Michigan at Northwestern Awards

Tag: Michael Shaw


11Oct 2011
Uncategorized 9 comments

Michigan at Northwestern Awards

Does cringing when I see Denard throw the ball make me a bad person?
(image via TheWolverine.com)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Michael Shaw.  Shaw clearly isn’t the most decisive running back in the world.  But he is very fast and, despite some people’s opinions, will lower his shoulder and run through people when cornered.  I agreed with the way Al Borges used him on Saturday, which was to outrun the Wildcats’ defense to the edge.  I won’t be clamoring for Shaw to start anytime soon, but he can serve a role on this team.  Oh, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him return kickoffs along with Jeremy Gallon.  Give Shaw an alley and you never know what could happen.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . opposing defenders running the other way with the football.  Denard’s interceptions are maddening.  It’s not like he’s trying to fit passes into tight windows and defenders are making nice plays on the ball.  Nor is it that his passes are bouncing off the hands of his receivers into the grips of defensive backs.  Denard is just flat-out throwing bad passes, whether because of bad mechanics, bad reads, or both.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . William Campbell.  I think it’s near time that Campbell gets a start.  Starting defensive end Will Heininger is just a guy.  It would be nice to see Ryan Van Bergen bump from 3-tech tackle to 5-tech end.  To me that puts the best four defensive linemen on the field at once, with Craig Roh and Mike Martin the other two linemen.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Desmond Morgan.  I’m not really sure why Morgan is playing so much.  I’ve always maintained that I think he will be a solid player in the future, but he got more playing time on Saturday than I would expect in a fairly tough game.  Brandin Hawthorne is a better player overall and a bigger playmaker.  If and when Brandon Herron returns to action, I think he deserves another shot, too.

Play of the game . . . Thomas Gordon’s strip and recovery.  When Gordon stripped the ball away from Northwestern wide receiver Jeremy Ebert, I thought that sealed the game for Michigan.  As the second man in, I thought Gordon did a tremendous job of raking at the ball immediately before Ebert could get to the ground.

MVP of the Northwestern game . . . Denard Robinson.  Even though Robinson threw some maddening interceptions and incompletions in the first half, he once again turned on the jets when the Wolverines needed it in the second half.  He finished the game completing 17/26 passes for 337 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions; he also had 25 carries for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns.  It’s been said elsewhere, but it’s pretty ridiculous that a 454-yard, 4-touchdown performance can seem pretty ho-hum after all of his heroics.  We’re going to see 100-yard rushers and 300-yard passers and 100-yard receivers in the future, but it will be a long, long time before Michigan fans ever get to root for a player like him again.

9Oct 2011
Uncategorized 32 comments

Michigan 42, Northwestern 24

Is it just me or does Michael Shaw look like a prototypical football player?  Here he scores
on a 2-yard touchdown run.  (Image via MGoBlue.com)

This first bullet almost called for the backup QB.  Not permanently, of course.  But if Denard Robinson continued in the second half the way he played in the first half, I would have been asking for Devin Gardner to get a shot.  Gardner has played well in his increasing role, and Robinson threw three horrible interceptions in the first half.  Robinson’s first half looked like this: 10/18 passing, 178 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and several of those completions were bad throws where his receivers saved him (the bomb to Junior Hemingway, the TD to Steve Watson, etc.).  In the second half, Robinson redeemed himself on 7/8 passing for 159 yards with zero touchdowns and, most importantly, zero picks.

Mike Shaw provided a little bit of a spark.  Neither of Michigan’s first two running backs had much of a day.   Fitzgerald Toussaint had 14 carries for 25 yards and couldn’t punch the ball in on two goal line opportunities.  Vincent Smith had 3 carries for 8 yards.  It looked to me like Shaw’s speed was too much for the Northwestern defense.  He beat the Wildcats to the edge a couple times, rushing 6 times for 25 yards and 1 touchdown, plus making 1 reception for 12 yards.  I was impressed with the Wildcats’ rush defense and tackling.

That’s not the Dan Persa I remember.  I think Michigan got a little lucky that Persa still has his Achilles on his mind.  It seemed like there were a few opportunities for Persa to run where he decided to throw the ball instead.  He completed 32/44 passes, but a lot of those were bubble screens that were essentially sweep plays and easy completions.  Other than one 39-yard bomb over Blake Countess, the Wolverines kept everything in front of them.

