So what did we learn?

All I heard everywhere I went, was   But it was Rutgers!

I have to say, I've struggled to find come up with any meaningful analysis this week.  Stop, I don't want to from you, so what else is new.

OK, Michigan did not fumble in the first series, They scored a touchdown on a nice individual effort from Nico Collins, But it was Rutgers

Shea, had more time in the pocket and made better decisions with the passing game. Of course there is a strong correlation there, But it was Rutgers.

Defense pitched a shutout, without our Starting MLB. Kwitty Paye was all over the field, seemed like one of the few that really wanted to bounce back from last week. Maybe a spark of leadership there.  But it was Rutgers.

Daxton Hill got his first playing time. Made a nice special teams play and showed some speed on the field. Gotta start somewhere.

Running Game was Meh, None of these guys seemed to really inspire yet.

Joe Milton got some meaningful PT and made a nice pass on the TD throw. Arm strength is real and it was effortless throw. But it was Rutgers

Rutgers is so bad that they canned the coach after the game, not sure if he had to Uber back to Jersey or what. Kind of a snarky move by the administration but that's Jersey.  They reached deep for a replacement, The TE Coach whose resume is entirely from High School Coaching.  Look for them to retread Greg Schiano,

We did what we were supposed to do but did we see anything to say this team can compete with elite teams, or even Iowa?  I don't know. I'm inclined to say no but we'll see. Getting Gattis on the field for play calling seemed to help, the tempo was better. Every year there are games like this, I'm glad we took care of business, no serious injuries, no crazy outcomes. It was Rutgers, Check the Box and move on.

I keep hearing complaining about Rutgers in the Big 10, Its all about money, NY Money so just live with it.  I recall that Northwestern was a doormat for 30 years too, but today they are reasonable and have been for awhile, so things go in cycles. Every conference has a Rutgers

I watched T__ Bucknuts vs the CarmelCorners. Was a brutal game. Doesn't give me a lot of inspiration as T__ Bucknuts are tough. Don't like to say it but they are playing at a different level.


Best T Shirt of the Week,  

You Can't Spell CockSucker without   OSU

We'll learn a lot more this week.

See you all at the Corner!!

Symptom or problem?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

We all saw what we saw.

Did you have the same impression as I did, after Wisconsin marched the field on the first drive?  Going for 4th and 1 on your own side of the field in the first drive?  Very obvious they had no fear.

Michigan punched back though, broken play, finding Ronnie, More Cow, Bell for a long gain to inside the 5. Great, We have them on their heels, we can punch this in and call it even. Here comes Ben Mason. Ok we have failed miserably on short yardage, lets bring back the hammer. Wait everyone is standing there looking at each other, the clock is ticking down. Timeout. Long commercial ensues. Wisconsin gets to catch their breath, react to the personnel.  Fumble Game Over.

Not my words but straight from players on the team in the press conference. Reactions are everywhere, all bubbling up on Jimmy. That's how the world works, he knows it. He admitted it in the Press Conference. We got Outplayed, he said,  We got out coached, he said. Acknowledgement is the first step of recovery. Unfortunately the comments by several of the players showed no acknowledgement. Many of the comments tried to minimize the issue. These guys aren't even in our division, they played really god and we didn't, they said.  I found their reaction after the game more humiliating than their performance in the game. The comment of how great everyone played in the 4th Quarter from the Senior Safety should get you benched immediately

Guys, Wisconsin just stole your lunch money and de-pantsed you in the middle of the playground.

I see layers of issues here

Players
1) Can't hold the ball. That's on you. What's a coach need to do besides tell you, Hey Johnny, its really important that you don't drop the ball. This is how we lose games.

2) Do your assignments. Stay in your gap, If you go somewhere else, that area is not covered. Guess what, the other team has a bunch of guys with binoculars watching to see if you stay in your gap?

3) They other team on consecutive plays attempts to decapitate your QB. Honestly the first one was just football but the rules are the rules. The second one was a guy that has no respect for you and wants to see if you have any more lunch money that your mom sowed into your underwear. Dirty but that's the nature of the game.  Did you see one Michigan Player charge that Safety after that play? Did you see Jimmy storm onto the field?  Sure the ref's called the penalty and the kid was ejected. That's not the point!  Where is this teams Pride! If you have to coach it into them you are screwed. Players have to Play and Players have to have the Warrior mentality. Somebody in Blue needs to get ejected on that play and get some rabbit punches in first.

Coaches
In my opinion coaching comes down to a few simple principles

1) Identify your strengths and develop strategies to exploit them against your opponent. I'll help
Gattis since I know you're new here. You have dominant Wide Receivers. You have at least 3 on the field all the time plus a tight end. Your QB is better on the run. He is Brett Favre not Tom Brady. Roll him out and let the routes develop. If they don't he'll run and he's pretty good at that if he isn't hurt.

