Michigan Football vs Fresno State Recap | How Do We Grade Davis Warren?

welcome back to another episode of rock boys football deal the Chiron Moore era getting kicked off in Ann Arbor with what I think a lot of Michigan fans would say a sloppy win Saturday night again this is a 20-point win against a Fresno State team that I think will compete at the highest level in the Mountain West Conference that being said you take a look at the standard that Michigan has developed going back to the 2023 season I think this largely on offense certainly falls short to that standard now think the big takeaways for us Michigan fans this defense is still one of if not the best units in the country feel very confident saying that I think the big question that we both want to dive into and there's a little bit of a disagreement between us can Michigan win at the highest level with Davis Warren at quarterback I think that's what a lot of Michigan fans are trying to figure out after Saturday night's performance want to get into that now before we doing as always one of the Michigan fans let it fly in the comment section we're on Twitter we're on the message boards we see a lot of different takes and opinions around this Michigan offense specifically around the quarterback spot would love to hear from you guys in the comments section again if you guys do enjoy the content consider subscribing to the channel been a blast talk in this Michigan program and the amount of support y'all have shown it means the absolute World deal I'll give you the T boox here Davis Warren's performance Saturday night my question to you would be can Michigan win at the standard we're expecting to with that kind of quarterback play yeah I mean I really don't see it and again I don't know if they were just not calling it a certain way but if he's going to be the quarterback there needs to be more aggression down the field and I know he took his couple shots but by and large he was I thought way too conservative I thought again checking the ball down on Third and long really quickly no pressure really yet just checking it down I he did that a couple times maybe two or three times that just can't be what he does because if he's not going to add that other element that Alex orgy can add that ability to run the ball I don't see how the way kind of he played frankly is a whole lot different from if Alex org's a quarterback or if he's a quarterback because he wasn't particularly efficient he wasn't particularly good pushing the ball down the field and obviously he doesn't run the way Alex orgy runs so I don't see why if they're gonna play that way and he's gonna play that way you don't just go with Alex orgy yeah I think my comparison would be it felt like kind of how Michigan handled Kade mcnamer in the 2021 season where hey Michigan won a lot of football games won a big 10 championship went to the college football playoffs but it was you're probably pretty clear that you weren't going to win a National Championship with Kade mcare at quarterback I would probably agree with you the offense that we saw tonight you probably can't win a National Championship with even with how good Michigan's defense is going to be just because you didn't see any kind of explosion in the Run game is still going to have to figure itself out now my take on the Run game is and I'll have to go back and kind of watch this game a couple of times it got a lot better in the fourth order which we're used to seeing with this Michigan team this is a really new offensive line I don't doubt the capability of this offensive line I I what I question right now is the chemistry and continuity the offensive line where you know we were kind of establishing the line of scrimmage but the combo blocks the timing we were not working up to second level Defenders all that well I fully expect that to get better as we kind of go through 2024 but right now it is kind of a clear difference between the offensive line with all the veterans we had in 2023 to what we had in 2024 so I don't think the Run game did a guy like Davis Warren any favors I think one of the questions you got to get into is is Davis Warren capable of playing at a little bit of a higher level and doing more within this Michigan offense because I don't think Chiron Moore and Kurt Campbell were asking Davis Warren to do all that much either and so that's kind of one of the questions that I'm trying to get at is is Davis Warren did he show enough that he's capable of being that kind of guy think we got answer I do have a little bit of a bone to pick with that idea oh they didn't let him do anything and it's kind of hard to say because at the end of the day we'll have to go rewatch it obviously yeah but the ball was checked down a lot that that's the one fact I know I don't know necessarily what was going on I think he did miss a very open CJ Charleston when he tried to hit that play to samage Morgan so again some of those things that if you're gonna play the way Davis waren plays those things can't be missed a whole lot and frankly you got to take your chances because the other side of the coin was Alex orgy who I mean we only really saw throw the ball one time and it did not look like great throw obviously kind of I should do that touchdown pass too early in the red zone that was like a little bit of a gimmicky throw obviously I wasn't asking him to do a whole lot his one throw was not the prettiest throw in the world but again when you saw him working that read option