so much for that
Upon Further Review: Defense vs Wisconsin
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Duh. Duh duh duh. Duh duh duh. Duhhhhhhhhhhhh. Also: Having video issues and am posting them ASAP. Last one is the last play of the game, so I ain't done till that's got a link.
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M38 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Trap(?) | Taylor | 4 |
| Okay, Wisconsin's “I-Form” is often something close to an ace set with the fullback lined up about a yard behind the guard. Is he a TE? Is he a FB? Who knows? Anyway: single blocking on everyone as the Wisconsin guards head to the second level to block. Johnson is ignored at first until the FB peels around to blast him. Taylor(+1) drives his guy backwards and jumps into the intended hole. He can't make the TFL himself, and though Mouton actually shoved a much larger OL back and should be free to finish the play said OL drags Mouton down by holding him. Hill has room to plow for a few yards. | ||||||||
| M34 | 2 | 6 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | Brown | 9 |
| This one's going outside as they trap block Graham, allowing him to shoot upfield and as they bring a tight end back to whack him. Hill cuts outside, and this should be good for Michigan since they're blitzing Brown(-1) outside and he's flying up for the tackle. He misses it, and Ezeh(-0.5) had issues dealing with the downfield blockers, turning this not a first down. | ||||||||
| M25 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Option | Warren | 2 |
| Michigan very fortunate here, as Jamison crushes Evridge to force a pitch and all of Michigan's linebackers get caught inside. Warren(+2) shucks a much larger blocker, however, and comes up to tackle after a small gain. | ||||||||
| M24 | 2 | 8 | Ace 3-wide | Base 4-3 | Pass | Fly | Warren | Inc |
| Graham(+1) smokes the guard to is side and pressures Evridge up the middle, but not before Evridge can fire downfield. Graham plows him the instant after he throws. Warren(-1) is beaten over the top despite providing a sizeable cushion at the snap; the ball is just overthrown. (Cover -1, pressure +1) | ||||||||
| M24 | 3 | 8 | Ace 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Bubble screen | Brown | 6 |
| UW motions a receiver to the top of the screen, creating a trips look, and catches Michigan in a corner blitz, leaving two blockers out there on two receivers. Brown(+1) reads this excellently, shooting up past his blocker. He is held from behind—no call. This prevents him from making a tackle at or near the LOS; Trent(+1) has held up well enough to get the receiver down before he can reach the first down line. There's a fumble that Michigan recovers, but it's properly overturned. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: missed FG(34), 0-0, 12 min 1st Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| M28 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Pass | Seam | Graham | 16 |
| UW goes play action deep on the first play of the drive a la ND; this time the deep guy is covered(+1). Hill is leaking out of the backfield as a backup option and Evridge hits him as he clears a zone-dropping Brandon Graham. Impressive throw and catch. Too much time even if they had eight blockers. (Pressure -1) | ||||||||
| M12 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Option | N/A | -3 |
| Evridge is stepped on by an OL and falls. | ||||||||
| M15 | 2 | 13 | I-Form Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Dive | Johnson | 2 |
| Johnson(+1) is not the playside DT but reads this and scrapes past Taylor to make the tackle. I think Mouton(+1) also did a good job of faking his way past the OL and cutting off the outside, thus forcing Hill back into the waiting arms of the defense. Stewart helps clean up. | ||||||||
| M13 | 2 | 11 | Ace 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Slant | Jamison | 9 |
| Michigan drops eight as Wisconsin goes to a quick pass; Jamison(+1) was getting to the quarterback as he threw despite having two guys on him (pressure +1). Slant is open and accurate; Michigan tackles a couple yards short of the first. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: FG(21), 0-3, 9 min 1st Q. They'll go to this three-man rush more. Lots more. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O32 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Dive | Harrison | 2 |
| Motion a TE down to make this an ace set, then motion a WR across for an end-around fake. They hand it to Hill up the gut. There are no creases in the line; no penetration, either. Hill spins outside of Mouton and his blocker just as Harrison(+1) comes up to lower his shoulder and bash him to the ground. No YAC for you, sir. | ||||||||
| O34 | 2 | 8 | Ace Trips | Base 4-3 | Pass | Rollout hitch | Trent | 11 |
| Motion a TE in to make this a straight two-TE set. Wisconsin rolls out and hits a receiver on a little hitch route past the first down marker. Our persistent inability to defend this is irritation. Trent(-1) in soft coverage(-1). | ||||||||
| O45 | 1 | 10 | Ace Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Counter | Ezeh | 9 |
| Many folks suckered by this, most prominently Mouton and Ezeh. Graham is cut by a TE heading to the backside of the play and OL coming downfield have excellent angles to block the duped LBs. Ezeh(-1) is swallowed; Mouton actually does skip past his guy and force him back inside, but it's all for naught. Taylor(-1) got blown down the line by a single block. | ||||||||
