Post-Spring Game Thoughts (Offense)
QB
I now see why there is talk of a QB competition (notice I said competition, NOT controversy). Basically from what I see, Gardner is the same QB and Morris has improved some. So it's not that Devin has gotten worse or Shane has gotten SO much better. But if you thought Devin was a 7 of 10 last year and Morris was a 5 of 10. Devin is still a 7 and Morris is now a 6 or 6.5.
This is disheartening to me because it's not like Devin has a TON of experience or it's not like he's maxed out his potential. He's basically Taylor Martinez, the same QB for 3 years in a row...only Martinez was NEVER going to get any better with that arm. Gardner has a real shot to be something special.
Morris has improved like you'd expect any freshman to improve...so the fact that Gardner hasn't seemed to improve at least the same "amount" is a bad sign. Speight looks solid for a kid supposed to be in high school.
RB
Both Green and Smith look better...like Morris both seem to have improved as much as you'd expect a freshman to improve. Nothing drastic, but typical from year 1 to year 2. Green got his speed and burst back, it was noticable in the spring practice videos and it was noticable today. I'd be interested to see if either can pass block.
Hayes looks better, but he's got a little too much Mike Shaw "bounce" in him. He's got a gear that neither Green nor Smith have. Could be a nice change of pace back...could be an obvious screen RB candidate. Hopefully Drake Johnson can get back in the mix because 1. he looked really good before his injury and 2. Douglas doesn't look like a B1G player at this point in his career.
WR
Funchess looks the same, just more comfortable at WR. That said, he still drops WAY too many catchable balls. Those are drive killers. Chesson made a really nice catch. I still think Darboh is going to push him. Canteen is as good as advertised, that slot WR spot is his. Norfleet and Bo Dever seem to be your backups there. It looks like we WILL have a slot WR on the field most all the time. It'll be interesting to see if Darboh pushes Chesson to that spot or if one will start (as the #2) and the other will be first off the bench.
My biggest concern at WR is if we have someone who can stretch the field and "take the top off the defense." Hopefully Chesson is that guy (he burnt J. Clark one time on a corner route). We need separation because we don't have a QB accurate enough to use our size and leaping ability at WR to an advantage. For example, our big guys get a step on the DB and the ball needs to be high and we drill the CB in the back or completely overthrow the target. We can't use the height because we can't pinpoint our passes...it makes the extra inches in height and vertical useless. So we need some separation.
FB/TE/H-Back
Without Butt the data is incomplete. Heitzman is a load...seeing him running pass routes was weird...and funny. Williams seems the same. Not enough reps to make a comment on the FB and H-back guys.
OL
I now see why Mason Cole is the starter...he has solid hands and GREAT feet. He's not strong enough to start, he got bull rushed 2-3 times REALLY bad, but each time he kept his body between the defender and the QB. I suppose that's half the battle. Where David Dawson was getting blown by, Cole was always in position...he just wasn't big or strong enough to handle Clark a couple of times and got knocked back. The kid has a future though. I wouldn't want to run behind him because he's not clearing anyone out of the way...but again, he stays between his guy and the ball. At this point, that's more than just about anyone else.
Stock down on Kyle Kalis. He's just a body out there. He's got all the tools, but he never locks on to anyone...too often he's just swating at guys or grazing guys when he pulls. Whatever happened to the big physical guy that puts people on their ass? F-ing hit someone man! He just be like Lewan in that he locks onto someone and drives them down the DL and starts wiping other guys out in his wake. Lewan use to collapse his man all the way into the NG over the C. Kalis should be able to make a hole with his size and strength.
Stock also down on Dawson. Not sure where the hype about him playing LT came from. He was blown by HORRIBLY at least twice. He really had trouble with our interior OL when he played LG. Seemed confused at times. Still young, but defintiely not ready to play right now.
Bosch and Miller looked exactly the same. Braden looked okay in spots and then Clark flat out OWNED him in other spots. I'm going to miss Schofield's consistency.
