MIchigan Monday for a Tuesday Morning Read
Michigan Monday is up again at the Ozone.
Interesting as always.
"But right now the combination of Devin Gardner and Denard Robinson is quite formidable, and as equally unpredictable."
Let's hope so. We will need points.
November 20th, 2012 at 7:42 AM ^
So yes, this is an 8-3 team, but they shouldn't be.
Ohio State is 11-0. Should they be?
But none of that matters because Saturday matters more.
Saturday is the one day a year when 9-3 would look a whole hell of a lot better than 11-1.
This game is far from the lock that many Buckeye fans want to believe it is.
@GerdOzone skeered. OSU has a bad habit of getting off to slow starts. Let's hope that continues on Saturday.
November 20th, 2012 at 7:43 AM ^
First you chop off an alligator's head, now StephenRKass is missing. What evil machinations are next, Zander?
November 20th, 2012 at 8:04 AM ^
sandbagging with Al you wouldn't believe me. But then again, I've become a UMgradUMdadMSUdadinlaw. Truth is stranger than fiction.
November 20th, 2012 at 8:12 AM ^
Kids these days. You try to raise them right.
November 20th, 2012 at 8:15 AM ^
I was too tired last night to post. I suppose Zander can do a full synopsis if he wants to, since as OP he is free to edit.
However, from reading Gerdeman, and a few other things, here are my own thoughts.
- How accurate and successful will Devin be passing against a better defense? While it has been great to see the passing game come alive under Gardner, he could really be victimized by good, aggressive DB play. The secondary play of Iowa was terrible to non-existent. If Devin can continue to pass vertically downfield into small windows with Gallon, Dileo, Roundtree and Funchess fighting to keep the reception, it will open things up for the running game tremendously.
- How well can the Michigan DL keep the LB corps clean? To put this another way, how good is the Ohio OL? If the Michigan DL vs. the Ohio OL is a statemate at worst, Michigan's LB's will have a field day. Michigan's defense is vulnerable when the linebackers actually have to work, but deadly when everything is kept in front of them.
- How good is Ohio's passing? As we saw in last year's game, Ohio receivers were open but Miller couldn't get the ball to them. If Braxton has the time to hit his receivers on the numbers in stride, and starts to actually do this, Michigan could be in trouble. Miller hasn't been consistent over the season. Shoot, he hasn't been consistent in a single game. But Miller just has to put it together for one game.
November 20th, 2012 at 8:42 AM ^
Glad to see your comments here Steven R as I was worried that something might've happen to you. Because posting the Michigan Monday stuff IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO DOES IT IS JUST BASICALLY PLAGIARIZING YOUR MATERIAL AND IT'S NOT THE SAME DAMMIT.
Now Zander my friend......see my lawn over there? Well you need to get off it.
November 20th, 2012 at 9:07 AM ^
November 20th, 2012 at 8:07 AM ^
It's a good writeup, although I have to disagree about this:
"One thing that you can expect from the Buckeyes is more power football than you saw last week. Ohio State didn't run downhill nearly enough, and the middle of the Wolverines' defense will have to hold up, as they have for most of the season."
The middle of our defense has actually been a strength, especially in short yardage situations. They want to attack the edges if they want to win.
And call me crazy, but I don't like this match up for the Buckeyes. If Gardner continues to throw the ball well, he and Robinson may make the most dangerous pass/rush combination in the country. The Buckeyes' secondary is ripe for the picking (2nd to last in the conference), and they will be under extreme pressure with Gardner and Robinson on the field. The Buckeyes will get their points, but they might have to win in a shoot out, which will be difficult with Michigan's D.
November 20th, 2012 at 8:19 AM ^
Yeah, I think "stout" is a good word for the middle of Michigan's defense. We don't get a whole lot of penetration, but we also don't get blown off the ball.
Knock on wood.
November 20th, 2012 at 8:15 AM ^
November 20th, 2012 at 10:03 AM ^
He is shiftier than Denard and can make people miss. If you blitz he can make the first wave miss and get yards. That's what OSU wants. Instead UM will do there zone blitz scheme and it should work. Give us a free man but also keep people behind the ball.
I actually think UM's DL will do well to be stout and let Braxton's impatience get the best of him. We can't give him all day and let him dance around for a play to break down. But if he's in the pocket for longer than 4 seconds than good things will happen for UM. He will get ansy, force throws, or just tuck and try to escape. That's why Roh/Clark/Beyer keeping the edge is HUGE. Don't give Braxton that escape route and UM will be ok.
Honestly, OSU's best play is 4 wide shotgun and have Braxton keep it. Sometimes they aren't even looking to pass they just want the field spread for their QB to pick up yardage. We just need to keep him in front and make him beat UM over the top and from inside the pocket.
November 20th, 2012 at 9:15 AM ^
As Hoke has said repeatedly, Gardner does very well when passing from the I-formation off of play action.
With Fitz out, this will be less effective. The threat of Rawls from the I does not appear to be the answer to keeping pressure off of Devin.
So . . . the question is, could Denard be an actual I-Form RB when needed? All his runs last week were off of shotgun handoffs, jet sweeps, and screen passes out of the backfield.
Could Denard be enough of an effective I-Form RB to get some yards on his own, and to set up play action for Devin?
November 20th, 2012 at 9:52 AM ^
I don't see Denard in the Iform unless its an option play (early pitch).
I think Rawls can do just enough to keep OSU aware of the running game in the I-form, we just need 3-4yds per carry from it. V Smith will slip in for some carries too.
The running game will largely fall to Denard at QB running the inverted veer, Denard QB Isos, and Gardner option play to Denard. I expect several speed options with Gardner at QB..only to have him go play action and over the top. If we hit a couple big throws off this play it will be huge.
Denard will probably do lots of Jet sweeps as well. Probably only get the ball 20% of the time but it will serve as a decoy play. Hopefully they are not too obvious b/c he only carries the ball in his left hand which would be only jet sweeps to the left.
November 20th, 2012 at 9:23 AM ^
"So how is this Toussaint injury a good thing for the Buckeyes again? Al Borges will be forced to scrap the one thing that the Ohio State defense has shown that they can defend this season." - from Michigan Monday
I dont' know that Borges would necessarily scrap the entire running game as this might suggest, as rush defense has been a strength for the Buckeyes this season, although if you look at their schedule, there are several teams on it that aren't known for their ground game. That being said, it probably does tilt the scales towards passing a bit more, and pass defense is something which several teams have exploited when playing the Buckeyes this year. As others have mentioned, the uncertainty of the Gardner-Robinson combination in the backfield would force them to wonder about basically the whole offense, not just a few people. That could certainly help us out.
November 20th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^
Made me LOL in the middle of film class