return to the Ohio State of (slightly) old. They will pound the ball on offense, stuff your face on defense, and usually win 17-9. They'll have infuriatingly great kicking. They'll probably play in a nice bowl game. Etc.
Problems do loom, however: the line is young and flimsy at DT. The secondary is distressingly thin and young, and the offensive line might still be looking for Jarvis Moss. Everyone expects a step back except SEC fans, who can't imagine Ohio State getting any worse.
Offense
Last Year
2005 | 2006 |
---|---|
Passing | |
52 | 45 |
Pass Eff | |
6 | 8 |
Rushing | |
24 | 26 |
Total | |
32 | 26 |
Scoring | |
26 | 8 |
Sacks | |
21 | 12 |
JESUS CHRIST. MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP. PLEASE.
(Not particularly relevant since every offensive skill starter save completely ignored TE Rory Nichol is gone, along with two OL starters. Thankfully.)
Quarterback
Rating: 2. Despite being a nearly all-conquering juggernaut in the Tressel Era, one area in which Ohio State struggled of late is quarterback recruiting. There are three on the roster:
- Redshirt junior Todd Boeckman, the presumed starter. Boeckman was an unremarkable three-star in 2003 (he also grayshirted) whose other offers were Pitt and Maryland.
- Redshirt sophomore Robby Schoenhoft. The highest rated quarterback on the Buckeye roster, Schoenhoft was a four star who picked OSU over Michigan. But... wow. Schoenhoft is the oddest four star with M/OSU offers ever. How often do you see a guy who's a pocket passer complete 37% of his attempts and get attention from anyone other than Buffalo? The general opinion on Schoenhoft is that he's a kid with a nice arm who shows well at combines but isn't an actual quarterback.
- Redshirt freshman Antonio Henton, a dual-threat three-star from Georgia with other offers from Louisville, Illinois, and Maryland
Recruiting rankings are not flawless, but that's a remarkable paucity of talent for a program as high profile as Ohio State.
There was no Weis E. Coyote quarterback subterfuge this offseason at Ohio State: it was obvious Todd Boeckman would be the starter from the moment the Not Fiesta Bowl ended and he is indeed the starter. He is large, strong armed, and utterly green; no one has seen him in live action since high school eons ago. Since that goes for everyone on the roster, predicting the outcome here is difficult. A quick check of all the good things each did in the spring game...
...reveals Schoenhoft to have a mean three-yard stop, Henton a mean quarterback scramble, and Boeckman a decent deep ball. At least one decent deep ball. The overall numbers weren't pretty:
Boeckman completed 6 of 14 passes for 103 yards. Playing for both teams, Schoenhoft was a combined 7-for-18 for 83 yards and Henton was 8-for-16 for 45 yards.
Henton also threw three interceptions; Boeckman fumbled once.
None of these guys is going to be Troy Smith. The hope is for adequacy here. Upside is Craig Krenzel; downside is Steve Bellisari.
Tailback & Fullback
Rating: 5. Until Chris "Beanie" Wells -- and that's the last time "Beanie" gets mentioned in this preview -- spun free of what should have been a Shawn Crable TFL and zipped through the Michigan secondary en route to the first of two backbreaking Ohio State touchdown runs, his freshman season was mostly an exercise in unforced fumbles and romps over hopelessly overmatched run defenses. It's hard to extrapolate from a freshman year in which Wells was a backup who got most of his carries against Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan State, and the like. He is unlikely to average 5.5 yards per carry as the primary threat, especially without Smith, Ginn, and Gonzalez drawing all sorts of attention.
That said, if you believe in recruiting rankings you are forced to believe in Wells, Rivals' #1 recruit in the country at any position in 2005. He is huge and fast and has some dainty cutting ability. At the very least his freshman season proved him to have more ability than a David Underwood, who was huge and fast and so top heavy a slight breeze would knock him over; that worst case scenario averted we have a narrow range of ability with Tony Hunt at the bottom and Eddie George at the top. Wells is going to be very good, and this year.
There do exist two concerns: the aforementioned fumbling, which can be chalked up to small sample size now but would blossom into a full-fledged issue should it continue into 2007, and the potential for Wells' pounding style to expose him to injury. He's a violent, smashing runner and those guys are always prone to injuries both nagging and severe. Adrian Peterson, a similar (though hopefully much better) player, had a career marred by injury; Wells has a higher risk of the same than most backs.
Another Wells, Maurice, is the backup. Maurice is the platonic opposite of Chris, a dreadlocked scatback from Florida who's thoroughly disappointed so far in his career. He was a highly touted recruit in his own right and has reportedly impressed throughout the offseason, so he may be a decent backup option. Freshman Brandon Saine is very, very fast and wi
ll probably see carries here and there.
