Changes in the Lineup Next Week?
Where do you think (if any) changes in the lineup next week?
I think Pipkins is going to be the starter over Quinton Washington next week. I liked what I saw from him, getting through that alabama o-line and stuffing a run.
At tight end, I think we may see some freshmen. Michigan played all 4 scholarship tight ends in this game. Brandon Moore left the game with a hurt knee.
Obviously we will see a change at RB with Fitz. I hope Fitz runs like a madman.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
I heard Van Bergen was released, any chance we pick him up? PLEASE??
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:27 PM ^
Countess probably won't be playing.
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:06 PM ^
Any word from Ft. Schembechler on the extent of his injury?
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
I would like to see more of James Ross. He had the penalty on Special Teams but I like his instincts. He reminds me of Obi or Jon Beason.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
...cause I know you're not talking about Obi Ezeh.
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:17 PM ^
During his RS freshman and sophomore seasons, he was pretty damn good
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:13 PM ^
The talent elsewhere on that defense made him appear that way...
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
Can we please stop the Obi Ezeh bashing? By all accounts he was a really good kid, he stuck with us until the end of his eligibility (despite heavy criticism and loads of other guys leaving), and he hasn't even been on the roster for two years.
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^
No one is doubting the man's character...an A+ guy and a WONDERFUL representative of Michigan and Michigan Football.
But just because he's a good person and represented Michigan well doesn't mean he was good on the field or we want our current LBs to asipre to play like him.
September 2nd, 2012 at 3:01 PM ^
I think he gets the John Navarre treatment from Michigan fans. He was a low-rated, lightly recruited kid (chose Michigan over Indiana, EMU, and WMU) who switched positions after high school and never was supposed to play nearly as much as he did. He dealt with tons of very harsh criticism - much of it from this site - but always dealt with it gracefully. He never got into trouble (as I recall), spent five years here, and made our LB corps better than it would have been without him.
Even if some of the criticism about his play is fair, it just doesn't seem tasteful to tear up one of our own like that, especially a couple of years after he graduated. One guy saying that Ross reminded him of Ezeh doesn't mean that "we want our current LBs to asipre to play like him" or that we need a half-dozen variations of "Obi Ezeh sucks" comments.
September 9th, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^
But I still don't want any LB aspiring to be Obi Ezeh or an "meh" to "solid" (depending on your opinion) player. Why wouldn't you want him to be one of the best in school history? That's my problem.
That's like saying, I want Blake Countess to be Grant Mason, Todd Howard or Morgan Trent. Why wouldn't you say I want Blake Countesss to be Charles Woodson, Marlin Jackson, Ty Law or Leon Hall?
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:45 PM ^
If Gerg wasn't the coach.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
Please tell me u didn't just reference Ezeh?
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
I hope you mean Obi Wan Kenobi...
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
I'm guessing you're like 14....
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
the coaches handle that instead of speculating.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
Avery is garbage
Washington was weak
Lewan looked a scared
Denard can't throw
Put in Pee Wee as he was going for it and causing damage.
Norfleet needs the ball!
Denard may just be a WR in the NFL
Just pissed we swallowed our dicks!
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
I don't think this game is really indicative of much of anything due to the sheer physical superiority of Bama.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^
We're two years away from competing with that beast being Bama
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^
You should change your handle to Dr. Spock as your comment was one of the few rational, logical ones posted in the last 14 hours.
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:54 PM ^
unless you're talking about rational, logical comments related to child-rearing, which whatever... who knows after last night's mess of a game.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:30 PM ^
not sure it will happen but id like to see Norfleet on offense some,funchess at TE, and Bolden and Ross at LB. Morgan and Demens looked awful last night.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:31 PM ^
Norlfeet went HAM
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
He's every bit as fast as advertised. He'll make Air Force and UMass look very, very bad in the coming weeks, and do real damage even against the real meat of the schedule.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
Helps field position alot and hopefully he can make a sproles impact on the offense
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
Let's hope we only see Norfleet returning kicks in a very limited manner (i.e. like opening kickoff and that's it).
