Al Borges, Ex-Wolverine

Tag: Al Borges


9Jan 2014
Uncategorized 29 comments

Al Borges, Ex-Wolverine

Denard Robinson had some good times with offensive coordinator Al Borges back in 2011.

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke announced on Wednesday that offensive coordinator Al Borges would not be retained for the 2014 season, meaning almost everyone got their wish. Borges sprinkled amazing offensive performances (including record-setting 2013 games against Indiana and Ohio State) in with too many horrific game plans. I said after the bowl loss against Kansas State that heads should roll. Lots of other people called for it earlier, of course, but I wanted to see how 2013 played itself out.

Borges was hired by Hoke at San Diego State prior to the 2009 season, spending the next five seasons (two at SDSU, three at Michigan) together. They had some very good years together in San Diego and things started off pretty well in 2011 when the team went 11-2 and Michigan had two 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Denard Robinson and tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint. But things started to go south in 2012 when Robinson failed to mature as a passer and the running game festered despite a veteran offensive line. A younger offensive line in 2013 forced the offense to mostly take steps backward again, with historically bad performances against Michigan State and Nebraska.

I hesitate to get into potential replacements, because these things almost never work out like you hope they will. What I would be looking for with the personnel and philosophy Michigan has is an offensive coordinator that has experience with the pistol and multiple tight end sets. As opposed to shotgun, the pistol lends itself more to pro-style and power running, which suits running backs Derrick Green and De’Veon Smith. Meanwhile, Michigan has the horses in Devin Funchess, Jake Butt, Khalid Hill, and Ian Bunting to make multiple tight ends work. Furthermore, quarterback Devin Gardner can run some option looks out of the pistol while still playing in a shotgun type of passing offense that suits his skills. Beyond Gardner, who’s only around for one more year, Michigan has quarterbacks Shane Morris and Wilton Speight in the pipeline, both of whose skills are suited to more of a pistol/shotgun spread look. Michigan has a spate of good receivers on the team and headed to campus, and they don’t have the maulers up front to be Alabama, so meshing Hoke’s power running philosophy with a pistol passing philosophy seems like the best idea to me.

Running backs coach Fred Jackson was Michigan’s offensive coordinator in 1995 and 1996 but is rumored to be nearing retirement, making him an unlikely candidate. Wide receivers coach Jeff Hecklinski has been an offensive coordinator in the past, most recently at Central Missouri State in 2002; he was also the passing game coordinator at Arizona in 2003. Tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno has not been an offensive coordinator since 1986 when he was at Western Michigan. Offensive line coach Darrell Funk has never been more than a position coach at the FBS level.

Michigan’s previous offensive coordinator, Calvin Magee, spent 2011 as Pitt’s offensive coordinator before reuniting with head coach Rich Rodriguez at Arizona in 2012. Before him was Mike Debord, who spent 2011-2012 as the Chicago Bears’ tight ends coach before getting hired as the University of Michigan’s Olympic sports administrator, a position he currently maintains.

10Dec 2013
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Poll results: Did Al Borges and Darrell Funk save their jobs against OSU?

After the Ohio State game, I posed the above question about offensive coordinator Al Borges and offensive line coach Darrell Funk, both of whom took a lot of criticism for Michigan’s subpar, inconsistent offense this season. Here are the results:

Haha, no: 29%


To be determined: 28%


Yes: 23%


Borges did: 11%


Funk did: 6%


I have a hard time believing that Al Borges will be fired, because as much as people wanted to point at Devin Gardner’s “regression” during the year, he turned in a great game against Ohio State, along with several excellent performances earlier in the year (mainly Indiana and Notre Dame). At the beginning of the season, he was a little too careless with the ball. Then he started to get a little too careful. Against Iowa and Ohio State, I thought he walked the line pretty well. The play calling was atrocious at times, but with Gardner returning in 2014, I think Brady Hoke will want to have some continuity. Athletic director David Brandon might step in and force Hoke to fire him, but if Hoke has his druthers, I think Borges returns.

