Let's Overreact To: Spring Scrimmage #3
You know the drill. Video via MGoVideo. Had to repackage the sound because the RAWK music got matched on Youtube.
Play 1: Fitz bursts off right tackle and picks up 8-10 before Raymon Taylor grabs him. Fitz then pushes Taylor five or so yards before the cavalry rallies. No idea what happened on the line but you can see Hopkins get a nice sealing block as Fitz hits the hole.
Raymon Taylor should probably not tackle high if a guy as slight as Fitz is going to bull him back.
Play 2: Inside zone (probably) to Justice Hayes is eaten up by Antonio Poole (#40) and an active Will Campbell. Looks like Poole was unblocked for whatever reason.
Play 3: Inside zone to Fitz. Blitzing Morgan is kicked past the play by Barnum; Fitz takes a stutter step to let that get past him and then flows up behind Barnum. Roh comes in from the right side of the frame to tackle near the LOS. Looks like a stunt blitz specifically designed to get this to happen. Mattison cackles in his laboratory.
Play 4: Joined in progress. Denard WOOPs around the backfield and slings a dart to… I think it's Miller but can't quite make out the number. Moore would be a bigger guy, though.
Play 5: Inside zone run with H-back (Miller) flaring weakside that we've seen for years now. Roh(+1) drives his man—probably Schofield—way down the line and Fitz decides to cut behind that mess. Bolden(+1) is there to clean up on the cutback at the LOS with help from Ryan. Miller's block on Ryan… eh… not so good.
Play 6: Play action from a zone read look; Roh smokes Omameh and gets pressure up the middle. Ryan and Bolden are coming free as well, so Denard can't do much except go down. Washington is in on this play.
Play 7: Gardner makes a read, doesn't like it, and takes off. Kaleb Ringer can't quite get off a block fast enough to bring Gardner down. Then Gardner jukes Mike Jones to the outside and picks up 15-20. Marvin Robinson runs him out.
Play 8: Rawls gets a belly handoff from Gardner and goes straight north and south, cutting to the backside of the line and running through an ankle tackle from Campbell and an arm tackle from Cam Gordon without slowing at all. Marvin Robinson fills pretty well. Best clip of Rawls we've seen. If he can shrug tackles off like that he's got a role.
Play 9: Rawls gets an iso from the I. He has to cut away from his lead blocker—something that has been very frequent when these clips show isos—and gets chopped down by Campbell.
Play 10: Zone read PA into a slant to Gallon; Countess is in Woodsonesque coverage and breaks it up. Cover +2.
Play 11: Inside zone to Fitz, who roars through a crease into the endzone from about 40. Someone blew that gap. No idea who without a wider view.
This does not end well for Jordan Paskorz
Play 12: Gardner hits Paskorz on a rollout; Paskorz double-catches the ball and gets crushed by Robinson.
Play 13: Gardner hits Jackson on a deep comeback in front of... I don't know. Lots of time to survey; this was his second read.
Play 14: Vincent Smith finds an inside zone gap and takes it into the endzone. The nose got crushed and allowed an easy combo block on Bolden, but I don't think it was Campbell since the guy looks white. Thomas Gordon could have done a better job filling near the LOS to hold it down.
Play 15: Russell Bellomy flings an out to Mike Kwiatkowski. Ball takes a long time to get there. Kwiatkowski then jukes Al Backey, which will no doubt be used to razz Backey forever and ever in film session.
Play 16: Denard hands off to Rawls on an under center stretch(?). Odd. Rawls finds a crease as Barnum, who's flowed well down the line, latches on to and eliminates Bolden. Gyarmati gets enough of a block on Morgan to get Rawls the edge and a nice gain.
Play 17: Hopkins FB dive from under center. Good push by Jack Miller on Ash and Hopkins makes a few extra yards by breaking tackles.
Play 18: Denard lofts a screen to Smith, who gets 8 or 10 before Jarrod Wilson comes in to tackle.
Play 19: Gardner waggle finds Joe Kerridge wide open for a touchdown.
Play 20: Short yardage Vincent Smith iso is… a touchdown? I don't want to talk about this. Bolden got rocked by Gyarmati, probably because he didn't read the play quick enough. That contact is not happening near the LOS and that's all she wrote.
Play 21: What looks like it might be an inverted veer by Bellomy ends abruptly when Cam Gordon roars in to sack.
Play 22: Smith iso w/ Bellomy in is swallowed by Campbell and Ash. Second team OL kind of got owned there.
Play 23: Denard surveys, comes off a first read, and zings it to Dileo for a touchdown in front of Avery. 10-15 yard slant.
Play 24: Rawls iso. Burzynski gets a good block on Morgan and Unidentified FB deals with Probably Bolden, no linebacker level. Kovacs is hovering around the LOS and makes contact to slow Rawls; Thomas Gordon finishes the play with a solid thump. Five or six.
Play 25: Kennedy hands off to Justice Hayes on a power with Mealer pulling. Hayes manages to dash through a small hole, run through an ankle tackle from Probably Safety, keep his feet, juke Wilson, and carry a pursuing Brandin Hawthorne into the endzone. Impressive.
