Michigan Vs. Iowa Film Review

Again a win is a win is a win is a win.  Iowa is 6 and 0.  I am satisfied with winning ugly but I feel like Iowa is leaving plays on the field and if they keep playing with fire they are bound to get burned.  Michigan played very well and maybe gave the rest of the Big Ten a blueprint for how to take out the Hawks this season.  Michigan's Oline gave Iowa a taste of their own medicine by executing a great zone blocking scheme and Brandon Minor had great night exploiting cut back lanes all night.  Brandon Graham had two sacks and several more pass pressures and also played the run very well disrupting several promising running plays by himself.  I thought for the most part Iowa's Oline played very well in pass protection with a few notable whiffs.  Craig Roh for Michigan played over his head and will be formidable down the road when he adds some strength to his frame.  Donovan Warren was as good as advertised and downright dominant at times.  There were several positives to take out of this game including the play of the back 7 and the improved tackling of the entire team.  The kickoff coverage was also drastically improved.  The ballhawking of the defense continued and the freshman running back duo continued to block in the passing game and protect the ball.  Now on to the negatives, positives and coaching comments.

Negatives:
Stanzi:  Stanzi is a winner.  He shakes off mistakes, plays with poise and leads the team with a lot of guts.  He is sneaky athletic and has the ability to fit the ball into tight spots and can throw the ball with scary touch at times.  When he is on he has All Big Ten ability.  Now the bad-  Ricky is so inconsistent it is maddening to watch.  He makes poor reads, focuses on one receiver for too long, can't seem to throw to his left and has some serious accuracy issues.  The toughest thing to figure out is when it is going to happen.  To say "first half bad, second half good" is too simple.  He is way streakier than that.  He is more like drive to drive.  You just hope he doesn't end a drive on the first play of the drive with a pick 6.  The strangest thing is he seems to play better away from Kinnick.  Maybe he feels too much pressure from the home fans.  Maybe he thrives on the "us against them" mentality.  Whatever it is lets hope he gets dialed in early Saturday against Wisconsin because I think teams are going play 8 or 9 in the box until he consistently makes them pay.  Stanzi again made some fantastic audibles on Saturday including the first TD to Tony Moeaki on the delayed release.  He is trying to take command of the offense.  He is certainly capable of playing at a higher level mentally and physically.

Iowa's Red Zone Perfomance:  This is Saturday specific.  Offensively Iowa's first drive Iowa faced a 3rd and 2 at the Michigan 11.  Michigan played 8 or 9 in the box all day basically.  Iowa came out with 3 wides, 1 back, and Tony Moeaki as an inline Tight End.  Michigan responded with a 3-3-5 Nickel formation.  3 DL, 3 LB and Stevie Brown a hybrid LB/S as the nickel on the slot.  Iowa ran a 3 step drop fade pattern to McNutt against Michigan's second best defensive player CB Donovan Warren.  Good Pass, Good Defense, poor playcall in my opinion.  No threat of the run and no read for Stanzi.  Not exactly a confidence builder for Ricky or the Oline. 
Iowa's Second Offense Red Zone Appearance was more successful.  From the 8 Iowa again came out with 3 Wides, 1 back, and Tony M at TE.  Michigan came out with a 4-3 with a S on the slot side.  Iowa ran a zone to Tony's side for a 5 yard gain. 
Second play same personell only Tony flipped to the left side.  Michigan again in a 4-3 S on the weak side of formation.  Ricky rolls right (weak) makes one read and scrambles inches short.
  Iowa goes Jumbo with Morse as FB and 3 TEs.  Michigan goes full goalline with 5 DL and 3 LBs.  Iowa runs the Wegher dive (literally) with Vanderveld pulling.  TD Iowa.  That is a little more physical and typical Iowa. 
Finally Iowa's Last Red Zone Possesion ended on downs.  Iowa took over after a muffed punt at the 16.  Iowa came out with 2 TEs, 2 Wrs, 1 TB. Michigan ran a 4-3 with a safety over Reisner (left side).  Iowa was in twins left.  They ran a Play action fake with Stanzi rolling left, he threw a nice pass to Moeaki over the middle for a first down at the 6. 
Same formation in reverse for Iowa, Michigan ran a 3-4 with a safety on the weak side of the formation.  Roll right, Stanzi escapes from pressure with max protect on.  Incomplete to DJK who was out of bounds. 
2 and goal. Shotgun "Y" right TE and 2Wr same side 4-3 with safety on weak side (left).  3 yard out to Wegher who was tracked down by MLB Ezeh from behind.  Incredible individual play and good playcall by O'keefe.  Only thing I would change is more of a flare to his route instead of a straight up and out cut. 
3rd and Goal from 3 same personel.  Michigan shows a nickel look with same personel- Stevie Brown on slot. Zone Right blown up by slanting Dl and LBS. 
4th and Goal Iowa goes Jumbo- Morse and 3 TEs.  Michigan goes Goalline D.  Play-action the Wegher dive play with one receiver to the short side of the field.  Pulled Reiff as a personal protecter and Stanzi might have followed him in but he was being pursued hard from inside.  Moeaki was well covered and the LB was screened by Reiff.  Terrible play call.  Worked out in the end but a stupid playcall.

