Wow ... our MIKE LBs need to heal up

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
We played Morris at the MIKE spot for most of the game. Absolutely insane that a TR FR was playing so much in such a big game. You better believe that was one hell of a great learning experience for him. Hopefully the upperclassmen prep him up and help him learn from his mistakes in the film room.
 
I said something similar in the game thread. I really don't know that there was a noticeable dropoff, but I'm also several beers deep and am happy that we just knocked off ranked team #1 on our way to 11-1! :)
 
Watched Morris alot. The kid is going to be good. Couple of times his deep drops were really strong. But, as you know, he is a kid. Saw Tarp make a hit and grimmace in pain. Looked to be coming off, but waived the replacement out. KF subsequently called TO and I saw him mouth the word Tarpinian. The training staff went out and so did Tarp.
 
Stop all your damn worrying. Dolph just asked Ballard about the kid in the post game interview and he replied "I knew this summer he could play with us"
 
I thought he played really well. When the play got past the line of scrimmage and the d-line, I saw Morris in on every play, loved seeing that. Think this kid is going to be really good.
 
I was really surprised to see him in there too, I was at work for the first three quarters so I didn't get to see what happened. But Morris looked really good definitely flying around making plays. I was pleased with how well he played against some pretty good competition.
 
Apparently, Troy Johnson has a concussion........don't know about Tarp. At minimum at least one of those guys will be back for Michigan.
 
Morris is flying around well, but it seems like he isn't quite finishing some tackles. Clean that up, and he is looking good.
 
It seemed like when Morris was in, we kinda were playing a more "basic" version of our D.

However, that said, I was really pleased with the level of play I was seeing from Morris. Very solid!
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
It seemed like when Morris was in, we kinda were playing a more "basic" version of our D.

However, that said, I was really pleased with the level of play I was seeing from Morris. Very solid!
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Agreed, however, the way our defensive line was playing, it covers up an awful lot of bad angles by the linebackers. We were extremely dominate up front which makes the play of all the linebackers much less crucial. That being said, for a true freshman to play at that level, with the drops he was getting, means he was reading things very well.

He is going to be special there is no doubt. However, he would most likely be in over his head if we were to play OSU next week. He needs reps.
 
I watched him closely as I was as shocked as everyone else when I saw him in there...very impressive for a teenager. He was able to scrape off most blocks, and did not seem overmatched when he had to make a 1-1 tackle. I agree that it does raise concerns about getting our guys in the right set-up, and I did notice one time when Hunter was trying to get him to slide over.
 
Morris didn't give up the big play, he should have had an interception, he's a true freshman with a hand full of kick offs to his credit, so this was a great chance to get a feel for full speed Big 10 play.......and that D line sure helps the learning curve
 
The bye week couldn't come at a better time.

As for Morris, I loved his play last night. Remember when a young Greenwood was thrown into action as a freshman? Morris is going to be a good one.
 
was Johnson's concussion on the play where he didn't wrap on the tackle and Ballard had to take down the runner 20 yds from the LOS?
 
nemetoad said:
was Johnson's concussion on the play where he didn't wrap on the tackle and Ballard had to take down the runner 20 yds from the LOS?
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It appeared to me that was the last play he was in on but I didn't see him leave the field. Then Tarp jumped in on the tackle on the next play and was holding his shoulder and Clayborn was telling the staff but Tarp wouldn't come off so KF called TO and told him to get off.
 
BALDIES7980 said:
It appeared to me that was the last play he was in on but I didn't see him leave the field. Then Tarp jumped in on the tackle on the next play and was holding his shoulder and Clayborn was telling the staff but Tarp wouldn't come off so KF called TO and told him to get off.
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Actually, he (Johnson) was in on plays after that...he nailed a RB for no gain shortly after that missed tackle...then he was not seen again after that "better" tackle.
 
I liken Morris's early playing time more to Edds's early playing time. Needless to say, the experience will be a very positive one for him. Furthermore, I loved getting the extra "preview" of what our D will be looking like in 2011.

If you think about it ... there were several sets Saturday where we had Daniels, Binns, Nielsen, Morris, Sash, Prater, and Hyde on the field all at the same time. Those are 7 of 11 future starters for us in 2011 ... right there and they're already getting experience playing together.

While many folks have fears about our D in 2011 ... I'm increasingly becoming more at ease about the transition. My concerns about the D are a bit more focussed on 2012.

Lastly, I think that many Iowa fans aren't appreciating Tarp adequately well. Our D can do A LOT more on the field when he's at the helm. And that makes us all the more dangerous. Just remember all the 3 and outs we were getting early in the game. Then, once Morris was in the game ... we had to be more "conservative" on D ... and all of a sudden Bolden starts finding a rhythm. That was no coincidence. However, as I've already stated, to Morris's great credit ... he played at an abnormally high level for a TR FR Iowa LB.
 
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