Practice Bits: Nick Sheridan? Seriously? Seriously. Comment Count

Brian

Carlos Brown pitching the ball; via the Daily.

There was another open-ish practice yesterday. It was significant for two events. Event #1 was Mike Shaw smoking guys. Jim Carty:

The freshman from Ohio sprinted past the first defensive player, then cut back around the second. If that had been all he did, it would have still been an impressive display of speed and shiftiness, but highly touted freshman corner Boubacar Cissoko was still between Shaw and the end of the cone.

Shaw hinted at a move and then simply squared up and pancaked Cissoko. Rolled right over him. With authority.

"Ohhhhhhh!" went the team.

"Wow," whispered a reporter.

Shaw and McGuffie were specifically called out as freshmen who will be contributors this fall:

"(They) are two guys who will not be redshirted," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "The biggest (issue) as freshmen coming in is, can they mentally handle the schemes and the pace? Those two have shown they can so far. They've done enough to convince us they can contribute as freshmen, and I think as much mentally as physically.

"They're both fast, explosive players that I think are good with the spread system, so we're excited about it. As much as anything, I like the way they practice. Coming here in the summer helped. They're practicing like they've been here longer than a couple weeks."

Elsewhere in the youth movement on offense: Odoms and Robinson are obviously taking hold of the slot position. Toney Clemons, the nominal spring starter at the position, is now moving between the slot and outside receiver. Kevin Koger got special mention when tight ends were discussed; sounds like that DE move is off the table; Barnum and Khoury mentioned in a question about which true freshmen OL have a shot to play. No O'Neill, about which more later

Event #2 was a seismic shift in the quarterbacks competition. You can read this on any of the premium sites or in the Carty article, and I believe it to be true: Nick Sheridan, not Steven Threet, is your probable starter. The media got to see Sheridan significantly outperform Threet yesterday in the 30 minutes they were allotted. I have some inside baseball on this one suggesting that this is no smokescreen or motivational ploy and that Sheridan is currently the legitimate favorite to start against Utah. Hide the children.

This may not be hugely important. No matter who starts chances are he struggles at some point and the other guy gets a chance to prove himself. But the assumption that it was Threet with Nick Sheridan an emergency option is right out. According to Rodriguez, Feagin...

Justin has been okay. He was a little hampered the last couple days with a sore shoulder. This morning he looked a little bit better, but he has got a long way to go, more mentally than anything else, because there is so much for him to learn.

...does not seem a viable option yet.

Inside bits! A previously-reliable emailer provides practice insights from someone with an opportunity to take in an entire practice session:

  • Practice is extremely intense and the tempo is high. This would normally be blah blah blah but this individual has seen a lot of different colleges practice; this is a notable difference between Michigan and the typical program. Coaches were a little too intense, maybe, choosing to yell at guys instead of showing them how they screwed up. Notable exception: DC Scott Shafer, who was a technique hound instructing everyone on the defense.
  • The offensive line, as expected, looks rough. O'Neill has a great frame and upside but is not ready to play this year.
  • Confirmation that the young tailbacks looked excellent; Shaw "one of the fastest players I've ever seen in college."
  • Thumbs up to Cissoko.
  • Regarding EEEE Barwis: it's not so much that Barwis is a god who raises wolves and all that, but that Michigan's previous regime was hopelessly out of date. Of all the football factory schools, Michigan had a reputation around the NFL for having the least prepared, least conditioned athletes. [I find this a little hard to believe given all the guys who leap directly into NFL starting roles, but this guy's assessment comes from a place of great credibility. It does seem clear that some guys had ample motivation and training (Edwards, Hart), but others (Watson) were just this side of "blogger." -ed]
  • Trent is "way ahead" of where he was last year at this time and is the best NFL prospect on the defense. (Of players eligible for the next draft, so it's basically just him and the DL. I don't know if that's good. Next bullet.)
  • The defensive line plays too "stiff" -- not exactly sure what the upshot of this is -- and was not as impressive as Michigan fans might hope.
  • Not shocking: things are "ridiculously open" compared to the Carr regime.