Kenny Demens had his best game of the year.  Demens hasn’t been as productive this year as I expected, but he’s still been a solid player.  This game was his best, though.  He had 10 tackles, including a sack, and did a good job of chasing down wide receivers and crossing routes in space.  A lot of middle linebackers (Obi Ezeh, for example) would have been left in the dust or would have missed the tackle on those smaller players, but Demens is so strong that if he gets his hands on someone, that person is going to the ground.

Michigan needs to review the option.  I was somewhat surprised that Northwestern didn’t run more option.  They had quite a bit of success with it in the first half, and I thought Michigan did a poor job of defending it.  They didn’t have guys in position to make plays, they were tentative when they got there (Jake Ryan), or they just failed to square their shoulders and make the tackle (Carvin Johnson).  The bubble screen was effective and it’s a safer play, so maybe that’s why the Wildcats didn’t run the option as much.

Congrats to Steve Watson.  Watson stuck around for five years, played tight end, outside linebacker, defensive end, and now tight end again . . . and finally caught his first collegiate pass on a 9-yard scoring play where he adjusted well and got his hands underneath the ball on a poor throw from Robinson.  That had to be exciting for him.

The defensive line is improving.  I wish William Campbell weren’t already a junior, because that kid is close to turning into a player.  He’s going to have only one year as a starter at Michigan, despite the fact that he was totally unneeded in 2009 and Rich Rodriguez wasted him in 2010, too, by burning his eligibility at defensive tackle and then flipping him to guard halfway through the year.  Overall, the defensive line had 14 tackles and 2 sacks.

It’s horn-tootin’ time.  Okay, not really.  My predictions from Friday weren’t close to being 100% accurate, but I did say that Persa would have 325 total yards (he had 326) and that the final score would be 38-24 (it was 42-24).  I keep forgetting to review my predictions in these wrap-up posts, so here’s where I do that.  On the other hand, Denard didn’t carry the ball 12 times (more like 25), Jeremy Gallon didn’t score on special teams (but he did on offense!), and Northwestern’s running backs didn’t average 2.5 yards a carry (more like 5.5).  Also, there’s a picture of Denise Milani wearing a tight dress, so I think that was a good move on my part, too.

I typically like Pat Fitzgerald, but . . . he seemed like a bit of a weirdo during his halftime interview with Jeannine Edwards.  He was all rubbing his head and using strange vocal inflections.  I guess that’s what adrenaline does to some people, but he seemed a little high strung.

Taylor Lewan false started but nobody called it.  Lewan has been penalty-free so far this year, I believe, but he should have been flagged for jumping the snap.  He probably won’t be so lucky next time, and I’m guessing Michigan State’s coaches will alert the refs to look for that next week; Lewan did it a bunch last year, too.

Speaking of the referees . . . Michigan got lucky a few times on Saturday night.  Brandin Hawthorne’s interception looked like an incomplete pass to me (his hands were under it, but I thought the ball clearly moved when the nose hit the ground), Jeremy Ebert’s fumble was about as close as it gets (I think it was a fumble but probably wouldn’t have been overturned if he had been called down in the first place), and Jordan Kovacs probably should have been called for a facemask (his right hand was okay, but it looked like his left hand pulled on the bottom bar).  Of course, Northwestern was holding the s*** out of Michigan’s cornerbacks and safeties on those bubble screens, so maybe the penalties evened out.

25Sep 2011
Uncategorized 47 comments

Michigan 28, San Diego State 7

Denard Robinson had 200 yards rushing in Saturday’s 28-21 victory (image via LA Times)



What is this “defense” thing everyone keeps talking about?  Aside from the Notre Dame game, Michigan has allowed only 6.7 points per game.  Admittedly, those other three opponents have been mediocre – two MAC teams and a decent squad from the MWC – but this is still a somewhat impressive turnaround from last year.  The Wolverines held San Diego State’s rushing attack to only 4.2 yards per carry and forced quarterback Ryan Lindley into completing fewer than 50% of his passes.

