UM Football
Dave Shekar
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: Sports
Nine weeks into Michigan's 2009-10 football season and it appears as though there are once again more questions than answers. What happened to the team that after a surprisingly good start now seems to be, dare I say, reminiscent of last year's woeful squad? And after getting blasted by Big Ten bottom dweller Illinois on Oct. 31, another question might be: which high school football team stole Michigan's uniforms and dressed up as the Wolverines for Halloween?
After jumping out to an impressive 4-0 start, the Wolverines are reeling, having lost 4 of the last 5 games. Although "disappointing" seems to be the most appropriate word to describe this year, there have been positive signs for Wolverine fans to hang their hat on. The offense, although sporadic, has shown flashes of brilliance behind the arm or Tate Foricer and the legs of Denard Robinson. Consistency is a major issue, as it is with any inexperienced offensive unit, but the talent is definitely there. On defense, there has been some improvement over the course of the season, although poor execution of tackling and coverage remains to be a problem which Defensive Coordinator Greg Robinson will have to focus on in the coming weeks. Furthermore, it seems like the coaching staff has really instilled a winning culture within the program, which is an underrated but nonetheless important aspect of any top tier program.
That being said, there is no way around it: this season has been very frustrating. The inspiring signs of progress have been largely outweighed by the possibility of missing a bowl game for the second straight season. Looking back on the season thus far, one can see a slew of costly errors and sloppy execution that cost them multiple games. This all comes down to inexperience. Against lesser competition such as Delaware State and Eastern Michigan, talent prevailed and the team was near flawless. Transferring the talent seen during practice and against these lesser opponents into the bigger games is the next step that needs to be taken in order to make Michigan football relevant again.
After jumping out to an impressive 4-0 start, the Wolverines are reeling, having lost 4 of the last 5 games. Although "disappointing" seems to be the most appropriate word to describe this year, there have been positive signs for Wolverine fans to hang their hat on. The offense, although sporadic, has shown flashes of brilliance behind the arm or Tate Foricer and the legs of Denard Robinson. Consistency is a major issue, as it is with any inexperienced offensive unit, but the talent is definitely there. On defense, there has been some improvement over the course of the season, although poor execution of tackling and coverage remains to be a problem which Defensive Coordinator Greg Robinson will have to focus on in the coming weeks. Furthermore, it seems like the coaching staff has really instilled a winning culture within the program, which is an underrated but nonetheless important aspect of any top tier program.
That being said, there is no way around it: this season has been very frustrating. The inspiring signs of progress have been largely outweighed by the possibility of missing a bowl game for the second straight season. Looking back on the season thus far, one can see a slew of costly errors and sloppy execution that cost them multiple games. This all comes down to inexperience. Against lesser competition such as Delaware State and Eastern Michigan, talent prevailed and the team was near flawless. Transferring the talent seen during practice and against these lesser opponents into the bigger games is the next step that needs to be taken in order to make Michigan football relevant again.
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