Play 26: Wrinkle. Michigan runs the zone with pulling H-back thing; Denard pulls, probably on a called play. Miller hits a hole backside instead of flaring out and the net effect is a QB iso that looks like a zone read keeper. Miller blocks an unprepared Bolden and Denard glides into the endzone.
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Takeaways? Barnum can move. In each one of these Michigan picks up a big gain because Barnum shows excellent agility and an ability to seal a guy on the move. Here it's a stretch play; other times it was a pull. I think we're going to be just fine at center.
Fitz is Fitz; in this one Hayes and Rawls showed a bit more than they have in previous editions of these tapes. The Rawls run right north-south was Minor-esque. The featured Hayes run was Fitz-esque.
Also both quarterbacks will be 100% accurate this year and there will be no turnovers.
Elsewhere: takes from Maize and Blue Nation.
Barnum can't be expected to be as good as Molk, but I think we can rest assured he will be consistently good and at times excellent, this OLine is going to be a STRENGTH of this team (just not very deep)
Man, Gardner looks pretty intimidating.
Although I haven't seen much... I'm impressed with what I do see. He looks very elusive and throws a great ball. There is no way he's not the #2 QB. Would be great to utilize his skills in any way this year and then next year let him lead the offense. Exciting times!
April 10th, 2012 at 10:08 PM ^
Looks like they worked on his throwing motion. It's a lot quicker and more compact than I remember. He looks solid.
Would +1 if able
It looked like Denard was practicing some pretty poor ball protection on his scrambles.
That makes me nervous too, but I have begun to realize that comes with the territory. If we want the excitement of Denard's rediculous scrambling antics (see the MSU touchdown), we just might have to deal with this as well. If this hasn't been eliminated 3 years in, its probably not going anywhere in year 4 either.
I wonder if the coaches have noticed this. I just texted Gorgeous Al.
Especially the one with him being sacked. He has it hanging out the side in perfect position for a linebacker to swat it out and run it back for a touchdown. I love Denard's scramble ability, but I hope someone recognizes him being somewhat careless with the ball and gets it fixed.
Is there a name for that track you keep playing in the background? I tried Shazaaming it, but to no avail.......
I used some of these for the 2011 highlights:
Gardner looks fantastic. That juke he threw on the scramble was sick. It's getting to the point--given that he's an upper classman now and one of the top ten pure athletes on the team--that I think we need to get him on the field in some capacity for the majority of offensive plays per game.
that he's one of the "top ten pure athletes on the team"? And even if he was, he isn't necessarily good enough at another position to merit large chunks of field time. You don't just throw your best athletes on the field.
Hopkins: The Whirling Dervish.
I just can't enjoy these spring scrimmage videos. Every time Denard or Fitz are running with the ball, I'm thinking: NO INJURIES, please tackle him more softly. Whenever the offense has a big play, I'm momentarily happy, then immediately wondering who blew the defensive coverage.
New saying: a tie is like kissing your sister or a big play during spring ball.
Gardner will make his way onto the field more this year, one way or the other.
Play 5: Inside zone run with H-back (Miller) flaring weakside that we've seen for years now. Roh(+1) drives his man—probably Schofield—way down the line and Fitz decides to cut behind that mess. Bolden(+1) is there to clean up on the cutback at the LOS with help from Ryan. Miller's block on Ryan… eh… not so good.
Either he's just teasing us, or he wants to UFR these. I think he's just teasing us.
Once you see like a UFRer, you cannot un-see
That guy is freaking scary too. Nice touch on the rope. And pretty damn fast.
He was a 5-star No. 5 QB recruit in the nation. Drrrrrrrr.
Gardner is looking like...Gardner...and that's why he's not a WR! Denard is throwing off his front foot. The RB's look solid. Holy shit, how many more months do we have to wait until football season? This team is good and is just going to get better every year [my overreation].
WR is a good spot for him if he's the athlete/WR everyone says he is.
And by that logic, Denard would have been a WR with Tate at QB...a move which many here (correctly) said was an improper use of Denard. Some might have even considered that to be an insult to his abilities at QB. "Everyone" says that Devin is a QB; some here say he's a WR...because they saw one high school highlight catching a ball. I'll go with the experts who said he's a 5* QB.
First, no one ever said Denard was the best receiver on the team, as insiders quoted here supposedely said of Devin. Second, receiving was not a position of weakness then as it is now. Third, Denard beat out Tate, so nothing to see there. Fourth, I completely believe DG is a QB and a potentially good one, but he won't be playing there (this year) barring injury--so why not play WR if we need him? Not a single thing wrong with that. Would you like a 5 star QB on the bench all year, or have him play WR if he truly is that good? I don't understand your post at all. No one ios advocating moving him there for the rest of his career.
Anyone else think that the team look pretty darn physical in this clip? I know I sure did.
Holy shit does Fitz look quick!
It's actually Moore, not Miller. The play continues in this video @ the 43 second mark.