you saw some some like green shoots of an offense that frankly I think can work better than frankly what Davis Warren put on the field today yeah and I guess the argument against Alex orgies if that's what you're getting from Alex orgy in terms of through the air you can't win with that either right I mean Alex orgy needs to make those kind of throws or at least make competitive throws I mean that throw that we did see was buried two yards in the dirt and so can Alex ory consistently make those throws I think that's one of the questions that we don't necessarily know but that's where I think it gets into like that conversation's different if Davis Warren's 18 of 25 for 175 yards yeah as opposed to 15 of 25 not particularly efficient and not particularly good getting the ball down the field yeah opening up some space in this offense for again that run game to get going that's that's my fundamental issue I think I just saw way too conservative and I and I don't know if that's his mentality or if that's how he's being coached but one of those thing like that that doesn't Square I think with winning big games at the highest level 100% I think and again not to sound like I'm defending Davis Warren to the Bone here but this was his first start in the big house a guy that has has not played any sort of significant football during his career but the biggest concern for me is the lack of explosive passing I mean four and a half yards per pass attempt and on your completions was only 7.6 yards and I think one of the other question marks are do we have the wide receivers to make it happen I think you saw some like flashes from samage Morgan when he gets the football in his hands and I mean Tyler moris kind of given up on that rout Davis War I think threw a really good really good ball pushing the ball down the field Tyler Moore seemed like he came up on it it seems like Michigan offense which I'm okay with kind of it going through cson lovelin because he's he is the best tight end in the country but you look at the other wide receivers our leading wide receiver in the passing attack was three three three catches for 15 yards from Tyler Morris and so one of my question marks is do we have the explosive wide receivers to have that Dynamic downfield passing attack that's still kind of unanswered and that would be kind of another argument to say hey maybe we rock with Alex orgy and have a very run centered offense where you look at Alex orgy we can be somewhat of a one-dimensional offense but if we have Alex orgy in the backfield it can still be an offense that is hard to stop on the ground because of what Alex orgy can do and then again I think I wish we got to see Alex orgy throw I think by agree certain point in that game you you kind of knew what was going on with Davis Warren that he wasn't gonna be out there changing this offense a whole lot and being a guy to elevate this unit I thought that was kind of being made clear and I mean that at that point I almost wish why not shot let him yeah I I was I I would be lying if I wasn't thinking the same thing do you think that we'll use Alex orgy more against Texas and just didn't want to kind of show our cards in terms of how we want to use Alex orgy that the like the hopeful fan in me was definitely thinking that it certainly makes sense teams do that all the time I I certainly wouldn't be surprised if you see a heck of a lot more of Alex orgy against Texas next week than he did against Fresno State and I'd be perfectly fine with that like why actually throwing it that's what I think because it's still even today it was like very oh Alex sge is in there running the ball because he obviously only threw it one or if you want to say two times I I guarantee you that Alex orgy throws the football against Texas guarantee you and I think they're kind of setting it up where hey when Alex or is in the defense is keying one run and we're GNA try to hit some sort of explosive play no doubt that is in the bank for next Saturday we're certainly going to see that d i don't we didn't get our answer to the quarterback back battle I would say and we're going to get our answer next Saturday you know what I mean like that that's for Michigan play like that on offense they're gonna score like 10 points maybe I think I I uh yeah now I want to get to some other things that we saw let's talk about the running back room we kind of said this and I know a lot of Michigan fans kind of push back on it and we kind of went back and forth in the comment section I I kind of set all offseason Cal mullings might be the guy in this running back room because of what he brings and how Michigan wants to run the football right you go back to 2023 what made you know Blake K so special as a running back I think a lot of it had to do with him finding the hard yards yes it was fun to see Blake km get to the second level and make people Miss but what made him special was it was second and six and it was third and one and we're moving the chains and we're kind of going Brick by Brick methodical kind of that bow constrictor kind of Outlook CL mullings gives you that way more than Donovan Edwards where you look at Donovan Edwards and I'm not saying take him off the field permanently but the lack of consistency in terms that you look at his numbers go 11 carries for 27 yards it's a two and a half yards per carry average that's kind of what you saw from him over the last couple years too where he does give you those explosive plays you need to find ways