Tag: Doug Nussmeier

Rutgers 26, Michigan 24

Devin Gardner (image via Zimbio)

The referees were kind of terrible. The best (or worst) example of this was late in the fourth quarter. Michigan finally used a half-roll – which I’ve been calling for all year – to get quarterback Devin Gardner away from pressure, and he hit Amara Darboh near the sideline. Darboh took two steps  with the ball in his possession, turned forward to stretch the ball across the first down marker, dove, lost control of the ball just before he hit the ground, and the pass was called incomplete. A review didn’t come from the booth, so Michigan finally called a timeout. It was challenged, they went back to look at it, and the officials didn’t even say the play “stands” – they said the call was “confirmed.” Add to that a clear pass interference call they missed on a key third down when Jehu Chesson was hip-checked to the ground, plus a non-call against Jake Ryan, and a couple other iffy calls, and the refs were just bad. They were bad both ways, but at the most critical time, on a reviewable play, they botched the call terribly.

Jeremy Clark is not an answer. I’ve been wanting to say this for a few weeks, but for whatever reason, I’ve held off. Clark’s lack of field awareness has hurt Michigan numerous times this season, and this time he cost Michigan an 80-yard touchdown pass. I don’t really understand why the coaching staff makes him the deep safety because he’s not a guy who makes plays in space. I will grant that he has decent speed, but it doesn’t matter much if he’s often out of position. The more experienced player, Jarrod Wilson, should be back there. The plays Clark has made this year have been tackling in the run game and pass coverage in the flats. He has not made a single impressive play from the deep safety position. He takes poor angles, gets caught flat-footed, doesn’t properly recognize route combinations, etc. It’s extremely frustrating that the coaches appear not to have a better answer yet.

The presence of Devin Gardner infuriates me. Granted, he makes at least one bonehead play a week, but he should have been the starter last week against Minnesota in a winnable game. This week’s bad decision was a ball he lofted into the middle of the field with nobody but a Rutgers safety anywhere near the ball, except perhaps Devin Funchess, who was running up the left sideline. Otherwise, Gardner was 13/22 overall for 178 yards. His feet were a huge part of keeping drives alive and scoring touchdowns. The national leaders in sacks got him 3 times for -18 yards, but he ran 7 other times for 58 yards, including 2 touchdowns. He has enough arm strength to make all the throws in college, and he has some chemistry with a few Michigan receivers – Devin Funchess, Jake Butt, Amara Darboh, even Dennis Norfleet. Shane Morris, meanwhile, has yet to throw a touchdown pass and has shown no discernible chemistry with even a single receiver. I’m not saying that Michigan would have beaten the Gophers, but he would have given them a chance.

Don’t let other “analysts” fool you about Gardner’s abilities from under center. I have read numerous times that Gardner should not be taking snaps from under center, that Michigan’s waggle is a disaster waiting to happen, that playing from under center takes away his running ability, etc. All of that is bull. First of all, this is Doug Nussmeier’s offense. Just like Rich Rodriguez could not be expected to run a pro-style offense, we shouldn’t expect Nussmeier to run a shotgun-only offense with all kinds of power reads, inside zone reads, midline reads, etc. Second, Gardner on a waggle or bootleg generally puts him in space with a player who is physically overmatched. I don’t see how people watch things like Gardner’s two touchdown runs in this game, and then walk away concluding that Gardner can’t use his legs in this offense. People who say stuff like that are enamored with shotgun spread offenses, and in my opinion, their comments are being colored by an agenda rather than football knowledge.

Stop holding. I mean, come on, guys. Is this so difficult? Michigan took two holding penalties – by Mason Cole and Kyle Kalis – that put them behind the sticks. Why did they have to hold? They stopped moving their feet. If they keep moving their feet and working their hips around to the playside, then they wouldn’t have to grab jersey. The holding call on Kalis was especially egregious on his part. I would think the son of an NFL lineman would know better by now. I don’t know if it’s coaching, stupidity, laziness, or a combination of all those things. There aren’t many teams who can overcome 1st-and-20 or 2nd-and-20.

