Tag: Devin Gardner

Coaching Thoughts: Post-Notre Dame

I find myself lacking the time to do “snapshot” breakdowns of particular plays, so while I would like to go into greater detail, please bear with me as I simply write about some of the technical breakdowns I saw in Saturday night’s game. To point out these plays, I’m using the Notre Dame highlight video below:



Cover zero: The touchdown pass with 3:58 left before halftime was a result of a man-beater route combination called by Notre Dame, plus a physically outmatched slot corner in Delonte Hollowell. Hollowell correctly had inside leverage on the quick out, but he was aligned a little far off for my liking and did not have the makeup speed to undercut the route or challenge the catch. On the goal line, there’s no need to play off the receiver. If the opponent tries to throw over the top, they have to complete the pass in front of the end line, which is tough unless you’ve got a good jump ball guy.

Seam routes: On the interception thrown with 12:34 remaining in the third quarter, it looks like Gardner simply didn’t see safety Max Redfield in the deep middle. Gardner likely felt a little rushed because Notre Dame was getting a bit of a push. All the routes were covered, so I would like to see Gardner tuck the ball and run or throw it away. If he’s going to make that throw to Khalid Hill, he needs to put some air under it with Hill being the only guy who could catch it. Hill would have had a chance to make the reception if it turned into a jump ball because Redfield was not in great position to defend a deep ball, but even then, a safety vs. a mediocre tight end is probably going to go the defense’s way.

Free safety play: On the botched cover zero play involving Hollowell (above), blitzing safety Jeremy Clark gets chopped to the ground by running back Tarean Folston. Part of blitz technique is using your hands to stay on your feet when someone goes for a cut block, but Clark’s eyes were in the backfield and he was caught completely off guard. If he had stayed on his feet, he would have been in Golson’s face and potentially altering the throw. On the tunnel screen touchdown with 3:02 remaining in the third, it’s well executed by Notre Dame. The guy who should be saving that play is deep safety Jeremy Clark. He reacted by trying to get over the top of the screen, but those plays are designed to come back inside. Because of his overpursuit, Clark took a bad angle. He should have been coming downhill, right up the tunnel. That would have given other defenders more of a chance to converge even if he didn’t make the tackle. It turned out to be a pretty easy catch-and-run score. That’s the inexperience of a redshirt sophomore safety project.

Scramble drill: Late in the third quarter, Devin Gardner dropped back to pass. With a decent pocket forming and several downfield routes – plus a well covered outlet option in De’Veon Smith – Gardner hung in the pocket looking for a receiver. At the 1:00 mark, he began to scramble – first to the right, then back, then to the left, and finally forward across the line of scrimmage. In the four seconds before he crossed the line of scrimmage, not one receiver re-entered the screen to save his quarterback. When a quarterback is scrambling, deep receivers are supposed to work their way short, and short receivers are supposed to work deeper. Instead, Gardner scrambled, spun, got blindsided, and ultimately fumbled.

Amara Darboh’s route running: Darboh is big and strong, and he has decent speed. What Darboh lacks is precision in his route running. When Michigan got the ball back after Gardner’s aforementioned fumble, the first play involved what looks like a 7-yard hitch route. Darboh does not provided the illusion of running deep, either with his footwork or his head. He simply hits 7 yards, whips his head around, and drifts. A receiver is supposed to come back down the chute to the ball, which prevents the corner from jumping the route. Sure enough, cornerback Cody Riggs jumps the route and beats Darboh to the spot. The pass may have been broken up anyway, but a good route there probably has Darboh catching the ball and getting tackled immediately for a decent 7-yard gain.

Pass protection: At roughly 2:44 left in the fourth quarterback, Notre Dame runs a six-man pressure with a seventh man playing a hug technique (blitz if the running back stays home) on running back Justice Hayes. It’s a man blocking scheme, and everyone is accounted for except the hugger. Right tackle Ben Braden gets off balance and is caught off guard by an inside pass rush. Meanwhile, left guard Erik Magnuson’s second step is that of a left tackle who is trying to protect the width of the pocket, instead of a step by a guard trying to protect the depth of the pocket. He opens up his left shoulder, which allows the defensive tackle to that side to get upfield. Despite Jehu Chesson coming open on a short crossing route, Gardner does not have time to throw the ball before getting hit by Braden and Magnuson’s men.

