Michigan Football: Comparing Wolverines to last year through two games

The 2019 Michigan football team is 2-0, and yet much criticism remains. Here’s how this team compares to last years through two games.

Despite this Michigan football team winning both of their games, many fans are unhappy with how they’ve done it so far. Admittedly, they were ugly wins, but a win is a win. And comparatively, this team is similar if not better than the team from a year ago.

Offense

What we have witnessed is a far cry from what was expected from this new offense branded with the “speed in space” slogan. Although it’s not as much of a disaster as some may think. In fact, after two games, the offense has amassed 803 yards compared to 758 from just a year ago. The points scored are also pretty close as well with 64 so far this year and 66 in 2018.

The major difference statistically has been the accuracy of quarterback Shea Patterson. Through two games a year ago, his completion percentage was 67% and 71% with the former against a tough opponent in Notre Dame. Against Middle Tennessee State and Army, Shea’s completion percentage is down to 59% and 66% respectively.

Many have faulted UM for penalties, although they have remained relatively the same. In reality, the turnovers have been the killer. This year saw a total of five turnovers to three and almost all of them were capitalized on by the enemy.

Defense

As you might image, losing greats like Devin Bush and Rashan Gary hurts but they have rebounded and reloaded. The yardage from the two years is nearly the same; however, points given up has clearly been the issue. A year ago, the Wolverines only surrendered 27 points compared to 42 this year.

Outside of the points, the Wolverines have been fairly consistent on defense, staying true to Don Brown’s aggressive strategy that includes heavy man coverage and blitz packages.

It was this defense that held Army “to their lowest yards per play average since 2015,” according to Michigan football’s official Twitter account.

Analysis

It’s important to note that Shea Patterson’s injury could have a lot to do with his underperformance. As Rivals Austin Fox wrote in his article Analyzing Patterson’s First Half Vs. MTSU, & The Numbers He’s Posted Since Shea’s numbers in the first two quarters against MTSU were phenomenal and have trailed off in the last six quarters.

“Ever since he completed 16 passes for 197 yards and three scores in the first two quarters against the Blue Raiders, Fox observed. “Patterson has only surpassed that completion total by four and the yardage total by 16.”

Gattis mentioned Shea was dealing with an injury, but he still played admirably in the first half. If you have ever had a football injury before, you know that you don’t always fell it right away. There can be a delayed response which might explain the delayed impact to his game. Either way, Shea needs to significantly increase his production if he wants to win the next series of games in the Big Ten.