Four Reasons Michigan Fans Should Not Panic After a Close Game

Boy, there sure has been a lot of hand-wringing and head-hanging after the Wolverines’ narrow escape against FCS opponent UMass.  OSU columnists are gleefully predicting another swan dive once the Wolverines see Big Ten action.  While you expect that kind of jive from the enemy, even UM featured columnist Josh Ditton proclaimed that the secondary doesn’t have much talent and that Helen Keller could probably torch them (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/469003-michigan-football-what-to-expect-when-the-falcons-swoop-in-on-saturday).

As ‘ole Lee Corso might say, “Not so fast, my friend!”  It says here that this Michigan football team will not fold like last year’s team.  In fact, as long as this team stays healthy at a few key positions (QB sorta comes to mind), this team should win at least nine games. 

If you’ve stopped muttering expletives to your computer screen about what an idiot I am, start by thinking about your initial gut reaction to the following hypothetical:  What would happen if last year’s team played this year’s team?  Admit it, the 2010 squad would win by at least two touchdowns.

Although this year’s Wolverines have enough “warts” to possibly lose a game to an inferior opponent, the maize and blue will also likely pull off at least one or two wins that most people will consider an upset.

So, Michigan fans, step back off the ledge, drop the panic button, and read on to find out why this team will continue to stockpile wins throughout the season. 

Denard Robinson Is the Most Electrifying Player In the Country

Denard Coninutes To Leave Defenders In the Dust (detnews.com)

The last time I checked, the incredible sophomore from Deerfield Beach, FL still plays for the Michigan Wolverines.  It bodes extremely well for the offense when the quarterback accounts for 345 yards of offense and three touchdowns, but it looks like a ho-hum, run of the mill type of day.  You’re doing something right when you score 42 points and no one’s really all that pleased. 

Denard simply continues to shine.  Despite having the first pass of the game picked off against UMass, Robinson ended up 10-14 for 241 yards and two TD’s.  He also put a couple of deep balls right smack on the money despite having defensive pressure in his face.  Shoelace also put up another 104 yards on the ground.

In the running game, UMass made a concerted effort to “contain” No. 16 more than ND and UConn were able to.  Robinson simply limited his own carries and let speedy running back Mike Shaw deliver his first solid statistical game of the season.  As Denard continues to draw multiple defenders, look for Shaw and the other running backs to deliver some 200 yard performances over the course of the season.

Obviously, Shoelace only has three career starts and hasn’t faced an elite defense yet.  Will he experience growing pains?  Of course he will.  Will he simply fall apart and forget how to run this offense.  Of course he won’t. 

Denard Robinson is the rare athlete that can truly will his entire team to victory.  In just three career starts, he has shown the ability to lead both time-consuming drives and deliver breathtaking quick-strike scores.  He can win games almost single-handedly, or spread the ball around to backs and receivers.  He has shown the ability to both protect a lead and mount a comeback with the game on the line. 

As long as Shoelace is out there, Michigan has a fighting chance in any situation.

Beyond the QB, the Offense Is Stacked: Exhibit A: The Big Fellas

Taylor Lewan Is Ready

While Shoelace is clearly the focal point of the offense, the other 10 spots are also loaded with talent.  Up front, the offensive line is getting closer to becoming the dominant unit that many of us expected at the beginning of the year.   

RS sophomore Patrick Omameh is getting better with each and every game.  Against UMass he was constantly in the second level looking for his next victim.  The game is starting to slow down for Patrick and he is about to start really ripping people up!

Omameh is hardly the only promising youngster on the Michigan O-Line.  Against UMass, 6’8”, 294 pound left tackle Taylor Lewan was a one-man wrecking crew in his first significant playing time as a Michigan Wolverine.  With the game still in the balance, the coaches showed their faith in the redshirt freshman by keeping “Jake Long Jr” in the game for the crucial final TD drive. 

Lewan looks ready to wrest the starting job from Mark Huyge for the starting left tackle role.  Lewan has the size, mobility, and nastiness to be an absolutely dominant left tackle.  Although Huyge is solid, experienced, and highly versatile, Lewan is the animal who will strike fear in opponents as he gains more experience. 

Beyond the QB, the Offense Is Stacked—Exhibit B: Skilled Positions

Darryl Stonum Hauls In a Long Pass (detnews.com)

Michigan’s receiving corps, an expected area of strength, have improved in each game so far.  After Roy Roundtree had a huge game against Notre Dame, it was Darryl Stonum delivering the theatrics against UMass. 

