The Unappreciated Devin Funchess
This should be how we remember Devin Funchess. It is not. [Fuller]
Losing isn't conducive to hero worship. This is, perhaps, an obvious point. For every Minnesota-era Kevin Garnett, a beloved star on a bad team, there are many New York Carmelo Anthonys, nitpicked and questioned to an unreasonable degree while surrounded by lesser talents, hampered by poor coaching, or both.
Which brings me to Devin Funchess. In 2013, Funchess could do no wrong as the matchup nightmare foil to Jeremy Gallon's production by precision. Expectations entering last season were so high Brian had to repeatedly clarify that Calvin Johnson comparisons weren't entirely reasonable:
So Devin Funchess probably isn't Calvin Johnson. Michigan should try to prove that assertion wrong. Expect something between first team All Big Ten and an All-American followed by an early entry into the NFL draft. He may even win the Mackey award, because people don't pay attention.
Funchess's 2014 initially met expectations; he looked like a man among boys while scoring a trio of touchdowns in the opener against Appalachian State. Funchess managed 107 yards against Notre Dame as Michigan got whomped, but the seeds of discontent were planted:
Devin Funchess tore ligaments, crack bone in a toe in the ND game. Took a shot in the toe before Utah. Re-injured it. Never got better
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) March 21, 2015
We didn't know this, of course, because Brady Hoke didn't talk about injuries. "He's fine," Hoke said, days before he'd hold Funchess out of the Miami (OH) game.
Funchess didn't look the same for the rest of the season. He didn't record another 100-yard game until the season finale at Ohio State; he reached the end zone just once after the opener. With the offense—and the season, and the Hoke era—crumbling around him, the focus turned to his occasional drops and a perceived lack of effort. Save for Devin Gardner and the coaching staff, Funchess drew more ire from fans than any other member of the program.
Never mind that he clearly played hurt. Never mind that his quarterback had the worst year of his career. Never mind that his catch rate actually improved from 53% to 62% despite him being targeted on nearly a third of Michigan's passes—and even more frequently on passing downs, when it became obvious to all that the ball was going his way. Never mind that when Gardner threw his second interception against Northwestern, Funchess blew through two block attempts, chased down Ibraheim Campbell after a 78-yard return, and laid a lick on him for good measure:
This didn't fit the narrative. Funchess wasn't an otherworldly talent gamely battling through injury in a lost season even if it meant hurting his draft stock. He was a prima donna wide receiver who hadn't earned that status, a guy who didn't care about winning, if you interpreted an unfortunate postgame presser soundbite as so many did.
When Funchess declared for the NFL draft, the reaction from many Michigan fans wasn't one of disappointment or sadness; instead, the news was met with indifference or, quite often, a list of all the reasons why he'd fail as a pro. That list got longer when he ran a disappointing 4.7-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine a month ago. It was only after, when his draft stock and earning potential had taken a serious hit, that we learned he was still recovering from an injury of which we never knew the full extent.
I can't say for certain whether Funchess will succeed in the NFL. If I had to guess, though, I think he will. At his best, his combination of size, speed, and body control is up there with anyone; we just didn't get to see him at his best last year for reasons almost entirely out of his control. If he works through his too-frequent battles with butterfingers, he's got the potential to be a defense-bending number one receiver.
In an alternate universe, Funchess may very well be Braylon Edwards, whose game was eerily similar right down to the frustrating drops. We remember Braylon in a very different light; winning helps quite a lot, as does avoiding injury and being surrounded on all sides by NFL talent. I hope we'll come around on Funchess and similarly celebrate his accomplishments instead of bashing him for failures not of his own doing. If, and hopefully when, he's skying over NFL defenders like so many Mountaineers, we'll be glad we did.
That and I don't get all of the "oh, he was hurt?!" reaction taking place now. He was clearly playing banged up most of the season. We talked about this as a group. It was the reason his dropoff and performance got such a pass for the majority of the season.
It was only when the evidence started pouring in on the lack of effort and concentration that the tide started to turn from he's banged up, to something else.
