Michigan Football: Report Card Grades for the Eastern Michigan Game

The pattern has become alarming. 

Michigan, like the past few seasons, wins a tight one over Notre Dame, while looking vulnerable to lesser foes.

Offensively, quarterback Denard Robinson appears lost in the new offense but uses his athleticism and positive attitude to get the job done.

On the other side of the ball, the coaching staff must resort to chicanery to mask a rather inept base defense.

Without further adieu, here are the letter grades for Week 3.  

Quarterbacks

There is a lingering question concerning the passing arm of Denard Robinson.  Despite a pair of touchdown passes, Robinson completed just 7-of-18 for 95 yards and one interception against the Eagles.

Could it be the new offense causing the problem, or might it be receivers like Junior Hemingway and Roy Roundtree giving him fits?

Sure, the passing game had better results against Notre Dame, but a few throws were made into double coverage.

Fortunately, Robinson earns his keep with his legs, too. His 52-yard scamper early in the second quarter awoke the crowd and paved the way for Michigan's first touchdown.

Devin Gardner actually got in a few snaps at the end, contributing a nifty seven-yard run. 

Grade: C+ 

Running Backs

The offensive backfield is beginning to sort itself out. Fitzgerald Toussaint and Vincent Smith both turned in decent performances. 

Toussaint, who gained 46 yards on 12 carries, is taking on the role of the power runner, while Smith is becoming the breakaway back. So far this season, Smith has carried the ball 12 times for 132 yards, an 11.0 yard-per-carry average.

The running game, however, is still in the hands of Robinson, who's gained 352 yards on 50 attempts.

Grade: B+ 

Receivers

The big surprise was that neither Roundtree or Hemingway caught a pass. The bigger surprise was that there were only seven receptions in the whole game.

Jeremy Gallon, who also returns punts and kickoffs, is rapidly becoming Robinson's favorite target.

With three catches Saturday, Gallon's now the team leader with seven.

And, truthfully, that's not all that impressive for a major college football team in 2011.

Senior tight end Kevin Koger, who scored Michigan's first touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Robinson, was quick to share the blame.  "It's a tempo thing—just execution. It's not just him [Robinson]," Koger told the press after the game.  

"It might be a receiver not running the routes, the right dip, but he gets the blame for the incomplete pass but it might be on the receiver. Maybe [the receiver] didn't run the right route, or run it deep enough or short enough. It's not all on him."

Grade: C

Offensive Line

Considering Michigan plays two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore across the offensive line, it took a long time for the Wolverines to get the best of the Eagles. The Michigan line also outweighs Eastern's line by about 45 pounds per man.

Head coach Brady Hoke was not exactly thrilled with the line's run-blocking.

"I think we've got work to do out of the 'I' formation," Hoke told the Michigan Sports Network postgame show.

"We've got to block a little better at the point of attack, and they were not going to let us. Phil Snow is a good defensive coordinator, and he was going to load the box up any time we got in the 'I.' "  

At halftime, Michigan's Toussaint and Smith had just 67 rushing yards between them, while Robinson tallied 131.

The numbers point to Robinson doing much of the damage on his own.

Grade: B  

Defensive Line

After a slow start, the defensive turned it is best performance of the season. 

Defensive end Craig Roh had his finest game of 2011, which translated to good numbers on the stat sheet. Roh tallied five tackles, one tackle for loss and the team's only sack.

Ryan Van Bergen, who plays on the end opposite Roh, chipped in with four tackles.

Hoke has an interesting way of critiquing his defensive linemen. "I think I felt Mike [Martin] in there, I felt [Craig] Roh," Hoke said afterwards.

"I felt Ryan [Van Bergen] made a couple plays in there. Jibreel [Black], you're going to feel him in there. I think there was more of an attack mentality."

Grade: B  

Linebackers

Michigan is still missing linebackers Brandon Herron and Cam Gordon.

As he did last week, Brandin Hawthorne made the most of his increased playing time. After thrilling the staff with six tackles against Notre Dame in the first real action of his career, Hawthorne led the team with 10 stops against Eastern Michigan.

Kenny Demens had five tackles and freshman Jake Ryan added three.

Except for Hawthorne, this wasn't the best performance to date by the linebacking crew. But if Gordon and Herron make it back next week, you should see a difference.

Grade: B-

Secondary

Not much work on pass defense as Eastern quarterbacks threw a total only six passes. Michigan free safety Thomas Gordon grabbed one of them while also recovering a fumble. "He had a great summer, he had a great fall camp, and he's into football," Hoke said.

"I think his concentration and his intensity is something that I'm really proud of."

Jordan Kovacs, as usual had a strong game from his strong safety position.

With cornerback Troy Woolfolk still battling an assortment of injuries, freshmen Blake Countess and Raymon Taylor are slowly working into the rotation.

Grade: B 

Special Teams

Brendan Gibbons drew a few sarcastic catcalls when he connected on Michigan's first field goal attempt of the season.

The successful 21-yarder could only bring back memories of Michigan's horrible place kicking in 2010. Last year, the Wolverines made only four of 14 tries, the longest being 37 yards.

Freshman Matt Wile handled both the punting and kickoff chores without incident.

Grade: B  

Coaching

The first quarter hasn't been kind to the Wolverines. Michigan has been outscored in the three games by a score of 21-0.

Despite the slow starts, the encouraging thing is this team's ability to make strategic changes on the run.

The Wolverine defense eventually found an answer for Eastern's running game, as it did with Notre Dame a week ago. Against Western, a variety of blitz packages shut down the passing attack.

On offense, Michigan has gained strength as the games have progressed. 

While the coaches are mum about the slow starts, Robinson sees a secret weapon in the making. 

"Everybody was just getting ready for the game," Robinson said. "We got Kevin Koger in the locker room just talking to us. He calls himself 'Hype Man 86.' We were just ready to go. We get another chance to play football, and that's what we've been working on all summer."

Even if it takes a while to sink in.

Grade: B  

Intangibles

Not exactly a crosstown rival, Eastern Michigan nonetheless made the seven-mile journey along Washtenaw Avenue. 

It was a nice payday for the Eagles, who are trusting their own resurgence to former Michigan assistant Ron English.

The goodwill between the two state schools disappeared momentarily as Eastern carried a 3-0 lead midway into the second quarter. Most football aficionados knew Michigan would eventually wear down the overmatched Eagles. Next Saturday may be a different kettle of fish.

Grade: B-