Tag: Denard Robinson

Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

PSU wide receiver Graham Zug catches a touchdown pass over freshman safety Ray Vinopal.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Vincent Smith as slot receiver.  He can catch the ball and make an occasional person miss in space.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Vincent Smith as running back.  I don’t care if it’s Michael Shaw, Stephen Hopkins, Michael Cox, Teric Jones, whatever.  I’ll take the heat if the experiment doesn’t go well.  Just get Smith off the field when you slam the ball up the middle.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Renaldo Sagesse at nose tackle.  I guess the experiment with Adam Patterson at nose tackle didn’t work out.  Gee, I wonder why.  There are lots of 275-pound nose tackles in major college football, right?  Right?  Anyway, Sagesse is clearly a more capable NT now that Mike Martin is missing significant time due to injury.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Cameron Gordon at Spur.  I felt like this game was Purdue 2008.  In that game Carson Butler played defensive the week following a position switch from tight end.  In this game Cam Gordon replaced Thomas Gordon at Spur, even though Thomas Gordon looked decent throughout the year.  Seriously, a redshirt freshman goes from starting free safety to starting outside linebacker from one game to the next?  At least give him a few weeks to get acclimated to his new position.

MVP of the Penn State game . . . Denard Robinson, obviously.

Penn State 41, Michigan 31

Happier now?  No?  Yeah, me either.

Michigan lost last night.  I’m not sure if you heard, but it was bad.

Sad bullets:

Michigan’s defense is still atrocious.  Matt McGloin, a former walk-on who has been the borderline third-stringer for the Nittany Lions, completed 17 of 28 passes for 250 yards and 1 touchdown (plus 1 rushing touchdown).  Furthermore, the Wolverines were unable to force a turnover even once.  Running back Evan Royster was averaging 64 yards a game until this point, and he torched the Wolverines for 150 yards on 29 carries; his 5.2 yards per carry average would have been significantly higher if Penn State wasn’t simply trying to run out the clock at the end of the game and slamming into a stacked line.  The defense got one important stop in the game, but a hurting offense – missing its top two tight ends and its starting quarterback, and with a hodge podge offense line – put up 435 yards and 41 points.

Vincent Smith isn’t good at running.  You all know my thoughts on where Vincent Smith belongs in the pecking order at running back on this team, but here’s where he ranks among the rest of the Big Ten’s lead rushers.  Smith had 9 carries for 24 yards against a depleted Penn State defense and behind a solid offensive line.  Stephen Hopkins had a slightly better day running the ball, and Michael Shaw’s lone rushing attempt went for 4 yards.  I wish I had a good reason for offensive genius Rich Rodriguez only being able to squeeze out the tenth best yards per carry average for a running back in the Big Ten, but I don’t. 

White, UW: 86 carries, 570 yards, 6.6 ypc, 9 TD
Edwin Baker, MSU: 124 carries, 800 yards, 6.5 ypc, 7 TD
Leveon Bell, MSU: 95 carries, 585 yards, 6.2 ypc, 8 TD
Dierking, Purdue: 67 carries, 403 yards, 6.0 ypc, 3 TD
Clay, UW: 160 carries, 887 yards, 5.5 ypc, 13 TD
Royster, PSU: 117 carries, 600 yards, 5.1 ypc, 4 TD
Dan Herron, OSU: 129 carries, 634 yards, 4.9 ypc, 12 TD
Leshoure, Illinois: 158 carries, 780 yards, 4.9 ypc, 6 TD
Robinson, Iowa: 172 carries, 806 yards, 4.7 ypc, 10 TD
Vincent Smith, Michigan: 79 carries, 349 yards, 4.4 ypc, 4 TD
Darius Willis, Indiana: 64 carries, 278 yards, 4.3 ypc, 4 TD
Bennett, Minnesota: 104 carries, 444 yards, 4.3 ypc, 2 TD
Trumpy, Northwestern: 74 carries, 307 yards, 4.1 ypc, 2 TD

Freshmen play like freshmen.  On a long completed pass thrown by McGloin last night, I remember seeing freshman cornerback Cullen Christian, freshman free safety Ray Vinopal, and redshirt freshman wide receiver-turned-free safety-turned-quasi-linebacker Cameron Gordon converging on the play.  I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever seen a more inexperienced defense.  And that doesn’t even include the pain of watching a perfectly positioned Terrence Talbott watch a ball whistle right past his perfectly positioned arm and into the belly of a PSU wide receiver. 

