Moving Forward

There isn’t much of a point in doing an in-depth recap of the MSU game.  Everyone who watched knows Denard finally looked human and that the defense was customarily bad.  However, despite a stinging loss to Dantonio and the Spartans, Michigan sits at 5-1 halfway through the season and any Michigan fan would have been more than happy to start this way going into the season. 

I was very disappointed with the offensive playcalling in this one and I am getting very frustrated with the staff’s insistence on making Vincent Smith the feature back when he clearly still doesn’t have his speed back and he has zero shot at moving a pile on third and one.  I have been Rodriguez’s staunchest supporter but it was an absolutely gutless move to punt late in the fourth down 34-17.  I thought he became more worried about how the final score would reflect on him rather than giving one last shot to win the game.  Enough with my mini-rant, moving on…

With the season’s second half approaching, it is clear that some issues on this team won’t be resolved for another year or two but there are other personnel moves the staff at least has to attempt to make going forward into the rest of the schedule.

Here are four potential personnel moves that I think could help Michigan in the second half of the season:

1.     Remove Obi Ezeh from the Middle Linebacker spot immediately

Obi has once again proven that he just mentally does not have what it takes to be a middle linebacker at the Big Ten level.  At this point I don’t think he could play MLB for a Division II school because his play recognition is just absolutely atrocious.  It was maddening to watch as he ran himself right out of the play (not even blocked) on both of MSU’s long touchdown runs.

Replacement: Kenny Demens.  Demens has shown ability in limited snaps and after what we’ve seen from Obi to this point can this position really hinder the defense much more?  Demens may not be as physical as Obi but he has shown better play recognition, which this defense sorely needs with the likes of Iowa, Wisconsin, and a tough running Illinois team on the schedule in the coming weeks.

2.     Add a heavy dose of Stephen Hopkins to the running back rotation

It took just two carries against Michigan State to see exactly why Rich and staff recruited Hopkins to come to Michigan.  At 6’ and 230 pounds Hopkins is a guy that will rarely fail to get you the tough yards that you need.  I was baffled that he did not see any carries the rest of the game after being such a big factor on the second-quarter scoring drive.  Neither Smith nor Shaw has the ability to gut out the tough yards that we need and it’s not always going to be able to be Denard carrying the ball on 3^rd and short.  Rich and the staff keep saying they want to get Hopkins more touches and it’s time for them to actually make good on that statement and get the ball in this kids hands.

3.     Make Craig Roh a full-time defensive end

Roh played a much better game this weekend when he had his hand in the dirt on most snaps.  Roh’s perfectly suited to be a weakside defensive end and rush the passer.  Van Bergen has come on in the past few weeks on the strong side, which make Roh much less liable against the run.  I want the coaching staff to just put Roh’s hand in the dirt and go to a 4-2-5 look in order to maximize one of the few talented players on the defensive side of the ball.

If they insist on keeping Roh at linebacker, they have to at least let Jibreel Black be the full-time third down pass rushing defensive end rather than Greg Banks.  Black’s played very well in his opportunities the past few weeks and has some of the best ability on the team to rush the passer.

4.     Attempt to find a replacement for Cam Gordon at Free Safety

Cam has too frequently taken terrible angles and has shown virtually zero recognition to break on any routes when the ball is in the air.  Cam also routinely tries for the big hit rather than wrapping up and making the sure tackle.  This backfired against MSU and left him looking pretty foolish as Baker and Bell racked up plenty of yards after contact.

I do not understand how Marvin Robinson, a guy who was our best defensive recruit and had the coaches raving throughout fall practice has not been given a shot at this position.  He was a deep safety his entire high school career and the coaches haven’t even lined him up back there at this point.  Ray Vinopal may be a small freshman, but his speed and football IQ might make him more competent against the passing game.

Summary

I usually am firmly in the camp of the “if the coaches had better players then they would play them” group.  However, it is painfully clear at this point that the defense can’t get much worse statistically and there need to be some changes made.  Some guys are pure gamers and show up big and make the big plays when it matters most.  Practice All-Americans routinely turn to duds and it can happen the opposite way around as well.  What will it possibly hurt to give some of these guys a chance to potentially show what they can do?