Tag: Chris Bryant

Michigan 42, Minnesota 13

Devin Funchess (image via Toledo Blade)

Devin Funchess is the next Braylon Edwards. Sophomore tight end Devin Funchess exploded for 7 catches, 151 yards, and 1 touchdown on Saturday. The coaching staff made the decision to split Funchess out wide for most of the game, rather than using him as a true tight end – which makes some sense because Funchess is a poor blocker. Maybe the coaching staff just decided that Funchess would be too big of a mismatch against Minnesota’s defensive backs. Regardless, it was a great performance that included diving catches, leaping catches, and go routes. It ranks as the 32nd-best receiving yardage performance in Michigan history, and it’s the most yardage for a tight end in over 40 years.

The offensive line switch kinda worked. Redshirt sophomore Chris Bryant was inserted at left guard, redshirt sophomore Graham Glasgow moved from left guard to center, and redshirt sophomore center Jack Miller was benched. That resulted in a decent rushing day for running back Fitzgerald Toussaint (13 carries, 78 yards, 2 touchdowns), although freshman backup Derrick Green (10 carries, 23 yards, 1 touchdown) couldn’t get much going. Michigan eschewed the zone stretch – presumably due to Bryant’s lack of lateral mobility – in favor of more of a gap blocking scheme. The biggest positive for Michigan was the elimination of so many negative yardage plays in the running game. Upon first viewing, I thought Bryant did a good job of pulling. He did struggle with pass protection occasionally (allowing a sack to defensive tackle Cameron Botticelli) and allowed penetration at least once that knocked off a pulling Michael Schofield. But overall, the pass protection and run blocking were better with these switches than they were against UConn and Akron.

Michigan had a somewhat lackluster defensive performance. Michigan didn’t play poorly on defense, but they couldn’t tee off on the Gophers, either. The only sack came from Cameron Gordon late in the game when he scared quarterback Mitch Leidner into running out of bounds, and similarly, the only interception came late in the game when Minnesota needed to pass the ball; Blake Countess promptly returned the pick 72 yards for a touchdown. Minnesota totaled 41 carries for 136 yards, a 3.3 yards/carry average. Leidner finished 14/21 for 145 yards and 1 touchdown. It was a little frustrating watching Michigan be unable to make big plays until late, but it’s tough to complain about a 3.3 yard average and 13 points. Michigan just doesn’t have that dominant defense quite yet.

Devin Gardner played pretty well. The broadcasters were complaining about Gardner’s poor accuracy, but I thought Gardner did a good job of protecting the football and making good decisions in the passing game. He did have a couple throws that were a little inaccurate, but what college quarterback doesn’t have a couple of those throughout a game? He finished 13-for-17 for 235 yards and 1 touchdown, and he took just one sack on which Bryant was beaten pretty cleanly. I understand the idea of an inaccurate completion (such as that post to Jeremy Gallon that caused the receiver to stop and come back), but the bottom line is that it was a completed downfield throw.

Michigan neutralized Minnesota’s best defenders. I expected Minnesota defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman (3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss) and safety Brock Vereen (2 tackles) to have bigger days, but both were relatively quiet.

I hate that Michigan flips its defensive line. This has been going on since Greg Mattison arrived at Michigan, but on some calls, the defensive line will flip if the offense changes strength with tight end trades, motions, etc. It always amazes me that other teams are too inept to capitalize. Minnesota had a great opportunity to capitalize on such a play in short yardage, but they failed to snap the ball in time and eventually called a timeout.

What does this mean for Penn State? I’m interested to see Michigan play Penn State for the first time in a couple years. The Nittany Lions just suffered a big loss to Indiana, but Indiana is an improving team. Perhaps Penn State was just looking ahead to the Wolverines. Either way, Bryant and Michigan’s new-look running game eased in against the Gophers, but now they’ll have a stiffer test in Happy Valley. I also want to see how the Wolverines do against Bill O’Brien’s offense and quarterback Christian Hackenberg. I like O’Brien and respect his coaching abilities, but I would be glad to see a decisive win for the Wolverines.

Poll results: Which three linemen should be starting on the interior?

Taylor Lewan and Kyle Kalis

I posted a poll asking Michigan fans which three linemen should be starting on the interior of the offensive line, and it looks like fans want a change. Voters could pick multiple answers, and here are the responses.

STARTERS
OG Kyle Kalis: 95%
OG Chris Bryant: 82%
OG/C Graham Glasgow: 59%

BACKUPS
OG/OT Ben Braden: 22%
C Jack Miller: 17%
OG/C Joey Burzynski: 9%
Other: 4%

At this point, I would be in support of center Jack Miller being sent to the sideline if Graham Glasgow can handle snapping duties. I think sometimes people underestimate the importance of getting good snaps, so that’s a big “if.” But Miller struggles with stout nose tackles, and he just flat-out misses some obvious blocks at times.

If redshirt sophomore Chris Bryant is healthy after suffering various leg injuries over the past couple seasons, I think he should get a shot. However, Michigan has to realize the strengths of each of these players. My guess is that Bryant excels at blocking plays like power and iso, but he probably struggles with zone blocking, which requires more agility and lateral movement. If Michigan wants to continue running zone stretches to the left behind Taylor Lewan, then perhaps Kyle Kalis should flip to left guard to make that play more viable. Then the Wolverines could run outside zone, iso, and power to the left, while running power and iso to the right.

