Emotional letdown. Watching as a fan, I did not take as much pleasure in this 38-7 victory as I normally would. Maybe that’s what happens after a big game against Penn State and a beatdown of Notre Dame in a night game. People talked about it potentially being a trap game for Michigan’s players, but I guess it was for me as a fan, too. Michigan played well overall, but there wasn’t a lot of juice. Other than the opening kickoff return, there weren’t many big plays. It was a solid beating, but Michigan didn’t exactly run roughshod over the Terrapins. It wasn’t death by a thousand papercuts, but it was close.
Hit the jump for more.
Josh Uche is fun to watch. Josh Uche and Cam McGrone are probably the two guys on the defense who are the most fun to observe. Uche is just so quick off the ball, and his hands are quick. Chase Winovich did a great job throughout his career of dipping and ripping to get leverage coming off the edge. Uche doesn’t quite have the leverage and power Winovich did to get underneath offensive tackles, but he’s a little more quick-twitch, and I love how he uses his hand quickness. He took those skills to make 3 tackles and 2 sacks on Saturday. McGrone did not have a great day and was responsible for a fair number of Maryland’s chunk runs.
Ho-hum rushing day. Michigan had its fourth straight game with 3 rushing touchdowns, this time on 4.56 yards per carry. It was pretty vanilla. Michigan didn’t seem very interested in throwing in many wrinkles against what they probably expected to be a pretty easy defense to beat. The top three backs (Zach Charbonnet, Hassan Haskins, Tru Wilson) looked pretty good and are tough to take down. Wilson broke off a long run on which he showed some tremendous vision to cut back behind the backside guard, Charbonnet broke some tackles, and Haskins is doing a great job of pressing the hole and making the right reads. Christian Turner, on the other hand . . . yuck. He appears to think he can outrun everyone to the sideline, and his 3-carry, -6-yard stat line isn’t going to earn him any extra reps.
Dylan McCaffrey still isn’t ready. I know people don’t like this, and I won’t beat this to death here, but I hope people calling for McCaffrey can recognize that he’s simply not ready to handle the passing game right now. He was 3/7 for 25 yards. Right now he’s 50% on the season and his passer rating would make him #14 in the Big Ten, if he had enough passing attempts to qualify. I know he doesn’t get a starter’s reps, but he’s not lighting the world on fire when he gets an opportunity. I still have confidence that he’ll be good down the road, but this year isn’t his time. (Side note: Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 43.2, which was #24 on Michigan’s offense.)
PFF’s Top Five: Offense
- RB Hassan Haskins
- C Cesar Ruiz
- TE Sean McKeon
- LG Ben Bredeson
- WR Nico Collins
PFF’s Top Five: Defense
- LB Joshua Uche
- LB Khaleke Hudson
- DE Michael Danna
- CB Ambry Thomas
- LB Jordan Glasgow
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Mike Sainristil started over Ronnie Bell.
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…and had 0 catches, while Bell had 2. Bell also left last week’s game with an injury. Maybe he missed a couple practices so Sainristil started instead. Who knows? Not a smoking gun.
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I don’t so any significance to you comment. Sainristil started.
Ronnie Bell, who everyone raves about his hard work, missed practice? I mean, come on.
Sainristil is better. You could see it last week. He cleaned up his issue with dropped passes in practice by getting in front of the JUGS. And now he’s starting.
He’s a better player than Ronnie Bell. That’s easy to see.
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I knew you were going to say that.
If he was a better player he would have started.
You have eyes. Just admit what you see: Sainristil is clearly a better player than Bell. His quickness and ability to stay upright rare.
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I’v grown tired of this conversation. Nothing new is being said.
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Ronnie Bell had more yards than DPJ. So, you’re saying Bell is a better WR than DPJ?
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I already said I’m over it.
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You’re over stretching to find some kind of way of making it look like Ronnie bell is the #1 WR on the team? That can be tiring.
Sainristil started. That shows you who the coaches say is better.
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Uh huh, and he alligator armed a pass he could have had. I know nothing about the two of your past discussion, but that pass was a bad indictment. Listen he’s young and will learn, but better than Bell? Are you just trolling?
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Your comment is out of the blue.
What are you talking about?