Finally I was unimpressed with Iowa's defensive playcalling in the redzone.  I felt they should have loaded up to stop the run and make Forcier beat them with his arm.  Speivey and Prater were blankets out there and Sash has man to man cover skills.  Blitz him and make him make a quick decision and not run a round for 5 seconds and then find a receiver.  I also felt they should have done that the entire time Denard Robinson was in.  I understand why they played coverage at the end of the game because he can't throw downfield but still it was frustrating to watch him get loose when he isn't a threat to burn you with the pass beyond 10 yards.

Positives:
Tony Moeaki:  Tony was phenomenal.  He scored two tds and converted two other first downs.  If he can maintain his health it would be huge for Stanzi's mental health.  He also keyed several of Robinson and Wegher's bigger runs.  He seems to know his role in the passing game inside and out even with his limited practice reps which makes him possibly the only pass catcher on the team who understands where he is supposed to be.  No wonder Stanzi always looks for him on third down.

Spievey and Prater:  These guys were incredible in pass coverage.  Spievey missed two picks and that is the only negative I can think of.  Everytime Forcier dropped back he had no one to throw to.  They played the edges so well that the inside run was somewhat exposed.  Michigan ran 3 bubble screens and 5 outside runs, only one outside run went for over 5 yards.  Prater tackled very well and didn't show any ill effects of his knee sprain.

Robinson:  Adam Robinson played very well in all phases of the game.  He ran very hard and physical, blocked very well in the passing game and caught the only pass thrown his way.  I thought he showed a little more patience and chose his holes better this week.  He also finishes his runs slightly better than Wegher and maybe deserves a chance to get a couple of drives in a row to build a head of steam and wear down defenses.  This no knock against Wegher just a complement to Robinson who seems to be the more physically tough runner so far this season.  I still think Wegher has more upside.

Kyle Calloway :  Calloway handled the passing protection on the edge better than Bulaga this week and when Iowa needed to run they went to his side whether Moeaki was there or not.  Calloway was a bulldozer in the second half no matter who was lined up in front of him- Graham, Van Bergen, Roh or Ezeh.  Right now no lineman is firing off the ball faster than Calloway.  Calloway is also becoming the most reliable lineman in pass protection and possibly improving his already high draft stock.

Coaching: I think that Iowa's coaching staff derseves some of the accolades that come their way.  Ferentz is a gambler in his own way.  A friend of mine compared him to a great businessman- he plays the margins.  Iowa just bet's on two things that more aggressively coached teams don't.  Their own defense and the other teams's mistakes.  Sometimes it would be easier to watch if Iowa more actively engaged in making those mistakes happen.  Iowa relies so much on the defensive line to win a football game that you would think that they might play more than 4 players in the game.  When the other team is holding on to the ball and the defense is tired maybe you could mix in some back ups.  O'keefe is starting to piss me off again.  Iowa is becoming extremely predictable again formationally.  Iowa's Motion is a dead give away to which side a running play is going to.  Teams are lining up Strong Side linebackers on the weak side in anticipation of it.  For every innovation this season there are the TB set ups 5 yards that are dead give aways for pass plays.  Some people forget that KOK is the QB coach as well as the OC.  Some of Stanzi's struggles with mechanics (and his predecessors) have to be laid directly at his feet.  I will give him credit for his playcalling this season.  It is miles ahead of the the last two seasons.  He has weapons this year and seems to know it but if he doesn't get Stanzi straightened out it is all for nought.  Iowa has a potentially explosive offense.  It has been stuck in second gear all season.  Camp Randall is going to be a tough place to work out the kinks.