| M46 | 2 | 1 | Ace Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Dive | Ezeh | 3 |
| I think this is a blocking screwup by Wisconsin, as the LG and TE both head out to Mouton, leaving Ezeh completely unblocked on a run right up the gut. Michigan had their linebackers pretty far back so Ezeh can only tackle at the LOS; the pair falls forward. | ||||||||
| M43 | 1 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | Counter | Mouton | 6 |
| Both Thompson and Ezeh slash up past their blockers on a run blitz, which gets them into the backfield but not actually into the path of the running back. Mouton's(-1) hanging back and whiffs. Brown(+0.5) comes up and makes a solid tackle. | ||||||||
| M37 | 2 | 4 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | N/A | 3 |
| Like we've seen before a few times, a stalemate at the line with no penetration but no holes, either. Hill plows forward into a sea of bodies and ends up falling forward for a few. | ||||||||
| M34 | 3 | 1 | Ace Big | 5-3 Big | Run | Off tackle | Johnson | 0 |
| Martin in as the third DT. This is Johnson(+2) taking his man and driving him along the line of scrimmage and into the intended hole, causing the FB to get caught in the mess and the running back to slow up. All three linebacker evade blocks to tackle en masse; Thompson(+1) got there first, but +1 for Ezeh and Mouton, too. This play was crushed. | ||||||||
| M34 | 4 | 1 | Punt | Punt Safe | Penalty | Offsides | Thompson | 5 |
| Man, that's pretty stupid. Thompson(-1). Clever to get the OL to go from a two-point stance to a three-point stance in unison. | ||||||||
| M29 | 1 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Pass | Wheel | Brown | Inc |
| I actually watched this develop from the stands and was impressed with Brown's man coverage on a wideout here. He's blanketing Gilreath and a better ball may be an interception. (Cover +1, Brown +1) Michigan got nowhere near the QB. (Pressure -1) | ||||||||
| M29 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun Trips | Base 4-3 | Pass | Swing screen | Jamison | Inc |
| Jamison(+1) bats it down. (Pressure +1) | ||||||||
| M29 | 3 | 10 | I-Form 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Run | Draw | Martin | 4 |
| Michigan looks flat-footed as Wisconsin snaps the ball with a couple linebackers talking to each other; not sure if Michigan is expecting this and Martin is just waiting for the draw, in which case he did very well(+1) or if he just got stoned and Michigan got lucky, but whatever. He comes off a blocker and chases Hill towards the sideline; the mispositioned linebackers fill late otherwise this is probably no gain. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: FG(42), 0-6, 1 min 1st Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O33 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Pass | Rollout | Stewart | Int |
| They convincingly fake the off tackle they've been running all day and get Evridge tons of time. Banks(-1) is duped on the backside. (Pressure -1) Meanwhile, Stewart(-1) is beaten badly by Gilreath (cover -1) and open for a significant gain. Donovan hits him but... oops! The ball bounces skyward and Stewart(+1) manages to not drop it. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Interception, 0-6, 14 min 2nd Q. After the play Maguire's like YOUR GUMPY WHITE QUARTERBACK SHOULD RUN INSTEAD OF THROWING TO THE OPEN GUY DOWNFIELD. Why hasn't someone arrested this man? | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O21 | 1 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Penalty | False Start | N/A | -5 |
| Oops. | ||||||||
| O16 | 1 | 15 | Ace 3-wide | Base 4-3 | Pass | Slant | Trent | 8 |
| Well executed pitch and catch followed by an immediate tackle from Trent. (Cover -1) | ||||||||
| O24 | 2 | 7 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Pass | Waggle flat | Mouton | 21 |
| Mouton(-2) sucked too far inside and with Warren getting run off in man coverage the little dumpoff to the TE goes for mondo yards. (Cover -2) | ||||||||
| O45 | 1 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | End around | Mouton | 3 |
| This time Mouton(+1) reads the play fast enough to arrest his movement away from the backside of the play and rob the OL assigned to him of his angle. He disengages and runs out to the sideline, tackling after a short gain. | ||||||||
| O48 | 2 | 7 | Ace Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Counter | Johnson | 2 |
| Again the lines basically stalemate, with no creases, no penetration, and no ability to break it outside. +0.5 for Graham and Johnson for holding up at the POA well. | ||||||||
| 50 | 3 | 5 | Ace 3-wide | Base 4-3 | Pass | Sack | Graham | -5 |
| Thompson(+1) jumps the slant (cover +1), causing Evridge to hesitate; Meanwhile Brown and Mouton come around the blindside and Graham avoids a cut; all three meet at the quarterback and sack. Graham(+1) is there first; Brown(+1) strips the ball out. Michigan recovers. (Pressure +1) Chop block is declined. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Fumble, 0-6, 10 min 2nd Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O10 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | Thompson | 7 |
