Friday September 23, 2005 sports. michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com eRTicSigan lailt 8 11 Blue front seven , need work: Sacks still on the decline ALI OLSE-N/Daily LaMarr Woodley and the Michigan defense, which has only tallied six sacks so far this season, will have a lot to handle against the Badger defense tomorrow. Michigan's nonconference schedule didn't go exactly as it would have liked, with an unimpres- sive win over Northern Illinois and an embarrass- ing loss to Notre Dame. But after their blowout win against Eastern Michigan last weekend, the Wolverines head into the Big Ten season with a renewed focus on winning its third consecutive conference title. Unlike Michigan, Wisconsin enters Big Ten play with an unblemished 3-0 record. But it hasn't been an easy ride for the Badgers, who just barely eked out a victory against Bowling Green in the first game of the season. Wisconsin has extra motivation to win this year with long-time coach Barry Alva- rez stepping down at the end of the season. Michigan passing offense vs. Wisconsin pass- ing defense: So far this season, Wisconsin's opponents have actually out thrown the Badgers. Bowling Green, Temple and North Carolina averaged 265 yards through the air. Michigan hasn't been able to find a consistent deep threat yet this year, but the Wolverines have the weapons to be unstoppable. Senior co-captain Jason Avant leads the team with 22 receptions for 310 yards. The real ques- tion will be if the coaching staff allows sopho- more quarterback Chad Henne to air it out. In the past, the Michigan offense has gone conservative edge i its fir in its first road game. Edge: Michigan Michigan rushing offense vs. Wisconsin rush- ing defense: Having given up just 39.7 yards per game on the ground this season, Wisconsin is fourth in the nation in rushing defense. The Badgers have yet to give up more than 75 rushing yards, and two weeks ago they held Temple to a meager 11. Of course, Temple is no Michigan. The Wolverines have -had three different running backs lead the team in rushing in the last three weeks. The big question is if sophomore Mike Hart will play after not dressing last week because of a leg injury. Though Kevin Grady and Max Mar- tin are certainly capable ball carriers, the backups have had trouble holding onto the football in the past. They should be able to rack up more than 100 yards against the Badgers, but the test will be limiting the turnovers. Edge: Push Wisconsin passing offense vs. Michigan pass- ing defense: The Badgers rank fourth in total offense among Big Ten teams, but very little of that production has come through the air. Quarterback John Stoc- it road gm co is efficient but has completed just 34 passes for 434 yards on the season. Against North Carolina, Stocco passed for 138 yards on 14-of-23 pass- ing but was sacked four times. Michigan has had trouble pressuring the quarterback this season, notching six sacks in three games. But the Wol- verines have still found a way to slow down their opponents' air attacks, giving up just 459 passing yards to this point. Edge: Michigan Wisconsin rushing offense vs. Michigan rush- ing defense: Badgers tailback Brian Calhoun torched the Tar Heels last weekend, amassing 174 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries. The redshirt junior is currently the second-leading rusher in the Big Ten with 471 yards in three games. The Wolverines' defense held Eastern Michigan to just 15 rushing yards at the Big House last week. Michigan has improved its run defense since it gave up 224 yards to Northern Illinois in its first game. Still, none of the running backs the Wolverines have faced com- pare to Calhoun. Edge: WisconsinS See BADGERS, page 9 By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Editor At the beginning of the season, the defensive line looked like it might be one of the stronger units on a defense full of question marks. With a second- ary that, including injured free safety Ryan Mundy, was missing three start- ers from last season, the thought was that the line had to be impressive if Michigan was going to do well. But through the first three games, Michigan has managed just two sacks from starters in the front seven. In total, the Wolverines have six sacks this season, but cornerback Leon F'all has two, safety Brandent Englemon has one and backup rush linebacker Tim Jamison got one last week in the final minute of Michigan's blowout victory against Eastern Michigan. "Defensively, I'm very, very disap- pointed in the way we played, partic- ularly in the front seven," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said after the sea- son opener against Northern Illi- nois. "We're just not where we need to be. We need to play harder. We need to play more physical. That is our intent." After that game, Carr made some adjustments to the front seven, hop- ing that it would spark some change. He sat nose tackle Gabe Watson and started Will Johnson in his place. He also started Rondell Biggs in place of Jeremy Van Alstyne at defensive end. Neither Van Alstyne nor Watson, who last year was an All-Big Ten first team selection, started last week against Eastern Michigan either - leading some observers to believe that no position is guaranteed. "I think it puts pressure on us to do our best," Biggs said earlier this week about the changes in the line. "I think it can be a good thing. The way we look at it is it's good. It sends a mes- sage that we've got to do what we've got to do and probably exceed what their expectations are." But still the defensive line cannot seem to get pressure on opposing quar- terbacks without help from blitzing safeties and cornerbacks. Last season, the defense didn't fair much better, racking up just 21 sacks in 12 games. But 20 of the 21 sacks were made by linemen or linebackers - senior cor- nerback Marlin Jackson picked one up, as well. The decline in sacks is part of a larger, more disturbing trend for the Michigan football team. Four years ago, the defense picked up 50 sacks, the next year it was 42 and two years