Let's see Weis try this. Entertaining tidbit from Mark Snyder:

[Rodriguez was] standing over kicker K.C. Lopata as well, trying to rattle him on each successive kick, wagering something out of our earshot. Yet it became abundantly clear when the kicking drill was done and Rodriguez himself hit the deck and cranked out a bunch of pushups in the middle of the field. Rodriguez's energy with the players was clear and they all seemed to be engaged by his interaction.

And finally we can say what we've been waiting to say. The uniforms are official, the pads are on, and there's no quarter left for Michigan football fans:

uniforms-suck.jpg

The away jerseys suck.

Comments

Tim Waymen

August 13th, 2008 at 9:48 PM ^

I can't believe I'm responding. You're at work and typing really fast just to show us your stream of consciousness style. I understand that you're passionate, but maybe you should save your life story for after work, don't you think? I mean, that's a lot of sneaking to be doing.

I get what you're saying, and you are 100% incorrect. Everything you say is based on speculation and your own strange interpretation of things e.g. that RR is "demonizing" Threet...what does that even mean? No kidding you once wrote a script...you have quite an imagination.  One concern seems to be that RR is recruiting midgets who will never make the NFL. IT'S ONLY HIS 2ND RECRUITING YEAR AT MICHIGAN. HIS TEAM HASN'T EVEN PLAYED YET. And how are you the expert on what type of player Kevin Newsome is, compared to all of the other real recruiting analysts out there? RR needs guys for his system. Plus the kid has never taken a snap in college.  Also, you don't know what goes on in the locker room, and we don't either. I don't know where you're coming from saing that Sheridan will get psyched out or the coaches will leave.  Geez, talk about jumping the gun. But please continue to do so. It's entertaining.

papabear16

August 13th, 2008 at 9:45 PM ^

I am rooting hard for Sheridan, but for different reasons.  I was a drop-back passer with a good arm who got stuck running the option most of high school (which I learned to love, by the way).  I actually worked out for a year with the hope of walking on my sophomore year at Michigan and running the scout team.  Then I learned that Carr's new policy was to put the heir apparent on the scout team, to get him experience.  It was a good idea.  In a way, I lost my job to Tom Brady :).

 In truth, I doubt I had sufficient talent to walk on, and at my best, never would have made the field.  But, I have a place in my heart for true walk-ons like Sheridan, and just hope he has a great year with a few great plays and some good memories for him.

Ellipses Man

August 13th, 2008 at 9:58 PM ^

Thanks Tim Waymen.........you know its a game of hunches.......and guesstimations......and usually those who are good at that stuff......it's tough to explain why they see it that way. You know Ive printed this out....and we'll see on Newsome and this year.....I did the whole stream of consciousness because it usually brings out people's biases. Because youre trying to infuse opinion......to a subject and you are not letting people fill in the blanks. I understand that.........uhhhh lets say Beany Wells is to Harvard Med School as I am to Grammar at this point. And my guesstimations may be way off. But when you cry aloud that you've seen a thread and it comes true......no one will ever let you say I told you so no matter what. But thats what we ask QB's and our coaches to do. To see things that are not there. To guess......to make plays.....and when you look at this team, I think this is a team that will over achieve and lose 2-3 games. I really believe in this team. I am actually more geeked for this year than I am the last two. Because this is a team of hodge podge left overs..........it's a rag tag bunch of uh over shelved items and under cooked entrees so to speak.....but this team has some guts and low, in my opinion, entropy. So you know I guesstimate..........SO I could be way wrong about New New........I just dont see him in Canton OH or the Super Bowl or a NC game bro. And why my, as you say, way offfff base spidey senses, tell me that I do not know. But I emailed this site about, well middle of TP recruitment and said theres no way were getting this kid. And I've also emailed this site saying I think this year is going to be amazing. I really believe in this team. I believe in RR as well. But much like the way Im blogging here tonight.........to win this year........its going to take a crazy herculean effort. To the point of the ridiculous. And this is a team built for that moment.........the staff and the guys are men of the moment. And I embrace this year and this team.......I may not blog like Chris Fowler or be as punctual as Bob Costas.....I may be a lil more Lee Corso/ Harry Carey post 7th inning stretch.....and I know I do not hold a coveted, proper degree from my favorite school,Michigan.........shuckers :( wipe some tears there.......but heres the thing......football was never about being f*cking proper and that is the fun of it.