Has Michigan found a running game? It seemed like things started clicking in the fourth quarter, or maybe it was just Rutgers getting worn down. Either way, the Wolverines started having some consistent success in the running game, especially over the left side. Last week Derrick Green had a poor game, while De’Veon Smith had one good drive. This week it was Green’s turn. He carried 12 times for 74 yards (6.2 yards/carry), and while he left some yards on the field by getting ankle-tackled, it was a solid night for him overall. Michigan actually out-rushed Rutgers by a wide margin (158 to 74).

Play action passing game improvements. Michigan had some success with inside zone runs out of the shotgun, and that helped set up some play action. It seems like Michigan has honed its backfield action to include a more believable mesh between quarterback and running back. I think that paid some dividends tonight, and it should going forward as well. That’s a small detail, but I think it indicates some growth in the offense. Rutgers doesn’t have a great defense, but Michigan looked better than they did against Notre Dame, Utah, or Minnesota. I still have faith in offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier that he can improve this offense. Unfortunately, it appears he may not get a chance to see it all the way through with Brady Hoke likely getting fired by/at the end of the season.

Why was Rutgers able to pass the ball so well? Most importantly to answer this question, Michigan does not have a consistent pass rush. A few times on the evening, they quickly got in the backfield – a Frank Clark rush from middle linebacker, a Willie Henry dismantling of the offensive line, a TE stunt by Taco Charlton, etc. The problem is that when Michigan didn’t slice cleanly through the offensive line, they couldn’t disengage quickly enough to put pressure on Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova. It’s all or nothing. Meanwhile, Jeremy Clark is unfit to play his position, Delano Hill has been injured most of the season, and Jabrill Peppers has mostly been sidelined for one reason or another. Michigan is missing two of its five starters in the defensive backfield (Peppers, Hill), a third starter is very weak (Clark), and a lack of a pass rush hurts. You also have to tip your hat to Nova and company, who made some nice plays on the evening.

Can Michigan beat anyone left on the schedule? Yes. Penn State, Northwestern, and Maryland are all possibilities. I think Michigan State, Ohio State, and Indiana are all looking very unlikely. It’s obviously a steep uphill climb to reach bowl eligibility at 2-4.

Utah 26, Michigan 10

This is a sad sight in so many ways.

Shane Morris is no better than Devin Gardner. There is a large contingent of fans who always think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. They clamored for Shane Morris, and they finally got him in the fourth quarter. What was the result? An interception, a fumble, and a sack. It’s the difference between a Ford Explorer and a Mercury Mountaineer. Until Michigan can establish a consistent running game, pressure will be on the quarterbacks. And if the Wolverines can’t find another solid receiving target outside of Devin Funchess, things are going to get even worse. When times get tough, the only thing Michigan does is script throws from Devin Gardner to Devin Funchess. Another receiver has to step up, the offensive line has to block better, and/or the running backs need to improve.

Willie Henry was your leading scorer. Michigan scored ten points altogether, with six coming on Henry’s awesome interception return for a short touchdown. I like that Michigan is scoring some non-offensive touchdowns (Ben Gedeon returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against Appalachian State, remember), but it’s sad that the defense scored more points than 4-star recruit Devin Gardner, Biletnikoff Award watch list receiver Devin Funchess, Rivals 5-star running back Derrick Green, and so on.

