Michigan 28, Penn State 16 – Recap

Well, that game certainly went better than the last one did. Michigan played better and the matchup was just better. Penn State does not have anywhere near as good of an offensive line as Indiana has. (If you thought you’d ever read those words put together in a non-sarcastic tone, you’re a liar.) Hackenberg wasn’t given a great deal of time to throw and save for one big run and another solid run, Barkley was bottled up. Does this mean Michigan’s dominant defense is back? Well, kinda, I guess, maybe? Okay, fine, I don’t actually know. I mean, the defense was certainly better, but I’m not sure exactly how much of that was the result of Penn State just being a much better matchup for Michigan. Again, their O-line’s not anywhere near IU’s, Hackenberg’s not as mobile as Sudfeld, and they don’t run tempo like Indiana does.

On offense, I think Good Jake Rudock is here to stay. (More on that later.) That’s big, because I think Doesn’t Find Holes De’Veon Smith is here to stay, too. And now it’s time for another “Let’s pause for a second and appreciate how great Jim Harbaugh is” moment, because when he noticed the ground game wasn’t doing a whole lot, he passed it instead of continuing to bang his head against a brick wall.

Game Grades

(A “+” is awarded for a positive play, a “-” for a negative one. For big positive or negative plays, 2 “+” or “-“, respectively, may be given.)

How Excited Should You Be? (Change from last week in parentheses.)

QB: 8/10. (+1.5) So I’m guessing that you’re looking at this and then looking at his grade and wondering what you’re missing. It’s certainly fair to be thinking that. Rudock’s grade being so low for such a good game is just a result of the way I grade players. I grade players by watching every play as many times as is necessary to ascertain what is happening and who is responsible for the happening and then plussing or minusing those guys accordingly. What qualifies as a plus or minus varies by position, and between that and the natures of the different positions, what qualifies as a good grade also varies by position. For QBs, routine passes like 5-10 yard throws to wide open guys or screens are not plusses unless the QB does something in the process that leads to a big play. They are minuses if the QB doesn’t complete the pass, because that is a simple pass the QB should complete. Rudock had quite a few of those types of throws in this one. I am by no means complaining about that, because the defense was giving him those throws and taking them was very effective and is a good idea and is what good QBs do. It just doesn’t show up in grading. My grading system is not perfect. Sometimes stuff like this happens. I do my very best to make sure the grades tell the story as accurately as possible, to the point where if a grade seems way off in one direction or another, I’ll re-watch the film, focusing solely on that player and re-grade him. Sometimes it turns out that I missed something. Other times, the grade was pretty much correct. This was the latter and it was just somewhat of a failure by the grading system to tell the whole story. This is where you have to draw inferences. For example, if Jourdan Lewis has a +2 -2 =0 line, as he did against Minnesota and again in this one, it doesn’t mean he was bad. Since he’s on the field so much, a +2 -2 =0 line means the opposing QB mostly stayed away from him. (Probably a good idea on that QB’s part.) That same line from, let’s say, Ben Gedeon means he probably didn’t see the field a ton and was just okay when he did. That same line from, let’s say, Willie Henry, means he was just kind of there. So, those inferences often require moderate-ish knowledge of the team. In this case, and I suspect most cases involving QBs, the inference requires a box score.

RB: 6/10 (+0.5). Smith was a little better at hitting the right hole, but he’s still not very close to where you need your feature back to be in that department. He was excellent in pass pro, though. Brian Cook already beat me to hoping that he turns into a B.J. Askew-type next year. Peppers was pretty good, but should still be primarily a safety next year. Drake Johnson didn’t get any carries. Neither did Isaac. Higdon got one that went nowhere because it wasn’t blocked very well. Houma got a few, mostly in short yardage.

WR: 9/10 (+0.5). This is probably the ceiling for how excited you should be about this group as long as depth remains and issue.

