Tag: cade mcnamara

Never apologize for a win, even if it takes 3 OT vs. Rutgers

Why Michigan football shouldn’t apologize for a win, even if it’s a 3 OT squeaker over lowly Rutgers.

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. — 226 minutes and 22 seconds. That’s how long it had been since Michigan held a lead in a game. And against lowly Rutgers, it took 46 minutes and 22 seconds for the Wolverines to find themselves ahead.

And it took another 13 minutes for what became an 8-point lead to be completely squandered. Thankfully for Michigan, in finagled a victory over the Scarlet Knights some way, some how, in an everlasting stalemate that took 3 overtime periods.

But as Jim Harbaugh often says, ‘never apologize for a win.’

Many of the same issues from previous weeks still persisted. The play calling and personnel decisions were often baffling. Penalties killed drives and extended others. But it was far less than what we’ve seen in recent weeks. A crucial step in the right direction, but when you lose to Rutgers, what does it matter?

For the first time since Week 1, this Michigan team showed some grit, regardless of the opponent. Say what you will about Rutgers, but it’s played teams hard — even Ohio State, albeit late in that contest. Michigan found itself down by three scores, but battled back. Even when it cut the score to three points after Giles Jackson returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a TD, when Rutgers responded by scoring in kind, and quickly, Michigan was methodical and found its roots again in the process. But the defense continued to be a problem. Regardless of the offensive struggles, it still managed 35 points in regulation, so it’s something to build on.

Let’s start with the big positive: once Cade McNamara replaced a struggling Joe Milton, the offense at least found an identity. And he got some help. Michigan didn’t give up on the run and it paid off, with Hassan Haskins getting the bulk of the carries and bowling for 110 yards on 22 attempts. At this point, if you’re Jim Harbaugh, you have to roll with McNamara the rest of the way. For whatever reason, Milton hasn’t been the same since the opening foray against Minnesota, and there’s little sign that the strong-armed QB will return. No, Michigan has done him no favors, with a porous defense and shaky and injured offensive line. But regardless of those unassailable facts, McNamara has been everything that Milton was supposed to be as a playmaker.

Now, onto the glaring issues that still persist. The defense continues to allow opposing offense to put up alarming numbers, and in different ways each week. Last week it was the run game on the end around. This week, once again, it was the pass defense. But, it wasn’t as much Gemon Green and Vincent Gray with the issues as much as the safety play. Michigan allowed Noah Vedral to throw for 378 yards, the most this year, and the third game this season with over 300 yards passing.

Michigan is not a good team right now, but at least there’s some foundation to build upon — though it appears to be built on straw.

But as Harbaugh says, never apologize for a win, and though it took 4.5 hours to procure it against Rutgers of all teams, it says something that this program kept battling back.

5 takeaways from Michigan’s 48-42 win against Rutgers

Michigan football defeated Rutgers on Saturday, winning 48-42. What are the biggest takeaways from the Wolverines triple-overtime victory?

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The three-game losing streak is officially over for the Michigan football team. Heading into this battle of 1-3 teams, Michigan was the favorite, and understandably so, despite the record, Michigan overall is the better team than Rutgers. You wouldn’t think that, though, as it was 17-7 Rutgers at halftime, but in the second half, the Wolverines offense found life, and it all came from a backup quarterback.

Starting quarterback Joe Milton trotted onto the field to start the game, but he wasn’t the guy to finish it as Milton finished going 5/12 for 89 yards before getting benched in the second quarter. Milton was making a few poor decisions, but drops and a running game couldn’t move the ball, along with an early turnover, killed his chances to prove himself as the guy at the position. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh pulled the plug on Milton and brought in backup Cade McNamara. That change was the difference-maker in the end.

On the first play of the second half, down 17-7, Michigan wide receiver Giles Jackson returned the kick 95-yards for a touchdown, and suddenly the Wolverines had life. While Rutgers would answer back quickly, it’s 24-14 lead would soon evaporate as the Wolverines came back and took down the Scarlet Knights in triple overtime 48-42 as the Wolverines improved to 2-3 on the year. What were the five biggest takeaways from the victory?