I would like to see Gardner getting more 2nd half playing time. I think he will be a great QB in 2013. I wonder if Shane will red shirt his first season? Shane will be our future starter.
will most likely red-shirt. He is a great high school talent but, I feel, that he will not be able to beat out Gardner for the starting role, especially if Devin gets some major playing time this year.
Borges has repeatedly told us that it takes a full year in the system for any QB to learn it and gain proficiency. Given our depth and talent at QB it makes no sense not to redshirt Shane so that he can learn the system before he ends up on the field.
a top notch athletic talent. Some people forget that he was a 5-star recruit, the no. 5 QB recruit in the nation and, I believe, the no. 1 or 2 dual-threat high school QB recruit. He is fast, strong, accurate with a strong arm. The only reason he has not been starting is because of Denard's big shadow but I am certain that the coaches realize what a talent he is and that is why we will see him getting some major reps this season. I think Big Al will try to get him as much real-time in-game experience as possible this year. I would put my $ down (barring, God forbid, any injuries) Gardner will be our starting QB next year.
WOOOO THOMAS RAOWZ!!! Finally some depth at RB
You do not arm tackle Thomas Rawls.
My hope is that Hopkins stays as a fullback and Rawls is the short yardage back. Which looks to be the case, since Rawls is getting a lot more touches than Hopkins is.
Here's why that's not a huge deal:
We have two guys on our OL (Mealer and Schofield) who are starting for the first time (meaning they're getting first team reps for the first time) and a third (Barnum) who is starting at a different position. The spring is the first time these guys are getting significant reps at those spots (remember Schofield played most of last season at OG too) so it will take them a bit to get it all down. Plus, a good OL needs to gel as a unit, something they haven't had much time to do yet.
Also, we have three DL coaches, and they're all top notch. Those guys are getting so much coaching it's not even funny. Plus, we some serious talent on the DL, and if those guys can use the summer to get their bodies to the level they need to be, they could be really good.
Call me an optimist, but I think Roh and Black each moving inside a slot definitely reduces the "rebuilding" aspect of this year's D line. Both have seen a lot of playing time in their careers. Also everyone seems to be pretty bullish on our edge players (Clark, Beyer, Ryan, C. Gordon). The only riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma is Will Campbell (and depth inside). Maybe against a real manball inside running team they would be undersized, but Michigan's offense is not really that.
Also, most of the plays with the 2s feature some walk ons on the o-line so I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them getting beat. But we already know depth there is bad, especially without incoming freshmen.
I agree the D line should do fine. Mattison has lots of options. Against manball running, I can see switching to a line of Roh-Ash/Washington-Campbell-Black to get more size on the field.
I like that we have quick guys and big guys that should all be able to play so Mattison can work the match-ups.
Plus, this doesn't even count the freshman that Mattison can bring in slowly if they're ready.
Is there anyone who can give me some specific-type warnings to help manage down my expectations on these young linebackers (Ryan/Morgan/Bolden, etc.)? I remember feeling the same way I do now about Kenny Demens a couple seasons back (how he was going to be all-world) and now feeling like his ceiling may be a bit lower than we were hoping. I know we've got great coaches, but I feel like my optimism may be getting a touch carried away with all the hype.
As far as Jake Ryan - he was a RS frosh seeing his first college game reps last year and he looked very good, and got better as the year went on. He showed up a little undersized in 2010, but as soon as he had the size, the coaches put him in and never looked back. Compare that to Demens, who couldn't see the field until halfway through his RS soph season behind Obi Ezeh (maybe this was the coaches, whatever). We all got excited about Demens because he wasn't Obi, but usually guys who are going to be stars show it before their third year on campus.
As for Morgan/Bolden/Poole/the other young LBs - we have a lot of them. The best one will start next to Demens this year (likely Morgan) and the two best will start in 2013 (Bolden and Morgan?). Morgan got a lot of PT as a true frosh, and looked pretty average, but not really considering he was an undersized 18 year old. Many reports say he has really bulked up and is playing better than a typical second year guy. Getting thrown to the wolves is tough, until you survive it and become a wolf yourself. Bolden just seems like a natural LB who will be a starter from his sophomore year on, unless he doesn't have to wait that long.
Basically, of all the things you have to worry about, LB should not be one of them.
Supposedly, Morgan has immensely improved in the offseason and looks to have solidified his spot at WILL.
I don't think that was due to any true deficiencies in Demens's play relative to Obi Ezeh. It was due to the fact that the DC making the personnel decisions thought that bringing stuffed animals to the sideline during games was a sensible thing to do.
The tackling looked kind of weak on several plays. And Denard's ball security when running is scary.
COMMENCE FREAKOUT! We're going 0-12 because of spring practice.
Watching Devin Gardner and comparing what he is doing now in practice vs. some clips from Penn State's practice with Rob Bolden under center... wow it is like night and day.. Devin is FAR more polished and developed than Rob Bolden. PSU will be in a world of hurt if they have to play that guy this year. For Michigan, Devin looks ready to play if needed...
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