Done. [Patrick Barron]

Of the Decade: The Best Blocks Comment Count

Seth January 30th, 2020 at 12:02 PM

We could have made an all-2010s team and published it when everyone else did, but how MGoBlog would that be? This time we're doing this as a staff since one guy could forget.

Previously: The aughts: ESPN Images, Michigan's offense, Michigan's defense, Worst Plays of The Decade Part 1, Worst Plays Part 2, Best Plays Part I, Best Plays Part II.

We figured the best way to lead Of the Decade 2020 is with the guys carving out a path. Ten is a nice round number so we'll go with top ten blocks thrown from 2010-2019. These are ranked by gut because the only number you can put on something like this is on the UFR scale. Points are arbitrarily awarded for:

  • Defenders removed
  • Meanness of block(s)
  • General Splattitude
  • Significance of moment
  • Deservedness of recipient

Let us ruminate.

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10. EATING OUT

Dealer: Vincent Smith
Recipient: Troy Stoudermire
Scene of the Crime: First drive of 2012 Minnesota

We'll start with a shorty. Friend of the blog Vincent Smith was the best pass-blocking back at Michigan since Hart, and if we wanted it, this whole article could be #2 flipping blitzers. But then there was the time he got to split out wide and face a Minnesota cornerback. This is a thing spread teams do all the time to unbalance a defense and reveal their coverage, and usually means the back's job is done for the play.

Obviously Vincent was told his job is to bury the corner to clear space for a quick out to Kwiatkowski  He very much obliged:

smith-kills-corner-minn

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 1
  • Impact: 0/5. There was no throw because—ah 2012—Mealer and Barnum screwed up a stunt, and had there been one it was going to be PI.
  • Meanness: 4/5. That's a cornerback man.
  • Splattitude: 3/5. I'm sure he remembers this. Probably felt it all game.
  • Karma: 0/5. Stoudermire holds the Big Ten record for kickoff return yardage, which he achieved before he was granted a 6th year. He was the only Big Ten-caliber player in the Gophers' back seven, had an injury history, was one of my many inspired late Draftageddon picks, and seems to be a good dude. Planting him like that was a dick move. (Not sorry)

[After THE JUMP: Pads recommended.]

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9. EQUUS ASINUS SEPULTUS

Dealer: Taylor Lewan
Recipient: Indiana DE Nick Mangieri
Scene of the Crime: Last offensive play of that 2013 Indiana game.

In the parlance of this site a "donkey" is a defender being clumsily ridden around the field by a larger, fiercer, more agile animal who has thoroughly overpowered him. The origin of the term goes all the way back to Lewan's first start in 2010 against Bowling Green. While many a burrow was unceremoniously buried along the way, true mastery of one's ass takes many years. Your donkey has to go in thinking he's a stud, lined up with leverage, and even getting under, setting his feet, perhaps maybe even cause some penetration. It is at this point his donkey legs fail him, and his torso begins moving sideways until crashing into a tackle who thought he was three gaps away.

It is the hopelessness of the sad donkey's plight which makes the donkeying project so rewarding.

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 3. The entire DL is cut off in the detritus
  • Impact: 3/5. True M was up two scores with a minute and a half left but had Toussaint gone down after the 1st down it's ballgame, and it was Lewan's block alone that punched a hole in a defense in extreme run mode. Point deducted for Indiana however.
  • Meanness: 5/5. Nick Mangieri would have 10 sacks as a senior captain of a respectable defense in 2015, but at this point he's a scrawny hybrid OLB. A donkeying is highly disrespectful.
  • Splattitude: 4/5. Wound up on his ass 4 yards from his starting position.
  • Karma: 1/5. Academic All-Big Ten WDE/LB who was on Michigan's recruiting board once upon a time, and whom Lewan had already bullied all game.

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8. BURIAL BROS

Dealer: Jon Runyan Jr.
Recipients: DT Mike and DE Jacub (sic) Panasiuk, and MLB Joe Bachie.
Scenes of the Crimes: 2018 MSU near the end of a 7-0 first half that looked more like 21-0, and 2019 MSU, middle of the 2nd Q in a 7-7 game that looked more like 21-0.

