Hear ye, hear ye.
Come one, come all to your television sets to witness the Wichita Falls Rider Raiders take on their rivals from Sulphur Springs, tonight at 9 on ESPN2.
The Raiders are helmed by University of Michigan commit Shavodrick Beaver, and they look to get on the right tracks after falling to Cedar Hill last week.
VB will have an AWESOME FULL GAME REPORT on Beaver’s play later this weekend.
Posted under Recruiting
The format of this feature is a work-in-progress. If you have any suggestions, let me know. The video quality problem from last week should be resolved..
For this week’s Inside the Play, we’re going to look at something that should be familiar to regular readers of this blog by now: the zone read option.
It’s 1st and 10 for the Wolverines, and they have the ball dead-center on their own 30 yard line. With a 10-point lead in the middle of the first quarter, another touchdown could start to open the floodgates.
Miami is in a base 4-3, with the outside linebackers shaded slightly outside. Neither is as wide as the slot players. The two safeties are both high, indicating a straight cover-2 zone.
The Play
At the snap, Threet and Shaw reach the mesh point, and Threet makes the give. Shaw runs through a cavernous gaping hole between the center and left guard, and his speed gets him to the second level quickly. The receivers to the playside run of their defenders downfield, then stalk block them. On the weakside, Odoms fakes a bubble screen route and Stonum works downfield to block. By the time he is finally tackled by the playside corner and a linebacker, Shaw has picked up 30 yards.
Another thing that made this play successful was the succesful running by Threet when he kept the ball on zone-reads. The danger of the QB picking up yardage if he doesn’t hand off the ball gave the backside DE just enough pause to allow Shaw to escape the backfield.
Now you know what it was like Inside the Play.
Posted under Analysis
Your hosts may be found over at Maize n Brew.
1. We’re two weeks in and everyone in the Big Ten, minus the two Michigan schools and Illinois, are undefeated. This week marks the end of your early “tune-up” or serious OOC play. Are you satisfied with the way your team has played against the cupcakes on your schedule, or happy with the way they’ve competed against serious competition?
Ever since the third quarter of the Utah game, I’ve been pleased with the defensive effort. However, the offense has been pitiful against both Utah and Miami. Overall play is going to have to improve, or this team is destined to be Notre Dame 2007.
2. You knew this was coming. This week’s OMG Game of teh Century!!!!1!!1!! until next week’s OMG Game of teh Century!!!!1!!1!! is Ohio State versus Southern Cal. Who are you pulling for and why? Further, if you’re pulling for one particular team tell me why they’ll win, or won’t. If you’re like me and will be attempting to cure a sunburn from over exposure to the sun during the Michigan Notre Dame game by drinking large quantities of whiskey instead of watching the game, state your excuse.
I’m pulling for Ohio State, because I’m a pretty big believer in conference loyalty, and I’d love to see the Big Ten win a statement game. Also, my dad went to Ohio State, and I’ve always liked them as one of my favorite teams, and even cheer for them in most Big Ten matchups, because it gives more meaning to The Game for each team to be good.
3. Besides the above mentioned Game of the Century, there are actually some decent match ups this week in the Big Ten. Purdue v. Oregon; Wisconsin v. Fresno State; Michigan v. Notre Dame; Michigan State v. Florida Atlantic; or Iowa v. Iowa State. I said decent. I didn’t say they were all good. Pick the best game from that group, pick the worst game from that group, and Minnesota and Illinois bloggers must post an apology for scheduling Montana State and Louisiana Lafayette respectively.
If you like offense, I think the Purdue-Oregon game might be pretty entertaining. Of course, Oregon’s defense isn’t that bad, so it might be the Ducks doing all the scoring. If, on the other hand, you hate offense, Michigan-Notre Dame is the matchup for you. The worst matchup is probably Iowa-Iowa State because I simply couldn’t care less about the outcome, and neither team is particularly exciting at this point in the year.
