[NU Sports] Beating Michigan

[Beamsley, Jeff]

What I've seen of Denard so far this season is that he is an inconsistent passer.  I think that he is a very emotional player.  If things are going well, he is phenomenal.  If things aren't going well, he doesn't seem to perform as well.

For example, when they start the game throwing, he appears to be tentative and will throw some interceptions.  He will generally settle down when he has had some successful runs that leave the defense guessing a little bit.

So my recommendation is to stuff the run early, spy Denard, and force him to pass and we might get some picks.  

He also appears to consistently under throw the long ball.  He just happens to have some very athletic receivers who are able to adjust more quickly than the defender.  So I'd stay out of man coverage as much as possible, and try to have someone over the top on deep coverage.

Right now, I think Michigan can be beat, but it will require forcing Denard to beat us with the short pass.

Jeff



-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of Jim Leonard
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 10:16 AM
To: Northwestern Wildcats
Subject: [NU Sports] Beating Michigan

I honestly don't know where we stand this week. I always see the world through purple glasses, but an upset of Michigan after the last two meltdowns is a tall order. I am not sure exactly how you stop Denard Robinson. My guess is that we need to be VERY creative on defense - and I'm not sure that Fitz would do that. Some version of the Bears 46 defense that Robinson hasn't seen before. (I realize we don't even have 6 DBs on scholarship, but we need to shake it up).

On offense, I think we're looking at Persa in the shotgun and 5 WRs on 85% of the offensive plays. I would really enjoy seeing Green or Smith breakout and take over the void left by Trumpy, but I expect Persa will be out leading rusher. 

Here's hopin'

Victory & Honor,
Jim
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