Best and Worst: Maryland

Submitted by bronxblue on

I contemplated not even writing this edition of the diary.  Next week’s game is going to have way more meaning in terms of the end of a season, of a coaching staff, maybe of an era in Michigan football.  This was just one of many infuriating games played by Michigan in recent years, and distinguishing it from, say, Iowa or Nebraska last year is mostly in the eye of beholder. 

Worst:  Of Pigs and Lipstick

Ever since Michigan beat PSU and then started winning consecutive games for the first time this season (sigh), there was a growing contingent of Michigan fans who started to argue that if Brady Hoke finished the season “strong” (typically with a win at OSU, though a close loss in the same vein as last year might suffice), culminating in a bowl win on or before Christmas, his services should be retained as head coach for next year. 

The reasoning seemed to be three-fold: (1) there was no promise that Michigan would snag a top-flight replacement for Hoke (especially if a Harbaugh wasn’t in play), so why perform a lateral move (2) knowing very little about Hackett and Schlissel  except that the former is a “Brandon guy” and the latter isn’t much for sports, did it make sense to entrust them with such a major decision on a compressed timeframe, and (3) 7/8 wins (including an upset of a major rival)  were seen as some progress by the team and the staff, especially given the dearth of seniors on the team, and recruiting might pick up again with some certainty about the staff returning.  I might be missing some other tertiary arguments, but the gist seemed to be that unless Michigan could get a slam-dunk replacement, it didn’t make sense to go through another rebuilding with an imperfect selection. 

But the core of this argument was premised on the idea that Michigan would be showing meaningful improvement, and that’s the rub with this recent upswing: the team has played, and the staff has coached, just as shoddily as it had during the losses, only that the opposition somehow found ways to play even worse.  Earlier this year, Devin Funchess said that wins and losses are just a “statistic”, in a way restating the maxim that if you perform consistently and steadily improve, the wins will follow in the long term, even if in the short term you might lose a game or two due to the vagaries of life and the sport.  Well, the thing is that telling the difference between “bad luck” and “poor coaching” may be somewhat subjective, but if you keep having to divine the difference that is probably telling you something about the team.

Yes, there have been meager signs (mostly on defense, but also with the offensive line) that this program was playing better, especially given the fact that Indiana has since nearly upset PSU and held tough against OSU on the road, while Northwestern upset Notre Dame and then demolished Purdue to, improbably, set up for next week’s intra-state battle with the Illini as a battle of two teams playing for their bowl-game lives.  They weren’t dominating wins, but if you squinted you could see something faintly resembling progress and improvement, and maybe with a new QB and some healthy running backs next year Michigan might be on its way “back”. 

But all along, this team kept displaying the same numerous flaws that absolutely, positively shouldn’t be happening 50 games into a coach’s tenure.  The offense remains painfully predictable, to the point that pointing this out is equally reflexive.  The defense, while certainly the stronger unit during Hoke’s tenure, continues to play at a B+ level, seemingly never figuring out how to handle anything approaching tempo or a mobile QB.  Barring a Biakabutuka-esque performance against OSU, Michigan won’t have a running back break 600 yards total on the season, and for the second year in a row won’t have one even sniff 1,000 yards total.  Hell, Melvin Gordon and Tevin Coleman are going to significantly outrush this team as a whole, and that’s after dropping 292 yards rushing on Maryland in this game.  Devin Gardner went from pre-season All Big-10-ish player to a guy who’ll probably not throw for 10 TDs on the season, and one of the best runs of the year was a 52-yard run by a FB on a fake punt.  Timeouts continue to be called or saved without any regard for reality, and the team long ago ran out of feet to shoot with dumb penalties, incorrect number of players on the field, and turnovers.  Oh my gawd the turnovers, King.

This game had all of those failings on display live and in technicolor, so even if Michigan had somehow pulled off the win and gotten bowl eligible, there’s nothing resembling real, sustainable progress by this staff and how that has translated to the team.  A couple of ugly wins and the renewed potential for the team to scratch out bowl eligibility might have spackled over these cracks slightly, but this program remains a fundamentally flawed organization with a staff that seems unable to implement an holistic philosophy, or really any set of standards, necessary to win consistently.  That 11-2 season always felt like an aberration, but even moreso after watching this program devolve for the past 3 seasons.  It’s been an ugly downfall, and with this loss I have to think the end is near.