March 25th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
There's a difference between saying, "Oh, a guy's hurt" and "He fucking tore ligaments in his foot?!" And over the second half of the season it didn't get so much attention.
March 25th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
The talk & speculation I heard was an ankle sprain.
I never faulted Funchess for those areas where coaching failed him and that is what this was all about - - the failure of Funchess to realize his college potential is but a front-and-center example of the ineptitude of the coaching staff to help a guy who didn't already have it in him. Those guys who did succeed - Gallon, JMFR, et al were guys who were easy to coach b/c they had the focus and drive in every play where Funchess needed that coach to break him out. It is a tragedy that his pure talent, body control, and speed were all but wasted on Hoke and co.
March 24th, 2015 at 11:29 PM ^
I agree. The coaches should have sat him if he wasn't giving the required effort.
I don't know man...I'm sure my concentration would be affected if I were trying to run around with a broken toe. And I'd certain worry, even it only subconsciously, that someone was going to step or roll on that toe everytime another person got near. So, I can see how that might lead to a few lapses in concentration and dropped passes too.
I think wearing the #1 jersey had a lot to do with the negativity on Funchess. Michigan fans have expectations for a WR wearing the #1. He failed to meet them. If he was wearing 87 (Ron Kramer legacy jersey) people would have been just disappointed with his performance not upset.
In hindsight, Hoke giving Funchess the #1 was akin to his mindless clapping on the sideline.
That being said, his game wasn't without flaws as a receiver, with injury or without. His upside and potential was never Braylon Edwards. Yes, he's a big body. Yes, he's fast for a big body. But he isn't the type of athlete or receiver Edwards was.
People bitched about Hoke and Co when they didn't move him to WR earlier. Then people came back around to say "he should have stayed at TE the whole time". The fact was, Funchess's potential was always and still is much higher as a TE, but people want things to complain about, and both complaints fit a narrative to blame both Hoke and Funchess. He has flaws that are going to make it difficult for him to succeed at the next level as a WR, again, with or without injury. He doesn't have the straight line speed that Braylon had (~4.4 to what is maybe, when not injured 4.6s), he never did have the burst in and out of cuts or ability to change speeds. Funchess had some ability to move well at a constant speed, and move well for his size, but it takes a lot more to be a WR at the pro level. But as a TE, he has the potential to do a lot. That's why he started there. When it came time to benefit the team by moving outside, he did that as well. And he was a good college WR.
I think a lot of the Funchess hate was unwarranted. I think a lot of the Funchess skeptism hasn't always been unwarranted. He admitted to not being very interested in blocking. He supposedly didn't perform extremely well in interviews at the combine. I think his effort was, to put it plainly, inconsistent in several phases. I also think he was hampered by an injury and was frankly a little tired of being thrown the ball high over the middle of the field only to get destroyed (which game was it when Gardner threw him about four straight passes that nearly got him killed on each?).
I think there was a reason, injury included, why some of his effort didn't always show up. I think there were times when it certainly did (example above on Northwestern tackle that prevented points IIRC). He flashed. He flashed his whole career. But he never put it all together at any time. That concerned me, and it concerns me as he likely tries to find a role as a move TE that can be split out at times. Combined with concentration issues and an inability to consistently adjust to the ball in the air, sometimes it comes across as a lack of effort. I think sometimes it comes across as effort but is actually a weakness in his game. And that's a big reason why his upside is higher as a TE, and he will likely struggle at the next level as a WR. But Braylon Edwards I do not think he is.
Agree. I always liked him as a TE and I thought he was much more of a threat to opposing defenses there. I know people are quick to bring up that he couldn't block, but that didn't bother me too much.
As a TE, he is decribed as a "freakish athlete". As a WR there doesn't appear to be much seperation from the others.
Like you allude to, there was value in being able to move him around to various spots and thus create various matchups. Linebackers had trouble with him and when he split out wide from time to time, it messed with the defense. When he was 100% a WR it seemed to better suit the defenses.
I think it was the Utah game. I remember us playing a team with a secondary that was composed of mostly 5'10" guys, and they knew they weren't going to be able to compete with Funchess for the ball, so they focused on his ribs. As soon as he touched the ball, he was getting hammered by their DBs.
