Cam Gordon still a starter?
I must admit that before the season started, I was a strong supporter for Cam Gordon and thought he may even be the key to this entire defense. I also know that he is only a freshman who has played 5 games in his career. But after watching the IU game, even including his INT, I have to say that his play is extremely below-average and really hurts this defense in the secondary.
Gordon lacks experience but he also lacks a different quality: instincts. As a friend of mine commented, he still plays like a WR at the Safety position. He is always a step slow to the play. His tackling is suspect. And you rarely see him with a good double when a CB is trying to get downfield help in the coverage. Experience and instincts are two seperate qualities, which is why I think we could look to get competition from a few freshman, most notably Marvin Robinson. Maybe down the road, Robinson will be slated to play another of the safety positions. But at the time being, I wonder if Robinson would be a better solution. He is faster, more athletic, and he HAS to possess better instincts as a safety than Gordon. Perhaps testing a freshman like this in such a big game is a gamble. But I hope we are a bit proactive in our Defense personnel. Are we to wait for a day where Denard cannot bail us out to fix this broken defense and make the changes that are necessary? I know he had a big INT, but that one play pales in comparison to his overall performance. Of course, I root for the guy, and I hope that we can develop him into a good player at a different position-- but not at free safety.
As a Michigan fan, I am obviously excited about the 5-0 start. Love the way our offense and recruiting has gone over the past month. But before I cry foul over Gameday not showing up for our game, lets try to hold Indiana to less than 550 yds of toal offense. This is an obvious message to Michigan that the nation still doesn't believe that we are for real. And the only way to silence these critics is by winning on Saturday. If we win on Saturday, no question Gameday will be in town for Iowa.
October 4th, 2010 at 3:14 PM ^
...next year. We don't have the depth to move him at the moment (and may not next year, let's wait for the recruits to come in and see what Vinopal looks like) so any calls for him to move right now are slightly crazy, IMO.
Kid has undeniable skills. Did you see him screaming downhill to fill holes this past Saturday? Laying out receivers? Making a nice play on the ball at the goal line? He played very well on Saturday, minus a couple failures to wrap up when tackling. That's fixable. I want him on the field.
He struggles against downfield passing teams and excels against the short passing game. It's a speed issue. Thus, I think he'd be great for Mouton's position. He has plenty of speed to cover TEs (coming off the line, not with a full head of steam) and underneath stuff. He loves to kill people, just like Mouton. His closing speed on filling gaps looks great--I could see him blitzing with great success. His run support will be fine if he works on wrapping up. He seems to have good instincts but occassionally takes poor angles...but the angles you take as an OLB are much shorter (less sprinting across the field to help in coverage) and against slower people. Let's not forget he has great size as well (though he will need to add a few pounds in the offseason to become an OLB).
OK, that's it. That's my pitch for Cam to OLB! (next year, maybe)
October 4th, 2010 at 3:36 PM ^
Would be outstanding there.
October 4th, 2010 at 4:11 PM ^
October 4th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
October 4th, 2010 at 8:39 PM ^
For my money, TWolf is more valuable as a FS and should start there. I still want Cam on the field and if he is facing a position switch OLB seems to fit the bill. Then Avery/Talbott/Christian can battle over the other CB spot.
October 4th, 2010 at 3:20 PM ^
He's light years ahead of the starters we've had back there for the past two years. Just sayin...
October 4th, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^
cocksucker
October 4th, 2010 at 3:24 PM ^
Cam shows a lot of potential and promise, he's only a RS Fr, I really like what his future holds.
He's obviously not a FS, but he's doing admirably despite playing out of position at FS and having been a WR formerly.
I think if we had a FS with legit 4.4 speed to take away the deep ball and that could cover ground in a hurry like a Troy Woolfolk or Demar Dorsey, that Cam could turn into the best SS we've had at Michigan in at least a decade.
October 4th, 2010 at 3:30 PM ^
Your "concern" is duly noted, poster.
October 4th, 2010 at 3:31 PM ^
and learning on the job, I know he has mad a few mistakes, but cut the kid some slack. He has the potential to be pretty good. For those questioning his speed, I think he will play faster once he is comfortable back there.
October 4th, 2010 at 4:05 PM ^
Gordon plays like a freshman - that happens. At this point in the season and with this offense, I rather the young guys get playing time and improve than try to piece together a "better" option with the limited pieces on this squad. I think 2 INTs in 5 games is pretty impressive, and he has been laying the wood on guys and playing his lanes correctly for the most part.
October 4th, 2010 at 4:16 PM ^
I'm really excited for the future of this defense with Cam Gordon back at safety. Right now it's hard to like this defense but the fact is that we are getting W's and that's the point of the game. These next few years we have Cam Gordon, Kovacs, Floyd, Martin, RVB, Demens, Roh, and Carvin Johnson back on this defense. Add guys like Jibreel Black, Marvin Robinson, Troy Woolfolk, (depending on his health and recovery) Will Campbell, and hopefully a few good recruits here and there, we will have an experienced and talented defense on the field. We lose guys like Banks, Rogers, Moundros, Ezeh, and Mouton but that's a far less number than we return. Their senior leadership will be missed and especially Mouton's numbers but someone will step up. It is frustrating this year but the fact is that they are keeping us in games with key stops. We can argue about the scheme and coaching another time but with this core of players we will return and hopefully gain with recruiting will be huge for us in the future with our offense putting up big points.
October 4th, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
... and it's going to stay like that becuase his backup is true freshman 2 star, undersized white dude, ray vinopal. The bright side is that he hasnt had any major breakdowns in run support, and he hits really hard. It will get better
October 4th, 2010 at 4:21 PM ^
Is going to be a solid player. He is making freshman mistakes.
Additionally, I still wonder if his future may be at LB, not safety. But that won't happen until we have some talent back there.
October 4th, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
Cam played decent. I disagree with your post. He is busting his butt out there and clearly improving each week instinctively. He is the last line of defense on a back 8 that is not strong. That's a tough spot for anyone to be put into.
October 4th, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
While I remain skeptical about Cam, which is why I posted this to begin with, the responses (even the obnoxious ones) are getting me even more pumped for Saturday. This board has some good fight in it. We'll unleash all of it come Saturday. Go Blue!
October 4th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
I know having a lot of tackles at the safety position isn't necessarily a positive, but how can you justify benching a guy who had 15! tackles and a key interception? I think Cam could be faster, but I also think he's getting a lot better as the year goes on.
October 4th, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^
He seems to have a good grasp of geometry, which is refreshing after watching our safety play the last 10+ years.
For those that are saying tackling is an issue, it's going to continue to be an issue with this defense. It's been mentioned that they have not been doing much live tackling in practice with the cobbled together two deep. I imagine it will improve as the season progresses, but until we get depth and can do live practices during the season, it will continue to be a weak point.