This Week's Obsession: Roster Stock Watch
Alex Cook: UP: Watching the game live, I thought Chris Wormley stood out to me far more than I'd expected: even with the loss of Bryan Mone, the defensive line was projected to be a strength, but I was surprised to see that Wormley was often leading the charge and anchoring a stout run defense. With Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison's history of coaching up defensive linemen -- as well as their tendency to rotate them in and out of the game -- it was easy to figure that there could be a breakout star in that group. Preseason predictions were often in favor of Willie Henry becoming that guy, but Wormley is definitely a contender to really shine under Durkin this year.
DOWN: A lot of national attention focused on Jake Rudock's three interceptions (and rightfully so, as the pick-six wound up eventually becoming the margin of victory), but the run game was the big disappointment of the evening. Even though the offensive line held up fine in pass protection, Michigan's inability to run the ball was a problem that can't really be pinned on one guy. Maybe Utah's front is really good. In any case, I thought De'Veon Smith didn't play as well as I'd hoped. After seizing the job in practice, he got the lion's share of touches, but didn't make the most of them. It was going to be hard sledding with the OL playing like it did, but Smith didn't help himself out as much as he could've, in my opinion.
[After the jump: everyone agrees with Ace]
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Ace: UP: Wormley is already Alex's answer and is likely the first choice for all of us. I'll flip to the other side of the ball and go with Amara Darboh. He consistently got open, did nice work on those screens—though Utah defended them poorly—and generally looked like a guy you can win with as your top outside receiver. Darboh isn't going to be a game-breaker but if Jake Butt keeps playing like he did against Utah and Jehu Chesson can stretch defenses he's going to catch a lot of passes. While Darboh had a couple less-than-ideal moments, namely the overturned third-down catch and the failure to get a first down on the screen before the stuffed QB sneak, he impressed me more than I thought he would.
DOWN: Ben Braden simply wasn't good. I don't know how else to say it. The failed QB sneak was 100% on him for getting blown back directly into Jake Rudock's leg. He missed blocks in the run game, had a hard time staying engaged with defenders, and allowed more pressure in pass protection than any other O-lineman—that's rare in a bad way for an interior guy. It'll be interesting to see how short a leash he has with David Dawson waiting on the bench; if Braden's performance doesn't improve dramatically, the lack of a lineup change is going to start indicating not-so-good things about Dawson, too.
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Seth: UP: Blake O'Neill! Yes we talked about his shtick at Weber State where he would stand back there until his gunners were ready to fair catch on the 2, but also predicted it wouldn't work versus Power 5 school rushers. It worked:
via Ace
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
DOWN: Hard to argue Braden but I'm surprised nobody yet mentioned Drake Harris after all the "I want to believe" stuff. We were supposed to be skeptical of flying, functional hamstrings, but I was disappointed to see Harris got zero targets. Usually when the camera caught his route Harris was well-, but single(!)-covered. Brian's made it clear by now he wishes Rudock would start throwing some more "go get that" balls to his receivers, and Drake Harris's scouting report says that's his game. I'd like to see at least one jump ball per half sent his way. Put a few leaping grabs on film and the cornerbacks will start playing him in the parking lot.
Also Logan Tuley-Tillman came out flat when Michigan tried its six-OL thing with LTT at LT. The play immediately before the first interception was an ISO that could have bounced to the backside except...
Whiff! That guy stopped Smith for no gain and rose the crowd noise perceptively, perhaps contributing to the Perry brain fart. Michigan shelved this afterwards and tried to roll with A.J. Williams.
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Adam: UP: Jake Butt, which is a little weird coming from the guy who drafted him a mile ahead of all other TEs in this year's Draftageddon. I forced myself to temper my expectations for the first game; I would have been happy with four or five catches for 50 yards. For Butt to play like a Mackey finalist in week one has bumped up my timeline for heightened expectations by about four weeks. He was open with tantalizing frequency, and when he wasn't he showed he's got the leapt/catchy thing down pat. It seems that the sky's the limit for him.
DOWN: Getting mentioned unprompted by Jim Harbaugh in a press conference means somebody either did something really, really good or really, really bad; for the guards it was the latter. Ace already detailed the numerous problems Ben Braden had, but Kyle Kalis wasn't without fault either. He seemed to have an especially difficult time blocking Power. Harbaugh talked about how the guards need to improve their pad level and then mentioned a time where one was lifted off the ground.
