[NU Sports] Putting it into perspective (fwd)

[Tom Maycock]

--- Jeff Beamsley <jeffb at hilgraeve.com> wrote:
> Tom wrote <snip?
> 
> The good news:
> 
> * The defense made huge strides. I have no idea how they managed to
> hold up
> in the 2nd half, but they did. This loss was all on the offense. 
> 
> =======================
> 
> You obviously haven't seen a lot of UoM games this year.
> 
> Carr is a very conservative coach.  

There's no question they played it conservatively in the 2nd half, and
wisely so in my opinion. And their passing game is nowhere near as
dangerous as, say, Penn State's. But that doesn't change the fact that
this was the best our D has played all year. Several huge stops on 3rd
and 4th down, generally good coverage, and essentially NO big plays. 

Who knows what might have happened if Michigan had been forced to heave
the ball downfield more often--we might have seen more breakdowns in
the secondary. But from what I saw, the defense played more than well
enough to win, *especially* given that they were on the field almost
the entire second half.

Tom


If it were possible to win a game
> 1-0,
> he would. He feels much more comfortable letting his defense shut the
> other
> team out than outscoring the other team.  I agree that our defense
> has been
> playing much better as they gained experience through the season. 
> Carr's
> plan in the second half of he game, however, was based on not taking
> any
> chances, keeping NU pinned deep in their own territory, and letting
> the
> defense continue to shut NU down.  So you saw a lot of runs up the
> gut and
> just enough pass plays to move the chains and keep the defense
> honest.  He
> could have put up a lot more points if he wanted to, but he knew at
> half
> time that all he had to do is not give up the big play and he had the
> game
> won.  That's what his team did. 
> 
> Jeff
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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