Michigan Wolverines: Northwestern — What Happened and What it Means — Part I
Nov 8, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats cornerback Matthew Harris (27) breaks up a pass intended for Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Devin Funchess (1) in the second half at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Posted at 5:15am — 11/10/2014
Michigan Wolverines: Northwestern — What Happened and What it Means — Part I
Michigan Sneaks Out of Town
A few guys played like champions, some guys kind of played, but not very well. Chicago will always remember the legendary Harry Carey: the voice, the character, and the love of beer endured Mr. Carey to the masses. Yesterday’s game between Michigan and Northwestern was endearing to few, if any, not even the sick or the lonely.
First, before collecting the themes of the game a revisit to the game preview will be undertaken. Coach Fitzgerald made clear the meeting would be physical; it was. Frankly, every Big Ten game yesterday looked like Big Ten football in November.
The preview highlighted the quick flat and out patterns Northwestern would run (this happened), the need for Michigan to simply run the ball to eliminate possible quarterback errors (this did not happen), Northwestern going after Devin Gardner on blitzes (this happened), and the need for Michigan to run safer and quicker routes (this did not happen).
Nov 8, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner (98) is tackled by Northwestern Wildcats linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo (44) in the second half at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY SportsTheme 1:
The two Devin’s, rejecting the insertion of the injury factor into the discussion, continue to kill the Michigan offense, a unit that at the high water mark is still mediocre. Momentum-killing drops and turnovers, close to Fantasy Island level, still are weekly events for those observing Michigan football. The dropped passes and sacks seem to coincide with a follow up of limping episodes. It is November; plenty of guys are dinged up from a tough season of football. Limping is not related to dropping important catches or blindly throwing even more bizarre interceptions. As an aside, it seems quite strange to call the reverse to a hurt receiver that has had no real success the entire year running this play.
Theme 2:
The left side of the offensive line appears to be opening holes in comparison are clearly superior to the right side. Mason Cole now looks to be the best lineman Michigan has, Glasgow has had good moments, and at least Miller has not been a major liability. The right side has been plagued with penalties, giving up gaps, and not securing sufficient drive off the snap. So, on an early game 4th and one, Michigan runs power to the right side and gets stuffed. The play-by-play announcer detailed the vision and cut of the backs all game long, but there simply was not much real estate on that occasion, purple jerseys abounded in number.
Michigan starts off well with the combination of Drake Johnson and the left side, but changed to passing numerous times in numerous situations. Yes, Northwestern did have only one high safety most of the day, but sacrificing a potential run game for a passing game with less potential was an Ignowski type decision. There was no real synch to the offense with a somewhat random mesh of about everything but screens and the bubble package. Coach Nuss was trying to shake an apple out of the tree but the basket remained bare.
Theme 3:
Why did Coach Nussmeirer give Devin Gardner a chance to continue to kill the offense with poor quarterback play? Why enhance the odds of turning a scoring drive of one type or another into a major blunder? Some things are counter-intuitive; it takes little support past a one-minute negative lowlight film, to back up theme 3.
Theme 4:
This game was not fitting of the math basic- a negative and a negative do not equal a positive. Ugly plus ugly yields misery. Both sides suffered agony and the game became a defensive struggle via defaulting offenses. But, the game could have been like last year when the ugliness did not end until after three overtimes. Many owe Coach Fitzgerald a thank you for putting the game outcome on one play.
There are many potential explanations for the game warts. The most obvious is the most likely: both offenses are anemic. Northwestern was limited by injuries to the team’s best wideouts and the loss of a starting guard. Siemian and Gardner are both on par regarding the ability to run and limiting ankle injuries. Both can lay it out for one or two critical plays, but even that becomes the final edge. Siemian is a nice dual threat quarterback; he throws a much better ball than Gardner. But Siemian demonstrated that when a quarterback is heading backwards throwing is an imperfect art. Both offenses were blitzed with no negative repercussions.
The three running backs, Michigan’s Johnson and Smith, and Northwestern’s impressive Justin Jackson, are talented enough, but not so talented as to create something out of nothing. Neither line provided any sustained ability to move the ball. Michigan used a short field to score a touchdown and Northwestern used a change of offensive philosophy, that of using quick release passes aimed at Michigan’s secondary, especially Raymon Taylor. This change was very late, as Northwestern continued to try and hit the big one and the crossing patterns.
Part II later today.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu
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