In some ways, Funchess hurt the team. The most glaring example of this was when Gardner threw a skinny post to Funchess in the second quarter. Perhaps because of a bum ankle or laziness or inexperience at playing the wide receiver position, Funchess threw one paw out to try to catch a slightly overthrown pass. He could have stuck out both hands, and some guys would have dove. Instead, the ball bounced up to safety Brian Blechen, who pulled it in for the interception (and a nice return, which was negated by a questionable block-in-the-back penalty). Less obviously, Gardner seems more democratic with the football when Funchess is not on the field. The favorite target becomes Amara Darboh, but Darboh’s not so overwhelmingly athletic that Gardner thinks he can beat triple coverage. With Funchess on the sideline, Gardner has to scan the whole field and will throw to Darboh, Jehu Chesson, Dennis Norfleet, Jake Butt, Khalid Hill, anyone. I’m not suggesting that the 6’5″, 230 lb. guy with the #1 jersey should stay off the field altogether, but his presence – especially when he’s limping – makes Michigan more of a one-dimensional team than they should be. That’s the coaches’ job to sort out.

The defense played great overall. Some people might point to the way-too-easy touchdown by Dres Anderson or the 67-yard screen pass to Bubba Poole as reasons that the defense underachieved in this one, but I don’t think that was the case at all. Sure, those were flubs, but those happen in every game. Anderson’s touchdown was a blown coverage, seemingly at the hands of sophomore safety Dymonte Thomas. The screen pass to Poole was a great call by Utah offensive coordinator Dave Christensen – and a terrible play by redshirt sophomore safety Jeremy Clark. Clark had no idea what to do and got caught up in the wash of a couple offensive linemen releasing downfield, rather than trying to get on top of Poole’s route to slow him down. Overall, though, Michigan held Utah to 286 total yards (6 more than they allowed to Notre Dame), one offensive touchdown, and 13 first downs. Utah averaged 2.2 yards/carry as a team, including just 3.7 yards/carry by the running backs. If you told me before the game that Michigan would hold Utah to just one offensive touchdown and four field goals, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.

Are injuries a problem? I feel like injuries are a problem. I know every team goes through injuries, but it seems that Michigan’s star player(s) get hurt every year. Devin Funchess got hurt in the second game and was still limping around in this one with an ankle injury that may linger for a while. Starting tight end Jake Butt is playing less than the ideal number of snaps because of his ACL recovery. Jabrill Peppers got hurt in week one, missed the Notre Dame game, and seemed to disappear for a stretch this game. Starting cornerback Raymon Taylor got hurt against the Fighting Irish and has yet to return. Both guys who were presumed to start at safety – Jarrod Wilson and Delano Hill – have missed extended time due to injuries. “Starting” linebacker Desmond Morgan has missed the last couple games, too. I would not say that the Wolverines have been devastated by injuries, but they aren’t at full speed, either.

Derrick Green, you are not Darren Sproles. You are a 220 lb. former high school offensive guard. Run like it. I like that you have learned to pick up your feet in traffic, and I like that you are improving your vision. What I do not like is you tiptoeing through a hole on a straight-ahead run, getting planted on your butt by cornerback Tevin Carter, or running out of bounds when you have the choice to truck a defensive back or two. They say discretion is the better part of valor, but they also say “More yards good, less yards bad.”

Derrick Green, you might be Darren Sproles. After years of eschewing passes to anyone other than Vincent Smith, the tailbacks finally got a chance to be involved in the passing game. Derrick Green had 2 catches – including a one-hander – for 26 yards, and Justice Hayes had 2 for 25. I don’t think Green has the ability to become the next Eric Metcalf or Larry Centers, but Doug Nussmeier showing a willingness to throw to the running backs might set up other plays in the future.

What’s Devin Gardner’s problem? If I knew how to fix Gardner, I wouldn’t be writing this here blog post. But as a blogger, it’s my job to pretend I know.