It's going to be another long year on the OL. From what I saw, certain guys looked better...but all it takes is ONE guy to mess up. That's what kept happening to us. We'd get 4 guys doing what they were supposed to do and ONE guy would mess up and the whole play would go wrong. And it was almost never the same guy. Hopefully this is just a cohesiveness issue with the new guys just now starting to play together - but after what we saw last year...I'm not holding my breath.
OVERALL
Certain players looked better, the WRs looks very solid, but the fact that Devin has not progressed even a little bit and the OL doesn't look any better gives me no comfort in this offense. I really expected Gardner to take a step forward this year and I was just hoping the OL could at least be decent. I'll keep hope alive, but I'm skeptical after watching today and hearing comments over the spring. A shotgun quick and medium passing game with gashing runs may be our best bet.
***PLEASE AND FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR THOUGHTS ON SPRING PRACTICE AND THE SPRING SCRIMMAGE***
#1 He didn't even play under his 1st OC
#2 He's a 5th year senior...some of the mistakes he makes has nothing to do with the OC. His accuracy is also wildly inconsistent.
Sure he's going to have some growing pains under a new OC, the entire offense will. On one play we would've gotten a clear delay of game because a WR wasn't lined up correctly and the officials allowed him to run around until the coach put him in the right spot. On another play Canteen moved on and off the LOS like 3 times and even widened his split. One another play our QB turned one way and the RB went another.
THOSE are issues with a new OC (and freshman).
For a QB, if it was just some timing issues or new routes and concepts...no problem. That comes with time. But the OC has nothing to do with Gardner throwing EXTREMELY late to the outside 3 times in one very short scrimmage.
I don't think anyone that is disturbed or complaining or whatever about DG is worried about new OC growing pains. I think they're all worried about pure fundamentals of a QB that haven't gotten any better. I think they're all worried that Devin hasn't really improved a ton like you'd expect someone that is still somewhat new to the position. It's not like he's AJ McCarron out there and he's just not going to get better because he's as good as he's going to get. He's basically a Junior out there, this is generally where guys take "the next step."
Hopefully that comes over the summer, but I would've liked to have seen a few signs that say "progression." I saw that with Morris, Green and Smith, I saw that with F. Clark, Henry, Lewis and Stribling. I even saw it with guys like Chesson, Godin and Strobel. I did not see any "flashes" from Gardner that say "okay...give him a summer and a fall camp and he's going to be on another level."
Just my opinion.
All of the OCs changes have nothing to do with what you're seeing on the field. Late throws, lofted passes, throwing ill-advised passes into coverage, that's all on Devin. And its the same things we've seen since he's been here.
You are assuming that the offense Nuss is implementing is 1) demonstrably diferent from the core offense Borges ran, and 2) fully installed, rather than only installed piecemeal. From what I have heard, Nuss only installs the next play after the previous one has been mastered. Thus, what we saw on Saturday should have been plays that the offense had a workable level of competence running.
Gardner has barely more than one year of experience as a starter, most of which was behind a disaster of an interior O-line. You can't judge his "improvement" off that
Even though he's a 5th year senior, he's not THAT experienced. You'd expect him to continue improving (unlike other 5th year guys who've maxed out their potential).
I would expect him to improve just as much as I'd expect Morris to improve. I used a made up rating analogy that if you thought DG was a 7 last year and Morris was a 5. DG is still a 7 and Morris is a 6 or 6.5.
I expected Gardner to be an 8-8.5 this spring...at LEAST.
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Again, I think a shotgun oriented offense is going to be best for him. Allow him to see the field and make the easy through. Also get him away from the OL which isn't up to par. Some quick and medium throws and then try to hit Funchess or Chesson deep to stretch the field.
That said, you need a summer to build timing...AND you have to catch the ball. Funchess can't be dropping those slants because 2nd and 5 becomes 2nd & 10 too easily.
Just wish we had (at least) the QB to protect the OL woes or an OL to protect the QB woes.
This team is clearly going to have to rely on defense...so all I want is an offense that can sustain a drive and not turn the ball over. But Gardner doesn't make the best decisions and our offensive doesn't get a push...so 0 for 2 on that #WishfulThinking.
