I am going to Northwestern this afternoon for the game tomorrow. Expect fun updates with lots of pictures and stuff. I will probably make fun of nerds to almost the degree that I do it when I’m in Ann Arbor (zing!).

Posted under Misc.

Kenny Demens (6-1, 225), a WLB prospect from Detroit Country Day high school, has committed to Lloyd Carr and the Michigan Wolverines. Demens chose the maize-and-blue over Michigan State and Nebraska.

Demens has been described by some as a slightly bigger version of Chris Graham, with true WLB size. Hopefully, he can learn the mental part of the game (and how to tackle) better than Graham has.

With this commitment, Michigan has 16 in the class, and has room to take a few more guys. It is likely that Michigan will take mostly defensive players, with the possibility of on OL and/or a WR.

Posted under Recruiting

Kenny Demens moved to “lean.” He announces tomorrow (oddly, during the NW game). Removed a few guys committed elsewhere. Moved Brandom Smith and Vaughn Telamaque to leans. Moved J.B. Fitzgerald to committed (has it really been that long since I’ve done a recruiting post?

Posted under Recruiting

If you thought Brandon Graham’s performance on Saturday (3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, FF, FR) had Anthony Morelli ready to file an assault charge, you’d only be taking into account what a hardened criminal the Michigan defensive end is.

No, Graham is a cold, hard, …court date non-attendee? A warrant has been issued for Graham’s arrest, though the article linked states that he will likely not be arrested unless pulled over on another traffic charge. It is likely that this issue will be resolved soon, and will be no big deal to the football team.

Posted under Personnel

Highlight.

Corny music for the win.

Posted under Video

I worked for ESPN again this weekend, so I didn’t get to watch the whole game, but ehre are some things I observed:

• Mike Hart is, like, really good at the football.
• Brandon Graham is really good as well. I think the lack of his presence in the first couple games really contributed to the defensive struggles.
• Morgan Trent has turned into a legit #1 corner (not lockdown, but how many true lockdown guys are there in college?). Now if only there was a good second guy.
• The maize out was pathetic again. I don’t give a fuck if you started liking Tom Brady after he won the Super Bowl MVP, and went out and bought his Michigan jersey. Your ticket says to wear maize for a reason. That said, the gold-colored shirts that Steve and Barry’s sells also look like complete shit.
• The crowd noise was pretty good, especially when it counted. As someone who has fairly high standards in that regard, I was pleasantly surprised.
• A ton of people left between the end of the second and the end of the third quarters. Almost every single one I saw was a student, 95% female, and 90% sorority girls among those.
• Ryan Mallett has more to learn to be a true starter, but he is a pleasure to watch, because it is obvious he is having fun out there, and is excited to be playing.
• How many times has a game had four left-footed kick specialists? I’d guess one.

Posted under Analysis

In a stroke of genius I had yesterday, I decided to start posting the highlight videos from the show (on WOLV) to Youtube, and linking them here. I’ll do this every week from here on out. Enjoy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YGB_Q87hYE]

Posted under Video

Ryan Mallett looked better than Jimmy Clausen. He made more little mistakes, but also didn’t throw into coverage consistently, like Clausen did, and completed a variety of passes.

The only truly downfield pass I recall Clausen completing was the 14-yard slant in the first half, which was really a 5 yard pass with 9 YAC. Almost all of Clausen’s yardage came from swing or screen passes. Oh, and he completed a hopeless bomb to Stevie Brown. Mallett, on the other hand, made a variety of throws, both downfield and short. Obviously, a big part of his success was the talent around him compared to Clausen, but he did apear to be the better passer in the game. That said, a little bird told me that Henne will probably be able to go next week. Said bird also told me that Henne’s sitting against Notre Dame was more to ensure he’d be healthier to play PSU than because he would have been physically unable to perform against the Irish.

A big part of Michigan’s success in this game was based on being able to get to the quarterback, which really hadn’t happened in games 1 & 2. While this improvement is encouraging, it was based on multiple factors:

1. Clausen was poised when throwing screens, not so poised when getting crushed before he had a chance to pass it.
2. Notre Dame’s offensive line is terrible.
3. Brandon Graham was healthy enough to play the whole game.
4. Notre Dame runs a pro-style offense.

Factors 1 & 2 won’t apply against Penn State. Morelli is a senior, and will be able to make better decisions than Clausen (in theory). It will be interesting to see if the memory (or lack thereof) of the Michigan game last year will haunt him. Penn State also returns 4 offensive linemen, all except left tackle Levi Brown. Notre Dame has yielded many more sacks than PSU through 3 games (9, 6, and 8 for a grand total of 23, compared to PSU’s 2, 2, and 1 for a total of 5). Of course, caliber of defense must be taken into account as well, as Michigan is likely to get to the quarterback much better than Buffalo, Notre Dame, or FIU.

The positive factors are 3 & 4. Graham will hopefully stay healthy enough for the rest of the season to be a factor in every remaining game. This will allow Shawn Crable play linebacker, which he can, instead of defensive end, which he cannot. Other players coming back from injury this week included Jonas Mouton, who only played on special teams, though he’ll hopefully be able to slot in at WLB before the year is through.

The rest of the defense played better as well. This included good games from Chris Graham (which is probably not a reliable indicator of future performance, because he isn’t very good), and Brandent Englemon, who solidified his starting position over Stevie Brown. Brown will improve at the position over the course of the year, and will hopefully be ready for starting action next season. Morgan Trent again had a very good game, showing that he is capable of the improvement that now-allegedly-departed Johnny Sears so failed to show.

This week, I was not in the stadium (worked out in the concourse for ESPN: more on that later), but I have heard from multiple sources, including commenters, that the atmosphere in the stadium was much better. The maize out looked pretty good in the student section on TV (but then, they always do).

Posted under Analysis

Hate to spread rumors if they’re unfounded, but the word on the street is that Johnny Sears has been removed from the Michigan football team.

Sears, a (really bad) redshirt sophomore corner, did not play against Notre Dame.

Posted under Personnel

If Michigan’s woes in the early season are a source of much frustration, at least there is the ever-so-slight consolation that Notre Dame has started 0-2 as well.

This Saturday, the two winningest programs in college football history will battle for their first victory of the year.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that both Michigan and Notre Dame will be starting freshman quarterbacks, the top two recruits in the 2007 class. Charlie Weis named Jimmy Clausen as Notre Dame’s starter going into the Penn State game, feeling the Emu gave the Irish the best chance to win, both now and in the future. Michigan’s starter will be Ryan Mallett, not by choice, but because starter Chad Henne suffered a leg injury against Oregon.

It will be interesting to see if Weis changes his mind on starters, going with Demetrius Jones after viewing game film on Michigan’s pathetic performance against scramblers in the last two contests.

This is a prime opportunity for Michigan to get their first win, since, as poorly as the Wolverines have played, Notre Dame is just bad. Mike Hart is among the confident players wearing Maize-and Blue, as he guaranteed victory against the Irish following the Oregon embarrassment.

Posted under Personnel