Spring Game Thoughts of Debatable Utility

A Preface: The Spring Game is meant to be a glorified practice. Nothing that happened in Michigan's spring game yesterday should be used to predict anything that might happen in the fall. It is an event that's simply meant to be a fun way for fans to watch some pseudo-footbaw in April. That's it. As such, all of the following are simply observations on what happened on Saturday, in a vacuum. 

• On the brightness of the helmet numbers: I am about to give you all a history lesson, free of charge. Many grade school teachers will tell you that, back in the day, as the Roman Empire was collapsing in the west, that it was all the the product of multiple centuries' worth of societal, political, and economic strife, not to mention the incessant waves of Germanic invasions that eventually brought the empire to its knees in the officially accepted year of collapse, AD 476. Do you want to the real reason for the empire's collapse? The by and large  obscure Roman emperor Davidus Brandanius issued an edict that called for "the inscription of excessively shiny numbers and #GOROME on each Roman soldier's helmet." This was of course done in order to spread the brand of Rome far and wide, as conquered peoples would see this inscriptions and cease to resist the Roman intrusions on their land. I mean, who wouldn't want to engage in and be a part of such a thing? Exactly. Unfortunately, in later battles, the sun would reflect upon these brightly painted inscriptions, reflecting sunlight off of the helmets and into each soldier's eyes, leading to massive breakdowns in the phalanx formation, and, ultimately, defeat in battle and general ownage at the hands of the various Germanic invaders. We would do well to learn from the mistakes of the past. 

          Okay, that was stupid. Tl;dr--who cares. Moving on!

• Devin Gardner: I guess you can't really start anywhere else. I spent last season defending Denard against the "play Devin" people and it looks like I'll spend this offseason defending Devin against the "move him to wide receiver" folks. For the record, I do think he should absolutely get on the field as a receiver if he proves to be up to it, but if Hoke says he's the QB2 then that's enough for me. 
• A couple errant throws shouldn't be enough to freak people out, particularly since said people are probably the same ones who were calling for Devin to take over last year because of his passing ability. Remember, these guys haven't played in front of large numbers of people since January, and it's not like Devin has all that much game experience anyway. 
• I understand the fact that, being a rising junior, many are expecting "more" from Devin, but it doesn't work out that way all the time. The INT wasn't great but it was just a solid break on the ball by Countess; Devin wasn't locked onto Jeremy Jackson, Navarre-style. Jackson also could have done a better job of understanding where Countess was and working his way back to the ball, but Gardner needed to either get the ball out a second earlier or he shouldn't have thrown it at all. You live and learn. I believe Denard when he says that this outing was not indicative of how Devin has performed in practice. 
• He short-hopped one and then awkwardly shotputted a checkdown but looked much more comfortable looking downfield, where he completed an intermediate pass down the middle of the field to Jeremy Gallon (the pass was a little behind Gallon, but good enough to be completed). His footwork and mechanics weren't great on this day, but you have to figure that general rust and/or nervousness played somewhat of a factor. In short, better to get these sorts of things worked out now than in September. 
• On the positive side, Gardner looked as athletic as ever when the pass wasn't there. Of course, it's easy to run when you know you're not about to get thumped. However, it is nice to know that if Denard has to step out for a play or two, we can bring in a supremely athletic 6'4'' guy at quarterback. 

Blake Countess getting some run with the offense...wait, what? 

(Melanie Maxwell/annarbor.com)

• Russell Bellomy: On a related note, Bellomy looked like he could be a capable option down the road (as much as one can say such a thing after watching a spring scrimmage). He left that pass to Jerald Robinson, forcing him to go to his knees to catch it, but overall it's difficult to make any sweeping generalizations about arm strength given the nature of the passes he was throwing. Bellomy does look the part of the ideal Borges quarterback, however, and with another year of seasoning and some badly needed time in the weight room, I wouldn't be surprised to see him challenge for playing time next year and the year after (and yes, I am figuring Shane Morris's arrival into that outlook). 