4. Out of Conference scheduling is always something that draws the ire of journalists and bloggers alike. You all know how weak your OOC really is. Admit it. You’re sad. So fix it. Pick two teams out of conference you really wish your school would schedule. Nursing colleges and the Center for Veterinary Sciences are verboten. Pick two major conference middle to heavy weights or two heavy weight non-BCS conference programs to add to the schedule. (Please note you get to keep your two patsies per season).
This year, I would be happy playing 4 crappy out of conference teams (I’m lookin’ at you, Northwestern and Indiana) while the team can, like, learn to play football. Of course, this year isn’t going to be an easy one, and the Wolverines already have a mid-major heavyweight (Utah) and a tradition-rich program with lots of five stars (Notre Dame, and thankfully Charlie Weis sucks). However, assuming we aren’t locked in to the Notre Dame game for all time (which we are), I would love to see home-and-home series with teams like Georgia, UCLA, and other teams that are near but not always at the top of BCS conferences.
5. All college football fans love to tailgate. Even you, you mothers’ basement dwelling bloggers, you. Name your beverage of choice on game days. Alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, your readers need to these things about you, to judge you. Confirm all their suspicions.
I don’t drink before games, but afterwards, it depends on the situation. If it’s on someone else’s dime, I’ll drink whatever’s available. Otherwise, I’ll either go for a PBR-type (cheap and not quite terrible) or Oberon-type (not cheap but better than PBR) beer. After a game that I go to, I’ll often need to hydrate with Gatorade or water before starting the heavy lifting.
Bonus Question!
6. Rivalry games dot the schedule this week. If your team is playing in a rivalry game, say something nasty about your opponent then predict a lopsided score to infuriate the opposing fanbase. If you’re not playing a rival, then start a rivalry by saying something nasty about your opponent and then predict a lopsided score to infuriate the opposing fanbase. Or just give me a non-offensive prediction and a reason to watch.
lolCharlie Weis is fatlol. Michigan will win by a score of Charlie Weis’s weight-Rita Rodriguez’s dress size.
Posted under Analysis
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Cal |  1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 3 | Georgia | 1 |
| 4 | Florida |  1 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 4 |
| 6 | Texas | — |
| 7 | LSU | — |
| 8 | Penn State | 2 |
| 9 | Missouri | 2 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 1 |
| 11 | Auburn | 1 |
| 12 | Alabama | 2 |
| 13 | Oregon | 2 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 3 |
| 15 | South Florida | 2 |
| 16 | East Carolina | 10 |
| 17 | Utah | 1 |
| 18 | Texas Tech | 8 |
| 19 | California | 3 |
| 20 | Kansas | 4 |
| 21 | Arizona State | — |
| 22 | West Virginia | 14 |
| 23 | Illinois | — |
| 24 | Wake Forest | 5 |
| 25 | Miami (Florida) | 1 |
Changes: Dropped OSU a little further down, which doesn’t bother me too much since they’ll have a chance to recover with a win this weekend. Decided I hadn’t previously been harsh enough on West Virginia, and dropped them further. Conversely, East Carolina moved up a couple more spots. I tempered my enthusiasm for Kansas as well.
Posted under BlogPoll
Comments Off on Blogpoll Final Ballot: Week 2
Massey from Buckeye Commentary reviews Michigan’s performance in the Miami game. For my take on OSU’s performance against Ohio, head over there.
What I Saw
Michigan was improved, kinda. The team appeared more focused initially going 80 yards in 5 plays for a quick score. Two plays later they grabbed the fumble and I expected them to go for Miami’s throat. That next series went nowhere, but they got a field goal out of it. It was not a horrible possession but it did not totally capitalize on the momentum. Their third possession was going swimmingly on the ground and then two incompletions and a missed FG ruined the offense for the next two quarters.
I also saw a defense that could not get off the field. They played well, but Miami was 8-19 on third down and held a 10:00 advantage in time of possession. Of course, the offense was not helping them rest, either.
Finally, freshmen running backs McGuffie and Shaw appear to be the main guys going forward.
What I Didn’t See
An offensive identity. I understand the spread can be used to pass or run, but the Wolverines seem to have much better success running at this point. Aside from the opening play (a screen no less), running plays were responsible for all of their yards on the first three drives. They ran two-thirds of the time but there was no flow to the possessions.
