Tag: Craig Roh

Michigan 31, Eastern Michigan 3

Thomas Gordon makes a one-handed interception

A win is a win.  It’s tough to complain about a 28-point victory.  I’ll find a way, though.

Al Borges got Rich Rodriguez Syndrome.  Hopefully it’s not an incurable disease, but there’s no reason for Denard Robinson to be running the ball 26 times (for 198 yards and 1 touchdown) against Eastern Michigan in a 28-point blowout.  The guy who missed parts of ten games last season with various injuries – and who’s reportedly suffering from a sore arm – needs a break once in awhile.  When the Wolverines started their second-to-last drive with approximately ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, I thought backup Devin Gardner should have entered the game.  It was 28-3.  But Michigan was close to its own end zone, and I understand not wanting to put in a young, raw backup in that spot on the field.  So what about when they crossed the 40?  When they crossed the 50?  Robinson was still running the ball up until the point that Brendan Gibbons kicked a short field goal.  The other running backs combined for 23 carries in the game.  We get it – Denard Robinson can run the ball, and that’s okay if the game’s outcome is in question, such as against Notre Dame.  But how about getting someone else in gear?

Denard Robinson has Steve Blass Disease.  For a second week in a row, Robinson’s inaccuracy was on display.  He finished the game 7-for-18 (39%) for 95 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception after completing 46% of his passes against Notre Dame.  That’s a two-game total of 43% passing and 4 interceptions.  This is not Al Borges’s fault.  It’s not Brady Hoke’s fault.  There are wide open receivers that Robinson is flat-out missing.  Kudos to Rich Rodriguez for figuring out that hitches, bubble screens, and inside slants are the only passes Robinson can complete with any regularity.

The Big Ten Network’s announcers don’t get paid, do they?  I turned the volume down at various points, but those guys were clueless.  Thomas Rawls had a carry in the second quarter (no, he didn’t), we have a starting defensive lineman named “Will Henninner” (no, we don’t), and Eastern Michigan “abandoned the run game” (they threw a total of 6 passes).  Seeing Jon Jansen on the sideline was cool and all, but if the guys in the broadcast booth are going to be dumb, they could at least apologize to viewers by way of Melanie Collins or Ashley Russell (if they still work for the BTN).

Vincent Smith had a good game.  I don’t know if it’s just luck or if the offensive linemen block a little harder when #2 gets the call, but Smith had lots of wide open running lanes.  Despite getting only nine carries, the 5’6″ running back had 118 yards.  Those yards came on runs of 38, 27, 5, 14, 5, 6, 0, 11, and 12.  Fitzgerald Toussaint had a solid day with 11 carries for 46 yards and 1 touchdown, but he and Michael Shaw keep running into traffic whereas Smith had gaping holes several times.  I noticed in the spring that Smith seems to have his quickness back now that he’s nearly two years removed from tearing his ACL, but it still concerns me that he can’t break tackles.

Craig Roh, welcome back!  In the first two games of the season, Roh did his best impression of Keyser Soze.  Zero tackles, zero sacks, zero pass breakups, nothing.  This week he broke out with 5 tackles and 1 sack.  Last week Greg Mattison said that Roh played very well in the Notre Dame game, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when Roh started once again over Jibreel Black.  Hopefully Roh continues to improve.

Bye bye, redshirts.  Several true freshmen have played so far this year, including a couple guys who played for the first time this week – Thomas Rawls and Raymon Taylor.  Other freshmen to see time this year include Desmond Morgan, Matt Wile, Blake Countess, Brennen Beyer, and Gregg Brown.  No freshmen have really stood out, although Frank Clark had a nice play and Taylor . . . got a 15-yard penalty for a late hit.  Otherwise, we haven’t really seen any game changers from this freshman class, and I don’t suspect we’ll see any this year.

What happened to the jet sweeps?  Eastern Michigan was having oodles of success with the jet sweep in the first half, and then they just stopped.  I’m not sure if Michigan started scheming against it and taking it away, but it seemed to be in the best interest of EMU head coach Ron English to keep them coming.

