Upon Further Review: EMU Defense

1	10	O20	Pass	22	Not a good start. No pressure on a 4 man rush and the zone has a big hole in it.
1	10	O42	Pass	5	Three step drop and fire. Note: everyone on the EMU OL chops. No batted pass.
2	5	O47	Pass	Inc	Nice play by Harris(+1), Woodley(+1) gets pressure on a three man rush.
3	5	O47	Pass	Inc	Another blitz from Hall, who's lined up as a linebacker. Nice call from Herrmann to pull Burgess into a short zone from a three point stance, which confused Bohnet.
Drive Notes: The three man rush rears its ugly head again, but we actually get a play from someone in zone coverage.
1	10	O45	Pass	Inc	Again the chop and fire. Bohnet just throws it low.
2	10	O45	Run	4	QB draw. Nice play by Woodley(+1) to come back and make the tackle.
3	6	O49	Pass	Inc	Another three man rush. The EMU guy dropped it, but Harris(+1) was in good position and very close to making a play.
Drive Notes: Largely EMU screwups this time.
1	10	O20	Run	0	Burgess(+2) fights off a block and buries the RB. Nice play.
2	10	O20	Pass	Inc	Harris(+2) reads the QB, breaks on the ball, and deflects the pass.
3	10	O20	Pass	Sack, -10	Branch(+2) is in the backfield instantly, allowing Woodley(+1) to come off his block and make the sack.
Drive Notes: Three nice plays. Branch has been our best DT so far this year. He has the power to hold up in the run game and the quickness to get penetration and rush the passer. It's just EMU, but this drive (or lack thereof) is sweet.
1	10	O17	Run	3	Burgess(-1) misses a tackle that would have kept it to 0, Harris(+1) reads and sheds to make the tackle at 3.
2	7	O20	Pass	5	More of this short yardage stuff. If it was a five or seven step drop Biggs(+1) was going to sack Bohnet, though.
3	2	O25	Pass	1	Woodley(+2) stays home on the tricky shovel pass thing that used to kill us. Nice.
Drive Notes: OMG lane responsibility. Continued good play. Just... Eastern... not... excited.
1	10	O19	Run	0	QB keeper on the offtackle counter option a lot of spread teams run. Burgess(+1) makes the tackle but it's because Engelmon(+1) came up and had good contain.
2	10	O19	Pass	Inc	WR was open but Bohnet shortarms it.
3	10	O19	Pass	Scramble, 3	Another three man rush. Bohnet just takes off even though there isn't much pressure.
Drive Notes: Nice play on first down by Engelmon (OMG CONTAIN) but the other two plays are just EMU screwups.
1	10	O20	Run	2	New QB. Is it a rule that when you put your black QB in the first play he has to run is a draw? Football is racist. Engelmon makes the tackle. HUGS ENGELMON.
2	8	O22	Pass	Inc	Counter option with a pass attached that's dropped after being thrown too hard. Probably goes for 5 if it's caught.
3	8	O22	Pass	Scramble, 5	Graham(+1) comes up and prevents the first down.
Drive Notes: Someone describe a difference between this guy and Troy Smith. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
1	10	O16	Pass	0	Screen to the French guy, who surrenders to Burgess and Mason. Ha! I kill me!
2	10	O16	Pass	19	Same thing as the first play of the game. Bohnet has time and fires between levels in the zone.
1	10	O35	Run	1	Watson(+2) is in and crushes his man into the backfield, disrupts the hole, allows the linebackers to slice up, and then assists on the tackle. Same page!
2	9	O36	Pass	33	Fluketasm where Bonhet just heaves up a prayer which is answered. Crable(+1) gets a really nice pass rush but fails to make the sack.
1	10	M31	Pass	Inc	Bohnet throws this out of bounds, probably because Jamar Adams(+1) jumped the route and throwing to the receiver would be unwise.
2	10	M31	Pass	Int	Bohnet badly overthrows his man. Trent makes a nice play to come off his man and make the pick.
Drive Notes: The closest thing to a drive EMU mounts until the second/third stringers are in, and it's one nice play and one ball that was just heaved in to the sky.
1	10	O27	Pass	Inc	Three man rush. Branch actually gets some pressure after a bit but can't make the sack. Bohnet just launches it downfield.
2	10	O27	Pass	Inc	Inaccurate pass underneath prevent coverage (it's just before halftime).
3	10	O27	Run	3	Sarcastic bastard screams key play, key play into the sideline mic (It is also 38-0 or something now).
Drive Notes: Halftime.
1	10	O19	Run	3	Biggs(+1) holds the corner and makes the tackle.
2	7	O22	Run	5	Draw. Watson(+1) holds his ground on a double team and slows up the RB a little bit, but can't make the tackle, and there's no one to fill the hole.
3	2	O27	Pass	3	Mason(+1) reads the short pass in the flat well and prevents any YAC but EMU squeaks the first down out anyway.
1	10	O30	Run	-2	Watson(+1) holds the point and when the RB bounces it outside Biggs(+1) disengages and makes the TFL.
2	12	O28	Pass	7	Three step drop and a slant with the corners playing off.
3	5	O35	Pass	7	Another three man rush/soft zone combination.
1	10	O42	Pass	9	Jailbreak screen that Harrison(-1) and Thompson(-1) don't read very well.. I think.
2	2	M49	Run	4	Dunno. Again a replay obliterates the live action.
1	10	M45	Pass	Inc	Thompson(+1) has good zone coverage and forces the drop.
2	10	M45	Pass	11	A lot of time for Bohnet and he hits an outlet on the sideline, and Lloyd is PISSED at someone? Hood(-1) I think for a really weak tackle.
1	10	M34	Run	-1	Branch(+1) drives his man in the backfield, fouling the play up, and Woods(+1) shucks his guy at the line and cleans up the mess.
2	11	M35	Penalty	-10	Holding drawn by Jamison(+1), who beat the tackle around the end. I think this is his first play.
2	21	M45	Pass	1	Little dumpoff pass for a yard. Note: Jamison gets chipped by the RB.
3	20	M44	Pass	Inc	Crable's just unblocked and forces Bohnet to throw it away.
Drive Notes: Something resembling a drive here with the help of a lot of NIU-ish passive zone. A lot of plusses and few negatives because it's hard to really blame anyone in specific for those things.
1	10	O20	Run	-3	Jamison(+2) shoves his man three yards into the backfield and into the RB, Thompson(+1) cleans up.
2	13	O23	Pass	Inc	EMU QB#2 floats it way up high and lets Harrison get there and nail the exposed WR.
3	13	O23	Pass	Inc	Nowhere near the receiver here.
Drive Notes: A tantalizing glimpse into the possibilities of Jamison.
1	10	O20	Pass	-2	Screen to some dude but Hood is in press coverage. Uh.
2	12	O18	Run	12	QB draw.
1	10	O30	Run	2	Spread counter option but the QB falls down. Probably would have gone for a few. Walton bit hard.
2	8	O32	Pass	Sack, -6	Dude, Jamison(+2) you kick ass, and then immediately reach for your shoulder.
3	14	O26	Pass	3	Another screen.
Drive Notes: Yes, the only reason I watched this thing was for the Jami-sack.

