Maize n Brew - An Unofficial Michigan Football Blog that Hits like Ezeh and is Smooth like Gibson.

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About Maize n Brew

Maize n Brew is a Blog devoted to the University of Michigan, its athletes, its sports teams, students and alumni. While primarily a Michigan Football Blog, Maize n Brew also follows Michigan Basketball, Michigan Hockey and all of its other athletic teams, with the devotion of a hungry puppy chasing a chuck wagon. Put simply Maize n Brew is a labor of love by its authors. While we have no inside information, connections or influence on Michigan Athletics, we like to pretend we do. So just about everyday we'll offer up our own unfiltered thoughts, opinions and insights into Michigan athletics. However, if you've got inside scoops, don't hesitate to contact us!

Godzillatron, Your Time Has Come at Michigan Stadium

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jul 2, 2009 11:29 AM CDT in Michigan Football Comment 6 comments

It's the offseason. Michigan Football isn't praticing. Michigan Basketball is quiet. Bill Martin's out sailing. There is nothing going on. No player felonies to report. No coach's hilariously minor violations of NCAA rules to mock (save Kiffin, but we'll leave that to the SEC guys). Recruiting's kinda quiet and there are only so many times we can watch the video of a monkey sniffing its own butt. Just kidding. We laugh hysterically every time. But all this free time causes our minds to wander, and these are the things we think about...

It's time for a Godzillatron at Michigan Stadium

Yeah. You heard me. At Michigan we pride ourselves on accumulating the best sports enthused nerds on the planet. They're engineers with a football problem. They pack Michigan Stadium with mental charts of run direction percentages and optimum downfield pass (>15 yards) scenarios. When they're not in the Stadium or playing World of Warcraft, they design things. Electrical things. Things that display objects with the clarity it would take a thousand naked eyes to fully absorb. They design and build things that can project a smilely face on the moon, but have to watch Michigan Football replays on this?

That ain't right. Especially when you realize Texas, TEXAS, Has this thing.

Behold the majesty of Godzillatron. All hail. It's the size of an office building. It's got more pixels than your skin has pores. The power it takes to run it on game day would keep all of Columbia well lit for two weeks. It is glorious. If a place like Texas, who cages their nerds and feeds them food pellets every time they design something, has something like this, what stopping us from building something better? Our nerds are free range. There are no organized nerd beatings in Ann Arbor. Hell. They run the damn place.

So lets put them to use.

I'm not talking about a Godzillatron like the one at Texas. No way. That's thinking small, baby. I want something that can be seen from space. Something that the people directly beneath it get a suntan from. Something so powerful you can watch the game clearly from two counties away. We can build it. We have the technology. We can make it bigger. Clearer. Awesomerer.

We've put ~~ten seconds~~ a lot of thought into this. We've even commissioned a ~~reputable engineering firm~~ five year-old with crayons to prepare an artists rendering of what the new scoreboard should, nay, WILL look like. Behold it's awesomeness.

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What Just Happened?

by Beauford on Jul 2, 2009 8:20 AM CDT Comment 3 comments

More photos » by Al Goldis - AP

In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo rehearses in East Lansing, Mich. Izzo will participate in a Broadway-style show, "Izzo Goes to Broadway" as a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer initiative. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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The last few months have been interesting. For one, I got married to a girl and my lack of posting over that time frame should prove that yes, bloggers do have a life, and sometimes that life interferes with, well, blogging. The past few months play in my head in much the same way that the characters from "Lost" must have felt while they were skipping through time this past season. At one point, I'm proposing, then there's a bright light and a bunch of shit I don't remember, and we're fighting over room-gift-bags (the bane of any wedding planning, I assure you), then another bright light and a migrain, and I'm dancing at the reception. A little bit of time passes, and I'm in Italy wondering what the hell this shiny thing on my finger is (I've discovered that the way I type causes my finger to flex against a ring in such a way that I'm going to have to completely overhaul this thing), and now I'm back. What just happened?

