Football
Michigan Monday
By Tony GerdemanThe more things change, the more Spartan players continue to make dumb plays.
Former Michigan State head coach John L. Smith is gone, but his legacy lives on like a dirt ring around the bath tub.
The Spartans were flagged for nine penalties on Saturday, and seemingly all of them were either crucial or idiotic--or, of course, both. It's clear that this program is better than it was a year ago, but Mark Dantonio still has work to do to get his players to stop making stupid mistakes. Even Chuck Amato thinks enough is enough.
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But it wasn't the penalties that did the Spartans in. It was their steadfast refusal to defend Mario Manningham. Bullheadedness is only an admirable trait in bulls, I believe. Bullheadedness by a defensive coordinator ultimately leads to a miserable postgame press conference by a coach who doesn't really want to hear your crap.
But enough rambling about the Spartans. This isn't Michigan State Monday. Wow, could you imagine such a thing? If The O-Zone covered Penn State instead of Ohio State and I had to write a weekly column about our conference-mandated rivalry the Spartans. I would probably take out my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch the games and remove my fingertips so I wouldn't have to write about it. How many weeks in a row would "The personal fouls did the Spartans in again. But at least they went down swinging" be worth reading?
Anyway, the Wolverines came back from a ten-point fourth quarter deficit and won 28-24 thanks to Chad Henne and his receivers. Eventually, the Spartans will learn that it's okay to defend the pass. Not this year, of course, but maybe one year. And since I've ranted on them this much, it will probably come against the Buckeyes.
When Michigan Was On Offense
Coming into this game, it wasn't entirely known if both Chad Henne and Michael Hart would play, but they did. And they both played well. But probably more importantly, they both left the game due to injury, though both returned fairly quickly, but with differing effectiveness.
Mike Hart limped off the field a few times throughout the game. The first time came on Michigan's first series. Hart was given more tape for his ankle and he returned on the next series. He left again later and returned. Then late in the third quarter, he had to take himself out, and even though he returned after that, was never called on to carry the ball again.
When Hart was a part of the offense, however, he was pretty good. He finished with 15 carries for 110 yards, but about 70 of those yards came on two carries where he looked like a north-south Barry Sanders.
Getting health updates out of Ann Arbor is like asking Lloyd Carr for his social security number, so who knows what will go on with Hart this week. I believe Carr has said that Hart will play, but the question will be how much? The Badgers host the Wolverines this week in what is essentially a meaningless game for the Wolverines. There's no need to risk Hart's health the week before the game that will define his career. And who knows how much it will take to badly tweak his ankle? He only carried the ball 15 times against the Spartans and that was enough to do him in. It only takes one.
I tend to think he'll get around 10-15 carries next week and Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown will share the rest of the load. Though with Brandon Minor fumbling against Michigan State, we may see more of Carlos Brown than Minor.
As I mentioned earlier, this game was won by Chad Henne and his receivers. Henne finished the game 18-33 for 211 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Don't let the low completion percentage fool you; those numbers are due to him going deep to Mario Manningham throughout the game. And in my opinion, he could have gone deep the entire game--every single play--and the Spartans wouldn't have been able to stop it.
On Michigan’s final two scoring drives in the fourth quarter, Henne was accurate and on point. The out routes were flying and sticking, and he had complete control of both teams.
Henne was sacked twice, and hit several more times, but he never bailed on any plays. He stood in there and threw the ball strong.
Right tackle Stephen Schilling gave up a sack to defensive end Jonal St. Dic, but if you didn't see that one coming, that's your own fault. In fairness, Henne held the ball probably a little bit longer than he should have. Schilling did what he could. However, on one play where he did give Henne plenty of time to throw, Henne stepped on Schilling's foot after he threw the ball, twisting his ankle, proving that even when he blocks well, he is still capable of putting Henne in danger.