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| Peppers merely looked like an All American. When will the Heisman version appear? [Fuller] |
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Dave: If you read TWO last week, it did not go so well for me...so:
DOWN: Jabrill Peppers. Yeah, yeah, he blew up a number of screens and had a few nice hits. Wooo. And a nice kick return, too, I suppose. But it only went like 36 yards. And that was out of the endzone. Michigan has had good kick returns before, right? This guy was one of the top recruits in the country two years ago. And he's in his second year now. Redshirt, yeah, yeah, yeah...still! I was expecting some really big things like actually intercepting the ball. Or like flying through the air to make plays. He got burned on a couple of routes and committed a pass interference penalty! Sure, sure, he made a couple of all right sticks on Booker, etc. Whatever, I guess I was just expecting more. Also, Jourdan Lewis dropping an interception? C'mon!
UP: ALL OF OHIO STATE. Count me for #TeamTHEACEhioState They are so good! The Buckeyes can line up four different guys in the shotgun and all of them can take it to the house on almost every play! Cardale got hit, threw the ball, and then threw the blitzer off of him. Holy crap! Also, they're getting multiple starters back from suspension, so they'll only get deeper at the weakest positions...like they have any! And did you see the %chance to win graphic posted during the game? OSU should win every game super easily. Will anyone even touch them? Maybe one of the team from the state of Michigan? I don't know, man. I'd bet they give up very few points for the rest of the season and score tons! Possibly even send two...no, three! guys to New York for the Heisman Presentation!
September 9th, 2015 at 10:14 AM ^
That punt was a damn thing of beauty. Baxter and O'Neil making an immediate impact. If we can pin people down there consistently it will win us a game or two.
September 9th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^
I saw that thing and just chuckled. Was pretty impressive.
September 9th, 2015 at 12:52 PM ^
When I first saw him in the backfield waiting I thought it was a fake or he just got cold feet or something. Then I see the group around the 15 and go "oh I guess he did punt it" and then I see our two guys at the two and one of them is holding the ball. I spit my beer out. :mindblown:
September 9th, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
Was it a Foster's?
September 10th, 2015 at 7:04 AM ^
haha I wish it was. It was a sam adam's octoberfest.
September 10th, 2015 at 12:55 AM ^
He's not afraid of anybody rushing the punt. He'll go Ausie Rules on their ass. He's spent his whole life kicking on the run.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:17 AM ^
Anyone else find it puzzling that Sam n co thought Smith was going to be the #1 RB throughout the year yesterday?
I really think Isaac and Johnson will challenge him for that spot.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:21 AM ^
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September 9th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
Who do you go with in short yardage situations?
The knee-jerk answer is Smith with his obvious "COME AT ME BRO" balance -- he's just really hard to bring down, and is good for 2-3 YAC. In terms of style he's a HARBAUGH back. But he also tends to run right by holes, which means his CAMB balance tends to get engaged about 2-3 yards behind the LoS. The 4th-and-1 stuff was not an anomaly.
Johnson, if/when healthy, is the clear contender for every-down back. If there's even a sliver of a seam he'll find it and blast through it, which makes the most of the OL's work and I think it won't take long for Harbaugh to notice. But as far as RBs go he's a cannon-fired feather -- he can't scurry away from trouble and can get blown backwards by contact. He's really not a good choice against a stacked box on 3rd-and-short.
Isaac has the best hands, a huge asset for 3rd down versatility, but in the Utah game he didn't really impress in terms of required RB qualities like vision, balance or burst, hence why Smith got most of the touches. Haven't seen much, but so far he's more like a possession receiver trapped in the body of a RB.
Green has the most promise in terms of raw athletic ability, but his chances are fading fast.
Smith's balance, Johnson's vision, Isaac's receiving or Green's potential? All of these guys are valuable in their own ways, but none of them are that guy who'll get you that yard when you absolutely need it.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
I am not sure where all the Isaac love is coming from other than "the guy on the bench is always better than the guy we see on the field". He looked very average in speed for a "track guy". And I believe it's well documented he screwed up on a pass protect that nearly got Rudock blown up. I thought he'd be faster. Difficult to tell his vision as he had limited touches but the coaches see him every day and if he is not starting due to pass protect that is one thing but if its because he is less of a runner than Smith well that just says a lot about the state of our RBs.
