Bernard Ducamp

May 28th, 2011 at 1:42 PM ^

Denard sat on the bench his first year.  Denard was B1G player of the year his second year.

That demonstrates a tremendous rate of growth, development and maturity.

So I have no fear of Denard falering.  If his demonstrated growth rate continues, he will make a lot of great and key plays, while spreading the ball around for more offensive productivity.

A better offense with an improving quarterback.  An improving defense.  Almost all the starters returning.  There's a lot to like about this upcoming season. 

Maize and Blue…

May 28th, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^

that the reason Denard's passing was so effective was because teams were scared to death of him running.  That threat will be diminished this year and he will have to read through his progressions which is something he hasn't show he can do well yet.  Throw in the fact, that DRob doesn't throw a great deep ball and there is reason for concern.

As a three year starter in HS his completion percentage was 45.5% and that dropped to just over 43% as a senior.  I have faith in Denard, but this offense isn't necessarily suited to skill set.  I'm holding out hope until I see what the offense actually looks like in the fall.

teldar

May 28th, 2011 at 4:05 PM ^

Really? We had one good player on defense most of the year. He split triple teams and still got pressure when rushing 3. Dude's a beast and on a decent defense could be all-american. Even with bad ankles from being cheap-shot by sparty he was one of the best players on the team.

Irish

May 28th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^

I don't understand, are you complaining that its compliment he is ahead of Worthy?  I don't think anything more of Martin or less of Worthy because of this list.  

I would hazard a guess that steele believes he will be better because the coaching and scheme changes on the Dline.  If you look at their stats, worthy is a bit better in total tackles, sacks and tackles for loss but Worthy was playing in a system which made much more sense for his skill set.  Martin had comparable production in a system which didn't do him as many favors.  So I do think its a compliment to his position coach, coach Hoke and Martin himself to be ranked ahead of Worthy

turtleboy

May 28th, 2011 at 2:17 PM ^

must not have watched too closely to what happened last year. He's giving sparty more credit than they deserve. They have some talented prospects but they lost their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th leading tacklers last year and their qb is behind 2 returning linemen. Wisco and ND will be out for revenge this year, sparty will sneak up on nobody this season. And Phil, NO michigan receiver in the top 1st or 2nd team?!

readyourguard

May 28th, 2011 at 3:06 PM ^

A) That picture of Captain Picard makes me LOL

and 2) Let them all overlook us and discount us based on underachieving the last 3 (or perhaps more) years.  Fine by me.  I always revert back to the 97 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP team that wasn't given much pre-season hype.  As someone posted earlier, the only all-whatever recognition that matters is the one at the end.

Sac Fly

May 28th, 2011 at 11:09 PM ^

Phil steele has a pretty accurate list, but every year he has a few very questionable picks. Like for instance last year the spring hype was enough for steele to rank keith nichol 3rd team all big ten, ahead of the better and more accomplished spartan wide receivers. Then he finished with 260 yards. He did the same thing this year, ranking max bullough 3rd team over chris norman despite norman having almost 3 times as many tackles in 2010.

WolvinLA2

May 28th, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^

I'm surprised I'm the first one to mention this (I think) - no Craig Roh? I think he's one of the top 8 DEs in the league, especially with all the DEs who left after last year. He's a 3rd year starter and has played well as an underclassman the last two years.

RickH

May 28th, 2011 at 6:11 PM ^

I'm surprised as well but I guess Steele didn't put him on the list because he played linebacker last year?  Only reason I can think other than him thinking he's just not good enough.

I was also surprised by Jonathon Hankins (and Isiah Crowell in the SEC picks).  Some pretty bold picks for current freshmen/incoming recruits but I guess that's part of the guessing game.

Michigan4Life

May 29th, 2011 at 12:52 AM ^

Two home state teams didn't offer him because he's lazy and out of shape.  Sure he may have all of the ability in the world but if you don't have work ethics, it's a risky propsition.  I don't blame RR for passing Hankins when he told Hankins to get in shape for camp, he didn't so he didn't get the offer, period.

Michigan4Life

May 29th, 2011 at 1:12 PM ^

to get in shape for camp.  He didn't and it shows the coaches that he's not willing to put in the work to be a D1 football player.  I do not want players with no work ethics.  It's crapshoot to think the kid will suddenly pick up his work ethics and a risky proposition to go after a kid who has never shown to have great work ethics.

Magnus

May 29th, 2011 at 10:35 AM ^

I think Roh is going to be good, but keep in mind that he wasn't used properly last year.  There's probably a good chance that Phil Steele (and others) don't know what to expect from Roh because he didn't really get a chance to show off his skills last season.

JohnnyV123

May 29th, 2011 at 12:41 AM ^

If Michigan's offensive line is as good as it should be this year then it will do exactly what Auburn's offensive line did last year, hide your quarterback's deficiencies.

So much of it comes down to if we can run power like we should be able to. Do that successfully and you have to deal with getting bruised up on the inside by the running back and then have to chase down Denard when he escapes or when they run a play for him. That combined with a solid passing game and the Michigan offense should still be scary.

But everyone is iffy and they should be. The offense has changed first of all and  in the first time we got to see it in the spring game Denard looked eerily similar to freshman Denard having an excellent opening run followed by a lot of inconsistent passing and interceptions.

It was probably a deviation from the norm but I can't help from having my doubts about the system after seeing it that first time.

ND Sux

May 29th, 2011 at 8:41 AM ^

to get 800-1000 yards rushing.  For one, the D won't be looking for him to run as much.  Even more important is that good running QB's can rack up a LOT of yards on busted pass plays.  He does need to learn when to tuck and go though. 

With an improved D this year, he shouldn't feel as much pressure to score on every drive.  This alone could reduce his INTs...throwing the ball away on 3rd down is more of an option if you can actually punt and stop somebody.