I managed to read one post while in Italy, and it had to do with stripes on a football and Indiana building a bigger drum than Purdue. I laughed out loud, then realized that I hadn't missed much.

It's easy for people as football obsessed as us to wish away the summer to get to a season that passes all too quickly. We're going to get some Big Ten previews up over the next few weeks/months, which should satiate your thirst, but in the meantime, get outside, go to a lake, and enjoy the summer. And, just because SBN keeps recommending I put it in a post, enjoy this picture.

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Michigan Football to Host Georgia in 2010? It's Possible!

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jul 1, 2009 1:28 PM CDT in Michigan Football Comment 3 comments

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

How bout a Bulldogs Wolverines matchup? You know you want it.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Please God, let this come to pass. Kyle. Doug. If this works out, you're tailgating with me. This may pave the way for my long held desire to party under the peach trees in Athens to actually come to fruition.

From Ryan Kartje of the Michigan Daily:

Some sources tell me that the Athletic Department is looking into a home game against the University of Georgia in 2010, one that would also bring the Wolverines to Athens in 2011.

Oh, if only. The Movement has been afoot since 2006, when Kyle first suggested the match up. It has been proclaimed dead. And now it is revived. I am hopeful, even if Kyle isn't.

HT: The Rivalry, Esq.

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Wednesday Happy Hour is Loaded with Michigan Football Updates

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jul 1, 2009 11:25 AM CDT in News Comment 3 comments

Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semi-daily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium at your boring ass desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information and commentary to help you salt away the time. Want it in 140 words or less, follow us on Twitter! Or you can find us on Facebook! Here's what's ON TAP:

Things You Need to Read Right Now

Coach Rod's got the Big Pun look rockin'. I can only pray LSU Freek gives us a little Marky M treatment. via The Detroit News.

Quarterback Achievement Under Rod Smith - WCA takes an indepth look at Michigan Quarterbacks coach Rod Smith. Per usual, Markus continues to rock the knowledge. WCA looks at Smith's success all the way back to 2001 while coaching under Jim Leavitt. Short version: things at Michigan under center look good with Smith in the fold. Stats galore for you numbers people.

Washington State's student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen Online, marks yet another arrest in Pullman with arguably the greatest editorial on arrest problems among student athletes ever. This is full of WIN.

Why you can't just play "assignment football" against the flexbone/triple-option - Smart Football is just awesome. Chris breaks down Paul Johnson's rushing attack in detail.

The Blue-Gray Sky provides us with "The Idiot's Guide to Interacting with Recruits." Words to live by people. Words to live by.

Michigan Football

Gibson expects a better mix - Rivals fluff on secondary coach Tony Gibson. Please, Tony, under no circumstances shift Warren to Safety ever again.

DT Thornton excited over Michigan offer - thank god, a DT with interest. We just covered this yesterday.

GA Corner Darius Robinson likes Michigan - Michigan seems to be in the lead for Georgia Corner , whom I regrettably omitted from my cornerback run down. Robinson's offer list is fairly impressive for a 3*. One concern is that for an Atlanta guy, there isn't a Georgia or Georgia Tech offer.

Along those lines, Heisman Pundit rates the nation's top corners. Donovan Warren checks in at No. 8.

Lloyd Carr, still awesome. - Carr talks to Petoskey Alumni about missing the sidelines and what he's been up to since retiring.

Rich Rodriguez anticipates better second season with U-M - File this under "Duh." Rodriguez sits down with the Detroit News and talks a little 2009/2008 football. Awesome quote? Check.

Q . But there seems to be the perception that Michigan State is taking over the state in recruiting

A . Last I checked, Mike Martin and Will Campbell were playing for Michigan.

Being Seantrel Henderson - Fluff on the No. 1 recruit in the country. Take what you want from this, but I'm not taking it as an indication he's planning on attending Michigan. Hope he does though. While he says he will wait until Signing Day to make a decision, he plans to cut his list to ten schools soon. He says Minnesota, Ohio State, USC, UCLA, Oklahoma and Florida State will make the cut for sure and he also likes Michigan, Iowa, Florida and LSU.

