Sunday, September 12, 2021

Washington Post Game: Everything But The Wishbone


This has not been a great year for Michigan's former legendary head coach Bo Schembechler, but last night I think he was smiling.   This was the most "Bo" game I've seen since maybe he left Michigan.   The Wolverines ran over the Huskies last night for a total for a total of 343 yards with Corum going for 171 yards and Haskins gaining 155 yards on the ground.  

Cade who's job is not to make mistakes threw for a total of 44 yards on 7 completions.  Michigan didn't really attempt to throw the ball down field all night.  Washington's strength on defense is its NFL quality CB's and Gattis and Jimmy had no interest in turning the momentum with a pick 6.  

So they ran and ran and ran until the end of the game.   Very little to complain about with a nice night 31-10 win but of course there are always Cheers and Jeers to discuss...................

Cheers:

  • The Big House crowd was incredible, on TV you could barley hear the announcers all night
  • The running game was dominate 
  • Corum and Haskings included in that domination
  • Huge hat tip to the offensive line and its run blocking 
  • Great run defense as the Michigan D only gave up 50 yards on the ground 
  • Hutch is really good and a person others teams will have to game plan around 
  • Moody with a long field goal
  • Michigan is 2-0 

Jeers:
  • Cade's QBR was 16.2 after 7 completions and 44 yards
  • Washington threw for nearly 300 yards after getting down 
  • Former Wolverine Giles Jackson had an up and down game, with his best play a 33 yard reception.
  • Kolesar catching and returning punts makes me very nervous
  • Michigan played a ton of CB's including true freshman Rod Moore who gave up the TD catch
  • It seemed Michigan at times in the 2nd half had issues getting pressure
  • I also thought the Michigan Zone in the 2nd half was not that effective
  • Some dumb penalties mostly the roughing the passer
  • Running straight at the Washington defense on the goal line, when running wide seemed to be the call.

Michigan can't be one dimensional and beat the better teams on their schedule.  For example,  I thought they could have taken a couple deeps shots with the CB's looking for the run last night.   Still when something isn't broken you don't fix it and running non-stop was a clear strategy to win the game.  Michigan didn't turn the ball over and that made a huge difference.  For those fans that want Michigan to be more like Wisconsin, Saturday night was your dream scenario.  

I hope this is a new year and a new Harbaugh and staff.  It seems the team is focused and hungry just like they should be.  Ohio State took a tough loss at home and right now I think Iowa is the best team in the Big Ten (they don't play either OSU or Michigan).   It's a new day at the Big House with some old traits like a power running game and an improved defense. 

10 comments:

Justwin said...

Was a fun game, primarily bc of how much fun the boys seemed to have playing. Confidence, aggression, and a long field goal!

That roughing penalty in end zone was a shame.

Bucknut Man, I’m sure you’re bummed out. Seriously, our sympathies to you.

szanreno said...

No reply from bucknutsack He must have went back to Dubai...

Voice of Reason said...

The last time I was at a Michigan game I saw Rick Leach run the option play. I do enjoy having the ability to run the ball when you want and need to. I can only assume that their next game against NIU will have more passing as they prepare for the B1G season. They must see something in their practices where they feel that they need to break in Cade slowly with the passing game. Keep in mind that with all of the games that Cade has played in and started (including last year), he would still be considered more or less a true freshman. He still maybe having some of his passes being knocked down or deflected because he's still considered relatively short for his position, so they are likely working with him around that. IMHO!!!

Tim said...

I hear you VOR, but I am not as confident as you are. Our passing game is a joke. We will not be able to beat the better teams in the B10 being one dimensional.

Multiple third and longs against Washington and we either ran or threw a 2 yard pass. The coaching staff does not appear to have confidence in Cade throwing an 8 yard pass.

I am excited we won a game that many expected us to lose, but wow, our passing game is weak. I sure hope they try to figure something out.

MichiganMan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MichiganMan said...

No, I didn't go to Dubai I will be going back in near future....I thought the game was vary good. Michigan did dominate on the ground but, passing game seems to be a question mark at this point....OSU lost..doesn't look good for Big 10....

Blue for Life...

Please, Fire Don Brown from AZ.....

Voice of Reason said...

Tim, I believe that I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. All I am saying in essence is that I think the coaching staff sees something in their practices with his passes that is making them slow their roll so to speak when it comes to them letting Cade pass.

For a young freshman QB, passing is ironically the weakest part of their execution, and when you are playing against a veteran defense then you're looking at a higher risk of interceptions. That could destroy the confidence of your young QB. If these young guys were throwing like Tom Brady already then I'm sure that we would have been seeing a higher passing rate.

In this morning's MMQB, Devin Gardner was talking about how he thinks Cade missed obvious throwing opportunities. So if your running game is working best for you now, then that's the horse you ride until you can bring Cade up to snuff so to speak. IMHO!!!

Tim said...

VOR: I hope you are right and they can correct the ship.

Alan said...

The coaches went with what Washington gave them. Washington's CBs are future NFL guys and the strength of their defense. Washington, DL has a strong outside rush and two big DTs. Michigan coaches knew the inside was the Washington's weak point and attacked it over and over until they could stop them or change their scheme. Washington wanted to eliminate outside speed in space plays and deep plays which they did by forcing Michigan to rush the middle.

First half, Michigan took some shots, none of the outside WRs could get open and the pocket was getting attacked from the edge. Near the end of the 1st half, Cade took a hard blindside hit, which probably affected the play calling even more in the second half to protect Cade.

In regards to throwing opportunities, it depends on what plays Michigan had ready for the game, which Cade should know how much time it takes to develop or how much time it takes the WR to get open.

slomjh2 said...

It doesn’t appear that Harbaugh wants to take to many chances with the passing game. It looks like he is playing to keep his job with an eight and four season rather than risk loosing one of his easier games by throwing the ball and getting good enough to win the Big.