to get him on the football field but from a downto down basis I think kle mullings gives Michigan what they're looking for in the Run game and I thought you saw that very clearly on that touchdown Drive late in the fourth quarter I mean that that one late Drive was vintage Michigan that's exactly how it again if it looks like that and then you obviously see Davis Warren rip it to Coulson Loveland up the middle that's how Michigan can be really effective so that is going to be a very interesting thing is do they have it in them to to make that switch and make it really pronounced because I think at the end of the day the way kle mullings runs the ball that's kind of how Michigan needs their running backs to run it and it's it's just a different style than Donovan Edwards and I mean you saw that was vintage Michigan what they did yeah I think another thing worth noting is the offensive line where they did die we we being critical of Davis Warren they didn't do him any favors and pass bro in the first half like picking up stunts picking up blitzes it was kind of a disaster which look makes sense I I am very confident in terms of the capability of the starting five offensive lineman and I think you saw individual good performance but as a unit it wasn't great which again it is to be expected right these are guys that have never started a college football game together you go back the last couple years guys like zenter guys like Trevor Keegan and Carson barnhard they played so much football together that it was such a jelled unit that wasn't a gelled unit that we saw now why I don't want to take that and exonerate Davis Warren fully is I did think by the middle of the second quarter maybe the end of it that unit did start to dial and they were giving him him a fair amount of time and again the ball was coming out I felt like way too quickly in way too conservative manners and some of those checkdowns are spraying it to the outside for couple yards down the field you got to let things develop I know the offensive line wasn't playing well early but that can't make you so gun shy that you just shut down and start yeah we'll have to watch the uh we're obviously both gonna watch this probably over again tonight um and kind of get a better feel for what the offensive line looked like because it was Rocky at times no doubt about it and even in the Run game now in the Run game I think it's interesting this is kind of what I noticed and again got to go back and kind of watch it a second time kind of winning at the point of attack but the the timing and the combo blocks weren't great like we did not get to the second level Defenders as well as we did last year and so if you can kind of clean up just a little bit of the jelling with this offensive line like I'm very confident we have a good offensive line unit I fully trust a head coach like Chiron Moore to get the best out of these guys I think you gotta be patient in terms of this offensive line coming together because although they are veteran guys they haven't played a ton of football together I want to well I guess one one other thing Coulson lovelin are you a little bit concerned that it's two one dimensional in the passing attack that was one of the questions I had for you on my notes because you look at Davis Warren 15 completions what eight of them over half of them went to Coulson lovelin your leading wide receiver once again Tyler I actually I really I really don't mind that number I think he should be force fed the football he's one of the best I don't want to say just tight ends he's one of the best weapons in college football I think again the way he runs routes the way he can creates SE how good his hands are and catching the ball in traffic I'm very okay with him getting force fed the ball and yeah you definitely want to see everyone get more involved and again I think there's part of that of Davis Warren being a little more confident being able more or being more willing to take some chances down the field and not just going to the safety blanket kind of Route if you will which was love Lind in various checkdowns it felt like at times but I'm pretty comfortable saying like we're gonna Force the ball down Coulson yeah I think most Michigan fans are okay with that it's kind of like the Brock Bowers treatment that Georgia gave him the last couple years like when you have a player as special and I think this is crazy to say I think Coulson lel's probably underrated like you look at him he separates like a wide receiver has the the yako of a big body tight end that you just can't bring down and then the catch radius is absolutely incredible K he did have one drop I'm GNA let that slide because he was just getting peppered and kind of force-fed gson loveland's an absolute dude now let's talk about something we both agree on no and that's the Michigan defense Elite talked about two other guys Moore are freaking awesome I was gonna say the same thing like we kind of in the offseason were like hey we still got some good Edge rushers and Derek Mo Josiah Stewart I would like to like upgrade that and say we have that that's Elite you talk about Jaylen harell and Braden McGregor they were good I think you're looking at two top 50 NFL draft picks and Josiah Stewart and Derrick Moore they play the Run exceptionally well they both were just absolute menaces getting after the passer then you look on the inside you know you have Mason Graham we kind of know what he is ky Graham played phenomenal I look