Picking the Big Ten - Further proof Dennis Dodd is not playing with a full deck. Dodd picks Michigan near the bottom of the Big Ten because the offense sputtered during the spring game. Now, I understand that Michigan's offense is not a well oiled Machine at this point, but when the offense scores five touchdowns with it's first team against the first team defense, the concern generally shifts to the play of the defense!

8. Michigan -- I was at a Michigan scrimmage in April during the Final Four. Granted, you don't learn much from watching a scrimmage but it seemed to me the offense still struggled to move the ball. Rich Rod better hope that the early-enrolling Tate Forcier is the answer at quarterback. There isn't much behind him. The defense should toughen up. A bowl is a possibility but will a 5-7 season be considered progress?

I fail to understand the benchmark being used, Mr. Dodd. Would you suggest the Defense was a disaster had the offense scored on every possession? Would you laud the defense if the offense couldn't move the ball? Or shouldn't you suggest that things looked about even on both sides of the ball? I'm just saying...

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2009 Michigan Football, Position by Position: Defensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle Recruiting

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jun 30, 2009 6:12 PM CDT in Michigan Football Comment 3 comments

Going into the 2009 season there are three positions on the Michigan Defense that are causing a great amount of concern among the Michigan faithful. Cornerback. Safety. Defensive Tackle. All three of these positions have highly touted players starting for the Wolverines. All three of these positions are also an injury away from becoming an aneurysm inducing mess. In an effort to assuage those fears (or stoke them like coals in a furnace) we'll be taking a look at Michigan Football's positions of need, the quality in place, the replacements on the way, and recruits that hopefully will carry the load for Michigan going forward.

Defensive Tackle

If you're looking for an iconic photograph that basically encapsulates how Michigan fan feels about Michigan Football, you really need to look no further than the aftermath of Alan Branch planting Anthony Morreli in 2006.

Branch_medium

The end of Times, via www.thewolverineblog.com

It's all there. Strength. Power. Devastation. Arrogance. This photo sums up both the expectations and historical results of Michigan Football. So, as emblematic as the Corner position has become for Michigan over the past couple of decades, Defensive Tackle may be a more apt symbol. Will Carr, Rob Renes, Alan Branch, Gabe Watson, Terrance Taylor, and the lot. Just like Michigan's football seasons, they've run the gambit from overachievers, to underachievers, to just what you'd expect, good or bad. If you're looking for a positional representation of Michigan's Football fortunes, look no further than Defensive Tackle.

Along those lines, the last two years have been down ones at Defensive Tackle. The talent was certainly there in the forms of Terrance Taylor, Will Johnson and Mike Martin. Unfortunately the results (save Martin) haven't been. Taylor was projected to be a second round pick in 2007, came back to a revamped (totally screwy) defense and wound up dropping into the fourth round after a disappointing senior season. Will Johnson, despite being one of the strongest guys on the team, never lived up to his billing. As a result, teams ran all over Michigan. Now you can't pin the failure of the run defense on these two guys. But the reality is they were serviceable at best for most of the year, with the occasional flash of brilliance. Regarding Martin, it appears he's got star written all over him. But that's easy to say when you're coming off the bench fresh mid game rather than starting.

While game play at the Defensive Tackle position has been adequate, it's impossible to classify Michigan's recruiting at this position as anything better. When you think about the spectacular flame out of Marques Slocum; the underdevelopment Renaldo Sagesse and Jason Kates (transfer); and the fact that we've moved Vince Helmuth from fullback to DT, well, you start to wonder what the hell is going on.

Defensive Tackle has been such a frustrating recruiting slot that John Ferrara, a DT recruit, is now on the opposite side of the ball as an Offensive Guard! I mean how screwy do things have to be when you move a player to a position of need, and his former position becomes the most dire on the team? However you want to read it, with the graduations of Taylor and Johnson Michigan was down to one starter worthy player, a handful of guys whom we really have no idea whether they'll provide any serviceable time, a converted fullback, and an all-star freshman in the mold of Terrence Taylor. In a word: Yikes.

