Tag: Ben Bredeson

Ravens bolster their offensive depth in Draft Wire’s latest 4-round mock

Luke Easterling of Draft Wire put together a four-round mock draft after Week 12 that has the Baltimore Ravens adding valuable depth

The Baltimore Ravens are on a roll right now. Having won seven-straight games and looking like the best team in the NFL, all eyes are on Baltimore. But part of what makes the Ravens such a consistently great franchise is that they continuously look forward. So while they sit at 9-2 and are fighting for the top seed in the AFC playoff picture, expect scouts and general manager Eric DeCosta to already be paying some attention to the 2020 NFL draft.

Luke Easterling of Draft Wire is also starting to look at how the 2020 NFL draft could play out. In a four-round mock draft, Easterling has Baltimore grabbing Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor with the 30th pick in the first round.

“This rushing attack is already dangerous, but Mark Ingram won’t be around forever, so the Ravens should be targeting a potential replacement sooner than later. Justice Hill is a promising change-of-pace back, but Taylor’s complete skill set and physical running style would be too perfect to pass up here.”

Easterling has three running backs coming off the board in the first round, which seems unlikely. Though Baltimore is certainly proving a potent rushing attack can still be deadly in the NFL, pretty much the entire league has focused on high-flying aerial attacks instead. But if the board does play out this way, Baltimore would be getting Easterling’s second running back of the night and a good fit for their scheme.

As noted, Ingram is towards the tail end of his career. Though he’s having a career season with the Ravens, Ingram will turn 30 later this season. If Baltimore is smart, they’ll be looking for his eventual replacement as the power back between the tackles. And that’s where Taylor excels.

Still, with Ingram and Hill still under contract and Gus Edwards set to be an exclusive-rights free agent (effectively keeping him on the roster if the Ravens want him next year), I’m not sure if Baltimore has to spend their first-round pick on a running back with the future in mind. If Taylor is a guy they absolutely love, the Ravens have shown they’ll use a first-round pick and bring him into the fold slowly but really good running backs can often be found in the middle rounds where they’re a better value.

Click on the next page to see who Baltimore grabs with their other selections.

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Wolverines talk on challenge of facing Ohio State’s No. 1-rated defense

OSU has the best defense in the country. Here’s what the Wolverines had to say about going up against them on offense.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — While a lot of the talk heading into Saturday is either about trying to stop Ohio State’s prolific offense or just how good Michigan’s offense has become since the Penn State game, the latter can only work if the Wolverines can make something happen against the statistical best defense in the country — something that’s not being talked about enough.

Yes, Chase Young — perhaps the best football player in the country — is being singled out, but the Buckeyes bring a lot more to the table than just the star defensive end.

The man leading the charge for the maize and blue, naturally, is quarterback Shea Patterson. He shared on Tuesday evening the challenge of facing the OSU defense.

“I see a lot of athletes, very good team — both offensively and defensively,” Patterson said. “Very well-coached. Fast, they’re real fast. Great D-line. But we have all those things as well.”

Regardless, despite the solid secondary that the Wolverines will face, Michigan’s chances rest on being solid — if not dominant — up front.

The OSU front seven has vastly improved from a year ago, so it will be incumbent on the front-line blocking to keep the Buckeyes at bay.

“They’ve got a great defense, they’re ranked No. 1 in the country right now on defense,” Michigan senior left guard Ben Bredeson said. “If we keep Shea clean, like we’ve seen the last few weeks, he can make plays all over the field. Our receiving corps can make plays, we can run the ball effectively — the pass protection, blocking go hand-in-hand with how the O-line’s playing that day. You get Shea, he’s a playmaker. You get him on his face, he’s hot, he’s got a hot hand, he’s tough to stop.”

But for Young himself, it’s not just the line’s problem.

It’ll also be a challenge for the tight ends and running backs, but if one person has to be concerned with Young, it’s Patterson, himself.

“Yeah, he’s a game-changer,” Patterson said. “I feel like you’ve gotta pay attention to him every single snap. Sometimes he’s capable of doing whatever he wants. A lot of respect for him and what he’s done. We’ll have some stuff (for him).”

But the secondary shouldn’t be left out.

While it’s usually Michigan that enters this game as the top pass defense in the country, this season, the Buckeyes have that distinction.

However, OSU has yet to face a cadre of receiving threats as capable as these Wolverines, with a corps that seems to just now be coming into its own.

