September 3rd, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^
They Played great. Peppers struggled in the first half but played unreal in the second.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:37 AM ^
Peppers 4 Tailback!!
September 4th, 2015 at 3:57 AM ^
(not really)... But I was commenting to my brother during the game that peppers plays DB, like a RB. He jukes potential blockers out of their shoes and is one of the best open field tacklers I've ever seen. Will be fun to watch him develop this season.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:49 AM ^
I'm not sure if I'm upset with the tackling or not. I'm happy we seemed to get a lot of people regularly flying to the football, but there were a number of plays where Utah guys got to the 3rd and 4th man.
If Utah is as good I think they are, then we should be happy we held them to 17 offensive points.
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^
We could have used more offense on defense
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:58 PM ^
Peppers is the real deal. We didn't seem to handle motion well tonight. They repeatedly threw to back out of backfield and we had no answer. I think the D will be good to great and keep us in every game this year.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:42 AM ^
They're a good team, and the way they used misdirection and motion was quite good. Sometimes offenses are just good; this one did all that and scored 17 points. Not mad.
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September 4th, 2015 at 1:10 AM ^
They're a good team. Just good enought that we should have beat them.
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:58 PM ^
The defense looked pretty good as a whole. Defensive line seemed solid. The linebackers and secondary need to tighten up a bit in zone coverage but that'll come.
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:58 PM ^
Peppers is going to be a force. He can bring this defense from "good" to "great."
September 4th, 2015 at 12:00 AM ^
Peppers was up and down. Some great plays and a good kick return but got picked apart a little at the start of the game. The DL was good. The LBs were ok. The dbs were pretty bad but we only gave up 17 defensive points.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:36 AM ^
He still has a lot to learn in coverage, but he's already a force when he plays downhill.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:00 AM ^
Front seven played very well overall. Booker finished with 23 for 63, which is outstanding. Wormley had a great game and Peppers showed in the second half that he can really tackle. Solid performance overall
September 4th, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^
Its deja vu all over again.
They got better as the game went on
September 4th, 2015 at 12:47 AM ^
Utah scored 17 offensive points. This wasn't like Donovan McNabb and Syracuse destroying us.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^
The D-line did a great job reacting to screens.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^
It's possible he's more than solid. I think he might be great.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:02 AM ^
Peppers is a stud. That is all.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ^
Jourdan Lewis continues to be solid
September 4th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ^
Loved how the D played tonight, but I am absolutely tired of us not causing turnovers! Not mad at the outcome tonight tho, it was pretty much what we expected. Go Blue!
September 4th, 2015 at 12:22 AM ^
The ball never seems to bounce our way.
But seriously, we do need to get a helmet or hand(s) on that ball more often.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ^
Bolden seemed like weak link in nickel. Overrunning plays or late to react. Would like to see more Ross as 2nd LB in that alignment
September 4th, 2015 at 12:04 AM ^
Wormley played well tonight. Putting the hurry on the Qb often.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:08 AM ^
Looked that way to me. Not sure this is a "hot take" at all.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
lewis cover on that's idealize fade in the first half was perfect.
DL held up against a large OL and pushed them around
**sideline fade, damn autocorrect
September 4th, 2015 at 1:34 AM ^
Which looked strangely similar to the PI called on Peppers in the first half too. But I'm not a ref..
September 4th, 2015 at 8:26 AM ^
If Peppers turns his head to look at the ball, I don't think he gets the PI. The problem was that he had his hat facing the receiver and never turned to look at the ball.
September 4th, 2015 at 9:46 AM ^
That would never had been called in the NFL. Peppers had position. The receiver not only ran through him and but even grabbed him and tried to throw him aside.
College refs have to forget about solely relyng on the the turning the head back for the ball when calling PI. The NFL has progressed beyond that "general rule". Lazy ref call.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^
Hard to create turnovers without a consistent pass rush
September 4th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
Defense gave up 17pts on the road against a good team. That should be good enough to win. Defense wasn't perfect but it wasn't the problem.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:22 AM ^
Yup. That's why all of the snowflake posts are in the offense thread lol
September 4th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
There were some flaws, and others will dissect them. There are some strengths.