| Johnson(-1) blown out of the hole by a double team and two guys come through the line. Thompson(-1) tries to get cute and shoot by the fullback to his outside, opening up a gap that Ezeh can't hope to close. Hill has room to rumble up the middle. | ||||||||
| O17 | 2 | 3 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Draw | Johnson | 2 |
| Taylor(+1) and Johnson(+1) both hold up to double teams and Johnson fights inside his guy, forcing Hill to bounce it outside of Taylor and into unblocked linebackers. Mouton tackles; PJ Hill's much bigger than him, though, and they fall the wrong way. | ||||||||
| O19 | 3 | 1 | I-Form Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Sack | Taylor | -7 |
| Wisconsin does something kind of stupid and un-Wisconsiny with a play action boot and Michigan has called the perfect play for it. Taylor(+1) is stunting outside and comes around the OL in a flash, forcing Evridge up into Mouton(+1), who's blitzed. Sack, end of drive. (Pressure +2) | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-6, 8 min 2nd Q. Maguire objects to running a play action pass on third and one because Michigan has loaded the box. I ask again: what does it take for this man to be jailed? Meanwhile, Mathews fumbles the punt and the D is right back on the field. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O40 | 1 | 10 | Ace Twins | Base 4-3 | Pass | Rollout hitch | Trent | 8 |
| The usual lack of pressure + open guy on this thing; we have really got to come up with a way to combat this. (Pressure -1.) Thought Taylor was held on this, and you can hear people in the stands yelling for it. I was one of those people. | ||||||||
| O48 | 2 | 2 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | Dive | Taylor | 1 |
| Taylor(+2) pushes a single blocker into the backfield, disengages, and tackles. Brown helps out. | ||||||||
| O49 | 3 | 1 | I-Form Big | 5-3 Big | Run | Iso | Trent | 46 |
| Taylor(+1) slices through his guy and ends up submarining the fullback three yards in the backfield, forcing a cutback. Thompson(-1) has overrun the play and ends up falling uselessly into the line; Trent(-2) overruns it and lets Clay outside of him, falling to the ground and turning this from five yards into a major gain. | ||||||||
| M5 | 1 | G | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Iso | Jamison | 5 |
| Mouton(+1) does a great job of delivering the blow to the fullback, stoning him and causing Clay to actually come to a dead stop for a second. Clay then bounces it out, finding a ton of open space to the wide side of the field and a touchdown. I don't really know if there should be minuses handed out here; I think -0.5s to Brown and Jamison but I've included the video for gsimmons and other coach type people to comment. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-13, 6 min 2nd Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| M22 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Iso | Martin | 3 |
| Martin(+1) does a good job of standing up to a double and coming through to harrass the ballcarrier but Mouton(-1) has gotten blasted back by the fullback this time—both were near the LOS and Mouton couldn't build up any momentum, so he loses a straight “who's bigger” battle. The delay caused by Martin and the failure of the other guy blocking him to get out to the second level quickly results in linebackers converging a few yards downfield. | ||||||||
| M19 | 2 | 7 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Pass | Rollout cross | Stewart | Inc |
| Again the rollout gets Evridge a lot of time (pressure -1) and an open receiver, as Stewart(-1, cover -1) gets toasted by the pla action and is well behind the TE. They bail us out by dropping it. | ||||||||
| M19 | 3 | 7 | Ace 3-wide | Okie | Pass | Middle Screen | Ezeh | Inc |
| Coaching staff has obviously watched tape of those TE middle screens that killed Michigan against Wisconsin the last few years and has Ezeh(+1) looking for this all the way. Jamison(+1) deflects the pass. (Cover +1.) | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: FG(41), 0-16, 4 min 2nd Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O41 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Pass | ??? | Ezeh | Inc |
| Ezeh(+1) blitzes up the middle, gets cut to the ground, and gets up in time to hit Evridge as he throws, forcing an incompletion. (Pressure +1). Side note: this is the same formation that Mouton got blasted on in the last drive, only this time the LBs are flipped. I think they were misaligned the first time. | ||||||||
| O41 | 2 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Iso | Thompson | 4 |
| Nope: Mouton again over the FB. He again loses the battle(-0.5)and I'm not sure why Brown doesn't follow the FB and try to truck Warren. Instead he cuts back into unblocked linebackers, falling forward. Meh tackle from Thompson. | ||||||||
| O45 | 3 | 6 | Shotgun 3-wide | Base 4-3 | Pass | Flare | Mouton | 3 |
| Good job by Mouton(+1) to avoid a blocker, get out to Hill, and delay him so the cavalry can arrive. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-13, 2 min 2nd Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O49 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Run | Draw | -- | 6 |
| ESPN gets to this play late and I can't make out what goes on. | ||||||||