The slumbering Wolverines were down 17-7 after a UMass touchdown with just 1:17 left in the first half.  Finally the giant awoke.  On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, a well-blocked bubble screen allowed Stonum to bolt down the sideline for a 66 yard TD that instantly altered the complexion of the game. 

After a UMass turnover and another quick strike to Stonum, Michigan was suddenly up 21-17 at halftime.  The most impressive part of the quick scores is that it wasn’t surprising: It’s what we’re starting to expect from this group.

The thing that makes Michigan’s receiving corps special is the amazing depth and versatility at the position.  Big play threat Junior Hemingway played his first game of the season (hamstring injury) and had a nice 36 yard grab.  Kelvin Grady and Martavious Odoms have also been making big plays all season long.

Most teams have one, maybe two, big play threats at wide receiver, but Michigan has all kinds of versatility all over the field.  As Robinson continues to develop as a passer, look for more and more big plays through the air.

Until the UMass game, the running backs had not delivered much yardage on the ground.  Mike Shaw finally got things rolling with a terrific 12 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns.  If Vincent Smith doesn’t get similarly untracked against Bowling Green, look for Fitz Toussaint or Mike Cox to get a real shot to show what they can do.

Beyond the QB, the Offense Is Stacked—Exhibit C: The Coaches

Offensive Coordinator and RichRod (freep.com)

Basically, this entire offense continues to grow and develop at all individual positions, and most importantly, as a unit.  At this early juncture in the season, RichRod’s Associate Head Coach Calvin Magee, along with position coaches Greg Frey (OL), Rod Smith (QB’s), Tony Dews (WR’s), and Fred Jackson (RB’s) deserve a ton of credit because this offense is on the verge of turning into an absolute juggernaut.     

The 2010 Squad Doesn’t Play Anything Like the 2009 Team

Kelvin Grady Stretches for a Reception (detnews.com)

After the UMass game, RichRod said Michigan still isn’t good enough to not play well and win.  When he said the same thing last year,he was clearly right.  That 2009 team was running around on a wing and a prayer.

Agaisnt UMass however, the offensive execution wasn’t consistently crisp, the defense yielded a ridiculous 37 points, and special teams were dreadful…but Michigan won.  Granted, UMass isn’t the Crimson Tide, but they are far from a bunch of bumbling idiots either.

One huge difference between last year and this year is the commitment to ball security.  Last year, Tate Forcier’s beautiful wild freshman scramble to beat the Irish unfortunately proved to be a well-disguised preview of the lack of ball security that would haunt the team all year long. 

This year, when Denard stepped onto the field for Michigan’s game-winning drive in South Bend, it simply felt like the best player on the field was going to go win the game for the Wolverines.  You didn’t see mad improvisation or the ball flailing around wildly.  You saw a developing team go out and execute the offense to win the game. 

The 2010 Wolverines have displayed dramatically improved ball security.  With the exception of Jeremy Gallon's multiple muffed punts, this team has taken it to heart when RichRod says “The ball is the program.”

With Minor and Brown hurt for what seemed like the entire year, it  was a gutsy, but scrawny true freshman throwing to or handing off to a bunch of underclassmen. Now, it feels like Shoelace and company are on the verge of putting up massive numbers on a weekly basis.

The downside of this not being last year’s team is that anyone with even half an eye can see that the kicking game has been incomprehensibly worse than most high school teams. 

Here’s my little pop-psychology on true freshman punter Will Hagerup: As an 18-year-old who came into camp basically guaranteed a starting job, Hagerup must have felt that it would be pretty easy to just punt the ball like he did in high school.  After a somewhat embarrassing start to the season, look for Will to start focusing more and making a positive impact in games.  OK, Dr. Phil has left the building.

Oh man, someone call Dr. Phil back in here:  we have to talk about the place-kicking.  It is so unbelievably awful that it simply can’t get any worse.  Seriously.  The snaps are bad and the kicks are worse.  The "good" news is it can only get better.  If not, Michigan may not attempt anything other than an extra point the rest of the year.  Good grief.  This is one part of the team that looks significantly worse than last year.

Though UMass Scored 37, the D Will Continue To Improve—Exhibit A: The S

Cam Gordon's Interception (DetNews)

After the game, RichRod was blunt when he said, “Let’s not pretend that we’re the 1985 Chicago Bears.”  That Bears defense was years ahead of their time and dominated the entire season.  No, this defense should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Buddy Ryan’s wrecking crew.

