Michigan Wolverines: Northwestern — What Happened and What it Means — Part II
Nov 8, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald and Michigan Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke shake hands after game at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Posted at 4:00pm — 11/10/2014
Michigan Wolverines: Northwestern — What Happened and What it Means — Part II
Michigan Sneaks Out of Town
Theme 5:
The Island known as cornerback is under water. One of the toughest assignments in sports is to be the lockdown cornerback on the island with little or no help. Raymon Taylor consistently gave up important plays on the in patterns and in the deep flat. Covering quick outs after giving up substantial backtracking is a recipe for easy yardage. It was quite noticeable again how far off the line he played on most occasions. The real question becomes, is Taylor being instructed to give up the 5-10 yard range? It seems obvious that the corners must become orphans to help the pass rush packages. Fortunately, Northwestern’ early play calling was as perplexing as Michigan’s.
Theme 6:
There were guys on the field playing hard and playing to win. The linebackers were not picked on nearly as much as the cover corners. Frank Clark had a highlight reel day. He beat opponents easily on Saturday, but he also held contain well. Clark just went to spots taking great angles to create some big plays. The defensive tackles continue to play above average. Overall, the defense provided good moments, but the praise faded when once again, in crunch time, Michigan could not stop an opponent.
Northwestern diagnosed Michigan’s pass patterns with ease and it seemed Michigan obviously keyed Northwestern’s running keys, helped by some nice linebacker fills. The pass rush was effective until Northwestern finally became smart enough to negate the rush with quick simply patterns.
Theme 7:
Deductive premises yield conclusions.
Argument 1:
Penguins live where it is cold
It is cold in Michigan
Penguins live in Michigan
Sep 20, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald on the sidelines during the second half of their game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY SportsArgument 2:
Coaches Hoke and Fitzgerald clap their hands a lot and speak positively to players
Both teams played bad
Coaches who clap hands and give praise cause bad play
So, what is left to discuss about what this brings to the future? First, Michigan gets a week off before playing Maryland. Maryland gets to face a Michigan State team that should be in a foul mood. Will this swing help Michigan? One would suspect so, but simple assumptions escape this team. Maryland has a good offense; Michigan better not count on holding this group under 21 points. Maryland has scored more than 30 points five times and only Wisconsin shut down the tough turtles. Conversely, Maryland has given up more than 30 points in four games, including 52 to Ohio State, who seems capable of putting up 50 on anyone now that the offensive line has settled in for the stretch run.
Second, this is an important game for Michigan. Even the Pizza Bowl now smells good. Hoke will probably give the players a few days off, but the guys cannot be allowed to leave the reservation; things must remain in focus, or kiss off the last two games. This opportunity to rescue anything from the season only exists because Frank Clark and the defense reacted perfectly to Northwestern’s two-point conversion.
Third, if some of the guys wander away from clear expectations and rules, the integrity of the university and program must be upheld. In situations like Michigan currently faces someone is always unhappy. Coaches, even in the current situation, must maintain control.
Fourth, this team has its spots and the spots will not change. The only thing that can be hoped for is minimal mistakes. As weird as it seems, the Maryland game means more to Michigan’s season than the visit the to the former horseshoe on the banks of the restored Oldandgrungy River.
Well, at least this week can provide some respite, if one chooses to take that path.
Please comment on our GBMWolverine Message Board about this article and read what others comment and give us your thoughts, agree or disagree.
Just a reminder you must be a member to participate on the Message Board. Here is the link GBMWolverine Register for those people interested in becoming a member.
You can contact us at our e-mail address: GBMWolverine
Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu
Go Blue — Wear Maize!