The Panasiuks were one of the most notorious fraternal pairs of recent years. Mike, the elder brother, had proven himself an accomplished run defender. The younger Jacub, however, carried a well-earned reputation as a guy better at injuring opponents than stopping them. Just ask Jon Runyan Jr., after Jacub got himself ejected for a ridiculously late hit on Shea Patterson at the end of last year's game:

"I didn't see it at the time," Runyan of Panasiuk's hit. "I always knew that No. 96 is kind of a dirty player, him and his brother. I really don't care too much for them. I made clear that and you can go back and watch the film, I have a play where I cleaned up No. 96 and took him 20 yards down the field. Not really a big fan of him. I don't really want to talk trash about him but I really don't like that guy and don't like how he plays the game of football.

Really? I tried, but I couldn't find the 20-yard ride on he was talking about. It might exist, but not having the All-22 if it wasn't in the frame it wasn't in the game. I did pull one of Runyan sitting on the trash:

Anyway there's a much better block by Runyan against this cast that doesn't get talked about enough. As I said, Mike was the legit Panasiuk. And behind them it didn't get any easier, with all-Big Ten star Joe Bachie the latest in a long line of run-murdering middle linebackers. Which is why our eyes all opened a bit when Mike slanted outside Runyan, Runyan popped Big Pan into the safe clutches of Sean McKeon, then erased Bachie to spring Higdon on a simple Counter Trey, despite the lead puller (Onwenu) getting no shot at Willekes.

You can feel Bachie's surprise as he spins off Runyan only to find Higdon already cutting away and putting a move on a safety. Also Runyan jarred the Panasiuk and got a pop on Bachie again the very next play, so it ain't a fluke.

CLONK-O-METER (for the first 2018 play):

  • Defenders removed: 2 All-Big Ten ones
  • Impact: 4/5. This was a soaked field in an emotional game where the scoreboard wasn't reflective of the play, and that didn't seem likely to change before halftime given the way passing was going. This set up Michigan deep in MSU territory for a chance to extend the lead to two scores. Also how demoralizing must it have been for some legacy who committed to Brady Hoke to be cutting up the heart of that run defense they were so proud of?
  • Meanness: 2/5. These are respectful blocks. Mike is escorted to a tight end and left with a babysitter. Bachie doesn't want to go in the cart.
  • Splattitude: 4/5. You can tell neither of these players is used to suck DISRESPEKT.
  • Karma: 5/5. Couldn't happen to nicer people, unless perhaps...

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7. PSYCHO KILLER FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA

Dealer: Kyle Kalis
Recipient: MSU OLB Chris Frey
Scene of the Crime: 2016 MSU, late in the 2nd Q, 1st and goal from the Spartan 6.

To much of the country Chris Frey is known as the subject of a national zaprudering in 2017 for a late head-first leap on Notre Dame QB Brandon Wimbush. To Big Ten country, he's the guy who covered his face in eye-black and used his body as a spear. And to us he was the type specimen of Dantonio's MSU: a Columbus 3-star overlooked by Ohio State who played to injure, dropped "disrespected" into every interview, trolled Michigan players and coaches on Twitter, and proudly went by the nickname "Psycho." He had long hair and a beard, and a dad from the world of football recruiting, so the MSU fans and media loved him as much as fans of rivals did not. There was also the time he tried to remove Jake Rudock's head.

That happened right in front of Kyle Kalis at the end of the 2015 game. Fast forward a season, late in the 2nd half State lined up with their DTs super-wide, a sign they were going to bring that famous Double-A gap blitz. Kalis read it correctly, found Frey on the twist, and rode "Psycho" from the 5 yard line to the endzone, burying him in the space between the 'T' and 'A'.

Since the football breaking the plane was obvious at first glance to everyone but ESPN's director, TV viewers were treated to a couple angles of the burial in slow motion.

Astute Spartans correctly pointed out that Kalis moved a frame early on this play. That and some extreme officiating the score in the 4th quarter allowed Frey to escape his defeat with some dignity.