• Wide receivers: It wasn't an impressive day for the receivers, but, again, general spring game caveat goes here. There was really no effort to stretch the field, and let's not forget that Michigan actually has competent to pretty good players in the secondary these days. It's difficult to make a real assessment here because I was watching on TV, but it's unclear for me whether or not the wideouts were simply not getting open or if Devin was hesitant to hit them, particularly after the INT. Whatever the case may be, I think it's fairly obvious that we need Jerald Robinson to step up or we're going to be hoping that Darboh or Chesson fill the big WR role when they get to Ann Arbor in the fall. He definitely looks the part but didn't seem to do much on Saturday (2 rec., 9 yards). 

• Desmond Morgan injury: Let's hope that it isn't anything serious, because that would be an awful loss even if we're talking about him simply missing some summer conditioning/player practices. I didn't catch this live, but apparently this is what knocked him out. That's what you like to see from your tailbacks, and Fitz will definitely need to do that a few times against Alabama's 3-4 outside backers if Michigan wants to keep Denard in one piece. 

• Hawthorne and Jones: Other than sounding like a law firm, these two had a productive day. Sure, they were up against walk-ons and backups most of the time, but they are experienced players that can fill in if injuries strike (knock on wood). This, folks, is what elite teams call "depth." Depth, meet Michigan football, Michigan football, meet depth. FWIW, the same positive depth-related sentiments apply for the secondary and guys like Courtney Avery, Raymon Taylor, and Terrence Talbott. Hawthorne's hit on Justice Hayes was the speedy, slashing sort of play that we've seen Hawthorne make before, namely early on in the 2011 season (e.g. the Notre Dame game). 

• Denard: A short day, obviously, but he did make a couple of crisp completions, first on the slant to Gallon and second on a rollout to Roundtree near the right sideline. These may seem like routine plays, but they really haven't been for Denard. If he can make these sorts of throws with consistency, the offense gets better by at least an order of magnitude. This will be especially true against Alabama, as I would imagine that Borges will look to move the pocket fairly often.

• Thomas Rawls: A Bull Moose like Teddy Roosevelt. But, seriously, he looks like the stereotypical Big Ten mooseback. On the 21-yard TD run in the first half, Washington, Ash, and Heitzman were on the field for the defense. Rawls eluded a flailing tackle attempt from Heitzman in the hole, while Washington made a similar attempt but didn't come nearly as close as Heitzman did. On the second level, Rawls broke a tackle attempt from early enrollee Jarrod Wilson en route to daylight and the end zone. All in all a poor sequence of events for the defense, but it's nice to see Rawls hit the hole hard. It was very reminiscent of Kevin Grady's touchdown against Vanderbilt in 2006. No matter what Fred Jackson says, Grady is the obvious YMRMFSPA for Rawls. 

• Defensive line aka I'M SO GLAD OUR FIRST GAME IS AGAINST ALABAMA WOO: This might be the only unit to add to any Michigan fan's list of THINGS TO BE DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT, but that's only because these concerns existed the second after the careers of Mike Martin, Ryan van Bergen and Will Heininger ended. Hoke calling the interior of the defense "soft" is not a good sign, but is also standard motivational verbiage. I will say, however, that people should be careful when they try to parse Hoke's pressers, especially when he uses words like "soft" or "physical." Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Hoke uses these words as a catch-all for "bad" and "good" play. Of course, the interior needs to get better, but I'm not sure that any problems on Saturday were the result of guys like Campbell, Washington, Ash, Black, etc. just not playing hard enough or tough enough. In any case, minus the TD run from Rawls and some nice runs from Fitz, it's not like the interior was getting blown up with regularity. On the flip side, there wasn't much push up the middle or general pressure, but, you know...whatever. There's a long way to go until September 1st. 

