Tag: Russell Bellomy

Quarterbacks Preview: Michigan vs. South Carolina

South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw (image via AJC)

MICHIGAN
Starters: Michigan basically has two starters at this point – senior Denard Robinson and junior Devin Gardner.  Robinson (6’0″, 197 lbs.) has started 37 career games, but he was injured against Nebraska and has not started since.  Gardner (6’4″, 203 lbs.) has started the last four games for Michigan and is the superior passer.  Against Iowa and Ohio State, Robinson played various positions, including wide receiver, running back, and quarterback, but he didn’t throw a single pass in those games.  Robinson finished the season with 1,319 passing yards on 54% completions, 9 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions; he also ran for 1,166 yards and 7 touchdowns and had 2 receptions for 24 yards.  Meanwhile, Gardner completed 63% of his passes for 1,005 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions while rushing for 77 yards and 7 touchdowns; he also spent the early part of the season at wide receiver, where he caught 16 passes for 266 yards and 4 touchdowns.  It’s unclear who will start the bowl game, but it’s very likely that both will play in some capacity.  Robinson will have had over a month to rest his injured elbow, so I’m guessing he will be able to throw at least a little bit, but with the way Gardner has played at quarterback, I think Gardner has to take most of the snaps.
Backups: Redshirt freshman Russell Bellomy made several appearance this season, including replacing Denard Robinson for the last 2.5 quarters of the Nebraska game; he has not played since.  I think Bellomy has potential down the road, but there’s no other way to describe his performance other than awful; he completed just 5/21 passes on the season for 46 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.  No other scholarship quarterbacks are on the roster.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Starter: Junior Connor Shaw (6’1″, 207 lbs.) has missed a chunk of playing time this season due mainly to a shoulder injury, but he should be ready to start the Outback Bowl.  He finished the regular season with 1,732 passing yards on 67% completions for 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions; he’s also an effective runner with 339 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Shaw is an athletic game manager and reminds me a little bit of what Tate Forcier could have been if he wasn’t so stupid.  Shaw has an accurate arm and decent speed, and he’s thick enough to run through some tackles once in a while.
Backups: Redshirt sophomore Dylan Thompson (6’3″, 212 lbs.) played quite a bit this season with Shaw’s injury.  He completed 59/117 passes for 910 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.  He’s not quite the same threat to run, though, with just 35 yards on 32 carries for 1 touchdown.

THE TAKEAWAY
Robinson is one of the most dynamic runners in the country, and he’s the best running quarterback in the country.  Gardner is a pretty good runner, and his passing is almost on par with Shaw’s, although I would give Shaw the edge due to experience.  As a total package, Michigan has the advantage here.  Of course, this ignores the fact that Michigan will be missing its most experienced starting cornerback in J.T. Floyd while South Carolina has a couple playmakers on the back end of their defense in safeties DeVonte Holloman and D.J. Swearinger.  But more on that will be coming in a few days.

Advantage: Michigan

Michigan 35, Minnesota 13

Devin Gardner was solid in replacing injured starter Denard Robinson (image via Bleacher Report)

Thanks goodness for Devin Gardner.  I am fairly confident that Russell Bellomy could not have duplicated Gardner’s performance from yesterday.  The junior wide receiver/quarterback finished 12/18 for 234 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception; he also ran 10 times for 21 yards and 1 touchdown.  Gardner obviously isn’t the same type of electrifying runner that Denard Robinson is, but that passing performance was pretty much on par with anything Robinson has done this year.  Gardner had three passes of 45-plus yards and did a great job of keeping plays alive with his feet.  There are still things to improve (the one INT was a poor decision, he holds onto the ball too long sometimes, etc.), but he looked much more ready to play QB than Bellomy has at any point.  This should give Michigan fans hope.  And I know I beat this drum a lot, but how much more excited would you be if Gardner were a redshirt sophomore instead of a true junior?  That burned redshirt in 2010 really irks me . . .

Michigan’s receivers stepped up when needed.  This was something we haven’t seen in the past few weeks, but I don’t remember a single drop in this game.  The receivers pulled in some nice receptions, including Jerald Robinson’s sliding 22-yarder and a couple balls caught in traffic by Jeremy Gallon, Drew Dileo, and Roy Roundtree.  Gardner has a stronger arm than Bellomy, and I think the receivers are probably a little more comfortable catching Gardner’s darts than Bellomy’s soft tosses.

Here is where I grumble about cornerbacks.  Teams have been picking on J.T. Floyd for the past few weeks, and once again he was beaten several times.  Minnesota freshman quarterback Philip Nelson missed on several, but sometimes it didn’t matter because Floyd bailed him out by getting called for pass interference two or three times.  Raymon Taylor didn’t have a great game, either, and picked up a pass interference call himself.  I am looking forward to a time when Michigan can put two solid corners on the field at the same time.  Taylor has a chance to be one, but it’s been a while since the Wolverines had two.