2) Identify your weaknesses and develop strategies to minimize their exposure. You have no Defensive lineman.

3) Be prepared for what the other team is good at. Guess what, Wisconsin is going to run the ball between the tackles until you stop them. Playing your safeties 20 yards off the ball isn't the answer

4) Demand Fundamental techniques. Physical and mental and be able to exploit pockets of chaos. Like having a play ready on the second play of the game after a big drive, Gattis.   Practice Quick Strike situations. Don't show that your just as surprised as everyone else in the Stadium that something worked. You must have a go to play that the team knows to call after any gain of more than 30 yards. It has a 1 word name and the QB is yelling the word running down the field. Run straight to the line of scrimmage, line up and go. Force the other team to burn a timeout.

Something is wrong here

Jimmy has lost his fire and enthusiasm, something has changed in him. Only he can solve that. I have faith in him. I hope the bunker mentality is setting in. You have seen enough to know who you can charge the hill with and who you can't. I know you can't fire everyone today but take charge, set some examples and make some toilet seats really warm in the coach's room and in the huddle.

I'd start with Gattis, Take away his play calling duties. 

I'd be drafting my list of candidates for the next DC too. The performance against the last 3 top ten teams was dismal and that shit about exploring the Temple Head Coaching job during the offseason smelled.Mattison is still a bitch for quitting but it had its roots in something

The TV catching him saying   "Fuck Me" after the illegal procedure penalty wiped out the team MVP Will, need at least one guy with some, Hart. pinning Wisconsin on the 3 yard line said a lot to me. Jimmy is not in a happy place right now. He knows it, I think he has known it for awhile and took a bit too much advice from those around him. Jimmy, Channel Bo, Not his play calling but his discipline, self confidence and passion

Where will the new leadership come from in the locker room?  There seems to be a dearth here but we may have a couple of candidates.  Jon Runyan and Aiden Hutchinson. I'm betting that John Sr. and Chris will have some blunt father/son discussions and impress on them what it means to be a Leader.

Moving on.

Rutgers may seem like good medicine but be wary.  Its not clear we have a QB for this game. If we are starting Joe Milton and our 4th string running back things will be ugly. Defense will have to win the game. I expect a win, bet the farm on Rutgers and the spread though.

We'll be at the Corner this weekend, happily pontificating about how we'd solve everything. Stop by and Share with us!

Anybody Remember the Band     THE THE?  My New Old Favorite Band!!!

Is there a Silver Lining in that Cloud?

I sure hope so.  I tend to be a very optimistic person.  I try to see the best in the situation.  Find ways to see the bright side.  However, based upon what I witnessed on Saturday, the Glass was only 1/4 Full.  My text to some family members near the end of regulation was “Beautiful Day.  Offense sucks.  Defense sucks.  Coaching sucks”

And on Sunday, I started reading the recaps.  This gave me some optimism that the Glass is more than Half Full.

Army

Army is a good team.  I know, they are not a Top 20 Team.  But, consider the following:

·         Army had won 10 straight games going back to 2018.

·         Army beat Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl 70-14.

·         In 2018, Army took Oklahoma to OT.  The Sooners prevailed 28-21.

·         While Army is One Dimensional on offense, they do it extremely well.  The Triple Option had not been seen by Michigan in a long time, and we will not see it again for quite a while.

UM Defense

As stated above, Army runs a precise (limited) offense to perfection.  Michigan held them to the following lows:

·         243 Total Yards (200 Rushing Yards) – lowest yardage since 2017.

·         3.7 Yards per Play (3.3 Yards per Rush) – lowest since 2015.

·         3 Turnovers – most since 2017.

And when it counted the most, Michigan’s D came up big.  Lavert Hill intercepted the pass when Army was on the 5 yard line.  The last turnover ended the game as we sacked the Army QB in OT forcing a fumble that we recovered.

Two of Army’s TDs came on short fields.  Their second TD came after we fumbled the ball on our 40 yard line.  Army also scored in OT starting at the 25 yard line.  We held them scoreless in the second half as well.

Special Teams

The Special Teams were solid on Saturday.  Moody made 3 PATs, and a clutch 43-yard FG in OT to win the game.  Our punter only punted once, but nailed it for 61 yards.  And the second team punt returners and kick returners did a decent job.  This should greatly improve when Donovan Peoples Jones

(DPJ) is cleared from the IR (hopefully against Wiscy)

Offense

I don’t have much to offer here, except for a gut feel.  Patterson is playing with an injury.  I believe this limited the play calling and affected his passing accuracy (No clue as to why we didn’t play McCaffrey more).  This will improve with the bye-week.