I'm not here to boil RR before his year starts either........some lineman recruit wouldnt hurt though. Someone should call Jake Long or Jon Jansen and be like listen.....can you fly back here and talk to these fat lazy over hyped lineman recruits and tell em if they wanna play in the NFL they gotta work out?? Please? Because Barwis is scaring everyone away! lol

Id like to read a Mike Barwis blog while were blowing mine all to hell here 

papabear16

August 13th, 2008 at 10:31 PM ^

I've never seen a Barwis blog, but I've seen some things he's written, and he comes off as very intelligent, and a fair writer.  He'd probably do quite well, but you'd be bored - it's all about hormonal loads and muscle fibers and nerves and wolves and lactic acid.

Ellipses Man

August 13th, 2008 at 10:39 PM ^

Tim,

Why do you think I said I hope Rich stays 7 years? I'll answer it for yah. He stayed 7 at WV and signed for 6 here. So I'm hoping he stays more. The demonizing Threet thing is like this.....sometimes player coach relationships can be an inadvertant antagonistic thing.  Do you think after spending those years with Pat White that certain tendencies and you know dependancies towards play calling were developed? I mean watch the QB coaches video for the new uhh MGOBLUE thing and watch this guy Rod Smith...the QB coach.....he smiles like a cheshire cat when the name Pat White is said. So, here's the thing. I probably know more about the Rivalry between OSU and Michigan than Rod Smith does and I do not want Pat White at Michigan like Rod Smith does ok. I wasnt opposed to Rick Leach or have some diposition to a running QB....but at the pro level...........think of the great running QB's........or scrambling ones......who do you think of.......Stabler as a scrambler......Steve Young.......Rick Leach as a Wolverine.......Donovan McNabb that day in Michigan Stadium when the Orangemen torched us. Who do you think of? Pro or college.....Let me effing sarcastic to you my friend.........all those great scramblers and runners........THREW AS WELL AS THEY RAN. 

 

So I hope when Rod Smith.........you know whoever he is.......talks about Pat White at Michigan....go watch the video by the way on MGO BLUE....I kind of hope he falls in tune with what we have IN THE NOW. I mean his paycheck should key him in some. And a loss at the SHOE or at Spartan Stadium or perhpas a loss at home to UTAH might cue him in some lol........

And heres the other thing.......when I said I want Coach Rich Rodriguez here for more than 7 years you turned my words around Tim Waymen and said something about this guy leaving.........My question to you would be this.........do you think West Virginia thought he was leaving?

I know you want the last word on a blog, to sum me up, to tell me about grammar, because you need to.......so here you go buddy......... 

 

Blue Durham

August 13th, 2008 at 11:33 PM ^

The most concise, prescient comment on this confusing thread has been KGH 10's entry about 80 comments ago "hwhat" and I don't even know what the hell "hwhat" is.

But that's not surprising, as I read some AOL thread last fall where she ripped some dumb unsuspecting SOB 5 new ass holes between 3 and 4 AM with about 4 seperate 500 word posts.   Thats when I realized that (1) I didn't know near as much football as I thought I did (2) I was too drunk to know otherwise or (3) all of the above. 

This thread confirmed 1 or 3.

Ellipses Man

August 13th, 2008 at 11:39 PM ^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEuvOQxWW0o&feature=related

 I'm not trying to be this way........

I just watched...........the MGOBLUE videos and I have to say Coach Smith and ah Coach McGee and Coach Frey could use some Mike Barwis tips.......Or they should put out a collective cook book instead of Carr's Car Wash. They could get Jim Brandstetter to give some good European classics in there.

Another thing that tweaked my spidey senses was the MGOBLUE video with Coach McGee.........Doug Karsch goes after three questions or so....goes....."Well evaluate Steven Threet." It's as if they all give the same answer. Very scripted and stay in you lane kind of answer. I see the dissemenation of it.