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2009 Michigan Football, Position by Position: Cornerback and Cornerback Recruiting

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jun 29, 2009 12:28 PM CDT in Michigan Football Comment 4 comments

Going into the 2009 season there are three positions on the Michigan Defense that are causing a great amount of concern among the Michigan faithful. Cornerback. Safety. Defensive tackle. All three of these positions have highly touted players starting for the Wolverines. All three of these positions are also an injury away from becoming an aneurism inducing mess. In an effort to assuage those fears (or stoke them like coals in a furnace) we'll be taking a look at Michigan Football's positions of need, the quality in place, the replacements on the way, and recruits that hopefully will carry the load for Michigan going forward.

Cornerback

With the possible exceptions of quarterback and receiver, it's hard to imagine a position on the football field over the past twenty years that's been as quintessentially "Michigan" as the cornerback position. Ernest Shazor. Marlin Jackson. Leon Hall. Charles Woodson. When you thought about big names on the Michigan Defense, you naturally turned to the backfield to find them. One of the main reasons those Michigan defenses piled up so many sack was the fact that opposing quarterbacks (usually) had no place to throw the ball.

Unfortunately for Michigan, the last two years have seen that reputation diminish substantially. In 2007, Wolverine fans watched in horror as short slant after short slant turned into 50 yard plus touchdowns. Teams had no problems going deep on the Wolverines where only a few years before they wouldn't have dared. Part of the problem was recruiting. Michigan normally stockpiled highly rated DB recruits and threw them out when they were ready. But Michigan no longer had that luxury. Defensive backs and safeties were being recruited to become linebackers. Of the pure corners that were recruited, it was a 50/50 chance that they'd be boom or bust. In fact, Michigan took to taking players out of position and installing them at cornerback.

The result of this was talented athletes, like Morgan Trent, being forced to learn the position on the fly because the guys previously recruited for that position couldn't hack it or were being moved elsewhere. Certainly Michigan hit a homerun at corner recruiting, taking in both starting corners Donovan Warren (Jr.) and Boubacar Cissoko (So.) (both were consensus five star recruits), but depth is a huge issue for the Wolverines heading into 2009 and 2010. Looking at Michigan's depth chart, there are no junior backups. No sophomore backups (however JT Floyd is a red-shirt frosh who came in with Cissoko). The second line of defense is comprised entirely of freshmen.

Like it or not, the Wolverines are an injury away from a crisis at corner. Though Warren and Cissoko legitimately have the talent and ability to be 1^st Team All Big Ten, Michigan's primary corner backup is a kid that's not even on campus yet (though he may have arrived by now - ed.), Justin Turner.

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Michigan Basketball Receives Tim Hardaway, Jr.'s Commitment!

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jun 29, 2009 11:45 AM CDT in Michigan Basketball Comment 6 comments

via media.scout.com

John Beilein just keeps raking in high class recruits. After impressing Beilein at Michigan's summer camp, Hardaway quickly accepted Michigan's scholarship offer. Hardaway is Michigan's second commitment in the 2010 class joining F Evan Smotrycz. As always, UM Hoops has your breakdown of the incoming 6'3"-6'4" guard.

Hardaway is exactly the type of player that seems perfect for the Beilein system. Very smooth with the ball, Hardaway is an excellent outside shooter. But he's not limited to that role. Hardaway has shown an excellent first step toward the basket and plays the pick and roll very well. ESPN threw some praise his way back in late May. Following his recruitment, there's been a significant up tick in not just his recruitment, but the praise for his game that's followed.

If you need numbers to justify a recruitment, Hardaway is a 3* recruit to both services, but is ranked #93 in ESPN's Top 100 for the 2010 class. Lanky at 6'3"-6'4", Tim, Jr. seems to be a perfect fit for the 1-3-1, able to play man defense but also able to clog the passing lanes with his arms and legs.