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 1, on a Double-A gap blitz
  • Impact: 4/5. 'Twas this block, and MSU respecting a zone read keeper from Wilton Speight (!) which made the play.
  • Meanness: 3/5. Jumping on him at the end when he was already clearly out of the play is unnecessary and ungentlemanly.
  • Splattitude: 4/5. Definite splat, but the kind a person can get up from.
  • Karma: 5/5. Frey.

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6.TRU FOR ONE

Dealer: Tru Wilson
Recipients: Hybrid safety Antoine Brooks and DT Oseh Saine
Scene of the Crime: 2018 Maryland, middle of the 4th Q, Michigan up 27-14 and looking to put this away.

In this world there are subtle downfield blocks that people who watch replay pick up and appreciate. Then there are blocks that make a former Bo linebacker who tweets his rewatches cry:

Bonus: in the background you can hear someone in JDue's household drop silverware as Antoine Brooks's blitz momentum is used against him until he is well out of harm's way and discarded.

Tru doesn't leave immediately though—he follows Brooks, the standout star of the Terps defense—just to make sure he's really really dead before departing with buddy Shea Patterson. There they encounter Onwenu giving DL Oseh Saine a bit of a donkey ride in the direction Shea wants to go. Tru does the finishing, right into Saine's gut, as the 300-pounder goes down in a heap and Tru goes over with him. Saine does not get back up. Neither does Brooks again enter the frame despite several seconds of pursuit not too far away. But Tru does, looking around a moment later like he's frustrated there aren't more. Gonna miss him next year.

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 2, one of them Maryland's best player
  • Impact: 2/5. Maryland had finally scored after playing worse than the scoreboard indicated all day. Michigan was playing choppy, and that 13-point lead inside 7 minutes had us all sensing the possibility of a 1-point upset despite the 600-150 (I'm doing that from memory) yardage differential. This play set up three consecutive first downs en route to the putaway touchdown.
  • Meanness: 0/5. Brooks really shouldn't be running around that fast. Tru does all he can to absorb Antoine's momentum, help him to the ground on his back to avoid damaging any joints or internal organs, and then sticks around to make sure he's okay. What a guy!
  • Splattitude: 4/5. Definite splat, but the kind a person can get up from. As for the other one, who's to say Tru isn't just so excited they're going downfield that he wants Saine to join the run?
  • Karma: 0/5. These players were already traumatized by Durkin, no need to add.

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5. MR. WORLDWIDE

Dealer: Michael Onwenu
Recipients: Army DT Kwabena Bonsu and OLB Amadeo West
Scene of the Crime: 2019 Army, 3rd and 6 from the Army 29 in the 1st overtime, Michigan needing a TD to force a second OT.

When you think of Michael Onwenu the image conjured is the 350*-pound man flinging a DT out of the picture, leaping downfield with surprising agility, and riding some poor unsuspecting linebacker into the endzone with physics!

PHYSICS!

What you don't think of is pass-blocking, which is unfortunate because Onwenu was college football's best pass protecting guards, giving up, according to our charting, just 8 pass pro negatives in each of his last two seasons. We usually don't plus guys for pass blocking since it's mostly doing your job within the structure of the protection. UFR conventions are 15 years old, and until now they haven't been asked to deal with a scenario where a pass blocker blocks more than one guy.

That is until Jalen Mayfield went chasing a stunt at the worse possible time, and Omameh was left keeping two rushers from Shea until Ronnie Bell could pop across the zone coverage.

This isn't a situation I ever want to be in again, in part because Onwenu won't be around anymore, mostly because free rusher on 3rd and 6 in overtime against Army. Since UFR points didn't apply, this won Onwenu that week's Mr. Worldwide Trophy, and a spot right before the BLOCKS OF ALL TIME line for this exercise.

