Sep 7 | Michigan

[ulukinatme]

I just want to win in front of that entire crowd. I really love our team this yr. feel like if we can get stops and hold teams to 21 or less Reesus will be able to lead this team back to at least 10+ wins.

With Reesus, all things are possible

 

[Irish Insanity]

I just want to win in front of that entire crowd. I really love our team this yr. feel like if we can get stops and hold teams to 21 or less Reesus will be able to lead this team back to at least 10+ wins.

Now this guy knows what the **** he is talking about.

 

[chubler]

Just thought you all might appreciate this MGoBlog discussion about the competition for their interior OL spots (which, BTW, still lacks clear leaders as of today) Let's Stop with the Glasgow / Miller "Panic" - MGoBlog

 

[ulukinatme]

Just thought you all might appreciate this MGoBlog discussion about the competition for their interior OL spots (which, BTW, still lacks clear leaders as of today) Let's Stop with the Glasgow / Miller "Panic" - MGoBlog

lulz

I am not panicking, but I am worried. Not because a walk-on is battling a scholarship player, but because our offensive line, in the admittedly limited footage we've seen so far, is struggling mightily against our d-line, and even our linebackers.

I thought our offensive line would be better this year by default, but I am not so sure anymore.

None of those awesome freshmen they just brought in can compete with the walk on? I hope Nix has a field day with that center.

 

[phork]

I don't mind if you guys hold it against me. Just keep it in your pants. Nah it just means I have to stream it with ESPN3 with a buddies Comcast account. Still bullcrap.

 

[IrishLax]

If only Lewan had come out last year.... we would wreck their OL.

 

[FLDomer]

If only Lewan had come out last year.... we would wreck their OL.

Shembo and Tuitt did pretty well against Lewan last yr and I still think we wreck their oline...Lewan cant block Shembo, Tuitt, Day....all at once.

 

[koonja]

IDK what's going on over at scUM, but if they have OL issues, that night game will not be pretty.

How bad is their OL supposed to be? Did everyone leave?

I would be up for a solid analysis of Michigan's team this year. I have too many friends that are Michigan fans. This is the only game I lose sleep over.

 

[dublinirish]

a Bad interior OL? They are gonna play "Michigan Football" this year huh?

 

[RuntheBall]

If some one you guys think we are building up Rees(us) too much you should check out Michigan's thoughts on Devin Gardener.

5 key players for the upcoming football season | mgoblog

His ceiling is Vince Young territory, a mobile nightmare who is always a danger to pick up chunks of yards with scrambles but can also make throws that stretch the defense.

I think Gardner's ceiling is higher than Vince Young territory because I think Gardner has the potential to be a much better passer then Young (this ceiling may not be completely reached until 2014). Gardner might not be the battering ram running the ball like Young was but Yound had 30lbs on Gardner. Even so like you said, as we saw last year with Gardner he has the ability to make plays with his legs.

 

[ulukinatme]

Wow...thats some serious Kool Aide if they're comparing Gardener to Vince Young. I don't see Gardener getting a lot of running yards this year, but if those offensive line recruits they picked up mature next year, he might be pretty good. Not in the same league as Vince Young though.

 

[rikkitikki08]

If some one you guys think we are building up Rees(us) too much you should check out Michigan's thoughts on Devin Gardener.

5 key players for the upcoming football season | mgoblog

Two words can sum up Devin Gardener's college football career thus far..........Jadevon Clowney

 

[koonja]

I actually think it's a fair comparison.

If Gardner was ours, we'd compare him to Vince Young. They have the same stature, were both highly touted recruits (actually I'm not sure if Vince was, but I'm guessing he was) and both are mobile with strong arms. Factor in that they're both black and it's only a natural comparison .

 

[FLDomer]

Two words can sum up Devin Gardener's college football career thus far..........Jadevon Clowney

Why? Clowney had 4 tackles and 0 sacks in that game...he blew up their 150 RB because of a missed line audible.

