Upon Further Review: Defense vs Wisconsin
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Personnel notes: Smith replaced Williams for the whole game, and the linebackers were always Ezeh and Mouton. On (rare) obvious passing downs Floyd came in for Smith. I think there may have been a few plays where Floyd subbed in for Woolfolk, too.
Formation notes: Michigan spent the whole game in an eight-man front; late they moved up Kovacs for nine.
Video note: there was no HD torrent this week so the quality is poor.
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O20 | 1 | 10 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Dig | Ezeh | 27 + 15 pen | ||||
| The first of a thousand of these. Wisconsin goes play action and sucks the linebackers up a little but the problem is that Ezeh(-1) and Mouton(-1) don't get deep enough drops (cover -2) and leave a wide receiver wide open on a two-man route. There is no one threatening either of those guys underneath as Wisconsin goes max protect. Graham had worked underneath and nailed Tolzien just as he throws and picks up a terrible roughing the passer call. Egregiously bad call. | ||||||||||||
| M38 | 1 | 10 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Scramble | Brown | 12 | ||||
| Aaand Graham(+1) owns the tackle and is blatantly held, which allows Tolzien to escape the pocket; Brown(-1) hesitates in case Tolzien decides to throw and gives up the corner, allowing a nice scramble. | ||||||||||||
| M26 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Inside zone | Martin | 2 | ||||
| Martin(+1) takes on a double team and gives a little ground but not that much; Mouton(-1) is attacking the line of scrimmage and picks the wrong hole, which gives Clay an open cutback that he attempts to take; he trips over one of the offensive linemen trying to block Martin. Kovacs was filling strongly. | ||||||||||||
| M24 | 2 | 8 | I-Form Twins | 4-4 under | Run | Inside zone | Graham | 1 | ||||
| Graham(+1) gets off the ball quickly and gets inside of his blocker, convincing Clay to attempt to cut it behind that mess; Martin(+1) is looping around after taking on a double team and the two of them meet Clay to nail him at the LOS. Pretty sure this was a stunt that worked. (RPS +1) | ||||||||||||
| M23 | 3 | 7 | Ace bunch | Base 3-4 | Pass | Dig | Ezeh | 23 | ||||
| Three man rush gets no pressure(-1), partially because Graham is again blatantly held as he attempts to go around the corner. The Wisconsin OL has his hand outside Graham's shoulder pads and is hanging on for dear life; no call. This allows Tolzien to find his TE between Ezeh(-1) and Mouton(-1) wide open (cover -2); Mouton overruns the play, opening it up; Kovacs(-1) then misses a tackle(-1) to give him the last ten. | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-7, 11 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O20 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Martin | -3 | ||||
| Martin(+3) blows past the down-block attempt from the playside guard and is into the backfield like a shot, destroying the play. Clay tries to cut back and is swallowed by Martin(tackling +1). Major TFL by one player = +3. | ||||||||||||
| O17 | 2 | 13 | I-Form | 4-4 under | Pass | Out | Smith | Inc | ||||
| Michigan tipping cover three and Wisconsin goes after the edge, which Smith cannot cover in time (cover -1). Throw is marginal but catchable; it is dropped, costing Wisconsin ten or so yards. | ||||||||||||
| O17 | 3 | 13 | Shotgun 2-back bunch | 4-3 under | Pass | Sack | Graham | Inc (Pen -15) | ||||
| Smith out, Floyd in. Wisconsin going with a screen that Michigan has killed because the DTs stunt and by the time Martin(+1) cuts through the trash it's obvious and he gets out on it, causing Tolzien to hesitate and Graham(+1) to hunt him down. Tolzien ends up turfing a ball five yards from the receiver and gets called for grounding. RPS +1 | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 5 min 1st Q. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O8 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Mouton | 3 | ||||
| Mouton(+0.5) is a little late but does scrape to the hole past a center coming through the middle and meets Clay there, tackling(+1) with help from Kovacs. Ezeh got outside the pulling guard and forced it back. | ||||||||||||
| O11 | 2 | 7 | Ace Twins Twin TE | 4-4 under split | Pass | Sack | Martin | -1 | ||||
| I mean, really, what is it going to take for an official to throw a flag on the Wisconsin offensive line? Martin(+3) zips around the center and is instantly into the backfield on this play action; center then grabs his shoulder from behind and starts slowing him down; no flag. Tolzien tries to evade Martin and manages to do so at first but Martin is agile enough to change direction and drag him down from behind. (Pressure +2) | ||||||||||||
| O10 | 3 | 8 | Shotgun 2-back | Nickel | Pass | Interception | Mouton | Int | ||||
| Good time (pressure -1) on a four man rush before Martin(+0.5) does work his way through a double and to the quarterback. Tolzien fires to a guy open between Ezeh and Brown, but before the ball can get there Mouton(+1) deflects it and Kovacs(+2) digs out a tough, low interception of the deflected ball. (Cover +1) | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Interception, 7-7, EO1Q. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O25 | 1 | 10 | Ace Twins Twin TE | 4-4 under | Pass | Waggle hitch | Roh | 9 | ||||
| Absolutely no one on the corner (pressure -2) and Tolzien has epic time to wander towards the sideline in case someone gets open. Eventually, someone does. Roh(-1) got himself way far inside in anticipation of the stretch. | ||||||||||||