One of Devin's INTs was a pass over the middle that Funchess half-heartedly reached for, only to have the ball richochet off his hand and directly to a Utah defender.
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That GIF speaks volumes to his athletic ability. He's just moving at a different speed than everyone else.
AND HE GOT HURT IN GARBAGE TIME!!!!One1!!
/Sad face
Obviously you're going to be wrong portraying him as either a tragic hero or an entitled prima donna. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The effort on that Northwestern play was commendable. But I also know that his attempted "block" on the screen pass to his side (I forget which game now) was one of the most pathetic attempts I've ever seen on a football field.
These f'ing amateurs. They tell us Devin hurt his toe, we're supposed to shit ourselves with fear.
Did he have broken bones in his hands too?
Broken bones are just a statistic, like dropped passes and wins.
You understand, "playing with desire" doesn't just happen with some guys - even freaks of nature - yes? Funchess no doubt, always, "just could" beat guys with speed and size, etc. It takes a competent coaching staff to understand what each young guy needs in terms of focus and development. The prior staff had none of that and it showed in spades.
Most of us have no idea of the level of commitment and "desire" it takes to play football at this level. You have to really love football in order to put in all the hours of work that it takes to reach your potential. There are lots of talented guys who didn't reach their potential --while it's the staff's responsibility to motivate, they can't make every player want it, no coach is able to do that. That being said, the last staff definitely could have fostered a better atmosphere.
If he had blocked somebody, anybody on some, any running play ..... pretty much any year, injured toe or not.
Great hustle demonstrated on the Gif notwithstanding. Can you imagine if he had had Tae Odoms heart?
A Tae Odoms peeved at the loss of his heart. "What you doin' with my heart, man?! That's my heart."
Agree with the general tone of this but to compare him to Braylon Edwards (who set Big Ten career receiving records) is going a bit far. I mean...
Edwards - 252 rec., 3,541 yds., 39 TD
Funchess - 126 rec., 1715 yards, 15 TD
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The OP says:
In an alternate universe, Funchess may very well be Braylon Edwards, whose game was eerily similar right down to the frustrating drops. We remember Braylon in a very different light; winning helps quite a lot, as does avoiding injury and being surrounded on all sides by NFL talent.
I don't think it's an obvious comparison at all. Both were tall but Edwards was considerably faster, while Funchess was bulkier (though, despite his size, was probably a worse blocker than Edwards).
For the record, Funchess was not a TE in any meaningful sense his sophomore year. He lined up wide pretty much all year.
Braylon was a better player period. Better WR, better blocker, better speed. Maybe their hands were equal. I was getting very uneasy with the comparisons to the best WR in the NFL stuff last year - it was over the top. But even with a more realistic bar - he missed it. Not having 1 TD all year after the 1st half of App State is unbelievable for this level of talent. (I think he might have finally gotten the 4th v OSU).
Also Braylon had a much superior passer at the helm which was a big benefit for him.
The other place they are similar is they both seem mecurial. I wonder how Funchess would have fared under Harbaugh - I don't think it would have been as swimmingly as many here sem to think. His reluctance to block would not go over well - one thing UM WRs did for decades was block like hell. Until the past 2 regimes where that fell off with some of them. Braylon was in Carr's doghouse a lot - some of the stuff from Funchess I believe would have landed him into a doghouse of a similar coach.
And no I dont think all of it was he was injured. Things like NO ONE defending Devin Gardner when he got destroyed on the last play vs ND speak to a general team attitude.
Funchess's 4th TD came against PSU.
Meh. I feel like I appreciated Funchess' efforts on the football field exactly in line with how much was deserved. Also I don't think that sound bite was 'unfortunate'. I think it was exactly what encapsulated the Hoke era: a Freudean slip of truth while trying to stonewall actual introspection into the program. However, I don't blame Funchess for that, but rather the head man in charge.
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Co-signed.
