Tag: J.T. Floyd

Iowa 24, Michigan 16

Stay inbounds! (image via MGoBlue.com)

Well, that was boring.  I remember when Michigan was completely devoid of big plays.  The year was 2008.  That year sucked.  In two of the last three games, Michigan has been unable to create big plays offensively (MSU being the other).  That bodes unwell.

Have I mentioned that J.T. Floyd isn’t very good?  Freshman Blake Countess is the best cornerback on the roster, and it’s not even close.  Countess had 6 tackles and was credited with 1 pass breakup, although it seems to me he had at least 2 of them.  Iowa targeted star wide receiver Marvin McNutt frequently, and Countess either had tight enough coverage to prevent a completion or was close enough to tackle immediately. Floyd, not so much.  Hopefully another corner steps up in 2012, because Floyd just isn’t getting it done.

Have I mentioned that Denard Robinson isn’t very good?  Denard’s final passing numbers: 17-for-37, 194 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 1 lost fumble.  He’s throwing the ball right now like he’s just hoping that his receivers will be spectacular.  In the fourth quarter, he chucked numerous bombs down the field to receivers who were well covered . . . and even if they weren’t well covered, the passes fell harmlessly to the turf somewhere around the Nebraska border.  Roy Roundtree knocked Iowa cornerback Shaun Prater on his ass, streaked down the field wide open, and Robinson wasn’t even close to completing the pass.  We should all be hoping for a second-year bump in Robinson’s performance next year, because counting on him to win the game with his arm is like counting on Mike Sorrentino to win Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.

On a positive note, the defensive line is coming along.  After last week’s solid performance, the defensive line once again had a good game, producing 13 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks.  Iowa had a good day running the ball with Marcus Coker (29 carries, 132 yards, 2 touchdowns), but the troubles stopping the run seemed to come from the linebackers.  The Hawkeyes seemed to take advantage of freshman Desmond Morgan, who looks good at times, but when it comes down to it, he’s just a true freshman.  There’s a reason that true freshman linebackers don’t often start.

The coaches have turned Denard Robinson into a divining rod for the sideline.  I want to keep Denard Robinson healthy as much as the next guy, but this whole “run out of bounds whenever you’re within spittin’ distance” thing is getting ridiculous.  Especially when nobody else is capable of making big plays because Michigan a) can’t block or b) can’t catch Robinson’s errant throws, then by golly, get upfield and stop searching for the sideline.  I know he’s being coached to do it because the coaches and Robinson have said as much, but it’s virtual nonsense.  Robinson’s most effective running play this season has been the quarterback sweep, which by definition is run toward the sideline; if he’s supposed to get out of bounds whenever he nears the sideline, then the coaches are removing a huge threat.  Robinson’s speed makes defensive players take bad angles; in other words, flowing defenders aim too far upfield.  That’s how cutback lanes develop.  Let the kid play.  If he gets hurt, Michigan is screwed.  But if he plays like a porcelain doll, Michigan is screwed, too.  At least go down swinging.

Is this a football or a Shake Weight?  I don’t understand why Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner both carry the ball away from their bodies with one hand.  Tate Forcier had this problem and Michigan paid dearly for it.  Last year Robinson always carried the ball in his inside hand, which cost Michigan dearly against Ohio State (and other games).  The fact that both Michigan quarterbacks are getting away with this behavior makes me think that it’s poor coaching.  Don’t get me wrong – this team is much better coached than the past few iterations.  But this is an area that needs to be shored up, and soon.  It’s somewhat understandable that Gardner is doing it, since he’s raw and only a sophomore/redshirt freshman, but Robinson is a junior and a two-year starter.  There’s no excuse for his lack of ball security.

Is the above picture . . . a) an excellent way to get ripped, or b) the worst way to hold a football?  Trick question: it’s both!

Iowa is tough at home.  I predicted at the beginning of the year that Iowa would beat Michigan, and I should have stuck with that prediction yesterday.  Iowa is always a fundamentally sound team (as is Michigan State), and those kinds of teams give Robinson trouble because he’s someone who takes advantages of opponents’ mistakes.  Iowa stayed gap sound defensively and for the most part (except when Prater fell down) didn’t allow Michigan’s big-play receivers to get behind them.  Kudos to Iowa for being well coached and disciplined . . . on the field, anyway.

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.

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 at Michigan State Awards

Devin Gardner (#7) scrambles, but to no avail. (image via MGoBlue.com)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Devin Gardner.  I’m not saying more as in he should be the starter, but I do like what Al Borges is doing with Gardner.  I don’t typically like two-quarterback platoons, but Gardner is a more skilled passer than Denard Robinson.  He made some gaffes on Saturday (getting sacked on fourth down, making an illegal forward pass, etc.), but he also threw some nice balls and made some plays with his legs.  People keep saying that Robinson is a threat to go all the way on every play, but if opponents put eight or nine decently talented guys in the box, Robinson won’t have any running room.  And until he proves that he can beat a team with his arm, Michigan needs to work in a passing threat.  Personally, I’m enjoying the plays when Gardner is at quarterback and Robinson lines up in the backfield or at wide receiver.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . the second tight end, whether it’s Steve Watson or Brandon Moore.  If the offensive line isn’t going to get a push and if Michigan can’t run it out of the I-formation, then I think the Wolverines need to get their best eleven on the field.  Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree, and Jeremy Gallon are all playmakers, and Kevin Koger is valuable in a lot of ways with his speed, athleticism, blocking, and leadership.  Those four players plus some combination of Denard Robinson, Devin Gardner, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Vincent Smith, and Michael Shaw need to be on the field the vast majority of the time.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Cam Gordon.  Gordon returned to action this week after a nagging back injury caused him to miss the first six games of the season.  In his stead Jake Ryan has made a name for himself as a playmaker at SAM linebacker, but Ryan does have his flaws; he’s prone to both making and allowing big plays.  Ryan has to get quicker at reading offensive plays, maintaining the edge, and using his hands to disengage from blockers.  Gordon might not be an immediate upgrade, but perhaps he can help.  It was clear against MSU that Ryan’s other backups aren’t legitimate options in big-time games.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Brandin Hawthorne and J.T. Floyd (tie).  On one Keshawn Martin touchdown, Hawthorne made a half-assed attempt to tackle him at the pylon and tried to shoulder Martin out of bounds rather than wrap him up.  A good, fundamental tackle would almost certainly have stopped Martin at the 1-yard line, although a touchdown almost certainly would have been delayed rather than prevented altogether.  On the other Martin touchdown, J.T. Floyd made a half-assed attempt to stick with him and jogged behind the play, even though he clearly had Martin in man coverage.  Those weren’t cases of being beaten physically – they were examples of players not playing hard and giving 100% effort.

MVP of the game . . . Will Hagerup.  Nobody had a great game offensively or defensively for Michigan, but Hagerup did a solid job of punting on a very windy day.  He only averaged 31.9 yards on seven punts, but four of those pinned the Spartans inside their 20-yard line, and three of them put the green and white bronze at or inside their own 10.  Despite being unable to get any kind of offensive flow or defensive momentum, the Wolverines hung with MSU in the first half largely due to the field position battle.

Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson’s touchdown run.  After dropping back to pass, Robinson was almost sacked.  But he yanked himself away, tucked the ball, and scrambled to the left, picking up a nice block by Kevin Koger before squeezing inside the pylon.

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.