As for Darrell Funk, I think his fate might have been sealed already. While Michigan did fairly well running the ball against a good Ohio State defense, I think someone’s head has to roll for the offense’s underperformance. Funk might not even deserve it after having to deal with so many young guys and injuries from guard to guard, but I thought Michigan’s tackles regressed, and Funk would be the easiest scapegoat (for lack of a better word). Unless the Wolverines blow the doors off their bowl game opponent, I believe Funk will probably be out the door.

2Dec 2013
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Michigan vs. Ohio State Awards

Devin Funchess had 4 catches for 41 yards and 1 touchdown 

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Drew Dileo. I wish Dileo (5 catches, 60 yards, 1 touchdown) had another year left in him. I just think he’s one of the more dependable peripheral wide receivers at Michigan. He has had a couple balls go through his hands this year, but this passing offense goes a whole lot better when he’s in the game, as compared to . . . say . . . Jeremy Jackson.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Power Al Borges. It’s crazy how Michigan’s offense started to get going a little bit once Borges realized that Michigan can’t overpower teams with a bunch of baby-faced offensive linemen and a 195 lb. tailback. He went from a power team with a finesse running back to a finesse team with power running backs, and now things seem to be clicking a little bit.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Ben Gedeon. Actually, I want James Ross to return to his WILL position as soon as possible, but Gedeon’s someone I’m looking forward to watching develop over the next couple years. The coaching staff has done a good job of identifying talent at the inside linebacker positions, and Gedeon (6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack) has looked solid for a true freshman who got thrown into the fire due to injuries.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Josh Furman. Furman (3 tackles, 1 pass breakup) gets lost out there. He was beaten for a 53-yard touchdown early, was slow to react in the running game, and took some bad angles. Hopefully Jarrod Wilson can return from his injury in time for the bowl game.

Play of the game . . . Devin Funchess’s bubble screen. In a play reminiscent of the Indiana game, Funchess took a bubble screen to the right, leaped over cornerback Doran Grant, and sprinted up the right sideline for 22 yards before getting pushed out of bounds. This isn’t anything new, but for a 6’5″, 235 lb. guy to make these kinds of plays is pretty amazing.

Player of the game . . . Devin Gardner. Gardner had his second-best game ever with a 32/45 effort that resulted in 451 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with 9 carries for 10 yards and 1 touchdown. A chunk of that came with a bum ankle. That’s the most passing yards and touchdowns in the history of The Game. He looked beaten up for the past few games, but he looked rejuvenated in this one. Honorable mention goes to Jake Butt (5 catches, 85 yards, 1 touchdown) and Jeremy Gallon (9 catches, 175 yards, 1 touchdown).

1Dec 2013
Uncategorized 78 comments

Ohio State 42, Michigan 41

Freshman tight end Jake Butt caught this touchdown pass to tie the game at 35 (image via MLive)

And that’s why this is such a great rivalry. When Michigan was 8-3 last year going up against an 11-0 Ohio State, it took some late field goals for the Buckeyes to win 26-21. When Michigan was 7-4 this year going up against an 11-0 Ohio State, it took a botched two-point conversion for the Buckeyes to escape with a 42-41 victory. Michigan has a very talented, capable football team. When they execute and play up to their capabilities, they can hang in there with just about anyone.

Devin Gardner played his behind off. Gardner must have had the adrenaline flowing early in the game, because he looked like a different player out there. The guy has looked bruised and battered for the past several weeks, but this week didn’t show it until late in the game when he tweaked his ankle. He finished the game 32/45 for 451 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions; he also ran 9 times for 10 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s arguably his best career performance, even though it came in a loss. His numbers were a little better in this year’s Notre Dame game, but that game also featured an ugly interception thrown in his own endzone. If he can stay healthy, this is the type of player Gardner should be every week.

