Highlights From Tony Gerdeman's Podcast (Aired Before Michigan Monday)
Lots of interesting takes:
Michigan is a very interesting team right now
Aiden Hutchinson is a beast and causing havoc. OSU doesn't have anyone on their defense that compares to him right now.
If they were betting on the game right now, they woul bet the over. OSU can't stop the run, but it remains to be seen if Michigan can throw the ball
Harbaugh is being more aggressive than he has been
Harbaugh might finally have the offense he has been wanting at Michigan
MOD EDIT - Changing title to be SLIGHTLY more informative and concise. SLIGHTLY. Also, a bit less confrontational. - LSA
September 13th, 2021 at 11:22 AM ^
I would agree with all the above. I said I'd wait until Wisconsin to buy into this team, but I think I'm ready to buy into the hype, at least partially. It still worries me about the passing game, will they be able to successfully when it matters and the running game isn't working? Outside that, I am pleasantly surprised and liking it.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:32 AM ^
My biggest concerns right now
1. Health of both running backs - its still early and they have a lot of touches already. I just dont think that type of workload is sustainable all season long? I have no data to back up my hot take
2. Defense - yes they dominated, but once the tempo picked up they started giving up chunks of yardage. Maybe they moved to more of a prevent in the second half, I cannot remember.
That being said - this team seems different. You see guys hyping each other up, coaching their teammates, celebrating....none of the standing around and pouting BS you saw from a few last year.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
Biggest concern for me would be the opposing team putting 8-9 in the box and a stubborn UM offense running the ball anyway.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
Why don't we wait until that actually happens before getting all worked up about it?
September 13th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
We have quite a bit of evidence the wait won't be very long. Every season there's some reasonable sounding excuse why we can't throw the ball...until there isn't.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
My biggest concern is aliens packing uzi machine guns and demanding that I smoke them the perfect brisket. They know that I don't have the patience for that.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:55 AM ^
Wouldn't aliens have more sophisticated weapons, and hopefully a gadget that shortens the amount of time needed for smoking meats?
September 13th, 2021 at 1:49 PM ^
Whoa there IDevon1. You can’t hurry a brisket! It’s LOW and SLOW all day long!
September 13th, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
Yea that may be a future concern but that didn't happen on Saturday night. For the most part UW had 7 in the box with an very deep safety and they were flying people to the edges to keep contain. Their game plan seemed to be to force us to run it between the tackles and into their mammoth D tackles. We obliged and paved them like a road. They never really adjusted so neither did we.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
100% correct. The coaches call the game to WIN the game.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^
Im not sure we should be super concerned about the health of the RBs. They should average about 15-20 carries each and that’s not an outrageous number. If there was only one of them carrying it 30+ a game, then yes. Of course injuries can happen but I think having 2 “main guys” is ideal.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
A true answer - thanks
September 13th, 2021 at 11:56 AM ^
If your are a person concerned about injuries that "may" happen, you really can't enjoy football.
September 13th, 2021 at 1:28 PM ^
Well you're gonna see Edwards play the entire second half, and maybe Dunlap too. I just hope Corum has a few TDs before they pull him. I want real All American consideration here. Good exposure for the program.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
They're splitting carries between two players. Both are averaging under 20 carries per game. Pretty weird that you're mentioning workload honestly.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:52 AM ^
Hart used to carry the ball 30-40 times a game, pretty often.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:40 AM ^
Is the workload that crazy? Haskins is avg 20/game. Corum is 17.5. I don’t have a frame of reference but when you are up as we were, RB are going to accumulate carries. Edwards should get more next week.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
You always see players excited when they win. It’s how the react when they’re losing that matters.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:39 AM ^
I'm still waiting on Wisconsin, although I would be surprised if Rutgers hasn't had our game circled on their offseason calendar as well.
I'm always a believer we will be undefeated (outside of the RichRod years) going into The Game, just because I don't understand why anyone expects their team to lose. But realistically Gattis hasn't shown he can create an effective passing game since he has been here. Wisconsin will show us if it's possible, because we won't be able to run it 50 times and win that game.
McNamara is fine, but Washington knew exactly what pass was coming each time other than the fade-stop to Johnson.
Past Wisconsin is irrelevant until we see that game.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
I'm also waiting for the UW game before I decide how good this team is. But, so far, I've seen what I wanted to see: organization, coordinated play, no blown assignments (on a regular basis), playing hard, supporting each other... These are the traits I wanted to see this season. Keep doing all of this stuff, and the wins will follow.