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Mike > Ronnie is what I was referring to. Unless I completely misidentified the player, a real good pass was short armed by Mike which should have been caught. When it occurred I immediately said “well I guess that’s what they were talking about when the said he had trouble with drops in practice”. Bell has performed week in and week out. Nothing against Mike, but to say he’s better than Bell without the sample size to back it up doesn’t make sense to me, and again nothing against either player as I think they both have looked good. That’s all, nothing personal.
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If we’re going by stats to say Bell is better than Stanristil, then we’d also have to say Bell is better than DPJ and Nico Collins, because his stats are better than them.
I’m going by eye test. And I say Sainristil is better than Bell. Sainristil was started over Bell against Maryland. So the coaches are saying it too.
Sainristil did have problems with drops in practice. But he started to listen to the coaches who were telling him to get in front of the JUGS. It worked. Now he’s 1st string, like the coaches had originally planned months ago, but it was derailed by his drops in practice.
Ronnie Bell is a very nice guy. And he tries hard. But, to be honest, he’s a 2nd stringer. The only reason he played so much is because of injuries to 1st stringers. He has a shot at being a starter. But it’s going to take a lot of work. I just don’t know if he will make it. But hoping he will.
As I see it now, I would say these are how the WRs are seated:
#1 Collins
#1 DPJ
#3 Black
#4 Sainristil
#5 Bell
If what I read a bout Tarik Black is true he isn’t playing much because of an attitude issue. The doctor at MGoBoard mentioned a little about it.
A player I’m really looking forward to coming into his own is Cornelius Johnson. He and Sainristil could make an awesome #1, #2 in two years.
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“The only reason he played so much is because of injuries to 1st stringers.”
this is false and youre contradicting yourself in your own post. only injury was to peoples jones and both have been playing together for several weeks.
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So there were no injuries leading to Ronnie Bell playing?
Are you sure, kind neighbor?
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who?
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who… what?
who was injured that made Ronnie Bell start?
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You were asking about the ‘kind neighbor’? It’s some sarcasm. You were being belligerent.
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who was injured?
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What were your TTB grades for Sainristil and Bell?
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Ah, I looked it up and found it my self:
Mike Sainristil : TTB Rating: 80
Ronnie Bell: TTB Rating: 71
So you agree with me, Sainristill is better.
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I like Sainristil and think he has a nice future but this seems like a weird time to argue his case so vociferously.
Didn’t he drop a couple balls against Maryland and finished with 0 yards? And doesn’t he have the lowest catch rate on routine balls among all WR (per Mgoblog). And doesn’t this match the rumored issue holding him back from more playing time? And doesn’t this also match his recruiting profile as a DB target first and foremost?
Sainristil is getting an opportunity. I don’t see a problem. It’s up to him to do something with it. Giles Jackson did.
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Hassan Haskins was moved around the team—all the while he was a great running back. Jay Harbaugh was not developing him. There’s a lot of talk he’s a great RB coach. But it took Ed Warinner to get the right players in the right place.
So I have to ask: what could players like Ty Isaac, Chris Evans, O’Maury Samuels, Kurt Taylor, and Kareem Walker have been with Ed Warinner?
I’m even wondering how much better Chris Evans, and Karan Higdon would have been.
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In the case of O’Samuels, Evans and Walker they would still likely not be playing for UM.
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How do you know?
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Samuels was dismissed from the team after being arrested on a domestic violence charge. A different coach would not have changed that.
Evans was suspended for the year because of an academic issue. A different coach would not have changed that.
Walker had some academic issues his freshman year, which resulted in very limited playing time. Given that he transferred after his sophomore year to a juco, that he may have had some academic challenges is not a huge leap to make. A different coach would not have changed that.
Kurt Taylor was just not good enough to see the field. He was probably the 5th string RB, maybe 4th string at best. A different coach would not have changed that.
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How do you know Samuels would have acted the same in the situation he was in? Who knows, maybe he was feeling frustrated over not getting playing time, that his college career wasn’t working out as he thought it would, which lead to him becoming angry, and doing to that girl what he did. Maybe if he was working with a coach that was bringing him along better he would have been a happier person.
And Kareem Walker was not removed from the team because of his grades.So grades weren’t the problem. He left on his own. Maybe if Ed Warinner had been working with him he would have developed into a better player, just like has happened with Hassan Haskins. Hassan Haskins wasn’t even getting any carries at all. at least Walker was getting a few. Same with Samuels.
