Weapon of Choice

Submitted by michiganfanforlife on

You might have already seen this footage a few times before, but I find it fun to watch in this summer of relative inactivity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh13WiJZ7MM
I was at this game, and if you compare how Tate performed in the spring game with either of the two Qb's we trotted out there last year it's night and day. In the previous spring game there were a combination of 8 INT's, horrible completion percentage, and no down the field success. This kid hits recievers in stride, has great touch down field, and has some good wiggle moves in the open field. I also liked hearing about how RR noticed that Roy Roundtree was squinting often. He went to help him get his eyes checked, and it made all the difference. This year it seems like Roundtree could be the deep threat, Mathews is the possesion reciever, and who knows if Tay will win the slot battle.

My biggest concern for this season is still the special teams. It confuses me that we don't have a special teams coach, and if they weren't so awful at it last year I would say they have it under control. Obviously our punter is really good, but the roll out rugby style doesn't fit what Zoltan is best doing. None of our returners last year could catch a punt/kickoff. I hope they are working on that every day this summer. Odoms even dropped a punt in the spring game! Get that guy out of there! I know he returned one to the house last year, but if you fumble it half the time it's not worth it. By the end of the year last year I was screaming, "...just let it roll, and we'll take the ball where it stops.." This strategy would have won the ND game for us if you think about it.
Getting back to the topic at hand, Tate seems like a perfect fit for this offense. That side of the ball might end up being more of a passing attack this year because of his accuracy and decision making. However, our strength will be the offensive line & our senior running backs. In the beginning of the season IMO they should pound the ball and give Tate some easy reads/throws to build confidence and releive some of the pressure for him. At least his first four games are at home! Minor should have a great season, and only injuries stand in the way of 1,000 yards for him. Go Blue!!!

Comments

jg2112

June 20th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^

...they're focusing on making sure returners catch kicks, you have a really low estimation of the intelligence of our coaching staff. They can coach them every day, but the players have to perform when it counts.

michiganfanforlife

June 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 AM ^

was that whatever they did last offseason as far as catching punts did not work. I hope they are really focusing on this aspect of the game, because it was gut wrenching last year. I don't have a low estimation of their intelligence. I do think that some coaches are set in their ways, and it is obvious to me that whatever they did last year needs to be tweaked. Having Greg Robinson there will help many aspects of the team, and I would bet he's watched hundreds of hours of film on UM this summer. He will make simmilar conclusions and work to fix them as well. I really like some of the blitz schemes he showed in the spring game, and look forward to our defense this season.

Emil Faber

June 20th, 2009 at 4:36 PM ^

fit on a college staff. What self-respecting, hormone laced, eighteen year old football player on his way to the NFL wants to be recruited by one? Kids expect to deal with their position coach.

West Texas Blue

June 20th, 2009 at 7:09 PM ^

If your biggest concern for this season is the special teams, then you're in for a big surprise when the season starts. ST ranks far behind defensive depth issues and the fact that we're under the third defensive scheme in three years. Yeah, Forcier made good plays in the spring game, but it was against the 2nd team defense which was filled with alot of walk-ons. The D is going to make or break our season, not our offense.

BlueTimesTwo

June 21st, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^

The point is not that Forcier was able to make plays against the 2nd team defense. The point is that he was able to make a variety of throws and make them accurately. Last year's QBs were wildly inaccurate (e.g., Threet turns TD into pick against NW). Forcier made the throws that were there to be made - some of them perfectly placed completions to receivers that were fairly well covered. That alone is a huge leap forward from last year, and even a moderately respectable passing game will open up the running game significantly.

pasadenablue

June 22nd, 2009 at 3:12 AM ^

ncaa regulations limit the number of assistant coaches allowed. since its more important (for recruiting and regular game situations) to have a coach for each position, special teams is often coached by committee. thats why we dont have a special teams coach.

thats not to say that i dont wish we had one.

jmblue

June 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 PM ^

It's my understanding that regardless of whether or not a team has an officially-designated "special teams coordinator," coaching special teams is always done by multiple members of the staff. One will take kickoff coverage, one will take KO returns, another will take punt coverage, and so on. One guy never does the job by himself.