Denard Robinson runs the ball TOO MUCH.  Holy crap, Rich Rodriguez.  When are you going to learn that you’re driving Robinson into the ground by running him 27, 28, 29 times a game?  Sure, Robinson had 27 carries for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He had a great game (running the ball, anyway).  But he also missed time due to injury for the sixth time out of eight games.  If he’s such a valuable runner, put him at running back and give the snaps to a quarterback who can actually pass the ball, Tate Forcier.  While I haven’t been a fan of changing Robinson’s position up to this point, the gaping hole at running back makes me think the Forcier/Robinson combo in the backfield might not be such a bad idea after all.  In case you’re wondering, Robinson is averaging 20.5 carries a game so far this season.

So much for the bye week.  We thought Michigan would be able to heal its injuries and put together a good game plan for a struggling Penn State team.  But Mike Martin re-injured his ankle injury and missed most of the game, Denard Robinson got dinged up again, and running back Michael Shaw totaled one carry.  Meanwhile, Michigan’s defense couldn’t cover the flats, couldn’t break on deep balls, and couldn’t stop a paltry running game.  And Jeremy Gallon still looks like a lineman trying to catch the ball; instead of letting a kickoff go into the endzone for a touchback, he dropped the ball and then kicked it out of bounds at his own 2-yard line.  I don’t really feel like the week off helped this team at all.

Greg Robinson is gone after this year.  I’m almost sure of it.  Somebody’s head has to roll after this year’s performance, and Rodriguez will be lucky if it’s not his.  But I do not expect Greg Robinson to return in 2011, whether the defense has been littered with freshmen or not.  This is the worst defense in Michigan history and perhaps the worst in the country.

Preview: Michigan at Penn State

This must be how the remainder of Penn State’s two-deep feels.

This is a big Saturday for me.  Not only does Michigan get a chance to avenge two consecutive losses to Penn State and earn a bowl berth, but I live in some fairly heavy Penn State country and these people talk a lot of smack.  I have some friendly bets with some of my players – the loser(s) have to run a mile after practice on Monday.

Rush Offense vs. Penn State Rush Defense
In comparison with a similar offense to Michigan’s, the Nittany Lions gave up 282 yards on only 54 carries against the Illinois Fighting Illini two weeks ago, and that defense has further been depleted by injury.  Interestingly, Michigan has the #7 rushing offense in the country and averages . . . 282 yards a game.  Despite that outburst, Penn State sits at a middling #52 against the run.  As one might expect, Penn State’s bad opponents (Kent State, Youngstown State, Minnesota) have run the ball poorly, and the solid opponents (Alabama, Illinois) have gashed them.  I have not been impressed with Michigan’s running backs this season, but with PSU’s injury issues on defense, I expect Denard Robinson and the Running Back du Jour to have a great day.
Advantage: Michigan

Pass Offense vs. Penn State Pass Defense
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has suffered a lull in his passing efficiency over the past couple weeks, turning in subpar passing games against both Michigan State and Iowa.  Iowa has the somewhat unique quality of being able to stick to their game plan and do a pretty good job of stopping whatever offense the opponent runs.  Whereas Michigan flops between several defenses, Iowa just played their base personnel and Cover 2 defense and they were able to stifle the previously explosive Michigan passing game.  Prior to the season, I suspected that Tate Forcier would become more valuable when the Big Ten season arrived; true to form, Forcier stepped in once Robinson got hurt in the third quarter and rallied the Wolverines to 21 points.  However, opponents are completing 63% of their passes against the Nittany Lions, and leading interceptor Nick Sukay will miss the game with an injury.  And not that defensive linemen have much of an impact on Denard Robinson, but the injuries to Penn State’s defensive ends will make it difficult for Penn State to add to the total of only 4 sacks allowed by the Wolverines this season.
Advantage: Michigan

Rush Defense vs. Penn State Rush Offense
I don’t know what to think here.  Running back Evan Royster has torched Michigan over the past couple seasons, rushing for something like 500 yards on 2 carries.  On the one hand, Penn State’s offensive line is made up of wet Klee-nex, Stefen Wisniewski, and a balloon animal.  On the other hand, replace “Stefen Wisniewski” with “Mike Martin’s sprained ankle” and that’s a pretty good description of Michigan’s defense, too.  Considering that Michigan hasn’t been able to stop the run at all this year, I have to assume that Penn State will gash the Wolverines once again.  It will be the #86 rush offense against the #54 rush defense, but keep in mind that teams feel like they can beat Michigan through the air whenever they want; just ask Indiana and Notre Dame whether the running game was important for running neck-and-neck with Michigan.
Advantage: Penn State

Pass Defense vs. Penn State Pass Offense
Penn State is the #71 pass offense and the #93 pass efficiency offense.  So . . . they’re crappy.  Recent reports indicate that freshman starter Robert Bolden will miss Saturday’s game with concussion symptoms.  I got a chance to see former Michigan commit Kevin Newsome back in the spring of 2009 when he enrolled early at Penn State, and he looked like me playing quarterback, except only if I drank a fifth of whiskey first.  That means that redshirt sophomore, former walk-on Matt McGloin will likely get the start on Saturday.  McGloin’s career stats are 6 completions on 15 attempts, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  And now that we’re aware of the mediocrity that is Penn State’s pass offense, you should expect at least 350 yards passing and a few touchdowns.  Okay, maybe not.  I’m feeling gutsy, so . . .
Advantage: Michigan