Now, about Gattis... There is nothing whatsoever in his resume' and list of references that can be used to make me believe for one iota that this running game is his. His entire experience as a coach is WR, Joe Moorehead, and 'speedy in space' things at Alabama in tandem with Mike Locksley (doing very wide open spacey things with MD). Conversely, the run game we see today at Michigan is virtually identical to what one Mr James Harbaugh ran at Stanford, for a bit in SF, and also in 2015-2017 in AA. Judging from history - Gattis does not have 'power running game' in his DNA. But Harbaugh certainly does. IMO, anyone that thinks this offense is the creation of Josh Gattis is wrong. This is a 100% Jim Harbaugh offense.
And I'm perfectly fine with that! If this is the running game that we'll continue to see all year, I'm happy. Would like to see a passing game more similar to WMU than to UW... But I don't think the pass game is as bad as it looked Saturday night, and so it'll be fine.
Wisconsin will be the test that determines what we have in this team.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
I agree this is Harbaugh's offense. The only thing we haven't seen is a really good quarterback running it. McNamara will get his chance to prove that he's the guy because teams are going to have to sell out to stop this rushing attack. My guess is Harbaugh will not hesitate to go to McCarthy if McNamara cannot punish teams that stuff the box.
September 13th, 2021 at 1:02 PM ^
You can’t beat top teams without a passing game. It’s a well established fact. And while our line is good, it’s not Wisconsin good. Harbaugh’s “way” is ultimately backwards-looking: beat the mediocre teams, get boat-raced by the top teams.
September 13th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
You sure about that ? Vastardis is playing perfectly and the rest of the line very well. Steuber was a monster last game, Hayes and Keegan played well and Zinter as well as expected with the cast. I don't see how you can assume Wisconsin's line is better this year, especially after we have almost 700 yards in two games.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
What a title
September 13th, 2021 at 11:40 AM ^
It's the best of all worlds: Verbose and non-informative.
OP, why are you posting a podcast from what appears to be an OSU guy? Have you moved on from Murf "Top Billin'" Baldwin?
Anyway, I don't agree with most of those takes. Hutchinson is awesome but OSU has never lacked talent and they currently have multiple layers of it on both sides of the ball. That gives them a big margin for error in most games. They seem to have a coaching issue. I wouldn't bet on them not figuring things out by November.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
You must be new here (12 years?! And you’ve never seen this?!?!)… this has been a long standing tradition to post the Michigan Monday and what an OSU take is about our team. Typically it is well written with very fair takes about the state of our team and how The Game will play out.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
Interesting. Pleading ignorance and preparing to take my lumps.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
The lumps normally come from doubling down aggressively. You should be fine here.
September 13th, 2021 at 1:34 PM ^
Gerdeman is by far the most accurate writer on Michigan football. No fluff, no bias, he calls it like it is.
September 13th, 2021 at 2:29 PM ^
Objective, non-condescending analysis of the M football program. IMO Bell's absence had a significant effect on the passing attack. As did some respect for the Washington corners, and concerns about the remaining WRs to run consistent routes afainst them. Cade got pressure on several occasions; one in particular when the edge defender had a clear, unblocked shot at Cade's left side. Visions of Brandon Peters in Madison back in 2017 flashed before me.
Best line from the podcast: Gerdman said when four Washington players tried to block Hutchinson, it looked as if Aidan was "speed dating" as he spun off each one of them on his way to the Washington QB.
September 13th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
I'd have laughed real hard if that tremendously detailed title was just a way to Rick Roll us all and the text of the post was something like, "I know we've entered OT season, but I have some thoughts on masks and COVID vaccines I'd like to discuss with everybody..."
September 13th, 2021 at 2:32 PM ^
There has always been grumbling about some outsider takes being posted on the board, but never too much, and usually from people that tend to live a little too far into an insular version of Michigan fandom. A small but rather vocal minority, in other words.
As for myself, I actually like to read Michigan Monday, as sometimes the perspective of someone from across the line of this rivalry can be interesting. That's rather funny really, now that I think about it, for items from BlackHeartGoldPants and Crimson Quarry and other Big Ten sites have found their way to the blog over the years with almost no complaint, but the moment Eleven Warriors or The Ozone shows up...
September 13th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
+1 just for the tremendously specific and detailed thread title.