| O34 | 2 | 1 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Iso | Heininger | 9 | ||||
| Martin(+1) gets playside of his blocker and cuts off the intended hole but Heininger(-1) has gotten upfield and gets crushed/sealed out of the play, opening up a cutback lane. Mouton(-1) overpursued to the front of the play, which might be understandable, but then he misses a tackle(-1) and cedes another five or six yards. | ||||||||||||
| O43 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | Base 3-4 | Run | Power O | Ezeh | 11 | ||||
| Wow. Watch Ezeh(-2) on this play. He watches and watches and waits and then he's got a center on him blocking him and he's about five yards downfield without having moved as this play develops and as a result there's no one at all to help after Brown forces the play upfield; Roh(-1) also looked pretty goofy as he goes to cut the FB at the wrong spot on this play, which allows a pulling guard to come around; he neither delays the RB nor takes out two-for-one. | ||||||||||||
| M46 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Smith | 8 | ||||
| Hey, same exact play, virtually identical result. Here Graham(-1) cuts inside and gets absorbed by single blocking; he's cutting out of the area in which he can help. Smith(-1) gives up the corner and no one can flow to the ball carrier. | ||||||||||||
| M38 | 2 | 2 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Iso | Graham | 3 | ||||
| Graham(+1) zips around the tackle trying to block him and is in great position to potentially make a TFL if Martin(-1) can just hold up better against single blocking; he doesn't, getting banged inside and giving the RB a crease. Graham makes a diving tackle with help from Kovacs and Mouton, but not before the first down line. | ||||||||||||
| M35 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Pass | Out | Smith | Inc | ||||
| Smith(+1) is blitzing from the edge and is in lighting quick, too quick for the RB to slide over to get much of a block. RB does get a cut; Smith ends up falling into Tolzien's knees as he throws. Resulting pass is inaccurate. (Pressure +1) Good thing, because out was wide open in front of Kovacs (cover -1) | ||||||||||||
| M35 | 2 | 10 | I-Form | 4-4 under | Run | End around | Brown | 5 (Pen -9) | ||||
| Brown(+1) is flowing down the line to string this out when the TE grabs him, holds him up, and then cuts him to the ground. Gilreath gets a crease for a few yards; comes back for the hold. | ||||||||||||
| M44 | 2 | 19 | Ace 4-wide | 4-4 under | Pass | Corner | Mouton | Inc | ||||
| Mouton(+1) gets a good zone drop as Wisconsin is running a couple of routes to the short side of the field, one a short out and the other a corner. Mouton does take a step to the out, which is not his responsibility, before recovering deep and getting enough depth to deflect the ball; TE catches it on the deflection but out of bounds. (Cover +1) Pocket was too clean: pressure -1. | ||||||||||||
| M44 | 3 | 19 | Shotgun 3-wide | Nickel | Pass | Screen | Graham | -1 | ||||
| Graham(+1) is shooting inside his blocker and reads this screen, possibly because Tolzien is dropping too deep for it to be a real pass, so he peels off to tackle with help from Roh(+1), who also stopped in his tracks and recovered. (RPS +1, cover +1) | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Punt, 10-7, 11 min 2nd Q. Roughing the kicker on Smith(-2) gives Wisconsin another opportunity. More about this later. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| M30 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Heininger | 4 | ||||
| RVB(-1) blown off the ball by a double; not a real surprise with that guy going up against the Wisconsin line. Heininger(+2), however, fights inside of his guy on the backside and gets inside quickly enough to make a diving tackle on Clay as he nears the LOS. Ankle tackle = YAC, but still a remarkable play; good thing, too, because Ezeh(-1) again sat around aimlessly near the hole and got blocked right out of it; Mouton(-1) had picked the backside of the line and without this play from Heininger Clay is probably scoring a touchdown. | ||||||||||||
| M26 | 2 | 6 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Smith | 7 | ||||
| Wheee they do the same thing to one side or the other over and over. On this one Smith(-1) shoots upfield instead of getting into the pulling guards and spilling the play, leaving Ezeh and Mouton one-on-one with two pullers; Mouton has to get outside of one and does; Ezeh(-1) is crushed by the other one and can only make a desperation tackle eight yards downfield. | ||||||||||||
| M19 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | End Power O | Smith | 13 | ||||
| Em. Well, it's the same play except this time they hand it to the pulling TE instead of Clay. Smith(-2) again gives up the corner, getting crushed backwards and giving Kendricks acres of space to head out in; Clay had fallen and if this play got forced back inside it probably wasn't getting much. Smith is every bit as bad as Williams. | ||||||||||||
| M6 | 1 | G | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Graham | -1 | ||||
| Graham(+2) ducks under the offensive lineman trying to down-block him and ends up in the backfield, where the pulling TE attempts to block him; too late, he's in the path of the play, and Clay goes down meekly. | ||||||||||||
| M7 | 2 | G | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Rollout corner | Woolfolk? | 7 | ||||
