Tag: Fitzgerald Toussaint

Michigan 31, Illinois 14

This was a common sight on Saturday – Michigan’s defensive line swarming the Illinois backfield. (image via MGoBlue.com)

Thank you Greg Mattison thank you thank you thank you.  For the last few years, people have been making the excuse for Michigan’s defense that “It’s Jimmys and Joes, not X’s and O’s.”  Yeah . . . well . . . not so much.  Michigan has three freshman starters (Blake Countess, Desmond Morgan, Jake Ryan), a couple former walk-on starters (Jordan Kovacs, Will Heininger), and less experience than the 2008 team.  The difference: they’re not being coached by Scott Shafer, Greg Robinson, and Rich Rodriguez.  This still isn’t the most talented defense around, but it held Illinois to 30 total yards in the first half, a 50% completion rate, and 1.1 yards per carry for the game.  They also produced 4 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, and 6 tackles for loss.

J.T. Floyd was okay for once.  One of the frustrating things about Floyd is that he’s slow to cover underneath routes and come up to make tackles, but he didn’t get beat deep against a receiver that Illinois really wanted to hit deep.  Wide receiver A.J. Jenkins had 8 catches for 103 yards, but the Illini targeted him more than 20 times to get those catches.  That low success rate wasn’t entirely due to Floyd – Michigan’s defensive line put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks – but when you get thrown at that much, you’ve had a decent day by allowing only 8 receptions.  I was disappointed that Floyd didn’t take his pick to the house, because he was brought down by a pretty weak tackle attempt by quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase.  But I’m not going to complain too much about a 42-yard interception return.

Those referees were horrible.  How many plays went to the replay booth and were reversed?  Three?  Four?  Whenever the game was stopped for a replay, it was essentially assured that the call on the field would be wrong.  The most egregious error was Illinois running back Jason Ford’s fumble (that wasn’t a fumble), which was picked up Courtney Avery and returned for a touchdown (even though Avery’s knee was down when he grabbed the ball).  The replay booth got the call right, but jeez, the head referee was standing right there  and totally blew both calls.  The one replay that wasn’t reversed, which was the tumbling catch by an Illinois receiver, was ruled incomplete on the field but looked to me as if it should  have been reversed.

Fitzgerald Toussaint had a great day.  Illinois eventually figured out that Michigan didn’t want to take chances with throwing the ball, and Toussaint still ended up with 27 carries for 192 yards (7.1 yards per attempt).  He’s clearly taken over the role as the lead back, and this represented his highest career carry total.  The previous high was 20 when he put up 170 yards against Purdue a couple weeks ago.  Michigan’s offensive line didn’t have its greatest effort, either, so Toussaint created a lot of those yards on his own.

This looks like the offense to come.  It seemed clear to me early in the game that the coaches didn’t trust Denard Robinson to put the ball in the air very much.  The game plan was to run run run the ball.  And that philosophy worked, even though it was largely boring to watch.  The Wolverines only attempted to throw the ball 16 times.  Robinson threw 1 interception and fumbled once when he was sacked (plus another fumble on a quarterback run), and he only played until midway through the third quarter, when he was apparently injured on a pass attempt.  At least against defenses that put the pressure on our jittery quarterbacks, the coaches seem to have decided that they would rather keep the ball in the ground.

Desmond Morgan is a truck.  I thought Morgan had his best game yet this season, not least of all because he destroyed Illinois running back Troy Pollard in the hole while getting blocked.  He might only be a freshman, but he’s a thumper.  I wonder if Morgan might eventually move to MIKE when Kenny Demens graduates, but in the meantime, the kid is doing pretty well for a true freshman at the WILL spot.  I have occasionally been frustrated with him getting out of position, but the kid makes tackles when he’s in the right spot.  Even with the vaunted linebacker class coming to Ann Arbor in 2012, it’s going to be hard to push Morgan off the field.

The defensive line had a hell of a day.  It’s hard not to look back and wonder why Michigan couldn’t have produced this same kind of effort back in 2008, with guys like Terrance Taylor and Will Johnson in the middle of the line.  The defensive linemen combined for 20 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 4 quarterback hurries.  It’s rare that a defensive tackle leads the team in tackles, but that’s exactly what Mike Martin did with 9 tackles.

Troy Woolfolk argh.  It’s hard to complain about the defense much, because they allowed only 14 points and 214 total yards.  But on the play prior to Scheelhaase’s 13-yard touchdown run, it was clear that free safety Troy Woolfolk cramped up or pulled a muscle in his leg.  I said the people I was watching the game with, “Get him out of the game.  He’s going to cost the team a big play.”  Sure enough, on the next play, Scheelhaase busted out and Woolfolk couldn’t beat him to the corner of the endzone, and the couch cushion next to me took a beating.  A healthy Woolfolk makes that play.  Meanwhile, backup safety Thomas Gordon – who should be starting – had one less tackle than Woolfolk, added 1 fumble recovery, and broke up a pass.  Woolfolk hasn’t been healthy all season, and Michigan missed a chance to rest him earlier in the year.  Now he seems to be playing at 85%, and it’s hurting the team.  Gordon is a playmaker who has grabbed 5 turnovers (1 interception, 4 fumble recoveries), while Woolfolk hasn’t created even one.