Halftime analysis of Michigan vs. Rutgers

Halftime is here as Michigan football is down 17-7 against Rutgers. What have been the biggest positive and negative takeaways so far?

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1-3 was a fair prediction for the record for Rutgers Scarlet Knights this season heading into this matchup. Well, while Rutgers is 1-3, so are the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan hasn’t been able to win since it beat Minnesota on opening weekend. This week, both teams look to grab its second win of the season and try and put some life back into its final five games.

Michigan would start the game on defense and quickly forced a three and out against Rutgers. In Michigan’s first offensive possession, the quarterback was still Joe Milton. The Wolverines were moving the ball until a pass was completed to wide receiver Cornelius Johnson for a first down until he fumbled it, and Rutgers would easily recover the football.

After both teams fail to put up points on its next drives, Rutgers would stop the Wolverines on a fourth down and one, giving them good field position to start its third drive of the game. Quarterback Noah Vedral found wide receiver Aaron Cruickshank for a 43-yard pass to put Rutgers inside the red zone. Backup quarterback Johnny Langan came in to run it in back-to-back plays and ran it for a three-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 Rutgers.

After both teams couldn’t move the chains, Michigan would get another chance as Milton found wide receiver Giles Jackson for a 31-yard pass. Michigan would have to settle for a field goal attempt, and kicker Quinn Nordin would miss the 49-yard attempt, keeping it 7-0 Rutgers.

Rutgers would take advantage of the field goal miss and the short field position once again as wide receiver Shameen Jones ran it 33 yards on a double reverse sweep to put the Scalet Knights inside the red zone. Two plays later, Langan would run it into the endzone for the second time tonight, this time only one yard out, and Rutgers would extend the lead against the Wolverines, making it 14-0.

Michigan continued to struggle on offense and would punt it away once again, and with where Rutgers was starting with the football, another short-field position for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers had some struggles on offense with a holding penalty and a fumble, but Michigan would get its first penalty of the game, and it would help move Rutgers into field goal range. The Wolverine secondary would get tested but would not fail as instead of a touchdown, the defense held Rutgers to a 38-yard field goal to make it 17-0.

With the Wolverines down by 17, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh made a change at quarterback once again, as Cade McNamara would come in for Milton. Last week against Wisconsin, McNamara came in on his first drive and would put up the first (and only) touchdown of the game. This week, he does it again as McNamara found Johnson wide open for a 46-yard touchdown to cut the lead down to 10, 17-7 Rutgers.

McNamara was able to drive the Wolverines down the field once again before halftime, but a bad snap by the long snapper on the field goal attempt, forced holder Will Hart to grab it up high, which slowed down the hold and forced Nordin to stutter when trying to kick and the field goal was no good as Rutgers keeps it as a 10 point lead at halftime, 17-7.

Positives:

  • Michigan’s defensive line has been able to create some pressure on Vedral so far in this game. Defensive tackle Chris Hinton has a sack, and a few pressures from the line have forced Vedral to overthrow and miss his receiver. This defensive line hasn’t been the same since the season opener, and without its starting defensive ends, others need to step up and create that pressure.

Negatives

  • Same issue, different weeks as once again turnovers are an issue for Michigan once again. On the opening drive, Michigan moved the ball well until Johnson fumbled the football and returned to the Scarlet Knights. Michigan hadn’t fumbled since November last year, but no matter how the ball is turned over, Michigan can’t keep giving its opponents extra chances to win this game. While the turnover didn’t turn into Rutgers’ points, it stopped Michigan from at least getting three as it was in field goal range.
  • The offensive line is still having trouble, and with its starting center, Andrew Vastardis would join left tackle Ryan Hayes and right tackle Jalen Mayfield in missing this game due to an injury. Zach Carpenter would start at center, and on the fourth-down stop, Carpenter got beat easily, leading to the stop by the Scarlet Knights. Michigan is trying to run the football, but it isn’t having much success as running back Hassan Haskins leads the team with six carries for 15 yards. Milton was sacked once, and pressure has been coming at him and McNamara a few times as both haven’t had a clean pocket for most of the game so far.
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With just one drive, Cade McNamara has started a controversy at quarterback for Michigan

Michigan football saw a new wrinkle in the offense in the 49-11 loss to Wisconsin in backup QB Cade McNamara, could things change?

