Upon Further Review: EMU Defense Comment Count

Brian
1 10 O20 Pass 22 Not a good start. No pressure on a 4 man rush and the zone has a big hole in it.
1 10 O42 Pass 5 Three step drop and fire. Note: everyone on the EMU OL chops. No batted pass.
2 5 O47 Pass Inc Nice play by Harris(+1), Woodley(+1) gets pressure on a three man rush.
3 5 O47 Pass Inc Another blitz from Hall, who's lined up as a linebacker. Nice call from Herrmann to pull Burgess into a short zone from a three point stance, which confused Bohnet.
Drive Notes: The three man rush rears its ugly head again, but we actually get a play from someone in zone coverage.
1 10 O45 Pass Inc Again the chop and fire. Bohnet just throws it low.
2 10 O45 Run 4 QB draw. Nice play by Woodley(+1) to come back and make the tackle.
3 6 O49 Pass Inc Another three man rush. The EMU guy dropped it, but Harris(+1) was in good position and very close to making a play.
Drive Notes: Largely EMU screwups this time.
1 10 O20 Run 0 Burgess(+2) fights off a block and buries the RB. Nice play.
2 10 O20 Pass Inc Harris(+2) reads the QB, breaks on the ball, and deflects the pass.
3 10 O20 Pass Sack, -10 Branch(+2) is in the backfield instantly, allowing Woodley(+1) to come off his block and make the sack.
Drive Notes: Three nice plays. Branch has been our best DT so far this year. He has the power to hold up in the run game and the quickness to get penetration and rush the passer. It's just EMU, but this drive (or lack thereof) is sweet.
1 10 O17 Run 3 Burgess(-1) misses a tackle that would have kept it to 0, Harris(+1) reads and sheds to make the tackle at 3.
2 7 O20 Pass 5 More of this short yardage stuff. If it was a five or seven step drop Biggs(+1) was going to sack Bohnet, though.
3 2 O25 Pass 1 Woodley(+2) stays home on the tricky shovel pass thing that used to kill us. Nice.
Drive Notes: OMG lane responsibility. Continued good play. Just... Eastern... not... excited.
1 10 O19 Run 0 QB keeper on the offtackle counter option a lot of spread teams run. Burgess(+1) makes the tackle but it's because Engelmon(+1) came up and had good contain.
2 10 O19 Pass Inc WR was open but Bohnet shortarms it.
3 10 O19 Pass Scramble, 3 Another three man rush. Bohnet just takes off even though there isn't much pressure.
Drive Notes: Nice play on first down by Engelmon (OMG CONTAIN) but the other two plays are just EMU screwups.
1 10 O20 Run 2 New QB. Is it a rule that when you put your black QB in the first play he has to run is a draw? Football is racist. Engelmon makes the tackle. HUGS ENGELMON.
2 8 O22 Pass Inc Counter option with a pass attached that's dropped after being thrown too hard. Probably goes for 5 if it's caught.
3 8 O22 Pass Scramble, 5 Graham(+1) comes up and prevents the first down.
Drive Notes: Someone describe a difference between this guy and Troy Smith. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
1 10 O16 Pass 0 Screen to the French guy, who surrenders to Burgess and Mason. Ha! I kill me!
2 10 O16 Pass 19 Same thing as the first play of the game. Bohnet has time and fires between levels in the zone.
1 10 O35 Run 1 Watson(+2) is in and crushes his man into the backfield, disrupts the hole, allows the linebackers to slice up, and then assists on the tackle. Same page!
2 9 O36 Pass 33 Fluketasm where Bonhet just heaves up a prayer which is answered. Crable(+1) gets a really nice pass rush but fails to make the sack.
1 10 M31 Pass Inc Bohnet throws this out of bounds, probably because Jamar Adams(+1) jumped the route and throwing to the receiver would be unwise.
2 10 M31 Pass Int Bohnet badly overthrows his man. Trent makes a nice play to come off his man and make the pick.
Drive Notes: The closest thing to a drive EMU mounts until the second/third stringers are in, and it's one nice play and one ball that was just heaved in to the sky.
1 10 O27 Pass Inc Three man rush. Branch actually gets some pressure after a bit but can't make the sack. Bohnet just launches it downfield.
2 10 O27 Pass Inc Inaccurate pass underneath prevent coverage (it's just before halftime).
3 10 O27 Run 3 Sarcastic bastard screams key play, key play into the sideline mic (It is also 38-0 or something now).
Drive Notes: Halftime.
1 10 O19 Run 3 Biggs(+1) holds the corner and makes the tackle.
2 7 O22 Run 5 Draw. Watson(+1) holds his ground on a double team and slows up the RB a little bit, but can't make the tackle, and there's no one to fill the hole.
3 2 O27 Pass 3 Mason(+1) reads the short pass in the flat well and prevents any YAC but EMU squeaks the first down out anyway.
1 10 O30 Run -2 Watson(+1) holds the point and when the RB bounces it outside Biggs(+1) disengages and makes the TFL.
2 12 O28 Pass 7 Three step drop and a slant with the corners playing off.
3 5 O35 Pass 7 Another three man rush/soft zone combination.
1 10 O42 Pass 9 Jailbreak screen that Harrison(-1) and Thompson(-1) don't read very well.. I think.
2 2 M49 Run 4 Dunno. Again a replay obliterates the live action.
1 10 M45 Pass Inc Thompson(+1) has good zone coverage and forces the drop.
2 10 M45 Pass 11 A lot of time for Bohnet and he hits an outlet on the sideline, and Lloyd is PISSED at someone? Hood(-1) I think for a really weak tackle.
1 10 M34 Run -1 Branch(+1) drives his man in the backfield, fouling the play up, and Woods(+1) shucks his guy at the line and cleans up the mess.
2 11 M35 Penalty -10 Holding drawn by Jamison(+1), who beat the tackle around the end. I think this is his first play.
2 21 M45 Pass 1 Little dumpoff pass for a yard. Note: Jamison gets chipped by the RB.
3 20 M44 Pass Inc Crable's just unblocked and forces Bohnet to throw it away.
Drive Notes: Something resembling a drive here with the help of a lot of NIU-ish passive zone. A lot of plusses and few negatives because it's hard to really blame anyone in specific for those things.
1 10 O20 Run -3 Jamison(+2) shoves his man three yards into the backfield and into the RB, Thompson(+1) cleans up.
2 13 O23 Pass Inc EMU QB#2 floats it way up high and lets Harrison get there and nail the exposed WR.
3 13 O23 Pass Inc Nowhere near the receiver here.
Drive Notes: A tantalizing glimpse into the possibilities of Jamison.
1 10 O20 Pass -2 Screen to some dude but Hood is in press coverage. Uh.
2 12 O18 Run 12 QB draw.
1 10 O30 Run 2 Spread counter option but the QB falls down. Probably would have gone for a few. Walton bit hard.
2 8 O32 Pass Sack, -6 Dude, Jamison(+2) you kick ass, and then immediately reach for your shoulder.
3 14 O26 Pass 3 Another screen.
Drive Notes: Yes, the only reason I watched this thing was for the Jami-sack.