 

Best:  Keeping ‘Em Clean

Another week, another strong performance by the offensive line.  As noted above, Michigan put up 292 yards against Maryland on only 45 caries, which works out to a nice 6.5 ypc.  Of course, 52 of those yards came on Kerridge’s run in the first quarter, but even excising that you are still looking at 5.5 ypc.  Furthermore, TFLs were held to a minimum (6 total), with only 2 sacks allowed and Gardner seemingly being given ample running lanes to escape the pocket if necessary.  Gardner had his best game this season by far running the ball, averaging nearly 6 yards a carry and breaking out a couple of nice stutter-steps on Michigan’s lone TD drive.  Pass blocking held up, and though Gardner’s numbers were, again, pretty abysmal, they were not due to excessive pressure or a shrinking pocket.  So that’s nice, I guess.

The line is far from perfect, but it has displayed the type of gradual improvement you expect from young players getting accustomed to each other.  It lacks the certifiable NFL-quality stars we saw last year with Lewan and Schofield, but everyone should be back next year and there is solid depth behind them, so the next coaching staff will have more pieces to work with than Hoke had when he took over.

What is a bit sad is that had Gardner had this level of protection last year, I’m not sure the broken shell of a man we’ve seen this year exists.  He’d still make some bad decisions, but you can see him flinch and lose focus when the pocket even gets compressed slightly, and that seemingly is due in part to being under constant duress last year behind whatever that was in front of him in 2013.  Al Borges seemingly did him few favors these past couple of years in terms of coaching and development, but as we’ve seen this year at Penn State, any QB working under the constant threat of helmetical annihilation is going to play poorly.  It also gives me small hope that next year, Morris and the cadre of running backs will perform reasonably well when not matched up against the MSU’s of the world.

Best:  Going Out With a Bang

If this was Brady Hoke’s last home game as a Michigan head coach, he at least pulled out all the stops in trying to win it.  The fake punt was a great call, particularly given the fact Michigan was going for it on the previous 4th-and-1 before Smith’s false-start penalty drove them back 5 yards.  This being 2014 and Michigan being what they are, they settled for a FG attempt that was then blocked but ricocheted in, but at least it was an early attempt to “manufacture” points in a game that turned out to be a slog. 

I also thought Michigan’s decision to go for it on the two other 4th-down plays were the right calls, particularly the 4th-and-6 in the third quarter that might have warranted a penalty call.  And I suspect that had Michigan not given up an 11-yard sack on 3rd down from Maryland’s 5 yard line, they probably would have gone for the TD at that juncture as well.  At his best, Brady Hoke has always been a bit of a gambler, though he’s seemingly been less so this season.  Though it didn’t turn out to matter, it was at least refreshing to see him go back to those ways in this game.

Worst:  Not Every Atomic Dog Has His Day

All season it felt like Dennis Norfleet was one block, one crease away from taking a punt back for a score.  So there Michigan was, having recently taken the lead on Gardner’s nifty rushing TD and forced Maryland to punt.  The ball seemingly bounced harmlessly in front of Norfleet, and he seemed content to let the Terrapins down it.  Then, with a little shimmy, he picked the ball up on the bounce, jetted past a couple of flat-footed defenders, and shot past the punter for a TD and some much-needed breathing room.  It would be the play that broke Maryland’s back and help secure Michigan’s win.

But of course, that isn’t the fairy-tale ending to this game because this is 2014 and Michigan football has apparently done a Freaky Friday-style switch with mid-2000 MSU.  No, instead Michigan gets called for a dubious block-in-the-back penalty (seriously, it was basically a one-handed semi-shove on a guy barely on the screen), and gets booted off the field on 4th down.  Maryland then ties the game on the next drive and goes on to win. 

Norfleet will be a senior next year and (hopefully) will have a moment to shine, but this reversal was backbreaking in more ways than one.

Worst:  When There Isn’t Anything Else to Say

Man, I want to have a fresh take on Devin Gardner, but I’m not sure there is one anymore.  He barely threw for 100 yards, completed a shade over 50% of his throws, threw a tipped INT, and either threw just ahead/behind his receivers a half-dozen times or hit them right in the numbers just to see the ball get dropped.  It was a sad Senior Day but also a bit fitting given the year he’s had thus far.  It just stuns me that this Devin Gardner’s first home game as a starter was highlighted by this sequence:

And his final game in Ann Arbor didn't feature a completion longer than 23 yards, which practically qualifies as airing it out in this offense.  Let’s just move on.