| M45 | 2 | 4 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Out | Warren | 10 |
| Warren(-1) beaten in man-to-man. (Cover -1) Harrison was coming in on a corner blitz that had him unblocked; if Warren covers this guy Evridge gets splattered. | ||||||||
| M35 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Flag | -- | Inc |
| Michigan rushes three, getting nowhere (pressure -1); Evridge finds a guy wide open 20 yards downfield (cover -2) and throws it well behind him. | ||||||||
| M35 | 2 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Improv | Ezeh | Inc |
| Ezeh(+1) blitzes, beating a blocker, and Stewart(+1) times a safety blitz excellently. Evridge is forced to roll out, throwing a little looper to a receiver at the LOS. Trent makes an immediate tackle. (Pressure +1, cover +1) | ||||||||
| M35 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Out | Warren | Inc |
| This is open but well short of the sticks, which is how Warren should play it; receiver drops it anyway. Bielema trying to get closer for a field goal. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: FG(52), 0-19, 15 sec 2nd Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O17 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Counter | Ezeh | 9 |
| Ezeh(-0.5) and Thompson(-0.5) are hesitant, waiting for the play to come to them, which it does, and it bowls them over. Harrison(-0.5) fills a little late and his tackle is weak, allowing Hill to fall forward for near first down yardage. | ||||||||
| O26 | 2 | 1 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Triple option dive | Thompson | 9 |
| Thompson(-1) is fooled by the option action and takes a step or two inside, allowing the tackle an angle to block him. Ezeh(-0.5) meets him five yards downfield and mostly just waves at his ankles; Rentmeester carries the seconary for a few more. | ||||||||
| O35 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 5-3 Big | Penalty | Off tackle | Taylor | 5 |
| Taylor -1. | ||||||||
| O40 | 1 | 5 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | Graham | 3 |
| Graham(+1) gets a good push on the tackle, making a diving tackle attempt as the RB passes. Both Thompson and Ezeh (+0.5 each) do decent jobs dealing with their blockers and the trio tackles after a small gain. | ||||||||
| O43 | 2 | 2 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Iso | Ezeh | 1 |
| Taylor(+1) pushes a double team back a bit. This delays Hill slightly, allowing a blitzing Ezeh(+1) to come around the backside and meet a stunting Johnson(+1) at the LOS. | ||||||||
| O44 | 3 | 1 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Iso | Thompson | 2 |
| Thompson reads the play and scrapes to the hole immediately, preventing the OL from blocking him. He, however, can't tackle Hill; Hill burrows for the first. Thompson demonstrative after. Taylor comes off favoring his elbow. | ||||||||
| O46 | 1 | 10 | Ace Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Dive | Johnson | 2 |
| Johnson(+1) stands up to a double team excellently, and I guess Hill must see it or something because he doesn't take the hole between Johnson and Jamison, assuming he'll find an unblocked linebacker there. Instead he runs into the back of his linemen—not exactly a smooth cut—and is tracked down by Graham and Brown(+0.5) | ||||||||
| O48 | 2 | 8 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Pass | Waggle flat | Jamison | Inc |
| Same play that went for 21 earlier when Mouton got sucked inside; this time Jamison gets upfield a bit faster (pressure +1) and forces Evridge into a poor throw, which is dropped. | ||||||||
| O48 | 3 | 8 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Comeback | Trent | 12 |
| Another three-man rush, so there's a ton of time (pressure -1); Receiver is open-ish beyond the sticks (cover -1) and Evridge hits him; Trent blasts him afterwards. | ||||||||
| M40 | 1 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Pass | Rollout | -- | Inc |
| Jamison is caught off guard by the TE motioning in from outside and gets pancaked immediately as Donovan rolls out. Coverage is good(+1) this time, at least for a while. No one has an angle to come up on him (pressure -1) and the TE eventually drags open at the sideline. Evridge throws it a little behind him and it's dropped. | ||||||||
| M40 | 2 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | Thompson | 1 |
| Different blocking scheme than some of their others with two TEs blocking down on the DEs, the center and the left guard pulling, and not much help for Johnny Thompson(+3) against two offensive linemen. Thompson fights off the first block, almost splits the two guys, delays Hill considerably, gets pushed back some, eventually splits the double, and tackles. A thoroughly heroic effort. | ||||||||
| M41 | 3 | 9 | Ace Trips | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Bubble screen | Warren | -3 |
| Uh, okay. Michigan in man press here. This has no chance of working; Warren(+1) breaks on the ball and tackles for loss. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 0-19, 7 min 3rd Q. This drive didn't score but it ate up nearly half the quarter. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| M46 | 1 | 10 | Ace | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | Johnson | 3 |