Same question: does it mean anything?



It means more than the offensive performance, I think. Eastern had a pretty decent offense last year (21st nationally, albeit against the MAC and its matador defenses), had a returning quarterback, and were totally shut down by the Michigan defense. Eastern mounted two drives the entire game, one of which consisted of a good pass and a back-foot prayer. The other didn't even result in a field goal attempt.



The yardage numbers are slightly flattering--that disastrous punt snap ended up a 30-ish yard loss, but the defense held EMU under 200 yards and shut them out--they couldn't have performed any better. It is just Eastern, but it's a start.



Any new faces stand out?



Obviously Tim Jamison had an impressive debut (sort of... he did play a little bit his first couple of games as a freshman), drawing a holding call on what I believe was his first play of the season and notching a QED, MFer-type sack. Also of note was a running play where he drove his man into the backfield a la Watson. His shoulder's clearly still bothering him so he might not see a ton of playing time the next couple weeks, but it seems likely he'll be a contributor by midseason.



Morgan Trent has solidified the nickel spot and made a nice play on the interception. Not amazing, but efficient. Brandon Harrison also closed nicely on an overthrown ball and laid a lick on an Eagle wideout.



Give me that sweet table loving.



Note: the scale increased this week, and that combined with the dominating performance means the numbers got very high relative to last week. Comparisons between the two are probably not valid. Better to note who didn't make an impact.




Player + - T Notes
Woodley 5 - 5 Again didn't really show up on the stat sheet much, but didn't play much.
Woods 1 - 1  
Biggs 3 - 3 Coming around on Biggs. He was overmatched at times against ND but has made plays the last two weeks.
Massey - - - Invisible.
Watson 3 - 3 Get on the same page, I beg.
Crable 1 - 1 Could have had a couple sacks if he would slow down a tiny bit.
Jamison 5 - 5 Impressve debut. If he can duplicate it against UW, get excited.
Branch 3 - 3 Now a starter. Deserves it.
Burgess 3 1 2  
Thompson 1 1 0  
Harris 5 - 5 Reading and reacting in the short zone.
Graham 1 1 0 Didn't really do much.
Mason 1 - 1  
Hall - - -  
Engelmon 1 - 1 Another solid outing.
Trent 1 1 0 Has responded when called on so far.
Adams 1 1 0 Played a lot as a nickel back over the slot receiver. Looks more like a linebacker than a safety.
Hood - 1 -1 Got chewed out by Carr with his team up 40 or 50--an accomplishment.
Harrison - 1 -1 -1 might be harsh.




What does it mean for Wisconsin?



Not sure. I'm very happy to see Branch listed as a starter. He's a star in the making. Burgess and Harris are playing well, the safeties are settling in, and the cornerbacks are at least three deep. I think the best DL for Wisconsin probably looks something like Massey-Branch-Watson-Woodley. Massey played DE in the 3-4 last year when the interior run defense was great, Watson may have motivation issues but is still like 600 pounds, and Branch and Woodley are just plain good. I'm optimistic that Calhoun will find the going tough on Saturday.