Michigan Wolverines Midseason Report Card: Does Rich Rod Make The Grade?

Seven games into 2009, it's time to grade the Michigan Wolverines efforts' on the football field. There have been ups and downs all over the field, but after a 3-9 season in 2008, a 5-2 start has been fairly impressive. Let's start by grading the offense!

Quarterbacks: Michigan opened the season with a plethora of questions surrounding this position, and most of them have already been answered. The acquisition of Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson has not only secured the future of the position, but also gives Michigan a chance for victory against any Big Ten opponent now.

Tate Forcier has led three comebacks already, two for wins and another to take little brother to overtime. Forcier is third in QB Rating, and had 11 touchdowns total to only four picks.

Robinson has been at times a glorified Wildcat, but his performance over the past few weeks, particularly against Delaware State shows progress. Even with true freshman mistakes and two game-killing interceptions, this spot still gets a strong grade. A-

Running Backs: At the beginning of the year it was suggested that Michigan didn't have any dominant running backs and sheer production might suggest the same thing—on the surface.

However, Carlos Brown has been impressive against Eastern Michigan and Indiana. He has stepped up in key situations averaging nearly eight yards per carry, and providing wonderful pass-catching out of the backfield.

Brandon Minor has been a physical presence in key situations against Notre Dame and Iowa, and is one of the best pass blockers at his position in the nation. Michael Shaw, Vincent Smith, Michael Cox, and even Kevin Grady have shown flashes, and the youth movement is very strong.

Along with the rushing of Denard Robinson, who almost is mandatory to add to this group Michigan has arguably the best depth at running back in the Big Ten. There have been a few mistakes and injuries have held this group back, but still...A

Wide Receivers: This group is extremely young at wideout, slot, and tight end. Outside of Greg Matthews and LaTerryal Savoy, they are almost entirely comprised of freshmen and sophomores.

Also, this group has been similar to the running backs in the sense that the ball has gone to a lot of different targets. No one dominant receiver seems to have taken over as of yet.

Matthews, Stonum, Koger, Hemingway, Odoms, Grady, Roundtree, and even Savoy among others have stepped up and made key plays this season. Of the 11 touchdowns in the air this season, no one has more than two individually.

Nine different receivers have caught touchdowns this season and nobody has more than 18 catches. The problems are inconsistency and drops, much of which is attributed to youth. B+

Offensive Line: At the very beginning of the season, Michigan's line looked sharp for the most part. That was until the injury of center David Molk who has missed the last four games with a broken bone in his foot. His injury has exposed a great deal of problems with Michigan's line.

The biggest issue is lack of great depth. Molk's injury reshuffled the entire line and there were a lot of mistakes made, including those by David Moosman the backup center.

The quarterback-center exchange was pitiful for a couple of games, but the DSU game gave Michigan an opportunity to progress up front. Molk is back soon, and this unit is headed in the right direction. B

Offense:

They are averaging a Big Ten best 37.3 points per game, 235 rushing yards per game, and are second in total offense with over 425 yards per game. Michigan is very young on this side of the ball and has made tremendous strides over the last 12 months, particularly at quarterback where they are in the top three in pass efficiency.

However, there are still too many penalties, poor snaps, and missed blocking assignments along with freshman mistakes. A-

And now the defense...

Defensive Line: This unit has struggled at times, often through no fault of their own this season. The scheme and lack of size up front earlier in the season had hurt their performance. Michigan State for example, was a game that the Wolverines got pushed around and failed to dominate the opposition.

However, Michigan has bounced back, particularly against Iowa. They seem to be getting more physical at the point of attack, and are also playing William Campbell more which helps with their size.

The aggressive blitzing and attacking style is finally paying off. Brandon Graham and Mike Martin have been phenomenal, and Ryan Van Bergen has played well. B+

Linebackers: These guys have been disappointing for most of the season, but seem to be making improvements as Michigan attacks the run more. Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton need to continue to tackle better, and Stevie Brown has been playing very well.

This position group, much like the defensive line, has it's biggest problem in the form of depth, or lack thereof. If they can continue to build in that respect and become increasingly consistent as tacklers they will do fine. B

Secondary: At times this group has looked absolutely awful. Cissoko was constantly getting burned or giving too much cushion. J.T Floyd just simply doesn't look physically ready to be a starting corner and none of the safeties could tackle, get proper pursuit angles, or apply any physical abuse on opponents.

Donovan Warren has been superb for the most part, and the move of Troy Woolfolk to corner has been very helpful. Jordan Kovacs may not be the most talented safety, but he tackles well and has excellent fundamentals. The real grade here is incomplete, but if I had to assign a number...B-

Defense: On the whole I think this defense has played at a mediocre level at best, and at times horrible. They lack balance and depth. They often are forced to over commit to either the run or the pass, and thus get caught out of position.

Their tendency to give up the big play is still a struggle, and they need to work on several issues. However, they are improving steadily and have made excellent second half adjustments. Expect noticeable improvements in big games at home as they finish the season. B-

Special Teams: The punting has been great, the kickoff and field goal teams have been solid, and there haven't been nearly as many careless mistakes on kickoff returns as in 2008.

Michigan has even had a touchdown on a kick return for the first time in a few seasons. The kickoff coverage needs improvement, Matthews fumbled a punt and Mesko made a bad decision to run on a read punt. B

Coaching: Overall, Greg Robinson is the third coordinator in three years, and he is doing a lot with a little in terms of depth. Rich Rod and the offensive staff have done a terrific job in spite of a few mistakes. Some may question the move to keep Denard Robinson in against Iowa, but the coaching has been strong. A-

Overall: Michigan is 5-2, undefeated at home, and has only lost one game inside regulation. Michigan played Iowa (sixth in the nation) down to the wire at Kinnick, at night and lost 30-28 with less than a minute because of a mistake by a true freshman quarterback.

When you examine this team relative to where they were a season ago, they are light years ahead. They have a victory over a rival, are getting better each week, and have a good chance to win at least one more signature game in 2009. Overall, I'd say B+