D Hart and Tate Thoughts
I absolutely cannot wait to see D Hart in the backfield next year with Denard. As good as this offense is, adding Hart will give us the chance to control the clock and make our playing drives 5 plays instead of 2 to 3.
I have no doubt that D Hart (and probably half his team after they visit for WI) are coming to Michigan, and it is going to make greatness even better... if that is possible. I love this Michigan team.
On another note How important is Tate too this team? I think today really showed it. He came in on 2nd and 2 and we didn't convert when we could have sealed the game. I know he is paying a lot more attention on the sideline now, but today stressed how important it is for him to come in ready to strap it on. He makes the first read correct on 2nd down we would have had a first down and potentially a sustained drive that would have let Denard shake out more of the cobwebs that made the next few possessions ineffective.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 PM ^
...before they grow dreads.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 PM ^
Oh neat, a post about Tate.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:53 PM ^
It brings me great joy to watch the backup QBs on other teams. It makes me appreciate Tate and Devin so much more.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:54 PM ^
I think it's insane to grade his performance based on 2 plays. Is Denard spoiling us or what? I'm gonna at least try to be reasonable here. Tate is a team man right now and I commend him for that.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 AM ^
I hate reading this blog/forum on game days. People come up with insane shit to rant about. When I read the OP, this is exactly what came to mind. Thank you for being rational.
2 plays doesn't mean anything, just like you didn't know what indiana could do well with the three opponents they previously played (we could deduce their defense was bad). I could throw my opinion on GERG here, but that would just incite some more bickering.
People are going to over-react and come up with insane opinions based on extremely specific examples that only back up their arguments (see hargaugh thread). Relax and enjoy the win.
October 3rd, 2010 at 3:27 PM ^
There's no question we're spoiled rotten. I found myself screaming at the tv yesterday when he overthrew some long passes. I then realized that the long pass is the only part of his game that isn't phenomenal. He needs some help in the backfield and an epiphany on the part of the d.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:54 PM ^
I think everyone watching knew that Michigan was calling a run play with that first play. And watching the replay, if he held on to the ball there, there was a defender waiting on him. I blame the play calling on those plays more than I blame Tate. Although, it probably was necessary to be a little cautious when bringing in a cold qb.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:35 AM ^
Instead, he "cut back" one gap & ran into his own blocker
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:55 PM ^
awesome for Dee Hart to join this team. Don't be to hard on Tate, it is harder than it looks jumping into a game as QB and continuing a drive.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 PM ^
I think you are being hard on Tate. Why are you blaiming Tate for the 2 plays he was in on? He handed the ball off and then completed the quick pass. He did everything that he was suppose to. What if Denard went out for the whole game?
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:58 PM ^
Yeah he did great...
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:57 PM ^
I think Dee Hart is coming here, too, but please don't make statements like "I have no doubt that D Hart ... are [sic] coming to Michigan". I just don't want to jinx it.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:58 PM ^
P.S. You do realize that Tate is 13 for 13 this year and you want to call him useless?
He might be the best back up in the conference and one of the best in the country.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:00 AM ^
Who was this in reply too? Everyone is talking about how important he is, and no one used the word "useless" except you.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:58 PM ^
I'm not judging Tate's performance on 2 plays. I'm just saying how important he is too this offense still. I think today showed that, and it is a great opportunity for the coaches to impress upon Tate we need him, and he has to be ready to be a DH at a moments notice if we are going to be able to win some close games this year. Being a DH is one of the biggest mental challenges that a player can take on, and Tate accelling at that challenge is going to be worth a win or 2 this year.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:59 PM ^
One of those plays, a receiver dropped the ball.
I have said this all along...but there will be one game this year that hinges on the play of tate.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 AM ^
The importance of Mike Shaw's absence. Our running game looks completely different with a guy with true speed like Shaw (or D Hart for that matter). Smith is a great player in his own right and I love seeing a guy like that succeed however he does not scare anyone, or really make anyone pay for that matter (I saw the run, it was great but unlikely to happen too often). Shaw possibly changes the play call on that first and goal after Roundtree was caught from behind changing the complexion of the game.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:29 AM ^
I thought this all day.