The two-point conversion, Part I. I was critical of Brady Hoke’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-2 against Northwestern, so I’m not being a Hoke slappie when I say that I think going for two was the best decision at the end of the game. Michigan was the underdog. While they were playing better than they have in weeks, the defense wasn’t up to par (no James Ross or Jarrod Wilson, Carlos Hyde and Braxton Miller ran for a ton of yards, etc.) and Gardner was gimpy. If you extend the game there, you run the risk of having to slug it out for the extent of overtime with your most dynamic performer hobbled or potentially knocked out of the game. Hoke is a fairly aggressive coach when it comes to decision-making, and while it didn’t work this time, I think he usually makes the right call.

The two-point conversion, Part II. What I didn’t like was the play call. Maybe Ohio State was expecting it, but I was fully ready for Michigan to roll Gardner out to the right, where Drew Dileo had motioned into a trips look. And while that seems like an obvious call, it puts [an admittedly hobbled] Gardner on the edge, where he can make a play with his feet – or it puts him in an easier throwing situation with a rub route, a shovel pass, etc. On a critical play like that, I like to put my players in a situation that makes them  comfortable, regardless of what the other team might do. Yes, Ohio State may have been expecting a rollout, but that doesn’t mean they could have stopped it.

The brawl. I would love to sit here and say that the Buckeyes started it and they’re clearly the enemy, but that was instigated by a crew of Michigan players who were intentionally crowding freshman returner Dontre Wilson after the play. Wilson needs to be smarter and not let stuff like that get to him, but the Michigan guys lit the match. I was glad that more players weren’t ejected, but there probably could have been a couple more if the referees wanted to really take control. As it turned out, things worked in Michigan’s favor, since all they lost was special teamer Royce Jenkins-Stone; the Buckeyes lost an integral part of their offense and special teams in Wilson and a starting offensive guard, Marcus Hall, who proceeded to give two middle fingers to Michigan’s crowd as he went to the tunnel, all the while stomping and throwing things in a childish temper tantrum. Hopefully that will result in a suspension for Hall.

Michigan was in a bad place defensively. I have made no secret of not being a fan of Josh Furman’s abilities at safety, and he was the culprit on a couple big plays, including a 53-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith. Starting safety Jarrod Wilson was supposedly in a cast on the sideline, so I guess he wasn’t an option, but Furman just isn’t up to snuff as a safety. Despite very good speed, he doesn’t recognize routes or read plays very well. It looks like he’ll be in line to start next to Wilson next year, since both Courtney Avery and Thomas Gordon graduate, so hopefully his extended experience this season helps him improve. Meanwhile, the Wolverines were missing leading tackler James Ross after he got injured against Iowa last week. As far as I know, Ohio State was at full strength on defense, but the Wolverines’ loss of two key players defensively – and the absence of placekicker Brendan Gibbons, who might have nailed a field goal instead of forcing Hoke to go for it on an ill-fated fourth down – could have made a difference.

Devin Gardner’s fumble wasn’t a fumble. His knees were down when the ball came out. Replay should have overturned the fumble. At the very least, the call should have “stood” but the referee said replay “confirmed” the fumble. Of course, that last sentence is pretty inconsequential.

The running backs are good? Freshman De’Veon Smith led the team with 7 carries for 57 yards, including a 38-yarder. His lack of breakaway speed was apparent, so hopefully people will stop saying that he’s fast just because he ran away from a bunch of tiny kids at Warren Howland; but he did break a solid tackle attempt on that 38-yarder, so that’s something. Senior Fitzgerald Toussaint had 5 carries for 33 yards and 1 touchdown, along wtih 4 receptions for 48 yards. Freshman Derrick Green had 12 carries for 47 yards. Overall, those guys combined for 24 carries, 137 yards, and 1 touchdown, which is a pretty solid day.

The offensive line is good? Hahahaha, just kidding, guys. No, the offensive line isn’t good, but it has improved over the past few weeks. Michigan State and Nebraska were the nadir of the line, and now it has progressed to a mediocre level. I’ve said for a couple years that I think 2014 is where the offensive line starts to get it together, despite the losses of Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield, the latter of whom has never particularly impressed me. However, those running backs mentioned above were tackled for a grand total of zero  losses, a clear improvement from weeks past. The line still allowed 6 tackles for loss thanks to 3 sacks of Gardner, a couple Gardner runs, and a Devin Funchess run.