Listen if they go spread and shred with Sheridan(who I am also cheering for) and they cannot go vertical with a passing attack. Or say Sheridan at 6'0 gets passes batted down on key third down plays.........and the horizontal runs dont yield vertical results......people will call and subversively suggest Threet. I'm worried FOR THAT EXACT MOMENT. Because..............of the answers I'm seeing in these videos.......there's this weird kind of...........Titanic-Iceberg feel where even though they can for see the Iceberg they feel too aloof to even answer it. 

I dont know man...........I got that total weird vibe about this staff all of a sudden. Except for Shafer. When you look at his interview............he looks like a future Big Ten coach...........he stands alone.  Now I know in College and Pro Football that coaching changes bring about mass cleanings. Like a political election.........But for some reason with this staff of guys I think they are a package deal. You know? My hope, as a fan of Michigan Football is that they all go on and coach on their own. Maybe they will, I just do not see it. I don't get why at times, other than perogative, they are hush hush on Threet and sing the praise of Sheridan so quick. I mean Rich Rodriguez says,"I only talk about Michigan Football players." Rod Smith sure talks alot about Pat White though.

Tim Waymen

August 14th, 2008 at 1:18 AM ^

My head is about to explode.  Okay fine, Mike Hunter.  I agree.  I want a QB who can throw as well as run.  You have successfully converted me over from my stance of wanting a QB who can't throw at all.  I'm going to miss those days...

Change around two letters and you get Milf Hunter, though Mike Hunter will do just fine.

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 2:30 AM ^

lol.....my fear....is you miss the the good you have in a Sheridan or Threet....you tell the people with fluffy rhetoric like that of a snake oil salesman(lol)...."oh we change our system to meet those skills we have ma'am and sir".....and then you do not change it.....and then before you know it....the talented guys are playing so bad the untalented ones look good....And then you call up the recruits(Newsome) like some lost virgin on a prom night saying help me help me.........my quarterbacks have let me down and I need your help....when the first year can written off, that doesnt mean you should write off the guys that are there....and while you could never say they do or did........it would be subversive and wrong....I'm not accusing them of that....YET. If Threet is the best talent but doesnt lead well or is a premadonna and Sheridan is less skilled but manages the game better and gets the job done thats one thing. But if you set the table up so Threet is at a disadvantage then that is wrong and it will come out in this case if Sheridan gets hurt. Because the only pass Feagin can complete in big time football today is the Tim Tebow jump ball lob thing. As a staff they do have the beginnings of some very paper thin uhh I guess you would say posture or defense answers for some of these questions about the QB sitch. I dont have to like it....Michigan Football has some tough fans......hearing Rod Smith, who most of Michigan could give two you know what's about, talk about Pat White....after his boss said,"I only talk about Meeechigan players," is somewhat hypocritical.....the Kevin Grady thing shows the same thing.....I do not want the rumblings of what some of the WV faithful said to come to fruition about this guy. Let me exhale here.....I am not a fundementalist.....I'm flexible.....I support em....I dont sweat the small stuff either ......but I try to connect the dots because I do not like to be led around by the nose........by people who think they know better. So I am not asking Rich Rod to log hours in Schembecler Hall studying all the great Lloyd Carr games or give all this fluff off to the Michigan of Ol.......but I am looking at follow through and there are moments that jump out at you........where I see mixed signals here from the hiring until now.

As far as other teams go.....these are the things that worry me.....Utah is gearing up for a showdown with BYU, check the ESPN article.....Notre Dame is getting better......expect ND to be very competitve by 2010.....Claussen does not worry me...Dayne Crist does, ALOT. Crist will play the moment he's ready......I mean the symbology of his name is amazing with touchdown jesus and all of that. Seriously he reminds me the most of Brady....or of something Michigan like when it comes to QB...Carson Palmer a lil as well........... Ron Zook, does not worry me......Bielema doesnt worry me Camp Randall does......Terelle Pryor doesnt worry, all of his lineman do though.....To get beat by ND or tOSU while Weis and or Sweatervest pound our small fast guys with a brutal POWER I ball control which keeps us off the field(ie Pittsburgh)......Or I fear Weis and Dayne Crist and their incoming WR core do us like Brady and Streets or something.......I want us to embrace change but remember why we are even here paying this guy 2.5 million a year....it's cause of Bo, Gary and Lloyd. Oh and you Budwesier coach of the year.....this hat tip is for you Rod Smith and Pat White, sorry coach. Go Blue right!