Weekly Denard Robinson blurb.  I’m not sure how I feel about Denard Robinson’s play right now.  I love the kid for his heart and attitude – and considerable running skills – but something just isn’t clicking.  He finished the game 8-for-17 passing with 93 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.  Those numbers are horrible, and that’s the third week in a row that his completion percentage has been lower than 50%.  And while it would have been great for Kevin Koger to grab that pass that hit him right in the stomach, the bottom line is that Robinson is extremely inaccurate and making bad decisions.  He threw one pass into double coverage that had no business being thrown, and the other he threw the other pick to a blanketed receiver.  If Michigan keeps winning, then it doesn’t really matter what his completion percentage is.  But if his inaccuracy bites the Wolverines in the butt at any point – and it probably will – then you can bet that some members of the Michigan fan base and the media will start wondering if Devin Gardner should get a shot at quarterback and if Robinson should move to running back.  On top of the scattershot arm, it seems to me that Robinson looks a bit slower this year than he did last season.  Perhaps he’s worn down or defenses are faster this year; I know he had a 53-yard touchdown run and 200 yards rushing overall, but something seems different.

Craig Roh reads Touch the Banner.  Having been spurred on by my call for him to be relegated to a backup role a couple weeks ago, Roh has since responded with two solid games.  This week he had 2 tackles; one was a short yardage stuff of running back Ronnie Hillman, and the other was a sack of Lindley on which Roh forced a fumble.  It’s slightly disappointing that Michigan could only manage one sack on 48 attempts, but it seemed like San Diego State started taking shorter drops and getting the ball out quicker as the game wore on.

Running back argh.  First, I would like to say that I thought Vincent Smith (9 carries, 49 yards, 1 TD) had his best day running the ball at Michigan – except for the fumble.  I know he’s had better games statistically (118 yards vs. Eastern Michigan last week, 166 yards against Delaware State in 2009), but those were into gaping holes.  Smith actually took short gains and turned them into long gains or a touchdown this week.  Hooray for him.  Fitzgerald Toussaint had a solid day, too (13 carries, 67 yards).  But dammit, I’m going to start beating the Michael Cox drum again.  Stephen Hopkins is my new whipping boy.  Hopkins needs to sit his butt on the bench and not see the light of day unless he’s a lead blocker or running down the field on special teams or something.  Not only is he slow, but he fumbles.  In six carries this season, he has fumbled twice; in 43 career carries, he has fumbled three times.  If you’re going to be a fumbler, you should at least offer a little bit of reward for the risk; he’s averaging 3.9 yards a carry in his career.  Fine, Toussaint and Smith are the top two backs, whatever.  But if you’re going to give a third guy a carry, for God’s sake let it be Cox (8.9 yards a carry) or Michael Shaw (5.2).

Jake Ryan is a dreamboat.  That dude is just a playmaker.  He’s always around the ball and always making things happen.  Going back to the spring when he had a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown, Ryan has been a stud.  In four games this season, he has 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, and forced the interception that Brandon Herron returned 94 yards for a touchdown against Western Michigan; he almost had a third fumble recovery on Saturday, but Thomas Gordon beat him to it by a fraction of a second.  Ryan still does some fundamental things wrong, but this kid looks like a future star.  Also, he has pretty hair that the ladies surely love.

Speaking of future stars.  Blake Countess got a lot of run on Saturday, and he looked more than capable.  San Diego State started picking on him, and Countess responded with 7 tackles and a pass breakup.  The true freshman cornerback was in good position most of the time, and when he was beaten, it was on pinpoint throws by a fifth year senior quarterback.  While I hope that starter Troy Woolfolk can return soon after aggravating his sprained ankle, it looks like Michigan has a capable backup if Woolfolk needs to sit out next week.

On SDSU’s list of things to review this week: option responsibilities.  Seriously, three dudes jump the pitch man, and nobody accounts for the quarterback?

Congratulations to Brady Hoke.  I know it must be tough to coach against the kids he coached last year and the coaches he worked with last season, but it was classy all around – except for the words of former SDSU lineman Kyle Turley, who is a certified douche.  San Diego State’s head coach Rocky Long had nothing but good things to say about Hoke.  I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I imagine it’s pretty rare for a college head coach to take another head coaching job . . . and then play his old team the following year.

When I get old, I want to look like Greg Mattison.  He’s still all barrel chested and stuff.  He must eat his spinach.  That dude still looks like he could wrestle a bear.  And my money’s not on the bear.

11Sep 2011
Uncategorized 22 comments

Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31

With about 30 seconds remaining in last night’s game and Notre Dame up 31-28, I said to my fellow watchers, “I predicted Notre Dame would win by a score of 31-27.  I don’t want  that to be the score, but that was my pick.”

I’m glad I was wrong.