Junior WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, who had a circus catch for a touchdown last week at Indiana, shared his thoughts on just how good the Buckeyes secondary is coming into the game, as well his his confidence level.

“Watching film, they’re a great group,” Peoples-Jones said. “Defensively, they’re a great group. I feel like we’re a good group. It’s gonna be a competitive game, something that we look forward to.”

The Game is set to kickoff on Saturday at noon EST at The Big House.

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Michigan has been ‘focused on (Ohio State) every single day’ since 2018 loss

Unlike in previous years, Ohio State has had the Wolverines full attention all-year long.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was certainly a change in perspective from what we’ve heard from Jim Harbaugh before when it comes to the Michigan – Ohio State rivalry.

Since Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor, he’s always had a narrow focus, taking things game-by-game. So when he said this to Brad Galli on Monday, it came as something of a surprise:

“(I’ve focused on Ohio State) on a weekly basis,” Harbaugh said. “Heckuva good football team in all areas. Defensively one of the best in the country, if not the best. Offensively, same can be said. They do a heckuva job in the kicking games as well.

“It’s a formidable opponent, and we’re very excited about it. Preparation has been underway for awhile now, and looking forward to practicing it this week and playing it on Saturday.”

That mentality has spilled over to the players, as well.

Yes, the team motto for the year is ‘brick-by-brick,’ meaning that it had to take everything moment-by-moment, building to this point. But the reason for that?

To beat Ohio State.

“We’ve focused on it every single day,” senior left guard and team captain Ben Bredeson said. “Always knowing — obviously we all know when this game is coming on the schedule. We were looking forward to this from the end of last year. Obviously, going into Senior Day, talking to all the other seniors, your last game at Michigan Stadium, you want to go out with a win.

“There’s no other team we’d rather play the last game here than Ohio State.”

Of course, a 62-39 shellacking in Columbus when you were the ones favored to win will come with some type of consequence from a motivational standpoint.

Wideout Nico Collins was one of the line bright spots in The Game a year ago, reeling in 4 pass receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.

It clearly wasn’t enough. Like the rest of the team, he and his compatriots have a sour taste in their mouths, and they’re determined to rid themselves of it come Saturday.

Thus, the enhanced focus on the rival.

“Last year didn’t end well, like we wanted it to,” Collins said. “Ever since that loss — we don’t want to have that feeling again. The Game — throughout the offseason, our main focus is to not have that feeling again. We take it very personal throughout this whole building. It’s that week.”

When it comes to this rivalry, Ohio State has some pretty intense motivational tactics themselves. Beyond practice, though, the team and the fanbase take it a step further, crossing out all the letter Ms on campus, in tweets — wherever it’s available.

Naturally, they miss a few, but it’s part of what takes place once rivalry week arrives down south.

Up north, however, Michigan doesn’t feel the need to engage in any extra tactics. Instead, it uses that energy to build from within, rather than to attempt to tear down.

“We just focus on ourselves,” Bredeson said. “We know how big this game is. We know what it means to us. Really, we’ve been taking this game personally all year. We’ve been preparing for it since last year. Just very excited to finally have that chance to go play.”

We’ll know on Saturday at noon EST if the Wolverines method works or not. They’ve had a year to stew on the 2018 results, but face a potentially tougher challenge, as Ohio State comes in as perhaps the best team in the country.

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Michigan looking to avoid longest losing streak ever against Ohio State

Michigan football is on a seven-game losing streak against Ohio State, and another loss would make it the longest ever. Will they stop it?

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The greatest rivalry in college football and possibly all of the major sports, is upon us once again this week. Michigan vs. Ohio State. The rivalry hasn’t been in favor of the Wolverines lately as they are currently on a seven-game losing streak to the Buckeyes. While it’s technically the longest streak ever, Michigan has been on a seven-game skid against the Buckeyes once before.

From 2004-2010 Michigan lost to Ohio State, but the 2010 loss was vacated from the Buckeyes, so that streak is technically at six. Michigan broke the streak in 2011, and once again the Buckeyes have been in control. So within the past 15 years, Michigan has only beaten Ohio State just once.

Michigan doesn’t want Ohio State to continue that streak and make it the longest in school history against the Wolverines. Michigan needs this win and has needed it for years. Michigan hasn’t won back-to-back games against Ohio State since 1999-2000 when they won two in a row.

Michigan guard Ben Bredeson spoke about the Buckeyes and that what happened years ago isn’t something that the Wolverines look at today.