Al Borges and Darrell Funk are saved? Boy, oh boy. If you’re an Al Borges hater, this performance might have been the worst thing for you. If Michigan came out and laid an egg offensively, I think Borges would have definitely been out the door after the season. He still might, but this makes it a tougher call. The same goes for Funk, the offensive line coach. Of course, Hoke and athletic director David Brandon are paid to look at things objectively, not just in the aftermath of one of Michigan’s best offensive performances this year. The overall product on the field has been subpar for the majority of the year. I like that Borges eventually capitulated to running bubble screens, the bubble screen draw, and various other screens, but it took too long for Michigan to get away from running power and iso this year. The Wolverines had a heyday with screens to Funchess, Gallon, Toussaint, and Butt in this game, and for good reason.

This was a great game. Even without Michigan’s final touchdown, this was a great game. Michigan could have pulled off a whopper of an upset, and even though they lost a heartbreaker, they should be proud of the game the played. Stepping back from the “Michigan should be winning these games more often” mindset that a lot of entitled fans have, this particular team was overmatched in every single phase of the game. Ohio State’s closest win this season was a 7-point victory against Wisconsin, and their Big Ten wins this year have averaged a score of 47-20. When I did my game preview, I felt that Ohio State was better at running the ball, throwing the ball, stopping the run, and stopping the pass . . . and the statistics backed that up. On top of those categories, the Buckeyes had momentum and a championship-winning head coach on their side. All those advantages added up to a one-point victory. Regardless of what teams 1 through 133 accomplished, team 134 should be proud of its effort and execution yesterday.

17Nov 2013
Uncategorized 41 comments

Michigan 27, Northwestern 19 (3 overtimes)

Freshman running back Derrick Green saw his first significant Big Ten action and responded with 19 carries for 79 yards

Fire Brady Hoke? Okay, I would probably never call for a head coach’s firing based on one play, but I have rarely been angrier at a single in-game decision than Hoke’s call to go for it on 4th-and-2 down 9-6 with a little under six minutes remaining in the game. You have an offense that can’t run the ball consistently or protect the quarterback, a chip-shot field goal begging to be taken, and you . . . run a quarterback bootleg? Don’t get me wrong – that might be the best run play to call in that situation, keeping the ball in the hands of your most dynamic runner. But take the 3 points. Theoretically, a field goal in that situation ties the game at 9-9 and turns the last-second field goal into the game-winner. It all worked out in the end, but that’s still the wrong decision by Hoke at that point.

Brendan Gibbons must have hated Rich Rodriguez. Ever since Brady Hoke arrived in 2011, Gibbons has been about as good as anyone could realistically ask a kicker to be, aside from the four overtime game against Penn State earlier this season. Gibbons was 4/4 on field goals in this game and 1/1 on extra points, but the most impressive kick was a 44-yard field goal from the right hash with no time on the clock to send the game into overtime.

The offensive line is fixed! The Wolverines are back to having a dominating offensive line after allowing just 5 sacks and allowing the team to rush for 139 yards on 44 carries, a 3.2-yard average. That’s a marked improvement from the average of 7 sacks and -34.5 rushing yards per game for the previous two weeks. On a serious note, folks, I still think I saw Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield both whiff on pass blocks that turned into sacks, which seems to support the idea that Michigan’s offensive linemen are regressing or at least remaining stagnant. The positive rushing yards were a step in the right direction, but Northwestern has a small-ish defensive front that creates plays using quickness and blitzing frequently. Perhaps a game like this will give the offensive line a tiny bit of confidence in their abilities as a unit, but people said the same thing following the Indiana game.