 

Michigan Arrogance

August 14th, 2008 at 9:33 AM ^

just so you know, it's not January anymore. the crazy people who thought that RR would run nothing but QB keepers b/c when he looks at his QBs all he sees is "White, P." with little hearts and twinkly stars all around them have all gone to Cybertron, been converted into Transformers somehow.... and the thing of it is, they have been converted into the kind of Transformer where they all combine into one, giant transformer (like Devastator, thanks google) and that giant transformer is you. I saw transformers for the 1st time the other day. everytime a semi drives by i think of Optimus Prime now. I tried to write like Mike, but i have a compulsions to use puncuation but nt necessarily the shift key.

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 10:27 AM ^

First of all good morning and second of all......I do not care what any of you have written. Within all that I wrote....are major points for this program.....If you start Sheridan, I really hope that Threet does'nt get playing time and then subsequently goes on to do a whole lot better. Listen, when Coach Mcgee in that MGOBLUE video says somthing like,"They are not just running the POWER I here anymore now they getting all of it you know the whole package," I think.......We didnt run the spread last year until our last game. Right? But in practice the scout team and Henne ran it some to prepare our defense right?. And we ran the spread pretty damn good for only running it one game right?Also, these two guys at QB are'nt dummies so to speak so I hope when talks about formations, he being Coach McGee he's not talking QB.....because a QB usually logs hours watching film. Listen our lineman, TE, WR, and especially our QB's can run this offense....even the guys we have now........What McGee said was, in my opinion, misleading. He implied theres a learning curve to mask their preferences of who they want where.

Listen I hope that's wrong though but there is a gentile kind of rhetoric in their replays as a coaching staff that I do not have to like. You know when Rich Rod said,"You know I hope we two that we can win with," I was like WTF dude??? I wanted to say you've only got two and we all know it. If you Bring Carlos Brown in under center........let me hypothetical here.....I'm James Lauranitis......I'm probably thinking it's a run with CB under center.....some misdirection of sorts. And I'm not thinking Justin Feagin at this point is throwing anything more than a 5-7 foot pass. So we all know you only have two QB's so when I heard that comment I was like......where are you going with these replys. My hope is that theyre are creating a competition by not alluding to a starter.

Just hope that the only thing wrong with my posts here is the grammar. If I am right I know none of you will say anything good for or to me. You'll all edit your posts. lol.......just hope I am wrong, cause I do.

dex

August 14th, 2008 at 10:39 AM ^

"But in practice the scout team and Henne ran it some to prepare our defense right?"

 Uh, are you saying Henne QB'ed the scout team in practice against the first team defense? 

 No one will say anything to you if "you are right" because in the 9,000 word manifesto you have dropped in this comment thread not once have you made a coherent point. 

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 10:38 AM ^

 

Utah runs the spread right? And BYU runs the spread and BYU is like Utah's biggest rival right? Well that is another reason to go with Threet and throw from the old school mentality. The logic being, Utah as a defense is skilled in playing against the spread. Ok so.....then we are going to run that very offense, for the first time, against a team who has major experience with it??

Most, yes I am generalizing.....most schools would love to have a Greg Mathews, Toney Clemons, Daryl Stonum, Heningway, Carson Butler and so on..most schools would love to have that as a receiving corp...so if your slot guys do not work agianst Utah.....and Im watching Sheridan get balls batted down, because of his height not see LB's past or over the Defensive lineman and then we do not convert 3rd downs. That is not good. And then is Threet does better than Nick, well then some of things I've said in this post are spot on and true. No matter how I said them. And it will be an allude to this staff and what they want and how they handle the media.

I'm just interested to see how it is all going to translate offensively. I can tell our defense is there talent wise and that guy coaching, Shafer is spot on. He will be a head coach and soon. He's maybe two good years with MI away from being offered by someone.

Tim Waymen

August 14th, 2008 at 10:42 AM ^

22 comments by Mike Hunter!!  (ctrl + F is a great function.)  I probably also have a bunch, something I'm not proud of, but come on!  This guy's supposed to be at work and he has written 22 posts, about 4 of which are not essays.  Wow.

