Best and Worst: NW

Submitted by bronxblue on

Two or three more games.  Two or three more games.

Worst:  That's No Moon

It was just a terrible game.  And it just sucked all around for both teams, particularly on offenses.  Devin Gardner had the worst passing performance this year against the Wildcats, and that includes an under-fire Christian Hackenberg, the yipp-tacular combined efforts of Wisconsin QBs, and whomever was the 8th-string walk-on Poli Sci QB who took the last three snaps of NW's preseason scrimmage.  He threw 2 really bad INTs, had a couple more passes that should have been picked (including one that should have been taken to the house to end the first half), and never looked comfortable with any of his receivers.  I cannot stress how bad of a performance this was; I will always defend Devin Gardner in aggregate, but in this game Michigan could have replaced him with a trebuchet made out of Gatorade bottles, athletic tape, Ro*Tel cheese, and Haas avocados and gotten a more complete performance out of a field general.  I hope something comes out during this off week that he's injured, that he lost a contact in the first quarter and didn't have a free pair, that an international cabal is holding someone he cares hostage, something to explain how he went 11/24 for 109 yards and 2 interceptions, resulting in a QBR rating of 5.2.  To put that into perspective, Joel Stave's 8/19-115 yards-1 TD/3 INT performance against NW was a 10.1.

Devin Funchess dropped at least 3 extremely catchable balls by my count while seemed disinterested in the whole proceedings, to the point that even the announcers were pointing it out.  Wile had a kick blocked to end the half, Michigan was stopped on 4th-and-1 because Smith couldn't follow a block, and Funchess "fumbled" a ball after Miller bounced it off his chest as he motioned before the play.  And while De'Veon Smith had himself a nice game running the ball (121 yards/6.7 ypc/1TD), the team as a whole only recorded 100000000b total yards, which were 17 yards less than Trevor Siemian had throwing the ball.  At halftime, Michigan had 4 punts and 6 FDs, and I was surprised they even had that many.

NW kept pace with the suck, though, by recording 12 yards rushing the ball, flubbing multiple punts and a FG attempt, throwing a pair of picks, fumbling the ball away on a punt return with no Michigan player within 5 yards, and failing on a couple of 4th-down conversions.  The Wildcats were able to move the ball in fits and spurts, usually with short passes to Kyle Prater and, later, Toby Jones, but this was still an offense that had barely cracked 100 yards total before their last two drives.  I don't even blame them for going for the win at the end of the game, as the last two drives were the only consistent offensive performances of the day by either sides, so might as well see if you can ride the wave of semi-competency for a couple more yards and a win.

Worst:  Number 98 and DVR

I talked about this above, but I want to stress something about this particular performance by Gardner.

For various reasons (read: 1-year-old kid and new, time-consuming job), I've been watching the bulk of this year's B1G conference games on DVR.  On one hand, this has been a godsend in terms of speeding through games; I can skip through the commercials, the trite analysis from guys in the booth being fed a narrative in their ears, the interminable replays that seem to always end with the refs sticking with the ruling on the field because the only angle they seem to have is a reflection off of a lineman's helmet.  Since I have the general play-by-play from the game via ESPN and no need to analyze each 2-yard run for blocking assignments, I'm free to focus on only the meaningful drives and rewatch the memorable moments.  It doesn't mean I don't "watch" the other parts of the game, but I can zip through the 3-and-outs that feature the same predictable runs and poorly-thrown balls without worrying about anything important happening.

Now, the negative of seeing the games hours later is that I'm watching it a bit more dispassionately; I know the outcome, so like in wrestling when you know the finish, you aren't as drawn in by the close finishes.  It also means that I know Gardner isn't going to "turn it around" after a couple of bad passes, that he isn't going to start hitting his receivers in stride or stop locking onto them as soon as they break the huddle.  Instead, I have to settle in for 3+ hours of poor mechanics, off-center throws, and a guy who looks lost out there trying to not bungle away a game that Northwestern keeps trying to hand over.

I do think he'll be better in two weeks, simply because he couldn't be much worse.  Funchess looked lost out there as well, and for all of Norfleet's shortcomings he is still a missing weapon that Gardner has built up some rapport with over the years.  And there were a couple of nice throws, usually to Darboh, and maybe with a couple of weeks to recover he'll be more inclined to run in situations when the defense is begging him to take the cheap yards they are handing out.  But it isn't news to say Gardner's broken, and this game reaffirmed just how bad it is.