Worst:  Catch the Damn Ball

What started off as basically Iowa last year has become a bit of an epidemic, especially recently with Devin Funchess.  There were absolutely a couple of balls that were too far ahead/behind him to be considered catchable, but for the umpteenth game this year Funchess dropped a couple of very catchable balls that could have extended drives or bailed out his QB.  I won’t recount every instance because, well, I still have a shred of humanity I’m trying to hold onto and I’m not inclined to rag on college kids too much, but suffice it to say that there were balls a purported first-rounder should have caught, and coupled with the anemic play-calling (we need to stop expecting the coaches to try to exploit any size advantages they may have with Funchess because if they aren’t going to throw a f*cking jump ball over a 5’ 7” guy, it ain’t going to happen ever), it’s been the opposite of the breakout year people expected. 

The rest of the WRs continue to be uninspiring, with Canteen dropping  a TD and nobody getting separation against one of the many “meh” secondaries in the conference.  I’m sure there will be improvement next year, but you got me stumped from where given what we’ve seen this year.

Meh:  Defense

I wish I could divine something greater here, but it was another okay performance that started off great but then faltered as the game progressed.  Michigan largely held Maryland in check in the first half, with a trio of FGs to show for their efforts, including one a short field following Gardner’s INT.  But in the second half, C. J. Brown just kept running the ball and Michigan consistently gave up the edge, and when Michigan tried to compensate he found receivers wide open for first downs.  Michigan seemed to have no counter to the most predictable playcalls in the world, and yet they were a questionable spot on a 3rd down and a busted coverage by Raymon Taylor away from keeping the game tied at the end. 

Bolden and Ryan were everywhere, and even without Clark in the lineup Michigan was able to get some pressure on Brown and slow down the running game for long stretches of the first half.  Maryland didn’t try to throw the ball much until late in the game, but Lewis seemed to be in decent coverage most of the night and Taylor had that one bust on a fake WR screen but nothing else that felt egregious.  Lewis’s big snafu was the running-into-the-kicker penalty that led to Maryland’s game-tying TD.  Now, I’m not sure if the coaches told Lewis to go for the block or he called that on his own, but the risk-reward for blocking a chip-shot FG attempt by one of the best kickers in the country seemed pretty high against, and it turned as 4-point Michigan lead into a tied game.  But given all of the bad decisions this year, it’s hard for me to drag up much more bile.

It’s a solid unit with inconsistent performances, coached by knowledgeable guys who seem unable to deal with a mobile QB or anyone who doesn’t respect the sanctity of the play clock.  Again, the next staff will find a lot of talent in the cupboard; hopefully they’ll get more out of it.

Worst:  Rivalry Week

Being a Michigan fan means I’ll be rooting for them to beat OSU, but as a human being who watches football, I don’t really see a way this isn’t doesn’t get ugly.  OSU isn’t a great team, and I think they’re much closer to the squad that struggled against PSU, Minny, and IU in recent weeks than the one that obliterated MSU a couple of weeks ago.  But they absolutely have the type of offense that can carve up Michigan, and no performance this year gives me any hope that Gardner and co. will be able to recreate last year’s fireworks.  It’ll be close for a bit because it’s a rivalry game, but it will be a miracle if Michigan can escape Columbus with a win. 

I will say, and not that the team should or would care, but I kinda hope the seemingly-annual pre-game fight at midfield doesn’t happen this year.  The last team this 5-6 squad needs is a meaningless “tough guy” stomping on the midfield logo or whatever usually sets this stuff off.  I’m sure it will happen, but when you’ve only beaten OSU 3 times since Y2K, it might be time to try something new.

Comments

Tater

November 23rd, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^

David Brandon caused all of this.  He fired Rich Rod when he could have easliy given him a portion of the million dollars he gave Mattison and allowed him to hire Jeff Casteel.  2011 would have been a special year instead of a good one.  Denard may very well have won a Heisman before it was all done.  Devin Gardner would have developed.  

Most of all, there is no way the team would be in this kind of condition now.  

Anyway, now that Brandon is gone, Hackett or a new AD can hire a high-quality coach again.  This time, though, he should get five years to prove himself.  Also, Brady Hoke has enough class to not encourage players to transfer when he is on his way out the door.   And while Hoke and this staff didn't develop players very well, there are still some high-quality jars of clay that the next coach can scuplt into a very good team as soon as next year. 

Hopefully, Michigan learns one huge lesson here: hire a great coach, get the fuck out of the way and give him the support he needs behind the scenes.  I guess that's three lessons, but you get the idea.