Michigan vs. Appalachian State Awards

Jehu Chesson, Devin Gardner, and Devin Funchess combined for a great day on Saturday.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Dennis Norfleet. It’s not so much that Norfleet himself was a huge threat. He’s dangerous with the ball, but we’ve learned that he can easily get flung around because of his slight stature. No, the nice thing is that Michigan was spreading the ball laterally and getting it to people like Norfleet in the slot. Norfleet caught 3 passes for 30 yards, and Funchess was also a target on some quick screens. Those plays are going to help open up the middle of the field for the running game.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Joey Burzynski. Burzynski’s start was like a gold star for his efforts over the last several seasons, including fall camp. He tore his ACL last year, and he was filling in for the partly injured Kyle Kalis on Saturday. Kalis took over for Burzynski shortly after the game began, and the fifth year walk-on is less likely to play when Graham Glasgow returns next Saturday. Thanks for your efforts, Joey, but Michigan needs bigger and better linemen in there if they want to compete with the big boys.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Desmond Morgan. There have been hints that Morgan will be relegated to the bench in favor of Joe Bolden, but I still see Morgan as the superior player. He did a good job on Saturday and needs to see a majority of the snaps at either MIKE or WILL linebacker.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody. Michigan didn’t get any takeaways, but they put pressure on the quarterback and generally tackled well. Late in the game, Appalachian State bled the clock by running up the middle over and over again, but that mercifully allowed the game to end quicker. If they insisted on passing, Michigan would have hurt the quarterback(s), picked off some passes, and scored more points.

Play of the game . . . Ben Gedeon’s return of a blocked punt for a touchdown. There were so many big plays from Devin Funchess, Devin Gardner, Derrick Green, and De’Veon Smith, but those blocked punt returns are always exciting to watch. Linebacker Mike McCray tipped the punt, and Gedeon fielded it in mid-air. As soon as I saw #42 fielding the punt, I said to myself, “This is gonna be a touchdown.” Gedeon was an excellent high school running back and could probably play that position in college for some teams. He did a nice job of weaving, tiptoeing down the sideline, and diving to stretch the ball across the front edge of the goal line for a 32-yard touchdown return.

Player of the game . . . Devin Gardner. Gardner was 13/14 for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus he rushed 5 times for 9 yards. Best of all, he made good decisions, put appropriate helpings of mustard on his passes, and put the balls where only his receiver could catch them. His one misfire was a crossing route where the receiver was wide open, but it’s tough to argue with those numbers.

Michigan 52, Appalachian State 14

Devin Funchess had three of these touchdowns on the day (image via Fansided)

The Doug Nussmeier Effect: Quarterbacks. Yes, it was only newly minted FBS team Appalachian State, but starting quarterback Devin Gardner looked about as good as possible. He was 13/14 for 173 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions; he also ran 5 times for 9 yards. Best of all, he made good decisions and his only miss was a laser that fell harmlessly to the turf behind a crossing receiver. I think Nussmeier will use him more often as a runner as the game and situation dictate, but there’s no need to get him banged up in a blowout against ASU. Backup Shane Morris (3/5, 37 yards, 1 interception) looked a little shaky, especially on a comeback throw that never should have been released and got picked off by an undercutting corner. That’s now 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions thrown in his career.

The Doug Nussmeier Effect: Running Game. Opponent caveats apply, but Michigan struggled early before quickly finding a rhythm. The combo blocks looked cleaner and the offensive line looked crisper than they did at almost any time last year. The running backs combined for 31 carries, 345 yards, and 3 touchdowns. The inside zone run seemed ineffective at times because Michigan couldn’t get a great push. That’s a Nussmeier favorite, so they will surely continue to work on that play. Interestingly, Michigan’s revamped power play seems to have improved, even though that was a supposed staple of Al Borges’s offense and not considered to be a Nussmeier specialty. Perhaps Appalachian State was surprised, or maybe Michigan just executed the power really well in game one.