And of course, the worst part is that he's probably still the best QB option on this team.  Morris has looked lost every time he's been given the ball, and next year he'll be a true junior (!!) with 2 starts to his name and (most likely) his third offensive coordinator in as many years.  Maybe Speight will be better than advertised or Malzone will pull a Henne and be a freshman starter, but right now the QB position at Michigan looks dire both this year and in the foreseeable future.  In fact, I suspect I'll be looking back at this year's QB performance with forlorn admiration midway through the 2015 season.  It's crazy to remember how dynamic and exciting Gardner seemed when he started his first game against Minnesota 2 years ago, and how little of a shell of that player remains.

Best/Worst:  50/50

Credit should be given to the Michigan offensive line, which kept Gardner mostly clean (no sacks recorded) and opened up some good rushing lanes for the backs (mostly Smith), to the tune of 155 yards at 4.6 ypc.  As expected, Drake Johnson couldn't replicate last week's career game, but the rushing attack minimized TFLs and helped grind down the clock on what turned out to be the game-winning FG.  In fact, if it feels like the running game is significantly better than last year, you aren't alone: compared to last year's abysmal 3.3 ypc, this year's 4.5 ypc is basically OSU mixed with NOX, even more impressive given how little Devin Gardner has been used in the running game so far.  It probably wouldn't fit Brady Hoke's definition of "tough guy" football, but Michigan has a semi-competent rushing attack that has been good about not getting caught behind the sticks too much.

Unfortunately, Michigan's passing offense has taken a dramatic step back, to the tune of 6.3 ypa (last year it was 8.2), and with 2-3 games to go Michigan doesn't even have half as many passing yards as last year's squad.  I know losing Gallon hurt the team's spacing and put more pressure on Funchess and some of the younger players to create space, but this fall from semi-competence to debacle is stupefying given the personnel and experience out there.  Yes, Gardner has been off most of the year, but as I mentioned last week it doesn't seem like anyone can get open or generate many yards after the catch, which creates this vicious feedback loop where Gardner has to make tough throws in short timeframes on these long, meandering drives, which ratchets up the stress on everyone involved and seems to numb Gardner's natural instincts.  This passing offense should be better, and next year when Funchess is likely gone and Michigan is trotting out Darboh, Chesson, and a combination of Canteen, Harris, and freshmen du jour, it's not going to be fun in the slightest.

One final note - after the Michigan game I stuck around to catch part of the OSU-MSU game.  A piece of me dies watching Urban Meyer trot out a first-year QB and RB combo and just dismantle a pretty good MSU defense.  It's just so damn easy because it makes sense to force defenses to play left-handed, and yet for some reason Michigan seems to think they can tire out good defenses by just keep taking that right cross until the defense gets tired.  Or, in picture form, this:

Best:  The Defense (minus 2 drives)

The line was beaten up a bit by a bruising MSU rushing attack that apparently was on a mission to defend the sensibilities of an easily-offended nitwit and to teach the Wolverines a lesson about proper groundskeeping protocols, but the front 7 really showed up in this game.  Frank Clark had a billion pass breakups at the line, including one that led to Goden's INT, and 1.5 sacks, and looked like an NFL draft pick out there.  His bull rush on the 2-point conversion just bulldozed the tackle as well as Jackson, and watching Siemian just fall down because he expected not to be running up the butt of his line was the perfect end to a great day by Clark.  Ojemudia chipped in with 2 sacks himself, though 1 was basically the definition of a "coverage" sack, and Henry was out there again creating havoc at the line.  Glasgow carried on the St. Kovacs tradition with another competent performance, and again, 12 total yards rushing after NW had established that as the only competent component of their offense in previous games is damn impressive.

I thought Bolden and Ryan played reasonably well against the run, and while coverage wasn't great all day nothing broke big anywhere, which is basically a victory right now.  Taylor was picked on early and late by Prater, and there were a couple of throws by Siemian that must have occurred when Brian was watching because the windows were basically portholes he threaded.

Even the last couple of drives when NW got it going were just a series of short passes and runs strung together; I would call them "disconcerting" but this defense has brain farts like this enough, and the season is so mercifully close to ending, that I've just come to accept them.  Michigan's continued fear of being beat over the top creates a world in which Prater and Jones were given 7-yard cushions on 1st-and-10 in the second half, but at the same time your corners are expected to stay with these guys and, at least in this game, it didn't seem like Taylor could stay in contact consistently with his man.

Fitzgerald helped a bit kicking the FG deep in Michigan territory, but I'm kinda picking at nits here.  This isn't a dominant unit and the top-10 rankings seem like hand-waving MATH more than actual, objective performance on the field, but a competent offense would have put this game out of reach early and this defensive effort would have looked even more dominant as a result.  This is probably the best overall performance by the unit all season (maybe MNTM, but this is a Power 5-ish team here, on the road), so if the coaches are one the way out this at least feels like the best effort they could have expected.  And given how meh Maryland has looked against good defenses this year, maybe the defenders will put forth one final encore before OSU eats their lunch in Columbus.