The fullbacks are veteran and were effective when deployed a year ago; one will emerge as a battering ram for Wells.
Wide Receiver & Tight Ends
Rating: 3. This position group, so deep a year ago, has been stripped down to the bare bones. Two Brians, Hartline and Robiskie, return after encouraging 2006s. Past that there is little experience, and most of that is on its way to disappointing. A true freshman is probably the third wideout.
Both Brians are similar players, loping striders with good but not Ginn speed, fairly reliable hands, and a modicum of route-running ability. Both were three star recruits in 2005; Hartline redshirted but Robiskie did not. One difference: Robiskie's offer list belied his ranking -- aside from OSU he also had Miami and Florida offers -- while Hartline's other suitors were Iowa and Michigan State. Robiskie was more heavily deployed last year with 29 catches for 383 yards and five touchdowns. One of those touchdowns, of course, was this one:
Behind the two starters is an array of question marks. Albert Dukes and Devon Lyons are veterans who have been passed over by first the Brians and now apparently three-star true freshman Dane Sanzenbacher, an Ohio State in-state camp offer who has impressed in the fall. Michigan has always done very well with these guys and Sanzenbacher's immediate leap into the two-deep bodes well for his future, but maybe not so well for Ohio State's present. There's also sophomore Ray Small, who lives up to his name at 5'9"-ish. He's a little nippy guy who will see time as a screen and short-YAC-friendly route runner; if Ohio State continues deploying its "Shotginn" set he'll be the one in the triple threat position replacing Ginn. He had eight catches a year ago.
Again, this should be a comedown from last year. Robiskie's shown a knack for getting open deep and Hartline's shown flashes of being a solid possession-plus type in the mold of Gonzalez, but neither can reasonably be expected to replace the production of the departed NFL first-rounders. They'll probably be good enough but uninspiring.
Offensive Line
Rating: 4. Three starters return to a line that seemed like one of the best in the country until Jarvis Moss and the rest of the Florida defensive line decided that they liked their HEISEMENS sacked one billion times. No one saw the line's total collapse coming, and it's hard to know what to make of it in the aftermath.
On recruiting hype and returning starts alone, the line should be pretty good. Alex Boone was a five star who leapt into the starting lineup as a true freshman; enormous Steve Rehring (6'8"! 345!) was a fine starter as a sophomore; senior Kirk Barton has been a fixture on the Ohio State offensive line for seemingly a decade. There are two new starters but in low-danger areas on the interior. But: Rehring may lose his job to redshirt freshman Brian Browning, and Ohio State's recruited sparsely on the offensive line so if either of new starters Jim Cordle and Ben Person can't hack it there are few options behind them. And there was that wholesale collapse against Florida.
What to pick? I can offer little here, especially with the presumed move to an entirely different sort of offense. The "4" above is for returning tackles who should be excellent players and a general rule of thumb to give Ohio State the benefit of the doubt when things are in question, but there's no conviction behind it.
Defense
Last Year
2005 | 2006 |
---|---|
Passing | |
43 | 30 |
Pass Eff | |
30 | 10 |
Rushing | |
1 | 15 |
Total | |
5 | 12 |
Scoring | |
5 | 5 |
Sacks | |
5 | 12 |
It was looking like Ohio State had impossibly reloaded a year after losing nine starters off a truly badass defense up until Michigan rolled into town and ripped off a 80 yard opening touchdown drive. And from there it was not so good: Michigan put up 39 points and Florida 41. But was it so bad? The Michigan score was heavily aided by three Ohio State turnovers and one dubious fourth-down pass interference call. Florida didn't even crack 400 yards total offense, instead rolling up its points on short field after short field as the Ohio State offense sputtered to 82 total yards. Perhaps it wasn't, in fact, so bad.
The flip side of that, however, is to wonder if it was all that good in the first place. Though no one scored on Ohio State at all, chances are many teams could have turned in a performance like this when Colt McCoy's second start and Anthony Morelli's first were the toughest tests on the docket. (Drew Tate? Maybe, but by that point Tate was busy throwing horrible interceptions as Iowa clattered to a 2-6 conference record.) Helped by a bevy of opponent turnovers and the offense's ability to turn any offense one dimensional by midway into the second quarter, Ohio State's defense found itself in a highly advantageous position for most of last year. I don't believe it was nearly as good as the numbers to the right indicate. This opposed to the 2005 defense, which I lived in constant fear of.
Defensive Line
Rating: 3. Sophomore defensive tackle Doug Worthington is
- starting
- 6'7", and
- 271 pounds.