at it and say this front four is absolutely dominant and that's kind of what has me most fired up about this Michigan defense yeah and and that was a really good unit and I think we all kind of knew that so one other guy I think I want to shout on the defensive line is Cameron Brandt I think they got something with him I thought he had a really nice game so again I think you saw some guys ran Benny playing a really really good football game was good to see so you saw some of the depth emerge I think this defense is so good that's my issue that's why it's like almost really frustrating to see them play offense and the way they are playing it and being so safe and not taking chances it's like you have such a good defense I I don't know I almost want I don't want to waste it kind of playing so conservative it's it's a it's a national championship caliber defense I think what you're trying to say and you just want to have an offense that gives us a shot to win a national champion at least like it like try to do it I don't want to see it like go down and be taking the safe route like we we'll never win it lose a game Michigan shouldn't lose because we're not gonna do it like basically what Cade was doing for Michigan which is trying not to lose games you're not supposed to lose you gotta have someone who wants to like what JJ did I know people do the like oh JJ what do you have to do for Michigan it's like well in big moments like the offensive line wasn't manhandling Ohio State JJ made a couple huge throws that throw to Roman Wilson up the middle on the 30 yard line or wherever it was like that's a monster monster throw it's taking a chance it's letting it rip a little bit I just didn't see a whole lot of that today and at the end of the day you're gonna need it at some point so like we're gonna need it next week frankly yeah and I again I think we're going to find out what this offense is about week two against Texas which is a good thing for Michigan fans like we don't have to wait in seven days less than seven days at this point we're going to find out how good this Michigan offense can be and relative like it can we win is this an offense that we can win a National Championship with and we're going to find that out week two rest of the defense uh Jon barmm certainly looked to part Dill wink marale aggressive but I kind of like the balance it wasn't just like this gung-ho cover zero like we got burned cover zero in the Red Zone there I love that call I don't get why you need to go that heavy like just rush your four guys I I don't know that we needed to Blitz in that spot it it puts Jaden MC Bros in a really really tough and also when you talk about how good pass rush is with the front four and I there might just be kind of like a I wouldn't even say Growing Pains but a feeling out process like wink Martell getting a sense of all right what can this front four do in the pass rush do I need and I'm not telling wik marale to like shy away from what's made him a in my mind a really good they were getting home on blitzes like that was fine I just I just thought that like real cover zero Blitz in that spot it that just looked like an easy play and again I'm not a defensive coordinator I don't know anything just my like caveman brain fan was like whoa why why did we do that do that look yeah and I think it's easy to criticize it when when it goes for a touchdown and it's a lot it's a lot more fun to praise it when it goes for a pick six Fresno State had nine total rushing yards so dominant performance there will Johnson D will Johnson was not happy with himself you could tell even after that pick six like and you want to know something funny I I didn't even tell you this I was watching it and right as that play was unfolding the pick six I was saying hey Will Johnson's got to settle in I feel like he's trying to do too much jumping routes that's I was saying that mid playay as will Johnson jumps the route and I was like I just reminding myself like hey Will Johnson just TR like trust the process there will Johnson's an absolute dude secondary I thought was really really solid for the good that was a really nice J Hill played well too uh and Fresno State made some good plays like I that again this Fresno State passing attack is going to be very very good this is a team that I think wins eight n football games so like it's easy to get frust ated with a 20po victory that was kind of sloppy I think we're going to look back at this game six weeks from and say oh Fresno State like like when UNLV drive and UNLV ended up being a 91n football team 100% agree D I think we'll wrap it up there we'll obviously watch the game we'll probably talk about it either tomorrow or Monday once we kind of get a couple more watch backs Michigan fans again let it fly in the comment section would love to hear from you guys I really want to know where the fan bit like fan B I love hearing it I'm so interested to see where people are at because again I like I am prone to that emotional quick I don't like it change it all yeah and then we might both watch it back and say all right well we'll we'll kind of see but I think there D you read them I was on some of the message boards during the game absolute war zone like absolute war zone the Michigan fans are all over the place in terms of their takes and I'm I'm certainly here for would love to hear from you guys in the comment section appreciate you guys checking the boys out midnight eastern time and we'll talk to youall later