I should mention that after Henne stepped on Schilling's foot, Ryan Mallett came in for a snap and subsequently fumbled the ball (gasp!) when he was hit by a pass-rusher. I actually think Mallett is fumbling on purpose right now. Fortunately for the Wolverines, Michael Hart picked up the fumble and ran it for eleven yards--which was Hart's only touch after removing himself from the game earlier.
I could also talk about left tackle Jake Long's day if you like...Jake Long blocked everybody that he meant to block. And probably a few that got caught up in the mess. The end.
Wide receiver Mario Manningham finished with eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. During the first series, I jotted down on my notebook that Manningham was going to have a career day and if offensive coordinator Mike Debord wanted him to, he would finish the game with 300 yards receiving. They certainly tried. The only thing keeping those numbers down was that Henne couldn't quite hit a wide open Manningham as often as he should have.
The Spartans had no answer for Manningham. They had two or three different cornerbacks on him throughout the game. They tried everything they could--aside from giving the cornerback help from a safety, apparently.
Manningham has had five straight 100-yard receiving games in conference play. In the four games since Manningham's one-game suspension, he is averaging 7.5 receptions and 136.8 yards receiving per game, and has seven touchdown receptions.
Earlier in the season, I mentioned that it looked like he was just playing out the string and waiting for the NFL draft. It's become apparent to me that somebody got to him and told him that if he wants to leave early, he better start showing it on the field or else he's going to have to stick around another year. And I don't think he wants that.
Receiver Greg Mathews also had a pretty good day, including a 14-yard touchdown reception where he got behind a defender for the first time that I can remember.
Basically, Chad Henne had his way with the Spartans, even though the stats don't really show it. I think with every pass, he had a smile on his face and after he released the ball, he'd say "Awesome" to himself.
Something to keep an eye on for the future is that Michigan was only 3-13 on third down conversions, though most of those were third and long.
When Michigan Was On Defense
The Wolverines led at the half 14-3 thanks to their ability to stop the running game. The Spartans were undeterred however and came out of the half running the ball with much more determination. They went with a lot of two tight end sets and alternated running backs, and this seemed to work fairly well. In fact, on their first possession of the second half, they had a touchdown drive of 75 yards and only threw the ball once.
For the game, Javon Ringer carried the ball 15 times for 128 yards and Jehuu Caulcrick carried the ball 22 times for 84 yards. Ringer’s numbers are more than a bit misleading since he picked up 72 yards on one carry. On that 72-yard carry, linebacker Shawn Crable had a handful of Ringer’s jersey about four yards behind the line of scrimmage, but wasn’t quite able to bring him down for the loss. Ringer spun out of the tackle, reversed field, and headed up the opposite sideline. Shawn Crable caught up with him and brought him down at the Michigan five-yard line. It was an impressive pursuit thanks to an advantageous angle.
I mention that 72-yard run because if Crable makes the initial tackle, then Ringer’s day shows up as 15 carries for about 52 yards, or about 3.5 yards per carry. As it stands, Caulcrick finished with a 3.8 yard per carry average. Don’t just look at the 212 yards they rushed for between them and think that that’s how it’s going to be on November 17, because the defense was there, they just didn’t finish.
Although, I will say that Beanie Wells is probably a good combination of Ringer and Caulcrick, so perhaps precedent will win out.
Because of the effectiveness of the running game in the second half, the Wolverines had three double-digit tacklers. Strong safety Jamar Adams led the team with 14, including 11 assists. Middle linebacker Obi Ezeh had 13, including a team high five solo tackles. Weakside linebacker Chris Graham finished with 11 tackles. These three guys were involved in seemingly every play in the second half—and most of the plays in the first half.
Chris Graham had a tackle on a Javon Ringer swing pass where he read the play perfectly and dropped Ringer for a loss of seven yards. He hit Ringer as soon as the ball was caught. It was vintage David Harris stuff from last season.
