Mid Term Grades

I was actually going to give this team a mid-term grade when the time came, in other words, after next week, but when you see something that’s really bothering you, as a good manager, coach, parent, WHATEVER, you take that something, shake it up, and see what comes out. Whether it’s coaching someone up, knocking them down a notch, or simply telling them they need to improve – you do it.

Defense

First of all, for all the praise RichRod gets with this “offense”, I really am beginning to wonder what the hell, if anything, he knows about Defense. I cannot entirely blame Greg Robinson for this as he’s admittedly never coached a 3-3-5 and said as much when it was announced that this is what Michigan would be moving towards this year.

So far, I’m completely not sold on this 3-3-5 thingy. Look. I’m not a football expert. Everyone who knows me knows that. But even I understand some simple facts of the game. If you don’t stop the other team, they will score. Simple, right? When Indiana marched 99 yards on Michigan at end of the half last week, I knew something was terribly wrong in Ann Arbor. There’s no way a Michigan team, regardless of who’s coaching, should give up 99 yards ON A SINGLE DRIVE! You have to manufacture a stop in there somewhere…

So, what do you do about it? Frankly, I don’t care. But what you’re doing right now isn’t working. It seemed like we were rushing 4 guys more often against the UConn, the Domers and UMass. Or at least Roh was sneaking up and putting some extra pressure on the QB. That seemed to help, though I know the final stats don’t bear me out on that point. Roh is NOT a coverage linebacker…Stop making him do that - it was miserable to watch him against Indiana. ….Martin and the defensive line are your strengths! Play to them for God’s sake…

In summary and without too much analysis, I see it this way: IF you’re going to give them 99 yards anyway, why not make them earn it a little more? If you’re going to let a senior QB carve you up in yardage eating and clock depleting 5-15 yard dink passes at a time, why not blitz a whole lot more, play man to man, and if you get burnt deep, oh well, you get burnt? I mean, Michigan Fan knows and has seen more of the other outcome than we care to remember for one season at this point. So let’s try something different. There’s athletes here. They can make plays.

So, please. Go ahead. Blitz the Shit out of them. Rush 4 or even 5 guys. Go to man to man coverage. Get to the QB. Make them make mistakes. The defensive line and linebackers can stop the rush, or will attempt to stop it. I’m just tired of the constant dink to the left, dink to the right and dink it over the middle where our guys aren’t with three guys trying to “intimidate” the QB…If they load up4 wideouts, so be it.

Grade: F

Offense

I really can’t help here. Even if I could, I’d be a fool to suggest anything. After all, when you’re setting Michigan offensive records, both individual and team, what else is there???
Grade: A+++

Kicking

What? I need to see something, ANYTHING before you can even comment on an aspect of this…

Grade: Incomplete but approaching an F….

Special Teams
Well, they’re hanging on to the ball…Sort of. They’re still giving me gray hair. And I still can’t figure out how we can be so effective in certain aspects of this game and so in-effective in other aspects.

Grade: C- How many positions can DeRob play?

Overall

Look. It’s simple. This team is 5-0. It’s reminiscent of last year…This weekend is iffy. But they have all been iffy. I know this team is going to let me down at some point this year. It’s inevitable. There are simply too many glaring holes that can’t be filled and it’s not necessarily all the coaches fault. Injuries, bare cupboards, etc. I know, I know.

So, I have to give them an A- right now. But if things go south, this grade drops faster than a Sparty Coed’s panties after sunset…