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 2, ON A PASS RUSH!
  • Impact: 8/5. It's 3rd and 6. In Overtime. And Jalen Mayfield chooses this moment to blow a protection, insanely trying to chase the edge guy on a stunt instead of taking the DT Onwenu is trying to pass off. If that leads to pressure and Patterson has to chuck it away it's 4th and 6 from the 29. If Patterson eats a sack it's 4th and 11 or worse. Sorry about your 5 scale but this rescued the season right here.
  • Meanness: 0/5. "Guys, guys, guys, GUYS! We're all going to get to the quarterback, okay?"
  • Splattitude: 0/5. Only Shea goes splat.
  • Karma: 1/5. True these men serve our country, but Army plays cheap, and I was having a day, okay?

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4. Bowling for Domers

Dealer: Jehu Chesson
Recipients: SS Elijah Shumate, LB Dan Fox, and CB Bennett Jackson
Scene of the Crime: Under the Lights II (Notre Dame 2013), 10 minutes into the game, to give Michigan a 10-0 lead

It used to be a Michigan tradition that receivers would burn their redshirts blocking, but even Lloyd Carr might have taken a look at the rail thin African refugee listed at "196" on the roster and figure single-blocking cornerbacks with nobody else around was not the best use of his eligibility. Going Aaron Shea vs. Wisconsin before his first Big Ten season was...well it was immortalized in a gif edit is what it was:

I go back to the original if only because the slapstick comedy of Shumate's face is better preserved as his 213 pounds is redirected into the 245 of Dan Fox and 195 of Bennett Jackson:

Oh noooooooo!

The thing about this play is Gallon had to spin past converging cornerbacks. Then FS Matthias Farley (#41), thinking the cornerbacks were going to end it, ran by, flinging out an arm and falling down. As Chesson arrives this is the situation:

image

Where did everybody go?

(Notre Dame SBNation site One Foot Down did a Neck Sharpies on this play if you're interested)

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 3, maybe more.
  • Impact: 4/5. It's still the 1st quarter in a game Michigan didn't control until the end, but who's to say Gallon wouldn't have escaped these guys on his own?
  • Meanness: 5/5. How often do you think this gets brought back up to Shumate?
  • Splattitude: 5/5. Large athletic human launched through the air and knocks over two more.
  • Karma: 5/5. Karma works in the future sometimes. I had nothing against Eljiah Shumate when this happened, but now that ND fans complain his pick six didn't make the 2014 score equal to the two 38-0 pastings of the previous decade it's fun to remind them of that other Shumate play vs Michigan. Plus Michigan went after him hard when Hoke first came aboard. But but we did reel in his former Don Bosco teammate who transferred to Paramus.

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3. HAMMER PANDA'S BUFFALO STAMPEDE

Dealer: Khalid Hill
Recipients: MLB Rick Gamboa and FS Afolabi Laguda
Scene of the Crime: 2016 Colorado, down 28-24 early in the 2nd half, 2nd & 7 on the Colorado 42 after a great Peppers return

In the history of MGoBlog there has only ever been one +4 handed out for run blocking.

It's set up by Darboh eating a corner blitz that's supposed to destroy the edge Michigan is attacking. Stalling that guy means the linebacker gunning for Speight is unable to redirect in time to get to the ballcarrier. Now the offense has numbers: Grant Newsome pulling to kick the safety, and Khalid Hill for the middle linebacker.

Hill's first block is flawless, a shoulder into the MLB.

image

That's already a +2 but the crazy part is he does that and keeps going without losing momentum. Colorado has a safety to hold this down to a gain of 12 or 16 give or take some De'Veon RAGE. Except Hill is so fast he gets out in front of that safety as well.

Some people were shocked that the safety decided to dive at Hill's feet rather than, you know, try alter the running back's route to the sideline. But I'm with the Buffalo here: when there's a raging Hammerin' Panda going downfield who already discarded your leading tackler like he's Seth Fisher, giving yourself up to prevent further damage is the play. Had he not, well, Chidobe Awuzie, playing cornerback on the opposite side, had an angle to stop this at the 5 until Butt took care of him. If he hadn't, maybe Panda would have had eaten another.

Hill did this again against Rutgers by the way:

But that was Rutgers.