| Johnson(+1) does an excellent job of standing his guy up and closing off the crease on the frontside. Delayed, Hill has to pick through traffic until the linebackers hop on him. | ||||||||
| M43 | 2 | 7 | Ace Twins | Base 4-3 | Run | Bootleg | Graham | 6 |
| Rollout this time has no intention of being a pass, as the pulling TE acts as a lead blocker. Graham(-1) loses outside contain, so there's no one to block until Harrison comes up. He does a good job of preventing this from being a first down. | ||||||||
| M37 | 3 | 1 | I-Form Big | 5-3 Big | Run | Option | Jamison | -12 |
| WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEING WISCONSIN IF YOU FOOF IT UP ON THIRD AND HALF YARD? I don't know. This is the ridiculous option play; Jamison(+1) gets in on Evridge fast enough to either deflect the pitch or just hit Evridge such that it's errant; the ensuing fumble is recovered by Wisconsin. I think Mouton was doing bangup job getting outside the tackle here, but without the fumble this looks like a successful play. But, yeah: option on third and half yard. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 7-19, 1 min 3rd Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O44 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Run | Dive | Taylor | 2 |
| A second half adjustment here: our DEs on the backside are crashing harder so there's no backside lane when the pulling TE gets to them. Anyway, Taylor(+1) and Martin(+1) hold up, turning this into a dogpile just past the LOS. | ||||||||
| O46 | 2 | 8 | ??? | ??? | Pass | ??? | ??? | Inc |
| No idea what happens on this play because there's no video. IIRC Evridge had plenty of time (pressure -1), found an open guy (cover -1), and he dropped it. | ||||||||
| O46 | 3 | 8 | I-Form 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Run | Draw | Graham | 5 |
| Yeah, some yards but on third and eight; Graham(+1) sets up, reads this, fights to the tailback, and tackles. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 7-19, 13 min 4th Q. I'd be livid with this call if if was a Wisconsin fan. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O20 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | Base 4-3 | Pass | Slant | Warren | Int |
| Warren(+1, cover +1) in press man; he's in good enough position to get his hand in with the receiver's and knock the ball skyward. Thompson(+1) catches it and it's time for a buffalo stampede. WOO! Here's a replay. And here's Bielema looking hilariously incredulous. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| Drive Notes: Defensive touchdown (2PT missed), 20-19, 10 min 4th Q. | ||||||||
| O22 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Off tackle | Thompson | 3 |
| Thompson(+1) slides past the fullback and causes him to peel back; the pulling guard must also deal with him. This leaves Ezeh unblocked; he makes a decent tackle. | ||||||||
| O25 | 2 | 7 | I-Form Big | Base 4-3 | Run | Iso | Martin | 0 |
| Mike Martin(+2) owns the center, slides into the backfield, and tackles for loss. I think the center was expecting Martin to slide the other way because there was no man in the gap to his right; instead Michigan blitzes from the outside, allowing Graham to slant down and Martin to shoot left unexpectedly. | ||||||||
| O25 | 3 | 7 | Ace 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Scramble | -- | 6 |
| Again with the three-man rush. Evridge can't find anyone (cover +1) and eventually takes off, getting cut down a yard short of the marker. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 20-19, 8 min 4th Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O29 | 1 | 10 | Ace 3-wide | Base 4-3 | Pass | Scramble | Ezeh | 1 |
| Mouton and Ezeh blitz. The tackle goes for a cut on Ezeh—they're running some short outs—and whiffs entirely. Ezeh is in the QBs face, preventing a throw; he whiffs on Donovan as he starts scrambling; a ton of players grab him and take him down at the LOS. (Pressure +2) | ||||||||
| O30 | 2 | 9 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Circle | -- | Inc |
| Six guys come, two linebackers and Harrison from the outside. Harrison is late and fails to see a gap between the tackle and guard; no one gets to Donovan (pressure -1). He throws it high to an open guy on a circle route. | ||||||||
| O30 | 3 | 9 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | In | Warren | 14 |
| Again Wisconsin holds off five rushers (pressure -1), and Evridge finds a guy on an in open in front of Warren. Warren's in pretty good coverage and might have a play on the ball if it wasn't low and away from his receiver. And, no, this isn't a catch. At all. The ball scrapes along the ground. If this is a catch, Greg Mathews scored a touchdown against ND. | ||||||||
| O44 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Hitch | Jamison | Inc |
| This time on just a three man rush Jamison gets handed off to the running back—a win for Shafer here. Jamison(+1) leaps and does a half-Vela, hitting Donovan as he throws and forcing an incomplete. (Pressure +2) | ||||||||
| O44 | 2 | 10 | Ace Twins | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Out | Jamison | Inc |
| Ack. Jamison is about to get a +3 drive-crushing sack as he owns the tackle so, so hard and comes in screaming on Evridge... and misses the tackle. Evridge rolls out and finds a receiver for a few but turfs it. (Jamison +1, pressure +1) | ||||||||
| O44 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Run | Draw | -- | 14 |