That was one of the most exciting games I’ve seen as a Michigan fan.  It reminded me of the 2004 “Henne to Edwards Game”, a victory over MSU in which quarterback Chad Henne chucked the ball up repeatedly to wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who decided to just flat-out win the game for his team.  With Michigan down 17-7 at halftime, I thought to myself, “Well, hopefully Brady Hoke returns to the ways of Lloyd Carr and they become a ‘second half team.'”  Uh . . . yep.  The Wolverines scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, including 14 in the final 1:12 to steal a victory from the Irish.

Wow.

Denard Robinson sucks is awesome.  I have to admit there was a time that I thought this was going to be Robinson’s worst game as a starter.  Early on he was just plain inaccurate.  Then he became inaccurate and  made poor decisions.  Then he made poor decisions . . . accurately.  Robinson finished the game 11-for-24 for 338 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 16 times for 108 yards and 1 touchdown.  His total of 446 yards and 5 touchdowns was excellent, but how he got there was strange.  Through three quarters of football, he was 4-for-14 passing (if that accuracy rate sounds familiarly horrible, that’s because it’s the same as Michigan’s kickers circa 2010) for 136 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions.  In the fourth stanza, Robinson went 8-for-11 for 217 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, plus a recovered Stephen Hopkins fumble that he turned into a touchdown.

Notre Dame is awesome sucks.  I do think Notre Dame is an improved team this season, but they have nothing to show for it.  They won their final four games in 2010 and had two opportunities for victories to open 2011, but they blew both chances.  They remind me of Michigan from the past couple years – able to move the ball, but turnover prone; the Irish have 9 turnovers in two games.  Quarterback Tommy Rees looked excellent at times, but he also threw an ill advised pick to cornerback J.T. Floyd, failed to see Jordan Kovacs dropping back for another interception, and let the ball slip from his hand in the red zone late in the game, a fumble that defensive lineman Ryan Van Bergen recovered.  Overall, Rees was 27-for-39 for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Receiver Michael Floyd caught 13 of those passes for 159 yards, but failed to turn any of those receptions into scores.

Thank goodness for Junior Hemingway.  There were lots of “heroes” in the game – Robinson, Jeremy Gallon, Roy Roundtree, Jordan Kovacs, Matt Wile, etc.  But none were more important than Hemingway, whose amazing body control saved Robinson’s ass time after time.  Robinson completed only 46% of his passes on the day, but two of his eleven completions were amazing catches by Hemingway for big plays.  His first of the day was a 43-yard TD reception on which he leapt high in the air, came down with the ball, and blasted his way through a Notre Dame defensive back to just barely reach the pylon.  His second was on a horrible decision to throw the ball into double coverage, when he stopped and jumped high in the air once again.  His third was on a crossing route when he kept running despite presumably seeing Robinson in the grasp of a defender; Robinson made his best throw of the night, which Hemingway caught and turned into a 77-yard gain before being tackled inside the 10-yard line.  He ended the night with 3 receptions, 165 yards, and 1 touchdown.  Nobody else on Michigan’s team can do what Hemingway does.

The offense is still explosive.  I hate hate hate it when people like Mark May question Al Borges’ ability to use Denard Robinson effectively.  Michigan’s offense is just fine when Robinson makes accurate throws.  When Robinson is inaccurate, the offense suffers.  But insert any quarterback’s name in that previous sentence and the comment holds true.  Robinson made a few bad decisions in the first half (throwing an ill advised screen pass to Vincent Smith that was picked, throwing into double coverage, tossing jump balls to the 5’8″ Jeremy Gallon, etc.), but there were wide open receivers that Robinson repeatedly missed.  He doesn’t throw an accurate deep ball, and that was apparent last year under “genius” Rich Rodriguez, too.  Robinson got a lot of yardage from bubble screens and short throws last year, but with teams stacking the line of scrimmage and daring Michigan to “pass to win,” those hitches and bubble screens just aren’t going to be there.  The bubble screen worked well for Notre Dame because Michigan was backed off in fear of Michael Floyd.

What happened to Michigan’s defensive line?  I knew Notre Dame’s offensive line would be pretty solid, but so far the defensive linemen have produced very little through two games.  They had 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 fumble recoveries in last night’s contest, but both fumble recoveries were more a function of being lucky than good.  Starters Craig Roh and Will Heininger didn’t register on the stat sheet, and the only production from the backups came from 3 tackles by Jibreel Black and a fumble recovery by William Campbell.  Meanwhile, the team didn’t register a single sack despite 39 pass attempts, and running back Cierre Wood gashed the Wolverines for 134 yards and 5.4 yards a pop.  The linebackers and defensive backs have been outplaying the defensive line in Michigan’s two games.