Even with that, there is no expectation for the offense to carry the team. Just protect the ball, score when you can, punts aren't bad, win like OSU used to under... *gulp* Tressel.
on the offensive line, I did notice Patrick Kugler holding his own in pass blocking, although once it appeared Clark (?) blew right by him unimpeded. But on the running plays, he seemed to get a little lost (as did most of the OL) ---didn't see very many holes for the RBs to hit, more often than not, the rushing yardage seemed to be due to 2nd effort.
He is visiting campus this weekend so I am sure he took it all in. Not sure if that is good or bad at this point. It's one thing to show a need...it's another to show... that.
Maybe that kid from Bama can be that guy at Center. I think he could help us a lot.
I'm not trying to act like he is a savior, but he would help us a lot.
If everyone else looks bad why not start Mason Cole? Im all for it. Frank Clark is a tank anyway. Give him a summer in the weight room and see what happens.
As far as Kalis, what was he doing poorly? I didnt see the game and I was a little confused by your analysis (no offense, I appreciate your work. its due to my lack of comprehension)
Im holding out hope for Braden and Bosch. Braden had the most hype going into the game, seeing as he was the only guy being touted as a starter. If we can have him at RT, Kalis and Bosch at the Guard spots, then get Glasgow back at Center with a developing Mason Cole at LT, Im happy. Plus we could still add that Center from Bama and kick Glasgow to a Guard spot and have a 3 man competition at Guard.
Im not worried about WR or RB at all. They will be fine if the Line can play consistently. Only troubling sign here is Funchess's hands.
Butt could be back by B1G season too. So TE isnt too bad.
Overall, we could improve. Gardner will be fine. Ride him out one more year. Maybe he takes a step forward, maybe he doesnt. Doesnt bother me at this point.
Kalis was fine. I didn't see a bust by him all day. Remember, this is a different blocking scheme. They're not going to be blowing guys off the line anymore for the most part. We'll see a lot of lateral blocks that create creases. That stuff isn't going to be as visually impressive as pancaking a guy 5 yards down field, but it doesn't mean he's not doing his job.
I specifically watched HIM on numerous plays.
I saw a lot of him just slap fighting with his man. He got no push, the RB (Green) would run into the both of them and the 3 of them would fall down for a yard or two.
I saw him slide down on the line when he was supposed to be sealing and he just grazed 2-3 guys on the DL and didn't make any impact.
We ran the same play when it was 2's vs 2's (or 3's) and the RG in Kalis' position BURIED the DL and Smith cut back for a NICE 9-10 yard run. Exact same play. Kalis did the basketball end of game hi-five line...the other RG (I believe Bars) sealed everyone off. Granted, against lesser competition - but he did was he was supposed to do.
For a 5* guy with personal training from NFL guys and all the hype in the world...I just don't see it. I'm not ready to close the book on the kid, he's a RS Sophomore in his 2nd year. But I haven't seen anything to date that says "give him one more summer and he's going to be All-B1G."
I'd like to see him be more physical, I'd like to see some push, I'd like to see him at least control his man so when Green run's behind him...he can get BY him and it's just not a circle of big bodies slamming into each other. Even if he doesn't get a push, control your guy and seal him so Green can get a hole. If Derrick just runs into you at that point, that's his fault. But right now there is no hole to the left or right of Kalis because it's just two guys hugging each other.
from what I saw he looked pretty good. not great, but solid. i think you may be holding him to a high standard becuase he was a 5*. You seem to mention that every time his name comes up. He isnt a recruit anymore so I find that information to be meaningless. He is a RS Soph that looks improved and wasnt missing assignments. if he finishes his blocks I am happy with him
He's got good technique, know how to use his hands and position his body but he is currently no where near being physically ready to hold up in the B1G. If Magnuson can't go at LT this year we are going to be in serious trouble.
He's a Spike Albrecht.
Nonetheless, he looked solid for his classification in college.
somethings that bother me without getting into plays:
1. after 4 years of spring practice under hoke, why dont we have a full game?