I love this. Visions of Pat Massey moonwalking downfield dip and flutter, tantalizing with visions of gashing Mike Hart runs. Also helpful in my little fantasies are the rest of the Buckeye defensive tackles, who are young and green. Sophomore Todd Denlinger and redshirt freshman Dexter Larimore are battling for the starting spot next to Worthington; junior Nader Abdallah is finally in shape and on the two deep but has seen no field time. None of these guys have, actually: last year senior Joel Penton backed up the two starters; Denlinger is the top returning tackler with four. When evaluating new talent at Ohio State you have to offer up a high initial baseline, but this set of defensive tackles is going to be little better than that baseline. Things could actually be bad here.
At end, there is Vernon Gholston (@ right). As a sophomore he racked up 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss amongst 49 tackles. He's the best defensive end in the conference and a potential All-American. There were some questions about Gholston's responsibility in the run game early last year, but he answered those with aplomb. He's the best player on the Buckeye defense. Also he has arms that are less a gun show and more a nuclear missile silo. Also also: can we test that guy for 'roids? I'm just sayin'.
Opposite Gholston a few highly touted recruits are in a fierce battle to start. Junior Lawrence Wilson currently has the edge on sophomore Robert Rose and junior Alex Barrow. Given the recruiting rankings of these guys -- Rose was a five star, albeit a late riser that may have been a little bit of an overreaction based on a sin
gle impressive Army game outing -- and their numbers, one should work out and be adequate (and adequate for Ohio State's purposes, not Purdue's), if not better.
Linebackers
Rating: 4. A favorite MGoBlog hobbyhorse is James Laurinaitis and how goddamn overrated he is; anyone who's read this space since last year's Ohio State game can probably sing along with what follows. He was hesitant and awful in his first real test against Texas, thought much of what ailed him then can be fixed by experience. Against Iowa, he was quiet. When Michigan came calling and actually had the athletes to get out past the OSU DTs and get a blocker on Laurnaitis, he washed out every time. Hart finished with 140-some yards and three touchdowns. I might as well dig up my summary of the guy from last year's All Big Ten team because I think the exact same thing:
My position on Laurinaitis and his magic, leather-magnetized hands has been made clear: dude is way overrated and belongs nowhere near the Butkus finalist list or the All-American teams he'll no doubt feature on. I blame two people: Troy Smith and Brent Musberger. Smith is the primary motor for Ohio State's #1 ranking and Musberger's intolerable boosterism of him during the Texas game, Iowa game, and every other game was repeated so often that it became true in the minds of the brainwashed masses.
...but he does have his good points. He is fast, able in zone drops -- to get Drew Tate to throw the ball right at you you have to be in good position -- and a good blitzer. If he's kept clean he will fill and tackle ably. He's not bad by any stretch of the imagination and... sigh... deserves a place on this team. But on the second team, dammit, until he defeats a block. Any block.
All that said: I did put him on the second team as a sophomore and he projects better as a junior. Depending on how much he improves he could warrant the breathless Musbergerisms he receives; I still would like to see it before believing it. My theory on Laurinaitis is that he's great in space but easy to block and my theory on the OSU DTs is adequacy at best -- no double-teams demanded here -- so I am compelled to predict a significant step backwards in Ohio State's run defense. Like... not awful or anything, but thorough averageness is a possibility.
On the strongside, Marcus Freeman returns. A highly touted recruit who made a smooth transition to start as a redshirt sophomore, he projects well. One concern: despite being Ohio State's second leading tackler, Freeman didn't make much in the way of plays with only 2.5 TFL and one sack. Six pass breakups and two interceptions are impressive, though -- zone drops are a strength for these linebackers. He will be somewhere between good and very good.
Graduated senior Steve Kerr was a liability last year and won't be missed at all. Senior JUCO transfer Larry Grant is the starter; sophomore Ross Homan will also press for time. I am skeptical about both these players given their inability to displace Kerr in a season of thorough blah from the former Indiana transfer. Both have an obvious excuse as guys in their first year at Ohio State but, like Michigan, when Ohio State feels compelled to bring in a JUCO anywhere it signals a deep unease about a particular position. The weakside is likely to remain a problem.
Defensive Backs
Rating: 4. Malcolm Jenkins is the star of a secondary short on both depth and experience; there is a not-insignificant chance this group ends up resembling last year's Michigan unit that proved itself ineffective despite the presence of an NFL first-rounder.
There aren't many problems with Jenkins. I still prefer Ikegwuonu and King, as Jenkins occasionally gets excessively aggressive and lets receivers behind him, but the gap is not wide. Last year he was fortunate opposing quarterbacks overshot his man when this happened. But the flip side of that aggression is a hellish battle for many opposition receivers. Jenkins is a jam artist with heavy hands, better than anyone in the conference at fighting a third down slant tooth and nail.
