Some people are in the "we are 4-0! Shut up! Enjoy! Denard will figure out the passing game" and there is my people. "The passing game will cost us games when teams shut down the run." I can't lie I have been pretty disappointed with Denard's passing game this year. Some is the play calling but not a lot of it. He has flat out missed people on easy throws. He has thrown the ball into double coverage. He just looks bad at times.

At some point we will have to move the ball through the air and we can't count on Notre Dame Moon balls to get us there. I went through and looked at all the games again and pulled a few shots. In my simple caveman like mind there are three throws.

Easy: Completed,safe like a warm blanket and a solid pick up.
Hard: May not be completed, unsafe like working on a ladder.
WTF?: Not completed, unsafe like caravel rides, over throws and completed to the wrong team.

Easy
Denard is pretty good at these throws. We don't see them enough. This play can get him going a bit. He seems to throws these on a rope most the time.
Same throw here. Easy and safe. It gets Denard feeling good and fuzzy on the inside. Not sure why we don't throw more of these.
Koger makes a nice grab on a high throw from Denard. His throw kills any chance to make any extra yards on a routine easy throw and gets Kroger killed by a defender in the process. This throw for most QBs should be completed on the money 9 out 10 times.
Ahh a nice easy throw on target like a Sunday morning with a nice wet dew on a tree's leaves. More of these please.
I am not crazy about check downs but with Denard I love them. The other options this year have been bad so I will take a check down to Smith all day my brother.
Loved this play. I loved it when Rich ran it last year. Bring Koger across for an easy pitch and catch. i have only seen it once. I hope they are just holding off from using it. We need more money plays like this. I would run the shit out of this in NCAA 10(yes screw the last few NCAAs).
Another easy toss to Koger. Notice a common theme? The easy ones are either to Koger or Smith. Besides the few out passes in the first two pictures I haven't seen many times where Michigan has tried to find Hemingway and Roundtree for small easy pick ups(more later).

Hard
A deep bomb to Koger of all people who is covered pretty well. Its a hard throw for Denard out of the Power I. He over throws. Not much was there any way.
This wasn't the hardest throw but still a challenge for Denard. The ball goes way over the head and heads into safety land. It could have been picked but lucky enough they were chasing chickens out in the end zone.
Another hard throw for Denard. It Sails badly. Roundtree even has a step. He just has to hit him in stride. The ball ends up on the I-94 highway. #fileanotherawayintheoverthrow

W(what)T(the)F(fuck)?
Ball is tipped here but could have been picked off. Throws into two guys. When he looks down the field this throw shouldn't even be an option in his mind. He throws it anyway.
This should be listed under "easy" but goes to WTF? When he throws it behind the man. Just an easy throw that he misses on.
This one blew my mind. Denard thinks he is throwing to 1994 version of Shawn Kemp(not the 1999 one who gained 80lbs). He forgets its Smith. Ball goes sailing for INT. Its really not a hard throw. Its a screen pass. These are what OCs call since they are pretty easy to throw and if the blocking is done correct it can be a big gain. Thank god he hit in late in the game on screen for a TD.
I don't even know what to say. A bomb into double coverage. Roundtree has a better chance of playing pick up sticks with his butt cheeks. This tells me that Denard has his mind made up before he even snaps the ball.
A nice play call. A play action out of the power set. Ball sails. We kick for 3. Besides the point that Denard should have been on the bench at this point he really needs to make this pass. Its pretty easy. I dunno why but I have noticed its pretty much all over throws when missing the easy ones.
Once again just a giant over throw. If he hits the man in the hands then we can run with this. Instead the ball goes to the sky and we are stick at 2nd and 10.
This one sort of sucks but Denard throws it into two SDSU dudes and it was picked off. Hoke later blamed it on the route but I dunno when I watched it a 100 times over I think Denard lets it go way to early and defense is just waiting. Not an easy pass by any means but the ball shouldn't have even gone there.

Am I Hater?
No I don't think so. I love Denard(not as much as Brian). He has just struggled more with the passing game then I thought he would. I knew the growing pains would happen but I didn't think I would see him over throw a screen by 10 feet for INT.

His key wide receivers are starving. Hemingway has 5 catches for 211 yards and 1 TD... really? The dude is damn good. We need to find a way to get him the ball. easier routes or whatever just get it there. Outside of his three moon balls in the Notre Dame game he hasn't been targeted at all. At his current rate he will have 15 catches.

Roundtree has 5 catches for 44 yards and 1 historic TD. He should have that in a half. I think at this point last year he had 20 some catches. These guys need to be fed.

Here is a bizarre MS Paint to illustrate what I am saying. Complete with Birds with Dreads.

Now you can imagine Denard chewing up a football into little pieces and fee...never mind.

Anyway my point was that Denard has been way off. The new passing game is harder then I thought it would be. We need to find easier ways to get Hemingway and Roundtree the ball. They are some of our best play makers and right now they haven't been able to do much. A team will come along and stop Denard from running. Or ding him up. Its gonna happen people. Denard gonna have to find a way to get the ball to wide outs with out over throwing them by 10 yards.

I feel a small bit of terror now when steps back to throw. He already has 6 picks. Its gonna be around 20 by the seasons end. Unless he makes like a Neo(not a tree) and wakes up(not leaves). He just seems so 50/50 right now on every pass. Sometimes he over throws Smith on a screen by 20 feet in the air or he hits Gallon in stride for a set up winning touchdown. You really gotta take the bad with the good when it comes to Denard. I try to remind myself of that when he frustrates me because on the next drive he might break a 75 yard touchdown. I just want him to be able to make the easy throws and hit the barn.