The Doug Nussmeier Effect: Running Backs. I would have to go back and check to be sure, but it seemed like Michigan really struggled early when they tried to run inside zone. Derrick Green (15 carries, 170 yards, 1 touchdown) got the first series of snaps, and his vision has always been somewhat questionable; those carries did not go well. When he returned to the game, Nussmeier ran power with him. Green hit the hole hard and did well. Meanwhile, for whatever reason(s), De’Veon Smith (8 carries, 115 yards, 2 touchdowns) seemed to get a little better blocking on inside zone plays, and his vision paid off with some nice runs. Green is leaner and quicker than last year, and Smith is what we thought he was. When the offensive line opens holes, they are capable of making some things happen. Drake Johnson (3 carries, 28 yards), Justice Hayes (4 carries, 23 yards), and Wyatt Shallman (1 carry, 5 yards) got some run late in the game, but Green and Smith clearly seem to be the top two options.

Devin Funchess is wearing the #1 jersey. Funchess is the first Michigan player to wear the #1 jersey since Braylon Edwards in 2004. Brady Hoke said that Funchess asked to wear it, so perhaps that’s the difference, but it seems odd to me that he was given the jersey while previous standout Jeremy Gallon was not. Gallon had the same number of catches (49) and more yards (829 to 748) in his redshirt junior year than Funchess as a sophomore, and you could tell he was in for a big year because of his connection with Gardner. Gallon, of course, ended up setting receiver records last year. Regardless, Funchess looked very good on Saturday (7 catches, 95 yards, 3 touchdowns) and has the talent to fill the shoulder pads of the #1 jersey.

At least nobody can say Michigan sold out. Because they didn’t. The announced attendance was 106,811, which is the 252nd straight game of over 100,000 fans.

Freshman redshirts got burned. Reasonably this time! The only true freshmen to play in the game against Appalachian State were Freddy Canteen, Mason Cole, Bryan Mone, and Jabrill Peppers. This would be excellent news if it holds up, because that means Michigan can save some of its highly touted recruits all the way until they’re 22 or 23 years old. I do believe that a couple more freshmen might play this season, especially weakside end Lawrence Marshall.

How ’bout that tight pass coverage? It was pretty tight. Michigan didn’t make any picks, but they broke up three passes and came up to tackle well. Jourdan Lewis is as sticky as they come, and he’s just a backup. I thought new safety Jeremy Clark looked pretty good in Delano Hill’s absence.

How ’bout that defensive line? When it comes to the defensive line, I actually don’t think we learned much. If the quarterback held the ball for longer than the play was designed for, he was usually getting hit. Fortunately for the Mountaineers, that wasn’t often. Pretty much every defensive lineman bulled his way into the backfield based on sheer size and strength against an overmatched and small-ish offensive line. Appalachian State had some repeated success on their shotgun inside zone play, which also worked well for Indiana and some other teams last year. Michigan might have been able to stop it if there had been a point to do so. But really, if you’re whooping a team’s butt on the scoreboard and they want to run the ball to deplete the clock, there’s not a huge incentive to sell out for stopping that play.

JABRILL PEPPERS. Peppers made 1 nice tackle, dove to make a fair catch on a punt, and returned 1 punt for 6 yards. Then he left the game with a bum ankle. It did not look serious, and Brady Hoke agrees with the first clause of this sentence. He should be back for next week.