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders: 2
  • Impact: 5/5. This season should have ended in the playoffs, but could have been upset right here against a Colorado team that turned out to be surprisingly good.
  • Meanness: 4/5. No clobberin' but it's pretty rude to just push past a guy and then not even acknowledge him.
  • Splattitude: 5/5. If you're looking for just pure physical carnage you are missing cruelty on a Roman scale. This is some ancient world ruthlessness: leaving that linebacker alive just to suffer the indignity of a long chase down the sideline, and forcing the safety to open his veins rather than see himself and his clients destroyed. Sulla would be proud.
  • Karma: 3/5. I like Colorado. In fact at the moment this occurred I was in Colorado, attending the wedding of my Spartan sister-in-law, where a coven of MSU and UC grads conspired to make me think Michigan had lost this game while I bubbled through photos and the ceremony. Having seen just the bad parts in the first half I believed them. So when we finally managed to sneak into the ready room during the reception and watch the DVR'd recording, I got to enjoy this play in utter shocked silence.

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2. SYMPHONY #72 "ODE TO SPAM" IN D FLAT MAJOR

Dealer: Stephen Spanellis
Recipients: ND backup CB Houston Griffith and starting WLB Asmar Bilal.
Scene of the Crime: 2019 Notre Dame, 2nd and 6 from the ND 26, late 4th quarter, Michigan up 38-7, touchdown makes it 45-7.

A great block is like a good song. It hits you, gets inside you, takes you where it wants to, and leaves a lasting impression. What Stephen Spanellis did to this cornerback is a Rachmaninoff.

It starts with a simple progression, a sonata like any you've experienced a hundred times before. This resolves into a pin and pull. There are two directions to go with this scale—kicking out the edge, or turn him inside and go around—but either way you expect this is about to return to a tonic.

image

That's when he surprises you—we're not returning to Down G nor resolving to the F-sharp. That bassoon is a distraction from a subtle buildup of woodwinds and timpani that threatens something more powerful. Just as your mind registers the impending crash it comes, not in a blast but a new, powerful direction that lifts the orchestra from their seats.

image

As we head into the second movement he's chased by a rogue melody from the last one.

image

And as that melody gives way the momentum of the piece heads sideways into a scherzo. Our trio becomes a duet, a polite yet forceful dance between two partners both fighting and agreeing to stretch this to the sideline.

image

As the sideline nears, a coronet cries out. The string section is done playing along, but can't fight the momentum that has turned from the sideline and intends to crash beyond the 1st down marker.

image

And is powerless. This is no rondo—we are going full Allegro. The percussion have joined. We are out of bounds, and proceeding to march.

image

One final bar of futile protest from the string melody…

image

Now we're coming to the crescendo. For this we need accompaniment. Enter the brass.

image

Is this it? Are we coming to the Coda? Not yet: SEGNO! From the cheer team comes the crash of a cymbal.

image

It's here. We are coming to a FINALE!

image

et Coda.

image

And bow.

image

Here's another angle:

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 1.5
  • Impact: 1/5. This is backup hour, on the unused side of an RPO pin & pull/double slant that Mike Sainristil turns into a final superfluous touchdown. But Spam gets a point for so emphatically blocking this dude that the whole side of the defense is surprised when the ball isn't behind him.
  • Meanness: 25/5. Even before they go out of bounds Griffith is trying to remember the safe word.
  • Splattitude: 25/5. Any further and they're on the brick.
  • Karma: 3/5. Backup CB in a blowout, and this one was an FSU transfer, not one of the many prospects M and ND went head-to-head for because they annoyingly come up with the same evaluations we do. On the other hand, this guy once got a "Recruit Card" from Notre Dame that reported he'd be a major factor in their 48-10 victory in this game. Also the next time they're scheduled to play at Michigan my toddler will be in the student section. Remember us.

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1. DENNIS BERGKAMP!

Met balbezit voor Frank de Boer. Frank de Boer speelt de bal heel goed naar Dennis Bergkamp. Dennis Bergkamp, Dennis Bergkamp neemt de bal aan. Dennis BergKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP!! AAAAHHHHWHHH!!!!