Worst:  Road Warriors

So, yeah, this team is suffering from the rare condition that doesn't allow them to look remotely competent on the road.  The last time Michigan looked like it could win convincingly outside of the Big House [EDIT:  I don't know why I said ND last year; it was ND in 2010.  Drink that up for a moment], and I'd say the best performance this year was in the loss to Rutgers, otherwise known as the game where Gary Nova threw for 400 F*CKING YARDS!  It isn't news to say performance like this are an indictment of Brady Hoke's coaching, but it shocks me that the offense looks incredibly feeble going up against a NW defense that was lit up for 48 points by Iowa last week.  I get that Evanston has been a bit of a house of horrors in recent years despite Michigan winning a couple of them, but anyone who thinks that Brady Hoke can win out to save his job just needs to look at games like this to see that that ship should have already sailed.  He isn't going to the Horseshoe or even East Lansing and playing games like this; there were more Michigan fans in the stands that Wildcats, and yet Michigan played they were in Death Valley.  His teams barely scrape by on the road, and the fact we are still talking about them struggling in these games 4 years into his tenure is unacceptable.

Best/Worst:  No Horrible Coaching This Week?

Maybe my expectations have been permanently recalibrated, but I didn't see any particularly egregious examples of bad game management/coaching in this game by Michigan.  Yeah, there were some questionable defensive calls on that last drive, but they weren't "boneheaded" as much as just bad playcalls that, sadly, lots of college coaches make.  The offense didn't execute well, but there were a number of plays that should have broken big and were the right ones to make given the situation - in particular, I remember a 2nd-half pass to Funchess that would have gone for an easy score had Gardner not thrown it late.

Clock management was fine for what it was, and even the blocked FG at the end of the half was the right call if just depressing.  In a perfect world Michigan could have been a bit more aggressive with three 1st-half possessions in NW territory, but with has bad as the offense looked and as good as the defense was playing, it made sense to keep the variance low and just try to grind out a win.  It was ugly, but compared to previous weeks it was competently so.

Worst:  The Team vs. this team

While I am on the record for not being the biggest fan of the Cult of Bo around these parts, I do recognize the selfless nature called upon in his "The Team, The Team, the Team" mantra.  The point being made is that what matters is the team, not the individuals, and that playing as a cohesive unit with a singular purpose will lead to success.  It's a bit simplistic, but as a rallying cry it makes sense for a football team.

As a Michigan fan, I've always cheered for the laundry in a sense; I obviously like and know the intricate details of most teams, but I'm a fan of "Michigan" more than I am of an particular squad.  I want Michigan to win every game, with all the irrational fandom that entails.  So when Michigan squeaked out this game against Northwestern and are basically in a one-game playoff to make a lower-tier bowl game, I was excited because I want Michigan to win games and go to bowls.  Beyond the palace intrigue of Brady Hoke's continued employment (I'm of the belief that he's been gone since the day Brandon stepped down, and only in a world where he had beaten MSU and OSU could he have gotten a reprieve) and how wins affect the odds of him being retained, the Team winning more games and finishing on a high note is all I want.

That said, this particular team is really hard to root on to a bowl game.  Now, this in no way is a reflection on the players or coaches; by all accounts this team is full of nice people who are trying their best, and in some ways they are one of the more endearing clubs simply because they've survived so much controversy and insanity.  But as a football team, they are just so bad at some many parts of the sport that them making some crappy bowl embodies a lot of what is wrong with college football.  It's a team that probably won't beat anyone better than "meh" all year going to a cash-loser bowl game at Yankee Stadium or Ford Field because of "ratings" and because guys in sports coats say they should and will give each player used copies of GTA IV and Fat Heads of Bernie Williams for their dorm rooms as a "goody" bag.  Sure, I get all of the benefits of another game (more practices, a reward for the hard work the players, seniors going out on top, marginal improvement in recruiting), but it just feels, well, wrong for a team this flawed and mediocre to be playing another game.  This season has been a disappointment to the nth degree, and finishing 7-6 without a credible win on the docket feels like a cheat, a way to game the system because nobody was paying attention.

I guess my point is that as a Michigan fan I want to see them go 7-6 or (heaven forbid) 8-5, but it just doesn't feel right based on this team's performance on the field all year.  This is more an indictment of college football than Michigan in general, but it's still disconcerting.

Best:  Bye, Bye, Bye!