And the same with Kurt Taylor. He wasn’t getting playing time, just like Hassan Haskins was not getting playing time at RB.
We don’t know.
We do know that Hassan Haskins wasn’t getting playing time at RB, and was being moved around the team. Now, in less than 1 year with Ed Warinner he’s the starting RB, and doing great!
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“He was probably the 5th string RB”
But at least he was a RB.
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A ho-hum drubbing. One can feel some degree of mild disappointment or indifference. Understandable for a bad opponent sandwiched between PSU, ND, and MSU. We’d probably feel differently if it was September.
I don’t think Michigan played quite as well as the scoreboard showed but they were pretty good. I would have liked to have seen better from the QBs and the run game but all things considered they moved the ball alright and thankfully didn’t turn it over. Maybe some progress in that.
I don’t know that we learned anything new. This team seems to be settling into somewhere in the 15-20 range nationally. Not enough to be favored against OSU but close enough to have a chance at an upset. Good enough to be favored against Indiana on the road and MSU but not elite enough to consider either game a slam-dunk. Both opponents rank in the top 30 in S&P.
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HoHum is right. I fell asleep for a third of the game. Took my ole man nap. Woke up & McCaff was playin……
Maryland is the kind of team we’ve grown accostumed to Harbaugh beating and thats what happened.
When I was awake tho , the Terps moved the ball well against the new & improved defense but shot themselves in the foot – losers find a way to lose and Maryland did just that………
MSU looks like a W but there’s too many decades of upsets tween these 2 teams. Could be a close win or loss or a Michigan blowout. Right now I’m leaning toward a blowout or at least a semi blowout finish msu off once & for all.
Go Blue!
INTJohn
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I hope no one minds the whining I’m about to do.
I don’t disagree with the take on McCaffrey. I do wonder why he’s still not ready in his *third* year in the program. Other schools get good production out of redshirt (and true) freshmen. Why can’t we? Whine!
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I somewhat agree. The only thing I really have is that McCaffrey doesn’t get starter’s reps, so he’s not in sync with everything going on. Some schools have freshmen come in who get a ton of reps because they’re looked at as a starter almost immediately. When you’re only working with the 2’s and 3’s most of the time, it’s tough to get your timing down. That doesn’t explain 100% of it, but I think that’s part of the answer.
P.S. I think McCaffrey will be a good QB in 2020.
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I also think McCaffrey can and likely will be a good QB in 2020.
I know things move faster than in the past but … some guys still take time. Mo Hurst wasn’t a complete player till his 4th year on campus. Chase Winovich had 2 starts his first 3 years on campus. Glasgow looks WAY better in his 5th year than he’s ever looked before. Jake Rudock turned himself from a mid-tier Big Ten backup to an NFL draft pick.
McCaffrey was overhyped as most backup QBs are. Right now he doesn’t look like a great passer. But, the whole team has seemed to struggle to find itself this season. The starting QB, after being THE explanation for offensive improvement in 2018, is now THE problem to some. Patterson’s numbers have regressed from last year and a QB generally credited with good decision-making and accuracy has been criticized in these areas in his senior season. That should tell you something.
Namely, that we all need to be giving McCaffrey (and the other backups) a bit of breathing room. We know he’s a very good runner. We know he’s a competent backup. That’s a very good baseline to start from.
This spring we should have a healthy competition at QB between a senior and junior. Neither will have any starting experience but both will have talent (arms or legs) and backup experience. Hopefully there is continuity in the staff and scheme that will help the situation out.
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Raise your hand if you imagined Jordan Glasgow being a Butkas Award semifinalist 2 years ago.
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I think that says more about the Butkus Award process than it does about Glasgow. He’s having a nice season, but I certainly wouldn’t lump him with the most elite linebackers in the country.
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Of course you wouldn’t. In your view Michigan is a mediocre program with mediocre players.
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Everyone is trying to postpone their disappointment in McCaffrey for a year, but if he doesn’t have starting caliber skills after three years under the best developer of quarterbacks on the planet, he never will. He will be adequate next year, but like Patterson, not a difference maker. 9-3.
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Patterson is a pretty good starter. McCaffrey is a pretty good backup.
McCaffrey as a starter is TBD so there’s no reason to postpone feelings of any kind.
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