So, yeah, but then... um. The rest of the secondary has questions. Corner is frighteningly thin. Andre Amos is out for the year with an injury, leaving sophomore Donald Washington, the nickelback a year ago behind former walkon Antonio Smith, as the other starter. Washington was okay as a freshman but by no means a star. Adrian Arrington had his way with him a few times. Past that: nothing with a snap. There is redshirt freshman Chimdi Chekwa, a middling recruit, and true freshman Eugene Clifford. Clifford was the crown jewel of last year's recruiting class but if he's on the two-deep as a true freshman at cornerback I believe that bodes extremely unwell for the Bucks. Clifford is big, very big -- 6'2", nearly 200 pounds -- and was universally regarded a safety by the recruiting gurus.
The other options in the nickel are a fourth year junior who's seen no time except on special teams and a safety, Tyler Moeller, who's a converted linebacker(!). There's every indication that spread teams will find someone to pick on.
At safety, Jamario "Toast" O'Neal, he of the hilarious five star ranking, has lost his job to Kurt Coleman, a sophomore Ohio State fans are high on. The other safety is Anderson Russell, returning after an ACL tear that cost him his 2006. He is also a sophomore and is without a doubt the most unexpected starter on this Ohio State team. A two-star recruit from Georgia with other offers from Duke(!) and Furman(!!!) -- reviewing his old recruiting articles is hilarious: "Anderson enjoyed Duke visit" as if anyone on the planet has ever gotten an offer from Ohio State and picked Duke -- not only got offered by the Bucks but was a starter as a redshirt freshman until tearing his ACL against Iowa. He returns for a sophomore season as the starter. So pick your path here: nothing recruit or insta-starter; the jury is out given the paucity of passing offenses Russell went up against last year.
Special Teams
Rating: 4. I hate Ohio State and their never ending factory of superb kickers. Last year's starter was 8 for 11 and lost his job to a 28-year-old Australian who passed up a rugby contract -- oi! -- to play at Ohio State. I do take some small solace in this shakiness...
Neither kicker looked great in Wednesday's kick scrimmage, Pretorius 5-of-10 unofficially and Pettrey 7-of-13, but after a year of feeling like he was the Buckeyes' most consistent kicker in practice, Pretorius seemingly won the job five days ago in Saturday's jersey scrimmage.
...but not much. There's enough here to project Buckeye kicking to be something less than great -- Mike "Ted" Nugent would never get replaced -- but they've still got two adequate guys, which is two more than Michigan has at the moment.
Punting was virtually irrelevant for Ohio State last year, at least until the Not Fiesta Bowl, -- there is no Buckeye punter listed amongst the NCAA statistical leader because you need to average 3.6 per game -- but junior AJ Trapasso returns after averaging 40.6 yards per kick, landing 17 inside the 20 with only
four touchbacks. Only about a quarter of his kicks were returned. He was a major reason Ohio State was 13th in net punting. He's one of the country's best.
OSU's returners are in the NFL; a step back from Ginn is highly probable.
Heuristicland
Turnover Margin
The theory of turnover margin: it is nearly random. Teams that find themselves at one end or the other at the end of the year are highly likely to rebound towards the average. So teams towards the top will tend to be overrated and vice versa. Nonrandom factors to evaluate: quarterback experience, quarterback pressure applied and received, and odd running backs like Mike Hart who just don't fumble.
2006 | Int + | Fumb + | Sacks + | Int - | Fumb - | Sacks - |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.69 (13th) | 21 | 6 | 2.92 (12th) | 6 | 12 | 1.46 (24th) |
Buoyed by the leather magnets in James Laurinaitis' gloves, Ohio State was hugely positive in this category a year ago and should take a major step back. Boeckman has a lot of practice experience but is not going to be a Heisman winner; OSU's interceptions should go up significantly. Also, Wells has given indication he's something of a fumbler. I expect this number to be slightly negative at the end of the year; it will be a major step back.
Position Switch Starters
Theory of position switches: if you are starting or considering starting a guy who was playing somewhere else a year ago, that position is in trouble. There are degrees of this. When Notre Dame moved Travis Thomas, a useful backup at tailback, to linebacker and then declared him a starter, there was no way that could end well. Wisconsin's flip of LB Travis Beckum to tight end was less ominous because Wisconsin had a solid linebacking corps and Beckum hadn't established himself on that side of the ball. Michigan flipping Prescott Burgess from SLB to WLB or PSU moving Dan Connor inside don't register here: we're talking major moves that indicate a serious lack somewhere.
Worthington was a defensive end and now starts at tackle. I think this bodes unwell.
Dumbest Thing In CFN Preview
Just because.
Best Defensive Player: Junior LB James Laurinaitis. What does Laurinaitis possibly do for an encore after leading the Buckeyes in tackles and interceptions a year ago, en route to becoming the first true sophomore to win the Nagurski Award? A physical beast in run defense, he's also stellar in underneath pass coverage, making him a natural at creating takeaways.
