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The Michigan Panthers are at home Sunday playing in Ford Field for the third straight week, hosting the Houston Roughnecks to continue the United Football League season (noon, ABC).
The Panthers are 1-1 after falling to the Birmingham Stallions 20-13 last week, while Houston is 0-2 with both losses coming by one score. The Panthers are tied for second with the Memphis Showboats at 1-1 in the USFL division, trailing Birmingham at 2-0, while Houston is currently last.
Michigan struggled on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball vs. Birmingham, outgained by 114 yards on the ground and giving up seven sacks, which sunk the offense and let Birmingham dictate the pace of the game. Michigan had chances to tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t slow down Birmingham’s pass rush enough to sustain a drive to the end zone.
The tale of the season through two weeks has been slow starts offensively and strong performances from the defense to keep Michigan in the game as the offense finds its footing. Head coach Mike Nolan is aware of the slow starts, and both the players and the coaching staff know a change is needed to start against Houston.
READ MORE: Michigan Panthers coach Mike Nolan: NFL teams breaking rules trying to contact Jake Bates
“Both games we’ve started slow so we have got to do a better job,” Nolan said. “I think some of that, and (offensive coordinator) Marcel (Bellefeuille) would even tell you, some of it falls on us as coaches to kind of put our guys in the best situation we can find early in the game and not ask too much of them.”
Michigan Panthers quarterback E.J. Perry runs for a touchdown against the St. Louis Battlehawks during the second half of UFL action at Ford Field, March 30, 2024.
One of the problems against Birmingham was the rushing attack. After running for…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-panthers-must-fix-week-164503381.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-04-13 16:45:03
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