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 10:46 AM ^

Dex and Waymen are like the two old men on the Muppet Show. No Henne did not run the scout team dude. But in every program, there are times when the head coach will run 1st teamers offense against 1st teamers defense to really, really show the speed and accuracy that the opposing teams 1st team will have. There was even a time when Henne said,"We've run that in practice before..."

so cmon dude rip on my form........dont talk about the actuall content, cmon dude KEEP THE HATE Going, HATE ME.

dex

August 14th, 2008 at 10:54 AM ^

You know why I rip on your form?

 

Because your posts don't make any fucking sense.

 

If there is actual content, it's lost in your clever "stream of consciousness" style and general rambling. What is your point? That one QB might be better than the other? Fucking INSIGHTFUL man. You should take Corso's spot on Gameday.

 

Nobody here has responded to your "content", because nobody has been able to parse your idiocy to figure out what you are trying to say. I see 300 words a post, and the only discernible points are:

 

1. You think you are a football coach

2. You think you are a screenwriter (Baby Geniuses 2 perhaps?)

3. You don't comprehend punctuation or general readability

4. You might be an 8 year old typing on a neon keyboard in front of Dora the Explorer 

Tacopants

August 14th, 2008 at 1:42 PM ^

Well, I tried to make reasoned arguments about your content about 50 posts ago, but then you went ahead and ignored them.  It's not that I hate you, I just wish that you would do all of your thinking and typing in MS Word or something, then copy/paste it over here after going through spell check.

Michigan Arrogance

August 14th, 2008 at 11:10 AM ^

to explain, using bullet points just WTF he's talking about. so far this is what i have:

  • if threet replaces sheridan, then RR hates pocket QBs
  • if RR hates pocket QBs, then he lied about being 'adaptable'
  • if RR lied about being adaptable, then Tiller et al were right and then we won't be able to recruit pocket QBs b/cRR can't be trusted
  • if RR can't recruit pocket QBs, then we can't win
  • if the US education system were socialized, perhaps Mike H would not have slipped thru the cracks of the educational system.

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 11:16 AM ^

I think Michigan Arrogance that if Threet were to replace a struggling Sheridan and do better, one could logically ask this question........did they not see that in practice? Or is Threet just a gamer perhaps? number three.......perhaps they thought Sheridan was the best mix for the offense and it just didnt translate onto the field? I personally think Sheridan is the best MIX of what they are looking for but Threet is the best option for passing. But here's the thing, Threet cannot scramble....so the idea of a scramble is taken away ok.........so now that comment of,"we'll adapt to what's in the cupboard,"comment comes into light. Because what's in the cupboard is drop back passers. So if you go with Sheridan because hes better at fitting what you used to call.......you didnt fricken adapt WHAT SO EVER. You said one thing and you did another. And there are a lot, A LOT of people who think thats what this coaching staff is beginning to come off as. It feels gentile.

Listen........in a few days there are going to be 100000 people saying what Im saying here to a greater degree.....ok.......

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 11:09 AM ^

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080111/SPORTS06/80111…

 Dex,

Everyone thinks they are a coach....not just me..but I'll take your label brother.

In that article above, it says Threet would be your front runner. But that he may not be because he does not fit the system perhaps.

Listen there are, or it seems that, some members of the Detroit Media......are not all that sold on this guy. So if you think they are not looking for ammo, youd be an idiot.  If anything, in my quick ramblings, theres a sense of Damage Control. And I know youre gonna swear alot and make the joke that I should damage control on my writing. But uhh this is not a dissertation, or my doctoral thesis ok...youmay be my blog peers but you are not some great or respected footballologists. And I dont fantaisze that I am in some command and control bunker below Schembechler hall and I have all of the facts here dudes.  

If you see average results from spread plays, or running spread plays and poor results from Sheridan throwing the football. And you see average results from spread plays and good to average results from Threet throwing and they do not do what they said they would and change to adapt to whats in the cupboard they are liars. And certain sports writers are gonna hammer em. So my hope is that they are creating a controversy for motivation.  