TE: 10/10 (+0.5). Jake Butt is the man. A.J. Williams was fine. Nobody else was much of a factor. Bunting saw the field, but was one of those guys who was not much of a factor, so it’s officially “hopefully next year” for him.

OL: 6.5/10 (+0.5). Time for more inferences. Pass pro’s one of those things that doesn’t really show up in grading. There are a lot more opportunities to get minused than plussed there, and sometimes sacks aren’t even really the O-line’s fault. The QB may have held on to the ball too long or told his linemen to block the wrong guys. If a team passes a lot, grades a little above zero for the O-line are pretty good. If they’re running a lot, not so much. Pass pro was mostly good here. Run blocking was okay when they line was called upon to do so.

DL: 6.5/10 (+0.5). I understand if you are more excited than this. I don’t want to get too excited just yet, because this is not a good Penn State O-line.

LB: 5.5/10 (+1). Plays didn’t get to them all that much. When plays did get to them, they were mostly okay. Ross had a very nice game.

CB: 8/10 (0). Mostly fine when called upon.

S: 9/10 (0). Peppers biffed majorly on a Penn State TD pass. Other than that, he was very good. Thomas had a fine showing as well.

K: 8.5/10 (0). Four extra points.

P: 9.5/10 (0). Fine when needed.

ST: 4/10 (-1). The special teams woes continued. This week, it was a blocked punt. Jourdan Lewis did have a nice kick return late, so that was nice, and he called his shot to Coach Harbaugh on the sideline before doing so, so that’s a little extra nice. Andrew Robinson filled in at LS for Scott Sypniewski and was fine.

Helmet Stickers

(Generally the 3 players on offense and defense I have graded the highest, plus the best special teams performer, but I reserve the right to award as many or as few stickers as I see fit.)

Offense

Mason Cole, OT

Jake Rudock, QB

Jehu Chesson, WR

Amara Darboh, WR

De’Veon Smith, RB

Jake Butt, TE

Defense

Taco Charlton, DE

Chris Wormley, DE/DT

Maurice Hurst, NT

Willie Henry, DE/DT

James Ross, LB/DE

Jabrill Peppers, S

Dymonte Thomas, S

Special Teams

Jourdan Lewis, KR

Helmet Sticker Count

Jabrill Peppers, S, KR, PR, WR – 16

Chris Wormley, DE/DT – 10

Jourdan Lewis, CB, KR – 10

Jake Butt, TE – 8

Desmond Morgan, LB – 7

Willie Henry, DE/DT – 7

De’Veon Smith, RB – 7

Maurice Hurst, NT – 7

Jehu Chesson, WR, KR – 7

Amara Darboh, WR – 6

Graham Glasgow, C – 6

Ryan Glasgow, NT – 5

Sione Houma, FB – 5

Mason Cole, OT – 5

Blake O’Neill, P – 4

Kyle Kalis, OG – 4

Joe Kerridge, FB – 4

Ben Braden, OG – 4

Taco Charlton, DE – 4

Jake Rudock, QB – 4

Erik Magnuson, OT – 2

A.J. Williams, TE – 2

Ben Gedeon, LB – 2

Royce Jenkins-Stone, DE – 2

Joe Bolden, LB – 2

Drake Johnson, RB – 2

James Ross, LB/DE – 2

Brian Cole, ST – 1

Matt Godin, DT – 1

Ty Isaac, RB – 1

Khalid Hill, TE-H – 1

Channing Stribling, CB – 1

Jeremy Clark, CB – 1

Kenny Allen, K – 1

Wilton Speight, QB – 1

Jarrod Wilson, S – 1

Delano Hill, S – 1

 

Go Blue!

 

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

Related Posts

• 
  Football With A Lions Fan: I Thought Swift Caught The Ball
• 
  Barry Sanders: The Greatest Running Back of All Time
• 
  10 of the Biggest Locker Room Distractions and Drama Queens in NFL History | The Countdown