StephenRKass

September 28th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^

Looks like Smith is good to go. Obv. we'll know more after the presser, and know for sure on Saturday. But there he is.

Also see that Grant Perry is third on depth at one WR position. Don't know that we'll see him too much until his route running improves.

Joined: 07/15/2008

MGoPoints: 23107

alum96

September 28th, 2015 at 1:02 PM ^

By the way Green had 10 carries for a measly 28 yards after Smith softened up that defense.   Not good.  Interesting that they went to him over Isaac (2 carries).  I wonder if they were trying to get him going.  That was a D set up to be pulverized late as they dreamed of the flight home.

Also looks like we are aware...and fully aware... of Will Likely.

 

Joined: 04/28/2012

MGoPoints: 82558

goblue224

September 28th, 2015 at 1:05 PM ^

One of the things I noticed during the game was Issac went out of bounds instead of taking the contact on a 3rd and short that we didn't get. When he came to the sideline Wheatly ripped into him and he never returned to the game. I'm guessing that's why we saw a steady dose of Green after the Smith injury.

Joined: 09/28/2014

MGoPoints: 2475

Cranky Dave

September 28th, 2015 at 1:13 PM ^

continues to be an enigma to me.  I want him to be good, he looks the part and seems like he should be getting more carries.  Against UNLV he did initiate contact instead of running out of bounds.  It seems each week will be Smith with the majority of the carries and a combination of Isaac/Green/Johnsson depending on opponent and quality of initial carries. 

Joined: 09/08/2012

MGoPoints: 26242

MotownGoBlue

September 28th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^

I believe I witnessed Derrick slip the first arm tackle of his career....only to hit the turf two yards later. Hopefully the coaches saw enough to keep DG 3-4 deep on the bench. If Smith isn't 100% I'd run with Isaac as the starter and Johnson as the change-of-pace back.

Joined: 08/09/2014

MGoPoints: 25350

Space Coyote

September 28th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^

You will notice that almost all of Isaac's carries have been outside the tackle box outside a few to keep the defense honest. Almost all of Smith's carries have been between the tackles outside a few stretch plays to keep the defense honest. Johnson is pretty much the change of pace guy (draws, some outside runs, some quick hitting plays, etc).

Green is almost certainly Smith's primary backup for Smith's primary role (between the tackles runner). It's something Harbaugh noted, and why Isaac had a big game against UNLV and Smith didn't. Each back has their role, and they are going to utilize those guys in those roles for the most part.

FWIW, I thought Green was mostly fine. The play calling went fairly vanilla and BYU was stacking the LOS heavily. He had a few nice runs, a few he should have done a little better on (one he should have cut up field that Brian noted, another that I don't think he saw the tackler coming from inside-out when he himself tried to bounce it).

Joined: 06/18/2009

MGoPoints: 38962

Lanknows

September 28th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^

Good points in paragraph 1.  No... excellent points.  The RBs all have different roles and skillsets.

But Green being Smith's primary replacement is dubious.  He's gotten 2 meaningful carries all year.  Michigan is more likely to tweak the playcalling a bit for Johnson and Isaac than put Smith out there for 20 carries.

Joined: 03/23/2012

MGoPoints: 5384

growler4

September 28th, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^

I still like Drake Johnson and remember when he was able to gain yardage behind a less than stellar line when Smith and Green were largely stymied last year.

Smith, so far, has had a fine season and hope his injury isn't too bad. While happy to hear he did not suffer a fracture, sometimes a bad sprain can me more problematic for a longer period of time. Hopefully not the case here and we'll see him for Northwestern if not the upcoming Maryland game.

I'm waiting to see a backfield of Smith and Isaac/Johnson. With Smith in the backfield, the play could be a pass but if it's a running play, the defense knows it's in between the tackles. With one of the other backs in the backfield with Smith, there would be less predictability.

Joined: 11/24/2014

MGoPoints: 1700

Spirit of 69

September 28th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^

Interesting to see Moe Ways in front of Harris now, both around the same height, but Ways is much more filled out. Definitely a trend towards receivers who can also block, which is nice.

Joined: 06/12/2015

MGoPoints: 458

VauntedD

September 28th, 2015 at 5:04 PM ^

Harris does not exactly fit the offense at this point. When a quarterback cannot throw farther than twenty yards down the field a deep threat is not needed. 

Joined: 02/11/2015

MGoPoints: 1729

Mr. Yost

September 28th, 2015 at 7:52 PM ^

I don't know what to respond to.

So I respond to nothing.

Nice job, thread - you've spared yourself. You're welcome.

In all seriousness, great tidbits and insight...wish we had even more of this.

Joined: 07/25/2011

MGoPoints: -9898220

Bleedmaizeblue

September 28th, 2015 at 9:01 PM ^

I just think this team will be hungry for their first road win this year, hope they keep up the effort on every play like last week, if they continue to play like that they have the ability to beat anyone on their schedule.



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Joined: 07/11/2013

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