1. Gardner has an inherent – or coached – fixation on whoever his favorite target is from year to year. In 2012 it was Jeremy Gallon. In 2013 it was Jeremy Gallon. This year it’s Funchess. Gardner locks onto his favorite receiver too quickly, and he throws to him even when he’s well covered. This results in some amazing catches that make us think Gardner, Gallon, and Funchess are awesome. It also leads to lots of interceptions.
2. Gardner has played for two coordinators who don’t understand him. Both Nussmeier and Al Borges call too many play action waggles because they like to run the ball with lots of people stacked inside. Meanwhile, Gardner turns his back to the defense without having a good understanding of what’s going on behind him, and it cuts the field in half. He generally keeps the ball or dumps it over the head of the unfoolable outside contain man to a fullback or tight end in the flat. Michigan has I-formation or under center tendencies with a quarterback – in my opinion – who should be running a pro-style shotgun/pistol offense the majority of the time.
3. Michigan has yet to develop a solid complementary receiver to Funchess. Darboh is not a great route runner. Jehu Chesson does not have great ball skills. Dennis Norfleet seems comfortable only on bubble screens and swing passes. Jake Butt has been hurt. In yesterday’s game, the big-play guy for Utah was Dres Anderson, but quarterback Travis Wilson was just as comfortable going to possession guy Kenneth Scott on any given play.
4. The offensive line and defensive coordinators are in his head. Much like what we expected, the interior offensive line has improved its pass protection and blitz pickups, but the young/inexperienced offensive tackles are barely treading water. If any defensive coordinator fails to run an edge blitz on a critical down, it’s probably because he feels sorry for Ben Braden and Mason Cole. Gardner’s internal clock is screwed up because of it, so he spooks early.

Notre Dame 31, Michigan 0

Oh, how I long for a “pocket.”

What just happened? I found this question reverberating around in my head from the second quarter onward. The scoreboard – whether it said 31-0 or 37-0 at the end – was not reflective of what this Michigan team can do, and it was not reflective of Notre Dame. Notre Dame has some good players, and so does Michigan. Notre Dame has some good coaches, and so does Michigan. Notre Dame was missing some people, and so was Michigan. Are Notre Dame’s coaches, starters, and backups 31 points superior to Michigan’s? Well, yeah, I guess they are. But I have no idea why. Michigan had 289 total yards to Notre Dame’s 280. It wasn’t that the Fighting Irish totally destroyed Michigan’s offense, or that their offense ripped up the Wolverines’ defense. They just made plays when they needed to make plays, a trait absent from Michigan for the last couple years.

This is where I jump on Doug Nussmeier. When it comes to play calling, I don’t think Nussmeier helped quarterback Devin Gardner at all on Saturday night. Notre Dame realized early on – probably as early as last year – that if they blitzed relentlessly, they could either get to Gardner or at least pressure him into bad throws or mistakes. Instead of pulling out plays to ease the pressure, Nussmeier basically said, “At least one receiver is going to beat his one-on-one matchup, so you’d better find him with Jarron Jones or Sheldon Day in your face.” Al Borges and Vincent Smith perfected the throwback screen. Al Borges and Jeremy Gallon perfected the throwback tunnel screen. Borges loved to run lead draws. Nussmeier’s way of slowing down the rush was to run zone read play action. When the bubbles and quick throws stopped working, he never seemed to take the next step to ward off the blitz. I would have liked to see more sprintouts, half rolls, tunnel screens, etc. He just thought the offensive line would magically stop the overload blitzes. Michigan moved the ball in chunks because they won one-on-one matchups – Devin Funchess vs. Cody Riggs, Dennis Norfleet vs. Jaylon Smith, etc. – but this isn’t Alabama, where he can count on his offensive linemen winning one-on-one matchups. I was afraid that, at some point, Nussmeier would fall victim to thinking that he could just count on being bigger, faster, and stronger than the opponent. I hope he came to realize the errors in that thought process in the aftermath of this game.

This offensive line isn’t as bad as last year. Center Jack Miller was repeatedly shoved back into Devin Gardner’s grill, and that’s a problem. But not every team has a Jarron Jones. Mason Cole and Erik Magnuson had several communication issues on the left side, but that comes with the territory of starting a true freshman left tackle. Regardless of the numbers, I thought the offensive line looked closer to the one that opened up huge holes against Appalachian State than the one that soured the taste in our mouths in 2013. Michigan is not a team that can wear teams down by running the ball, but they should be able to run the ball enough to keep most defenses off balance.