The offensive line can’t get any worse than last year. I agree. I really think last year’s offensive line would have still struggled to churn out yards on the ground like they did in this game. Appalachian State nose tackle Tyson Fernandez (6’2″, 330 lbs.) was a load in the middle, and defensive end Ronald Blair (6’4″, 275 lbs.) didn’t seem too shabby, either. Blair overpowered freshman left tackle Mason Cole on an inside move to sack Gardner, and defensive end Odawala Dada (6’0″, 235 lbs.) successfully juked guard Kyle Kalis on his way to a quarterback hurry. Otherwise, it was rare to see an offensive lineman beaten cleanly. There were some frustrating stalemates, and there will be plenty more – along with outright whoopings – to come this year. Michigan’s line never coagulated last year, but even if a little less talented, this group is going to be better.

Michigan’s Legends Jerseys

Junior Hemingway wearing the Desmond Howard patch

Michigan’s Legends jerseys are unique to the University of Michigan and are awarded each season to players deemed deserving by the coaching staff. The plan is to hand out each jersey number every year, and so far, no freshman has been honored with wearing the jersey. That means that each player listed below has changed his jersey number mid-career, with the exception of Junior Hemingway, who wore #21 prior to the Legends jersey idea but was bedazzled with a Desmond Howard patch during the 2011 season.

Feel free to discuss who will wear #11 and #21 this year. The other jersey numbers are taken by returning players, although someone like Devin Funchess could be given the #1 jersey, which would open up his current #87.

#1: In honor of Anthony Carter/Braylon Edwards
2014: Devin Funchess, WR

#2: In honor of Charles Woodson
2014: Blake Countess, CB

#11: In honor of the Wistert brothers
2013: Courtney Avery, CB/S
2012: Jordan Kovacs, S

#21: In honor of Desmond Howard
2013: Jeremy Gallon, WR
2012: Roy Roundtree, WR
2011: Junior Hemingway, WR

#47: In honor of Bennie Oosterbaan
2012-2014: Jake Ryan, LB

#48: In honor of Gerald Ford
2012-2014: Desmond Morgan, LB

#87: In honor of Ron Kramer
2013: Devin Funchess, TE/WR
2012: Brandon Moore, TE

#98: In honor of Tom Harmon
2013-2014: Devin Gardner, QB

2014 Season Predictions

Devin Gardner

Here’s a link (LINK) to a review of my 2013 season predictions if you like to look into the past.

As for the future, here we go:

Leading Rusher
I’m backtracking a little bit here. It seemed like De’Veon Smith was getting a little more hype at the beginning of the summer, but now Brady Hoke is saying that Derrick Green would be getting the first carry against Appalachian State. I have always thought that Green had more upside because of his superior speed, so hopefully the line can block well enough to get him to the second or third level.
Prediction: Green, 700 yards

Leading Receiver
The best receiver on the team is clearly Devin Funchess, and I think this is a pretty obvious pick, barring injury. The only real question appears to be whether he’ll break the 1,000-yard barrier. Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier likes to run the ball, and he seems to like to spread out the ball among his receivers.
Prediction: Funchess, 950 yards

Leading Tackler
Michigan rotates linebackers a lot, so I don’t think the tackle totals for any one player will be astronomical. It looks like Desmond Morgan will rotate in with both Joe Bolden and Jake Ryan, and the combination of James Ross and Royce Jenkins-Stone looks pretty neck-and-neck right now, too. Throw in a dose of Ben Gedeon, and nobody racks up the tackles. Last year’s leading tackler was cornerback Raymon Taylor, but Michigan’s tighter coverage will hopefully prevent as many completions in front of the corners.
Prediction: Ryan, 75 tackles

Hit the jump for the rest of the predictions.

Leading Sacker
Strongside end Brennen Beyer has never been much of a pass rusher, and the edge rushing of Jake Ryan is not as much of a threat with Michigan’s move to the Over front. I think the clear selection here is weakside end Frank Clark, who turned on the jets in the second half of 2013.
Prediction: Clark, 8 sacks

Leading Interceptor
Tighter man seems to lead to more picks for safeties, because they play over the top of quarterbacks trying to fit balls into tight windows, and the safeties get some bounces, too. I’m tempted to pick Jarrod Wilson for that reason, but I’ll stick with First Team All-Big Ten selection Blake Countess, who had 6 picks last year.
Prediction: Countess, 5 interceptions