• Chris Bryant: Is huge. Hoke emphasized that there's always competition for every position, which is typical coachspeak but you get the feeling that he means it more than a lot of coaches do when they say those sorts of things. Mealer and Omameh are ostensibly the starters at LG and RG if the season started today, but it seems that neither position is safe, which is a latter more worrisome vis-a-vis Omameh. 

• Toussaint: There's not much to say. No offense to Brandon Minor, but Toussaint is Michigan's first All-Big Ten type player since Hart. Fitz looked quick, agile, and showed a bit of power in finishing his runs, namely one play which ended with him essentially bowling over J.T. Floyd near the sideline. There are some question marks on this team, but one thing I'm fairly sure of: Fitz is about to have a monster year.

Well-executed inside zone for 10 (HT: mgovideo)

• The Michigan Defense's Excellent Adventure: Given Jake Ryan's neck roll and several other players sporting the half jersey thing, Michigan's defense looked like it arrived at Michigan Stadium straight from the 1980s via some sort of time traveling phone booth. Whatever works, guys. If the defense can continue to play like those vintage Bo defenses from the 1980s then keep on keepin' on. 

• Philanthropy!: Spring game donations for Mott amounted to a whopping $161,080, and that is apparently before it will be matched by the Beam family. Well done everybody. 

Is This Real Life, Is This Just Fantasy

via JeepinBen

via Leon Halip/Getty Images

I waited outside the the entrance to one of the student sections with a Diet Coke and a pretzel about an hour before kickoff. As excited as I was for the game, I was surprisingly calm at that moment, and you might even say I wasn't thinking much at tall. The ice in the drink had already started to melt and the drink had become diluted and deprived of its cold, crisp pop. The pretzel was ridiculously salty but I wanted to have something, anything, in my stomach before getting to my seat. The air was heavy but the sun was beginning to go away. It was probably 7:10, 7:15 at that moment. I waited and waited with bated breath for the person who was going to assist me in Operation Get Into The Student Section, which, I'm assuming, everybody has executed at one point or another. I started to get nervous that it wouldn't work out and I'd be stuck sitting with a bunch of random old people in Section 38.

As I stood there chasing the entirely too salty sting of the pretzel with the warm diluted Coke, a lady walked up to me and asked me if I could take her picture. I said sure, and I reached out for her phone while giving her the standard "what button do I push" motion. She pointed it out and then her phone turned off or something so I had to go back to her so she could put her password in to unlock it. As I pulled back again, in my peripheral vision (which, as you will see, shouldn't have been too peripheral at all), I saw something tremendous. That's right. Lloyd Carr. Of course Lloyd Carr was standing right there in front of me, the guy whose tenure as Michigan's head football coach caused me to feel the following emotions in various mixtures and a number of different sequential manifestations between 1995 and 2007: sadness, happiness, elation, frustration, disillusionment, pride, respect, depression, hope, grief, dissatisfaction, anger, admiration, nostalgia, and a number of slight variants of all of the aforementioned and an additional list of emotions and pseudo-worldviews that is too long too list and probably a little bit ridiculous.

I realized that it was in fact Lloyd Carr, standing there smiling with those glasses on and that would have made  him look like he should've been standing in front of a group of undergrads in an Angell Hall auditorium, lecturing them about Kipling. The wrinkles in his forehead were there still, as prominent as ever, as if they had been etched into his being forever, a facial feature that, accompanied with his own special brand of communicating with everyone, became intertwined. Bo chewed his gum violently and talked about accountability, chewing so hard that it seemed like he wouldn't to crush it out of this world as if to prove the pure candor and viability of his ideology. Lloyd talked about tremendous things, and his forehead was always the same, furrowed and divided into little segments that seemed to become more pronounced over time.