Brady Hoke's injury policy, or lack of one (not fully aware?) put players health in jeopardy, and exposed the players to unjust criticism among the fans and media. Funchess was not the only one. It is unclear how that is protecting the intersts of his "115 sons".
go ahead neg away, but its true
I think we knew he was injured, but to what extent was not clear.
Funch will excel in the NFL. I'm surprised Devin did as well as he could with that bad offense. I would never call a football player cowardly. Those dude's regardless of position are tough fellows.
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is really unfair to the kids. Yeah you don't want to give your opponents too much info. But there is a big difference between saying "Funchess has a toe injury. Please step on it". And "Funchess is working through something. He's still playing, and he's out there fighting as hard as he can. We're not going to talk about the injury but I'm proud of how he's working out there".
Just saying nothing and letting the public pile on Funchess leaves him hanging out to dry. The world has changed, whether Hoke likes it or not. This isn't 1990 any more. You NEED TO GIVE PEOPLE AT LEAST SOME INFORMATION OR THEY TEAR PEOPLE APART. Letting fans know that Funch wasn't 100% wasn't going to ruin Michigan's gameplan, but it might have helped in terms of the fanbase being supportive of him instead of the piling on of crap that we saw.
Sure, in a perfect world, people don't pile all that crap on him. But the world has never been perfect. Letting people know that a player is fighting through an undisclosed injury is a perfectly valid thing to do, and I think it is unfair to the player to NOT say anything, especially if that injury is clearly affecting the player's performance and he is getting crap for it in the media.
I agree that he could have defended him publicly, but I don't think he needed to mention anything about the injury. In a sport this physical, you really don't want to acknowledge any kind of weakness.
What Hoke could have said was something vague like "If people knew what this kid has gone through, they wouldn't be criticizing him..."
March 24th, 2015 at 11:44 PM ^
It's not about a "perfect" world it's about people understanding that their desire to have whatever information they may want about whomever they have an interest, does not superceed the privacy of that person. -- PERIOD!
A lot of folks trashed Funchess. Now they find out that he was injured (some of course refuse to believe that) and feel guilty for trashing an injured young man. They want to set aside their lack of judiciousness and blame others. The world doesn't work that way. Some of us, and I've jumped to conclusions too, try to maintain an awareness of what we may not know, because we prefer not to deal with the consequence of going off half cocked.
The best, and unfortuantely highly unlikely, out come would be for many folks here to stop and consider what they know before they trash a player (or coach). Sadly we can see from many of the reactions to this post that many folks simply don't want to be burdened with the responsibility for their comments.
God, I'm so glad Brady Hoke is gone and Jim Harbaugh is here.
I never really understood the bashing on him, even before we knew about his injury.
Good read, Ace. I'll be a defender of Funchess to the end, apparently, and it was nice to see that others feels some of the hate is misdirected.
Not knowing he was actually hurt, I think he had an ok season, but it wasn't what any of us expected.
Our QBs throwing balls behind recievers, finding Tacopants open on every other route, and forgetting you DON'T throw the ball right to the opposing team had a large impact on his level of play.
Me personally, I looked past that and watched for the other things Funchess could control: effort, blocking, route running, hands, etc...
I have to mentally apologize to Devin. I didn't realize he was hurt. I thought he half-assed most of his routes, he thought blocking was optional and he just generally took plays off a lot. When you're hurt ,110% effort looks like shitty routes, no attempt at blocking, rounded routes that should be sharp cuts, dropsies, etc...
He deserved the #1 jersey. He was/is the best WR talent upside I've seen since Braylon or Mario. And to be honest, he probably has a better skill set than they ever had. I think he might turn out to be an All-Pro possibility in the pro's if he's not constantly hurt and lands on a team with a solid QB. The pro's will work out any kinks in his game effort or technique. Assuming when he's healthy he gives 110% effort every play.
I'm not sure what type of coaching he got at UM. You have two different O coordinators and the Clapper at Head Coach. He'll get pushed harder than he's ever been pushed once he gets into a NFL camp.
My two cents...
duplicate post somehow
"Never mind that he clearly played hurt."
Well, now we know. IMO it was never clear that he was playing hurt during the season.
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