Michigan looking for more physical play out of its offensive line
Michigan football players stand by as Rich Rodgriuez and trainers check on David Molk after he tore his right ACL against Penn State.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The last time Rich Rodriguez challenged his offensive line to play more physical came after Michigan lost in overtime to rival Michigan State. The Wolverines responded by scoring the first three rushing touchdowns of the year on Iowa’s defense.
Coming off an excruciating loss to Illinois in which they were stopped four times on the 1-yard line and held to 33 yards rushing in the second half, the Wolverines are once again looking for a jolt up front.
“I thought the first month of the season as an offensive line our physical play was up from where it was last year,” guard Steve Schilling said. “I think we might have taken a little bit of a step back (against Illinois), but that’s something that can be fixed relatively easily.”
Rodriguez said his offensive line “got pushed back” on one goal-line play and blockers missed assignments on two others.
With center David Molk out for the season with a torn right ACL, Michigan continues to look for the right combination up front. Tim McAvoy and Patrick Omameh saw their most significant playing time of the year against the Illini.
Regardless of who starts Saturday against Purdue, Schilling said Michigan (5-4, 1-4) must set the tone with its run game.
“You get into the grind toward the end of the season and the game becomes a lot more mental,” Schilling said. “You have to will your body to do things that it won’t when the weather gets cold and things like that. But that’s stuff that starts up front with us and we think for the whole team. It starts with us so we’re going to try and fix that this week.”
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
Blue in ohio
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 2:30 p.m.
BUT, they STILL got their butts handed to them... Maybe Richie Rod might try a different TACT...
Imaloser
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 2 p.m.
I couldn't agree with you more.
amaizenman
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 1:27 p.m.
Imaloser What article are you commenting on. Nowhere in this article is the word respect used. There is nothing indicating that UM either deserves or lacks respect from anybody. You continue to live up to your name
Detroitrocks
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 12:50 p.m.
Patience? Are you kidding? Right now, Michigan is the worst team in the Big 10! Do you mean to say that Michigan has less talent than Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, etc.? NO WAY that is true. The answer is coaching. A good coach wins with the players he has, not the ones he wished he has, or hopes to have in the future. Isn't this what any half way decent coach would do? Would RR literally tank games because he is incapable of modifying his system to fit his current roster? Time for patience is finished. There is absolutely NO EVIDENCE that he will succeed at Michigan, and plenty of evidence that he will fail. Every year he stays with the program buys another two years of ineptitude.
chosen1
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 11:59 a.m.
this is a hard game to predict...Which Purdue team shows up and which Michigan team shows up? Definitely keeping my money in the pocket this week.....
chosen1
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 11:41 a.m.
This should be a game where slamming the ball down purdue's throat is a must. We need Minor's physical running style to soften them up for Brown, tate, and denard's slicing and dicing runs. But Minor has to be healthy. There is no reason that our o-line shouldn't win the trench war, unless our boys up front have gotten soft on us
Imaloser
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 10:48 a.m.
Trying to regain respect? Maybe he should try to remove incessant bragging from Wolvie "culture." RR turned MSU into such a big game for the team that he ruined the rest of their year. It's tough to turn around a losing mentality. RR thought it could be done all at once, but he is finding out that it can't. I can think of maybe four or five coaches in the entire country who could turn around U-M. RR is an OK coach, but not a miracle-worker. Back to that word: respect. UM got respect before they had truly earned it, and are now paying the consequences. Maybe they need to earn it next time before they buy into it. But that would go against all things Wolvie.
Imaloser
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 10:45 a.m.
Respect? Respect? How many more times can RR play the "no respect" card and have his team buy into it. U-M needs to earn respect first, and then they will have it. What's really funny, though, is that U_M culture demands respect from others first, before they earn it. That's why Wolvies are such _____. They care so much about what the rest of the world thinks about them that they put the cart before the horse on a regular basis. They need to fix their own massive inferiority complex before they demand that others respect them. Then again, I guess it isn't a complex if you are really inferior.
Imaloser
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 10:43 a.m.
Typical wolvies: still whining. And the "dominant team in the state of Michigan" is putting themselves "on lockdown" to play Purdue? Baw, haw haw haw haw!!!!!!!