I was going to try to avoid doing the recap this week, but I think I owe it to my 4 faithful readers. Michigan tripped and stumbled their way to what most call: the most disappointing win, ever. The Wolverines pulled out a 28-24 victory over hapless Akron. Just to warn you, this recap will be more from the discouraged mindset.
I usually try to start with anything encouraging from the game, but there is not much to choose from. The only thing that comes to mind is that Saturday’s game should have all but guaranteed Devin Gardner returned for a 5th year, and hopefully he will not be making the same bad decisions in his second full season as a starter. If you can think of anything else that is a positive moving forward I would love to hear it.
I could just type the word everything and call this blog entry complete. The Michigan Wolverines did little to nothing right on Saturday, and probably deserved to lose the game. The important thing is they didn’t, and they remain one of 5 undefeated B1G teams. Let me just take notice of the most egregious aspects from the matchup with Akron. Devin Gardner does not appear to have learned from his mistakes in the first two weeks of the season. He turned the ball over 4 times alone in this game, 2 kept points off the board for Michigan and 1 gave Akron an immediate touchdown. Gardner will need to continue to grow as a decision maker if Team 134 is going to have a chance to accomplish their goals.
It looks like Notre Dame and Akron have given the nation a very good outline of how to move the ball against this Wolverine defense. The key is quick passing routes to push Michigan into the nickel package, and then you can gash them on the ground. Coach Mattison continues to say the natural pass rush from the front four is better than last season. That doesn’t mean it is good enough yet. The defensive line was able to get some push against the Zips, but it was slow developing and inconsistent. Too often the pressure comes from one player, but the remaining three struggle to keep contain and the quarterback just moves the pocket back to his favor. On top of the lack of a pass rush, Michigan seems content to sit back in a very soft, bend but don’t break zone coverage. The Wolverines should have been able to completely overmatch the Zips with their athleticism, yet they sat back and let Kyle Pohl throw for 300+ yards. It seems like the third cornerback is still a long ways from being decided as they have played three different players in three weeks. I still would like to see more Dymonte Thomas in the nickelback position, with his primary role being a blitzer. I just cannot believe that Blake Countess (the best cover guy) is better at rushing the quarterback on third down. Connecticut likes to throw the ball around, so it will be interesting to see if Michigan changes their strategy at all.
There are many other areas that caused me to be devoid of emotions on Saturday afternoon, but the last thing I want to mention is the punting unit. I thought Matt Wile was going to be a reliable punter, and we would barely notice the Hagerup suspension. Through 3 games, I am noticing. It seems like Wile’s confidence is just way down, and if so Coach Hoke is the one of the best in the country to help players. But at some point letting Wile continue to shank punts will have a bigger impact on the outcome of a game. I would guess he would be on a very short leash this weekend, with Kenny Allen ready to go on the sideline. On top of the terrible punting, the punt coverage has continued to be below average. Akron should have blocked a punt on Saturday, and when a punt is fielded there is seldom a time where any winged helmet is within 10 yards of the returner.
Top Performers
1.
Jehu Chesson
2.
Blake Countess
Areas of Concern
1.
Devin’s tendency to give opposition points
2.
Funchess blocking abilities
3.
Linebackers in coverage
4.
Pass rush
5.
Interior offensive line run blocking
6.
Developing a counter to runs to the left side
Michigan has now looked like the best team in the B1G and one of the worst all in the matter of 2 games. UConn is not a good team, but who knows which Wolverines squad will show up. One thing I am sure of is that I don’t think Team 134 can play any worse the rest of the season.
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