Quick Quotes: Michigan Wolverines Football Players Talk Iowa Win, Illinois Game, More
As the Michigan players reflected on their week five win over Iowa, there were two different tones depending on what side of the ball they played on. The defensive guys were lauded for the most part and the offensive guys were peppered a bit about the lack of production on their side of the ball. Here's a hand-picked quote from the guys with a little background information on each.
"People are going to catch passes and every once in a while there's really nothing you can do about it. We work schematically, we work doing specific things on how we can correct that and I think we're doing a great job. I haven't broken down what balls [Iowa] caught but I think it was only one or two crossing routes. They had 260 yards passing and we had three interceptions so I think we're doing a great job." — Jordan Glasgow on how the defense is adjusting
On one level, Glasgow is right. Michigan's defense was amazing against Iowa in just about every way so obviously whatever Don Brown dialed up, worked. However, against Florida, Ohio State and Indiana last year, and even Rutgers this year, crossing routes were a problem because of how much man-to-man coverage Michigan plays. Brown has sprinkled in some zone this year but better teams with more explosive athletes have made Brown pay before and might again this year if he's sticking to his ways.
"We have a lot of work to do. Definitely getting better; definitely executing a little bit better but we still have work to do. We definitely have to score points in the red zone against anybody. As an offense that's something that we have to do." — Donovan Peoples-Jones on what the offense needs to improve on
Despite what Jim Harbaugh says, Michigan's offense is sorely lacking right now. The Wolverines are No. 93 in the country in total offense averaging 367 yards per game and they check in at No. 74 in the nation in scoring offense at 28 points per game. Michigan's wide receivers have a lot of big-play potential but aren't being utilized in a way for them to showcase that. Peoples-Jones obviously wouldn't and won't throw anyone under the bus but he, along with every other player on offense, cannot be happy with how the offense has performed thus far.
"Iowa was No. 5 in total defense in the country. They've run the same defense for about 20 years. They play a lot of base and they're really good at what they do. They were able to focus on us all week and not worried about installing stuff. That was a good defense, credit to them." — Jon Runyan Jr. on the offense against Iowa
The Wolverine offensive line did some good things against the Hawkeyes. They protected quite well. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson was only sacked twice and he had pretty good pockets to throw from throughout the day. The passing game never really got going, but it wasn't the offensive line's fault. As far as the running game's concerned, it ugly. The Wolverines could only muster 120 yards rushing on 33 carries.
"I think we played our best game [Saturday] but there are still a lot of things we need to improve on; little mistakes. We really just have to lock in because it's going to be a tough stretch." — Ambry Thomas on defense's performance
Statistically it was Michigan's best defensive performance of the season. The eight sacks were the most in a game since 2016 and the Wolverines only gave up a single rushing yard on the day against a team that prides itself on running the ball. The Michigan defense picked off three passes and recovered a fumble allowing U-M to win the turnover battle for the first time this year as well. Iowa's three points scored was its lowest number since losing 30-3 against Florida in The Outback Bowl in 2016.
Which quote do you think is the most open and honest? What else would you like to hear the players say? Comment below!!!