I'm thinking all these things now, but at that moment I completely froze. Of course I would meet Lloyd Carr while I was standing there like a complete idiot with a drink and a pretzel in my hand. I took the picture and handed it to the lady, seceretly jealous of her accomplishment because I knew I wouldn't ask Lloyd for a picture because I didn't want to stop him from going wherever it was he was going to go. I tried to think of something to say to him before he walked away; the last time I was this close to Lloyd was two years ago in Angell Hall between classes in the corridor where all the auditoriums were located, and I wasn't sure when the next time I'd be this close to a person like him would ever come again. It was crunch time, it was time for me to say something. Naturally, my brain fizzled and turned into a fried egg on a Blimpy burger. The entirety of a childhood and adolescence's worth of watching Michigan football--with Lloyd as its leader--flashed through my head. I was eight years old when Michigan beat Washington State and I remember it like it was yesterday. Everything, from the Pac Ten Road Games of Death to the 2003 Ohio State game to the 2006 Ohio State game to "What kind of stupid question is that?" to the Florida game flashed through my head in a single moment. I had to say something meaningful, and each tenth and hundredth of a second that passed made it less and less likely that I would say anything good enough to encapsulate everything that was running through my head at a million miles an hour.

The lady said thank you but I barely acknowledged it; Lloyd began to walk away and I said two words in the last moment that he was looking at me: Go Blue. He smiled and waved goodbye without saying anything and he didn't even have to. He walked away into the mass of people roaming about the concourse, by himself, as if he was just another guy and not the guy who won a national championship when I was eight. Like that he was gone, and I was left wondering if that had really happened, a moment so bizarrely real and coincidental--for instance, why did I choose to stand at that spot on the concourse, as opposed to any other where I would not have been approached by the woman and Lloyd?--that it's hyper-reality caused me to stop for a second and assess what had just happened. It had happened, but I wasn't sure if it was real.

And that is what Saturday night was like.


The Offense


So, that game. As unbelievable as the game was in every aspect, it brought several issues to the forefront that were concerns merely bubbling in the subconscious of Michigan fans everywhere but are now legitimate, out-in-the-open things to fret about. The first half was just plain frustrating to watch. Other than the 43-yard Hemingway touchdown, Michigan was going nowhere, and it's clear that Borges is still trying to feel out what he can and can't do with Denard. At this point, I think it's pretty obvious. There are certain throws that he definitely should not be making, but, at the same time, Denard still has some work to do on knowing when it's a good time to throw it and when it isn't. I realize that it may be anti-productive re: Denard's development as a pro-style/West Coast/non purely spread quarterback, but there were times where I just had to think that Denard should have taken off. At the same time, I like that we're two games in and Denard isn't broken, so that's good.

Other than Borges's playcalling, the offensive line was just manhandled b Notre Dame's front. I admittedly have not had a chance to watch the game again, and maybe ND was just loading up on the run, but we could get nothing going on the ground for quite some time...which brings me to my next concern: the running backs. At this point, I think Michigan's situation is basically going to constantly be like the 2004 season before the San Diego State game (which, if you'll remember, is when Mike Hart officially become The Man), unless Toussaint can stay healthy, which, good luck with that. I'm still not sure what his deal was, but I'm assuming he was injured, which is frustrating but expected, sadly. However, I will say this (and again, being in the stadium it was hard to notice a lot of things): after looking at the box score, I had no idea that the backs had so few carries. Not only that, but Hopkins getting the most out of any of the backs is kind of absurd. I've been really excited to see what Hopkins can do, especially going forward with his ostensible skills being the logical fit for the offense of the future that they are, but that hype train has completely derailed. Hopkins with 5 and Smith and Shaw with 1 and 2, respectively, is ridiculous and just won't do going forward. Not that Shaw is lighting the world on fire, and not that Smith can really realistically be expected to carry the ball more than a maybe 5-7 times a game, but Hopkins has shown absolutely nothing thus far, while also showcasing a bad case of fumbleitis. Luckily for him, Denard was there for the scoop and score, but it won't work out so nicely the next time that happens. Shaw and Smith can both do what he does (i.e., plow into the line with no vision), but at least they can either take one to the distance if the hole is there (Shaw) or make somebody miss (Smith). Hopkins's only "skill" right now is being big. In short, he needs to not get too many more meaningful snaps, and he definitely shouldn't lead the backs in carries in any game the rest of this season.