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The 2020 offseason talk for Michigan football was primarily about the quarterback position and the battle between Joe Milton and Dylan McCaffrey. While it seemed that McCaffrey would win that battle, Milton ended up coming out on top, and McCaffrey would end up opting out of the 2020 season and will transfer away from Michigan after this season. Now transferring away was a little surprising knowing that one play could put McCaffrey in the game, but it was rumored that Cade McNamara was breathing down McCaffrey’s neck as a threat to that backup position.

While McNamara would get some playing time against Minnesota in the season opener, McNamara got a real shot to see what he could do against Wisconsin. Down 35-3 with less than five minutes to go, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh pulled the plug on the Milton project and let McNamara get a shot at trying to move the offense down the field, something Milton struggled to do early on in the game as he would finish going 9/19 for 98 yards with two interceptions and seven carries for 15 yards.

Four plays later, Michigan scored its first and only touchdown of the game and converted on a two-point conversion, making it 35-11. There seemed to be life in the offense, and the fight was still in there from the players.

Michigan wouldn’t recapture that magic for the rest of the game as it would lose 49-11 and fall to 1-3 on the season. McNamara finished the game going 4/7 for 74 yards and a touchdown. That flash of a performance for McNamara brings up a question that nobody was thinking about a few weeks ago. Maybe Milton isn’t what we thought he was?

After the opening week against Minnesota, Milton looked like the guy Michigan has needed at quarterback to make that next step. Against Michigan State, Milton played well but couldn’t get much support around him. Against Indiana, Milton struggled at times but still showed that he had it to lead this team.

This week, Milton dug himself into a hole quickly and wasn’t able to recover from it. The first throw by Milton was intercepted, and while it wasn’t his fault for the interception, he was still a part of it as he threw the ball right at the hands of tight end Nick Eubanks who dropped it, and Wisconsin was able to hit the drop in the air and snag it. On his next drive, Milton needed to rebound and shake off the interception.

Instead, Milton would throw another interception, but this one was worse as it was right to a Wisconsin linebacker who was by himself, nowhere near a Michigan receiver. That throw helped set up another easy touchdown for Wisconsin, and very quickly, it was a 14-0 Badger lead that they never lost control of.

If fans were allowed into the stadium this season, I wonder what the reaction would have been when McNamara came in and performed as he did. When former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson was the starter, fans clamored for McCaffery to come in when Patterson struggled, even booing him when he came back in after going out for a play in the opening week last season. Would the same have happened to Milton?

The problem with Michigan is more than just the quarterback position. Even though Milton was having struggles, there have been worse struggles at the position before in Ann Arbor. The offensive line is without its starting tackles, the tight end corps has issues with drops, and the loaded running back room can’t find a rhythm because the defense allows points left and right. The ground game has to be removed until the score can become closer again, making it harder for Milton to throw the ball when the defense is expecting it.

If McNamara gets the start against Rutgers next week, it might not be the answer to the questions we all have of what is wrong with Michigan. The quarterback position isn’t the focal point of the problems with this team, but with the season being a lost cause, this is the time for things like this to be experimented with, and Harbaugh made the right call in giving McNamara a shot to prove himself.

Michigan is known for having quarterback controversies. Drew Henson vs. Tom Brady, Tate Forcier vs. Denard Robinson, Wilton Speight vs. John O’Korn, and now Joe Milton vs. Cade McNamara. At 1-3, Michigan has to see what some of these young players can do, so against Rutgers, McNamara deserves a shot at it. This team needs a heartbeat somewhere as they look lifeless on both sides of the football, and if McNamara can bring life back into a dead season, then maybe that could be the key for a turnaround 2021 season.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Why Ronnie Bell is particularly excited about Joe Milton

The junior receiver shares why Joe Milton is worth the hype, saying he’s been ‘lights out’ in fall camp.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football junior wide receiver Ronnie Bell is awfully dependent on the quarterback position, which will be breaking in a new starter for the first time since Shea Patterson took over in 2018.