Michigan at UConn Awards

I like this Willie Henry kid.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Chris Bryant. Michigan needs to figure out what kind of team they are. Are they a zone team or are they a power/iso team? Personally, I believe their personnel is better suited for a power/iso scheme, which means redshirt sophomore center Jack Miller’s quickness isn’t quite as valuable. If redshirt freshman left guard Graham Glasgow has the ability to snap and make line calls, I would like to see him bump over to center and let redshirt sophomore Bryant step in at left guard. I really believe that power blocks with All-American left tackle Taylor Lewan and Bryant could be deadly, and the poor blocking of the tight ends would be somewhat mitigated by that double-team and the ease of reading the block. Power and iso are very simple blocking schemes.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Devin Funchess as a blocking tight end. I think Funchess can play H-back, in the slot, run routes, etc. But his blocking at the point of attack, especially the zone stretch, hangs running back Fitzgerald Toussaint out to dry too often. Michigan needs to find a second blocking tight end, whether it’s redshirt junior Jordan Paskorz, freshman Jake Butt, or a walk-on.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Willie Henry. The redshirt freshman defensive tackle has played pretty well the past two games, and I’m hoping he’s in the process of locking down the backup 3-tech spot. He was my pick for this “award” last week, and I liked what I saw.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody. I thought the defensive rotation was pretty solid. No complaints here.

Play of the game . . . Desmond Morgan’s one-handed interception. When Michigan was trying to ignite a comeback win, they needed a big play on defense. UConn quarterback Chandler Whitmer tried to throw the ball on a line to a receiver on a post, but Morgan got to his drop, leaped up, and reeled in the pass with his right hand. He then tucked the ball in, showed some decent open-field running ability, and brought the ball back 29 yards to the Huskies’ 12-yard line.

MVP of the game . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint. Toussaint was maligned last week for his game against Akron, but there shouldn’t be the same kinds of comments this time. Nobody had a stellar game, but Toussaint had a 35-yard touchdown on an option pitch and a 12-yard zone stretch touchdown. He finished the night with 24 carries for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 1 reception for 7 yards.

Michigan vs. Akron Awards

Jehu Chesson

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Chris Bryant. If Michigan wants to run zone stretch, then perhaps Bryant isn’t the guy. But I do think he’s more powerful than Graham Glasgow, giving the team a bigger advantage on the power runs. And pass protection could afford to be improved at either guard position; both Glasgow and Kyle Kalis get confused too easily.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Jackson. In the past two seasons, I have seen a couple interceptions thrown at least partly because Jackson is so slow and defensive backs can bait quarterbacks into thinking he’s open. On Saturday, Jackson was crossing toward the right sideline in the endzone, and Gardner tried to hit him on the run; Jackson was easily undercut by an Akron defensive back. I don’t mind seeing Jackson on running downs, but Michigan has numerous more athletic players for the passing game. Even if Michigan has to burn the redshirt of someone like Da’Mario Jones, I think Jackson’s playing time should diminish.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Willie Henry. Henry played more against Akron than any other team this year, and he acquitted himself pretty well. He’s built low to the ground and very stout, and he’s capable of creating penetration on running downs that I just don’t see from the other 3-tech rotation players. From what I saw on Saturday, I might even suggest Henry as the starter over Jibreel Black. Black is a better pass rusher but often a liability against the run because he’s so undersized.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Chris Wormley. Maybe it’s the ACL or his age or lack of experience or whatever, but every time I see Wormley on the field, he’s just not doing anything productive. He’s not powerful enough to bull rush guys, and he’s not quick enough to run around them. The 3-tech/5-tech rotation should consist of some combination of Keith Heitzmann, Black, Henry, and Matt Godin, with guys like Wormley and Ryan Glasgow playing only when absolutely necessary.

Play of the game . . . Devin Gardner to Jehu Chesson for a 33-yard touchdown. There weren’t many plays that stood out a great deal – no sacks, the interceptions weren’t spectacular, Jeremy Gallon didn’t make a highlight-reel grab for once, etc. I strongly considered Gardner’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess, which was perhaps more impressive but not quite as clutch. Michigan was scuffling throughout the game, and it showed no signs of going away. Chesson grabbed a short pass over the middle, shucked a guy, sprinted toward the sideline, and ran through a [piss poor] tackle attempt by an Akron defensive end before zipping into the endzone. That put Michigan up 21-10 in the third quarter. Obviously, the Wolverines continued to struggle, but the speed of Chesson showed me that he could do some big things before he leaves Ann Arbor.

MVP of the game . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint. Gardner put up 248 passing yards and 103 rushing yards, but he also turned over the ball four times. Toussaint looked like the running back of old on his way to 19 carries for 71 yards and 1 touchdown, along with 1 reception for 27 yards. His numbers would have been better if a couple runs wouldn’t have been called back for holding (probably closer to 21 carries for 120 yards). One thing I have also noticed with Toussaint is an improvement in pass protection. He did noticeably whiff on a blitzing linebacker, but he’s much more physical than he used to be.

2013 Season Countdown: #56 Chris Bryant

Chris Bryant (image via AnnArbor.com)

Name: Chris Bryant
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 325 lbs.
High school: Chicago (IL) Simeon
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #58
Last year: I ranked Bryant #44 and said he would be the backup right guard. He broke his leg and did not play at all.

I’ve been high on Bryant for a few years, so last year was disappointing – more for him than me, I’m sure. Bryant broke his leg just before the season started and missed the entire year. He didn’t have much of a chance to beat out the three fifth year seniors who manned the interior positions last year, anyway, and luckily they all stayed healthy. But that also meant Bryant missed out on some valuable practice time, and when the spring game arrived, he appeared to be running with the third team.

If the spring game depth chart is to be believed, Bryant isn’t a front-runner for one of the vacated guard positions. A couple walk-ons and a couple redshirt freshmen seem to have slid in front of Bryant, although there’s a chance that Bryant could make a push as his body recovers. Some players have talked about him being the most powerful offensive lineman on the team, but word is that he struggles with pass blocking. This year may not be his year to step up, but there may be another opportunity in 2014; after Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield graduate, there will likely be some reshuffling of positions.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard