"* Michigan CB Morgan Trent struggled in coverage during one on one drills which won't help him since scouts were down on him headed into these practices anyway."
*sigh*
http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2009/01/shrine_bowl_practice_note...
Maybe I missed something, but
Multiple "senior" bowls
There are multiple "senior" bowls out there, most notably the Senior Bowl, to which you refer, and the East-West Shrine, the game in which Trent is competing.
"The difference between a man and a boy is, a boy wants to grow up to be a fireman, but a man wants to grow up to be a giant monster fireman."
- Jack Handey
In Trent's defense, that
In Trent's defense, that reviewer was negative on most of those guys.
But are we really surprised that he struggled? No. He was not an in your face cover guy. He always played 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and gave up a huge cushion.
With the absence of Trent
With the absence of Trent next year, our secondary will be outstanding for the first time since we didn't have a guy named Morgan on the Michigan roster.
This is absolutely, 100%
This is absolutely, 100% guesswork.
And damn fine too.
And damn fine too.
Or maybe not.
Or maybe not.
Then again, this writer also
Then again, this writer also said Sammie Stroughter (Oregon State) was having trouble with drops in 1v1 drills. And he's one of the best receivers in the Pac-10. Meh.
But....
Did you read that and say "No fucking way! That just can't be true!"
Nah, me either. Maybe he's just taking a little bit of time getting over jetlag. Or bad sushi. Or something.
Maybe I'm missing something here--
I don't understand why Trent is so hated by 99% of Michigan fans. Is it because he got burned to a crisp by OSU and USC in '06, and ergo he cost Michigan a chance at an NC? Do people just forget that Leon Hall was also on that team and got beaten just as badly in both games? I thought Trent was actually solid in '07, and while he wasn't very good last year I'd say he did better than Warren, who got absolutely abused against Illinois and PSU. I don't remember any specific games in '08 where Trent got beaten badly.
The majority of Michigan fans
The majority of Michigan fans don't know much about football.
Oh, the pass defense isn't good? It's the cornerbacks' fault. Donovan Warren was a 5-star? Then it must be the other guy's fault!
That being said, Trent was benched for a short stretch in 2008 for a lack of "production" (as Rodriguez called it) in favor of Cissoko, so Trent must have been doing something wrong.
However, Trent consistently allowed short passes to be completed underneath him. Unless I hear it from one of the coaches or from Trent's mouth himself, I refuse to believe that he was not being coached to turn his hips so quickly after the snap and, thus, allow shorter passes. I don't know if that's because a) the coaches didn't trust the safeties, b) the coaches didn't trust Trent's ability to cover downfield, c) the coaches overestimated their underneath coverage and tackling ability, or d) a combination of the above choices.
Trent was pretty good in 2007. He wasn't good in 2008, but he wasn't as bad as most Michigan fans are making him out to be. He has been made somewhat of a scapegoat for Michigan's defensive struggles because too many fans fail to see the whole picture - lack of a push up front, poor safety play at times, WTF-inducing schemes - when analyzing individual players.
Well done.
A solid Morgan Trent career retrospective.
Trent in coverage
I always liked Trent, FWIW, and thought he played hard. He did, though, give credence to the scout-speak of not having good hips.
It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future. -- Yogi Berra
I Trust Brian
Magnus, I agree that "The majority of Michigan fans don't know much about football."
But I do think Brian does know a thing or two.
I believe Brian posted several times that Trent was not good.(Please correct my memory if I am wrong -- not trying to put words in Brian's pen).
Plus, I remember personally yelling Goddammit Trent way too many times. My favorite is that I do not recall any time that Trent actually used his hands or arms to tackle -- it was always a shoulder block and missed way too often.
Life should not be a journey to the grave to arrive safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What A Ride!" HST
Yes, but there are other
Yes, but there are other players who have been bad at times who have not inspired as much anger and venom as Trent. Will Johnson did almost nothing in 2008, but nobody noticed because he's a DT. Ezeh wasn't great in 2008, but other than an occasional "argh takebetterangles!" his errors went largely unnoticed. But when it comes to Trent, it's often, "He fucking sucks!" without taking into account other factors. Other than Steve Brown, I can't think of a single player who has been so roundly criticized for his on-the-field play in the last few years.
My gripe with Trent isn't
My gripe with Trent isn't that he "isn't any good" as much as in 5 years he never seemed to get any better.
It's no good for a man to work in cages.
Hits the town, he drinks his wages.
--The Clash
This is crazy talk
Trent went from liability to strength, then regressed a bit from his So. to Jr. to Sr. years.
If you think he didn't get any better, you simply are not paying any attention to anything but his last two years.
If he regressed in his last
If he regressed in his last two years, how exactly did he get any better?
Is my sarcasm detector broken?
It's no good for a man to work in cages.
Hits the town, he drinks his wages.
--The Clash
None (tribute to Haloscan)
Trent was good last year. The case with Trent, like with a lot of corners, is that fans tend not to notice when a cornerback is playing well (unless if he has played well from day one -- hence DWar) because it's one of those positions where if you do your job, it's a case of "Oh, big deal, he's just doing his job," and if you're getting burned, then people think you're bad no matter what.
Trent was a liability in '06 and had a lot to do with why we (a) lost to tUoOS and (b) lost to USC. When he put together a pretty good year in '07, no one seemed to notice because his legacy as "Morgan Toast" had already been cemented from the year before. It's just too bad he ended up regressing this year.
...and by that, I mean helter-skelter, willy-nilly and putt-putt!
My B
I can see where you're coming from. What I meant is that he "went from liability to strength, then regressed a bit from his So. to Jr. to Sr. years, RESPECTIVELY." So he was a liability as a sophomore, a good player as a junior, and an average-ish player as a senior.
Trent's Mom
I will miss her.
Safety Play
We have to remember that the play of the safeties exposed the cornerbacks (both Trent and Warren) during the season. Yes, sometimes wide receivers simply burned the corners, but I think the safeties were responsible for many of the big plays; often, the cornerbacks expected over-the-top help on deep routes that was either (1) late or (2) non-existent.
My biggest gripe with Trent was (as others have mentioned) his propensity to give receivers large cushions, even on short-yardage downs. Baffling.
argh
This was coaching. Every single one of our cornerbacks gave big cushions, even Cissoko, whose strength is press man coverage.
Maybe I missed something, but is this something like the Senior Bowl, or is this what they're calling the Senior Bowl now?
...and by that, I mean helter-skelter, willy-nilly and putt-putt!