“If you’re going into this game thinking you’re going to lose, there’s no worth going out there,” Bredeson said. “We don’t look at years past, we just focus on the year. Like the way we match up, I have faith in my team. Looking forward to (going up against OSU) on Saturday.”

Suffering another loss to Ohio State isn’t what anyone wants, and giving them even more ammo is even worse. Ending the streak would be huge, not only for the team and head coach Jim Harbaugh, but for the program, the university, and the entire state itself.

When one door closes, another one opens. If Michigan is able to shut the door on the recent dominance by Ohio State, they could open up a new door of profound success in their future.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Michigan players on last season’s loss to Ohio State: “We know what happened”

Michigan Football linebacker Khaleke Hudson and guard Ben Bredeson spoke about what happened last year against Ohio State.

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In what was a shocker to not only the players and the coaching staff but the fans of both teams, last year Ohio State beat Michigan 62-39. It was a battle of two top 10 teams with the winner going to play in the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern and it ended up being a blowout in favor of Ohio State.

The win was the biggest by the Buckeyes since 2015, the first year Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took on the Buckeyes, where they won 42-13. It wasn’t the fact that Ohio State won by so much, but the fact that they were able to score as many points as they did, and against the best defense in the country at the time.

Michigan just didn’t have an answer to it as it was the biggest loss defensive coordinator Don Brown ever had against Ohio State. That wasn’t his worst loss ever at Michigan though. That was in 2017 when Michigan lost 42-13 against Penn State. He got his revenge from that loss last season, beating Penn State 42-7. 2019 is his chance to get it against Ohio State.

Brown will be certainly ready to get his guys in shape for this year’s game, and the players haven’t let the results from last year’s game change what will happen this year against Ohio State.

“We closed the book on last year,” Michigan captain and starting guard Ben Bredeson said. “We know what happened, they know what happened. Last year’s score won’t affect the game at all. We know what it takes — we know what we did wrong, we know what we did well. We’re just looking to correct that.”

While the players can look past what happened last season, that doesn’t mean they can’t use it as a learning tool to get better and help them out this season.

“It fuels us,” Hudson said. “We know what happened last year, we know what we did that we messed up on and what we’re gonna do this year to fix the problems. The score last year is what it is, can’t nothing change it. All you can do is focus on this year’s game. We control our own destiny, how the game will go.”

While revenge might not be the main point of this year’s game between the team, Brown and his players will be looking to dish up a huge upset to the Buckeyes. Nobody on the team has ever beaten Ohio State, no Wolverine has since 2011 and this year would be a perfect chance for Michigan to send a surprise to the Buckeyes.

What better way to avenge a 62-39 loss from last season, then to give Ohio State their first loss this season, big or small, and end the eight-year drought that has been felt in Schembechler Hall

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Although confident in stalling him, Michigan on high-alert for Chase Young

The Wolverines describe the challenge of stopping or stalling the talented Buckeyes defensive end.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  While most of the talk heading into Michigan’s game on Saturday hosting arch-rival Ohio State seems to be focused on either stalling the vaunted Buckeyes offensive attack or just how high-flying the Wolverines have suddenly become on offense themselves, there’s one big factor that could impede the ability of the latter.

Chase Young.

The OSU star defensive end has been an absolute force this year, with 19.5 tackles for loss and an astounding 16.5 sacks — and he missed two games due to suspension. Young leads the nation in sacks and is third in TFLs, and it’ll be incumbent upon Michigan’s offensive line to keep him at bay if the maize and blue want to have a chance in The Game.

Which is easier said than done, given that he creates havoc, averaging 1.83 sacks-per-game.

“He’s a tremendous football player, extremely athletic,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Very physical. Shows up at the ball. He’s a tremendous pass rusher.”

Michigan State is the only team that’s seemingly kept him out of the backfield, as Young only had a half a sack and one tackle for loss in that game. Otherwise, he’s gotten at least 1-and-1, respectively.

While Michigan left guard Ben Bredeson won’t likely be tasked much with young being on the OL interior — lest Young come in on a stunt — he’s aware of the challenge his unit is about to face on that front,

Nonetheless, he’s relying on the coaching staff’s ability to scheme around him and finding different ways to stall him out.

“He’s a special player, he’s got a lot of talent,” Bredeson said. “We’ve played a lot of players, a lot of teams who have special players like that. There’s different ways to attack him, attack the defensive front. I know we’re going to have a good scheme for him and for that defensive front in general.”

But it won’t just be on the offensive line.

