March 19th, 2012 at 10:44 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 11:52 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 10:03 PM ^
Is it nuts? I thought Denard was gonna be far better than Tate, and I got sent to Bolivia (diclemeg).... and if you watched Bellomy's and Gardner's tape, you will see that Bellomy can really play, and that Gardner is a sublime athlete who can also play. Its not far-fetched at all. Purdue knows qbs.
March 19th, 2012 at 10:39 AM ^
Most teams want to work at least 3 guys at every position. You clearly need a starter and a backup, and at any time one of the three could be lost due to an injury or off-the-field issue.
QB is such a complex position that there is no way a guy can be ready it if he spends significant time at another position. That is why Denard Robinson never saw very many snaps at RB or WR, despite a constant drumbeat from fans wanting it to happen.
Even if Bellomy had pushed Gardner down to 3rd string (which is doubtful in itself), they couldn’t possibly be so sure of it that they would stop repping Gardner at QB. And if Gardner gets sufficient work at QB, he isn’t going to have much time to practice as an every-down WR.
Of course, if (as is likely) Gardner is still the No. 2 QB, then they definitely can’t afford to stop repping him at QB.
My guess is that they are using the spring to try things out. They still like the idea of putting Robinson and Gardner on the field at the same time (which they toyed with last year), and they are using the spring as a laboratory to put in a few wrinkles. Those plays will never be the bread & butter of the offense, and as the season gets closer Gardner will spend most of his time practicing at QB.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:51 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 10:37 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 10:41 AM ^
Wow a lot of people split on this topic, as if I would be making it up. LOL. We will see where this turns, but I wouldn't be shocked if DG made the switch full time, not even backing up Robinson at QB.
March 19th, 2012 at 10:43 AM ^
Marvin McNutt
March 19th, 2012 at 10:45 AM ^
Who isnt thin at qb in college football and the pros there one play away from disaster..we are fortunate that we have 2 good qbs and a 3rd who can step in and play..why let the talent just sit on the sidelines it only makes since and if denard gets hurt nothing changes DG is still the backup. Not really seeing why people cant understand that.
March 19th, 2012 at 10:49 AM ^
I think this a a lot about keeping Devin interested and engaged. He knows he is not going to start this year, everyone knows it. But the kid is a damn good athlete and kids that talented are hard to keep as back-ups. The coaching staff is probably making sure he stays engaged and intereseted in every thing; more then just being Denards back-up
March 19th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
tall, athletic wide receivers. Win-win.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:32 AM ^
As opposed to all those athletic coordinators that like their WR's short and unathletic.
"Okay, now, Melville. When the ball is snapped, you're gonna run 10 yards down and then 5 yards in. At that point, the play will probably be over because it'll take you 20 seconds to get there, but if it's not, I want you to make absolutley sure the pass goes 3 feet over your tiny arms and you make a fool of yourself trying to "jump" for it."
March 19th, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^
Melville?
March 19th, 2012 at 10:53 AM ^
hypothetical, who would do more damage at wr, denard or devin?
March 19th, 2012 at 10:54 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 10:55 AM ^
I watched DG play several times in high school and he never reminded me of a D-1 QB. He was always a great athlete but he couldn't throw for shit. It always looked like he was flicking the ball sidearm. He just didn't have the "wow" D-1 QB factor.
I watched Bellomy start two years for his 5A Texas High school team. I watched him take the team farther in the playoffs than ever before. He throw as accurate a ball as any other Texas quarterback I've seen over the past 25 years. He has great work ethics and is very teachable. Traits that will take him far. I'm obviously a fan of his and excited to see him get a chance to play. Sooner rather than later.
March 19th, 2012 at 10:58 AM ^
I remembered DG looking good at WR at a camp, found the video
March 19th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^
This video, combined with the fact that Hoke/Borges must feel great about what they have in Bellomy IF this is a permanent move, makes me 100% ok with this.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:01 AM ^
seems just plain illogical considering depth at QB. If he were coming from any other "transferable" position but QB, I would believe it. This, I don't.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:03 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^
That's a good point. I wouldn't be surprised if the coaches pointed out that if he doesn't get the medical RS then he only has one season to play after Denard graduates. They probably told him that he could probably start if he moved to WR, but that was up to him.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:22 AM ^
Here's a theory. After several seasons Hoke et al know that Robinson is not injury prone. They also know they have one or more reliable running backs which should reduce the odds of injury to Robinson. Borges is not satisfied with production from last year's Robinson and Gardner plays. Forcing DG to learn two positions or promoting an inexperienced Bellomy to backup is only highly detrimental in the event of serious injury to Robinson. The potential payoff of DG at wide receiver could be huge this season not only through straight production but also because he will demand attention from the secondary.
