The second season of the Rich Rodriguez era is coming to a close with another thud...Even if by some miracle the Wolverines beat Ohio State on Saturday, the State of the Michigan Football Program is not positive...Patience, patience, patience is what Rich Rod preaches every week to the loyal fan base...but how much more patience can the fans show...the immediate future does not look good...
Two months ago it looked like the Wolverines found their quarterback to run the spread offense in Tate Forcier...but as the season wore on, Forcier regressed to the point that there are internet rumors of him transferring...backup Denard Robinson is a raw talent who defenses know will run the ball every time he enters the game...Michigan has dual threat QB Devin Gardner, from Inkster, Michigan, on campus next year...Gardner has gone on record stating that he plans to win the starting QB job...
The running game will be led by Vincent Smith next season...Smith shows flashes of talent, but he lacks the ability to pound out the yards ala Anthony Thomas...all of Rich Rod's running backs are small and slight of foot...
The receiving corps has a plethora of average to above average kids who do not strike fear in opposing defenses...Roundtree, Odoms, Stonum, Koger are all nice players, but they are not threats...Rich Rod has yet to deliver with a big time college receiver like a Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, or Mario Manningham...
The offensive line lacks depth...proof of this is when center David Molk went down with a foot injury this season...the Wolverines lacked another center ready to step in...instead the offensive line was juggled and Steve Moosmann was forced into duty as the center...we all recall that was a disaster...
On defense - for crying out loud - blow it up!!!!!...Brandon Graham will be in the NFL next year...he was a freakin beast this season and deserves to be a first team All-American...
Other than Graham, the only other bright spots were CB Donovan Warren and DE/OLB Craig Roh...otherwise, this was the worst Michigan defense ever!!!...this unit bled points like blood coming from roadkill on the side of a freeway...
Stud freshman DT William Campbell was non-existent whenever he did make it on the field...Obi Ezeh will be back next season, but he has feet of stone...the cornerbacks have been toast all season...I cannot find any positives with this defense...
Overall, the defense cost Michigan at least 3 games this year...but that does not take the criticism off the offense...Michigan fans have been awaiting this scoring outburst from the spread offense...so far, we have all been disappointed...the offense has been unimpressive...there are no players who are threats...on Lloyd Carr's last team, the Wolverines had Manningham, Mike Hart, Adrian Arrington, and Chad Henne...these guys forced defenses to respect the Michigan offense...these guys could strike from anywhere on the field...now the Michigan offense is scattered with a bunch of average players who cannot take over a game...
There is no doubt Rich Rod will be back for his third season...with Athletic Director Bill Martin retiring, he will not pull the plug on his choice to lead the Michigan football program...Rich Rod needs to make changes on his staff, starting with showing defense coordinator Greg Robinson the door...
It is unacceptable for the Michigan football program to not make a bowl for two straight years...let it happen next year and for sure Rich Rod will be shown the door quickly...
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