| Perfect playcall for Wisconsin here as we've overloaded the left side of the defense in an attempt to get to Donovan on third and ten. Thompson is the only guy in a gaping hole and he's got to deal with an OL in his face. His task is made more difficult when the OL gets both hands outside of his shoulder pads and—again--blatantly holds with no call. WTF. | ||||||||
| M42 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Slant | Martin | 11 |
| Martin drops off into a robber zone that Evridge does not see, throwing directly in his path; he mistimes his leap and the ball flies over his head. Very dangerous for UW. Not sure what to make of the rest of the play: this is pretty open but it could have been rope-a-dope to induce a throw that Martin would deflect. (Cover -1.) I have to give Martin a -1 here, too, though it's tough when he's a DL dropping into space. | ||||||||
| M31 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Hitch | Brown | 5 |
| Five guys do not get to Evridge (pressure -1); Brown is there to tackle immediately as the catch is made, and even gets a shot at batting the ball away; he misses. (Brown +1, cover +1) | ||||||||
| M26 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Seam | Thompson | 19 |
| Three man rush gets stoned (pressure -1) and this is a poor zone drop from Thompson(-1), permitting a gap in an eight man zone that picks up a bunch of yards (cover -2). This is also a really good throw from Evridge. | ||||||||
| M7 | 1 | G | Shotgun 3-wide | Base 4-3 | Run | Draw | Johnson | 1 |
| Johnson(+1) reads the play and sheds his man, lunging into the hole as the RB arrives and forcing him to reverse field and run outside, where the defense tracks him down. | ||||||||
| M5 | 2 | G | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Sack | Graham | 2 |
| Three man rush causes Evridge to delay (cover +1), and at that point Graham(+3) has come around to the corner to sack and strip. Taylor recovers. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Fumble, 27-19, 2 min 4th Q. | ||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards |
| O36 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Sack | Graham | -7 |
| Another three man rush, and another one that gets to the quarterback. There's an immense amount of faith in these defensive ends. Graham(+3) beats two guys to get to Evridge and sack. (Pressure +2, cover +1) | ||||||||
| O29 | 2 | 17 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Flare screen | Hill | 20 |
| Argh. This is the second time in a row we've overloaded the left side and blitzed like mad and they've had a perfect playcall on for it. Everyone is gone and it's just Mouton and Warren(-0.5) against something like five Wisconsin blockers. Mouton gets stood up by Beckum and Warren can't do much to delay Hill against an OL twice his size. Hill rumbles down the sideline until the defense can converge. | ||||||||
| O49 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Penalty | False Start | -- | -5 |
| Oops. Also, we've got only three guys anywhere near the LOS and UW's LT is deathly afraid of letting Jamison outside of him. | ||||||||
| O44 | 1 | 15 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Seam | Harrison | 29 |
| Three man rush stoned this time (pressure -1); Evridge throws a deep seam to Kendrick that is inter... what? That went through Harrison's hands? #$&*#$#$&#$*#$. No, seriously, this ball went directly through Harrisons hands. This guy was not open. This should have been intercepted or at least deflected. (Harrison -1, cover +1) | ||||||||
| M27 | 1 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Out | Taylor | 5 |
| Taylor(+1) beats an OL and forces Evridge to scramble out (pressure +1), though he gets picked off by the FB. Evridge finds a guy at the sidelines for a short gain. | ||||||||
| M22 | 2 | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Seam | Harrison | Inc |
| Rush doesn't get there(pressure -1) after an elaborate stunt/DL zone drop combo, giving Evridge time to badly miss Kendrick, and lucky him: Harrison(+1) had this blanketed and would have probably intercepted if this was anywhere near accurate. (Cover +1) | ||||||||
| M22 | 3 | 5 | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Out and up | Trent | 22 |
| Six-man rush doesn't get there (pressure -2) as Wisconsin leaves in two backs to block and has three in the route. Trent(-1) beaten by the out and up; Brown(-1) doesn't get over in time. (Cover -2) | ||||||||
| M3 | 2PT | 2PT | Ace 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Hitch | Harrison | 3 (Pen-5) |
| Beckum just straight-up boxes out Harrison for the ball. But he sort of lined up wrong, yes. | ||||||||
| M8 | 2PT | 2PT | Shotgun 3-wide | 3-3-5 Nickel | Pass | Cross | Martin | Inc |
| Another three man rush—Shafer has not rushed four once on either of these last two drives. Martin(+1) is doubled but manages to fight free from his guys after a brief period of blocked-ness, impacting Evridge as he throws and possibly causing this to be Tacopants-bound. | ||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown(2PT failed), 27-25, EOG. EOG. EOG. | ||||||||
Dude… what?
Why is Eye of the Tiger playing?
No reason.
I think there's a reason.
No, I play this all the time. It is completely unrelated to what you think it is related to.
Chart?