Final Predictions

• A healthy Denard Robinson runs for 180 yards
• Michigan exploits the middle of the field for 220+ yards passing
• For only the second time this season, Evan Royster rushes for 100+ yards
• One of Michigan’s inexperienced cornerbacks gets his first career interception
• I won’t be running a mile after practice on Monday
• Michigan 42, Penn State 24

Iowa 38, Michigan 28

Tate Forcier (#5) jumps for joy after a Stephen Hopkins rushing TD.

I expected an Iowa victory on Saturday, but once again, Michigan’s defense failed in spectacular fashion.  Giving up 38 points to a team with mediocre offensive personnel is extremely frustrating.  I can’t imagine what a team with a truly good offense – Oregon, for example – might do to Michigan’s D.  Some bullets:

Tate Forcier is quarterback 1b.  I’m not prepared to call for the benching of Denard Robinson.  Robinson is still the prototype for Rich Rodriguez’s zone read option offense.  However, Robinson also feasted on defenses early in the season who a) lacked athleticism or b) lacked complex defensive schemes.  How many times did we see him torch defenses that committed an extra safety or two to the run game, only to see Robinson and one of his receivers beat man coverage with a throw over the top?  Meanwhile, Forcier made a couple questionable throws, but provided a spark when relieving an injured Robinson late in the game.  Tate finished the day 17-for-26 for 239 yards, 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing), and 2 interceptions.  Is there any question at this point that Forcier ought to be one of the top two quarterbacks on the team?  We haven’t seen freshman Devin Gardner since the Big Ten season started, so I still can’t understand why the coaches burned his redshirt against UConn . . . unless Gardner comes down with a mysterious “injury” or “illness” that allows him to get a medical exemption.

Denard Robinson runs the ball too much.  Posters over at MGoBlog have done “studies” to show that mobile quarterbacks and pocket quarterbacks have similar rates of injury.  When people have made the argument that Denard Robinson is bound to get hurt because of his small stature, some internet message boarders have scoffed.  Well, my study of Denard Robinson says this:

• On 143 pass attempts, Denard Robinson hasn’t suffered an injury that caused him to miss playing time.
• On 137 rushing attempts, he has suffered injuries that have caused him to miss time in 6 games.

Robinson is too slight and/or injury prone to be carrying the ball nearly 20 times a game.  If I remember correctly, he had 17 carries at halftime.  Should Michigan really be running its MVP and starting quarterback 34 times in a single game?

Rocko Khoury is a solid backup.  Unlike last year, when right guard David Moosman replaced David Molk at center due to Molk’s injuries, redshirt sophomore center Khoury played admirably after Molk aggravated an ankle injury early in the game.  Khoury had a case of the jitters early on and had some snap issues, but those seemed to get solved pretty quickly.

Vincent Smith should be relegated to backup duty.  I know I’m a broken record, but at least Rich Rodriguez finally figured out what I’ve been saying for awhile: Smith isn’t a short yardage back.  Hopkins was the short yardage back on Saturday, and he responded with 8 carries for 38 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and a goal line touchdown (pictured above) in which he actually ran through a tackle.  Meanwhile, Smith had 10 carries for 39 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and a critical lost fumble on Iowa’s 14-yard line.  For the record, Smith also had 2 catches for 22 yards and 1 touchdown, so he wasn’t exactly useless.  But that’s my thing with Smith: if he’s lined up in the slot or catching passes out of the backfield, I’m okay with him being out there.  But he shouldn’t be leading the running backs in carries.

Tate Forcier and Darryl Stonum are in love.  When Denard was in the game, Darryl Stonum got visibly frustrated with having to dig out a couple errant passes from hitting the ground.  When Forcier entered the game, it seemed like the QB was looking for #22 on every play.  Stonum ended the day with 9 catches for 97 yards, most of which came after Forcier’s entrance into the game.  Forcier also hit Junior Hemingway a few times and Hemingway ended the day with 9 catches for 134 yards and 1 touchdown.

Run the ball, damnit.  It would have been nice if Michigan’s offense could have kept Iowa off balance by running the ball late in the game.  I know they were running short on time, but passing on every down is extremely difficult.  Once Forcier entered the game, the playcalling seemed to want him to sling the ball all over the field.  Maybe it’s just me, but I thought Forcier’s second interception was the result of the lack of a running threat.  Like I said, the clock might have dictated the playcalling, so I don’t have a huge problem with the call.  But it sure would be nice if a dangerous running back (hopefully Demetrius Hart in the near future) could make defenses think twice before getting to their drops.