This is Michigan’s best safety combination since 2007.  Jordan Kovacs (8 tackles) and Thomas Gordon (6 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery) are playing better than any safety combo since Brandent Englemon and Jamar Adams.  Kovacs seems to have gained some speed since we first saw him in 2009, and Gordon is a solid tackler with decent ball skills.  Neither one will win many foot races, but so far they’ve helped to limit big plays.  Hopefully that continues into the Big Ten season.

Brendan Gibbons kicked the ball through the uprights.  That might have been the play of the day, if not for Thomas Gordon’s one-handed pick on a double pass.

Michigan vs. Notre Dame Awards

Junior Hemingway is a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint.  I know last week’s production (11 carries, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns) probably wouldn’t have been replicated due to the fact that Michigan’s offensive line struggled to get a push.  However, Stephen Hopkins got the majority of the carries in Toussaint’s absence, and Hopkins averaged 2.0 yards a carry and fumbled once (his second fumble in 42 career carries).  Toussaint was injured and didn’t play at all, but I’m hoping he can return as soon as safely possible.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Bad Denard Robinson.  Robinson looked awful throwing the ball in the first three quarters.  He was only 2/9 in the first half and 4/14 by the end of the third quarter.  He had some nice drives toward the end of the game and obviously pulled off a huge comeback, but the reason Michigan needed  such a huge comeback was his atrocious play in the first half.  He missed open receiver after open receiver after open receiver despite minimal pressure.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Brandin Hawthorne.  I’m not sure what happened to Brandon Herron, who was injured and didn’t play after being last week’s MVP.  Freshman Desmond Morgan earned the start at weakside linebacker, but didn’t last long.  In came Hawthorne, who looks bigger than his listed 214 lbs., and he picked up 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup.  It’s partly the scheme that allows these WILLs to have good games, but credit goes to Hawthorne and Herron for stepping up when given the opportunity.  Unlike some of the other linebackers, Hawthorne had some nicely timed blitzes without giving away his intentions.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Craig Roh.  Yep, I said it.  I really like(d) Roh, but I’m not sure what’s going on with him.  He hasn’t registered a single tackle yet this year and hasn’t generated any pressure. Jibreel Black (3 tackles) has outplayed him even though Black gets destroyed when teams run right at him.  I’ll be rooting for Black to get the start next week against Eastern Michigan.  Roh was apparently sick during fall camp and he added almost 20 lbs. in the offseason, so whether it’s illness or an inability to move with the added weight, it’s just not working.

MVP of the Notre Dame game . . . Denard Robinson, with a close second being Junior Hemingway.  I really, really, really wanted to pick Hemingway here, but the overall stats for Robinson (338 yards passing, 108 yards rushing, 5 total touchdowns) make it just too overwhelming.  He had 4 touchdown passes and picked up the Hopkins fumble before running it in for a score.  When it got down to crunch time, Robinson was electric.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way, Hemingway turned out several big plays and two of them were on bad throws by Robinson.  He’s a jump ball specialist and ended the game with 165 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions.

Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson’s recovery of the Stephen Hopkins fumble.  It was the least spectacular of Michigan’s five touchdowns, but with Michigan down 24-7 to begin the fourth quarter, things were looking grim.  If Notre Dame had recovered that fumble after Michigan had driven 82 yards, I don’t know if the Wolverines would have recovered mentally.  Luckily, Robinson was paying attention and had the quickness and dexterity to pick up the ball on the move.  That was the play that set the rally in motion.  There were so many big plays that it’s hard to pick just one (Hemingway’s 43-yard TD, Hemingway’s 77-yard catch-and-run on Denard’s excellent throw, Vincent Smith’s 21-yard TD catch-and-run, Jeremy Gallon’s 64-yard catch-and-run, Gallon’s 14-yard TD reception, Roy Roundtree’s 16-yard TD reception, J.T. Floyd’s touchdown-saving interception, etc.), but that was the biggest in my mind.

2011 Season Predictions

Hooray for middle linebackers who play like middle linebackers!

Well, it’s always fun to take a look back and see how my predictions panned out, so here’s a link to my 2010 Season Predictions.

