What surprised you from Michigan's week one performance?

Submitted by NashvilleBLUE on

What all did you not anticipate or flat out shocked you about something/someone from game 1? For me:

With all the receiver chat in camp, it was unexpected to see a mostly TE heavy offense with the receivers really only being Crawford, Black, Perry. Clearly, this was a strategic move and it worked out well.

Isaac appears to be the clear #2 and 3rd down back. I expected him being in for 3rd down, but he out-rushed Higdon 11-7 and made excellent use of those opportunities. I'm genuinely excited for what's in store for our run game this year.

Onwenu looked impressive. I was worried due to early camp reports that he was still battling for the spot, and although it was clear RG was his at camp end, I still had it as a question mark. He looked very impressive and moved well.

Burning Bush! I expected big thing out of him this year but he outperformed my expectations. He was everywhere on the field and I can say there's no doubt it would have been a huge loss had he been ejected for targeting.

Mckean (still not sure announcers are pronouncing it correctly) seemed to fill the Jake Butt role for routes. We'd heard good things about him, but he appears poised for a stellar career here.

3 man fronts - a huge misdirection by Don Brown and the staff. Not only was I surprised, but clearly Florida had no idea that was coming. Furbush played a lot of reps and did a good job filling gaps and creating room for the others

Will Hart - I was expecting Robbins to have the P spot locked but it appears that Hart has exceeded expectations during fall camp

Lastly, I'll say Nico not traveling with the team (at least from what I've seen reported). I wonder if there is anything other than the zero percent chance to play during that game that kept him off the plane.

MGoBoard

LSAClassOf2000

September 3rd, 2017 at 5:11 PM ^

This is more or less what I would have said actually - admittedly, there were aspects of the defense that, on paper, gave me a little unease before this game mainly due to the youth factor, but this defense is talented, deep and hasn't actually seemed to suffer all that much despite losing as many players as it did to the pros. I was impressed. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130831

MotownGoBlue

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:13 PM ^

Nick Eubanks as a legit weapon...spring game flashes were telling. Though Speight has struggled against better competition I was surprised he wasn't as crisp as I had hoped. Metellus and Kinnel were semi-quietly swarming all over the field...more of a snowflake than a surprise.

Joined: 08/09/2014

MGoPoints: 25376

NashvilleBLUE

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:19 PM ^

I love Speight's pocket presence, but his one concern of mine was confirmed during this game. He sails wide open throws.

The crawford rubbed-wheel route play didn't need any air under it, yet he sailed it. The crawford tipped-pick was sailed. The Perry overthrow (who was wide open) was sailed by 5 yards and he wasn't even pressured.

I trust Harbaugh when he says that it's out of character for Speight, but to me, it's the same issues I saw last year.

If that gets corrected...man..look out B1G.

Joined: 10/08/2016

MGoPoints: 7283

ColeIsCorky

September 3rd, 2017 at 2:57 PM ^

Regarding Metellus and Kinnel, Brian may be wrong on one of his projections already. Those dudes were definitely not "boring." I think Don Brown officially may have eliminated the phrase "boring safety (in a good way)" with how he runs his defense. All these guys make plays. And Lavert Hill looked really good upon first impression in run D. Reminded me of Jourdan Lewis a bit in that regard, which is highly encouraging for him as a true sophomore. Took JD a lot longer than that before we felt his presence in the run game, but that may also be partly because of the different defensive strategies between Mattison and Don Brown.

Joined: 11/15/2016

MGoPoints: 4627

Cali Wolverine

September 4th, 2017 at 2:20 AM ^

finally seeing athletes all over the field. Don Brown is the best defensive coordinator in college (and is such a Harbaugh guy). Only team that worries me is Ohio State...but beating both Penn State and Wisconsin on the road may be tough. Biggest concern is at QB...he has flashes of brilliance...but makes you scratch your head at times. He is definitely good enough to win 10/11 games...but need Harbaugh to keep working QB Magic to have a really special season.

Joined: 01/13/2013

MGoPoints: 21755

OneBadMutha

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:18 PM ^

Run blocking was the best I've seen in years for Michigan and they should continue to get better considering how inexperienced they are. The LBs look better as a group than last years. Faster and more explosive. Better in blitzes. Better in coverage. Better at containing the run sideline to sideline. Safeties also stood out in a positive way. Honestly if that back 7 continues to build from yesterday's game, it'll be near impossible to run on this team because we know the defensive line isn't giving up ground.

Joined: 11/27/2016

MGoPoints: 1510

GR JW

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^

I thought there would be a few busts as freshman and sophomores missed assignments, but I noted many times how sound everyone was on that side of the ball. Gaps were filled, tackles made and no YAC from receivers getting loose. They looked like a veteran defense.

Joined: 08/31/2017

MGoPoints: 117

Hotel Putingrad

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^

Onwenu and Kugler played a bit better than I expected. The punt block was a disagreeable surprise. And I thought DPJ looked fantastic on punt returns. He's going to be a real field position difference maker by the meat of the conference schedule. Honestly, the defense overall didn't surprise me. They are even faster than I thought, but I had still expected them to dominate. Nordin was as advertised: big leg, and he probably should've been 5/6 if not for that bullshit whistle.

Joined: 12/10/2014

MGoPoints: 212928

TheRonimal

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^

That defense just looked fast out there in every way. Loved seeing hurst get out to a WR screen and save a potential big play. Seemed to be a lot of guys around the ball carrier on every tackle/sack. Im not very good at following the OL performance, but they seemed to keep floridas DL in check most of the time. I really liked a few of the cuts by RBs to get around the edge to wide open space. I was surprised when they put okorn in only to let him hand the ball off 3 times the first drive. I guess they were pretty confident to waste a drive like that so they could let speight get his shit together. Pretty happy with how he responded though.

Joined: 09/04/2014

MGoPoints: 3877

NashvilleBLUE

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:22 PM ^

I don't think the announcers really did justice how much Bush saved 2-3 huge runs. There were a few played where the RB hit a hole and a sideline-running Bush was the only thing that kept those runs from being yuuuge. If he keeps this up, he'll be one of my favorite players. 

 

Joined: 10/08/2016

MGoPoints: 7283

RainbowSprings

September 3rd, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^

Dan's a homer, but that's okay IMO on a UM sponsored broadcast. However, he can be bluntly criticial and flip in a zinger at times. He was critical of Speight all game. And when Speight horribly missed a wide open receiver near the very end of the game, Dierdorf said "Words cannot describe how bad that throw was." That quote even shut Brandy up, which is very hard to do.

Joined: 11/09/2010

MGoPoints: 13438

DairyQueen

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:23 PM ^

Run game.

It feels like a full decade since we've had a consistent, reliable run-game, against any given team.

Could be the O-Line, could be the RBs, could be the playcalling, but I was happy to see a decent running attack against a decent DL.

Joined: 04/20/2014

MGoPoints: 6642

MGoBlue24

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^

On a serious note, as long as I have been a Michigan fan I've worried about first game disasters, but given how Harbaugh and the other coaches prepare the team, I'm finally calming down.

Joined: 08/22/2013

MGoPoints: 12919

stephenrjking

September 3rd, 2017 at 4:37 PM ^

It's actually the first game away from home that was really the problem. Carr almost invariably lost his road openers. UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Notre Dame... disasters. Made 2006 all the more shocking. But yeah, this is exactly the kind of game Michigan lost in the Carr/Hoke eras (the RR era doesn't much apply because Michigan lost basically every competitive game in that era except 2010 ND). And, oddly, all the things that would go wrong in the Carr era went wrong here, too. Except Michigan was physically and schematically superior in every way.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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Jehu the Damaja

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^

I was surprised DPJ didn't get very many snaps at WR. I was surprised at how fast this defense looks. I was also surprised at how much I actually liked the maize jerseys, but don't necessarily care if we ever wear them again.

Joined: 02/03/2010

MGoPoints: 6970

Genzilla

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^

I was surprised to see how much Furbush was playing and especially how much Lawrence Marshall was playing.  Seemed like both held up pretty well.  Looked like there were other guys rotating in on D that I couldn't keep track of.

Joined: 01/26/2009

MGoPoints: 1781

brianntb

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^

kicker can kick way farther but way less accurate than expected

OL is just below expectations

defensive line better than expectations

winovich has that harbaugh heart 

freshman receivers are mostly ready to play already

Joined: 06/17/2015

MGoPoints: -223

lilpenny1316

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:33 PM ^

How manys TEs do you see outracing two DBs on a streak down the field to catch a bomb?  Having TEs that can stretch a defense like that will make our offense tough to defend.