Michigan’s defense is atrocious.  I’m not going to spend too much time talking about the defense.  We all know which unit most needs to improve for Michigan to have any chance of success.  Michigan failed to come up with key defensive stops and allowed a mediocre running back to run for 142 yards.  And while Iowa’s passing offense isn’t prone to huge plays, quarterback Ricky Stanzi completed 71% of his passes.  My frustration reached its apex when JT Floyd aligned himself inside of Derrell Johnson-Koulianos to take away the slant and force the receiver to the sideline.  Johnson-Koulianos deked outside, Floyd jumped him, and Johnson-Koulianos waltzed untouched into the endzone after catching – what else? – a slant.  I don’t know if that’s poor coaching or poor execution, especially because Floyd made the same mistake a couple drives later (although it didn’t go for a touchdown).

Jordan Kovacs is oh so close to being good.  On a corner blitz in the first quarter, safety Kovacs jumped a fade route near Michigan’s end zone.  If Kovacs were a half step faster, the ball would have been picked and returned about 100 yards for a touchdown.  But since Kovacs is who he is, the play resulted in a PBU.  Kovacs played well for the most part, but his physical limitations will continue to make me wish brain transplants were feasible.  If Justin Turner had Kovacs’ knowledge and work ethic, Turner would be an All Big Ten safety.

Kenny Demens played well.  He still did some frustrating things, but Demens showed more promise than Obi Ezeh has shown this year.  I’m still not entirely sold on Demens as the savior at MLB, but he made some strides against Iowa.

Special teams were atrocious, too.  Walk-on kicker Seth Broekhuizen has beaten out redshirt freshman Brendan Gibbons.  Gibbons must be horrible, because Broekhuizen had a field goal blocked for the second week in a row.  He also booted at least two (three?) kickoffs out of bounds to give Iowa great field position.  That’s effing ridiculous.  And if you’ve been wondering why William Campbell hasn’t earned more playing time on the defensive line, maybe that blocked field goal gives you an inkling – Iowa defensive tackle Broderick Binns got lower than Campbell and blew open a gap in the protection.  At least Will Hagerup played well and averaged 50+ yards a punt.  I wonder if he can kick off.

Preview: Michigan vs. Iowa

Iowa running back Adam Robinson averages 96 yards a game rushing.

I haven’t had time this week for a full preview, so this is going to be fairly brief.

Rush Offense vs. Iowa Rush Defense
Iowa has the #2 rush defense in the country.  Michigan has the #6 rush offense.  Something has to give.  I’ll bet that Michigan runs for more than 63.2 yards (Iowa’s average), but Denard Robinson won’t be getting 200 yards against the Hawkeyes.  I like Michigan left tackle Taylor Lewan as a football player, but Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn is probably going to eat him alive.  Still, Iowa hasn’t played a team yet that has a great running game.
Advantage: Michigan

Pass Offense vs. Iowa Pass Defense
Iowa is #28 in pass defense (179 yards a game), but #10 in pass efficiency defense.  I have a feeling that Denard Robinson is going to continue struggling in the passing game this week, because Iowa should be able to get a pass rush and harass him.  If Iowa’s defense can corral him with their front four, then Iowa’s back seven should be able to confuse Robinson and force him into some turnovers.
Advantage: Iowa

Rush Defense vs. Iowa Rush Offense
Iowa running back Adam Robinson is averaging 96 yards a game.  His backups are somewhat meaningless, but the starter averages 4.9 yards per attempt and Michigan can’t stop the run very well.  The game won’t be won on the ground by Iowa, but they should be able to pick up some yards in chunks, especially if nose tackle Mike Martin’s sprained ankle slows him down.  Reports indicate that middle linebacker Kenny Demens might get significant playing time, so perhaps there’s some hope for improvement against the run.
Advantage: Iowa

Pass Defense vs. Iowa Pass Defense
I’ve never been very impressed with Ricky Stanzi, but he’s doing well so far this year.  He’s thrown 10 touchdowns compared to only 2 interceptions.  Meanwhile, Iowa has a couple big play receivers in Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (15.9 yards a catch) and Marvin McNutt (18.3).  Those could be killer combinations for a Wolverines secondary that ranks #119 in the country against the pass.
Advantage: Iowa

Final Predictions

• Denard Robinson throws two interceptions but breaks a 60-yard run.
• We see more of the backup running backs than we did last week.
• Ricky Stanzi throws a stupid interception like the gimme he tossed to Donovan Warren last year.
• Cameron Gordon gets beaten up the seam by a tight end.
• Iowa 28, Michigan 24