Pass protection good, run blocking bad.  Except for a Dan Fox blitz that resulted in a quick sack, the offensive line protected Robinson very well.  He did scramble around at times, but usually that was after hanging around in the pocket for a while and not getting rid of the ball.  On the other hand, Michigan’s running backs got zero blocking whatsoever.  They combined for 8 carries, 13 yards, and 1 fumble.  Yikes.  Fitzgerald Toussaint apparently suffered an injury and couldn’t play, and despite having -3 yards, Michael Shaw looked the best of the bunch after he was walled off by defenders and still had the speed to get to the outside.  Hopkins is simply too slow to be a feature back, and he fumbled on the goal line.  Luckily, Robinson was there to pick up the ball and score.  Michigan could also use a new short yardage play, aside from the dive out of a single back formation.

Wanted: A Healthy Troy Woolfolk.  With Eastern Michigan on the horizon, Woolfolk might get a week to rest up a bit.  That would be excellent news for a defensive backfield that lacks size and/or coverage ability.  J.T. Floyd and Courtney Avery were both overmatched by Michael Floyd, which is understandable since they’re both smaller and perhaps slower.  I thought Avery had a decent day despite being flagged on a questionable pass interference call, but J.T. Floyd was picked on all night.  He had a couple nice plays, but he’s just not starter quality.  Woolfolk played sporadically in spite of an ankle injury – which he noticeably aggravated a couple times – and a hand injury that forced him to wear a cast.

Wow.  I wish I could have been there.  If I lived in Michigan, there’s no doubt I would have shelled out the money to attend.  That was the best Michigan crowd I think I’ve seen, and at 114,804, it was the largest in football history, too.  I thought ESPN did an excellent job of encapsulating the enormity of the crowd and the game.  Those in attendance will probably remember that game forever.

Go Blue!

5Sep 2011
Uncategorized 13 comments

Michigan vs. Western Michigan Awards

Linebacker Brandon Herron picks up a fumble and returns it 29 yards for a touchdown as
former Wolverine Dann O’Neill (#68) chases from behind





Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Michael Shaw.  Fitzgerald Toussaint looked pretty solid as the starting running back (11 carries, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns), but Shaw (4 carries, 54 yards, 1 touchdown) has the speed to be a gamebreaker.  He also has a little bit of shake to him and can run through a tackle once in awhile.  The knock on Toussaint has been his vision, and his 43-yard run could have been longer if he had made a cutback.  Both performed well and should continue to see time, but hopefully Shaw gets more than 4 carries next week.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Michael Schofield.  Schofield got the start at left guard because of an injury to Ricky Barnum.  While Schofield didn’t play horribly, he’s too tall at 6’7″ to be a guard and doesn’t have the agility that Barnum does.  Big #75 is a capable backup, but hopefully he can get back to being a second string tackle soon.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Brandon Herron.  The fifth year senior linebacker got the start at WILL despite being listed second on the depth chart behind Mike Jones.  Neither player has lit the world on fire – until Herron’s performance on Saturday – but #58’s outstanding game should warrant another start next week.  He tallied a career high 8 tackles to go along with his 94-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 29-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . J.T. Floyd.  I’ve never been a big fan of Floyd’s abilities, and he again showed a lack of change-of-direction skills on Saturday.  In a perfect world, Floyd would be playing safety.  It’s not a perfect world, obviously, because Boubacar Cissoko (who should be a senior) is in jail, Cullen Christian (who should be a sophomore) is at Pitt, and Justin Turner (who should be a redshirt sophomore) is out of football right now.  It’s not Floyd’s fault that he isn’t very good at football, but I sure would like to see Troy Woolfolk on the field instead.  Floyd’s ceiling is very low.

MVP of the Western Michigan game is . . . Brandon Herron.  He accounted for 12 of Michigan’s 34 points and put the Wolverines up for good when he returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown in the middle of the second quarter.  It took the breath out of Herron, but it sucked the life out of the Broncos.  The fumble return for a TD was the icing on the cake, and the combination of those two plays earned him the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week award.

Play of the game . . . Herron’s 94-yard interception return for a touchdown.  Not only did linebacker Jake Ryan bust through the line to bat the ball, but Herron stayed inbounds after catching it, and then raced down the sideline with a convoy of blockers that included 290 lb. defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen and 300 lb. defensive tackle Mike Martin.  It was a total team effort and one of the most exciting plays I’ve experienced as a Michigan fan.