 

[ulukinatme]

I actually think it's a fair comparison.

If Gardner was ours, we'd compare him to Vince Young. They have the same stature, were both highly touted recruits (actually I'm not sure if Vince was, but I'm guessing he was) and both are mobile with strong arms. Factor in that they're both black and it's only a natural comparison .

Well, Young was the #1 recruit in the country rated by Rivals I think. Gardner was much lower, I wanna say just outside of ranked 150. Still, I don't think he's as athletic, and I don't see Gardner putting the team on his back when the time comes like Vince could.

 

[IrishLax]

Devin Garnder does have that kind of "ceiling"... the question is whether he gets there. I still cannot believe he got approved for another year for a made up back injury in a year that he played games and never missed practice time all the way through the bowl.

He has elite WR physical traits, a very solid arm, and very decent mechanics. He has all the physical tools to be a Heisman caliber player. That's his "ceiling." Will he get there? I'm skeptical. But then again, he showed some flashes last year.

 

[ulukinatme]

You laugh now, but wait until he gets suspended two games for letting a hooker wash his feet.

Holy crap, I can't rep you again yet, but this is a golden addition.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Well, Young was the #1 recruit in the country rated by Rivals I think. Gardner was much lower, I wanna say just outside of ranked 150. Still, I don't think he's as athletic, and I don't see Gardner putting the team on his back when the time comes like Vince could.

Scout: 5 star, #43 overall recruit (#5 QB).

Rivals: 4 star, #132 overall recruit (#1 dual-threat QB)

ESPN: 4 star (grade 81), #128 overall (#5 QB)

247: 4 star (grade 96), #44 overall (#1 dual-threat QB)

EDIT: Added 247. Their site wasn't working for me earlier.

 

[phork]

So the hype on Gardener comes from his elite performances against subpar teams. I against OSU he was pedestrian at best and if not for a miracle they would have lost the NW game.

Robinson was their offense and was dangerous because he could take off through the smallest of holes and be gone to the house. Gardner doesn't fit that bill despite his running ability.

The interior of the line will have 3 new starters, mostly redshirt freshman. Toussiant doesn't scare me, and I am not sure Green is going to be good enough to beat him for the starting job.

If ND can put a complete game together this should be a blowout in the way that UnderTheLightsI was headed until melt down city. Their 2 best defenders are gone in Kovacs and Ryan (Ryan will be back by all accounts this fall).

If Rees can be mildly successful getting the ball down field and moving sticks I don't see UM scoring much on our D again this year.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Random thoughts:

Michigan was only the 5th best defense we faced last year. With Jake Ryan's injury and the starters they're replacing, I expect them to rank similarly in 2013 as well.

• Gardner has a high ceiling (so did Dayne Crist), but he's not the offensive nightmare Shoelace was. The ND game will only be his 7th start, and the 3rd quality opponent he'll have faced.
  
• Michigan is replacing all three of last year's starters on the interior OL. Good luck running against our front seven. Gardner is going to have to create a lot on his own to keep the skunkbears in this game.
  
• But he won't have much help, as they don't have a single notable weapon at any of the skill positions. We're supposed to be scared of Toussaint, Funchess, Gallon, and one of their random sophomore WRs? Funchess seems to be the one UM is hyping the most, but the guy got virtually all of his production last season against Air Force and the dregs of the B1G.
  
• All that will be compounded by some significant changes to the offense as Michigan transitions from Denard to Borgess' preferred West Coast system. Some growing pains are inevitable.
  
• For once, I'm glad we get the them early in the year. They could be really dangerous by the end of the year if the offense gels, but not so much early on.
  
• Last year's game was so painful to watch. We somehow only averaged 3.0/ carry against them. I expect we'll do better with our improved OL this year.
  
• Rees has played very well against Michigan: 35/50 for 430 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Were it not for 2011's inexplicable 4th quarter defensive collapse, Tommy's performance in that game would be remembered as Montana-esque.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Dammit, phork. I guess this is what happens when I get distracted and take an hour to finish a post.

