I
8A - Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Once again, Robinson a one-man show for Michigan
Eve
son coi
on the
coordir
saw ou
agree.
But Ro
upbeat
Wh
came o
third q
ing 24
to find
now. t'
a qua
we'fe 1
chance
it's goi
someth
Rob
alread
the-ga
Robins
beat N
had q
ning d
The
Saturd
ed for
offens
started
was pl
Com
poor t
admit
From
Borges
lem wh
bit off.
rushin
The
ter: 22
interce
cit.
"He
Michig
isn't t
inson's
break
lame m
Add
still le
nuance
By TIM ROHAN pressure packed game like that,
Daily Sports Editor with a lot of stuff going on, it's
easy to forget about the little
ry time Denard Robin- things."
mes off the field, he gets It didn't help that the running
phone to tell offensive game was non-existent thanks
nator Al Borges what he to a less than ideal push up front
ut there. Sometimes they combined with a stout Notre
Sometimes they disagree. Dame 3-4 defense. Three running
binson's always the same: backs combined for 10 yards on
and just going. the night. Like Robinson through
en the junior quarterback the air, there was no rhythm on
ff the field at the end of the the ground.
luarter with Michigan los- Had Michigan not run just
-7, Borges said: "I'm going 89 plays in its first two games -
out if you're a quarterback when the team usually runs 70
m going to find out if you're per game - Borges would have
rterback or not. Because been more concerned with his
losing, and if we have a running game.
to get back into this thing, "I'm trying to find something
ng to be because you make here," Borges told Hoke in the
hinghappen here." first half. "I'm trying to find
inson's teammates had something to get us off."
y witnessed the take-over- Once Michigan fell behind,
me, take-no-prisoners Borges and Hoke knew it would
on that single-handedly be hard to get any momentum
otre Dame last season and with their running backs. So it
luarterbacked game-win- was up to Robinson, and specifi-
rives before. cally, his arm.
Robinson that finished "We sputtered so bad in the
ay's game having account- first half of the game," Borges
98.7 percent of his team's said. "Now, they're salty on
e was far from the one that defense --I don't want to not give
I the game. That Robinson them any credit. It became real
aying too fast, too excited. evident very early in the game,
sing off the field after a based on the configuration of
hrow, he was the first to their defense, that they were not
that his footwork was bad. , going to let Denard run the ball
his seat in the press box, outside.
, too, recognizes the prob- "They had that happen to them
en Robinson's throws are a a year ago. And they.were set up
It's either poor footwork or that they were going to force him
g the throw that's to blame. to beat them throwingthe ball, or
result in the first quar- running the ball inside. So you've
yards, one first down, one got to take your shots and when
ption and a 14-point defi- you get your opportunities, your
bombs have to land."
's excited all the time," said Robinson calmed down and
Yan coach Brady Hoke, who figured out his footwork. Then
oo concerned with Rob- came the bombs - a 43-yard
excited start. "I'd rather pass to Junior Hemingway in
a bucking bronco than a the second quarter, a 77-yard
tare." pass to Hemingway in the third,
ed Borges: "(Robinson's) another 45-yard pass to Heming-
earning all of the little way in the fourth, a key 27-yard
es of the offense, and in a pass to Kelvin Grady, and then
4
4
MARS5A MCCLAIN/Daily
Junior quarterback Denard Robinson tallied 446 yards of offense against Notre Dame after totaling 502 against the Fighting rish in 2010.
the 64-yard toss to a wide-open
Jeremy Gallon to set up the
game-winning touchdown. In all,
Robinson averaged 30 yards per
bomb completed.
As he hit more of them, the
perimeter opened up and Rob-
inson was able to take off more,
finishing with 108 yards on the
ground.
"Offensive football is about
getting in sync - running repeti-
tive, successful plays, gaining
confidence and starting to feel it,"
Borges said. "It's like a hot three-
point shooter. He gets one, gets
another and the rim starts look-
ing big. Well, the rim didn't start
getting big until the end of the
game."
By then, Borges's West Coast
offense may have been unrecog-
nizable - he now calls it a hybrid,
mixing in the spread offense too.
Borges started calling plays
Robinson would be comfortable
with, which usually means play-
ing out of the shotgun, where
the running backs really couldn't
be featured. So the game turned
into Robinson versus the Fighting
Irish.
Every person in Schembechler
Hall will praise Robinson's
unique ability and, in the same
breath, recognize that he alone
isn't enough, saying Michigan
can't win with just one guy.
At times it sounds like this:
"When you have Denard Rob-
inson on your team, 30 seconds
is plenty of time to score a touch-
down," said fifth-year senior
Ryan Van Bergen of the game's
final drive. "He can run 100 yards
in under 10 seconds, so we don't
need to worry about 30 seconds
being on the clock."
But other times, it sounds like
this:
"The best teams don't depend
on one player," Borges said. "Yet,
they have that one player that can
win for them. I mean, Terry Brad-
shaw, Franco Harris, John Stall-
worth, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice.
"There's never been one guy.
There's always been - someone
else has to do something. I worry
a little bit about that. But I know
when push comes to shove, I want
the ball in his hands."
That hasn't changed. The
offense has. But just like last year,
the question persists: who can be
counted on to help Robinson?
Robinson started slowly, made
some mistakes in the middle and
was near perfect at the end. The
three interceptions really bother
Borges.
When Hoke was asked wheth-
er Robinson's game was catego-
rized as good or bad, he saidboth,
saying Robinson saved the game
but made-bad decisions at times.
Ultimately, Borges did find out
what kind of quarterback Robin-
son is - a winner, even though it
wasn't pretty.
"As you learn the offense bet
ter and understand what you're
doing better, it starts to flow,"
Borges said. "Remember when I
told you, there's going to be grow-
ingpainsinthisthing- hopefully
they're not excruciating growing
pains. And so far, we've had some.
... You'll get to the point that you
want to get, if you're just patient.
"And I think I'm talking to me
more than I'm talking to you."
0
EMBARK: NASSAU, BAHAMAS
ROSEAU, DOMINICA
MANAUS, BRAZIL
TAKORADI, GHANA
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS
COCHIN, INDIA
SINGAPORE
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIET NAM
HONG KONG, CHINA
SHANGHAI, CHINA
KOBE, JAPAN
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
HILO, HAWAII
DEBARK: SAN DIEGO, CA USA
..E..o. . su..... ...ECT. . ..C
SAIL
AR0UND
EWORLD
TS SPRING
NO DEADLINE FOR UNIV. OF MICHIGAN STUDENTS
Space is Limited: Apply Now! Financial Aid is Available
:4
To apply, s
APPLY FOR SPRING 2012
Scan the code for the n5 Fast
Appca c' ere apply S>y estee'
.genarnrt,;sad and we'lwAce
yea' ape5.eat9n tee'
000.054.0190
wow I!
IN so
1
A
0