TL;DR: Large likely payoff, small chance of disaster vis-a-vis Mattison's defensive plan against Ohio.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
He definitely gets dinged up but I think it is to be expected given his usage. He probably took more big hits that anybody else on the team last year outside of maybe Fitz yet only sat out long enough to get checked out. The question is up for discussion though: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/895454-denard-robinson-injury-injury-prone-qb-or-just-bad-luck
March 19th, 2012 at 11:09 AM ^
try stuff like this.
Besides, Dumtonio and Creyer can now spend all summer wasting their time preparing for this
March 19th, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^
The water in Lansing must be getting to you.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:21 AM ^
Gardner is 6' 4". We do not have a lot of tall guys on the roster (Jackson is 6' 3", J. Robinson is 6' 1", Roundtree is 6' 0", Dileo is 5' 10").
I assume Gardner is being used to simulate a taller WR to give the corners someone to work out again and for Denard to get used to throwing a bigger guys. Gardner was a top WR in camps as people have pointed out and he might be the closest analog we have to Darboh and Chesson. Gives Denard practice throwing at big targets that can high point the ball and lets the DBs learn to deal with big guys. We got torched by Posey and the bigger guys on VT last year, so the more reps our guys get against big athletic bodies, the better.
Also if someone has some spare time, go check the Alabama roster and figure out who Gardner could be an analog of.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
really 5'10"? I saw him on fan day during the special teams kicks, and he looked tiny. I always thought he was more of a short 5'9" if anything.
I really like the idea of having a tall athletic reciever like Gardner out there. We saw Hemmingway go up with a big body and come down with the ball a lot. If DG can high point the ball, this makes total sense. He's also pretty physical. I remember a play where he dropped his sholder to get a few extra yards. Size definately counts.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:22 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^
March 19th, 2012 at 11:27 AM ^
Devin just got a look at Calvin Johnson's contract.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
If they are really moving DG to WR that means they have to take another QB in this class right?
March 19th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
They're looking at taking a guy who can play multiple positions, with QB being one of those potential positions.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^
Which, if the whole DG-to-WR plays out, further demonstrates the upside of taking those kinds of prospects in the first place, even if they have somewhat limited throwing skills. Can't have enough teachable athletes.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^
Just curious because I haven't seen them offer any dual-threat-QB-in-high-school-but-probably-not-in-college-but-maybe players yet this year.
Shane Cockerille.
It doesn't have to be a dual-threat QB. If you take an athleticly stout guy and he doesn't work out at QB, then you can move him to FB, TE, DE, etc.
Shallman is going to play QB!!!!
March 19th, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
I hope this happens. I think with DG has WR if it does work out well has a very high chance for payoff. I mean 6'5 with 4.4 speed thats basically calvin territory.
You line him up at on one side, and Gallon and Tree on the other. tell him to run a go route he will take the best corner + saftey every down. and still I'm guessing he would come down with those arm punts we became so fond of last year. oh and the D still has to account for Denard...this could be really really special.
If he has hands and can learn to highpoint a ball half as well as Hemmingway this could work.
Us being thin at WR is not good for denard, he needs that guy that keeps the safteys honest, and none of the current roster seems like a guy that needs double coverage.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
This is not a huge deal right now. If Devin can play WR - great. We all know he can play the QB position also if needed. FWIW, the only video we have access to, there is one clip of DG, and he is throwing a pass in it.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^
Did he look like this? (Beast mode commences at 1:29)
March 19th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
Just by looking at this video, it shows that he has some raw reciever skills, and whens a better time to experiment and try and take advantage of this skill set than in the spring, I like where this is going
Gardner definitely is athletic enough to play wide receiver. I still say give him a chance and see what he does. If anything he comes back to quarterback if Denard gets hurt, either to take over or back up Bellomy if Russell is ready to go.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
Interesting. I wonder what his upside is at WR. He has great size, but I'm not sure what kind of speed he has.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^
IIRC, Brian described Gardner camping video as "Braylon crossed with a bull"