As for the topic, I like the Michigan Monday posts.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^
I downvoted it for the title. Seriously, space is limited on the sidebar and a title that takes up six lines ends up shoving other threads off the side. The OP could have put their disclaimer in the body of the post.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
Thanks to the title, at least we now know Tony Gerdman is a sensitive, caring, empathetic guy.
Either that, or maybe the OP is.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
They look like they are related to Beano Cook. The reading I can stomach but when you put those two specimens and add voices it’s too much.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
i hope i'm misreading this, as it sounds like it might, possibly, be a beano cook shot.
this will not stand. beano was, truly, a legendary voice in the world of college football. his podcast with ivan maisel was absolutely delightful.
(i don't know if it was actually a shot, by the way, i mostly just responded so i could say "yay beano cook.")
September 13th, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
One week at a time...
September 13th, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
I will say, one thing that is encouraging is Harbaugh's willingness to exploit a weakness over and over if it's working. Dare someone to stop it. If they can't, why do anything else? Take what the defense gives you, even if they're giving it to you by nature of being completely overmatched at a certain position.
I'd love to see a diverse attack over the course of a season, but if short bubble screens or crossing routes were working as well as our rushing attack did against Washington I'd be angry they didn't keep going after it.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
This is a good point. Several times over the last few seasons we've seen them continually go away from things that worked. I mean, can we mention wheel routes?
September 13th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
couldn't agree more - if, given our success running the ball through late in the third quarter, we'd gotten the ball back up 17-3 and gone three-and-out on three passes? i woulda been pissed.
September 13th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
There are multiple thoughts I've had.
- I'm wondering if Michigan is still working on the passing game, given the absence of Bell.
- I can't argue with running if that's what you do well.
- I'm also wondering if Michigan is holding back on passing so as not to show everyone what they can do. Maybe the really do a lot more with passing against both weaker secondaries, and also against those who put more defenders in the box.
- I'm not one of those who think we should switch to JJ McCarthy now. But maybe as he gets better, they'll play him more?
- I also don't mind the running game getting lots of practice.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
I have to wonder what "holding back on passing" would be different from the running game getting lots of practice? I mean, wouldn't practicing the pass game be as beneficial in a real game as it is for running? And why show so much of the run game?
Neither of those things make sense to me. I just think that the run was working, and most of the pass routes were covered. UW said pregame that they would stop the pass and force UM to beat them on the ground. And they never really changed out of the defense they started with.
I think that challenge was accepted...
September 13th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
I have to admit that I was one of the people in the stands bitching about not giving more reps to McNamara...so he could get live game "practice."
Now, with 36 hours to think about it, I've changed my thinking. Why wouldn't you just keep doing something if it's working and the other team can't stop it?
We were moving the ball almost at will...scoring more than enough...and keeping their offense off the field while doing so.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then the corollary would be that it's insane to stop doing something that was working over and over.
September 13th, 2021 at 12:44 PM ^
really, really like that last paragraph.
and i appreciate what you're saying about the 'then and now' thinking...stepping back from the emotion of the moment, it's completely obvious (to me, anyway) that we had the "right" offensive approach...it's also why i tend to stay away from the game threads under any circumstances. way too much bitching without perspective.
September 13th, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^
Tip of the cap to you 89 for seeing the other side after having an initial opinion that didn’t hold up UFR!
Now please reconsider getting vaccinated! (Am I doing this right?)
September 13th, 2021 at 4:56 PM ^
Both of those thoughts are valid for this Michigan team right now. It's a little weird, but ok fine.
I am very happy the running game is crushing it right now, but I also feel like Cade needs some live-fire reps. I'm hoping we see 20 pass attempts against NIU, unless he misses the first 5 or something.
September 13th, 2021 at 1:37 PM ^
When you can hang your hat on the running game you can beat anyone. And plus it'll bring the safeties up and then you can exploit the pass. But when you cannot do either, like last season, you're treading water at best.
September 13th, 2021 at 3:23 PM ^
1. Of course they are still working on the passing game.
2. Agreed!
3. No. This is a common bit of fan wisdom, but teams don't hold back half of their offense just to befutle future opponents.
4. You certainly will see him next week and perhaps against Rutgers.
5. I am sure they always get that!
September 13th, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
"Harbaugh might finally have the offense he has been wanting at Michigan"
If this is the case, just fucking fire him already. I'd wager its fucking impossible to win running 65+% of the time.