Michigan vs. Purdue Awards

Mike Martin tore through Purdue’s offensive line all day Saturday

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint.  Getting only two carries against Michigan State was a tad ridiculous, but Toussaint is clearly the best pure running back on the roster.  He can hit the homerun, he can run over people, and he can make people miss.  As long as he stays healthy, the job seems to be his.  The coaches keep saying that nobody has stood out from the rest of the pack, but maybe that’s because the whole group is pretty good.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . a backup lineman.  Things are starting to get a little hairy on the offensive line.  Both Ricky Barnum and Taylor Lewan are banged up, and with the bye week in the rearview mirror, they won’t get any significant amount of time to heal up before the end of the regular season.  Michael Schofield is the top backup at guard and tackle, but the thing about Schofield is that he can’t play both guard and  tackle at the same time.  Hopefully Lewan visits Miracle Max and gets a magical healing potion soon.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Blake Countess William Campbell.  I was going to make a case for Countess, but it turns out he’s going to be the starter against Iowa, at least if reality falls in line with the depth chart that was released on Monday.  So I’ll throw my hat in the ring for Campbell.  Campbell has done a nice job this year, and while he hasn’t been a consistent playmaker, guys like Will Heininger and Nathan Brink aren’t doing anything special, either.  My starting defensive line would be Ryan Van Bergen, Mike Martin, Campbell, and Craig Roh.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . J.T. Floyd.  I know some people think Floyd is playing at a high level, but I just don’t see it.  He’s a tentative tackler and doesn’t make enough plays for my tastes.  I will admit that Floyd has improved since last season, but that’s not saying much.  Countess and Courtney Avery have surpassed him, in my opinion.

Play of the game . . . Toussaint’s 59-yard touchdown run.  He took a pitch going left, made seven Boilermakers miss, and then turned on the jets to leave everyone in the dust.  It was the type of run that Michigan fans haven’t seen from a running back in years.  Carlos Brown never made that many people miss, Brandon Minor would have lowered his shoulder and run over a couple dudes, and Mike Hart probably would have been caught from behind.  Hopefully there’s more where that came from in the weeks ahead.

MVP of the game . . . Toussaint.  Mike Martin (7 tackles, 2 sacks) is a close second, but Toussaint’s output (20 carries, 170 yards, 2 touchdowns) was the highest for a running back since Hart back in 2007.

Video: Purdue Postgame Press Conference

Michigan 36, Purdue 14

Fitzgerald Toussaint had a career best game with 170 yards and 2 touchdowns

Fitzgerald Toussaint is hitting his stride.  Finally healthy after two years of long-term injury issues, Toussaint is showing what he can do.  He had 20 carries for 170 yards, including a spectacular 59-yard touchdown run (Michigan’s longest run of the year).  He’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry on the season.  Perhaps the best part of Toussaint’s game is the way he finishes runs.  Despite not being particularly big, he always seems to churn his legs for an extra couple yards after contact.  His yardage total was the best by a Michigan running back since Michael Hart had 215 against Eastern Michigan back in 2007.

Where have you gone, Michael Shaw?  In this, his senior season, Shaw is on pace for his fewest career carries.  His career low is 42 (in both 2008 and 2009), and despite being mostly injury free this season, he has only 22 carries through eight games.  Shaw has been a big play guy this year and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, but for some reason, the coaches haven’t put their faith in him.  Even freshman Thomas Rawls (13 carries) is getting almost  as many carries as Shaw, and Rawls probably should have redshirted with so many guys ahead of him.

Mike Martin finally showed up.  Martin had 7 tackles and 2 sacks on the day, one of them for a safety (which probably should have been negated due to grabbing Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush’s facemask).  He’s been a little bit of a disappointment so far this year with his lack of production, but maybe this is a sign of things to come for him.  Eight games into the season, Martin only has 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks, so 25% of his tackles and 80% of his sacks came in this one game.

Not a fan of the Denard/Devin combo this time.  At some point Devin Gardner needs to run the base offense, whether Denard Robinson is in the game or not.  It seems like Robinson is usually used as the decoy rather than the ballcarrier in the two-QB formations, but defenses are ready for it at this point.  They know that when Denard is in the game, something funky is going to happen.  So instead of committing fully to the distracting part of the play, everyone stays home, watches for the double pass, etc.  To catch a defense truly off balance, offensive coordinator Al Borges needs to line Robinson up at running back or wide receiver and actually run a base play out of that formation.  Hand the ball off to him in the I-formation, throw a slant or a hitch to him, etc.  The halfback pass from Vincent Smith might have worked if not for the fact that Robinson was in the game and the defense was being extra careful.

Maybe Matt Wile should still punt.  On 12 punts this season, Will Hagerup is averaging 34.8 yards per punt and has put four of them inside the 20.  On 14 punts this season, Matt Wile is averaging 41.1 yards per punt and has put four of them inside the 20.  Hagerup had a good season last year and looked like a potential All-Big Ten punter, but he’s been disappointing so far this year.  Michigan is averaging just over three punts per game, so the difference between the two is around 21 yards of field position per game.