And now for this year’s picks:


Leading Rusher
I’m going to rescind my earlier faith in Michael Cox and guess that Michael Shaw will be the Wolverines’ leading running back rusher in 2011.  Denard Robinson would be the obvious pick if Rich Rodriguez were still coaching, but Brady Hoke wants Robinson to run less.  It’s basically a crapshoot with Thomas Rawls, Michael Cox, Fitzgerald Toussaint, and Shaw all vying for the starting RB role.  Between injuries Shaw will run for 700 yards and a couple other guys will have a few hundred apiece . . . but Denard should take the lead by a fairly small margin.
Prediction: Denard Robinson, 900 yards

Leading Receiver
The change in offense throws a wrench into my guess here, too.  I think Roy Roundtree is a very good receiver, but I also think he’s going to struggle more now that he’s been moved from the slot to the outside.  The only other serious threat to lead the team is Junior Hemingway, who might be derailed by injury like usual.  I guess I’ll go with Hemingway and pray he stays healthy.
Prediction: Junior Hemingway, 1000 yards

Leading Tackler
I’m pretty confident that middle linebacker Kenny Demens will lead the team in tackles, provided his shoulder injury doesn’t flare up again.  He had 82 last season and finished third on the team, despite only starting for half the year.  Safety Jordan Kovacs was second last year with 116 total tackles, but I think – and hope – that those numbers will drop significantly.
Prediction: Kenny Demens, 100 tackles

Leading Sacker
Considering that Michigan’s sack totals have dropped to 41% of what they were in 2006, I have to think that the new defensive scheme will cause at least a small jump.  Of the defensive linemen and linebackers who graduated last year (Greg Banks, Renaldo Sagesse, Adam Patterson, Jonas Mouton, Obi Ezeh), none were great pass rushers.  The best rushers return (Ryan Van Bergen with 9 career sacks, Mike Martin with 6.5, and Craig Roh with 2.5) with some youthful potential in the forms of redshirt freshman Jake Ryan, sophomore Jibreel Black, and true freshman Frank Clark.  With all those blitzers and rushers potentially getting to the quarterback, weakside end Craig Roh should lead the team in sacks. 
Prediction: Craig Roh, 7 sacks

Leading Interceptor
Last year’s interception leaders were cornerback James Rogers (since graduated) and free safety-turned-linebacker Cameron Gordon.  So those two are out, since linebackers rarely lead teams in interceptions.  That leaves us with a crew of defensive backs who have a combined four interceptions (Jordan Kovacs has 3, J.T. Floyd has 1).  Cornerbacks Troy Woolfolk and Courtney Avery have shown an ability to cover but not make big plays, and Floyd . . . well . . . just doesn’t look like a very good cornerback.  It looks like Thomas Gordon will start at strong safety and he hasn’t had a chance to show his pass coverage abilities yet since he played linebacker last year.  So it looks like Jordan Kovacs is my man.
Prediction: Jordan Kovacs, 3 interceptions

All-Big Ten First Team
Prediction: Denard Robinson, Mike Martin

Leading Scorer (non-QB, non-kicker)
Prediction: Michael Shaw

Breakout Offensive Player
This is a tough choice because almost every offensive starter returns.  Kevin Koger should see a significant leap in production, but he’ll be a four-year starter.  I have a hard time picking a four-year starter as a breakout player.  So I’m going to go with Jeremy Gallon.  Gallon is #2 on the depth chart at wide receiver and should see some time in the slot in three- and four-wide sets.  He’s quick, fast, and thickly built, and he could be an X-factor if he can hold onto the ball (which he couldn’t do last year as a kick/punt returner).
Prediction: Jeremy Gallon

Breakout Defensive Player
I don’t foresee anyone on Michigan’s defense going from an unknown to an All-American, so “breakout” here has to be looked at from a small-scale perspective.  A few days ago, I picked freshman linebacker Desmond Morgan as a potential breakout player, since he’s a frosh and will play at some point this season.  Anybody who starts at weakside linebacker will be a breakout player, really, since all the options are young and inexperienced.  Mike Jones is #1 on the depth chart, although I don’t really think he’s a playmaker.  I think I’ll go with cornerback Courtney Avery.  Avery had a bad year last season, not because he’s a bad athlete but because he wasn’t ready to play.  He should have redshirted and taken a year to add some size.  Now he’s a sophomore with playing experience and he might be the best cover corner on the roster, although true freshman Blake Countess is going to be a good one, too.
Prediction: Courtney Avery