| Ezeh heading out for some contain if Michigan can get this covered, though he runs himself right into a cut block and falls. Doesn't really matter because Woolfolk(-1) got sucked out his zone by the outside receiver and opens up the corner. (Cover -1) | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 10-14, 8 min 2nd Q. Smith is not a panacea. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O25 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Pass | PA TE Corner | Brown | Inc | ||||
| Roh(+0.5) gets outside and avoids a cut to provide decent pressure on Tolzien, forcing a throw; Tolzien tries to hit his TE on the corner route that's killed M all year but on this one Brown(+2, cover +2) is running the TE's route for him and if this pass is accurate can intercept. It's not. | ||||||||||||
| O25 | 2 | 10 | Ace Twins | Base 3-4 | Pass | Hitch | Mouton | Inc | ||||
| Mouton(+1) blitzes through and does a good job avoiding the RB's block, forcing a throw (pressure +1) to a guy who looks like he's plenty covered(+1) downfield. Doesn't matter since Campbell(+1) bats the ball away. | ||||||||||||
| O25 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 3-wide | 4-3 under | Pass | Sack | Graham | -25! | ||||
| Both LBs blitz, leaving Graham(+3) one-on-one with the backup RT, and Graham duly destroys the guy and then destroys Tolzien, sacking him and forcing a fumble that RVB(+1) sees, scoops up, and runs into the endzone. Replay. | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Fumble + defensive touchdown, 17-14, 3 min 2nd Q. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O26 | 1 | 10 | Ace 3-wide tight | 4-4 under | Pass | Counter pitch | Brown | 6 | ||||
| Brown(-1) bites on the counter action, stepping inside. Roh(-1) gets blasted down the line and tries a futile spin move past the UW TE as three OL pull around. This wastes a good play from Banks(+1) who gets out, avoids a cut block, and is flowing down the line to tackle if only someone can force the play back to him. Not possible. | ||||||||||||
| O32 | 2 | 4 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Hitch | -- | 6 | ||||
| No pressure(-1), allowing Tolzien to step and fire to a TE underneath the zone. | ||||||||||||
| O38 | 1 | 10 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | PA Dig | Various | 35 | ||||
| Incredibly open dig #3. Ezeh(-1), Mouton(-1), and Kovacs(-1) are the nearest players(cover -2); no one anywhere near Tolzien(pressure -2). I mostly blame Ezeh: he's just sitting there with no one in front of him. He should be drifting back the whole time and in position to do something about this. | ||||||||||||
| M27 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | 4-4 under | Pass | PA TE Seam | Ezeh | 24 | ||||
| Incredibly open dig/seam #4. Partially on Roh(-1), who doesn't get an effective chuck on the TE; partially again on Ezeh(-1), who has no one in front of him and still doesn't get a good zone drop (cover -2). No pressure(-1) again. | ||||||||||||
| M3 | 1 | G | Goal line | Goal line | Run | Power O | ? | 2 | ||||
| Wide angle on this makes it really hard to tell what happens; I'm using an SD torrent this week... so I can't really tell you much other than it looks fairly well defended and Clay pops outside where he's met by a couple tacklers and John Clays his way for two yards. | ||||||||||||
| M1 | 2 | G | Goal line | Goal line | Run | Power O | -- | 1 | ||||
| Clay leaps over the top and is thumped back by Graham, but apparently not before he got the ball over the line. It's reviewed and stands; I think this is one of those plays that's so inconclusive that the call on the field will stand whichever way it's called. | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-21, 1 min 2nd Q. RR should have called time out after the first and goal play. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O20 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | End around | Graham | 3 | ||||
| Fake the power O and use the TE coming around on the end-around. Graham(+1) tears through the line and into the backfield; he can't make a tackle but does delay the TE. Smith(+0.5) gets deeper into the backfield this time and manages to occupy two blockers but does let a crease develop between himself and Mouton, which the TE hits; delay allows Ezeh and others to close it down. Runner fumbles; Wisconsin recovers but loses a couple yards. Kovacs(+1) forced it. | ||||||||||||
| O23 | 2 | 7 | Ace Twins | 4-4 under | Run | Down G | Smith | 21 | ||||
| Man, Smith(-2) just sits at the LOS with no idea what to do here instead of coming up to the line and forcing the play inside. He gets nailed by a G and driven literally ten yards downfield, which allows the RB the corner; Warren(-1) comes up to whiff a tackle(-1) that was made hard by the Smith crushage. | ||||||||||||
| O44 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Martin | -2 | ||||
| Smith does attack on this one as Wisconsin goes back to the power O scheme. I think they spent halftime coaching him up on this but he failed to recognize the down G scheme. Not much a hole as a result but it doesn't matter because Martin(+2) ripped through the line and tackles(+1) in the backfield, crushing the play by himself. I think Michigan was misaligned here because there are two guys on the backside who end up unblocked; this could have broken for a lot without Martin's play. | ||||||||||||
| O42 | 2 | 12 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Out | -- | Inc | ||||
| Tolzien has time for a quick throw and finds a receiver moderately open in front of Woolfolk but the pass is poor and not caught. | ||||||||||||
| O42 | 3 | 12 | Ace 4-wide bunch | 4-3 under | Pass | Post | Mouton? | 21 | ||||
| Graham(+1) tears around the corner and hits Tolzien in the back with one arm as he throws; a half-second more in coverage and this is a sack. But... no. This has got to be a huge zone bust by someone... it's third and freaking twelve and three players to that side of the field are short; I get Roh and RVB since it's a zone blitz but Mouton is covering no one. (Cover -2) ARGH. Is this Warren? How the hell do you cover this? | ||||||||||||
| M37 | 1 | 10 | Ace | 4-4 under | Run | Down G | Smith | 2 (Pen -10) | ||||
| Smith(+1) does get upfield on this one, taking a blocker and forcing the play inside. Ezeh and Warren are there; two guys on one blocker, and they get a stop. Smith draws a holding call. Not that it will matter. | ||||||||||||
| M47 | 1 | 20 | I-Form | 4-4 under | Pass | Dig | Brown? | 18 | ||||
| Incredibly open dig #4. I don't know what the coverage is here, but it looks like man, which would make Brown(-1, cover -2) the culprit. Or maybe it's zone? I have no damn idea. If it's zone it's Ezeh again getting ridiculously dragged out of position and opening this up. All these can't be on Ezeh, right? They'd pull him, right? | ||||||||||||
| M29 | 2 | 2 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Waggle comeback | Woolfolk? | 14 | ||||
| Waggle gets Tolzien forever(pressure -2) and allows him time to set and fire to a receiver on a comeback (cover -1) in front of Woolfolk. | ||||||||||||
| M15 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Mouton | 0 | ||||
| Linebackers read the play direction and are all flowing into the hole; Ezeh's headed outside in case it spills. Line creases because RVB is slanting away from the hole and he gets down-blocked; Mouton(+2) makes a really nice play to dodge the pulling guard and tackle(+1) at the RB's knees. | ||||||||||||
| M15 | 2 | 10 | Ace Twins | 4-4 under | Pass | Waggle throwaway | Roh | Inc | ||||
| Michigan better prepared for this as Roh(+0.5) does not get sealed inside by the tackle and eventually shakes free, drawing Tolzien's lead blocker and allowing Ezeh(+0.5) to shoot into the backfield, forcing Tolzien to chuck it. (Pressure +1) Graham was, of course, coming hell for leather from the backside. Whatever hell for leather means. | ||||||||||||
| M15 | 3 | 10 | Shotgun 4-wide | 4-3 under | Pass | Fade | Warren | 15 | ||||
| Warren(-1) has great position but doesn't get his head around and ends up allowing Toon to make a spectacular catch; Warren also gets flagged for PI. I've made my opinion on PI known. No cover +/-. | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 17-28, 10 min 3rd Q. Aaaaaaaaaaargh | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O34 | 1 | 10 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | Deep out | -- | 25 (Pen -10) | ||||
| Tolzien has a zillion years (pressure -1) as Wisconsin max protects and Graham is getting a breather. He eventually finds a receiver wide open (cover -1); can't blame the secondary too much because of the protection but maybe a little bit. One reason for the time: Roh(+1) is getting held by the LT like whoah. It comes back, not that it will matter. | ||||||||||||
| O24 | 1 | 20 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Ezeh | 33 | ||||
| Nine frigging guys in the box and this still happens. Jesus. Heininger(-1) gets crushed inside and pancaked by the down-block. Kovacs(-2) totally misreads the play and actually tries to tackle the TE, and Ezeh(-2) hits inside of the Kovacs mess, leaving no one in the secondary. I can't believe he hasn't gotten pulled yet. | ||||||||||||
| M43 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Ezeh | 6 | ||||
| Ezeh does a good job of banging into the lead blockers right at the LOS, cutting off the hole, but then inexplicably starts spinning, which allows an OL to start driving him downfield. Brown(-1) then eats a block passively, allowing Clay to lurch forward. | ||||||||||||
| M37 | 2 | 4 | Ace Big | 4-4 under | Pass | Waggle cross | Floyd | 13 | ||||
| Floyd(-1) in man on the outside WR and is nowhere near the route; no pressure(-1) on the edge. (Cover -1) | ||||||||||||
| M24 | 1 | 10 | I-Form | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Mouton | 4 | ||||
| Mouton(+0.5) does a good job of getting into a lead blocker behind the LOS, forcing Clay behind him; he trips over his OL. Graham(-0.5) had gotten caught by the snap count and blown off the line, ceding the room that Graham uses to pick up the yardage he gets. | ||||||||||||
| M20 | 2 | 6 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Naked boot | Kovacs | 1 | ||||
| Odd. Fortunate, too, as Graham had torn into the backfield and would have tackled this for a four yard loss. Instead Tolzien takes it himself and gets on the edge one-on-one with Kovacs(+1, tackling +1), who forms up and takes him down. | ||||||||||||
| M19 | 3 | 5 | Ace | 4-4 under | Pass | TE Hitch | -- | 12 | ||||
| Brown(pressure +1) gets a free run at Tolzien on a blitz but Tolzien impressively stands in an nails a tight end (cover -1) in between like four guys. At this point, I am swearing like a sailor. ARGH | ||||||||||||
| M7 | 1 | G | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Graham | 0 | ||||
| Graham(+1) is just a beast, tearing through the backside(!!!) tackle and pancaking him(!!!) en route to the tailback, who runs into Graham's side and slows, allowing Roh(+0.5) and Ezeh(+0.5) to converge and tackle for no gain. | ||||||||||||
| M7 | 2 | G | Ace Twins | 4-3 under | Pass | TE flat | -- | 7 | ||||
| Wisconsin basically blocks Kovacs(cover -1), who's got coverage on the flat, and gets away with an obvious offensive PI. Touchdown. Anger. | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-35, 2 min 3rd Q. | ||||||||||||
| Ln | Dn | Ds | O Form | D Form | Type | Play | Player | Yards | ||||
| O40 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Martin | 7 | ||||
| Actually well defended at the POA with linebackers rushing to the FB and taking out the hole right there but Martin(-1) attempted to come inside of the center and got sealed out of the play, opening a cutback lane. | ||||||||||||
| O47 | 2 | 3 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Mouton | 3 | ||||
| To the other side of the line. Kovacs is rolled up so this is a true nine-man front. He takes out a lead blocker, allowing Mouton(+0.5) to scrape to the hole and meet Clay there; Clay pops through a tackle somewhat and manages to fall forward for the first down. | ||||||||||||
| 50 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Mouton | 13 | ||||
| Mouton(-2) gets lost in the middle of the field and there is no one to take on the tailback after Ezeh gets outside of the lead blocker. He's supposed to be there, unblocked, on this play and he's not, so it's a huge run. | ||||||||||||
| M37 | 1 | 10 | I-Form Big | 4-4 under | Run | Power O | Mouton | 3 | ||||
| Mouton(-1) manages to get it right this time and shows up in the hole but misses the tackle(-1) and allows the RB to fall forward; Roh(+0.5) had peeled off to help. | ||||||||||||
| M34 | 2 | 7 | Ace | 4-4 under | Run | Counter pitch | Brown | 16 | ||||
| Roh(-1) gets crushed inside and Brown(-2) gives up the corner, then gets escorted almost 20 yards downfield by a pulling UW OL. | ||||||||||||
| M18 | 1 | 10 | Ace Twins | 4-4 under | Run | Power O? | Smith | -2 | ||||
| Maybe? I think the center is pulling but he gets delayed because Graham(+0.5) blew into him, allowing a blitzing Smith(+1) a free run at the tailback, which he uses to tackle. | ||||||||||||
| M20 | 2 | 12 | Ace Twins | 4-4 under | Pass | Waggle flat | Ezeh | 6 | ||||
| I can't help but notice both Mouton and Ezeh are two feet from each other as the rollout begins, which opens up the little flat route as Ezeh(-1) slowly chases. Quick fill from Brown(+1, tackling +1) ends up as a solid tackle to keep the gain down. | ||||||||||||
| M14 | 3 | 6 | Ace Twins | 4-3 under | Run | Down G | Mouton | 14 | ||||
| Both the C and the playside G pull around to the short side as UW overloads the wide side and there's no one except Roh and a couple of quasi- or actual defensive backs over there. Roh(-1) gets crushed back, and Mouton(-2) overruns the play, giving the RB a crease between Roh and Warren when if he had just taken the inside gap this is little or no gain. | ||||||||||||
| Drive Notes: Touchdown, 24-42, 12 min 4th Q. Wisconsin gets the ball back up three scores with nine minutes left and chokes out the rest of the game. Charting ceases. | ||||||||||||
Let's just get to the chart.
Before we get to this, I should say that I might have lost my mind at some point in the third quarter and started shooting out minuses to particularly incensing players on particularly incensing plays and some of the numbers may be exaggerated. It's tough to say that given the end result of the game, but I kept attempting to check my desire to throw out huge negative numbers; some rage probably slipped through into the numbers.
But, yes, chart.
| Defensive Line | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | + | - | T | Notes |
| Graham | 13.5 | 1.5 | 12 | Poor pressure metric should slightly degrade your opinion here, though he did get two sacks and forced a defensive TD. |
| Heininger | 2 | 2 | 0 | One impressive play, a couple not so impressive ones. |
| Watson | - | - | - | DNP. |
| Roh | 4 | 6 | -2 | Wisconsin was always going to be the team to own him. |
| Herron | - | - | - | DNP? |
| Martin | 12.5 | 2 | 10.5 | Huge day, especially early. |
| Van Bergen | 1 | 1 | 0 | Not a major factor. |
| Banks | 1 | - | - | One nice play for naught. |
| Sagesse | - | - | - | DNP |
| Campbell | 1 | - | - | Batted a pass. |
| TOTAL | 35 | 12.5 | 22.5 | 21 tackles from the big two… you should have a great day against the run with that contribution. |
| Linebacker | ||||
| Player | + | - | T | Notes |
| Ezeh | 1 | 11 | -10 | I can't believe he didn't get pulled. |
| Mouton | 6.5 | 11 | -4.5 | Jonas Mouton: big positive, bigger negative. |
| Brown | 4 | 6 | -2 | Gave up the edge a few times. |
| Fitzgerald | - | - | - | DNP |
| Leach | - | - | - | DNP |
| TOTAL | 11.5 | 28 | -16.5 | ARRRGH |
| Secondary | ||||
| Player | + | - | T | Notes |
| Warren | - | 2 | -2 | Had no work, basically. |
| Smith | 3.5 | 7 | -3.5 | This should actually be filed under LB, maybe. |
| Floyd | - | 1 | -1 | Eh. |
| Turner | - | - | - | DNP. |
| Woolfolk | - | 1 | -1 | Also mostly a non-factor |
| Williams | - | - | - | DNP |
| Emilien | - | - | - | DNP |
| Kovacs | 4 | 4 | 0 | Did pretty okay. No idea why they moved him to deep safety; he's pretty effective in the box. |
| TOTAL | 7.5 | 15 | -7.5 | Not much to do. |
| Metrics | ||||
| Pressure | 6 | 13 | -7 | Poor BG. |
| Coverage | 7 | 19 | -12 | Ratio is awful. |
| Tackling | 6 | 4 | 2 | Still need to definite this more precisely. |
| RPS | 3 | 0 | 3 | Small number because UW just did the same thing over and over. |
[A reminder: RPS is "rock, paper, scissors." Michigan gets a + when they call a play that makes it very easy for them to defend the opponent, like getting a free blitzer. They get a – when they call a play that makes it very difficult for them to defend the opponent, like showing a seven-man blitz and having Penn State get easy touchdowns twice.]