Chart.
| Player | + | - | T | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamison | 6 | -0.5 | 5.5 | Hey, when playing against an offense that has to throw he's pretty good. |
| Johnson | 8.5 | 1 | 7.5 | Excellent day against some tough customers… |
| Taylor | 9 | 2 | 7 | …just like him. |
| Graham | 10.5 | 1 | 9.5 | +6 of this comes from two sacks late when he got to the QB on three-man rushes, killing one drive and damaging another. |
| Patterson | - | - | - | |
| Banks | - | 1 | -1 | |
| Van Bergen | - | - | - | |
| Martin | 6 | 1 | 5 | Did not look out of place at all; going to be a monster, and makes me feel much better about next year's D. |
| Ezeh | 5.5 | 3 | 2.5 | Hey, I'll take it. |
| Thompson | 6.5 | 5.5 | 1 | I will also take this. |
| Panter | - | - | - | |
| Evans | - | - | - | |
| Mouton | 6 | 4.5 | 1.5 | Had a tough time against Wisconsin's mondo players and is still learning; potential is there. |
| Trent | 1 | 4 | -3 | Wasn't bad in coverage but was the guy who missed the tackle on the long Clay run. |
| Harrison | 2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | |
| Warren | 4 | 2.5 | 1.5 | Okay day. |
| Stewart | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Brown | 5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | Nothing that went terribly wrong was his fault; missed some tackles and may have reacted slowly on the last Wisconsin TD but also provided a lot of good run support. |
| Chambers | - | - | - | |
| "Pressure" | 16 | 17 | -1 | A lot of three man lines played into this. |
| "Coverage" | 13 | 15 | -2 | Bailed out by a lot of Wisconsin drops. |
That is a lot of positivity for 27 points and 380 yards given up, but anyone who watched the game knows the defense turned in a heroic performance.
Heroic?
Yeah, man, heroic: they faced *seventeen* drives, four of which started in Michigan territory and another four of which started past the Wisconsin forty. Diarist "The Mathlete" has fancy numbers indicating the average number of points you'd expect a defense to give up given the drives Michigan faced is 41. Michigan gave up 25 and offset that with seven of their own, and they did so against a team that's probably headed for a New Year's Day bowl. And the offense kept going three-and-out. And there were four turnovers in the first half they had to face. (The fifth was an ultimately inconsequential half-ending pick.)
Truly, they were rising up to the challenge of their rivals.
I KNEW IT.
What? I'm just saying, you know, they went the distance and they're not gonna stop.
You don't think Wisconsin's butterfingers had anything to do with it?
Well, yeah, okay, several times Michigan got bailed out by Wisconsin receivers dropping the ball or, in one friendly instance, batting it skyward for Charles Stewart to intercept. Not all of the dominance was their doing.
Most annoyingly, those rollout passes we saw in the first two games remain maddeningly effective. Pressure is infrequent and receivers are consistently open. We really need to figure out a way to shut those down.
Are the final two Wisconsin drives disturbing at all?
Maybe a little, but those were pretty weird. Wisconsin found themselves in difficult situations time and again and got bailed out by:
- The replay official missing an obviously uncaught ball on third and ten.
- A perfect call on third and ten that got a draw a first down coupled with an uncaught hold.
- Tim Jamison whiffing on the tackle after getting in alone on Evridge.
- The ball whistling just an inch above Mike Martin's fingers.
- Another perfect call on second and seventeen that caught Michigan in just the right blitz.
- A seam route literally going through Brandon Harrison's hands.
I don't want to sound like I'm dissing Wisconsin's ability to move the ball down the field, as Evridge made some nice plays and very tough throws and those two long-yardage calls from Chryst were cash money. But I thought the last Wisconsin drives were a confluence of unlikely events that didn't reflect poorly on the defense. They made it really, really hard for Wisconsin to get downfield, and Wisconsin did it. This reminded me of those Jim Herrmann drives in no way.
Man, Mike Martin is kind of sweet.
Yeah, man, he's kind of great as an interior pass-rusher already. I'm a little leery that he's going to be a true sophomore starter on the line next year just because he came in so in-shape that he's probably not going to improve drastically, and therefore his sophomore year will seem disappointing, but the kid should be gangbusters (yea, see?) as an upperclassman. Now about the other guys at DT…
Heroes?
Brandon Graham was the BTDPOW so, yeah, that guy. Thompson was immensely improved from last week. Taylor and Johnson are not the Branch-Taylor combo from a a couple years ago but they're a solid second in DT combos since I've been paying serious attention.
Goats?
If you wanted to be really harsh you could single out Trent for whiffing on John Clay's long run. I don't think there are any, really.
What does it mean for Illinois?
It probably means more for Michigan State and Ohio State than Illinois, since Illinois is running that spread thing you might have heard of. But at the very least it should mean Michigan is tough up the middle with Taylor and Johnson doing their thing. The linebackers took a major step forward and I kind of think having Mouton watch the backside when Illinois goes to the zone read is going to work out okay. He's slight but fast.
Also, hopefully it means that Stevie Brown's turned a corner or is close to turning a corner or just isn't going to flail at people he can't be allowed to flail at. Please, baby, please.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:55 PM | 
TOTALLY off topic, but it
TOTALLY off topic, but it
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:42 PM |
I'm pretty sure that hat says
I'm pretty sure that hat says
I'm pretty sure that hat says "Microbial". You know how The Crew was into rapping about science and beakers and Bunsen Burners and what not.