Same question: does it mean anything?

It means more than the offensive performance, I think. Eastern had a pretty decent offense last year (21st nationally, albeit against the MAC and its matador defenses), had a returning quarterback, and were totally shut down by the Michigan defense. Eastern mounted two drives the entire game, one of which consisted of a good pass and a back-foot prayer. The other didn't even result in a field goal attempt.

The yardage numbers are slightly flattering--that disastrous punt snap ended up a 30-ish yard loss, but the defense held EMU under 200 yards and shut them out--they couldn't have performed any better. It is just Eastern, but it's a start.

Any new faces stand out?

Obviously Tim Jamison had an impressive debut (sort of... he did play a little bit his first couple of games as a freshman), drawing a holding call on what I believe was his first play of the season and notching a QED, MFer-type sack. Also of note was a running play where he drove his man into the backfield a la Watson. His shoulder's clearly still bothering him so he might not see a ton of playing time the next couple weeks, but it seems likely he'll be a contributor by midseason.

Morgan Trent has solidified the nickel spot and made a nice play on the interception. Not amazing, but efficient. Brandon Harrison also closed nicely on an overthrown ball and laid a lick on an Eagle wideout.

Give me that sweet table loving.

Note: the scale increased this week, and that combined with the dominating performance means the numbers got very high relative to last week. Comparisons between the two are probably not valid. Better to note who didn't make an impact.

Player	+	-	T	Notes
Woodley	5	-	5	Again didn't really show up on the stat sheet much, but didn't play much.
Woods	1	-	1
Biggs	3	-	3	Coming around on Biggs. He was overmatched at times against ND but has made plays the last two weeks.
Massey	-	-	-	Invisible.
Watson	3	-	3	Get on the same page, I beg.
Crable	1	-	1	Could have had a couple sacks if he would slow down a tiny bit.
Jamison	5	-	5	Impressve debut. If he can duplicate it against UW, get excited.
Branch	3	-	3	Now a starter. Deserves it.
Burgess	3	1	2
Thompson	1	1	0
Harris	5	-	5	Reading and reacting in the short zone.
Graham	1	1	0	Didn't really do much.
Mason	1	-	1
Hall	-	-	-
Engelmon	1	-	1	Another solid outing.
Trent	1	1	0	Has responded when called on so far.
Adams	1	1	0	Played a lot as a nickel back over the slot receiver. Looks more like a linebacker than a safety.
Hood	-	1	-1	Got chewed out by Carr with his team up 40 or 50--an accomplishment.
Harrison	-	1	-1	-1 might be harsh.

What does it mean for Wisconsin?

Not sure. I'm very happy to see Branch listed as a starter. He's a star in the making. Burgess and Harris are playing well, the safeties are settling in, and the cornerbacks are at least three deep. I think the best DL for Wisconsin probably looks something like Massey-Branch-Watson-Woodley. Massey played DE in the 3-4 last year when the interior run defense was great, Watson may have motivation issues but is still like 600 pounds, and Branch and Woodley are just plain good. I'm optimistic that Calhoun will find the going tough on Saturday.