ago the total was a meager 29 before dropping to 21 last year. Michigan brought in new defen- sive line coach Steve Stripling this year to try to stop the decline in sacks. He was hired to replace Bill Sheridan, who was naturally a line- backers coach and left Michigan to take that position with the New York Giants. Stripling has spent 19 sea- sons in the Big Ten, and the last two years he coached just up the road at Michigan State. In 2003, the Spar- tans were fifth nationally in sacks with 45 - 27 of which came from the defensive line. "At the beginning of the spring, we gave him a hard time for coming from Lansing," senior co-captain and defensive tackle Pat Massey said. "But he's an intense guy. He's got certain goals for us, and he's definitely deter- mined to get us to where we need to be. If you look at the film from the beginning of the spring to the end of the spring, I think you'll see some significant improvement, and I think that's because of him." Even though there haven't been many bright spots for the Wolverines' defen- sive line this season, rush end LaMarr Woodley has been an exception. The defensive line this year has just two sacks, and Woodley has accounted for both of them. In one of the biggest defensive plays of Michigan's loss to Notre Dame, Woodley lined up at right defensive end, beat the left tackle and sacked Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, pushing the Irish back eight yards. Last week against the Eagles, Woodley again got to the quarterback for a 12-yard loss - this time from the left end. Woodley is fourth on the team with 12 tackles, including four tackles for loss. But it is the two sacks that stand out - especially consider- ing the rest of the team has combined for just four. 0 I 0 IC HOCKEY Tambellini skates at Yost one more time * By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer After shocking the Michigan hockey team by leav- ing Ann Arbor for the Los Angeles Kings, forward Jeff Tambellini was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, on Wednesday. Yesterday, Tambellini - who spent the past month at the Kings' training camp in El Segundo, Calif. - returned to Michigan to practice with his old team- mates before joining the Monarchs on Monday. "It's good to be back in Ann Arbor," Tambel- lini said. "I get back four days of my senior year. I get to enjoy it for a few days, and then I'll get ready to play,." Tambellini skated with the team during yesterday's captains' scrimmage, giving him the opportunity to check out the team's 11 freshmen. Even though he was impressed with the play of the group, it was tough for him to single anyone out with so many new faces around. "I walked in the dressing room and didn't know half the room," Tambellini said. "It was kind of a weird feeling for the first time in three years. I'm still trying to figure out who's who with the helmets on, but they look like a good, solid group." The freshmen will have to find their game fast if the Maize and Blue hope to replace Tambellini's 57 points from last year. The learning curve will be simi- larly steep for Tambellini in Manchester on Monday. Even though he won't start the year in Los Angeles, Tambellini hopes to have a chance to join the Kings at some point. "Hopefully I'll get a call-up and make an impact,"Tam- bellini said. "I just have to play as well as I can, and that's as much as I can control. Sometimes guys get injured, or they make moves, but all I can do is keep playing hard, earn a chance to go up and take advantage of it." While at the Kings' camp, Tambellini found that the biggest difference was the speed of the game. He said that finding his comfort zone amidst the fast-paced play will be the key to earning a shot in the NHL. "Everything is so much faster at that level," Tam- bellini said. "Nobody misses passes. The practices are a lot shorter, but they are harder and more intense. The guys are stronger and work every single time they touch the puck." Tambellini was one of three Michigan players to depart early for NHL camps this summer. Goalten- der Al Montoya joined the New York Rangers, and forward Mike Brown signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Both Brown and Montoya have remained in their respective training camps thus far. Tambellini spoke to Montoya recently and said that he is settling in well. "I talk to (Montoya) a lot," Tambellini said. "He's doing well, still with New York. I don't think he's played in a game yet, but when he gets a chance, I know he'll do well." 6 PROCRASTINATION STATION MICHIGAN WISCONSIN 31 24 ll Before every football game this season, two of the Daily football writers will take the weekend's matchup to the PlayStation 2 and then let you know what happened. " Play of the game - With 1:02 left in the game, Michigan DT #94 broke through the line for a 10-yard sack. Wisconsin QB #7 then spiked the ball despite the fact that he had more than a minute to play. The game ended two plays later when Wisconsin couldn't manage a first down. * Player of the game - Michigan HB #20 ran the ball 23 times 177 yards and three touchdowns. He picked up 91 yards after the first hit. PRESS CONFER ENCE QUOTES: Michigan coach Ian Herbert: "That onside kick almost killed us. I don't know what TE #89 was thinking when he swatted that ball right to the other team. He's supposed to have good hands. Thankfully, DT #94 saved him with a tremendous "No, I was not surprised by the 45- yard catch by WR #15 at the end of the half. He looked like Santana Moss against the Cowboys last week." "HB #20 showed a lot of hart coming back from that injury. I think that speaks to his character." "Recovering that botched punt just before halftime did remind me a lot the last time we played at Camp Randall, yes." Wisconsin coach Gabe Edelson: "To tell you the truth, we never should have put ourselves in this position to begin with. Some costly mistakes - like a muffed punt just before halftime and a bad decision to spike the ball that hrnuht un third-and-lnno - came 0 athletic play to get the next play." sack on the }u.... LIU I