MMB 82

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^

You see a game plan that takes the opponent into account. You see talent being utilized to the best of their abilities. You see thoughtful adjustments to real-time events during the game. You see talent progressing, and progressing to levels that exceed original expectations. You don't see banging your head against the wall repeatedly trying to make something work that doesn't.

Is it too EFing much to ask that we have these same qualities in a football coach?

JohnnyV123

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^

Even if we had lost all the same games we did this year there could still be an argument for keeping a coach if the cupboard was bare, the players were extraordinarily young, injuries prevented a bunch of stars from playing etc......but when you keep making dumb dumb coaching decisions week after week that hurt the players you gotta go.

I can't believe I actually wanted Michigan to run the ball three straight downs sometimes this week just to throw Maryland off balance. You can do that when the running game is actually working!

You Only Live Twice

November 23rd, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^

Yeah I have some dread already.  "OH BOY" is right. (Also love the dog standing there while the frisbee falls to the ground).  I wondered if we'd get this diary today, thinking you might save your strength for next week.... so thanks for the Sunday recap, a nugget of enjoyment after another soul crushing Saturday.   Always love your writeups BBlue.

Thanks also for not trashing Devin, I've respectfully differed in your assessment of him in the past, reason being that the receivers are not doing their job.  I do feel badly for him and other senior talent on this roster.  It's always a bit depressing leaving the stadium after the last home game of the season but yesterday, just felt sick.   Said goodbye to a fellow season ticket holder and he said, "See you next year."  

Next year.....

 

 

In reply to by You Only Live Twice

bronxblue

November 23rd, 2014 at 2:55 PM ^

I try to not knock Gardner too much because I do agree that he's been let down by this receiving core at times, but he's just had a bad year in totality.  His play has been a step back from last year, and he's not being helped much by the guys around him.  I wish he had a better senior year, but he'll probably get a chance in the NFL and he'll graduate with two degrees from UM.  His life will be fine, even if this year was a tire fire.

klctlc

November 23rd, 2014 at 3:53 PM ^

This blog is awesome for so many reasons. But number one is how Brian, Ace, Bronx and many others sum up my feelings.  We have so many excellent writers to enjoy.  The perfect blend of info/recap mixed in with humor.

This year is a tire fire, but thank you so much for so eloquently summarizing my exact feelings.

You guys rock.

m1jjb00

November 23rd, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^

Best:

We crushed in the time of possession battle.

 

Worst:

We won the time of possesion battle and yet had the ball run down our throats at the end of the game.  What's the f' ing point  of dominating time of possession?  Maryland's first seven drives had a total of 34 plays for 133 yards.  The last three drives had 28 plays for 178 yards

 

bronxblue

November 23rd, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^

I think the defensive playcallling in the 4th quarter was inexplicable at times.  It was pretty clear that Brown was going to be running the ball most downs, and yet he was rarely running against stacked lines.  I'm sure there is something to it that will be teased out in the UFR, but at first blush it was hard to understand.

klctlc

November 23rd, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^

If there is a UFR, I will be real curious on Brians thoughts. It seemed like we played base D the entire last drive. Could be mattison's fear of his DB's getting torched, but seemed pretty obvious Maryland was going to run and we could not stop them.

jaspersail

November 25th, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^

To me the Michigan defense, especially the big men up front, looked fatigued in the 4th quarter. They were getting driven backwards in those last couple drives. It made it even more curious that Henry, Pipkins, Hurst, Poggi, or others didn't get some playing time (though injuries may have been a factor).

klctlc

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^

Saw the whole thing on you tube. Pretty interesting. The guy threw a green net over the guy in the dark jacket and then ran. It was for a candid camera.  Then the martial arts guy crushed him.  

Everytime I see things like this I try to remember when I get road rage.  There are badass dudes out there who can kill me with their pinky.  Need to remember I am a big pussy.

newtopos

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:39 PM ^

Utah beat Arizona in time of possession by five minutes.

Despite this, Arizona, using its backup QB for the second half, beat Utah on the road by over 30 points. (Another road win over a top 20 team.)

Hooray Neanderthal football!

bronxblue

November 23rd, 2014 at 9:24 PM ^

The passing game has absolutely been uninspiring, but the rushing game has been more consistent if nothing else.  I think the playcalling has been hurt somewhat by poor execution.  That line is hard to define, but Nuss has only been here for a couple of months, and given what we saw for YEARS under Hoke and Borges I have to think that we have an incomplete picture on Nussmeier's coaching abilities based on this season.