Obvs I was going to go for this.
Flickr Says...
What I would give for a microwave large enough to put this in.
An Embarrassing Prediction, No Doubt
Best Case
Undefeated is probably out of the question, but 11-1 isn't. OSU picked a good year to make Washington the primary OOC foe.
Worst Case
Well... there isn't much to threaten until Penn State rolls into town in Week 8. I guess it's possible Purdue could pose some sort of threat, but visions of Wells smushing Boiler defenders into the ground are vivid. But they do return many players and could make a leap. Also: they are well suited to take advantage of a potentially shallow secondary. Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan are all eminently losable, and maybe an uncharacteristic game gets blown by some quarterback errors, but 8-4 is about the worst scenario I can concoct.
Final Verdict
I think the above will seem unnecessarily negative given the final output down here, but the tendency in these previews is to quarrel with the conventional wisdom when it needs quarreling with, and much of the conventional wisdom about last year's Ohio State defense was, in my opinion, wrong. Thus the words spent arguing that James Laurinaitis is only the third best middle linebacker in the conference. Still, while I don't expect this year's Ohio State defense to be actually bad per se it does seem a clear step down from the last couple years. Defensive tackle is a major concern, as is depth in the secondary and experience at safety. Ohio State plans to play a lot of freshman on defense this year and it's not by choice.
Everyone expects Tressell to pull in his horns and go with the traditional smash mouth Tresselball offense, and so does this preview. Given the available personnel that's what makes sense. I think this is likely to recur:
Tressel Ball in Big Games, '02 vs. '06 2002 2006 Pts./Game 16.2 29.5 Avg. MOV 8.0 15.8 Runs/Game 44.0 34.3 Yds./Carry 3.5 4.6 Passes/Game 16.6 28.5 Yds./Pass 8.2 7.7 Run:Pass % 72.4 54.4 2002 Games: Washington State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan
2006 Games: Texas, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan
The difference between 2002 and this year will be the lack of unfathomable luck and a flimsier defense.
OOC | ||
---|---|---|
9/1 | Youngstown State | Functional DNP |
9/8 | Akron | Functional DNP |
9/15 | @ Washington | (very) Probable Win |
10/13 | Kent State | Functional DNP |
Conference | ||
9/22 | Northwestern | Auto-win |
9/29 | @ Minnesota | Auto-win |
10/6 | @ Purdue | Tossup |
10/20 | Michigan State | Auto-win |
10/27 | @ Penn State | Tossup |
11/3 | Wisconsin | Tossup |
11/10 | Illlinois | Probable win |
11/17 | @ Michigan | Probable loss |
Absent: | Iowa, Indiana |
Oh, the infinite hubris in that "probable loss." But, seriously this is what I think is true so there you go. One of these days Ann Arbor Torch And Pitchfork customers will come for me, I'm sure. Ohio State starts off 7-1, splits versus PSU and Wisconsin, and comes to Ann Arbor with the Big Ten title on the line. In the aftermath, I don't jump off U Towers. 9-3.... verging on 10-2.
Roundtable Roundup 3.1
Who is overrated?
The most common answers here all reside in the SEC: Florida (3 votes), Georgia (3), Tennessee (3), Auburn (2), and Arkansas (3) all got multiple votes, though Arkansas also got some positive mentions and is covered in the "Who's Both?" section below. Interesting split here, with SEC voters preferring UF and Ark as their overrated teams and outsiders tearing down the other three. Roll 'Bama Roll on the Gators:
With no defense to bolster an offense that struggled to blow out anyone but the lowliest of OOC cupcakes (and tOSU of course, hee hee)? I'm not entirely comfortable with their ranking of #11 in our own ballot, but that's a lot more reasonable than being listed in the top ten.
Dawg Sports echoes:
In the Big Ten, where last year's conference champion propelled itself to the national title game on the strength of its offense, Michigan is the favorite because the Wolverines return a wealth of skill on that side of the ball. In the S.E.C., where last year's Gators captured conference and national honors on the strength of their defense while putting up numbers eerily reminiscent of those posted by a previous national champion from the S.E.C., Florida returns no one on the side of the ball that made the Saurians successful.
Meanwhile, Tennessee comes in for a buffeting from The Hawkeye Compulsion:
The fact remains:
- Erik Ainge has nobody to throw the ball to (and is still Erik Ainge, quarterback of the "Jesus, he's still eligible?" All Stars)
- The offensive line looks pretty good, but there isn't a running back on UT that can run 5 yards without pulling a hamstring
- Phil Fullmer is still a bumbling moron come game time (he was also lampooned as a yokel in Michael Lewis' "The Blind Side," but the characterization seemed all too believable)
- The defensive line sucks balls
- Two new corners to get torched by South Carolina
- Nobody else can stay healthy
- Oh yeah, they start 1-2 (@ Cal, @ Florida)
The good news? Well, they still get to play Vandy. Mark my words: UT goes 7-5 (4-4). Of course, they will still be ranked higher than 15 better teams for reasons passing understanding.