Don’t say Michigan never gets the benefit of refs’ poor calls.  Jeremy Gallon’s 10-yard touchdown catch wasn’t a catch; the ball was moving in his hands the entire time.  Roy Roundtree’s 47-yard catch probably wasn’t a catch; the ball was moving the entire time.  However, both of them were called completions on the field, and they were difficult to overturn.  In both cases, if they had been called incomplete on the field, I think they would have been upheld as being incomplete.

Jake Ryan wheee!  Ryan struggled a little bit early in the game, but he turned it on afterward.  He finished the game with 9 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.  The speed at which he plays for a guy who’s 6’3″, 242 lbs. is pretty ridiculous.  He now has 65 tackles and 12 tackles for loss, both numbers surpassing what he did in 2011 (37 tackles, 11 tackles for loss).

The future of the defensive line is bright.  I was very concerned about Michigan’s defensive line coming into 2012 after Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen graduated, and those two have certainly been missed.  The drop-off at strongside end hasn’t been very noticeable with Craig Roh playing fairly well, but Martin has certainly been missed at nose tackle.  However, Michigan has several guys starting or in the rotation who should return next season, so they should be able to maintain this level of play.  Weakside ends Brennen Beyer and Frank Clark, defensive tackles Quinton Washington and Ondre Pipkins, and strongside end Keith Heitzman all look solid, and that’s not to mention the incoming freshmen or the redshirting freshmen (Chris Wormley, Tom Strobel, Matt Godin, Willie Henry).

Working on Saturdays is lame.  There’s just not the same level of excitement when you know you could just fast forward the DVR and see the final score.  On the plus side, I could fast forward during timeouts and between plays so I didn’t have to listen to the Big Ten Network’s terrible announcers.  Sometimes Chris Martin talks just to hear himself, and he says very little of substance.  He does a good job of discussing defensive back play, but anytime the discussion wanders into the other 18 positions on the field, he’s mute-worthy.

Michigan vs. Nebraska Awards

No. 16 isn’t allowed to get hurt anymore. (image via AnnArbor.com)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Devin Gardner at quarterback.  He might not have done any better than Russell Bellomy (3/16, 38 yards, 3 interceptions), but he couldn’t have done much worse.  In Gardner’s career, he’s 11/23 for 176 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Russell Bellomy, obviously.  I still believe he’ll eventually be a competent quarterback, but if there was any question about whether he’s ready or not, that was answered on Saturday night.  The coaches insisted in the off-season that Gardner was the #2 quarterback; well, now it’s time to make sure that happens.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . nobody.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Jake Ryan at defensive end.  Ryan is much more effective as a SAM linebacker, and Cameron Gordon is a downgrade at the position.  Ryan played a fair amount of defensive end because Frank Clark missed the game due to an ankle injury, so hopefully that injury heals quickly and #47 can go back to his regular position.

Play of the game . . . linebacker Desmond Morgan broke up a pass headed for the left flat, and freshman defensive end Mario Ojemudia – who was playing defensive tackle on the play – hustled after the play to make a diving interception.

MVP of the game . . . Craig Roh.  Nobody did well offensively, but Roh made several nice plays from his defensive end position.  Last year defensive linemen Ryan Van Bergen and Mike Martin dominated up front, and Roh carried on that tradition this year.  He had 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss (for 15 yards), and 1 sack (for 10 yards).

Nebraska 23, Michigan 9

She’s better than any pictures from the game, I think.

The QB situation.  I don’t even know where to start.  Denard Robinson was playing okay before he got hurt (6/11 for 55 yards; 10 carries for 46 yards).  After that all hell broke loose.  Redshirt freshman backup quarterback Russell Bellomy entered the game and threw eleven or twelve straight incomplete passes.  He finished the game 3/16 for 38 yards and 3 interceptions, along with taking 2 sacks.  His receivers dropped some passes, but mostly the throws were inaccurate and uncatchable.  At some point Devin Gardner should have been inserted as the quarterback.  Brady Hoke and Al Borges have insisted that Gardner is their #2 quarterback, and while that obviously hasn’t been true, even the #3 guy should be given a shot when #2 can’t get the job done.  The Wolverines were down by a touchdown or less for most of the game, and Gardner might  have been able to provide a spark.  He’s obviously not the best quarterback in the land, but he does have some athleticism to improvise if the play breaks down.  Bellomy looked absolutely lost.

Al Borges anger?  Am I mad at Al Borges?  A little.  The throwback screen to Jeremy Gallon has become way too predictable, for one.  But I’m certainly not mad at him for calling the plays he did after Bellomy entered.  Borges gave Bellomy some easy throws early, and Bellomy threw them into the ground or sailed them over the receivers’ heads.  What plays should an offensive coordinator call for a guy who’s bad at running every play?  Aside from running the ball, which wasn’t working (Fitzgerald Toussaint had 15 carries for 38 yards), there’s not much an OC can do.  Nebraska blitzed Bellomy on passing downs, and they sucked up on the short routes because Bellomy doesn’t like to throw downfield.  If I remember correctly, he threw exactly two passes beyond 15 yards; the first was an incompletion to Roy Roundtree in the endzone that was incorrectly called pass interference against the defense; the second was to a double-covered Devin Gardner that turned into an interception.  Bellomy is terrible at this stage in his career.