We have yet to see Speed-in-Space.  Not sure why we run it to the interior of the line 15 times in a row.  However, my gut tells me that Harbaugh is not going to show anything.  In years past he refused to tell the media who is the starting QB the day before the game.  We know he has his eccentricities.

Two of our best players have not played yet.  Runyon Jr. is our best offensive lineman.  When he returns at left tackle, the line will become noticeably better.

DPJ will add another huge weapon to the offense.  Black, Collins and Bell have been solid, and DPJ will only give opposing Defensives even more problems.  We have also gotten solid play from TE with Sean McKeon.  Charbonnet has proved a solid runner who can block as well.  He should do nothing but improve week after week.

Chris Knight (aka Special K, CK or KnightTrain)

Well, What did you expect?

I found myself asking this question to myself over and over all weekend. I found that I kept answering in what I hoped I'd see, not what a rational analysis would generate.

My emotional reaction is that the team did not look all that well prepared and the performance was generally underwhelming.  Yet looking at the stat line, We won a game, scoring 40 points, generating 453 yards of offense. Held the opponent to 67 Yards Rushing and 4-13 on 3rd down conversions. 

We started the game with the following

1)     2 Freshman Starting Tackles

2)     Freshman Starting Running Back

3)     By most accounts our best receiver and punt returner on the sideline

4)     A completely new offensive system

5)     An offensive Playcaller that has called fewer plays in his coaching career than the MMQ2

6)     Our highest potential DT out of the game on the first series with a hand injury

So I expected us to look unorganized and sloppy at times. I expected the inexperience at this positions would generate some mistakes. I expected some missed block, some offsides or holding calls. Not so much

What I didn't expect was 

1)  Our senior QB to fumble on the first play.

2)  Our Senior All Big Ten CB who flirted with the NFL to drop a walk-in Pick 6

The New Offense
Overall the temp is a little better, Stretching the field is a bigger priority and we probably didn't really show much.
My underlying fear in all of this is that Gattis has to much of an I'm to Cool for School Mentality. Young guy with some success and fortunate enough to operate in stable situations with exceptional talent.  Reminds me a bit of Matt Patricia with this I'm the smartest guy in the room personna.  This was most obvious with the 2 QB in the game stunt. Neither Shea or Dylan are better than at least the top 5 Receivers. So we create a 10 on 11 matchup. What's the point Smart Guy? Enlighten Us?  By the way, all the rules to protect the QB don't count when your QB is lined up as a receiver.  If I'm the DC on the other side, I am telling my biggest hot head to jack up the QB/Receiver and take the targeting call. If one of those guys gets hurt we're in BIG Trouble.

Observations
-Zack looked great, especially on Pass Protection
-Freshman Tackles were solid but I want Runyan back, healthy for Wisconsin
-Patterson was solid but his timing was off on the deep balls
- Bell,   Hands like feet
-Lots more deep pass routes that will stretch the defense
-Great to see Ambry Thomas back on the field AND Making Plays. VG looked serviceable as well
-Can we get Ma and Pa Glasgow a nice bottle of Wine and some sexy Lingerie and get busy getting us more Walkon's. Three sons that make the Starting Lineup in a Top 10 Program in the modern era is unfathomable. Jordan reminds me a lot of Jordan Kovacs.
-Freshman Class looks great. Lots of Solid Contributions and some of the biggest names are on the field yet (Hill, Hinton)
-How does Bryan,  the Human Parking Block,  Mone make an NFL Roster?
-DPJ not playing again, Always something with this guy.
-Nico Collins is the real Deal,  Reminds me of a combination of Deven Funchess and Jason Avant and the good parts of both.
-Stop the 2 QB Thing, It makes you look dumb. I like the idea of getting McCaffrey some meaning-full playing time as the QB. This has the feel of the Brady, Henson era. He's capable and the experience will only help for the future.  By the way Joe Milton shows me nothing. Big drop off there.
-Put Mason back in the backfield and give him the 4th and 1, 3rd and Short Hammer head.
-Great call on the Albrecht,  Somebody figured out quick that we would lose a challenge and Yards near the goal line. Looked dumb at first but Genius!

Up Next

Some   ARRRMMMY Training.  I love watching the Acadamies compete in Football. The personification of Discipline and Toughness. In the end I think dominant athletes win out as long as frustration doesn't set in. No Dumb Penalties and hang on to the Ball and we will be ok. Will not be an exciting game but a good character builder and we probably get a cool flyover or at least a parachute drop.


Reminder to All that this will be our Game to honor the MMQ at the Corner. Everyone is Welcome. Its an early game  so some food before and after the game are planned, No specific menu. These people will eat anything. See you Saturday!

Go Blue!