What he’s able to do as a wideout requires the QB to be able to make throws in his vicinity — not just throwing catchable balls but ones that take advantage of the chemistry between the two positions. That’s why Bell has made as much of an effort as possible to get work in with both Joe Milton, the presumed starter, and Cade McNamara.

At the time this offseason, the battle appeared to be between Milton and Dylan McCaffrey, but the latter has chosen to transfer out of the program with Milton reportedly earning the starting role. But that Milton was able to win out is no surprise — as Bell constantly worked out with him during the offseason — including with former Michigan football QB Devin Gardner at his Young Go Getters, Inc. group.

As a result, the chemistry is there with both Milton and McNamara. As Bell sees it, it’s a testament to both and their willingness to be the best they can be at their craft.

“With Joe specifically, me and him got back to Ann Arbor a lot sooner than everybody else,” Bell said. “I think me and him both have been here since April. So me and him got a lot of work in together in that time period, because it was literally just me and him in Ann Arbor. Nobody else was here!

“And Cade and I also worked. Cade’s put in extra work as well. That’s like before or after practice. Cade and I have thrown in a random field before. Both of those guys, it’s constant. It’s never stopping for either one of them. And I think that’s why they’re so good at what they do. They love the game so much. Every day, they want more work, they wanna do more work. I’m lucky enough to just be able to tag along with them.”

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But what is it about Milton that makes him so popular at this juncture? The strong-armed QB has gained a considerable amount of hype, but he’s only played 47 snaps at the college level.

Bell feels the hype is warranted, not because the coaches or the media say so, but because he’s personally seen the emergence in his game, firsthand.

“Not necessarily the throws, but all-around game, I guess, Joe as a quarterback – I talked about it with one of the guys about a week ago, and this is the best I’ve ever seen Joe,” Bell said. “Joe got here a semester before me, but I’ve been around Joe as much as anybody and he’s just lights out right now. It’s just very exciting to play alongside him. Like I said, I told the guys the other day, this is the best I’ve seen him play.”

The hype train on Milton will assuredly speed up until he actually starts taking snaps under center against live competition, with the first game set for Oct. 24 in Minneapolis as Michigan takes on Minnesota for the season opener.

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How Michigan’s QBs are handling competition during stay-at-home

How the Wolverines are still working despite the shelter-in-place orders.

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Michigan is in something of a precarious situation with shelter-in-place going on, as it doesn’t have a returning starting quarterback.

While the contenders — fourth-year Dylan McCaffrey, third-year Joe Milton and second-year Cade McNamara — all have had time in Josh Gattis’ system and two of the three have seen playing time in their careers, none has been the out on the field for the first snap.

So how do the Wolverines conduct a true evaluation, considering spring practice was canceled due to the novel coronavirus?

Head coach Jim Harbaugh chimed in on Thursday, speaking with Rich Eisen on his show via telephone, saying that it’s an open competition, and he’s sure that they’ll be ready to duke it out once they all get back to campus.

“We’ve got some guys we really love,” Harbaugh said. “They’ve been champing at the bit. When I say there are guys that are excited to get back to working out at the team and back to practicing, but our quarterbacks in particular, they’re champing at the bit, which is better.”

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They’re not just biding their time, however, according to Harbaugh.

As injured players do, the squad has been getting mental reps, learning the playbook and preparing as much as they can in the interim. Some of that is team-led while Harbaugh has also implored them to get some work in on their own.

We’ve seen Joe Milton, in particular, in videos working with former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner at his Young Go Getters camps, with wide receiver Ronnie Bell in tow. But what have the others been doing?

Harbaugh elucidated on the subject, noting how the team has been preparing the signal callers in the interim and how they’ve been asked to train while they’re apart from the team.

“Specifically with the quarterbacks, we’ve been having Zoom meetings,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve been installing football and I told the guys, ‘Hey, learn the system the best you can. Be an expert at it when we do get back together. Also, be in the best shape of your life and throw the football. Get out and throw it every day.’ And each guy, going through the quarterbacks in my mind here, each one has done that and taken advantage of that and gotten guys to throw to.