Most Disappointing Offensive Player
Keep in mind that this is my  most disappointing offensive player, as in the one that I think will fall short of my previous expectations.  There was a time when I thought Roy Roundtree was headed toward wearing the #1 jersey.  On top of being a very good slot receiver, he was a good blocker and a playmaker after the catch.  He started to fall off toward the end of last season when he began dropping too many passes, particularly against Wisconsin and Ohio State.  And while he did have over 900 yards receiving last year, many of those receptions came in the middle of the field, an area that he won’t roam as often from his new outside receiver position.  He should start this fall and put up decent numbers, but I don’t know if the #1 jersey is in his future anymore.
Prediction: Roy Roundtree

Most Disappointing Defensive Player
Just like last year, it’s tough to pick someone who’s going to be disappointing, because not much is expected from most of the guys on this unit.  The bar has been lowered so much that it’s almost impossible for anyone to limbo underneath it.  With that caveat aside, I think Troy Woolfolk is going to disappoint some people a little bit.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and many Michigan fans hope that Woolfolk will be Michigan’s Savior in the Secondary this season.  He was a solid free safety and cornerback in 2009 before dislocating his ankle prior to the 2010 season, which might have been fortuitous since he preserved his last year of eligibility to play under a coach who actually knows what he’s doing.  But Woolfolk has zero interceptions in his career, and while he’s a solid tackler with excellent speed, I doubt he’ll suddenly be causing turnover after turnover.  I expect continued solid play in the coming months, but nothing spectacular.
Prediction: Troy Woolfolk

The Big Finish

Sept. 3 vs. Western Michigan: WIN.  Michigan’s offense ought to be too good for Western Michigan to handle.  Denard Robinson torched them in 2009 for one of his best career highlights, and he’ll probably make some more highlights.  MAC teams just can’t handle his speed.

Sept. 10 vs. Notre Dame: LOSS.  Notre Dame should have beaten Michigan in 2010, if not for quarterback Dayne Crist getting injured.  This year the Fighting Irish should be better.

Sept. 17 vs. Eastern Michigan: WIN.  The Screaming Eagles are horrible at football.

Sept. 24 vs. San Diego State: WIN.  I think this will be a pretty easy win.  SDSU lost a couple of their top receivers for the year due to injury.  Otherwise, I thought it was going to be a close win.

Oct. 1 vs. Minnesota: WIN.  The Golden Gophers are just a steap ahead of Eastern Michigan.

Oct. 8 at Northwestern: WIN.  The Wildcats have a solid offense that will put up some points, but I have confidence that defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will have some better ideas on how to stop the spread than his predecessors.

Oct. 15 at Michigan State: WIN.  It’s about time that Michigan gets another victory against the Spartans, who got lucky repeatedly in the 2010 season.  I can’t see Hoke and Mattison losing to MSU in year one.

Oct. 29 vs. Purdue: WIN.  Purdue is bad, and their starting quarterback from last year is out due to an ACL tear.

Nov. 5 at Iowa: LOSS.  Iowa is going to be good this year, unfortunately.  They always seem to play Michigan tough, and their defense is solid.  If this game were in Ann Arbor, I’d pick the Wolverines . . . but it’s an away game.

Nov. 12 at Illinois: WIN. Illinois lost a couple good players in their defensive front seven, and the couple good players left shouldn’t be enough to beat the Wolverines.

Nov. 19 vs. Nebraska: LOSS.  Nebraska’s too good on both sides of the ball for Michigan to handle.  They might win the Big Ten in their first season.

Nov. 26 vs. Ohio State: LOSS.  I wish I could predict a Michigan victory here, but Ohio State has been so dominant in recent years that I can’t see the Wolverines pulling out a victory.  All of OSU’s suspended players will be back and warmed up for several weeks before coming to Ann Arbor.

Final Record: 8-4

2011 Countdown: #17 Craig Roh

Craig Roh (#88)

Name: Craig Roh
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 269 lbs.
High school: Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, AZ
Position: Weakside end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #88
Last year: I ranked Roh #8 and said he would have 45 tackles and 7 sacks.  He started at OLB and DE at various times, finishing with 43 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1/2 a sack, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass breakup.