CompleteLunacy

November 24th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^

And yet...I can't help but look toward OSU, who had to suddenly break in a new QB, along with a bunhc of new linemen and a new RB....and then see what THEY were able to build. Yeah, they weren't ready for Va TEch early on, but they showed clear, significant progress to the point where they were able to torch an at least pretty darn good MSU defense and do enough to win against other Big Ten opponents.

So...I too hesitate about fully judging Nuss, but at the same time, WTF is going on with him?!? He has shown absolutely NOTHING resembling his past success. Oh sure, he built a respectable run game after last year's debacle...but that wasn't the sole point of bringing him in. The point was bringing in a guy who could build a consistent, coherent offense...and the one word to describe this year's offense is staggering inconsistency. They have taken a huge step back, and while some of it is on losing Gallon and having a surprisingly underwhelming core of WRs and RBs, at the same time you would think the guy could find SOMETHING successful out of that much talent. 

BroadShouldersBlue

November 25th, 2014 at 5:33 PM ^

This. I think it's too easy to lay the sludgefart that is our offense at Nuss' feet. Our running game is a lot better (does everybody just forget Borges calling iso after iso despite gaining no yards?), and I think overall the line has played better. Whether that's due to another year of experience or coaching, I don't know. What I do know is Devin Gardner is not that great of a QB, especially when forced to set his feet and chuck it. Nuss can't make Devin more accurate, or a better decision maker...especially considering that DG is already 5 years in. Basically, I'd be happy if he was retained as OC. Seems to have us moving in the right direction, and if given a somewhat competent QB for his system, I think we could put up some points.

bronxblue

November 24th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^

The problem with him at TE is he is just a terrible blocker, and while that can be patched over somewhat at WR, it will absolutely kill you at TE.  Heck, look at AJ Williams and his many issues blocking the past couple of years; he seems to be trying, but there have been a number of times a RB or Gardner has got blown up specifically because Williams just whiffed on a block.  So if you put Gardner there, you have an undersized TE who isn't particularly interested or good at blocking, and you are also taking the only (purported) deep threat out of some passing downs.  In a perfect world maybe the coaches would have made him a competent blocker, but that didn't happen and they needed those hands out there.

pavan.pk

November 25th, 2014 at 5:08 AM ^

I'm sure the actual protective playcallling inside 4th fraction seemed to be mysterious on occasion. It had been rather distinct that Brownish would possibly be jogging the actual soccer ball nearly all downs, and yet they seemed to be not often jogging next to piled traces.

 

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pavan.pk

November 25th, 2014 at 5:08 AM ^

I'm sure the actual protective playcallling inside 4th fraction seemed to be mysterious on occasion. It had been rather distinct that Brownish would possibly be jogging the actual soccer ball nearly all downs, and yet they seemed to be not often jogging next to piled traces.

 

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pavan.pk

November 25th, 2014 at 5:09 AM ^

I'm sure the actual protective playcallling inside 4th fraction seemed to be mysterious on occasion. It had been rather distinct that Brownish would possibly be jogging the actual soccer ball nearly all downs, and yet they seemed to be not often jogging next to piled traces.

 

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pavan.pk

November 25th, 2014 at 5:09 AM ^

I'm sure the actual protective playcallling inside 4th fraction seemed to be mysterious on occasion. It had been rather distinct that Brownish would possibly be jogging the actual soccer ball nearly all downs, and yet they seemed to be not often jogging next to piled traces.

 

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pavan.pk

November 25th, 2014 at 5:09 AM ^

I'm sure the actual protective playcallling inside 4th fraction seemed to be mysterious on occasion. It had been rather distinct that Brownish would possibly be jogging the actual soccer ball nearly all downs, and yet they seemed to be not often jogging next to piled traces.

 

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terpsnc

November 26th, 2014 at 11:58 PM ^

I love Michigan. My dad got a Master's there in the 60's and I still have a ratty little UM T-shirt the size of a small dog's apparel. But I became hooked on MD basketball under Lefty Driesell and was a diehard supporter growing up in the 70's, which bled over into football, even though I ended up going to a DIII school in OH. I will always have an admiration for the Big Ten but we are serious about doing serious damage to your idea of how to play basketball. That ploddiing Midwest, Hoosier-type stuff simply will not carry the day against the talent of Baltimore and DC youngsters.  Works somewaht in football but heck even there we did a lot better than I expected our first year. After our destruction of Iowa State the other night, I am feeling very confident. I could be wrong but I am looking forward to this inaugural season of MD in the Big Ten. We are coming.  Fear the Turtle!