2. what's with the 1 hr 15 mins of drills? fans dont go there to watch drills
3. why isnt the DL dominating a majority of the times....i understand pushing bck the OL for 2-3 yrds is a psychological win...but where is the "shut down" mentality? maybe there were moments in the game where the "shutdown" did happen....i havent seen the plays yet.
4. I cant understand why hoke wants to cover everything in this curtain of secrecy...if you suck ...the first step is to admit it and then try and improve.
5. the biggest issue in my mind is ...even if we fire hoke after this year...can we take another 3-4 years of "rebuilding" under another coach?
On a side note, I'd love to see brady stay at Michigan in some capacity if he were to be relieved of coaching duty after 2015. His passion for UM and the his student athletes is great. Ideally though, he starts winning and none of this ever happens.
In 2015 he should be as good as anyone in the Big Ten. But that doesn't mean you necessarily win it. With Ohio, Staee, PSU, Wisky, Neb, etc. there are never gaurantees,even with a top-flight conference program.
1. Because we still don't have the depth. I think we will next year because we'll have 2 QBs, 2 experienced RBs, enough WRs and most importantly...enough scholarship OL. Next year we should be deep enough to finally have a full game. You can't blame Hoke on this...blame Rich Rod who didn't recruit OL enough. Defensively we could've played a full game THIS year.
2. Because if you can't have a full game, you still need the practice. Especially with a 1st year OC. Isn't this the same question as #1? If they're not going to play a game, what do you expect them to do? Knit? A play? An organized dance?
3. You clearly weren't watching yesterday because they did dominant...that is why everyone is saying basically "I know they played well, but I'm not going to give them any credit because the offense (or OL) is terrible." You do know that they can't hit the QB...right?
4. Because that's what he does...it's not going to change. No need to bitch about it. Water is wet and Hoke doesn't share internal thoughts. Next!
5. Jeez, let's get through this season first! 2015 is truly the make on break year if you sat and broke down the team and the schedule. If we don't win in 2015, Hoke should be gone. Now he's got to make it to 2015 and 7-6 ain't gonna do it. But 2015 is the year. But if he doesn't...no Hoke will have left the team in GREAT shape unless we hired someone who wants to run the QB 30 times a game. We'll have depth, quality recruiting classes, and senior leadership...assuming they all stay.
When Carr left, Rich Rod had nothing to work with, when Rich Rod left, he only left 1 years worth of talent for Hoke (some of whom, Carr recruited)...regardless of the coach next year (2015) we will be upperclassmen heavy with some highly recruited talent waiting in the wings.
Hoping that time, 5-year Alabama guy (if he joins), and Magnuson returning can make this o-line decent. But right now it's still bad enough to have most fans in a bit of a funk.
For those of us without BTN, where can we watch the game?
I believe at 8:30pm on BTN.
The whole thing is up there now.
I, too, saw improvement...I even said that many times 4 guys were doing what they needed to be doing, but it would be just ONE mistake by ONE guy that would ruin everything.
That is an improvement from last year which often had multiple guys screwing up.
Last year's line was a D...what I saw today was a D+, maaaybe a C-. Not enough plays to really call it anyway.
Still, that's not good enough. A Michigan line should NEVER, EVER be worse than a "B-." We never have "an average OL." Our down years should be "good, solid."
So yea, I don't know about 3-5 yard gains, but I saw plays that would've be -2 last year turned into +2.
A 4 yard swing is a big deal...but in this case it's awful to simply bad.
The O-line is very young. Nobody wants to hear it, but the vast majority of the minutes will be filled by underclassmen. We're still force feeding guys who wouldn't be out there once the pipeline is restocked.
Spring's when you want to dick around with different combinations and get guys reps with the 1s that might not otherwise, just to see what they can do and if nothing else keep everyone motivated and engaged. If they don't pencil in a starting line-up fairly early in fall camp, then I'll be worried. I hope we don't get any more last minute swaps like the last two years, certainly.
Don't forget Devin was on crutches for months after the OSU game, it's not too surprising his timing and accuracy seem off. What I am encouraged by is he looks physically back to 100%. I almost forgot how dynamic he was at the beginning of last season before the hits started piling up and taking their toll. Shane looks very good, but doesn't have the pocket presence yet. He got happy feet a few times. No doubt about his arm though, kid can get away with forcing it in places most guys can't.