Hey Jenny Slater concurs:
The conventional wisdom is that David Cutcliffe has singlehandedly raised the Vols' offense from the dead, and compared to their rock-bottom performance in 2005, that's certainly the case -- but toward the end of last season I think we saw the team hit a ceiling in terms of just how much Cutcliffe could do all by his lonesome. He couldn't work wonders on the running game, which ground to a virtual halt over the second half of the season behind an underperforming offensive line, nor could he exert much influence over a pass defense that was also showing a little wear and tear down the stretch. All of those are likely to remain sore spots in '07, with tailback LaMarcus Coker's status still up in the air and Jonathan Hefney the lone returning starter in the secondary; even if Cutcliffe could do something about that, he'd be up to his eyeballs with a brand-new receiving corps and a quarterback who's got an off-season surgery to recover from.
I'm not saying I see another backslide to a five-win season or something similarly disastrous, but neither do I necessarily think much improvement is in the cards for the Vols this year. They won nine games in '06, which was great, but there's absolutely no guarantee they'll match that this time around.
I was the main opponent of Auburn, Georgia, and their freshman-laden offensive lines. UGA:
This is going to be bad. Very, very bad. Unless Stafford matures immediately (chances of this...
...are slim) or the Georgia offensive line turns into Christmas Miracle Voltron, the offense is going to be just as bad as it was last year when Georgia was wildly fortunate to finish 9-4. With a nearly all-new defense, replicating even that record looks like a longshot. The only reason to rank the Dawgs appears to be historical inertia.
Auburn:
Brandon Cox has never impressed and he regressed badly towards the end of 2006. He threw 19 interceptions, the same as Curtis Painter. Also, Auburn has a bit of a problem on the offensive line, too. One starter returns; true freshman Lee Ziemba is the probable starter at one tackle spot. Other freshmen dot the two-deep in uncomfortable places like wide receiver, safety, and center. I think 15 is pretty generous even though they were 11-2 last year. I can see ranking them somewhere at the tail end of the poll.
Others agreed for the same reasons, including Run Up The Score and The Hawkeye Compulsion. The Big Ten hates them some Georgia. (It might be worth pointing out that The Hoosier Report rated the Dawgs #5, but there wasn't much justification outside of a hunch there.)
Speaking of The Hoosier Report, it does not believe in LSU:
They lost nine starters, including an outstanding quarterback, his two top receivers, and 40 percent of the offensive line. Yes, the defense is loaded, but LSU was loaded last year. To veer a bit into the hated intangibles, I get something of a Bob Davie/Ron Zook vibe from Miles. Can he isolate his poor judgment re: public speaking from the split-second coaching decisions he must make? I realize, of course, that Miles is 22-4 at LSU, so he can't possibly be as bad as Davie or Zook, but since it's the preseason, my hunch is enough to discount LSU. Certainly, I have no doubt that LSU is capable of winning the championship, and I think to some degree my extremely low ranking of the Tigers is backlash against what I view as an extremely odd consensus that LSU is going to be amazing this year.
In the Pac-10, a couple of bloggers cite UCLA. Addicted To Quack:
Here are the two most common reasons people believe in UCLA, and the reasons why they are wrong:They return 20 starters. From a crap team
They have a good defense. That got lit up 37 at Wazzu, 38 at Cal, a whopping 44 against a pathetic Florida State offense. Yes, they played the game of their lives against SC, they looked like shit against most everyone elseThen there is also the issue which I have already addressed, and that is the issue of Karl Dorrell.
Interestingly, BlogPollers had some negative things to say about Texas when I was expecting a bit of Oklahoma backlash. Corn Nation takes a shot at UT:
Forget the team name, the coach, the players. Here's a generic explanation of where Texas is:
- Finished 99th overall last season against the pass
- Finished 34th in rushing off
ense in a conference in which you need to run the ball to win- 33rd in passing offense, 22nd in overall offense
- Replacing three starters off the offensive line
- New defensive coordinator
If you didn't know who I was talking about, would you rank the team described above in the Top 5 heading into this season? I wouldn't either. I know that Texas always has a ton of talent and this season is no different, but they have a lot of question marks and the Big 12 South looks as even as it ever has.
