#8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

[WWF80sKid]

I was interested to see Bellamy.

[TheShizNo1]

I wasn't saying put Gardner in, I was saying convert Denard to WR like they did Gardner. My issue is that I am not sure Denard being Denard would have worked against Alabama, he would have gotten killed. Honestly, the dude is just way too fragile to play football. I would have rather seen Hoke put in a pro-style QB and just run 4 and 5 wide with him the whole game. I don't even think Fitzgerald Toussaint would have made much of a difference against that run defense, and that our best bet at being competitive was airing it out with a QB that can actually throw the football.

Gotcha. I think the last thing they want to do is switch schemes every year though.

[Illustrator76]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Gotcha. I think the last thing they want to do is switch schemes every year though.

I think that's what they are going to do anyway. Hoke is not a spread guy, he is more of a traditional pro-style coach. I think they are just catering to Denard's "talents" for now, and then once he is gone the 5* QB we have coming in next year (Stephen Morris) will be the pro-style QB Michigan needs/is looking for.

Time will tell I guess. But they need to right this ship. That Alabama game was embarrassing and wasn't even competitive.

[lonewolf371]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Someone earlier hit it on the head. I am a diehard Michigan fan, but Michigan isn't the best team in the B1G. So them getting whooped by Alabama proves nothing, except Bama is better than Michigan, which we already knew.

It's aggravating that the B1G isn't changing up like the south, but it's not as easy up here where it snows in November, December, January and sometimes October.

Will the B1G ever be the beat conference again (I believe at one time they were), I hope so. We'll see.

I actually still think it's very possible to win the conference. I think Alabama is this much better than every team in the Big Ten. Throw Michigan State, Nebraska, or Ohio State out there and it will be a similar story.

I agree with you 100%, but my issue is that Michigan has been getting fairly good players, at least according to the rankings. This is not to say that we are getting lots of GREAT players, but check out these rankings from Rivals.com: 2010: #20 ranked recruiting class, 2011: #21 ranked recruiting class, 2012: #7 ranked recruiting class, 2013: #2 ranked recruiting class. While I will admit that the #20 and #21 rankings are not up to what we would expect from Michigan, you would still think we could field a better team than what we have now. With Michigan having the #7 ranked class for 2012 and the #2 ranked class next season, there should be no excuse why significant progress should not be being made soon.

Denard Robinson hasn't done us any favors either. Alabama's run offense and run defense were clearly great, but what about their pass defense? There were opportunities for Michigan to make plays in the passing game, but Denard was flat out horrible throwing the ball. I honestly don't see why Hoke and the boys are so bullish on sticking with the guy at QB. He will have to convert positions at the next level anyway, so why not get started now just like they did with Gardner?

There's a decent chunk of attrition from those 2010 and 2011 classes. Also, look at what Alabama did to the SEC last year, and all those schools bring in great classes. For Michigan to be in these games it's going to take four years of top ten classes and proper coaching for all of them. I think Hoke is on the way to getting Michigan there.

Alabama's big choke point could be against Arkansas, because Arkansas has a great passing attack and Bama might be weaker against that. If they get past Arkansas, they could easily repeat. They might be on the level of USC last decade, but I don't know if Bama will get tripped up by cupcakes as much as USC did under Carroll.

[fistofrage]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Still trying to figure out what Michigan's gameplan was there. It was apparent Robinson wasn't going to try to run much in that game. I only counted a handful of designed runs. I would have thought they would have at least tried some rollout run/pass options and hope to get Alabama overpersuing to the ball.

Either way, I wouldn't take much away from this game. The gameplan by Hoke was pretty conservative and I think he was just trying to get past this game after the first quarter. I actually thought UM's pass blocking wqas pretty decent all things considered and I expected Alabama to shut down Michigan's run game regardless.

The BIG looks pretty wide open right now. 5 or so teams with a chance to win it. Noone looked very impressive except Nebraska, but Martinez still seems to be floating the ball and faster defenses will give them fits too.