Quarterback recruiting and development.  I have been beating this drum now for a couple years, but Brady Hoke should have taken a quarterback in the class of 2012.  Michigan is apparently down to two quarterbacks on the roster: Robinson and Bellomy.  Gardner has been limited to wide receiver exclusively.  Even if the freshman isn’t good, he would at least give the Wolverines another option if Bellomy stinks it up as the backup.  Hoke offered just eight quarterbacks in the 2012 class, and none really seemed to be heavily pursued.  Additionally, I’m still annoyed that Rich Rodriguez burned Devin Gardner’s redshirt back in 2010.  From what I understand, the belief is that he will not be granted a fifth year of eligibility, and now he’s a true junior instead of a redshirt sophomore.  Even if Hoke wanted to develop Gardner as the heir apparent to Robinson, he would only have a year to play the position.  Both of Michigan’s most recent coaches have failed to handle the quarterback position appropriately over the last few years.

Michigan’s run defense was excellent.  By the end of the game, Nebraska was wearing down the Wolverines a little bit.  But even with some big runs by running back Ameer Abdullah and quarterback Taylor Martinez late in the game, they combined for 159 yards on 38 carries, which is just barely over 4 yards/carry.  If Michigan’s offense could have stayed on the field longer and kept them in the game, I doubt the Wolverines would have had the same kinds of breakdowns.

Michigan’s secondary was burned several times.  Raymon Taylor was torched.  J.T. Floyd was beaten a couple times and picked up two pass interference calls.  Jordan Kovacs was beaten.  Thomas Gordon was beaten for a touchdown, albeit by an illegal pick.

The referees were terrible.  It went both ways, but the refs were bad.  The early 55-yard catch by Roy Roundtree was ruled as a reception on the field, and there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn it; yet overturn it they did.  Vincent Smith’s diving attempt that launched the ball up into the arms of P.J. Smith could have been overturned just as easily as the Roundtree play, but the interception was upheld.  Bellomy’s deep ball to Roundtree shouldn’t have been called pass interference against Nebraska.  There were numerous holding calls that they missed, including against Taylor Lewan, who has been committing way too many infractions.  Nebraska also took a penalty for targeting Jeremy Jackson, but the defender led with his shoulder and hit Jackson in the chest, not the head.

Much of this could be fixed if Michigan could run the ball.  Outside of Denard Robinson, nobody on Michigan’s team can run the ball effectively this year.  Michigan’s interior offensive line is weak, and honestly, it’s the two most experienced guys who are playing the worst, in my opinion.  Ricky Barnum and Patrick Omameh, both of whom are fifth year seniors, have often failed to get a push.  Center Elliott Mealer has been mediocre, but he hasn’t played much in his career.  Offensively, Michigan doesn’t have an identity.  The offensive line has been pretty healthy, but they can’t run the ball; both quarterbacks have been subpar in the passing game; the receivers are average.  Unless Denard Robinson is running the ball, Michigan is ineffective.  Now Michigan has gone two consecutive games without a touchdown, and you can’t put your defense in that type of situation consistently and expect to win.

Michigan vs. Illinois Awards

Thomas Rawls (#38)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Thomas Rawls.  Rawls had 9 carries for 90 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown run late in the game.  Granted, it was late in the game and Illinois had given up, but he still showed some nice speed when he got to the sideline.  Fitzgerald Toussaint just can’t seem to get going, and while I’m not sure that Toussaint should be benched, Rawls is looking more and more deserving of a chance to earn carries.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Russell Bellomy.  The offense really seemed to be limited when he entered the game early.  Here’s hoping that Denard Robinson can heal from that hand injury and stay healthy for the rest of the season.  I’d prefer not to see Bellomy until Michigan is blowing out the opponent.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Marvin Robinson.  Jordan Kovacs seems to be nursing a bit of an injury, and Robinson was flying around the field when he entered the game.  Kovacs played well and Illinois never really tested the safeties, but Robinson seems quite capable of supporting the run.  Hopefully Robinson is to the point where he can spell Kovacs a little bit, because someone needs to be groomed for the starting spot once Kovacs graduates.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody.  The defense allowed 134 yards and gave up zero points.  The only thing that really bugged me on “defense” was Josh Furman’s moronic personal foul when he ran into the punt returner way too early, but Furman rarely plays defense, anyway.

Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson’s 49-yard touchdown run.  It was a thing of beauty.  He danced around the tackles of about four guys and then exploded down the left sideline.  It was especially fun to watch Illinois defensive tackle Glenn Foster “fall” while chasing him because he knew that chasing Denard would be a waste of energy.

MVP of the game . . . Denard Robinson once again.  He was 7/11 passing for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He also ran the ball 11 times for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Most importantly, he didn’t turn over the ball.  When he temporarily got hurt early in the game, the offense bogged down and the entire fan base got scared, including me.  This team will really struggle if he’s unavailable.