I also cannot say which quarterback is better. Last week I said I believed Sheridan would eventually be the guy and I will stick by that statement, but that situation has not resolved itself. I am sure the coaches would like it to.
Who I Watched
After it became clear that Miami could not move the ball consistently, I watched the offense exclusively and the running backs as the focus. To that end, McGuffie looks like he is headed for a very productive career. His stats were not overwhelming but you get the impression that he has adjusted to the speed of the college game and will master the spread before any of the other backs. A one-time crowded backfield appears to be thinning out.
What I Expect Next Week
A better defensive performance. The defense has been good so far, but has not played at the level I expected. I expect the defense to recognize that they have to lead the way to a victory, if one is to be had.
What This Can Tell Us About The Game
After a summer full of practices and two games, Michigan is not ready to exploit Ohio State’s inability to stop a mobile quarterback. They have nine more games to figure that out and become consistent. If the Wolverines could learn to connect on some of those big plays they could loosen up the defense and allow their running game more room to run.
On defense, Michigan is stopping the run, which would be key against Beanie. Obviously, Utah and Miami do not carry elite on their rosters, but it is better than nothing. The way that Michigan gets after Clausen and Co. will tell me a lot about how they will be able to defend Ohio State – at least when Boeckman is in the game.
Posted under Analysis
Didn’t participate last week, but here it is for week 2. Hosted by Braves & Birds.
1. How would you rate your program’s service to you in the first two weeks of the season?
Michigan’s accomplishments are approximately as I expected, but the manner in which they got there is troubling. I can handle a loss to Utah and a Victory over Miami, but I’d really prefer if the offense didn’t look quite so anemic in the process. Hopefully the early-season kinks will be hammered out soon. Alas, there is no guarantee that this team is capable of doing much better, given the talent that they have.
2. How happy are you with your program’s overall scheme? We are in a period in which the spread has become a total obsession in the media. If you’re a fan of a spread team, are you happy with the way your program has implemented it? If you’re a fan of a non-spread team, do you wish that your program would convert to this Xenu of offenses?
Michigan’s schemes look good, but execution errors are killing the offense. The o-line performed better against the RedHawks than they did against Utah, but it still isn’t good enough to get by your average Big Ten defense, and certainly not a team like Ohio State.
Also, I think Steven Threet needs to be named the starting quarterback permanently so at least one of the options can gain confidence. I think if he had a chance to get settled in, Threet would have fewer errors due to being overwhelmed or excited, and it would benefit the team in both the long and short runs.
Defensively, I’m impressed. The linebackers are young (and showing it), and Stevie Brown is a constant liability, but the schemes themselves are working pretty well. Hopefully Brown will be able to put it together mentally a little later in the year, and this defense could start to really dominate.
3. Rate your stadium’s cleanliness and menu options.
I rarely use any portion of Michigan Stadium that isn’t my seat or the exit. The seats are same as always, but the mode of egress from the Stadium is obnoxious and impossible to accomplish in fewer than 20-ish minutes. I’m sure the bathrooms are rockin’ pisswall as well as they always have.
4. As an incentive to provide your valued feedback, you will be entered into a drawing for exciting prizes! What one prize would you like for your program?
Terrelle Pryor, plz.
5. Since we’re all about choices, take one of the following two options for entertainment’s sake:
a. What’s your most memorable experience involving a comment card?
b. If your program were a casual dining chain, which one would it be? Yes, this is a tricky question because the defining characteristic of a casual dining chain is its sameness. No one said this Roundtable would be easy. Bonus points if you can make a compelling case that your program is Chotchkie’s or Flingers.
Something that is undergoing a radical change with some growing pains, that’s for sure. Maybe a Long John Silver’s that’s being transformed into, say, a Friday’s. In the long run, it will be an improvement (though maybe Friday’s isn’t the best example), but for now, they’re trying to use crappy fried fish as ingredients in everything.