The tight ends will be just as crucial, as could the running backs. That’s why Nick Eubanks — who’s taken it upon himself this offseason to improve greatly in pass protection — is on high alert.

Still — he’s confident that Michigan will get the job done on that front.

“It’ll be very important,” Eubanks said. “That’s one thing we’ll probably emphasize on this week in terms of preparing for this ball game. We’ll try — as a matter of fact, we’ll do instead of trying — try to prevent him from getting into the backfield.”

Will Michigan succeed in keeping Young from getting to Shea Patterson? We’ll know more on Saturday, when the Wolverines host the Buckeyes at The Big House. Kickoff is slated for noon EST.

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Ben Bredeson shares what he likes most about the Michigan – MSU rivalry

Michigan senior offensive lineman Ben Bredeson discusses the importance of winning the line of scrimmage against Michigan State.

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Michigan senior captain Ben Bredeson gave his take on the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry on Monday, and it wasn’t all that surprising coming from an offensive lineman.

The senior pointed to the battle in the trenches as the most important aspect of the game heading into Saturday’s matchup of the heated rivals.

“I think when you get in the offensive and defensive line in this rivalry, that’s really what epitomizes it,” Bredeson said. “Our defensive line against their O-line, vice versa. That’s my favorite part of the game, watching that matchup.”

Bredeson may be on to something, too.

While the forward pass may be taking over modern day football, rushing yards are often still the measuring stick on which team is controlling the line of scrimmage. That’s especially evident when the Wolverines and Spartans line up against one another.

Looking back at just the past 20 meetings between the two programs, the team that finished the game with more rushing yards has won 16 out of 20 games during that stretch.

If that trend continues on Saturday, the Wolverines offense has a slight edge. Michigan is 58th in the country averaging 170.7 rush yards per game, and their 4.2 yards per carry ranks tied for 77th. Conversely, Michigan State is averaging just 130.9 rush yards per game, ranking them near the bottom in the nation (106th). The Spartans also ranked tied for 95th in yards per carry (3.8).

Defensively, both teams have been stout against the run this season. The Wolverines are allowing 112.7 yards per game on the ground (21st), but only 2.9 yards per carry (T-9th). Michigan State allows 108.1 rush yards per game (16th), and 3.1 yards per carry (T-14th).

Michigan has a seemingly wide edge on the offensive line, with Bredeson, Jon Runyan Jr., Cesar Ruiz and Mike Onwenu each having started for two seasons beside one another. The Spartans, meanwhile, have shifted their offensive line personnel, and mixed in a couple freshmen on Saturday against Illinois.

However, both defensive fronts have been stout all season, and MSU’s front has Bredeson’s attention heading into Saturday.

“That entire defensive line of theirs is outstanding,” Bredeson said. “They’ve got great defensive front. Like I said before, when you play them enough times, you at each other enough times, we’ve always had a mutual respect there.”

A four-year starter, this is the senior’s fourth time playing in this rivalry game, and it’s one he said he had circled on his calendar each season.

“It’s one of my favorite games to play in every year,” Bredeson said. “I love the rivalry games, the big games. That’s what you play college football for. We’ve had some good games here in the last three years, some memorable ones for sure, and I’m looking forward to another one this Saturday.

“Owning the state of Michigan is always a big thing for the two programs. You battle for it every single year. Obviously, there’s the Paul Bunyan Trophy involved in it as well. There’s a lot of pride that goes into it for the fanbases, so it’s a cool rivalry just because you have that in-state factor of it and you get bragging rights for the year.”

In a rivalry game, it’s expected that emotions will run hot and tempers may flare at times, but Bredeson downplayed that on Monday, speaking instead of the respect he has for Michigan State’s defensive linemen after having facing them so many times.

“It’s definitely more emotional,” he said. “You just want to keep your head with it, keep your composure and don’t make any mistakes that can give them an edge in the game.

“I think there’s an extra intensity in the game, definitely. Everybody wants to make the tackle a little harder, block a little harder, things like that. I don’t think there’s too many cheap shots going on in the game.”

The Spartans have been eliminated from contention for a Big Ten title, and Michigan’s hopes for a conference championship look bleak as well. With that primary goal likely out the window for both teams, rivalry games like this take on an added importance as secondary goals for both programs.

Bredeson is eager to get on the field to try to put a checkmark next to the goal that reads, “Beat MSU”.

“Senior year, beating Michigan State at home, that’s a pretty good win in the senior campaign,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to doing that. That’d be an awesome win.”

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