Dealer: Patrick Omameh
Recipients: LB Manti Te'o, SS Harrison Smith
Scene of the Crime: 2010 Notre Dame, 2nd and 10 from the Michigan 13, up 14-7 with 2 minutes left in the first half.

I don't speak Dutch but having watched the above clip approximately 58,262 times I am pretty sure "Frank de Boer speelt de bal heel goed naar" means "Patrick Omameh clears the road for…" This play is already off to an honorable mention start with the reach block Molk executed on a DT aiming for two gaps over. Reach blocks are damn hard, but when you can pull one off like that you've probably opened a major gap in a spot the design of the defense expected to be perfectly guarded. When you execute a reach block you're supposed to be the star of the play.

The way to fix such a problem if you're a defense is have your linebacker cut off the gap it created and force the play outside. In this case that linebacker is Manti Te'o, who would launch his own Heisman campaign two years later. It's still not an easy play, but if there are five guys in college football at that moment you'd want to pull it off, Te'o, a former five-star is among them. In fact Manti would later execute this same thing perfectly, which TFL ironically helped launch Denard's Heisman campaign.

image

Sam Wolson/The Michigan Daily (story)

But let's go back to the Michigan 13 yard line. Patrick Omameh, a redshirt sophomore plucked out of Columbus and signed so late the services left him a 2-star defensive end, is the guy Te'o has to beat. Te'o thinks this means he has time. He slows up in the gap for a fraction of a second, just long enough to force Robinson to abandon the Molk lane. And in that fraction of a second, Omameh turns upfield, closes the gap between him and Te'o, and gets into the linebacker's chest.

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There's one man still out there who can make this play, safety Harrison Smith, ND's second-leading tackler in 2010 and 2011 after Te'o. Smith would go on to be a 1st round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, and has started 113 games for them in the years since, and played in five Pro Bowls. In that time Smith has run down some of the greatest athletes of his generation. If there's one guy who can get to Denard Robinson playing college ball at that moment, Harrison Smith, right?

Well normally, yeah. But not with a five-star linebacker deposited in his lap he can't.

image

And of course Te'o gets buried for good measure, and from there it's all Dennis Bergkamp.

CLONK-O-METER:

  • Defenders removed: 2. One's a future Heisman candidate, the other a five-time Pro Bowler.
  • Impact: 5/5. This was still early in the game but 87-yard touchdown in a game Michigan had to win on their last drive.
  • Meanness: 5/5. If they sold admission to the film session with Brian Kelly after it would dwarf the NBC contract.
  • Splattitude: 5/5. Golden domes everywhere.
  • Karma: 3/5. Rivalry and all that but friendly rivals. At the time I was highly annoyed by all things Te'o, but after he got catfished and made a fool of himself I realized it wasn't Te'o I didn't like but the Notre Dame fans' idea of Te'o. When I think about that, I want to make this a 2. But then I think about the Domers who were so upset that they changed an out of bounds call on review correctly because they weren't 114% sure and I want to make it a 4. So 3 it is.

I did not mean for three of our top four to be from Notre Dame but here we are. The 2010s, everybody!

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

I mostly gathered these from old One Frame at a Time posts, so thank you, Ace.