Everyone has crucified the secondary for the incredibly soft coverage against UMass.  What people are failing to notice is that these guys, in their own ways, are learning to make winning plays that compliment the quick strike offense. 

After Michigan cut the lead to 17-14 on Stonum’s long touchdown, Jordan Kovacs promptly caused and recovered a fumble.  Stonum caught another touchdown pass less than 45 seconds later.  Kovacs also intercepted a throw on an ill-advised UMass two point attempt, led the team in tackles, and impresses more every single week.

Just like the Notre Dame game, Michigan had another young player make their first career interception against UMass.  Cameron Gordon made the pick, but fumbled it back to UMass on the return.  The previous week, Gordon rightfully received a lot of criticism after he allowed Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph to get behind him on the 95 yard touchdown pass near the end of the game.  This week, fans are bagging on Cam because of the fumble.

Everyone needs to take a breath and recognize that Gordon is just a RS freshman who made the 180 degree switch from offense to defense only five months ago.  He is literally learning on the job.  Guess what?  He’s going to make mistakes.  He’s also growing each week.

The way I see it, Gordon already made his first interception in just his third career start in a brand new role.  Along with the interception, Gordon accounted for six tackles against the MinuteMen.  The game hasn’t even started slowing down for Cam yet, but he is already starting to make plays all over the field.

In order to prevent the big plays that have plagued the defense over the last couple of years, look for more of the zone pass defense.  For all the talk of how UMass gashed the secondary, the Minutemen didn’t have one single pass go for twenty yards or more.  As the secondary gets more comfortable playing with each other, the zone will begin to clamp down with tighter coverage.

Though UMass Scored 37 Points, the D Will Continue To Improve—Exhibi

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 11: Mike Martin #68 of the Michigan Wolverines awaits the start of play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 11, 2010 in South Bend, Indiana. Michigan defeated Notre Dame 28-24. (Photo by Jon

The most troubling thing about the defense against UMass was the inability to stop a decent, but vanilla, FCS running game.  Unlike the secondary, this is an experienced front.  For many of the running plays that gained yardage, the coaching staff had normally reliable tacklers in place to make the play. 

Several times, Michigan defenders didn’t properly follow their gap assignments to properly lock down the edges that the UMass runners were able to exploit.  Even senior stud linebacker Jonas Mouton repeatedly took terrible angles in the hole to make the stop.

This Michigan team is usually going to be much more disciplined against the run.  Expect the coaches to be able to correct the mistakes that plagued the Wolverines rush defense last week.  While this defense is not designed to hold teams to 50 yards rushing, expect Michigan to typically tackle and play much better than they did against the Minutemen.

Though UMass Scored 37, The D Will Continue To Improve—Exhibit C: Turnov

Want Mustard On That Sandwich? (detnews.com)

This is far from a dominant Michigan defense, but here’s the thing:  This isn’t Defensive Coordinator Greg Robinson’s first rodeo.  Robinson understands that he has several inexperienced but developing playmakers who are opportunistic enough to create multiple turnovers that the powerful Michigan offense can take full-advantage of. 

While UMass probably will not be the only game where the defense gives up 30 or more points, this young group will make enough big plays to contribute to several victories.  Remember, J.T. Floyd caused a big fumble against UConn at the goal line and the defense had three big picks against the three Irish quarterbacks.

Against UMass, Gordon’s interception, coupled with Kovacs’ fumble recovery, would have been another two game-changing plays to close out both halves if Gordon just held onto the ball.  In fact, with two incredibly simple corrections (Hagerup doesn’t botch the punt and Gordon holds the interception) the defense would likely have only given up 24 points. 

Yes, it was embarrassing to give up 37 points against UMass, but this defense will continue to deliver big plays to get the ball back where it belongs:  In Denard Robinson’s very capable hands.

The Bottom Line

Denard Drags Tackler Into Endzone (detnews.com)

Look, this team isn’t perfect, but they play together.  It was the sign of a veteran, well-led team that no one was happy after the lackluster outing against the Minutemen.  Watch this team grow and develop over the course of the season.  Sure, there will be bumps in the road, but don’t jump off that bandwagon just yet.

It says here that “The Team, The Team, The Team” will be just fine in 2010and could very well find themselves playing on New Year’s Day 2011.

GB2SL!

Go Blue, God Bless Shoelace!