Birk's Eye View: Friday's University of Michigan football post-practice notes
It's not unexpected, but the Michigan football team's new-look defense appears to be ahead of its offense five days into fall camp.
Center David Molk said the first-team offense failed to score on two drives inside the red zone during 11-on-11 work late in practice Friday, and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said he noticed improved fundamentals on the first day of full pads.
"I don’t know that we should be encouraged that we tackled them all the time or we couldn’t make somebody miss," Rodriguez said. "I was kind of torn. But the tackling part was really pretty good. And (coordinator) Greg (Robinson) and the defensive staff will continue to emphasize that because it was poor at times (last year) and we’ve got to do a lot of work."
• As I mentioned in my pre-practice notebook, Brandon Minor had limited contact Friday, though Michigan coaches are just being careful after Minor was involved in a recent car accident. Rodriguez said he'll return to full contact Saturday or Monday.
• The Wolverines will have a situational scrimmage next Wednesday and the first of two full scrimmages next Saturday. The second will be sometime the following week.
• Fitzgerald Toussaint "banged his shoulder up" in a tackling drill early in practice "and I don't know what the severity is with that," Rodriguez said. Toussaint has "showed some talent," Rodriguez said, but Michigan is deep at running back and it might be a stretch for Toussaint to play this year, especially if he misses any time.
• Molk on how much leadership Tate Forcier has shown at quarterback: “He doesn’t necessarily have to be a leader. That’s a major thing that I think is going to happen this season. With the experience we have on the O-line, we can set that pace with us. We just want thim to relax, get the ball, make plays, and that’d be perfect."
• Two Twitter updates: Rodriguez writes that he's got his sights set on trying to catch USC Pete Carroll and his 35,000-plus followers. You can follow Rodriguez at UM_CoachRod
• Also, from the Chicago Tribune's Brian Hamilton's account, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said he will dedicate a period in practice Monday and Tuesday to preparing for Michigan.
Comments
Txmaizenblue
Sun, Aug 16, 2009 : 7:07 p.m.
Preparing for Michigan already?....aren't we getting ahead of ourselves Charlie. You better make sure you can handle Nevada first. Early Prediction: Norte Dame loses against Nevada
NoBowl4Blue
Sat, Aug 15, 2009 : 5:52 a.m.
Was at College Football HOF testerday. Drove by ND's campus and peeked in at their practice through a gap in gate. Saw them running option?????? Prepping for U of M??????? BTW nice Mich OSU exhibit, worth viewing even if not a fan of either school. Lot's of Woody & Bo.
tater
Sat, Aug 15, 2009 : 4:56 a.m.
I can see Weis preparing for UM: "I'd like one of those two-pound T-bones. Make it blue in the middle. And give me five of those 'maize on a cob.' And one of those 5-gallon tubs of Rocky Road ice cream."
Macabre Sunset
Sat, Aug 15, 2009 : 1:05 a.m.
Minor corrections: Sights set, not sites. And Weis, not Weiss. Hopefully a2com has at least one copy editor roaming the hallways. Is this "experienced" offensive line looking more comfortable with RichRod's wacky offensive stylings?
Chris
Fri, Aug 14, 2009 : 6:53 p.m.
I think you mean "sights," as in "vision" and not "sites" as in "location."
uminks
Fri, Aug 14, 2009 : 6:20 p.m.
I'm glad to hear the defense if tackling better. Last season we had a lot of talent at DT but how many backs made it through our line due to miss tackles...then through our LB due to miss tackles, then to the end zone due to miss tackles in secondary! If the defense tackles better, the offense and special teams hold on to the ball, and the offense can increase time of possession, then I think we will be in good shape and will have quite a surprising bounce back record this year!