Posted under Analysis, BlogPoll
Comments Off on Blogpoll Roundtable: Week 2
I’m not too sure what can be drawn from these plays. The sample size is rather low. Obviously Threet is more successful, but he also had more plays as well as the first plays where Miami apparently forgot that in this offense the QB sometimes runs. It could be that Threet has a more convincing fake, but that could be a reach. What do y’all think?
Talking with a friend of mine, they each had maybe 1/2 to 1 full misread, which doesn’t seem terrible. Anyone with more football knowledge feel free to correct me.
Posted under Analysis
Let’s break down a bit of Notre Dame film from last year. Since Charlie Weis is the vaunted offensive genius who led the Irish to the Worst Offense in History, last year, we’ll look at the offensive “effort” against the Cardinal of Stanford.
First of all, I don’t know how John Latina still has a job. His offensive lines have gotten worse every year, even when they returned a lot of talent. Take a look at the regression by Sam Young, and you’ll see what I mean. In case you don’t believe me, here are some examples of the All-Star recruits of the Notre Dame offensive line getting completely owned by Stanford(!), of all teams.
Another item of note is the fact that Jimmy Clausen may just not be quite ready, but either way, there is no way he should have been starting for anyone last year, much less a team that has the QB tradition of Joe Montana and Brady Quinn. He was quite fond in 2007 of taking sacks by “scrambling” for 5-10 yard losses, when he was under little pressure and should have just thrown it away. On the rare occasion that he got good protection, he still managed to miss wide open guys, or threw passes that required superhuman effort for wideouts to catch. Another thing Clausen too often (not pictured) did was not trust his arm, and throw to the checkdown option even when his first read was open (and often widely so).
And of course, there is the lack of speed at the Irish skill positions. Slow running backs aren’t too much of a liability when they can do all the things that Mike Hart could for Michigan. When you’re just mediocre AND you get run down from behind by a Stanford linebacker, that’s a problem. This category of videos is also good for showing why Stanford lost to Notre Dame: the scheme was good, but players didn’t always execute right, and that led to several big plays.
This past weekend, we saw Notre Dame face off against San Diego State, and it appeared that few of their issues from last year have been resolved. Clausen was much improved, but it’s time to find out whether he can be so poised when he is getting killed on every other play.
Posted under Coaching
Not the blog, punks.
If you’re a Michigan student who has any interest in football, I urge you to check out the TV version of Varsity Blue. If you’re interested in joining the crew, show up on the west side of South Quad’s 9th floor today at 6:30.
As a producer emeritus of the show, I recommend checking it out, I loved it in my undergrad days (and it led to my starting this here blog). If you’re interested but can’t make it today or want more information, e-mail the producer, Alex Prasad, at atprasad@umich.edu.
Posted under Recruiting
Comments Off on Join Varsity Blue!
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| 4 | Georgia | — |
| 5 | Florida | 2 |
| 6 | Texas | — |
| 7 | LSU | — |
| 8 | Penn State | 2 |
| 9 | Missouri | 2 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 1 |
| 11 | Auburn | 1 |
| 12 | Alabama | 2 |
| 13 | Oregon | 2 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 3 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 7 |
| 16 | South Florida | 3 |
| 17 | California | 5 |
| 18 | Utah | — |
| 19 | Kansas | 5 |
| 20 | Texas Tech | 6 |
| 21 | Arizona State | — |
| 22 | East Carolina | 4 |
| 23 | Illinois | — |
| 24 | Wake Forest | 5 |
| 25 | Miami (Florida) | 1 |
Games Watched: Michigan-Miami U, Ohio-Ohio State, Minnesota-BGSU, Notre Dame-SDSU, Ole Miss-Wake Forest, West Virginia-East Carolina, BYU-Washington, Miami of Florida-Florida, Battle of Directional Floridas, Penn State-Oregon State, portions of Arkansas-ULM.
Again, I’m not married to this order, but I’m actually more comfortable with my preliminary ballot this week than I was last week.
Wake and South Florida both looked bad in wins, hence their dropping (and BYU looked bad enough to drop completely out). For anything else, let me know if something seems to be amiss, and I’ll adjust accordingly.
Posted under BlogPoll