Can we have some positivity please? I'll start.
* Brandon Graham - DUDE'S A MANBEAST. He absolutely blew up the backfield several times. How about rushing the QB and then coming back and just flat out devastating that receiver? Wow.
* Donovan Warren - One would think that Stanzi would've learned to not throw in his direction after the first time, but no. He kept attacking that side and time and time again, DW turned him down. Lockdown corner, I bet he sees maybe 3 balls thrown his way the rest of the year.
* Brandon Minor - MINOR RAGE. 'nuff said.
Keep it going, please.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:42 AM ^
that we committed 5 turnovers and lost by 2. if we have just 2 or 3 turnovers we win the game. think about that
October 11th, 2009 at 12:49 AM ^
We cannot fumble the ball on their 30. Thats prime real estate and we have to take advantage of that. We turned it over in the worst spots
October 11th, 2009 at 12:47 AM ^
All in all, I don't think we have too much to complain about. Hopefully what we are seeing is our team maturing and growing. That being said, I have two concerns for the future:
(1) I think this offense needs a Brandon Minor/Carlos Brown-type, traditional Big Ten running back. The small fast guys are great to have, but when the team is struggling, I think our ability to lean on Minor is huge. Other than Mike Cox, do we have a "bruiser" on the team? Is there some recruit lined up?
(2) As the young QBs mature, can we expect to see a bit more downfield passing? The absence of downfield passing seems to really hamper the running game and short passing game? Is this something that will improve as we get some more deep threats? As the QBs mature?
October 11th, 2009 at 1:31 AM ^
1) Yes, Stephen Hopkins is the incoming big back:
http://mgoblog.com/content/interview-stephen-hopkins
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Stephen-Hopkins…
2) Neither QB is good at making downfield reads from the pocket right now. Tate is skilled at buying time and making a play when everything breaks down but you can't rely on that against tougher opponents as we've seen against MSU and Iowa. With time, both will improve and the downfield passing game will pick up making it easier to run.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:01 AM ^
I feel terrible for Graham and Minor. Both of them are animals and literally play every down as if it were their last. It's a travesty to me that those guys are gonna leave Michigan without a Big Ten Championship.
Postives:
Woolfolk at CB, left on an island and tested twice, one of them being a great play.
I really think D-Rob and Minor is a great combo. Give Robinson more drives with both Brown and Minor in the backfield -- and a healthy Molk back -- and Michigan can definitely beat both PSU and OSU.
Defensive and O-lines played very, very, well. I thought Mouton had a good game as well.