Most telling quote, ever:
Do you feel this is the highest level you’ve played at in years?
Denard: “Not that Michigan has played at.”
when ask "you" it doesn't mean you, denard, or you, 2011 michigan offence, or you, this michigan team. "You" to Denard means, Michigan. i.e. all of the teams before him and including this team.
Strikes me as very cool. Genuine. Sincere. And speaks volumes.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:15 PM ^
I was on ESPN chatboards yesterday (foolish of me, I know) and there was a Nebraska fan who said he'd take T-Mart over DRob any day because of Denards "classless" taunting after scoring TD's. I was a bit taken aback that anyone in their right mind could see Denard like that.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:17 PM ^
That poster was not in their right mind.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:18 PM ^
Yeah, Robinson prays like a real dick.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^
Denard is praying for the opposing team's bus to be struck by a train.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:41 PM ^
He plays like a real passionless dick.
November 20th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^
He doesn't pray with enough passion.
November 20th, 2011 at 5:19 PM ^
have been doing a little skit after touchdowns now for a couple of weeks. Not a big deal, but I can see how an opposing fan would take exception to it. I think it is completely badass, but I have noticed it.
November 20th, 2011 at 7:44 PM ^
I doubt he's talking about the praying and he's talking about the "WE EATIN!!" that Denard does...
...and still, the guy should be slapped. Then he should be stood up again, and slapped twice.
Denard is a college student having fun with his TEAMMATES. He doesn't run up in Nebraska's face doing it, he doesn't taunt...in fact he's on the sideline and he makes sure he goes to every single person on the TEAM if you watch him. And they get hyped up, Tay Odoms who has been struggling and banged up all season was doing it right with him as they got hype. 1-2 quarters later and Denard and Tay are hooking up for the most beautiful pass we've seen since Chad Henne was quarterback.
Denard is the ULTIMATE teammate and fuck anyone who says otherwise, period.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:18 PM ^
Kneeling in prayer is considered taunting now? lol.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:21 PM ^
I would assume it's because of the "eat it up" or "I'm hungry" motion he does with his hand when we score. I first noticed it in the Illinois game, and noticed that some of the Nebraska players were mocking it when they made a play early in the game.
Glad they were hungry though, cause they probably got enough Denard to last them a year.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^
Oh, I've noticed that too. Didn't know that's what it meant.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^
Oh, I've noticed that too. Didn't know that's what it meant.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:29 PM ^
Yes, this. The only thing I can picture that poster thinking was that Denard was doing it to mock the Nebraska defender who did it earlier in the game. Seeing as how that fan probably never saw Denard do it in the past, it makes sense.
November 20th, 2011 at 6:48 PM ^
My friends and I call it the "eat soup". He scores, prays, then eats a whole lot of soup, thats all.
EATSOUPEATSOUPEATSOUPEATSOUP.
November 21st, 2011 at 10:36 AM ^
They have been taunting all this time and not knowing it.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^
Yesterday was the first time I saw Denard doing that and I was kind of surprised by it, not in a bad way or anything though. That's a bold statement coming from that Nebraska fan though given that Martinez is widely recognized as probably the biggest douchebag in the Big Ten. Just listen to an interview with him and you'll see what I mean. That's an ESPN chat for you though.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:57 PM ^
Denard was doing a lot of hand gestures and jumping around after touchdowns yesterday. Knowing Denard's personality like we do, I didn't take it as being offensive.
However, I can see where opposing fans would take it the wrong way. I think I would be a little annoyed by Martinez if he jumped around and waved his hands like that after Nebraska touchdowns.
That's the way fans are. You like your guys, I like my guys. Oh well.
November 20th, 2011 at 3:12 PM ^
Not everyone gets annoyed with celebrations. Seriously, if I was college or pro player I'd do the Bernie, breakdance, leap into the crowd...it's all good.
November 20th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^
But then you'd draw a 15-yarder.
November 20th, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
It's not like Denard whipped out a sharpie and autographed a ball. That celebration was fairly mild. The Nebraska fan is just bent that his beloved team got whipped.
November 20th, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^
I don't understand how any of Denard's actions could be seen as classless taunting. Even so, I think it is even dumber that a fan would rather have one player on their team over another solely because of the taunting that each player demonstrates. This means they are totally ignoring the fact that Denard is a better player. I couldn't care less about taunting, I want the best players on my team.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:17 PM ^
He truly is a team-minded player. That, among other traits, makes him just pure awesome.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:21 PM ^
Yeah I could see how taking a knee and giving thanks, could be seen as classless. I mean Tebow and Denard, what a couple of jerks. My only wish is that everyone could be as "classless" as Denard.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^
Kovacs:
"But the same time I think our offense helps us out a lot. Anytime you’re not on the field as a defense, they can’t score too many points on you, so I think they do a great job holding the ball and moving the chains. They aren’t doing that hurry-up tempo anymore, so I think that’s really helped us out.”
November 20th, 2011 at 2:28 PM ^
The more I think about that, the more I think he might actually have a point. Having the offense on the field a bunch might not really wear out the opposing defense, but it certainly can help your defense. Opposing offenses this year, for the most part, spend so much time on the sidelines that they haven't been able to get into rhythm. At the same time, our defenses have been fresh enough to kick them off the field the moment they come back on.