So the hype on Gardener comes from his elite performances against subpar teams. I against OSU he was pedestrian at best and if not for a miracle they would have lost the NW game.

He played well against SCar. If not for that game, he'd be deserving of very little respect.

Robinson was their offense and was dangerous because he could take off through the smallest of holes and be gone to the house. Gardner doesn't fit that bill despite his running ability.

Agreed. Defenses won't have to scheme around Gardner like they did around Robinson.

The interior of the line will have 3 new starters, mostly redshirt freshman. Toussiant doesn't scare me, and I am not sure Green is going to be good enough to beat him for the starting job.

IIRC, Green showed up to camp overweight, and missed a couple weeks with injury. I very much doubt he'll see the field against us.

Their 2 best defenders are gone in Kovacs and Ryan (Ryan will be back by all accounts this fall).

Chances that Ryan plays against us are very small, no? That would be a miraculous recovery. Even if he's borderline, I doubt Mattison risks Ryan's whole season against us. As they're fond of reminding us, all that matters is the B1G title!!1one

If Rees can be mildly successful getting the ball down field and moving sticks I don't see UM scoring much on our D again this year.

Tommy doesn't worry me in this game. If we can get better production from our RBs than last year, we'll win comfortably.

 

[WestCoast]

Random thoughts:

You have very profound and detailed random thoughts. My random thoughts are usually about my next meal, what it's like to live in the jungle, or what shape is the color blue.

[*]Rees has played very well against Michigan: 35/50 for 430 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Were it not for 2011's inexplicable 4th quarter defensive collapse, Tommy's performance in that game would be remembered as Montana-esque.

I'll consider it a victory if the ball doesn't fall out of his hands. Someone send them a case of Clifford Franklin's stick-em.

 

[ACamp1900]

My random thoughts usually involve midgets and mayonnaise...

 

[NDWorld247]

Random thoughts:

• But he won't have much help, as they don't have a single notable weapon at any of the skill positions. We're supposed to be scared of Toussaint, Funchess, Gallon, and one of their random sophomore WRs? Funchess seems to be the one UM is hyping the most, but the guy got virtually all of his production last season against Air Force and the dregs of the B1G.

Not arguing your point about his freshman season production or that Michigan has limited offensive weapons, but Funchess is a stud. He could be the best TE we face all year and he's going to present some matchup issues for our LBs and secondary. Whether or not Gardner and the Michigan offense can take advantage of it is another story.

 

[WestCoast]

My random thoughts usually involve midgets and mayonnaise...

Is that going to your happy place? No cats?

 

[GBdomer]

Anybody going to be in Ann Arbor with me?

 

[koonja]

Anybody going to be in Ann Arbor with me?

NDinLA, but you won't see him because he's afraid to wear his ND gear to the big house (bet it burns to see this without being able to comment, NDinLA ).

 

[GBdomer]

Ya well I will be in the student section.

 

[ulukinatme]

• All that will be compounded by some significant changes to the offense as Michigan transitions from Denard to Borgess' preferred West Coast system. Some growing pains are inevitable.
  
• For once, I'm glad we get the them early in the year. They could be really dangerous by the end of the year if the offense gels, but not so much early on.

I agree with everything you said, but not necessarily the above. This is kind of a two way street when it comes to installing a new system. Given that they're breaking in a new offense there will be growing pains, but on the flip side there will only be one week of film on them going into the game. I don't expect them to do anything more than vanilla in that game either so they don't give anything away. One of the reason some coaches start strong, like Weis did, is they catch some teams off guard until they figure out how to defend their scheme and who their play makers are that season. Granted, I'm expecting more hiccups from them than execution, but it'll make preparing for them tougher since we're talking all new play makers and not a lot of examples of what plays they'll be running.

 

[nlroma1o]

Anybody going to be in Ann Arbor with me?

I'll be there bro. And i will be meeting up with NDinLA for some pre game shinanigans.