Great pick up by the Michigan coaching staff.

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Friday Happy Hour Says Good Bye to the King of Pop and Looks at the End of the Michigan Football Summer Camps

by Maize n Brew Dave on Jun 26, 2009 10:26 AM CDT in News Comment 0 comments

Things You Need to Read Right Now

via a.abcnews.com

As you may have heard, Michael Jackson passed away yesterday. Say what you want about his personal life, and very, very unfortunate choices, he churned out some damn catchy music. "Don't stop till you get enough," "PYT", "Billy Jean", etc. Thriller is still the coolest video I've ever seen. Orson says good bye to the King of Pop as only Orson can, and NWO pays tribute to Jackson with the Nittany Lion's version of Thriller from this past season.

The Real Price of Freedom - Black Heart Gold Pants
OPS puts on his serious face and pens an excellent op-ed on the death of Ed Thomas, the First and Second Amendments, and the cost of what it really means to be an American citizen. We don't get political here, and this is not meant to stir debate, but regardless of where you stand this is a must read.

Lake the Posts turns two today. Whippersnapper. Get off my damn lawn. Congrats guys. LTP is a daily read for me.

2009 Preseason Consensus - The consensus national top 25 and conference predictions of all the college football preseason magazines, for 2009. Yeah. We're nowhere to be seen.

Michigan Football

Our friends over at Maize & Blue Nation are putting together their Watercooler Guide to 2009 Michigan Football. Here is The Offense Part I and The Offense Part II.

Tailback Kevin Grady expected to return to Wolverines - Grady, the elder, will be back on the team.

Michigan's Football Recruiting Yield Since 2005
When Carcajous Attack! continues it's stellar preseason work. Taking a look at .... It's shocking when you think about it, but Michigan has lost 25 players over the past four years. Damn. Sure there's no guarantee that any of these kids would have, or could have, been a star. But at the least we'd have some depth. Great work by Markus putting this all together.

Michigan vs. WMU Game On ABC: Ready for Some Ridicule - More good stuff from Markus.

The summer camps are over and the Michigan coaching staff will have a little time to catch their breath. Everyone except Barwis, who never really rests. Apparently he hangs from the Schembechler Hall ceiling wrapped in a cocoon of his own wings for twenty minute stretches every couple of days. Otherwise he's in the weight room using titanium sheets to make origami cranes and, surprising, delicate watercolors that give a glimpse into his inner soul. The result? Tate Forcier is up to 190 pounds. He came in at 175.

Michigan Sports Center has some Michigan Football TV Times for you. A lot of late afternoon games. Don't really know how to feel about this. I like having a little extra tailgate time, but that's a lot of time to sit in the sun boozin. September 5 - vs. Western Michigan | 3:30 PM, ABC September 12 - vs. Notre Dame | 3:30 PM, ABC September 19 - vs. Eastern Michigan | 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network October 31 - at Illinois | 3:30 PM, ABC

Lloyd Carr, still awesome. - Carr talks to Petoskey Alumni about missing the sidelines and what he's been up to since retiring.

Michigan Football Recruiting

J.D. Pride Reflects On Michigan, Elite Camp - Pride is Seantrel Henderson's buddy, and apparently a decent QB. No one is sure if he's BCS D1 material yet, but he definitely got a look see at camp ($).

Being Seantrel Henderson - Fluff on the No. 1 recruit in the country. Take what you want from this, but I'm not taking it as an indication he's planning on attending Michigan. Hope he does though.

While he says he will wait until Signing Day to make a decision, he plans to cut his list to ten schools soon. He says Minnesota, Ohio State, USC, UCLA, Oklahoma and Florida State will make the cut for sure and he also likes Michigan, Iowa, Florida and LSU.

($) HS coach fluff on Courtney Avery's commit.

MSU, U-M have a shot at 'maniac' DL from Cincinnati - Fluff on a big dude DT that Michigan seems to be on the outside looking in on.

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