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:56 PM ^
I finally found a bright spot from that game. Norfleet looked pretty good as the return man. Against non-Bama competition, that should work out pretty well for us. We might even see a kickoff or punt return for a TD. Been a while since we've had one of those. Anyone remember the last guy to do it? I know there wasn't one last year, but can't remember how long the drought has been.
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:09 PM ^
Stonum against ND in 2009
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
Everyone on defense looked awful. The other team scored 34 points and controlled the entire game.
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:18 PM ^
that is true,everyone on defense looked bad but i thought demens and morgan always seemedto be out if position and can not tackle as well s ross and bolden did.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
can throw Ryan into that aweful category too. They are capable of so much more. I thought Michigan could have won or atleast had a chance to win and i'm taking it badly.
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^
but it was evident after the first series we were grossly overmatched... so get over it and be a little more rational next time - we are two years away from Hoke's recruits allowing us to compete in a game like this, plain and simple.
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:40 PM ^
Linebackers are soooo dependent on the DL. Our DL was getting pushed off the ball, and not so much as getting an arm off of the block, so that horse RB had 5 yards of momentum when he was reaching our second level. Had our DL not been so overmatched, it would have been our LBs playing fast and downhill as opposed to their RB.
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:00 AM ^
You wrong, our dl was doing their jobs by penetrating their gaps, it was our linebackers hitting the wrong gaps falling for the counters and playaction passes
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:31 PM ^
Only the injured guys will be changed.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
I've tried this discussion before.
People get unhappy.
September 2nd, 2012 at 3:51 PM ^
I don't know why people get mad at Magnus. His opinions are valid and provide pause for those of us that get too high on the team. Taking the opposite stance isn't a crime; acting like a douche-nozzle while doing so is what trips up some people.
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:16 PM ^
This is one of the nicest backhanded compliments I've ever received.
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:41 PM ^
that you were the douche-nozzle. I was implying that others get negged for expressing their opinion if THEY are being douchey. Pardon the confusion, I was in the midst of a 13 hour drive from Dallas to Nashville.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
I think he deserves some time, he played pretty well and that was against the defending national champions.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
I'm sure we'll see more Pipkins, Bolden, and Ross on defense. All three showed promise last night.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
I'm not convinced Demens should be replaced. He got man handled but it was you know 'bama
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^
he got man handled by a wide receiver lol bama or not your middle linebacker should never get man handled by a WR.
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:03 PM ^
So lets panic and replace our two year starter with a freshman! WOOOO I love Sunday morning coaching!
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:12 PM ^
crack blocks are easy regardless of position, size, etc. you have the benefit of surprise.
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:00 PM ^
You are completely wrong if you are talking about the play where he is coming across the field to make a tackle and a reciever comes back and takes his head off. I hate to say it but anyone could take a linebacker out when he is running at full speed and has an angle and the element of never being seen till its too late. Demens should not lose his job over that play
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
...we just need to play better.
You can't go off of one game no matter what game it is. If we played Concordia Community College and Russell Bellomy threw for 500 yards and 8 TDs it doesn't mean he should start the next game over Denard.
We need a bigger sample size, we need a wider range of opponents.
Let's wait until the non-conference schedule is over before we make any significant changes.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:42 PM ^
I'm sure practice this week will determine if anyone will be moved into a starter's role. I think we'll have to replace Countess for sure, not sure about Lewan and Moore, but more than likely we'll see a lot of the other TE's. It would be nice to get Ramon Taylor more reps at CB and Gardner more reps at WR at this point.
the LB and DL issues that aren't injuries will be determined by who practices better this week. I would expect 1 or 2 switches for AF.
September 2nd, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
This. We lost to Bama. What does this mean? We're not a national contender, and not much more.
These are the guys the coaches feel are the best players we have, and one game against Alabama will not change that much, if at all. I'm down with us rotating at these positions as guys figure things out, but I bet against other competition Demens and Morgan will look good.
I also thought QW played well last night, so he hold hold not get pulled.