Well, I overshot on Roh’s sack total by about 6.5 sacks.  Like everything that’s happened over the last three seasons, I blame the coaches.  Roh played outside linebacker for the first eight weeks of the season in a 3-3-5 defense, one in which he rarely rushed the passer and often found himself in coverage.  Who takes a 6’5″, high school superstar of a pass rusher and turns him into an outside linebacker in a 3-3-5?  Anyone besides Rich Rodriguez and Greg Robinson?  Probably not.  Things got so bad in 2010 that Roh and his father reportedly threatened to transfer schools if the coaches didn’t put him back at his natural defensive end position.  Whether that story is true or not, Roh was at defensive end by the Illinois game on November 6.  Roh showed plenty of promise as a freshman, when he had 2 sacks among 37 tackles and looked like a future star at the defensive end position; now he returns to that weakside end spot with about 35 more pounds on his frame than he had as a freshman in 2009.

Roh was being pushed by sophomore defensive end Jibreel Black in the spring, but recent comments by the coaches suggest that Black didn’t come back in August as advanced as they had hoped.  It seems that the weakside end position is Roh’s to lose now, whereas there were some questions back in April.  I have always thought highly of Roh, going back to the 2009 recruiting cycle, when I said he would be the best overall recruit in his class.  Now that he has a coaching staff who presumably know how to use a defensive end, we should see Roh take a leap forward after his sophomore slump.  In the 4-3 Under defense, he should see plenty of one-on-one matchups with opposing offensive tackles or even the occasional running back.  And instead of seeing meager sack totals from Michigan’s defensive ends (1/2 for Roh last season, 4 for Van Bergen), we ought to see them notch about 10 total between the two end spots.

Prediction: Starting weakside end; 50 tackles, 6 sacks

Poll Results: Who will lead Michigan in sacks for 2011?

Craig Roh will get a chance to create deja vu on September 3rd

A couple weeks ago, I posed the question, “Who will lead Michigan’s 2011 defense in sacks?”  Here are the results of that poll:

Craig Roh: 49%
Mike Martin: 21%
Jibreel Black (tie): 10%
Ryan Van Bergen (tie): 10%
Jake Ryan: 3%
Cameron Gordon: 1%
William Campbell: 1%
Other: 0%

Junior defensive end Craig Roh won the vote in a landslide victory.  I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.  Obviously, Michigan fans have high hopes for a coaching staff that features three current or former defensive line coaches in head coach Brady Hoke, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, and defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.  Roh was miscast as a linebacker last season and garnered only 1/2 a sack, which means that backup safety Thomas Gordon had 1.5 more sacks.  Yikes.  Still, Roh ought to be the starter at weakside end, which should create plenty of one-on-one opportunities with offensive tackles.

Senior defensive tackle Mike Martin finished second in the voting, but it surprised me that he only got 21% of the vote.  Martin had 2.5 sacks last season when he was strictly a nose tackle, and Mattison has promised to move Martin around this year – even to outside linebacker at times – to use his athleticism, strength, and quickness in various ways.  Martin will still face plenty of double teams, but if he can avoid the ankle injuries that slowed him last year, he might give Roh a run for his money.

Sophomore defensive end Jibreel Black and fifth year senior defensive end Ryan Van Bergen had exactly the same number of votes.  Black will split time between both defensive end positions, but he had zero sacks among his 7 total tackles as a freshman.  Meanwhile, Van Bergen is the active sack leader with 9 total.  He will face his share of double-teams as well, but he’s relentless and could make a run at the team lead, as well.

Redshirt freshman SAM linebacker Jake Ryan did not play at all last season.  He did have an impressive spring and earned compliments from the coaching staff, but at best, he’s expected to split time with redshirt sophomore Cam Gordon at outside linebacker.

Speaking of Gordon, he just barely beat out junior defensive tackle William Campbell (by one vote) for last place on the list.  Gordon had zero sacks among his 77 total tackles last season, although to be fair, Gordon played half the season at free safety before moving to outside linebacker.  In one-and-a-half seasons at defensive tackle, Campbell – who moved from DT to offensive guard midway through 2010 – had only 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.  He moved back to defensive line in the spring and at 6’5″, 333 lbs. should be a load for any offensive guard to handle one-on-one.  I do expect Campbell to break out this season, but Ndamukong Suh-like seasons are rare from defensive tackles.  Campbell will more likely end the year with 2 or 3 sacks, and hopefully a couple of his teammates will surpass that total.