The running game is going to hurt us, because Denard is not going to go 11/24 for 338 yards (!) every game. We can only hope that Toussaint gets well soon. Obviously no game is a gimme these days, but we shouldn't need him for a few weeks. Let's hope he's ready by NU or it might have to be Denard left and Denard right once again.

As for the receivers, it was a pretty up and down affair. A few drops from Hemingway and Roundtree were plays that just need to be made, but the big plays of course made up for them in the end. To say that Denard and the wideouts have the ole underthrow the deep ball maneuver down pat would be an understatement. With only 11 receptions spread among seven different guys, it's hard to say anybody had a great game but they made the plays when it counted. Hemingway needs to continue to post up and get the ball going forward...the guy is just a master at that. Also, Jeremy Gallon looked like a player. I'm not so sure about the whole "throwing jump balls to a tiny guy" strategy, but who knows. As sad as I am for the apparent disappearance of Martavious Odoms from the face of the earth, it appears that Gallon passed him up on the depth chart for a reason.

The Defense


It's all relative, I guess. Just putting it out there, but Michael Floyd is pretty good. He consistently made out defensive backs look silly, as he was just bigger, faster, stronger, and better than any of them. Anybody who expected us to shut him down like we did last year was a little naive.

It's obvious that Michigan just can't create any sort of pressure without blitzing, and as I'm sure Brian's UFR will show, blitzing has its costs. On the bright side, the defense really hunkered down and did what it had to do in the second half. Oh the wonders of second half adjustments! Yes, Mr. Mattison, Greg Robinson is interested in what you have to say and would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Other than the complete breakdown on the final ND touchdown, it's hard to be anything but proud about how the defense showed up in the second half. Maybe the Irish are just not good at taking care of the ball (10 turnovers in two games), but you have to credit the defense some.

ND was killing us in yardage in the first half but in the end it didn't matter. Third down defense is of course still an enormous issue, as it has been for pretty much the last eleventy billion years of Michigan football. ND's 8/14 is not what you want to say the least, and that absolutely needs to improve, whether through pressure from the front four (paging Craig Roh) or more zone blitzing from the mind of Coach Mattison, but something needs to change. You have to give ND credit, though; despite the disappointing start to their season, I think you can safely say that that offensive is straight up good and knows how to move the ball. If they can figure out that whole things called "ball security" then they can still somewhat salvage this season. ND will continue to put up yards and points on a lot of people this season, so I don't feel too badly. Rees is plainly a better quarterback than Crist, so they'll at least have continuity at that position barring injury. Floyd is ridiculously good and Cierre Wood looked fast and shifty and quite honestly better than anything we've been trotting out there in the backfield. Even Jonas Gray looked good. ND has some serious talent on offense, and the way that Michigan was able to make some stops and collect some turnovers was encouraging. Baby steps.


Special Teams


Once again, this was nothing to write home about. Wile had a decent but not spectacular day, with five punts good for 38.6 per and a long of 47. Gibbons didn't attempt a field goal for the second week in a row, a thing which is both good and bad. I really hope he gets to kick a few in the coming weeks just for the sake of getting out there and getting some confidence. Eventually, we're going to need him to kick one, as much as we don't want to have to think about it.

The return game was just average again: Smith had five returns for an average of 19.6 per return (a long of 24), and Gallon returned one punt for 15 yards. On the flip side, Theo Riddick had a similar average on kick returns for ND (19.8 per) but he did have a long of 34. Michigan needs to continue to work on this; the defense is simply not good enough to try and stop people playing a short field.