Desmond Morgan looks good.  He seems to be steadily improving after looking lost early in the season.  Morgan earned the start over Brandin Hawthorne (whose tackling efforts in the MSU game were disappointing) and responded with 9 tackles to lead the team.  I thought it would take Morgan a little more time to adjust to playing linebacker in college, but here he is starting as a true freshman.  High school quarterbacks just seem to catch on a little quicker.

Courtney Avery’s game of firsts.  Speaking of high school quarterbacks, Avery got his first career interception when he caught a deflected pass, and Avery got his first sack (well, half of a sack, shared with Craig Roh) when he helped chase down a scrambling Robert Marve.  That interception gives Avery a share of the team lead in picks, since nobody else has made more than one.

I’ve had about enough of J.T. Floyd.  He seems to talk a fair amount of smack for not being very good, and he could very well be Michigan’s fourth best corner.  I would take Blake Countess, Courtney Avery, and a healthy Troy Woolfolk over Floyd.  Floyd’s poor tackling effort late in the game cost Michigan seven points when he stood and danced with O.J. Ross while Ross waited for some help from a Boilermaker blocker.  After the two danced for what seemed like an hour, Floyd got blocked and Ross slipped into the end zone for a touchdown.

I’ll take 7-1 at this point.  Michigan has already matched last year’s win total with four games to go.  It’s a pretty tough four-game stretch as far as the Big Ten goes, but all four games are winnable.  The two most dangerous remaining foes, Ohio State and Nebraska, have had their own issues.  Regardless, this team is on the right path and seems headed for some good November games.  I like the direction Michigan is headed.

Michigan 58, Minnesota 0

bludg·eon/ˈbləjən/ Verb: Beat (someone) repeatedly with a bludgeon or other heavy object

I bet Minnesota fans are yearning for Glen Mason.  I know Minnesota wasn’t exactly a juggernaut under their former coach, but at least a winning season was within reach.  Today was downright embarrassing for the Gophers.  They managed only 177 yards to Michigan’s 580, of which 363 came on the ground.  It’s not just that they were overmatched physically – it’s that they didn’t look like they wanted to play.

Vincent Smith yay.  Smith had a day that would make LaDainian Tomlinson jealous.  Smith carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards and 1 touchdown, caught 1 pass for 28 yards and a touchdown, and threw a halfback pass to Drew Dileo for a 17-yard touchdown.  The touchdown reception looked like the exact same play on which Smith scored against Notre Dame a few weeks ago.

Trick plays galore.  I think Al Borges ate a box of sparklers for breakfast this morning, because he was farting out fireworks.  Backup quarterback Devin Gardner took some snaps early in an effort to confuse the defense, which worked in a way, because he turned what looked like a triple pass into a gain of about five yards.  In the first quarter, with Gardner at quarterback and Denard Robinson at a wing position, Gardner pitched to Robinson who ran right, then threw back to Gardner on the left, and Gardner wanted to hit a wide receiver (Junior Hemingway?) streaking downfield.  But the receiver was well covered and Gardner just tucked it and ran.  Eat your heart out, Eastern Michigan.  Meanwhile, the halfback pass and other option plays with both Gardner and Robinson in the game made me think Brady Hoke has been sneaking into Chris Petersen’s bedroom and reading his diary.

Blake Countess is the next Leon Hall.  Yep, I said it.  Minnesota doesn’t have the greatest talent in the world, but Countess has looked pretty darn good for two weeks in a row.  Courtney Avery had a nice 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but Avery has been getting beaten more regularly than any of Michigan’s other corners this year.  He’s still not bad, but it looks like Countess will grab a starting spot sooner rather than later.

Fitzgerald Toussaint, please stay healthy.  Toussaint seems to have gained some confidence since the 2011 opener.  He’s running more decisively and doing a better job of running with a purpose.  He had 11 carries for 108 yards, including his customary single-back dive over the top for a goal line touchdown.  What’s the over/under on how many times he scores on that play this year?

FIRE JERRY KILL.  He grabbed a kid’s facemask.  This madman must be stopped!

Shoelace, Jr.  Devin Gardner made some very Denard-esque plays, topped off by losing his shoe on one scramble.  Only two of his five throws were completed, but one was a downright drop by Roy Roundtree and another was a catchable ball that Jeremy Gallon probably should have had; the fifth should have been an interception, but Minnesota’s defensive back wanted his belly button to get its first career pick.  I found it hilarious that the BTN’s color analyst said he made “a great play on the ball”; if making a great play on the ball means jumping for a pass that hits you in the chest, then I used to coach some superstar middle schoolers.

William Campbell killed a guy with a trident.  Campbell literally ran over the center on one play and also crushed quarterback Max Shortell into the ground.  The switch is getting closer and closer to being flipped . . .

Biggest blowout in series history.  Michigan won this game with the biggest margin of victory in series history, beating the 1993 episode that saw the Wolverines beat the Gophers by a score of 58-7.