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 62038

Wolvie3758

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^

Should be Player of the game....even his misses were close from Long..

AND how good the defense looked

If Speight can eliminate the frequent 8 minute stretches of BAD...we can be elite

 

 

Joined: 12/12/2010

MGoPoints: 6338

MichiganExile

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^

The corners. Even when they got beat it was by a superb throw or they were just a step behind. I can't remember any flat-out busts all game. If the young corners can keep that up and improve I'm very optimistic this D can do work against even elite offenses. 

Joined: 01/12/2009

MGoPoints: 12382

DELRIO1978

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^

That the person who should have been the 3rd sting quarterback started, crapped the bed and finished the game.   Look, I am glad the young man came back and hung in there, but 11 for 25 and two pick sixes is not going to beat too many more teams.

Joined: 09/15/2014

MGoPoints: 189

1VaBlue1

September 3rd, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^

Speight has beaten out JOK and Peters twice now, why should he be 3rd string?  Seriously, given the competition so far, why would anyone complain about Speight?  There's no chance JOK thinks on his feet in the pocket (as we've seen demonstrated against IU, and again against UF), and Peters is far from ready.

No, Wilt isn't a world-beater, but he's the best UM has right now at QB.

Effin' snowflakes...

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127829

lhglrkwg

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^

I loved seeing a dominating rushing attack against a good opponent for the first time since ???. The defense was amazing too. Both surprised me. On the flip side, I was surprised how...ok Speight looked. He did some things well but still lacks touch and accuracy. It seems like he lasers balls in too much or lofts them so bad that his fade routes are a few yards out of bounds. If he can clean that up, this team is a CFP contender

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 88117

turtleboy

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^

I was surprised to see the defense use a 3 man front and look, better, than we did last year, if that's even possible. The defense was so fast. Kids just swarming everywhere. Breaking plays, chasing plays down from behind, Florida was lucky to net a first down. I was also surprised to see Grant Perry spin the football a second time after the 15 yard penalty the first time. The most surprising play of the day was TI picking up the 3rd and 13 rushing against Florida selling out for the pass.

Joined: 04/22/2011

MGoPoints: 35129

RainbowSprings

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^

Dreaded the loss of Jabrill's sure hands on these returns. My mind kept flashing back to numerous punt return mis-plays during the RR and BH regimes. DPJ is quickly easing my fears in that regard. He may not have Jabrill's explosive return potential (yet), but first and foremost is to cleanly field the punt or not stand and watch it bounce by for another 10-15 yards. Well done yesterday.

Joined: 11/09/2010

MGoPoints: 13438

Michifornia

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:50 PM ^

Was hoping for more from Evans (though I know he's gonna have a great season).  Isaac was fantastic, not a total surprise.  Black was as advertised coming out of camp.  DPJ previewed some things to come.  Man, this team is going to give us a lot to cheer about this year.

GO BLUE!!

Joined: 10/03/2013

MGoPoints: 13813

NashvilleBLUE

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^

He touched the ball 22 times, which indicates the staff loves him. He was in on multiple passing downs and picked up blitzes nicely. 

I'm not sure I'm as down on Evans as you were. I was pleased with just about everything, sans the slip that would have been a TD.

BTW, the sack where Ulizio was flat out beat on an inside-out move, Evans was WIDE open in the flat. Had Speight saw and thrown it to him, I imagine that would have been a big play.

Joined: 10/08/2016

MGoPoints: 7283

ScruffyTheJanitor

September 3rd, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^

Mettellus, Bush, Kinnel, Hudson, McCray, Furbush, Gil... we have a ton of smart, fast, hard-hitting players at LB and Safety. It's been a while since I have seen a Michigan defense able to swarm and inflitrate like that. Our Blocky/Catchy guys seem to be getting close to being at the level Harbaugh wants. McKeon, Wheatley, and Eubanks were really good yesterday. Ty Isaac as Matt Forte was a pretty wecome sight. We have three Runnin Backs that would be starting at most schools in the Big Ten. The only downside really was how inaccurate Speight was. I've seen QBs miss fade routes, but I've never seen someone miss by launching it so high. Some of those looked like they would clear a two-story house.

Joined: 02/03/2011

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