All-Big Ten First Team
Prediction: Devin Gardner, Jake Ryan, Blake Countess

Leading Scorer (non-QB, non-kicker)
Nobody seems likely to pile up touchdown after touchdown, so I’ll choose Funchess here.
Prediction: Funchess

Breakout Offensive Player
Michigan will probably continue to struggle to run the ball, although I do expect the running game to improve a little. Derrick Green looks like a good choice, but I might wait until 2015 for him, once the offensive line has some experience and age. Instead, I’ll go with a guy who has been playing quite a bit on special teams but appears #1 on the depth chart at slot receiver. I have some questions about Dennis Norfleet’s hands, but he could be a dynamo in the slot if he can catch some short passes and get into space. He won’t light the world on fire, but he could be fun to watch.
Prediction: Norfleet

Breakout Defensive Player
This is a very difficult choice, because I think several players are going to take large steps forward this season. I think Jarrod Wilson will turn into the ball hawk that Michigan fans have been looking for at the safety position. I also think Willie Henry is going to be very tough for opponents to handle at the 3-tech position. I don’t like to do this, but I’ll go with the bandwagon pick in freshman Jabrill Peppers. The nickel corner position is involved in a lot of different things, and Peppers seems like a guy who’s quick/strong enough to blitz effective, speedy enough to cover, and stout enough to stop the run.
Prediction: Peppers

Most Disappointing Offensive Player
Michigan fans want big things from the offensive line, but I don’t think they’ll get them with Ben Braden at right tackle. He’s huge, but I think he’s still a year or two away from actually being good. He’s stiff in pass protection and teams are going to confuse him with stunts. The left side looks to me like the strong side.
Prediction: Braden

Most Disappointing Defensive Player
I think Michigan fans are going to be disappointed in Ondre Pipkins by the end of the year. He was a 5-star recruit (to ESPN), but he’s coming off an ACL tear and didn’t look great before the injury. It would have been beneficial for him to redshirt either this year or last, but the injury came too late in the season to apply for a medical scholarship in 2013.
Prediction: Pipkins

The Big Finish
August 30 vs. Appalachian State: WIN. Michigan has some extra incentive, since . . . you know . . . that thing happened in 2007.

September 6 at Notre Dame: WIN. Notre Dame is going through some turmoil, probably missing some starters, moving to a different defense, and a little overrated, in my opinion.

September 13 vs. Miami (OH): WIN. The RedHawks went 0-12 last year. Yikes.

September 20 vs. Utah: WIN. This might be a close game, but I think Michigan will pull it out.

September 27 vs. Minnesota: WIN. The Gophers scare me a little bit this season, and they have been improving. I’ll stick with the Wolverines since the game is in Ann Arbor.

October 4 at Rutgers: WIN. If nothing else, Michigan will win this with their defense. I can see this type of game being frustrating for Michigan offensively.

October 11 vs. Penn State: WIN. I think the Nittany Lions might be another year away from being very good, so Michigan wins it because the game is in Ann Arbor.

October 25 at Michigan State: LOSS. Michigan’s offensive line woes will once again frustrate Michigan, but this is a game I could see coming down to the final play.

November 1 vs. Indiana: WIN. Practicing against a little more up-tempo offense might help Michigan’s defense against the Hoosiers, and they also lost quarterback Tre Roberson to transfer.

November 8 at Northwestern: WIN. Northwestern is stout up the middle on defense, but Michigan can beat them on the edges. And the losses of quarterback Kain Colter and running back Venric Mark do not bode well for the Wildcats’ chances.

November 22 vs. Maryland: WIN. I think Michigan has the athletes to match up with Maryland’s wide receivers, who are dangerous nonetheless.

November 29 at Ohio State: LOSS. The addition of Larry Johnson as the defensive line coach in Columbus is the clincher for me in this one. I feel like the Buckeyes will be able to control the line of scrimmage, and the game is in the terrible state of Ohio.

Final record: 10-2.