Kekoa: CA-TAH! BEN MASON. Darboh sets his own screen. And lo the Hawaiians were parted. Graham Glasgow's blitz pickup. BEN MASON on chump Panasiuk. BEN MASON springs Jackson. Hammer Panda hammers Purdue cornerback. Hammer Panda hammers Florida cornerback. Also Florida DE. One-arm swatting a Buff. Khalid Hill comes back for more. This is actually Mo Hurst. Kalis sledding. McKeon gathers Air Force collectibles. Roundtree hunting an Eagle. Devin Bush on Chris Frey (I thought it was targeting). Onwenu loosed on an Iowa LB. Ronnie Bell throws out the trash. Bell incinerates the trash. Whole dang OL. Mayfield erases a Terp. Adam Fakih (#41) play until the whistle. Patterson throws a block but also check out Runyan's pop and pancake on this one. Eubanks more like Eubonks! Charbonnet is metal Tru. Tru for the cause. DPJ bonks a safety. Juwann Bushell-Beatty Gopher removal services. Poggi broke a Hoosier. Poggi broke a Rebel. Bredeson pancake. Higdon blitz pickup: you lost your bonnet. Chesson outta nowhere. Chesson mountain goat. Floyd Simmons on the reverse return, Mason Cole: psycheout! (note: this gif wasn't working this morning). Mason Cole: Let me take you for a ride. Mason Cole: Gert off my G! Cole down the sideline. Cole and Bredeson imagine a world where they got to play together longer. This is how you run Power. Bush cleans up pursuit. Who says Braden isn't agile? Asiasi asi oy oy oy. Asiasi CHOO CHOO. Asiasi is made of rubber. Kalis meets ASU safety. John O'Korn pancake. Shane Morris lead blocker. After four years of Hoke I get why De'Veon Smith had to turn around and appreciate this. Onwenu pancakes a Bearcat. Onwenu hello Rutgers. The Worst block of the decade. And finally the proper and correct way to respond when Mike Onwenu is about to block you:

Comments

Seth

January 31st, 2020 at 10:57 AM ^

I believe you. Not knowing the circumstances or the parties or anything though I can't really make a judgment. This is the first time I've ever heard something negative about Hill, and there are plenty of Michigan players for whom that is not the case.

Brian Griese

January 30th, 2020 at 12:38 PM ^

I’m glad to see this series is back, but can we please skip the series of worst plays? Too many dong punch candidates to discuss for 2-10 and I don’t need to re-see #1, k thanks. 

dragonchild

January 30th, 2020 at 1:01 PM ^

My favorite block was actually by a QB.  I don't remember the game but it was Harbaugh era.  Some kind of end-around or sweep so pursuit was coming from backside, and the usual gamble is to just outrun it but the ballcarrier wasn't that fast.  Instead the QB sensed it, and instead of turning around did a Molk-style backpedal block where he backs into the guy with his arms out.  IIRC the defender was so shocked that instead of just pancaking the QB he respected the block and tried to either fight through it or go around, making a mess of the backfield.  Ball carrier popped free for a big gain.

The blind block was so accurate, effective, and delivered with confidence that I was certain it was part of the play design.  It literally destroyed the backside pursuit and erased a TFL.  They didn't run it again, or at least, the QB wasn't foolish enough to try it twice.

Mercury Hayes

January 30th, 2020 at 1:42 PM ^

Curious about why the Ode to Span wasn't a penalty. I love the effort, the hustle, the outcome, but he blocked the guy 10 yards out of bounds. For all the things that get penalized, I thought that would be a flag you could set a clock to. But I'm wrong. Maybe there is no unceccessary roughness or other limitation. For example, in the future, maybe a Michigan lineman can block a ND player up into the stands, or up the stairs to the concourse for some kettle corn. Later in the game, a LT could block a CB over to the Pioneer lot so he can start up his grill for the post-game tailgate.

The Homie J

January 30th, 2020 at 4:33 PM ^

Yup, if Spanellis had literally disengaged for even a second during that entire block, he would have been flagged immediately.  That ref was looking for the slightest bit of room too, following them the whole way and seeing if he jumps or pushes once the block is over.  That's what makes it so impressive, it was literally textbook and executed so well that a ref waiting for his moment never gets a chance to flag it

crom80

January 30th, 2020 at 1:54 PM ^

Hi Seth,

 

I'm guessing it's an error but when I click on the 'Michigan's offense' and 'Michigan's defense' I get the 'The requested page could not be found.' message. 

Or is something being implied?

bsand2053

January 30th, 2020 at 3:51 PM ^

I don’t like Lewan but he was fun to watch for sure.  My favorite memory of him is getting called for an illegal man downfield because he rode a donkey about 10 yards downfield on a run play 

xtramelanin

January 30th, 2020 at 4:31 PM ^

fun stuff.

my favorite line: Meanness: 25/5. Even before they go out of bounds Griffith is trying to remember the safe word.