Miscellaneous Minutiae

• Here's where I talk about the event itself: unbelievable. I still can't talk. I've been to football games at Auburn, Ohio State, and Penn State, and the Big House was definitely as loud and probably louder than all three. It was surreal, and while there were still your fair share of students just standing there not making noise or doing much of anything on some plays, the student section was loud, as was the rest of the stadium. Home field advantage may or may not be overrated but you can't tell me that it didn't help and that it didn't affect ND (in addition to energizing the Wolverine players as well). 
• Music: I was once completely against piped-in music, but its pretty undeniable that its a net positive, if not a significant one. Other than Pop Evil, which needs to just go away forever, the piped-in music did its job. Sometimes you just have to make a compromise in an attempt to reach out to certain groups of fans (i.e., students, the casual fan, the not-old-and-grumpy adult fan, etc.), and quite frankly it was a huge success. As ubiquitous as Seven Nation Army has become, even the most die-hard traditionalist would have to admit that the moments after they played it the first time were just plain awesome. Obviously, we've got to watch what we play (Thunderstruck, Welcome to the Jungle, SNA, and maybe a couple of others, are on a short list of piped-in music that shouldn't make you upset) and when we play it going forward, but this Saturday was a perfect mix of band and piped-in music in my humble opinion. If we could just get rid of Pop Evil and Sweet Caroline then it would pretty much be perfect.
• The pom-poms--also known as "shakers" in SEC country--were awesome and an aesthetic victory whether you were in the stadium or watching from home. To the people that complain about them, just watch any old Michigan games and you'll find Michigan fans with said pom-poms (for example, the 1998 Rose Bowl). This isn't a "new" thing, so Down In Front guy needs to chill out and decry something else. 
• Maybe I'm just imagining things, but the amplification of the band sounded a lot better than it did last season: am I imagining this? I don't even know anymore. 
• This should easily and without question happen once a year. Sure, night games in the future will never measure up this one, but other schools have them all the time...why not us? The fact that people have treated the concept of a night game as some ridiculous foreign concept that has come down to Earth from Mars or something has been fairly amusing. Traditions have to start somewhere, and I think this could be another one in an already extensive list of Michigan traditions. 
• Jake Ryan! Again, Jake Ryan showed some promise. 
• BOOM BRANDIN HAWTHORNE OUTTA NOWHERE. Man, Hawthorne looked like he could be a factor this year. He looked fast and aggressive and overall like a guy you'd want out there on defense that I could imagine being one of those mean, kind of undersized SEC linebackers. I'm excited to see what he does the rest of this season. I'm sure he made some mistakes, but this was an enormous step forward for him: going from an anonymous afterthought to a legitimate contender to start is no small feat. 
• Desmond Morgan is just not ready to be a starter let alone a frequent participant. Maybe in a year or two, but not now. 
• In perhaps one of the most encouraging developments of the game, Will Campbell showed some signs of improvement. I can't remember what point in the game it was but he absolutely demolished some poor lineman on one play, and was involved in a number of others as well. He's still not starter material, but if Campbell can become a reliable run-stopping rotation guy then that would be an enormous asset. I'm sure the way his career has gone has been infinitely more frustrating for him than every Michigan fan combined, so it was nice to see him dancing around and getting hyped up there in the fourth quarter. I am legitimately happy for him and I hope he can continue to improve. 
• Craig Roh...man. I'm not sure what the deal is, but he just has not been a factor at all this season. I honestly don't have anything to say because I have no idea what's going on; Jibreel Black has been a bigger factor than Roh this year. 
• It looks like 2009 Vincent Smith is officially back. He looked quick on that screen pass after a year or so of not looking like nearly the quick little guy he was pre-knee injury. I don't think he's a guy that should get too many carries on a regular basis, but he's still an invaluable part of this offense. 
• It was great to be back in the Big House again...to all the current students out there, enjoy it while it lasts. 
• I know I saw Odoms out there at least once...he came in only to go back out after Michigan called a timeout. I just feel terrible for the guy. I really hope we can get him involved at some point; despite Gallon's emergence, Odoms still brings a lot of things to the table. 
• Denard is the man. Seriously, has there ever been a more likable Michigan athlete? "THE GAME IS OVER!" 
• All I have to say is that I'm glad we've got Eastern this week.