A few nuggets....
1. Denard Robinson is pretty good. In almost all of Michigan's games this year, they will be equipped with the fastest man on the field. The issue going down the road as Heisman talk begins to surface is how will "Shoelace" hold up? Anytime you run a qb almost 30 times in a game, it's going to take its toll. With that said, the kid's a stud and he's got my week 2 Heisman vote - it's just unfortunate ND will be a significant part of a Heisman candidate reel...again.
2. When we kicked off to Michigan after Rudolph's 95-yard TD (which was silly on all fronts) to go up by 3, did anyone else get the "here we go again" feeling? The image of a shifty young Michigan QB leading his team late in the game over the Irish kept flashing in my head non-stop. I couldn't shake it, and neither could our D.
3. The only way BK goes for the TD at the end of the 1st half (leaving the precious 3 points on the field) is if he knows we are stuck with Nate Montana at Q the rest of the game. With the comeback kid's son lacking some of his hall of fame pop's better qualities, Kelly knew there was no way we could settle for FG's from the 2-yard line. He had to be thinking as he made that decision, how often would we be back to that spot? In hindsight: That was Montana's last pass, Crist came back, lost by 4, should've kicked it.
4. What is wrong with ND's turf? I understand the grass was probably slick due to the precipitation, but there were way too many plays when our guys just flat-out slipped. I thought the D put themselves in a lot of good positions to contain Robinson (forming layers, as Kelly put it), but when you can only defend him with 10 players because one guy can't keep his feet, that's inexcusable and led to many big plays.
5. Kelly's quote at the half was very telling, where he basically said that there is not much coaching that can occur during a game. Referring to Nate Montana, Kelly said the coach was putting the Q in good positions but he had to execute. Most of the coaching is done after the fact, Kelly said, "and that's not a good thing." Looking back, you'd hope Kelly would give the backups some more reps in practice.
6. I actually thought the defense looked decent again. Robinson accounted for all but 30 of Michigan's yards on offense. From a big picture perspective, ND did a terrible job containing him. But what they did well (given they were on the field for 35 of the 60 game minutes!) was manage the situations they were given. The offense threw 3 picks, putting the D in some bad spots. The defense had Michigan shut out in the 2nd half until that terrible closing drive. Yes they have a long way to go (no sacks or turnovers), but if we are looking for progress I'll take 28 points to Denard Robinson over 38 points to Tate Forcier any day.
7. When you know you have one play left at the end of the half (Montana) or game (Crist), how do you throw it out of the end zone?
8. How sick was our first drive? We scored three touchdowns that possession, but in the end only Crist's sneak was counted. If Dayne was healthy the entire game, we win. No question. Not only did he spark the offense but the defense. The only points the D gave up with Crist in the game was Robinson's winning TD. And on offense, with Crist in the game, the drives went as follows: TD, TD, FG, INT, TD, End of game (3 plays for over 40 yards in 20 seconds). Crist was the difference making QB in that game - not Robinson.
9. My first time seeing the NBC game with Mike Mayock doing the analysis. I like him, although I got really uncomfortable before the game when Tom Hammond was literally 2 inches from Mayock's face listening to his keys for the game. I'm not joking.
10. Finally, I am going to wait a few games (maybe the entire season) to give final judgment over this team, the players, or the coaches. As Kelly has said, they don't have an identity yet and it's clear. You read all the message boards and people want to jump off the tallest building. You'll see such quotes as "I'm sick of losing!!" or "Same old team" but this is all so premature. Listen, ND was 4 point favorites (less homefield advantage, it essentially a toss up). Even the general consensus I got before the game was "I think we'll win, but wouldn't be surprised if we lost." I hate losing more than anyone, but what I want from this point on is simple: Progress.
-- rabes
No comments:
Post a Comment