[lonewolf371]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Still trying to figure out what Michigan's gameplan was there. It was apparent Robinson wasn't going to try to run much in that game. I only counted a handful of designed runs. I would have thought they would have at least tried some rollout run/pass options and hope to get Alabama overpersuing to the ball.

Either way, I wouldn't take much away from this game. The gameplan by Hoke was pretty conservative and I think he was just trying to get past this game after the first quarter. I actually thought UM's pass blocking wqas pretty decent all things considered and I expected Alabama to shut down Michigan's run game regardless.

The BIG looks pretty wide open right now. 5 or so teams with a chance to win it. Noone looked very impressive except Nebraska, but Martinez still seems to be floating the ball and faster defenses will give them fits too.

Well Nebraska's defense didn't look great. I think they have question marks of their own.

[TidePride50]

Oh please, it's not about getting with the times, it's about getting talent. Alabama is just as archaic as any Big Ten team, but their players are bigger and faster. The teams up north need to find ways to attract better players.

Exactly. It's not about what offense are being run, it's about the talent level running the offenses and combination of size and speed on the DLine is what separates the upper echelon in the SEC and other conferences top schools.

[jeebs9]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

I still feel as though Robinson needs to go. They tried to throw the ball way too much in my opinion. And when they did run. They were terrible. I feel Robinson should play a skilled position and try to get the ball into his hands in different spots. He missed a few open guys.

But at the end of the day. Big Blue defense was down right what to blame on the lost. They stopped them on the opening drive... And that was it.


edit: TJ Yeldon.... I had never seen him before that game. I had heard and seen his name a few times. But he has a lot of Adrian Peterson in his game. Not as freakish. But a few similar things going on. Keep it up young one!

[justblaze09]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Still trying to figure out what Michigan's gameplan was there.

Make it out alive.

[fistofrage]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Make it out alive.

Thats what I figured, someone should have told Denard to not lead with his shoulder when tackling on the Int. He had more chance of getting hurt on that play than any other.

Bad gameplan, but I guess if you weigh the options and figure you can't compete you try to minimize the injuries. Hoke had to know the game was over before it even started to institute that gameplan. Looks like he wasn't giving any film on what the Wolverines will do the rest of the season. He definitely didn't pull out all the stops.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Bad gameplan, but I guess if you weigh the options and figure you can't compete you try to minimize the injuries. Hoke had to know the game was over before it even started to institute that gameplan. Looks like he wasn't giving any film on what the Wolverines will do the rest of the season. He definitely didn't pull out all the stops.

Michigan attacked where they needed to early when they were trying to throw on the outside a lot. They got some one-on-ones, but Denard either didn't put the throw where it needed to be or the CBs were making plays. Michigan was never going to be in this game if they couldn't consistently make Bama respect the passing game. After the first few posessions it was pretty clear what was happening. No need to get all crazy when the other team has you beat on basically every matchup on the field. The only guy that looked like he could have had an advantage was Gardner, but he isn't polished in his route-running and catching yet. When he gets matched up against lesser corners, he's going to have a breakout game sooner or later.

[ZM Punk]

Hard to have an effective game plan against a team coached by Nick Saban that is a WHOLE lot better than you. Michigan was just outmanned on every level, it's really as simple as that. Maybe we could be able to compete with a team like Bama in a few years,but not right now. Especially with the classes Rich Rod brought in.

[kingkilla56]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Make it out alive.

Yeah I remember Michigan going 3 and out down by 21 and Hoke was clapping up his offense for moral support. They were well aware that it was gonna be bad but were hoping for the best.

Reminds me of a low tier HS football team playing the state champions in a pre season game. The coaches pump up the players like its a big time game but arent really expecting the upset.

[Husker_OS]

Re: #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama

Great program, but their general fanbase is pretty pathetic when it comes to life.

I doubt Husker comes back after Foster flipped and AA handed him his ***.

How have you not been banned yet?