So another week to relax and, sigh, get ready for the biggest game of the year against Maryland.  Michigan absolutely has to win against the Terrapins, which again, sigh, because they aren't going to go to Columbus and "shock the world".  Win next week and I'll be getting my Metro North tickets to Yankee Stadium; lose and I'll start download FlightTracker on my phone.

Comments

SHub'68

November 9th, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^

of going bowling is the potential for (more) national embarrassment. Say it's Yankee Stadium or Ford Field and a lower tier opponent who has spent the entire additional 15 practices preparing in all ways. The probability that we get smoked by a non-power 5 opponent is pretty high.

MMB 82

November 9th, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^

It is possible to not learn the outcome of the game (assuming, like me, you are many hundreds of miles outside BiG terriroty) prior watching it later; and I have to admit that FFing thru major portions of suckitage makes the bad medicine go down easier.

Gameboy

November 9th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^

The thing that I see with Gardner is that he does not trust anyone. Not his line, not his receivers. I don't know when is the last time I saw Gardner throw a pass before the cut is made. He will ONLY throw it when the receiver has made the cut and is on a straight trajectory.

This is KILLING us since we cannot do any hitch and go to punish over plays and receivers cannot get any separation since most of the separation happens right after the cut.

Gardner is broken beyond recognition. This is really sad to watch.

bronxblue

November 9th, 2014 at 6:56 PM ^

Yeah, that's why I think he'll at least have a chance in the NFL after playing a couple of years as a backup and getting relatively consistent protection in practice.  I see the same thing starting to take hold with Hackenberg at PSU; he's just been under fire since he stepped on campus, and you see as the games progress him get the yips.

Waves

November 9th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^

Thanks for taking the time to write this, bronxblue. I always enjoy your best and worst pieces. Much of it resonates with me and echoes what I was thinking but couldn't articulate.

Swayze Howell Sheen

November 9th, 2014 at 3:40 PM ^

this also killed me:

A piece of me dies watching Urban Meyer trot out a first-year QB and RB combo and just dismantle a pretty good MSU defense. 

See Brian's tweets for more of the same. That said, MSU/OSU was a good football game to watch, which was a change - I'm so used to bad football that I'd forgotten what a good game could look like.

Also, I prefer 0x100, otherwise it's too hard to read. However, you are probably right in that binary is getting close to being appropriate for our yardage totals... :P

 

 

InHopsWeTrust

November 9th, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^

Especially how Gardner locks on to a receiver from the break of the huddle.

I agree on not wanting a bowl game but it is really hard admitting that fact. I feel for the players and I would think they want to go bowling. But as others have said, the bowl we would get would be embarrassing and so would our performance and subsequent result. Better to just get through the regular season and concentrate on basketball.

Oh how I wish hockey were playing better. I could use another distraction from our football program.

You Only Live Twice

November 9th, 2014 at 6:11 PM ^

since you watched later, Bronx, did you happen to see the helmet hit on Gardner?  They mentioned it during the radio broadcast, thinking, towards the end of the 1st half maybe.  Not sure though. 

In reply to by You Only Live Twice

bronxblue

November 9th, 2014 at 7:02 PM ^

I missed it, though I also rewound the game a couple of times to check.  Of course, I'm not the best viewer of this stuff, since what I tend to think are clean, high hits can also be helmet shots.  If it happened, then by all means I hope it is brought to light.

BlueHills

November 9th, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^

Perhaps the best use of the word trebuchet I've ever seen outside handbooks on Medieval artillery and pumpkin throwing machines on the History Channel.

Cranky Dave

November 9th, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^

But when I've made comments about this team not really deserving to go to a bowl game and that it doesnt realky matter much with a lame duck staff i get negged hard.

Thanks for articulating that position much better than Ive been able to

Soulfire21

November 9th, 2014 at 10:38 PM ^

How is our offense so dysfunctional?  It's ... shocking, to say the least.

There's this instance of one of our guys blocking 2 NW players, while 2 just stand up pretending to do something.

The snap-the-ball-into-the-motion-receiver was infurating.  I'm a masochist, so it's here:

Yo_Blue

November 10th, 2014 at 9:36 AM ^

There were two instances of punts inside the Northwestern 40.  On both occassions Hagerup allowed the gunners to stop the ball in the field of play and pin NW deep.  On both occassions it was a makable fourth down.  You can talk about Gardner not having faith/confidence in his blockers and receivers, but the coaches have a similar faith in him. 

Monocle Smile

November 11th, 2014 at 7:05 AM ^

Pretty much everyone on offense looks lost most of the time. Some of the linemen seem to know what they're doing fairly often, but I don't recall ever seeing so many players seem obviously confused on so many plays.