Rewatched it this morning, can’t seem to turn it off for some reason. Such an odd football game to reflect upon, one where I simultaneously feel as though we A: Were clearly out coached and out played and B: Made a number of self inflicted mistakes that if not made, would likely have earned us a win. Very rare that happens but that’s how I feel. A large number of random thoughts:
-Brandon Peters is a real enigma. The kid makes a high number of throws every game that make you believe he’s as good as it gets. The throw to Stampley down inside the 5 was perfect, the fade route to Smalling for the touchdown was perfect, he made 2 throws to Barker in the seam that were perfect. So much of what he does is outstanding and are things our other QBs are not capable of doing but as we’ve witnessed through 3 contests, he also makes multiple disastrous mistakes each week that simply cannot be made if you want to win the football game. The fumbles can’t happen, missing routine throws on manageable 3rd downs cant happen, holding the ball inside the pocket for as long as he tends to do cannot happen regardless of OL play, dropping snaps can’t happen. These are generally rare miscues for good QBs but for Brandon, they’ve been continuous. At some point, you have to undergo a serious risk analysis and decide if the good truly outweighs the bad. Yesterday, his bad cost us a chance at a W.
-Rod Smith seems to have a fairly solid grasp of Brandon the athlete but he needs to start digging into the film and recognizing what Peters can and can’t do as a passer. There is clearly a disconnect here. Best example: the pick 6 ball against UConn. That’s a ball that Brandon both fails to properly sell and fails to deliver. He doesn’t sell the seam route so the defender doesn’t bite, which you need him to do for the throw to be there. Brandon doesn’t lack for arm talent but he oddly struggles to properly drive the ball on that particular route. Make no mistake, it’s a tough throw to that outside hash but it can be made if you hit your back foot hard and drive it. Brandon isn’t doing that and the ball seemingly comes out with a lazy look, almost as if it just hangs there waiting for someone to come back to it which is not how that route is typically designed. Unfortunately for us, the player who has come back to that ball in back to back games is the defender. We all know the play against UConn as referenced above but we ran it again twice yesterday to no success. The first throw sailed on Brandon and was incomplete. On the second, the Eastern Michigan kid doesn’t buy the seam and breaks perfectly on the throw. It hits him in the hands and he drops it. If not for luck, that route to date would account for an 0-3 passing efficiency with 2 INTs and at least 7 points. Rod needs to understand that this is occurring and either spend serious time coaching Brandon on how to sell that play or he needs to quit calling it. That’s squarely on our OC. You have to know what your guys can’t do just as much as you need to know what they can do.
-Speaking of knowing your guys, the offensive line. This unit can run block as well as any in the Big Ten but in pass protection there are serious issues. Pressure came from all sides. The left, the middle, the right. Alex P got smoked off the edge twice yesterday that I didn’t catch until this morning. Richie Petitbon was forced backwards into Brandon a couple times that dramatically changed the play we were trying to execute. There were two terrible hold calls that the the Big Ten needs to look at but there were also two holding calls that were as blatant as you’ll ever see that backed us up when we could least afford to go backwards, Max coverage didn’t seem to help either. On one Peters sack, the kid off the right edge gets bumped by Barker then runs through Reggie Corbin for an easy sack. Two Illinois players touched him and he still gets to Brandon before he ever has a chance to adjust. That’s inexcusable. Rod has a QB with serious talent, a WR trio with talent coming out of their ears and a TE who is catching everything right now, I know it might pain him to do it but we need to drop the heavy pass game and get back to running the football as the staple of the offense. Our offensive line won’t hold up if we don’t.
-Speaking of knowing your guys (version 2.0), Brandon needs to understand after 3 games that even if Bhebhe has a coverage look that isn’t favorable, throwing the ball up and letting him go make a play isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’d be willing to accept a turnover if it meant we were trying to let Josh go up and make a play because right now he’s winning those battles and with his talent he’s likely going to keep winning them at a very high percentage. Put up the ball up and let the kid try and come down with it. That’s a dice I’d like to see us keep rolling.
-Daniel Barker needs to give a lot more effort in protection if he wants to be a complete tight end but right now, overall, he’s balling. He’s getting open, he’s running fantastic routes, he’s catching the ball in traffic. He’s been light outs catching the football. We need to utilize him a lot more in the pass game going forward.
-If Oluwole Betiku doesn’t get to the quarterback, we don’t get to the quarterback. That’s all I need to say for the defensive line. That kid Glass played a good game yesterday but fair is fair, he had ALL DAY to throw the football and our QB didn’t. That’s game changing.
-Take away that monster hit in the Akron game and it’d be hard to prove that Milo Eifler is even playing. This is one area where Lovie as a defensive coordinator is failing. If he blitzes from the LB position, 9 times out of 10 it’s Harding or Jake through the A or B gap. Nothing against those two but Milo is the most athletic LB we have. We need to create more opportunities for him to try and make an impact on the football game. Right now, he’s essentially invisible unless he’s helping to gang tackle the ball carrier. Through 3 games, Milo has 7 solo tackles and that hit. That’s it. That doesn’t cut it.
-I need to back off Quan Martin a tad bit and remember he’s only a true sophomore and that he’s going to make mistakes but right now, he’s not a Big Ten cornerback. He just isn’t. This is more a recruiting failure and a tough break with Marquez Beason than it is an issue with Quan, however. It’s not the kids fault that he’s playing 70 snaps a game when he isn’t ready for this.
-Our safety play is too terrible to discuss. Kerby in coverage is lost. There appears to be a serious issue with this understanding of the combo coverages Lovie is calling because he’s consistently out of position. The penalty on Sydney near the end of the 2nd quarter is inexcusable. The rules don’t allow defenders to run with reckless abandon into a defender with no understanding of where you’re at on the field. Those are the types of plays that are killing us and they’re happening in the defensive back half. That’s 3 personal fouls in 3 games from that position alone. Again, inexcusable.
-I won’t even begin to touch the embarrassment that was our clock management at the end of the 2nd half. I don’t know how to try and explain what occurred there. Bizarre.
-Our kicker is a serious weapon. Could have been a huge advantage this season but alas, spilled milk.