What promise did you see in Green? When he gets to the 2nd level untouched vs App State he looks great. When he has to run through a tackle he falls down almost every time. Which is the reality behind this OL when we play non UNLV.
Green ave 8+ vs App St and Miami and 3ish vs everyone else. Some people seem to be projecting what he did vs tomato cans onto P5 teams. He was ok v Utah and Rutgers and horrid v Minn and Notre Dame. He lacks the ability to break the first tackle and usually an arm tackle can bring him down - awful traits behind this OL. His vision - while improved last year from 2013 - was not great either. Give him a 5 yard hole and he looks good - as does almost any Div 1 RB.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:50 AM ^
Potential, not promise. The potential mainly comes from the fact that he's big and fast. Genetically, it's really darn hard to be both big and fast, and he's a good combination of both. He abused the heck out of HS competition with that, but as we see, "big and fast" alone doesn't get you far at this level. He's got the look of an NFL back (there's a reason he was a five-star), but he is a LONG way from being a quality FBS back. He's lacking in just about every other category, and it's looking increasingly doubtful his issues are fixable.
But for the sake of argument, if we can believe he can be straightened out, he has the highest ceiling. He's just working from a stunningly low floor.
September 9th, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
Our RBs, as a whole have a glaring weakness and that is lack of vision. De'veon runs hard no doubt about it. He is one tough customer and that is why he is the starter because all three lack vision and obviosuly, after watching the other two, as a coach, it would be a non brainer for me also to have selected him. As to Ty, I didnt see anything suggesting to me he was a track guy. When he hit the edge, especially given hi size, he did so tentatively and I saw nothing that suggests other than mediocre fast twitch muscles.
September 9th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
Well the Isaac "love" comes because "very average in speed" looks really good right now. Love Smith's effort and toughness but we really need someone that can get to the holes with some level of speed right now. Average would be awesome right now. Let's hope that Isaac's protection mistakes can be corrected.
September 9th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
yep the isaac love seems to be a combo of his 5 star hs ranking, the fact hes faster than smith, and the promise typically associated with backups / transfers yet to see real time.
not saying isaac does not deserve some of the love, but hes also not the type of back thatll start exploiting small creases and housing it from 50 yards out. while i dont see that type of explosiveness on this roster (unless johnson comes back and seriously builds on small sample size or they find someone on D to carry the rock), isaac might be a refreshing option since its pretty obvious what green and smith offer at this point
September 9th, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
comes directly from watching him run for nearly 400 yards in the state title game. One of my college teammates played defensive tackle for Montini, the team that won 70-45 and he said Isaac was absolutely insane (In a game where Jordan Westerkamp had nearly 300 recieving yards) . I know it doesnt always translate but it was the type of performance that makes you fall in love.
September 10th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^
I'm the driver of the Johnson hype bus, but even I will say he is not an every down back. It will be some combination of him and Smith, with some Ty thrown in. Green will get some cameo apperances, but won't get regular carries.
If we could mutate them all into a single back, we'd be good to go. But we only have the fragments to work with. We R who we R.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^
Sam and Tyrone Wheatley are BFFs. So... I'd take Sam's word as pretty reliable when it comes to that position group.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
I am still going to ask Fred Jackson on what he thinks.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
I think people need to pump the brakes on Johnson. He's coming off his 2nd ACL tear on his same knee and just got cleared for contact. If he contributes at all this year it'll be a bonus. Going from zero to bell cow in a couple months is asking a lot.
September 10th, 2015 at 1:07 AM ^
I'm not concerned about his effectiveness coming off injury, he did it last year quite well. I'm concerned about re-injury. Another injury like his last two and he'll likely have to hang it up. We may not see him until BYU or Maryland.
September 9th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
I guess this as good a place as any to go on record and take my lumps...
I think Smith is the guy, with Isaac mixed in (pretty much what got week one). I also think the results will improve going forward.
I think there's a ton of misplaced hope in Drake and there was a lot of "right time, right place" involved in his success last year. Add in another injury to come back from...
If I'm wrong?... Wonderful!
September 9th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
So far smith has had great ball security in traffic. At minimum, falling forward, making blacks in pass pro, and ball security, I will take. Hopefully we get a little better vision and some longer runs.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
It is hard to judge a RB fairly when he is running behind such piss poor run blocking. Yes, he missed a few (small) holes, but on balance, he had little room to run and was often being met at the LOS. On reflection, he ran hard, generally fell forward and blocked well. He doesn't yet look like a game breaker or even a mike hart back that can carry a team, but he may be better than he showed in game 1.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
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September 9th, 2015 at 10:49 AM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
He has one above average attribute: breaking tackles/running tough. IMO - that is more than negated by his lack of vision, burst, cutting ability and top end speed all of which seem below average for a Michigan back. He's goes through the hole in slow motion and, while the line play was poor, he definitiely left yards on the field when plays were blocked well. I'm sure we'll see that in the UFR. That's not to say he's not the most effective back we have right now. It's disapointing...I was psyched for Isaac to be a feature back. Hopefully, he gets it going and hopefully Smith can at least be taught where the holes likely to be, even if he's not an instinctive runner.
September 9th, 2015 at 12:32 PM ^
Good blocking may make him able to gain a bunch of yards... that 100 other guys in college could gain with the same blocking.
Good blocking will not make him a good back. It might make him a more successful back.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
but seemingly prefers to try and run someone over vs cutting to daylight. Mike Hart would often put his hand on the blocking lineman and just churn up yard after yard. Deveon just doesn't have that instinct.
I also agree - when Drake returns he will be more productive than Smith. I also think Issac looks to be running to daylight .... looking forward to the Home opener !
Go Blue!
September 9th, 2015 at 10:32 AM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 10:49 AM ^
I need to see some pancake blocks from Cole. It's great that he has pretty footwork, but eventually you got out muscle the guy across from you.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^
it's all about position blocking and being able to sustain blocks. That's a better measure of success than pancake or knockdown blocks.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
On the 4th and 1 where Smith missed the outside bounce, he caved his guy through the entire left side of the line. In fact that may have caused some confusion, because it distorted the look of the line. If Kalis was supposed to pick up one of those gap-shooting LB's, he may have been confused because his normal "landmark", Cole's body, was stuffing his man into Glasgow's pockets. It may have even opened up more of a lane there for the LBs to run through.
But I agree he didn't have a great game. Magnuson played well, but we was bulled back on several pass rush attempts. The no sacks thing is a bit of a mirage - Rudock avoided several of them, and quick passes limited others. They're better, but it's going to be a problem this year if they don't improve.
September 9th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
There were unfortunately a lot of candidates for stock down. Cole was one of them, especially when he looked lost downfield early and getting blown back on a tackle-over power run that sparked a twitter war when Nick Baumgardner tried to be an analyst (what really happened: Cole got chucked into the B gap to ruin Plan A but Braden could have adjusted to that and didn't, and Smith didn't see Plan B anyway).
I don't want to get too down on the guy though because most FOUR YEAR STARTERS were not even playing yet at this point in their careers.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 10:41 AM ^
Beat the dead horse! Not sure why, but all of these highly rated O-line guys are not good!
Not sure IF we can score enough points to beat good teams this year? I know Utah's defense was tough, but I am hoping for a little imagination in the offense. Please.
I know... patience....Harbaugh!
7 year itch!
September 9th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 11:03 AM ^
IKR... I think Dave is just Ramsey in disguise. Nice try osu troll!
September 9th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
Gotta drive up those metadata numbers.
Either that or someone mixed his meds.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
who is Dave? I'll be honest I don't enjoy his writing style. It reads like a comment board troll on Bleacherreport.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
David is one of the biggest Michigan fans I know. He is in no way an Ohio St troll. He just tries to stand out from the crowd by doing TWO a little differently. If some people on here would lighten up and have a sense of humor, they could appreciate it more instead of automatically looking to degrade it.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
It's really hard to pull off humor and sarcasm, especially when writing it. I'm all about lightening up and having a sense of humor, but he needs a few more at-bats at it. This one just didn't quite work out.
September 9th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
September 9th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
Read his opening comments again: he was all wrong last week, so ...
I say well played, Dave, well played
September 9th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
Not sure exactly what I expected of him, but protecting the football was one thing. Quibble about what % of fault was his on each, but that performance was below expectations. Hoping for better execution over the next few games before we get into conference season.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
I know I know. Super creative.
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September 9th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
Dymonte's finally contributing at safety, and it took him a long time to get there (and still a work in progress really). They probably don't want to put more on his plate to be a two-way player. They definitely don't want to lose the depth with a full time move.
September 9th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
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