Ultimately, the D gave up 17 points. They made key stops. They did not get any turnovers, but beyond that in today's "Good D is a D that is 'good enough'" era this was just fine. And there's potential to grow. I'm pleased.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:08 AM ^
I think to go on the road and play the way we did against a good team is very encouraging. Also Peppers looks like the real deal, he blew up 3-4 plays by himself, and the Kick Return he got was great.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^
What a joke like always. Michigan football is pedestrian like always. Stop hyping the defense. They weren't very good again. Jake Butt is good, everyone else not so much.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^
I kind of agree with him about the Defense. While 17 points is a good number, they missed 2 FG's. I thought the linebackers brought the rest of the defense down and Peppers had a bad 1st half but made up for it in the 2nd. We need a pass rush... BAD. We gave up to many plays to Wilson on the ground. About a B performance overall but if we play like this against BYU, Taysom Hill aka "Destroyer of Worlds" will lay waste to this defense and leave Ann Arbor a cold, barren, post apocalyptic desolate landscape that will make 2010 look like 1997. If you don't believe me ask a Texas fan.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^
What a joke like always. Michigan football is pedestrian like always. Stop hyping the defense. They weren't very good again. Jake Butt is good, everyone else not so much.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:26 AM ^
Agreed. They gave up 17 points. /s
And Michigan Football is not pedestrian, unless that pedestrian is God.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:44 AM ^
This should have been a blow out. Not as close as the score shows.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:10 AM ^
I want to beat teams we should beat. Make no mistake, they are not bad, but they are not great either. Time to have good QB play.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:12 AM ^
LBs (Morgan) looked slow out there. He is not a sideline to sideline LB and when they are throwing out to the flats we need someone who can get out there and make the tackle. I noticed Gedeon got some playing time, maybe he is the answer. Eagerly await the UFR.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:34 AM ^
I wasn't watching closely enough to name names, but it did seem that Utah was picking on our interior LBs lack of mobility as a central part of the game plan. Bolden seemed the culprit (again) on several of the zone coverage F-ups.
September 4th, 2015 at 9:25 AM ^
seems like Gideon or Ross should be getting some more snaps
September 4th, 2015 at 12:12 AM ^
Jourdan Lewis shut Kenneth Scott down completely. Peppers got it going in that second half. The LBs struggled all night in coverage. Great game by the D.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:13 AM ^
Dear defense: y'all got fucked over by the offense. Again.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:13 AM ^
I thought the D looked stout today and actually seemed disruptive more often than in years past. My big concerns tonight revolved around tackling and cornerbacks getting sealed way too easily. We should be a team of thumpers; one hit guys who put you into the ground. There were a lot of high, errant or plain poor tackles tonight. In the secondary we covered well but we were getting blocked 5-10 yards off the ball on every quick hitch or wr screen. They have to clean this all up.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:14 AM ^
My impression is that Utah attacked Bolden successfully. They would run directly at him or throw behind him when he was late getting back in zone coverage. He wasn't horrible, but he didn't play like a captain.
Otherwise, I thought the D looked pretty solid.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:16 AM ^
Utah had 10 drives where they actually attempted to score.
Out of those 10, they scored 2 touchdowns and 1 field goal.
That's a solid defensive effort. It wasn't great. 17 points isn't nothing. But on the road, at night, against a good team, I was rather pleased with the defense. The offense... is a work in progress.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
If you ask me...
September 4th, 2015 at 12:32 AM ^
I won't jump to "stunk", but I expect more from a captain. He needs to play better, and I'm sure he knows that. If not, he will.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
Only thing missing is TOs which comes from putting the other team in tough situations. We seem to do well at stuffing plays but not CREATING plays on D...IE big sacks, INTs, deflections, fumbles.
D and stop plays. Doesn't MAKE plays. Not yet at least. Secondary seemed solid. All CBs tackled well in space which is huge. Safeties we did not hear from which is great.
DL still lacks a pash rush. LB good at stuffing plays but not making them. Good to keep us in games but not win them (against top 25 teams).