I was excited for this year’s version of the Michigan Spring Game. I thought it had a good chance for a high fan turnout and I thought it was going to show the continued improvement on both sides of the ball. I wasn’t necessary correct on either of those predictions.
For another year, the weather threatened the Spring Game, this year they even considered canceling the game and moving it indoors (private). Luckily Saturday turned out to be a decent day, but the chance of rain kept a lot of people from going (or at least I hope that is the reason). There were only about 25,000 people that showed up for the free game. I cannot complain too much about this because I was also out of town for the weekend. I am excited to go again next year though because it is a pretty cool atmosphere.
As for the product on the field, I definitely overlooked the continued depth issues. I forgot that even after the 11-2 season, this program is still in rebuilding mode. It takes longer than 1 year to completely rid ourselves from the previous coach who shall not be named. I forgot that we have 7 scholarship offensive lineman, SEVEN! This is a position where you would like 12-15. Yes, more reinforcements are coming in the next 2 recruiting classes, but I forgot that they aren’t on campus yet. This lack of depth I think really forced the game to be very boring. The offense wasn’t able (or willing) to really run any plays that were at all creative in a public practice, and this rubbed off on the defensive calling as well. Another thing to look forward to as Michigan fans, the 2013 Spring Game should be one that is an actual game setting and not just a practice.
I will start with some of the concerning things that I saw from Saturday, and then end on the high note. Devin Gardner either forgot he was a quarterback or is really wanting to be a starting receiver. He finished 2-9 passing, with 1 strong throw over the middle. The rest of the passes were borderline terrible. He constantly threw off his back foot while not set, and it resulted in floating, overthrown balls. Also, he was intercepted twice. While he did look very strong running the ball, there didn’t seem to be any progression from last year to this in the passing game from the 2nd best athlete on the team. Personally, I think this was more of a very bad day on the football field than what to expect from Devin, but it still doesn’t leave much confidence with the fan base.
I know the play calling was pretty boring throughout the 70 play practice, but I wonder how much that has to do with the lack of trust/ability of the receiving corp. A deep ball wasn’t even attempted once. I think this is from a combination of both (play calling and ability). Our receivers need a boost of depth and talent if this Michigan team is going to be as successful as the past 2 years. There are 2 highly rated freshman arriving this summer, and it is a position where young talent can shine, but it is also a little unreasonable to expect a freshman receiver to turn into our first option. The passing game could be a legitimate weakness this season, even if Denard greatly improves in the offense. I still imagine Denard throwing up jump balls, but with no Hemingway to pull them down, they will just result in bad decisions. If Denard isn’t throwing these jump balls, then the number of sacks will likely increase.
Switching gears, I was very impressed with the defense for most of the day (even with the boring plays). The linebacker unit looks like it will be a strength for this year and then every year moving forward. The team already has depth at the position, with only more talent coming in for the fall. This should allow us to redshirt at least one of the incoming recruits. Hawthorne was utilized in a great way for the scrimmage, he was able to play in the open field for the most part. This resulted in an interception, and some very fast blitzes that were not able to be blocked. I don’t think he will be a starter at any point this season, but he should be pushing to see some time (especially in passing situations that allow him to cover a TE or go hard after the QB). Morgan is the exact opposite of Hawthorne, he is consistent. He sheds blocks and tackles anything that moves near him. He is not nearly as quick as his backup, which limits his coverage and blitzing ability, but he is a very strong anchor in the middle of the defense. The rest of the group is strong as well, Bolden looks like he will see the field this fall. Ryan is going to continue to be a monster off the edge. Poole could get some field time, and we still have Demmens returning for his senior season. Also, for the first time in recent memory, a Michigan team actually has some depth in the secondary. Floyd has locked down one side, and Countess the other, but there are multiple guys that will continue to push for playing time (either in the Nickel package or as a backup that sees 20+plays a game). The defensive line also looked good at times, but I don’t know if this was because of the offensive line struggling or the DL being a strength. I think this position group could struggle early in the season (especially against the best OL in the nation – Bama), but by the end of the year they could be very solid. As much as the defense made huge leaps forward for the year prior last season, I think they will only get better for Team 133.
The final area that looked good to me were the running backs. Fitz was only in the scrimmage for a short period of time, but he looked in midseason form. There is a reason he is getting early season Heisman looks. Then Rawls has seemed to lock up the back up position at this point, he ran very hard and runs downfield. There is very little shiftiness with Thomas at this point, but if the line can open up holes for him to get to the second level, he will be very tough to tackle. With his improvements, this will allow us to redshirt Drake Johnson and use Dennis Norfleet and Justice Hays in more open field roles (return game and slot receiver).
Even though the Spring Game didn’t live up to most people’s expectations, it was still fun to see football in the Big House again. Hopefully it will hold us over until Labor Day weekend, or at least until we land another huge recruit. J
Go Blue!
No comments:
Post a Comment