Ban the phrase "freshman mistake"

Submitted by oakapple on

The phrase "freshman mistake" needs to be banned, or at least seriously curtailed. As soon as Forcier's pass was intercepted in the endzone, the phrase "freshman mistake" popped up everywhere.

Now, Forcier is clearly a freshman, and his INT was clearly a mistake. But all QBs throw INTs. The phrase "freshman mistake" should be reserved for mistakes so incredibly bad that hardly anyone but a freshman would make them. That's a high bar to clear.

Forcier's wounded-duck INT last week that was caught by a defensive lineman qualifies. Today's INT was your garden-variety mistake, one that a player on any level could make. Last year, Nick Sheridan tossed up those kinds of mistakes with regularity. No one could call them "freshman mistakes," because he was a sophomore.

I mean, some folks even called Denard Robinson's fumble last week a "freshman mistakes," as if freshmen are the only ones who have the ball pushed out while trying to grind out an extra yard. It was just a plain old mistake, albeit one that a freshman made.

Njia

October 3rd, 2009 at 4:07 PM ^

From the beginning of the season, didn't we all pretty much agree that Tate would almost single-handedly win game for us that we should have lost, and also lose a game we should have won?

For all intents and purposes, he did both today. It was bound to happen.

oakapple

October 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 PM ^

He didn't "lose a game we should have won," for two reasons. First, the game basically had no business going into OT, as Michigan stunk up the joint for the first 55 minutes. And second, there's clearly no assurance that Michigan goes on to win, even assuming he doesn't throw that INT.

Njia

October 3rd, 2009 at 5:30 PM ^

And I'm okay with it. My remark was about the mental error that a QB with another year or two might not have made. We were only going to OT because Tate put the team on his back and carried it himself. In my mind, that's as good as a victory. We had no business even getting that far considering, as you put it, we "stunk up the joint" (and did we ever).

Its certainly true that in going to OT, we weren't guaranteed a win. On the other hand, we surely had the momentum, and had the MSU D on the ropes. We had the ball 3rd-and-5. It would have been perfectly reasonable for him to throw it away, or at least tuck and run and see what he could get. At the very least, its 4th down and you try for the 3 points.

AceCubbie

October 3rd, 2009 at 4:24 PM ^

Was his pass at the beginning of the tying drive that was chucked into three defenders and magically yoinked from above by Hemingway a freshman mistake? I think yes.

The interception in overtime was a mistake, but you're right - it was just a mistake.