If I'd charted Wisconsin's last grinding drive that ended in a field goal and game over, man, the numbers here would have been even worse but general policy is not to chart stuff after the game is effectively over, and down three scores when the other guy has the ball with nine minutes left is over.
You rage, contrary to the above statement, seems particularly well-focused.
Yes. Most of the poor performances on the chart that can be explained by size or youth or confusion or all three. Roh was always going to get pwned by beef machine OL 100 pounds bigger than him. Brown is basically a safety playing LB. And poor Brandon Smith is a redshirt freshman with no playing experience who has flipped positions twice this year.
What positions can't be explained by talent or youth or whatever… well, you know the story: Mouton and Ezeh. Wisconsin's passing game was almost exclusively zingers over the middle to incredibly open receivers 20 or even 30 yards downfield. On every damn one both MLBs were vastly out of position and the throws were easy. The pair was also very poor in run support: Graham and Martin combined for 21 tackles. They combined for eight!
These are returning starters and redshirt juniors. They have gotten so much worse this year, and it's obvious to everyone from Bret Bielema to stupid bloggers with charts. There is not quite enough data to outright support the ouster of a coach but I find it hard to believe that Jay Hopson could be any good. Maybe he just got stuck with mugs, but Jesus these guys can't even scrape to the right hole when Wisconsin is literally running the same play to different sides of the line four times in a row. Is this a defensive scheme change? I don't think so. Run to the damn hole.
The only possible mitigating factor is that maybe I'm not perceiving some errors by the defensive line that make it really difficult for guys to play linebacker. If one of the coaches who hangs around these parts thinks this is the case, please let me know and I'll post something about it. But I don't think that is.
Q: where were Leach and Fitzgerald? They busted a couple times against Purdue but good lord at some point I think you have to put them in just in case they do better. I thought they were okay.
Is Brandon Smith better than Mike Williams?
No. His contributions were on a couple of unblocked blitzes; he was very hesitant in the run game and often got blocked into the next county. He looked like a freshman in his first game in a new system, which he is. He's still got a lot of time to get better, but having Williams on the field was a necessary evil.
Is there anything we can take out of this for next year?
Well, Mike Martin probably turned in the best game of his career. He was in the backfield a ton, picking up a sack and a couple other TFLs amongst double-digit tackles, and nearly matched Graham's typically Graham-like performance. It's just one game and Martin fell off after a gangbusters first quarter, so it's possible that Wisconsin was just not prepared for his quickness, but if he can do something half (maybe two-thirds) as good against Ohio State that will be a step towards Martin turning into the death beast everyone thinks he can be and Michigan will need with Graham off to terrorize people in the NFL.
The rest? Bupkis.
Heroes?
Graham and Martin.
Goats?
MLBs. See above.
What does this mean for Ohio State and next year?
See above about Martin. For Ohio State: doom.
A lot of traffic will be hitting this site for a few days, especially tomorrow, so the OSU fraud brigade will be trying really hard to blend in as reasonable Michigan fans who want Coach Rod to leave. Their intent is to dissuade recruits, so generally they will know at least more than a recruit will about our history, what happened a few years ago, what happened under BO, etc.
Fraud, as you know if you are a law student or lawyer, is one of the hardest crimes to prove, but in the circles I run with, we believe it is one of the most depraved acts a human being can commit. Over the next few days, maybe wonder why someone would be calling for Coach Rod's head when you and me, as Michigan fans, just have butterflies in our stomach.
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
can be all that and a bag-o-chips next year, or we are in trouble defensively.
Do you guys remember that photo from the beginning of the season where Obi hurdled that Western guy... what a bust - i was so pumped for an awesome season out of him...
The AD is retiring. The President of the University has twice signalled her 100% confidence in RR. However, RR and his agent recently met with Ms. Coleman. There has been nothing but controversy since he took over. He broke with Michigan tradition by firing everyone but one coach, there has been nothing but unfavorable publicity, during the game the coaches look like a fight will break out amongst them at any minute, good players have transferred, the team has utterly collapsed in the second half of the last four games, his new systemsn (offense and defense) have created numerous self mistakes by the entire team, the rotation of players in and out of new positions makes your head spin, and the team seems utterly lacking in the self confidence needed to endure a bad game. In short, the head coach is the problem and is likely toast after the recruiting season.
...
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
Hey Old School...fuck you buddy. Fuck your fucking attitude and just please go dunk your fucking head in a fucking piss trough.
Also: fuck, you, and fuck you.
The Wolverine Liberation Army- saving Michigan fans one dick joke at a time.
There is bound to be attrition with a new coach, let alone a completely different system.
RR runs the defense? I thought it was the Defensive Coordinator's job to install a defensive system.