RBs looked good. Smith was a complete beast out there. Green looks like a totally different player, showing the acceleration that made him a 5 star and some shake and bake too. Hayes adds a speed and shiftiness dimension that'll be a nice change of pace too. All 3 need to keep working on blitz pick-up, there were some attrocious attempts to shoulder check rushers.
WR: Hard to tell from the camera angles, but I think we'll be just fine here. Funchess looked smooth and fast, more like a pure WR now. He dropped a couple he shouldn't have though. Canteen hype is real, the guy isn't just quick, he's plain fast too. Really excited to see him run circles around LBs trying to cover him in the slot.
FB/TE.. meh, Didn't seem to play much of a factor today.
OL: *sigh* I actually didn't think it was too bad. Not sure I see the Cole hype, he's got talent sure, but definitely looked like a freshman and physically overmatched. I thought Kalis, Braden, Bosch, and Kugler did pretty well considering it's spring and it's a new system. I see improvement in blocking assignments and getting push in the run game over what I saw last year (at least they weren't going backwards). Pass pro was a little better too when all starter type guys were out together. Not too many busts from what I could see. Kugler especially impressed me, he was comboing downfield and picking up blocks on LBs consistently. G Glasgow looked pretty bad at RT, not sure if that's part of his punishment or what, but I don't think that's a good spot for him, He doesn't have the quickness. The projects (Bars, Dawson, LTT, Samuelson) all looked pretty raw still.
When can we expect a commitment from Lindsay? I can't see a better opporutnity for him. Come to Michigan LIndsay. We want you!
PS - Heck of a highlight film this young man has. He is a great blocker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08YwtAE3Lc
Cool link to about 8 minutes of plays shot from the stands.
From what I saw, we dont look half bad on offense. Definitely not worthy of running around and crying like half our fan base is doing.
- O-Line needs to finish blocks. That is huge but it is a work in progress and can be fixed.
-HUGE ONE!!! TE's need to block better on the edge. We need to improve this. Just gotta have it.
-Pass blocking isnt bad at all. We held up just fine in this department.
-LTT looked bad, but he is young and he had a club on his hand. Cant blame him, but he was responsible for a lot of pressures.
-Dawson/LTT need to learn how to pick up a stunt. They made some freshmen mistakes and blitzes/stunts would rip them apart right now.
-Mason Cole actually did look pretty good pass blocking, but needs a bit of work run blocking. Beyer worked him a few times. I like him so far.
-Heitzman looked like a DE trying to play TE
-Kalis wasnt bad. Moved well and moved people. Wasnt perfect, but looked improved.
-WE NEED TO FIND A CENTER!!! This is clear at this point. Hopefully Glasgow can come in and fix this. Or maybe that kid from Bama. If we find a solid Center I actually think I am confident watching this line
-AJ Williams looked good at times while run blocking, but cant be counted on in pass protection at this point. He looked lost there
-Houma worked hard and didnt do too bad at FB but needs to work at targeting guys in space at the 2nd level
-Kerridge didnt look great either. Our FB's need to improve
-Focusing mostly on the line, but Bo Dever and Canteen both looked good.
-Blitzes dont look like they are being recognized but that could just be a positive for our defense. Braden/Gardner let a guy come flying through at one point. If it werent for the yellow jersey, Gardner wouldve taken some shots
-We werent bad at running power
-We werent bad at running outside zone either
-Inside zone is a mess....
-Frank Clark is a beast
-Derrick Green looks good running the ball and looked decent in pass pro.
-Was impressed with all the backs. Hayes could see a lot of time. Smith ran hard. Everyone had pretty good vision. Nothing upsetting.
-Devin Gardner looked rusty. This is no big deal. Timing looked off, but it was the spring game.
-WR's looked good. Some nice grabs. Some nice routes...I'm on my way to go buy a Canteen jersey.
