Bodogblog

March 19th, 2015 at 9:53 AM ^

I disagree, I think Dinardo's been fairly accurate in his spring and preseason reviews.  He's not 100% accurate, nobody is.  But what I believe he said before last year was Michigan had more talent than 10 of the teams on its schedule.  I thought he went on to say whether they can play up to that level was the question.  

FreddieMercuryHayes

March 19th, 2015 at 10:08 AM ^

That's basically a non-analysis.  I can look at a website to find recruiting rankings and a depth chart showing class, and say "UM has more talent that 10 teams on it's schedule".  DiNardo is there to provide more insight than anyone with a middle school reading level.  He, unlike everyone else, gets to see the actual practice.  He should be able to provide a higher level critique.  Is UM looking like it is actually going to play up to that supposed talent?  That's what real analysis would look like.

Bodogblog

March 19th, 2015 at 10:34 AM ^

I didn't post his entire review and discussion.  Obviously he didn't just say what I posted above and walk off the set.  He did provide further analysis, but we're all limited a bit by what we can include in our comment, yeah?

BTN reviews are generally positive, so faint praise should be noted as a negative.  When saying something like "there's a lot of talent there, we'll see if it can live up to its potential this year", you have to read between the lines a bit.  There were definitely a lot of positives mentioned, but there were enough cautions about 2013 performance and faint praise that it was wait and see.  If I remember correctly he did note that he thought there was a ton of talent before the 2013 season as well, but didn't live up to it.  In light of the way BTN frames its criticisms, this can be viewed as a critique of the coaching. 

And I'll disagree with the evaluation of talent.  Texas recruited extremely well, doesn't have a lot of talent.  Florida recruited extremely well, doesn't have a lot of talent.  Sparty recruited meh, has a lot of talent.  Ginardo had Sparty as one of the teams that had as much or more talent than Michigan, and that didn't come from a recruiting site.  

Perkis-Size Me

March 19th, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^

I'll wait until the season starts before judging how good our QBs look, or maybe the spring game at the earliest. There's a big difference between doing well in practice when no one but your teammates and coaches are watching vs. when countless are watching you in person and on TV.

Not saying Malzone isn't doing well. For all I know he looks like Tom Brady out there. But DiNardo has also said in the past that we've looked really good when he's visited practices, and the ultimate results became much different.




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Auerbach

March 19th, 2015 at 9:44 AM ^

I've been harping on Malzone for a year. He's the only QB on our roster who is a natural QB talent, and a very good one at that. I expect that he will start the majority of games this year, and I feel great about that, as we haven't had a QB like him since Henne.

I really don't understand where all the skepticism is coming from considering that he was highly rated by all the recruiting services, won multiple state championships in one of the state's toughest conferences, AND has some of the best film in this QB class:

Bodogblog

March 19th, 2015 at 9:49 AM ^

I like him a lot as well - his focus on making plays, his leadership, getting the team rallied around him, and he has the ol' moxie.  I think he's a winner.  

But I don't at all see your Henne comparison - he doesn't have nearly the arm, the size, or natural ability to make all the throws that Henne did.  Not even close, really.  He is much more mobile than Henne, but again that just makes the comparison even more distant.  

The skepticism is easy to understand: true freshman QB.  Those don't work out well more often than they do. 

Auerbach

March 19th, 2015 at 9:59 AM ^

I'm comparing him to the other QB's on our roster though. Many people are still more comfortable with the "idea" of Shane Morris starting despite him being a trainwreck MAC-level QB. That makes no sense to me when we have an early enrolee like Malzone. 

alum96

March 19th, 2015 at 4:29 PM ^

Malzone is going to have all of 14 college practices before we see him. A whole new playbook and terminology to learn. He is going to struggle with adjusting the game speed and to getting off his first read - that's the life of a freshman QB.

Even if you are a big believer you probably want to reign in the hype machine right now - true freshman almost always struggle.   Henne was a different type of QB who ended up being surrounded by one of the best RBs in UM history (although going into the fall we didnt know it), a NFL 1st round WR, and a very good OL.  He still played well out of his mind for a true freshman and that is very rare.

DrMantisToboggan

March 19th, 2015 at 9:59 AM ^

I like Malzone a lot. He was underrated in HS, he's a very nice talent, mature, and the ultimate competitor. He'd be my choice of the three we currently have. However, if Jake Rudock comes in there's no way anyone we have right now starts. Rudock is every bit as mobile as Malzone and very efficient. Malzone is the type of kid I'd love to let redshirt while we win 10 games with a guy trying to get to the pros, recruit some weapons for him, and let him learn under Jimmy. Then we unleash Brian Griese 2.0 on the B1G and cackle endlessly.