“Dylan McCaffrey has been throwing with his brothers, Christian and Luke in Denver. Joe Milton has been in Orlando and then he came back to Ann Arbor. He’s got a bag of balls and finding guys to throw with. Cade McNamara has got his brother (who’s) gonna be an incoming freshman at wide receiver. They’re champing at the bit, what you can do and getting coached. Ben McDaniels has been coaching them every day, they’re on the installation, been going over footwork, all kinds of stuff. So I know those guys are champing at the bit.”

Perhaps there’s a silver lining here, too, in terms of Harbaugh having had NFL experience.

His first year in San Francisco, the season was in peril due to a lockout, though it was resolved with time to spare. However, much of the typical league offseason activity was a victim of the larger contract dispute.

Harbaugh tells Eisen that he’s learned a bit from that in terms of how to be flexible, while constantly evaluating the quotidian as well as the bigger picture.

“I have been doing a little bit of that, Rich, drawing on a little bit of 2011 when there was the lockout,” Harbaugh said. “So there are some similarities. The things I’ve drawn from it are you gotta really consider everything, day-by-day, week-by-week. Plan for the different scenarios and there’s gonna be a lot of them. You’re gonna learn more as it goes on and you don’t know when exactly when you’re gonna start. But also try to be creative and proactive so you can be as productive as possible.”

While the NCAA opened things back up with an anticipated June 1 date for voluntary workouts, Harbaugh and Michigan have to continue to wait, as the state of Michigan’s safer-at-home order doesn’t expire until June 12.

Watch the entire interview below:

Josh Gattis discusses Michigan’s quarterback competition

How the Wolverines offensive coordinator is approaching the battle at the most important position on the field this spring.

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While the Wolverines will have to fill out with six new starters on the offensive side this spring and fall, all eyes will assuredly be on one position:

Quarterback.

With two-year starter Shea Patterson having exhausted his eligibility, the maize and blue will have a new man under center running the offense. And it’s impossible at this juncture to name a front-runner. It might even continue to be impossible after spring ball and through much of fall camp.

Call it an embarrassment of riches, that Michigan now has multiple QBs capable of leading the charge — whether it be Dylan McCaffrey, Joe Milton or even Cade McNamara. But the biggest thing is finding a guy who will come in and consistently make plays. Given that none of the above has starting experience at the college level, it’ll be a challenge for not just the players, but offensive coordinator Josh Gattis in narrowing it down.

Speaking with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast, Gattis noted that they have to find a way to make things equitable for the competitors, as to properly judge their competence.

It’s the only way that the team will truly be able to determine the new starter.

“The biggest thing we gotta do is we’ve gotta maintain a system that’s gonna be fair, that’s gonna give all the quarterbacks on the roster equal opportunity to push themselves and apply themselves to be able to compete for the job,” Gattis said. “It’s often a challenge during the season because when you have a starter in the past, your backups don’t always get a fair amount of reps – they’re getting them with the twos, with the threes. But they’re not given the same opportunity as the starter, whereas compared to in spring ball, we’ve gotta develop a system of reps and opportunities to allow the quarterbacks on our roster to compete with a fair amount of opportunity of reps. Whether that’s splitting time with the ones, splitting time with the twos by rotation.”

Part of the issue is the development of McNamara, Gattis notes.

While most think of it as a two-man race between McCaffrey and Milton, McNamara has earned the right through what he showed in practice a year ago. If it was a two-quarterback race, it would be an easier proposition, Gattis says.

He explains more about the importance of giving them each a chance to compete and going from there.

“It’s something we’ve gotta be able to manage, and it’s a challenge when you have multiple quarterbacks,” Gattis said. “If the job was just coming down to just two guys, then obviously it’s just a two-way system. We feel Cade has developed. We feel Joe has developed. We’re really excited to see Joe, excited to see Dylan. We gotta figure out a way to get those guys an equal amount of opportunities to show what they can do and lead this team in the direction we need them.”