No question, Jim.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:39 PM |
Those fuckin bunsen burners.
Those fuckin bunsen burners.
Those fuckin bunsen burners.
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:16 PM |
Video audio
Video audio
Everything works great for me concerning video audio.
"A swing can happen at any time," "Sudden change is part of the game. We've got to fight." -John Thompson
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:40 PM |
im at school
im at school
and cant watch the video right now. But i can tell you this, the touchdown was problaby no man free, It was the exact same two read coverage that i was talking about with the play in the game that shall not be mentioned. Notice brown, no number 2 vertical threat, comes down hard in run support. Warren is on his hip, becasue he has no other threat in his area. this is what was happening in the play that was discussed all last week imo.
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 PM |
Great stuff. +1 for kitschy
Great stuff. +1 for kitschy
Great stuff. +1 for kitschy song tie-in.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:04 PM |
Phantom Donovan at QB?
Phantom Donovan at QB?
I know we've had success against Donovan in the past, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't on the field last Saturday (see 4Qtr fumble drive).
But, as per usual, excellent job on the UFR:D, Brian.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:29 PM |
Yeah, WTF was up with all
Yeah, WTF was up with all
Yeah, WTF was up with all the "Donovan's" in there? At first I thought you were talking about Warren....but that didn't seem right. I'm guessing that was a mistake, right?
BTW: that UFR was totally sweet. It really pumped me up. I'm ready for 3:30 Saturday right now!!!
RISING UP TO THE CHALLENGE OF OUR RIVALS!!!!!!!!!! w00t.
No question, Jim.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:32 PM |
No Blitz???
No Blitz???
Brian you mentioned at the end of the ufr that we never brought more than 4 guys on the last 2 drives, but in the ufr you mention blitzes at least 3 times. I thought SChafer mixed up the blitzes and 3 man rushes relatively well, but just got outsmarted or outlucked by Christ as he hit several big plays on perfect play calls. It was by no means the usual prevent screwed us that it looked like you were slightly implying
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:33 PM |
Jamisons block in the back on
Jamisons block in the back on
Jamisons block in the back on the INT for 6 shows how even officials get caught up in the MI vibe. Or perhaps they just didnt see it.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:33 PM |
More likely the latter. There
More likely the latter. There
More likely the latter. There were a few times towards the end of the game where there were blatant holding penalties(to tv viewers) against the Wisconsin O-line that were not called. Just like the block in the back the refs can't see everything.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:37 PM |
I assume Brian was relapsing
I assume Brian was relapsing
I assume Brian was relapsing to Tyler Donovan - Wisky's QB last year.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:59 PM |
brian
brian
on the play, yes mouton does a good job intially of attacking the fullback, but he allows himself to get pushed in side where there is all his help, as opposed to gettign pushed outside where there is only 1 primary contain guy... by getting knocked in, there is no chance of making the play from the other lbs... or the filling safety, the de is a contain player, and must keep outside free while squeezing down the hole, it would be a tough play for him to make, but at the same time, he has to make it... there is a chance that brown was suppose to fill outside of the end, in a secondary contain role, but bassed on how much trouble michigan had before with the power game, and at the goaline, more than likely he is to attack down hill, in a inside out fashion... what the heck is happening to trent ( again) he has his eyes right, he sees the play, but absolutley gets owned by the reciever... he has to get off of that inside release earlier, and get to a secondary contain role...
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:37 AM |
i'm going to suggest that
i'm going to suggest that
morgan trent may be lacking something mentally, or is at least mistake-prone and that we may need to take it into consideration when assessing our defense.
it seems like he's ending up on the wrong sides of big gains a lot. part of that is the nature of playing corner i suppose, but it's happening as often to him as to stevie brown it seems (and it never seems to happen to warren or harrison) and stevie is the one guy everyone laid into for a while.
...the Canadians make up for it with their emotion and classic ice-dancing skill.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 AM |
On Wisky's first TD...
On Wisky's first TD...
Jamison deserves a -1 for having a slapfight with the LT instead of maintaining outside contain. The middle was plugged up great, but their RB bounces it outside right past Jamison. Argh. Very frustrating to watch a 5th year player make that mistake.
Also, on WI's last 2 drives down the field when they had to throw it a whole bunch, I counted at least 3 FLAGRANT holds by their OL that were not called. I'm talking full arm around the guy grapple holds. The refs were swallowing their whistles and letting WI try to get back in the game.
Go Blue
TOTALLY off topic, but it looks like one of the dudes in this picture of 2 Live Crew is wearing a Michigan hat. Tell me if I'm wrong.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_drUMJ9HF-tQ/SOTflY4JW-I/AAAAAAAAD0g/c6velLVbAS...