Where Is Michigan Going...

I'm sure there will be a lot of fans asking for RRod's head right now after watching the Illinois game.  The second half of this game looks like the 2008 season, turnovers and unable to execute on both sides of the ball.  Watching all the games this year, this has to be the most frustrating game (Penn State doesn't count because they're a much better team).  This was a winnable game for us and yet, we could not execute.  Times and times again Juice Williams made our defense look like a JV team.  I kept asking myself where was the team from the first half?

Michigan's defense has been inconsistent all year (W. Michigan & Delaware State do not count) yet it has been more vunerable against the pass.  The run defense is or was better than pass defense.  Illinois put up 300+ yards rushing against this defense, although one may argue that they never did test our pass defense.  Maybe I'm jumping to conclusion, but #40 Mike Williams just does not seem to be making the right read, tackle, and play.  I have not seen him play with any type of intensity or urgency.  Sure some of this could be the wrong play calls but looking back at this game and previous games in this season, he just does not seem to be up to college speed.  There are bad angles and miss tackling by the whole defense, even big #55 Brandon Graham misses sometimes.  Williams' performance to date is just poor: taking the wrong pursuit angle, attacking the point of attack lackadaisically, and missing tackles consistently should get him consistently on the bench.

Unfortunately for Michigan, there is not a whole lot of depth at safety, and I don't see Greg Robinson making a switch.  But as a fan I would like to see anybody else but Mike Williams back there.  Maybe benching him for a series or a game could spark his motivation or discover someone else.  I really like to see Greg Robinson grab any able body that wants playing time and give him a shot.  Sure, there is a lot to learn, but with Mike Williams' play making ability it could not be any worse.

Overall, the team lost this game and not one player, offense could not respond after seeing LeShoure run for 70 yards and grab a 1 point lead for Illinois.  They couldn't even make it into a shootout game as predicted by everyone. Sure going for it a couple of times on 4th down did take away some of the easy field goals, but down the stretch offense simply did not execute.  Hats off to Illinois' stonewall goal line defense.  That goal line stop shifted the momentum and won the game for them.  Illinois' defense simply did not looked like the Illinois against OSU and PSU.

Michigan this year is 0-3 on the road this year.  This is understandable for a young team, but their next road game is at Camp Randall Stadium, which Michigan has not won there since 2001. Hopefully the game against Purdue will be a better game and a turning point to rally the troops.  At this point even a 6-6 season is doubtful.