UMass Recap

Well that was exactly how we didn’t want to see that one go.  After a fourth quarter UMass rally that almost produced the sequel to “The Horror” most of the Michigan fan-base was looking for the quickest exit from the huge bandwagon that was riding strong after the season’s first two weeks.

Michigan started out slow in this one and really looked like their heads were still in South Bend rather than focused on UMass.  Unfortunately, the chance to see the younger players on the roster never developed and Michigan ended up in a dogfight to get their third win.

Offense

The offense looked out of sync early starting with a Denard interception on a ball that was clearly underthrown.   With Michigan trailing 17-7 and under two minutes left in the first half it was clear that the offense was going to really need to step up for Michigan to win this game, and boy did they ever.

Daryl Stonum, in by far his best collegiate game at Michigan, showed the flashes of big play ability that made him such a sought after recruit as a high school senior.  Stonum showed off his pure speed on a simple screen pass that he took to the house with relative ease.  He followed it up less than a minute later with another touchdown catch where he ran a great route to turn the DBs hips and clear himself the space needed to make a play.  Stonum’s emergence on the outside is only going to make it more difficult for defenses to key on Roundtree in the slot.

The running backs also stepped up this week after a dismal week 2.  Vincent Smith gave a very solid effort, but Mike Shaw really stepped up this weekend and showed great burst while racking up three touchdown runs on the day.  One noticeable difference with Shaw was that he opted to dance less laterally and continue to move forward while waiting for a hole to develop.  Shaw will be the biggest asset this offense has to take pressure off of Denard once the Big Ten slate opens up due to his game-breaking speed.  One thing I would like to see the staff do is get Shaw some stretch-zone carries to let him get outside the tackles and more effectively utilize the speed that makes him so dangerous.

One other key to the game for the offense was the emergence of Taylor Lewan in his first half of play as a Michigan Wolverine.  Lewan replaced Mark Huyge with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter and laid some vicious blocks that were ultimately responsible for some of Shaw’s biggest gains.  Lewan was so good that Rodriguez stated today that he isn’t sure whether Huyge or Lewan will start this week against Bowling Green.  I do wish we would have been able to see Lewan more in pass protection, but Michigan was never really forced to throw the ball in the second half.  Whether he actually starts or not this week, expect Lewan to see at least half the snaps against BGSU.

Last, but certainly not least, the most crucial development from this game for the offense might have been Denard proving that he clearly has the ability to throw an effective deep ball.  One impressive throw to Grady early off of his back foot with a blitz coming and a perfectly thrown fly route to Stonum made me think that Denard can definitely throw the deep ball and he will make teams pay with it down the line.

Defense

A lot of people said the Michigan defense took a step back this week.  I disagree. I think they took about a hundred steps back after their performances in the first two weeks.

The two things that really stuck out to me in this game were the terrible pursuit angles and the missed tackles.  Every UMass run someone contacted the running back within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage but just simply failed to make a play.  Jonas Mouton, after looking like an All-American last week, looked like he had totally forgotten how to play football and had no clue that his sole job as an outside linebacker is to hold outside containment.

One thing that is very clear to me is that the 3-3-5, with Michigan’s current personnel up front, is going to prove to be a total disaster against teams that can line up and run the football between the tackles (aka Wisconsin, Iowa).  Mike Martin is an absolute beast and played a phenomenal game, but Ryan Van Bergen has totally disappeared this year.  It’s pretty clear now that his solid play was mostly a by-product of the intense focus on Graham and Martin this past season. 

The linebackers were a joke yet again.  Obi Ezeh somehow still isn’t able to fill a simple run gap despite starting almost every game he’s ever been involved with in Ann Arbor.  J.B. Fitzgerald seems to make a play or two every time he comes in and I think it’s time for the staff to at least give him a shot to play meaningful snaps and contribute.

The secondary was awful this week.  James Rogers was absolutely abused at the outside corner spot and Jordan Kovacs, outside of a great strip right before halftime, played like the walk-on he once was.  The secondary must find a way to improve prior to the Indiana and Michigan State games. 

UMass was able to frequently line up and run power football while mixing in play action to just gash the Michigan defense.  Considering this is the recipe most opposing offenses use in the Big Ten, color me a little concerned.

Upshot

At the end of the day we know Michigan is better than the team that showed up to play this Saturday.  In fact, if Cam Gordon doesn’t fumble back his fourth quarter interception and Michigan goes on to win 42-24 we would not even be too worried today.  We would have written off the first half hangover as inevitable and marveled at the fact that our offense, led by a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, is clearly one of the best in the entire country.

I don’t even want to talk about special teams.  Our special teams are far from special right now and anyone with a year of eligibility that can kick field goals or catch a snap for a punt ought to make their way down to Schembechler Hall ASAP.  Special teams are going to cost us at least one close game before this season is done.

At this point, Michigan is now 3-0, but everyone’s greatest fear is we are about to see another collapse similar to last year.  With Denard at the helm, Michigan will have a chance to win every game they play in and I’m holding fast that this team will find a way to get 8 wins and Coach Rod will get a contract extension at the end of the season.

Three Up:

1.     Daryl Stonum – Finally showed the type of wide receiver skills that could make him a candidate for the number 1 jersey if he can produce a few more games like this one over the reast of the season.

2.     Mike Martin – Without him, the defense would have stopped no one.  Played like an absolute beast and is potentially the lone all Big-Ten caliber player on the defensive side of the ball.

3.     Taylor Lewan – Impressive debut in the run-blocking department for the Jake Long clone.  Can’t wait to see what he does next week.

Three Down

1.     Jonas Mouton – Not sure I’ve ever seen such a Jekyl and Hide two weeks from any player.  Went from a clear All-American caliber player with NFL stock on the rise to a pure afterthought after this week.

2.     James Rogers – This was the James Rogers I was expecting to see when he was inserted into the lineup following Woolfolk’s injury.  A career third stringer, he was routinely beat, and beat badly, by less athletic wide receivers.

3.     Defensive Ends – Greg Banks and Ryan Van Bergen are giving this team no production right now and that does not bode well for the next portion of the schedule where a productive pass rush is going to be essential to winning football games.