There may or may not be a running back controversy. Fifth year senior starter Fitzgerald Toussaint dressed but did not play in the game, allowing freshmen Derrick Green (19 carries, 79 yards) and De’Veon Smith (8 carries, 41 yards) to take all of the running back carries. Green in particular looked solid because he hit the hole hard, unlike earlier in the season when he looked tentative and preoccupied with not fumbling. He also finished runs nicely once he got in the open field by lowering his shoulder and punishing tacklers. If Michigan could open holes consistently and get him on second- and third-level defenders more often, those hits would start to take a toll and turn into some even bigger runs. In addition to his 23- and 22-yard rumbles, Smith tossed in a nifty 16-yard run up the gut. I still believe Toussaint is the more explosive back because of his ability to make people miss and accelerate, but he’s not strong enough to run through tackles of first-level defenders . . . and the offensive line isn’t good enough to keep those first-level defenders from getting their mitts on him.

Al Borges’s creativity goes in spurts. I’ve noticed in offensive coordinator Al Borges’s three years at Michigan that he tends to get ideas that last two or three weeks, and then he eventually abandons them. This was one of those weeks that he got creative, so we’ll see how long it lasts. Hopefully, he can beat Iowa with these types of plays and then come up with some new wrinkles for Ohio State. This game featured numerous bubble screen pump fake draws to Derrick Green, which seemed to open up some running lanes. As soon as I saw Devin Funchess line up in the slot to the left in overtime, I thought to myself, “Okay, it’s about time to actually run the bubble,” and Devin Gardner promptly whistled it out to Funchess . . . who gained about 4 yards before fumbling (and luckily recovered his own fumble). Michigan doesn’t throw it often or well enough to make the draw a staple of the offense every week, but they can still pull it out once or twice a game and hope to have some success. Additionally, Borges decided to strategically rotate his running backs, using Green and Smith in the I-formation while sending in redshirt sophomore Justice Hayes and fullbacks to help out in shotgun formations. I thought that mitigated the pass rush a little bit, even though Gardner still went down 5 times; he had more time to throw than in past games, but the wet and windy weather combined with a good coverage team caused him to hold onto the ball a little too long.

Michigan’s defense is coming along nicely. They allow too many short passes, but I think defensive coordinator Greg Mattison is finally settling in with which players on his team can do what. There seems to be more situational subbing and guys moving around as the year goes on, which makes it difficult for the offense to get a bead on what the defense is doing. Nose tackle Quinton Washington had his best game of the year, and I thought Joe Bolden had a quietly solid game, too. Michigan also moved around guys like Jibreel Black and Taco Charlton; blitzed the inside linebackers quite a bit; and sent corners and safeties at times, something he has rarely seemed to do. There’s no Mike Martin up the middle, and Jake Ryan isn’t quite back to his former self, but it’s a good unit across the board.

Wet weather woes. Overall, it was probably a good thing that the field and ball were wet, because Northwestern dropped a bunch of potential interceptions. But the same issue plagued a couple Michigan receivers who are normally sure-handed in Drew Dileo and Jeremy Gallon. Meanwhile, Gardner short-armed and airmailed some throws on the way to a 24/43 day for 226 yards and 1 touchdown. It was a pretty ugly football game to watch because of a lack of big plays, but the good guys won so I’m temporarily satisfied.

How good is Northwestern? The Wildcats are 4-6 after having won their first four games of the year. That six-game losing streak has to be frustrating. Quarterback/running back/slot receiver Kain Colter has obviously been their star, but they’re one or two players away from being a serious contender in the Big Ten. They obviously miss running back/returner Venric Mark. If he were healthy or if quarterback Kain Colter could hand off the ball to running back Kain Colter or throw the ball to slot receiver Kain Colter, Michigan probably would have lost this game and Northwestern would be 7-3 or 8-2. I feel like this has often been the story with Northwestern throughout the years – they have one good player surrounded with a bunch of so-so players, which just isn’t enough to get them over the hump. Last year with Colter and Mark healthy, they looked like a team on the verge of a breakout. Unfortunately for them, their recruiting hasn’t allowed them to have two studs at the same time. But they’re doing a good job with their 2014 recruiting class (I really like RB Justin Jackson and WR Dareian Watkins), got a good quarterback in 2013 with Matt Alviti, and seem to have things going in the right direction. Northwestern is not going away anytime soon.