Blake Countess looks uncomfortable. I don’t think Countess is a wussy corner like Deion Sanders, but Countess does look awkward in press coverage. He is not physical at the line of scrimmage, and because he lets receivers get free releases, he’s opening up his hips too quickly. That style does not jive with what we’re seeing at the other corner in the form of Raymon Taylor/Jourdan Lewis. If Countess can’t play press man like defensive coordinator Greg Mattison wants this year, then perhaps he should move into the slot, where his ability to bait quarterbacks would be more useful.

So much for that wealth of cornerbacks. One place I thought Michigan had the advantage going into this game was at corner, where Michigan’s experienced and/or talented guys could win out against some inexperienced – but still talented – wideouts. Then I saw that Jabrill Peppers was on the sideline with his bum ankle, replaced by the lesser talented Delonte Hollowell. Then after the first defensive series, starter Raymon Taylor went to the locker room with an injury and never returned to the game. Just like that, Michigan was missing two of its top three corners. Hollowell was picked on repeatedly by Notre Dame. Jourdan Lewis picked up two pass interference penalties, at least one of which was highly questionable. The next guy in was Channing Stribling, who still looks a half-beat too slow for playing football against the big boys. I thought the numbers were leaning toward Michigan, with five Notre Dame academic fraud suspects off the field and a starting safety missing due to injury. However, those absences quickly started to even out with Peppers, Taylor, and tight end Jake Butt standing on the sideline.

But the linebackers looked good. After being unimpressive last week against Appalachian State, I thought starting linebackers Jake Ryan (11 tackles) and Joe Bolden (10 tackles) looked markedly better last night. They were reacting quicker, and they held a solid crew of running backs to 25 carries for 61 yards.

The refereeing was bad. The second pass interference penalty on Jourdan Lewis was hogwash, and it appears that Michigan is a step late in wanting to be all hands-on with their corners. That’s soooo  2013. Somehow, Devin Funchess got hit early on a crossing route that resulted in an incomplete pass, but the officials kept their hankies in their pockets. There was also no reason for Notre Dame’s Corey Robinson to be ruled down on the three-yard line when Stribling tackled him on a skinny post; the ball should have been placed at the 6″ line. You can’t blame the refs for a 31-point loss, but they certainly didn’t help Michigan find any success early.

The announcing was bad. I hate hate hate watching games on NBC, because it’s always a Notre Dame slurpfest. And while there weren’t a lot of good things to say about Michigan last night, I don’t remember color guy Mike Mayock saying many nice things about Michigan players. He said NFL scouts “love” Jake Ryan, and he complimented Devin Funchess’s ability to be big. Otherwise, he fawned over Everett Golson, Cam McDaniel, Greg Bryant, Jaylon Smith, Jarron Jones, Sheldon Day, Cody Riggs, Will Fuller’s speed (though not his hands), and even Notre Dame’s quarterbacks coach. Thank goodness that by the time Michigan plays Notre Dame again in the distant future – the year 2000 – Mayock won’t be around anymore.

Turnovers don’t exist. Michigan has zero takeaways in two games.

I don’t know where this team goes from here. This seems like a game that could make or break some teams. I don’t think anyone was under the illusion that Michigan was going to win a national championship this year, but the shutout could fracture a locker room and make some people question whether this unit is going anywhere. Again, I look at how Michigan moved the ball at times, and I think it might just be an unhappy coincidence that the Wolverines didn’t string together enough plays to create a couple scores. Notre Dame has a high-powered offense, and I predicted that they would score 31 points. We all knew they could march down the field and score. Michigan needs to regroup and get healthy next week against Miami, and moving forward, Nussmeier needs to open up his playbook against blitzing defenses to keep them out of Gardner’s face.

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.

Video: Doug Nussmeier talks spring practice