Maybe the clock eating strategy is more playing to your defense than wearing down the opposing D. The hurry up can help your offense, but all in all it might not be better for the team as a whole.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:33 PM ^
Wait, so you think that being on the field all day tires out our defense, but not opposing defenses? Head asplode.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:39 PM ^
I have been waiting all year for the refs to throw the flag on those horrible taunting kneels he does. I mean who gives him the right to pray?? Yeah this may be the most far fetched claim I have ever heard. Denard has more class in his one kneeled leg than most people have in their whole bodies.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:44 PM ^
Looks like you replied to the wrong comment
November 20th, 2011 at 3:50 PM ^
it was about the Nebraska fan who said he would rather have T-Magic over Denard cause of his classless endzone celebrations... sorry
November 20th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^
What? Did you read what I said? Let me run through my comment for you.
"Having the offense on the field a bunch might not really wear out the opposing defense, but it certainly can help your defense."
Mainstream strategy wrt eating clock says that you do it to wear out the opposing defense, but this has been debunked. In reality, being on the field wears down the offense just as much as the defense.
"Opposing offenses this year, for the most part, spend so much time on the sidelines that they haven't been able to get into rhythm."
Pretty self explanatory. Long drives by our offense means their offense has to sit on the sidelines. Offenses rely on rhythm more than defenses, so this makes a difference.
"At the same time, our defenses have been fresh enough to kick them off the field the moment they come back on."
This is not to say that that their offense wouldn't be fresh as well, just that defenses play better when fresh, while offenses play better while in rhythm. For example, during the game yesterday Nebraska would get the ball, go 3&out, and head to the sidelines for 10 minutes. Then they would come back, still rhythm-less, to face a fresh and energetic defense, and go 3&out again. This benefits our defense.
What part of that don't you get?
November 20th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
Did you read your own post? The part I don't get is this:
You say that having our offense on the field doesn't actually tire out the opposing defense, but later you say that our defense plays better when they are fresher from not having been on the field the entire game. It's kinda contradictory.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:55 PM ^
It does tire out the opposing defense, but it tires out the offense at least the same amount. Because of this, the whole "wear down the defense" argument is at least overstated.
My point is that offenses benefit more from being in rhythm, while defenses benefit more from being fresh (as opposed to being in rhythm), especially early in the game. Therefore, it makes sense to chew clock when you have a defense capable of booting the other offense right back off the field, because (as we saw with Nebraska) they will never be able to truly get anything going on offense.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:58 PM ^
I see what you are saying, but you are still contradicting yourself when you say that having the opponents defense on the field for a long time doesn't create an advantage. Don't they see the same benefit from being rested?
November 20th, 2011 at 3:08 PM ^
When you run the hurry up successfully, you are wearing down the defense just as much as when you run a more conservative clock management offense successfully. The difference is that the more conservative clock management can help the defense more.
Having the opponents defense on the field for a long time doesn't create an advantage because your offense will wear down just as much. And even an up-tempo offense can wear downt the defense (see: Oregon).
My point is that clock strategy doesn't matter when you are on offense, because it hurts both sides equally. But conservative clock strategy can help your defense.
Sorry I wasn't 100% on your objection, does that answer it?
November 20th, 2011 at 2:37 PM ^
It's a difference because the defense is more rested, but also because there's less chance to screw up.
We ran 80 plays (approx.) yesterday, Nebraska ran 54. That's a huge difference
November 20th, 2011 at 3:19 PM ^
Don't the turnovers explain most of that?
November 20th, 2011 at 3:18 PM ^
The D is fresh, but so is the opposing O. The O can dictate tempo, but the D tends to substitute more often. I've never understood why it's a significant advantage to one team or the other.
If you're winning, you want to limit possessions and eat clock. If you're losing, you want to extend the game by speeding things up. Beyond that, any other effects seem pretty inconsequential.
November 20th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
I've tried to explain this thoroughly, but it hasent worked, so simply put:
Offenses rely primarily on rhythm, while defenses rely primarily on freshness. Chewing clock hurts the opposing offense's ability to get in rhythm, while keeping your defense fresh.
November 20th, 2011 at 4:21 PM ^
Defenses rely primarily on talent, play-calling, and execution - just like offenses.
Offenses can get tired, just like defenses. Defenses can't rely on 'rhytm' because when they play well they're on the sideline, and the opposite can be true for offenses, making it an impossible argument. Sounds too much like voodoo.
November 20th, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
Just to follow up, from “Beat Ohio State” to “Beat Ohio” -- is that something you immediate adopted because of your head coach? Is “Ohio State” forbidden?
Kovacs: “That’s what he calls them, so that’s what we call them.”
Couldn't help to notice he said "We". And Jordan is telling the truth. Hoke is a true leader and this team is gonna follow him to greatness.
November 20th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^
Since when has taking a knee for a moment of prayer been considered taunting?
November 20th, 2011 at 2:58 PM ^
You know (or should know) that's not what the Nebraska fan is talking about.
November 20th, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^
the op actually got the question wrong. the reporter asked about Michigan, not "you".
November 20th, 2011 at 8:11 PM ^
but maybe the transciption got it wrong. sorry. but still awesome.
November 20th, 2011 at 4:40 PM ^
Telling.
November 20th, 2011 at 4:59 PM ^