Devin Funchess

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WorkingMyTailOff

WorkingMyTailOff

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He put on a one man show against the Gophers. I am not sure if he will stick around for all 4 years, but he bailed his QB out a few times with very nice catches and the Gophers had no answer for him.

Do you think our guy De'vondre Campbell could have defended him better than the safeties? Any other things they could have done to slow him down?
 

Talking generally about Saturday, anytime passes hang in the air as long as those did, someone has to make a play on the ball. Our guys were in positions to make plays, but they just did not seem to know where the ball was. Terrible lack of confidence and technique.
 

Mostly due to the fact that Baltazar couldn't cover a bean bag chair on Saturday.
 

At first, I was frustrated by Baltazar & Shabazz.....

After a few days of sitting on it, I think I've gone more towards placing blame on Funchess being a freak than upset at our backup corners. Funchess was pretty impressive.

I don't know if there was really anything differently that could have been done. You could try a LB out wide on him, but I don't think it would have had much difference. He was a physical mismatch against the Gophers.
 

The two biggest stars on the field were Funchess and Maxx Williams.

This game was a lot like some of our non-conference games. The score ends in a blow out but it comes down to a mismatch or two. I think the Gophers had enough depth to hang with the Wolverines, but not enough stars. If Abbrederis is the Gophers' primary wide receiver to go with Williams, the game is different. Of course, Abbrederis is not the Gophers' primary receiver. But if you have depth at all your positions, you only really need a couple stars on either side of the ball to really compete.

With the Gophers playing 3-4 freshman at the Wide Receiver positions, I do wish we could have played this game later in the season.
 


His catch on the 3 yard line was pretty ridiculous. Each time I watched the reply I hoped to see the ball hit the ground and get knocked loose but it never happened. Impressive grab.
 

Funchess was the difference in the game, IMO. He accounted for over 42% of Michigan's offense. A TE. They kept Gardner in check for the most part, they kept Gallon in check, they kept Toussaint in check. Overall, it was a pretty decent defensive effort, with that one glaring exception. He's a matchup nightmare, and he sure was for the Gophers Saturday.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Funchess was the difference in the game, IMO. He accounted for over 42% of Michigan's offense. A TE. They kept Gardner in check for the most part, they kept Gallon in check, they kept Toussaint in check. Overall, it was a pretty decent defensive effort, with that one glaring exception. He's a matchup nightmare, and he sure was for the Gophers Saturday.
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I agree with what you said. That is why I thought it was a bad idea to rush 3 on 3rd down situations. Given enough time, Gardner was going to be able to find Funchess open.
 

I thought he was the difference in the game as well. He made some really great plays that completely changed the game, and in big moments (as big as moments can get in a 42-13 game at least lol). I'm not sure what they could have done with him, they were in position several times, but when the guy catching the ball has far superior ball skills, it's hard to really do much.
 



Michigan got the mismatch it wanted (TE against CB) for big plays. Max did the same thing to Blake Countess in the endzone.
 

EE_Gopher said:
I agree with what you said. That is why I thought it was a bad idea to rush 3 on 3rd down situations. Given enough time, Gardner was going to be able to find Funchess open.
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I had no problem with the strategy. I'd rather make Gardner beat me throwing the ball than running it.
 

Just remember, Furness splitting out, was a wrinkle added during the bye week and used mostly in the second half, making adjustments more difficult. Our coaches were blind sided by it.
 

nsmike said:
Just remember, Furness splitting out, was a wrinkle added during the bye week and used mostly in the second half, making adjustments more difficult. Our coaches were blind sided by it.
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can't tell if this is sarcastic. Coaches expect to see new wrinkles throughout the course of the game. Teams practice for things they haven't yet seen.
 



John Galt said:
I had no problem with the strategy. I'd rather make Gardner beat me throwing the ball than running it.
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i'd rather bring the house at him and make him make a fast read personally
 


Bad Gopher said:
Talking generally about Saturday, anytime passes hang in the air as long as those did, someone has to make a play on the ball. Our guys were in positions to make plays, but they just did not seem to know where the ball was. Terrible lack of confidence and technique.
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Agree, but that doesn't diminish Funchess' obvious physical skills. I was thinking Antonio Gates, Jermichael Finley, and a bunch of other hybrid types that are becoming increasingly valuable in the pass-happy NFL.

Maxx Williams looks to be a more traditional TE, but if he keeps developing, I see him playing on Sundays in the future as well.
 

dos equis (maxx) has some pretty good hands, and is very big with a baby face. He will get some snaps on sunday.
 

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