Your conclusion is baseless. RR is not gone until at least next season's end.
Also, you suck.
RR is not "toast after the recruiting season." IF UM is going to fire RR it is best to do it now or within the next week not in March. Can you imagine how many players from this recruiting class would transfer or sign elsewhere? At the very least, doing it within 2 weeks and having a replacement soon would allow us to recruit players to fill the recruiting class.
Either way Old Guard, RR is not going anywhere this year. You should jump aboard or get out of the way.
Those who stay will be champions!
Bump Elliott has mediocre teams for at least three years. In Bo's first year, he took those players and molded them into a team. He motivated, and he was a great leader. He beat what was then called Ohio States "team of the century." Now, after two years, we continue to break records, but at the wrong end of the scale, as in Michigan loses for the second year in a row to nobodies. I don't need to get on board the ghost ship, you need to get a dose of reality.
...
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
Seriously? The 1968 team went 8-2 with guys like Caldarazzo, Deirdorf, Craw, and Mandich. They had 7 All-Conference players. Does Michigan have anywhere close to 7 All-Conference players this year? or did they last year? Bo did not inherit a talent deficient team.
The point is that Bo knew how to mold a team, how to motivate guys, and was a great leader. Can't say that for the current coach.
This is generally close to what they say... A few of them make some decent points but they generally rely on any response at all.
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
your argument is an anachronism, please come back in 2 years when it may be relavant
Que sera sera
A winning record is not an anachronism.
,,,
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
And, your argument is not a winning record.
You sir do not know what you are talking about. Have you heard any players speak of RR? Have you heard RR himself? He knows how to coach and how to motivate players. These players go to bat for RR every week. They are out there playing their asses off and your sitting here criticizing the man that they play hard for.
Its not about RR! Its about the talent deficiency that Michigan is currently experiencing. RR will fix that given time.
Those who stay will be champions!
Regarding your first paragraph, is that why we have had unseemly rumors about the relationship between RR and Forcier, that they go to bat for him every week? Is that why RR has to explain away the rumors?
,,,
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
RR has to explain away the rumors because the media refuses to report facts and instead reports fictitious rumors it hears. And because of old asses like yourself who buy into them.
Those who stay will be champions!
I will end with it with it is Bo who came up with the slogan that you quote, "Those who stay will be champions," not RR.
Ok Guys, I hope anyone reading through this will remember to keep their eyes peeled and try to get a feel for when its just OSU on the other end.
Old school's responses reveal that he simply seeks to induce a reaction rather than try to reason or enlighten himself or others.
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
Listen I know who came up with the quote and any true Michigan fan loves and respects Bo. I cried when Bo passed away. I knew he was legend and unfortunately someone I never had the privilege of watching coach because I was too young.
I know this is tough. Hell its tough on all of us. However, RR needs full support to turn this around. Imagine if all this shit was not going on right now and everyone united around RR, what would happen? I promise things would be better and the ship would be righted much faster.
Michigan football is bigger than you or I, and even RR and Bo. What made Michigan great was not one man here or there but the unity of a great school and a great fanbase. To get back to "the Michigan Way" we must unite around RR and show him we support him. The more united we are the less rumors you will hear, I guarantee it.
Those who stay will be champions!
Just out of curiosity did you read anything I wrote besides get on board or get out of the way? My major beef with your post came with the timing of the fire.
Now with this current post you need to quit living in the past and look towards the future. Misopogon did some great diaries a while back explaining why we are where we are. Read through these:
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/decimated-defense
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/decimated-defense-part-ii-statisticating
The offense has been much improved from year 1 to year 2. The defense is the culprit. I would also argue that you comparing the transition from Elliot-Bo to Carr-RR is irrelevant. You cannot possibly make that case because the schemes for Elliot and Bo were very similar and the schemes from Carr to RR could not have been more different which makes this transition much tougher than the one you mentioned.
Those who stay will be champions!
They, why didn't RR stick with Carr's schemes?
Old School is an OSU fans guys, definitely far more clever than the normal lot... We'e going to smoke your team Saturday OSU fan!
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
Because they arent his schemes? Because he is coaching the schemes he knows? Because Carr's schemes are archaic and football is evolving?
Your argument shows your lack of football knowledge.
Those who stay will be champions!
Carr beat Florida. A national championship team. After two years, can you say that for RR?
Carr also lost to Appalachian State that same year. Can you say that for RR?
Moles typically will say things like this to illicit an obvious response from you guys, and he in turn will "win the argument" with a phrase like "but yeah, Carr had a winning record though"
OSU moles are here because they are secretly really, really threated by Rodriguez. They know he's intelligent and they know he can recruit speed that they won't be able to contend with. Take it as a positive sign, just realize them when you see them!
In Rod I Trust,
Because he did inherit a pile of rust
With instructions that read:
On 4th and 4 punt from the buck's 39
when 4 yards would give you a win for the times
You won't keep your job
Cause I kept mine
Carr beat Florida with Carr's players. RR does not have his players in place completely.
RR beat Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, and Georgia in bowl games. When was the last time Carr won a BCS bowl?
Those who stay will be champions!
Michigan actually scored MORE points in Big Ten games last year than they did this year. Michigan's "great" statistical progress on offense is a product of scoring 108 points on hapless Delaware State and Eastern Michigan. Michigan scored 66 points in non-conference games last year versus 177 points in non-con games this year. There hasn't been enough progress on either side of the ball.