Maybe I wasn’t paying attention as well as I should have, but it seemed to me like Obi Ezeh had a pretty quiet 13 tackles. I was surprised when I saw the box score. However, he has obviously gotten better each week and he is definitely capable of playing the part of Big Ten middle linebacker.
Jamar Adams wasn’t just helping out in the running game, he was also helping out in the secondary. He was apparently invisible in the second quarter because he picked off a Brian Hoyer interception while waiting in the weeds. He read the play perfectly in the middle of the field and jumped in front of the receiver. I’m still not sure what Hoyer was looking at.
Despite Adams’ interception, there were some coverage issues from the linebackers and safeties in the middle of the field, particularly involving Spartan tight end Kellen Davis. Chris Graham got matched up on receiver Mark Dell late in the first half and Hoyer went at him for a 22-yard gain.
Free safety Brandent Englemon left the game after tackling Jehuu Caulcrick. Stevie Brown and Anton Campbell both got some time in his place. Brown actually played very well considering where he was back in September. I was impressed with how often he stuck his helmet into every pile he could get to. Campbell, and perhaps Crable, fell victim to a play-action fake at the five-yard line after Ringer’s 72-yard run. It’s tough to say if the same would have happened had Englemon not been knocked out.
Cornerbacks Morgan Trent and Donovan Warren continued to play well. I was interested to see how Trent would manage going against Devin Thomas, but he did okay. Thomas was held to seven catches for 65 yards.
Brian Hoyer was 19-35 for 161 yards and a touchdown and an interception. I still think the Buckeyes can have success against the Michigan cornerbacks. As much as I like Donovan Warren as a player, he’s still just a freshman and an accurate quarterback should be able to find room to work with against both cornerbacks.
And, lastly, as I always seem to mention now, Brandon Harrison played another decent game. Although he didn’t get as much time as he usually does because Michigan State was going with the power running game throughout most of the second half.
The Special Teams
Punter Zoltan Mesko had a pretty mediocre game. He punted nine times for a 35.7 yard average, putting only two kicks inside the 20. He had several chances to unleash some booming kicks, but only managed a long of 52 yards. If I wanted to take a homerific cheap shot, I’d probably say he’s fatigued from punting so much this year.
The return game looked pretty good this week for the Wolverines. Greg Mathews had a 29-yard punt return right up the middle of the field. He’s not a threat to make you miss, but if there’s a seam right in front of him, he’ll see it and hit it. Carlos Brown is much the same on kickoff returns. He seems to be a little out of control at times, running with his head down and his legs spinning until somebody stops them.
What Does It All Mean
It means that Michigan is banged up on offense and defense and they face a hard-hitting Wisconsin Badger football team next week on Senior Day.
It also means that the game next week means nothing to Michigan’s newly-ultimate goal of winning the Big Ten Championship and going to the Rose Bowl.
But that doesn’t mean that they’ll just sit back and let P.J. Hill run the ball on them like they’re Northwestern. At least not on purpose.
I tend to think that a little momentum would be a nice thing to have going into November 17, and a win in Madison would provide just that. Of course, you have to be very careful with what you do with Hart and Henne, because either of them could leave at a moment’s notice.
But I tend to think momentum would be tough to pass up. I’m suggesting 35 carries for Michael Hart and a lot of slow-developing passing plays for Henne. You know, for like momentum and stuff.
The Road To The Big One
Sept. 1 Appalachian State 34 - Michigan 32
Sept. 8 Oregon 39 - Michigan 7
Sept. 15 Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 0
Sept. 22 Michigan 14 - Penn State 9
Sept. 29 Michigan 28 - Northwestern 16
Oct. 6 Michigan 33 - Eastern Michigan 22
Oct. 13 Michigan 48 - Purdue 21
Oct. 20 Michigan 24 – Illinois 17
Oct. 27 Michigan 34 – Minnesota 10
Nov. 3 Michigan 28 – Michigan State 24
Nov. 10 Michigan at Wisconsin
Nov. 17 Ohio State at Michigan
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