TAMABINPO also knocks UT, as does Bruce Ciskie:
Why Texas? As much as I like Colt McCoy's talent and leadership, there is something worrisome about this Texas team. They lost a ton of defensive talent, and while Mack Brown keeps re-stocking this roster with Phil Steele-approved VHTs, I'm concerned about a team starting two new corners and two new defensive ends in a conference that has more than enough offensive talent.
I'm also red-flagging an offensive line that got beaten up in the last two regular-season games (both losses) to the tune of seven sacks. It's also worth noting that a line more experienced than the one they'll field this year failed to protect their quarterback or run-block effectively down the stretch. Combined total of rushing yardage for Texas in their final three games: 283 yards. Very un-Texas, if you ask me. Three starters are gone from that line, so things might be a bit hairy at times for McCoy.
The Big Ten mostly escaped notice here, but a couple people dinged Michigan. Typical reasonin g from Badger Sports:
I voted them sixth and will be moving them down in this week's poll. Their white-hot offense will be a boon early on in games, but Lloyd Carr's deep-seated conservatism will shelve everything but running up the gut every time the Wolverines have a double-digit lead sometime late in the third quarter. Expect losses to Ohio State (for the fourth straight year) and in their bowl game (for the fifth), plus a loss at Camp Randall.
Hey, that's a good way to get Brian to kill himself. Lloyd Carr was the only cited reason Michigan might be bad.
West Virginia got dinged by RUTS:
I get WVU as a top five team, I really do. White and Slaton are the tits. Still, if you put them in a neutral stadium against Wisconsin or Penn State — two teams that can really stuff the running game — what happens? They're #5 in the BP, #12 on my ballot.
And then there's the Bemusement Park, a lone voice in the wilderness against USC:
Even though Booty certainly comports himself well and seems to be pretty grounded, Pete Carroll and his staff are going to have to watch him to make sure he doesn't turn into Drew Tate, the Iowa QB who eventually thought he needed to make every play into the last play of the '05 Capital One Bowl. Because, uh, I can kinda see that happening. And if they're paying that much attention to the QB, what happens to the rest of the egos on the offense? I'm not saying U$C isn't good–they are–but I just don't believe they'll be able to handle the scenario I see developing with John David Booty trying to do too much and the need to keep him calmed down creating a leadership vacuum elsewhere in the team.That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
Yeah. Not with the buying that so much, but whatever.
Who is underrated?
Florida State got a major thumbs up from Phil Steele and that's given a couple bloggers pause about how low the Seminoles are. Rocky Top Talk:
Florida State was ranked No. 18 in the BlogPoll, and they didn't even make our top 25. What gives? They're Steele's No. 1 surprise team of the year, for crying out loud. They return the most experienced group (eight starters on defense and six starters on offense) since 1999.
ATO also cites Steele, notes the departure of Jeff Nepotism Bowden, and references a treasure trove of talent coming to experienced fruition:
FSU also looks pretty good when you look at the guys that are actually playing the games. They return 14 starters, and there's plenty of talent on the roster. The Rivals rankings for the past five years' recruiting classes:2003 - 21st
2004 - 3rd
2005 - 2nd
2006 - 3rd
2007 - 21stThat's an odd bit of symmetry, but it's also three outstanding classes bookended by two good ones.
We all believe Steele, right? He got Arkansas last year; this is his team this
year. I think I'm sold.
The other most popular answer was unranked Miami. Off Tackle argues for the 'Canes:
I have to admit that I was surprised to see Miami get so few votes in the first BlogPoll. The coaching change gives me some hesitation, but Randy Shannon is coming from within the program, so I can't imagine the learning curve being steep. The offense returns 9 starters (including 4 on the line and QB Kyle Wright who had last season shortened by an injury). I think the offense will be much improved. The defense should be pretty good again, especially in the back seven. Barring another complete meltdown, Miami will be much, much better in 2007.
Cock & Fire cites Oregon State:
I do wonder, though, if we're giving enough credit to unranked Oregon State. (Gasp! An SEC blog picking a Pac-10 team! What is the world coming to?) This is a team that won 10 games last year and knocked off Southern Cal. Yes, they lose a starting QB, but they bring back WR Sammie Stroughter, fresh off a 1,293-yard campaign, and Yvenson Bernard, who rushed for 1,307 yards and 12 TDs. The o-line should also be good. Plus, there's a lot of experience returning on defense.
...but no one told him Stroughter's flipped out and might not be on the team this year. Also, C&F couldn't even be bothered to rank them(!):
If somebody convinced me to drop one of the teams off my ballot -- or if I can just eyeball someone I no longer trust -- the Beavers are probably the first team to move into the Top 25.
Fascinatingly, he also says Auburn might be underrated -- he had them #6 on his ballot, but then says that's "probationary" and he can understand the drop.
Dawg Sports puts in a vote for Michigan -- their #1 -- which I don't even buy. Have you seen the secondary? Aaaaargh.