We gotta turn the corner next year... please?
Go Blue
Caup those are good points. However, the offense that we see on the field has been noticeably better than the one we put out last year. The quarterback play is better and everything looks smoother.
I realize my argument is as subjective as it gets but thats the way I see the offense from yr 1 to yr 2.
Those who stay will be champions!
The offense is better. I was shocked to see those stats.
Go Blue
Our starting LBs are not freshmen. They are not sophomores. They are not walk-ons. They had the same coach last year. And yet they continue to be clueless liabilities.
Go Blue
After a lot of these depressing games I play a painful game of "could we have won" with myself. Against Iowa, MSU, Purdue and even Illinois I can see how a couple of plays could have resulted in a win and the difference between the misery we're living in now and some sort of feeling of content.
Obviously we know the margin for error is miniscule, so it would take a perfect game against a good team like WI. So what if we had a perfect game?
-- All of those blatant holding calls and the pick play would have been called in our favor.
-- We get a first down instead of missing a chip shot FG.
-- Either we block the punt or we at least get an extra possession that results in a score.
-- Warren makes a play on the one play where they truly tested him in man coverage for what seems like the first time since the Iowa game.
-- Forcier completes one of the three deep balls.
Even with all of that I don't think we win. WI was able to move the ball too easy. We forced two punts and two turnovers the entire day and one of those punts was erased on the penalty.
There are too many holes and now there is too much film out there on how to exploit them and the coaches don't have any tricks left to mask the issues.
AC-1997
I think Smith is best suited for Brown's role where he can take advantage of his physical abilities rather than worry about instincts and decision making as much.
As for Ezeh, I think you start the move to DE right now. Get him some snaps there in garbage time or something and play Fitzgerald or maybe Leach. I suspect he's lost right now. He's probably confused as to what to do and thinking way to much. On top of that he's probably terrified of making another mistake because he's sick of looking like an idiot in film study and as a 4th year junior. So instead of being instinctive and aggressive he's confused and afraid of screwing up. You can't fix that until the off-season. Put someone else in. Then move him to DE where he doesn't have to think as much and where we need bodies next year.
I know the last drive wasn't charted, but it would have been nice to know how Wisconsin could run 100% of the time against our 9-man front and march down the field like we were a JV team.
AC-1997
I watched the 97 Rose Bowl (or 98?) vs WSU on Big 10 Network. After the defense players profiles came up on the screen, I openly wept. That is all.
I want to see Kenny Demens and J.B Fitzgerald get a lot more playing time against Ohio State just so we can see what they can do. I know it is a lot to ask to play a lot for the first time against Ohio State but they couldn't possibly be any worse than Mouton or Ezeh could they?
It seems like we have a 40 yard soft spot in our zone and I will never understand how we can be beaten consistently by the exact same play time and time again.
in regard to the roughing the kicker call, I think it is best explained by the neo-classic television show theme song from the mid 80's, with a plot based around an all girls school run by a matronly red headed woman. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, UM Football 2009.
I really, really, really hate your avatar.
wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Does that mean the 2009 defense is cousin Geri?
In such a cynical, sarcastic society, oftentimes looking for the negative on anybody or anything, if you're fortunate enough to spend five minutes or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it.
-Thom Brennaman
Brian you forgot to address the roughing the punter later like you promised. I'll address it for you as I think I know what you were going to write as you are... um... I think sane. Feel free to clarify if you have a differing view.
When your defense blows and they actually get a stop, no one should rush the punter. Anyone within 20 yards of him should be taken off scholarship. The D has no depth and needs rest and time on the sidleines with coaches. We have the lead on the road with the ball and momentum, what in sam hell are we doing??. When you have a great d and little O or are behind and desperate that is when you rush the punter not then not ever for this defense.
Thanks
Fill in Brian
Are we that ready to condemn all of our players and not allow them to make plays? This is the same stuff I heard about the Zoltan run. Just because the coach calls a punt block does not mean that its his fault if his players fuck up and rough the punter. The coach should be able to make a call and expect his players not to do something stupid. When the player does something stupid, its the player's fault. Yes, Rodriguez could never allow his players any chance of making a play, but that isn't what he is like, and I don't want him to change.
Risk vs. reward, if we had gotten the block there (and it was close), it would have been a huge momentum builder. Smith took a bit too direct angle to the punter, otherwise we might've had another block and six points.
not just "douchey" MGoBlog user, but now TRUSTED MGoBlog user
Mouton and Ezeh live together, play next to each other and should have a good idea as to what is going on simply due to familiarity. You would talk it, live it and "know" where the other guy is from just being around each other so much. They look like the other just transferred from a different school and speaks a different language. With the obvious regression, I wonder if they have simply quit. Maybe Hopson has been bitter from not getting the DC job, maybe he is incompetent, maybe he is simply an ass. I have no idea, nothing else beyond a give up to get rid of him seems to explain our LBs anymore.
He left the game with some leg cramps. He was out for a good bit, with Kovacs, Smith, Floyd and Warren being the DBs. Maybe they didn't show the injury on the TV (I was in Madison at the game).
6-1ish and 240-250 lbs.
Or essentially a carbon copy of Ken Norton Jr. profile while LB at UCLA (1984-1987).
Markusr2007
http://www.maizenbrew.com/