Ellipses Man

August 14th, 2008 at 11:24 AM ^

Listen I think Michigan fans need an overwhelming pride. No one wants to visualize this going all wrong on opening day. We are all trying to figure out how it all went wrong on opening day last year yet. All Im saying is, If Sheridan starts, and Michigan loses and does piss poor in the passing game. I dont want to see Threet come in versus a MAC school later on or against ND and throw Henne Lasers and we win. because it will plant seeds I dont want planted in the back of my mind as to why Threet was not their all along.

I think you think that if this all goes wrong on opening day Ill come here looking for some vindication. I wont....

And I do not believe the sky is falling. 

this is just a year where you have to make due with whatever strenghts you can muster. you cannot have wants where there are so many needs. we need to find the best of whats around and not wish away to pat white or hope for something that is not there.  

SpartanNation

August 14th, 2008 at 11:36 AM ^

...that Michael Hunter is the best writer this pathetic excuse for a blog has ever seen.  (I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that he's a generous lover as well.)  The rest of you bitch-ass losers seem to think that "brevity" and "logic" and "sanity" count for something.  Listen up, ya' 'mos: under the new rules -- the Coach Dantonio rules -- those are just faggy excuses for not being a winner, which my man Mike clearly is.   

Michael, I can't tell you how excited I am to hear that you're a screenwriter.  I'm waiting with trembling anticipation for your take on a sequel to "Au Revoir, Les Enfants", styled as a buddy-cop comedy in the midst of the Battle of Algiers.  My loins quiver.

SPARTAN NATION 

ShockFX

August 14th, 2008 at 11:28 AM ^

Are three periods (...) not an arbitrary number of them.  Also, we do not read in the same cadence you think, sorry.

BlueTimesTwo

August 14th, 2008 at 11:38 AM ^

I don't think that Michael Hunter is on meth.  I think that he is on crack, and dictating his bloated memes to a secretary who is on meth.  If you are really in that much of a hurry, then why take the time to write out "ummm. . . "

. . . butreallyIthought . . . thatcoachesmaingoal . . .istowingames . . .

All this time I though that RR and his staff would start the QB who gives us the best chance to win the game.  If not, then we really are in trouble.

papabear16

August 14th, 2008 at 12:16 PM ^

So let me see if maybe I understand Hunter's point on the QBs/liars thing now.  If I understand it, it goes like this:

1.  RichRod said he would adapt his system to the talent available.

2.  RichRod starts Sheridan, who struggles.

3.  Threet comes in and starts throwing lasers miles downfield, and winning games.

4.  Hunter starts questioning why Threet wasn't the starter all along, and concludes that it can only be that RichRod never intended to adapt his sytem, but instead chose the QB who most approximated Pat White in a winged helmet - Sheridan.

This logic is flawed, primarily because RichRod is focusing on his system, which involves 11 players on offense, not just the QB.  Granted, in the NFL QB Challenge, Threet may (or may not, I don't know) outscore Sheridan.  And maybe in the Carr offense, or on Notre Dame's team, or OSU's, or USC's, Threet would start over Sheridan (or may not).  However, the situation these two players find themselves in is playing on the '08 Michigan squad, with its ninja backs, its inexperienced line, and a bevy of exciting running backs.

So, who fits this system best?  Heck if I know, I'm not a football coach.  But, it would not surprise me to hear that even if Threet can wing it a mile, that skill would be wasted behind this offensive line who cannot hold off a rush long enough to make good use of this skill.  Or, maybe Threet's slower release (which I have seen on video) is sufficiently problematic to offset the benefit of downfield passing.  Maybe our running backs are made that much better when the QB option gives them a little more space in which to run, and Threet is just not credible running the QB option.

In other words, there are potentially lots of reasons to start one QB over another that are somewhat independent of the NCAA '09 overall score of each QB.  While Threet fits a pro system best, the rest of our team might not.  Therefore, instead of making 10 guys adapt to the pro QB, RichRod may choose to make the QB position adapt to the rest of the team.  Fine by me.

Also, keep in mind that the first few games sort of serve as pre-season games, particularly for a team this young.  There will be changes.  Guys who are great in practice might not have "it" in front of 110,000, and vice versa. 

None of this makes RichRod a liar.