Wake Forest got a couple votes after winning the ACC, but the justification for them was pretty half-hearted. SMQB has this covered.
Unranked Boise also got some votes. Bruce Ciskie:
They're not sexy at all. They may have gotten lucky to an extent when they beat Oklahoma. But they're good. Real good, I'd say. Ian Johnson is one of the top backs in the nation, and even without Jared Zabransky throwing, the offense is going to motor. The line
is very solid, and Taylor Tharp is a good player who deserves credit for waiting his turn behind Zabransky. I like the growth I'm expecting to see out of this defense, led by safety Marty Tadman.
Who's Both?
Oddly, #23 Hawaii picked up some venom from those questioning the Rainbows' schedule and talent level. ATO makes the case against:
Hawaii. They're 23rd, so they aren't exactly way overrated, but I don't think they should be ranked at all. Don't get me wrong, I expect them to go 11-1, at worst. However, as BlogPoll voters, we're supposed to rank teams without regard for future schedule, and once you ignore their squeezably soft schedule, I don't think the Warriors are a top-25 team. Sure, they do have some legit talent on offense, with Colt Brennan at QB and Nebraska transfer Leon Wright-Jackson at running back. And the offense was unstoppable last season, finishing first in total and scoring offense. However, the concept of defense has yet to make it out to the islands. Last season, the Warriors finished 93rd in total defense and 69th in scoring defense. They return eight starters on defense, so those numbers should improve, but I don't see the defensive getting better than "pretty bad." ...
I just get the feeling, though, that if you took the Warriors off of Hawaii (negating the advantage of playing in a tropical paradise three time zones away from the rest of the country) and dropped them into a BCS conference, you'd end up with Purdue. Anyone comfortable with ranking Purdue? Thought not. So why rank Hawaii?
Meanwhile, SEC voters closer to Las Chronicas De Boss Hawg hate Arkansas even though the Hogs are low, so low, at #20. Rocky Top Talk again:
No way they make it through the season without imploding. No, the Razorbacks shouldn't be ranked No. 14 or even No. 20.
Roll 'Bama Roll:
Arkansas should not be ranked. I don't care how great McFadden is, this team is ready to implode after all of their offseason troubles, Marcus Monk will be MIA the first month of the season, the defense loses Marcus Harrison on the d-line indefinetely after a felony drug arrest, and the offense will be dragged kicking and screaming back to the run run run punt for three quarters and then let Matt Jones run around and make up stuff in the 4th Nutt-bone, except there's no Matt Jones anymore.
But four voters, including myself and the other Big Ten teams that hate Georgia, went with Arkansas as underrated. Hey Jenny Slater sums up:
Yeah, I know they have only three returning starters in the defensive front seven and only two back on the offensive line, but isn't Houston Nutt the guy about whom we always say "he does more with less than anyone in the SEC"? And honestly, how much of an offensive line do Darren McFadden and Felix Jones really need? The Razorbacks' silly soap opera of an off-season is surely giving some people pause as well, but to believe that that's enough to derail their 2007 season, you'd have to believe that Mitch Mustain and Gus Malzahn really were at the heart of the team's surprising success last year -- a belief that, as far as I can ascertain, is not shared by anyone outside of the Hogs' batshit-crazy fan base.
Blogpoll Ballot Week 2
Rank | Team | Delta |
---|---|---|
1 | Southern Cal | -- |
2 | Oklahoma | -- |
3 | LSU | -- |
4 | Michigan | -- |
5 | Texas | -- |
6 | Arkansas | ![]() |
7 | West Virginia | ![]() |
8 | Wisconsin | ![]() |
9 | Louisville | ![]() |
10 | Florida | ![]() |
11 | Penn State | ![]() |
12 | Virginia Tech | -- |
13 | Ohio State | ![]() |
14 | California | ![]() |
15 | Oregon | ![]() |
16 | Florida State | ![]() |
17 | South Carolina | ![]() |
18 | Nebraska | ![]() |
19 | UCLA | ![]() |
20 | Texas A&M | ![]() |
21 | Georgia Tech | -- |
22 | Hawaii | ![]() |
23 | Iowa | ![]() |
24 | Rutgers | ![]() |
25 | Missouri | ![]() |
Notes:
- As previously mentioned, a more thorough look at Tennessee reveals a sketchy secondary, no good wide receivers, plodding running backs, and a defensive front seven that was shredded on the regular last year. The only thing to vote for here is Eric Ainge.
- I am getting more and more pessimistic about Penn State's lines as the season approaches. There are no upperclassmen on the PSU D-L and that whole failed LG as LT thing worries.
- Also, a closer look at the OSU two-deep reveals way more youth than I expected; I am more pessimistic than I was.
- Everything else is minor jitter.
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