Overall, I came away impressed and cautiously optimistic. No reason to panic. FB's and TE's are honestly my biggest concern. Center would be, but I feel like we will find someone with Glasgow, Chad Lindsay (Bama guy) and MIller at least having experience.
I agree with pretty much everything you've said. People are jumping to negativity wayyyy too quickly esp when they should know that most of the offense wasn't going to be shown in a spring game-type-thing. The offense was extremely vanilla. The defense is going to have the advantage by knowing that certain plays are not going to be called and nothing really to keep them honest. I didn't think the offensive line looked great, but they definitely didn't look as horrible as most everyone else seems to be saying. We saw some positive, yes POSITIVE running plays and not just the 1 yard variety. That's going to open things up a bit if that continues into the season, which I think it will. Give the offensive unit time. The qbs looked a bit jumpy, but it's only spring and they'll be better also. Chill guys, I think the team will be better next year and not MSU-Nebraska-Northwestern-Iowa (second half) awful.
I've taken nothing out of spring games since the last one I went to (Forcier's freshman year). Just saying, if the offense is a shit show again this year I really don't want to hear the excuse ''Nuss needs more time!'' We NEED results. I'm not expecting 1994 Nebraska results, but if we look like a pile of poop just like last year I'm off the Hoke bandwagon for good.
I'm one of the bigger Hoke slappys here and we should expect improvement from some of the startling negative performances on offense (though we shined in spots, too). If it looks like last year on offense, I will share your concern.
about the OL I think it should be pointed out that we never did see Bosch, Kalis, Braden, Magnuson (injury), and Glasgow (suspension) playing at the same time. I'm not sure that we saw Kalis and Bosch at the same time. I imagine what we were seeing were different combinations to evaluate individual players for their own ability and how they meshed with others. The one conclusion I will draw is that for the first time in a long time there are load of offensive linemen that have been in the system for 2-3 years. With so many to pick from I'm confident that five solid starters can be found with 2-4 solid back ups.
Inside zone, I'm not sure if wasn't being blocked well or if there was some hesitation by the running backs.
De'Veon Smith impressed me by moving the pile. Someone help me out, when is the last time a Michigan RB carried LBs and DEs on his back for additional yardage?
Hayes looks like he want's to play some football.
Green was hit by a LB and hit the ground
Funchess might want to try a different brand of glove, the dropsies he experienced late last season continue.
Granted Gardner has the experience, but if I didn't know who was who during the scrimmage, I don't think my pick for the potential starter would be Gardner.
Sadly, it looks like Bellomy picked up where he left off in Lincoln.
I agree with basically everything you said. I think the line will be solid, and I had actually forgotten about Magnuson. I think everyone being in a panic about the line is a little much.
Inside zone was weird. It looked like they were giving the handoff to the wrong side of the play. Wasnt smoth at all and didnt get many yards, but I actually didnt hate outside zone or power. I think Inside zone will be smoothed out by fall and we could have a formidable running game.
However, I do think Gardner will be fine. He isnt gonna be an All-American, but he could be a solid starter. He looked like he had a lot of rust and all of the QB's were missing on throws. Timing was bad between QB's and WR's. That can all be fixed.
on this team until I see how they play in September. I'm sure the OL starting positions will become quite competitive during summer camp and those who learn the play book and bulk up in the weight room will be the lineman who earn starting spots. Hopefully, a veteran center will be joining the team shortly. If he does decide to transfer to Michigan, this would really help out the OL.
Devin looked rusty but coming off the injury it was no big surprise. We'll see how well he plays in summer camp and during September.
The defense looked more aggressive. They look faster and stronger, and more aggressive.
We'll probably have a tough time beating the top teams in our conference but I hope we will lose only 3 conference games and finish the the season with a conference above .500. Last season was embarrassing finishing below .500 in the B1G. It still looks like an 8-4 team to me but I hope the team is much better by the end of the season. May be they will end the 2014 season with a bowl victory.
2015 will need to be much better with home victories over OSU and MSU. If we have another 4 loss season then the Hoke era will be over.
Also I can't help but notice the fact that even though we don't recruit small guys anymore...our guys still don't appear very big. Lke conditioned I mean.