Shaw is a dangerous man now and we played without him today. He'll pound it and he'll break it.
Fortunately, we saw the emergence of Hemingway as our 3rd deep threat while the run game lagged in Shaw's absence.
Oh god I'm excited for the State game.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 AM ^
Come on guys! We are better than this. Did UM win? Yes. Did Tate not pull an OSU backup and cough up the ball in his two (2!!!!!!!!) plays on offense? Yes. How about we all just relax with the "oh look, nobody has taken the angle yet that Tate didn't throw for two TDs on his one possession" idea and just start posting. I know I'm becoming a grumpy old man, but I can see why some of the older posters here are ready to kill people on Saturday.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^
Who said that he would play next year? Isn't that a bit overload on HBs the next 4 or so years? We got Shaw, Smith, Cox, Fitz, and now HART? How can we possibly use them all?
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:34 AM ^
If Dee Hart lives up to his hype we will easily find a use for him and he will see playing time next year.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 AM ^
D'oh!
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:55 AM ^
Dee would get a lot of PT because he seems like he would be the perfect fit for this offense. With his running and receiving skills and Denard's running and passing skills, defenses would have to remain honest. While Shaw appears to be the starter when healthy, he has been nicked up. Smith is coming back from injury, Fitz has had injury problems, and the coaches see something in Cox that makes them nervous about giving him more carries. Why wouldn't Dee see the ball quite a bit?
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 AM ^
Tate was not the only source of problems, when he came in today. The offense was less potent on third down situations that desired, converting only 2 of 7 3rd downs for a first down.That lead to a lot of 3 plays and punt under Dilithium despite his insane performance. I hope the Shaw returns next week for MSU to provide a good running option. I don't think MSU defense will so prone to lose containment for long runs as our previous opponents.
I hope that Demetrius Hart does commit soon to Michigan, but I am concerned with Denard handling the ball so much for running option reads that he might feel there are better opportunities at other universities like Auburn. Denard had a balanced running / passing day today, but I want the RB's to be more productive, in order to provide better performance on 3rd downs and less pressure on Denard to do the whole offense.
Nonetheless, it is amazing to watch Denard break these runs so frequently and then also make big time pass plays. I hope his knees hold up.
Tate seems to be a good back up punter - maybe we should have him start practicing field goal attempts. If not for kicking, he would be dangerous as a ball holder that might allow for a viable fake field goal play. I hope we get a good kicker for field goal attempts soon. We may need it in a close game at the end.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:54 AM ^
i don't care what Tate did in those 2 plays, except that he didn't force a throw or turn the ball over. the only thing REALLY worth noting is that he was fired up at the opportunity to get in, and that's fucking awesome. how many times do you see a college backup QB come in cold and have that look of "what the hell am i doing here?". Tate was ready to go. We all know what he can do. I have no fear, whatsoever, in him coming into a game. the kid loves to play, and that's all that matters. you're a blithering idiot if you expect your backups to come in and 100% maintain the same kind of flow in the offense. that rarely happens.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 AM ^
as for Hart, I don't give a shit about him until he proves he's worth talking about on the field. that really goes for any highschooler. I'd much rather have a Senior Mike Shaw in the backfield next year than a diminutive 18 year old. but that's just me. I really think I can finally say that I'm no longer going to read anything about recruiting. Let's just see who makes their way to the field next year, shall we?
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:02 AM ^
Hart's not on the team (yet). I'm more concerned that Smith (except for one play) was easily stopped by a terrible run defense. Looking forward to seeing Shaw back and hope we see Hart taking his turn next season.
As far as Tate goes, he's a starter and the best backup in the nation. The only reason he doesn't start for us is that our starter is going to win the Heisman.
October 3rd, 2010 at 3:01 AM ^
You know what terrible run defenses do....they let up big running plays. I would think that one play you were excluding is sort of important in his overall running performance.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^
I hate to see any Wolverine struggling, but Smith is. Yes, he broke one run, but the majority of his attempts were stuffed. That's just the reality of the situation.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:04 AM ^
one more thing:
am I just crazy, or did the OP say he'd rather have someone in the backfield who extends drives to 5 or more plays?
unless I'm missing something here, a 2 play drive means you have athletes that are exponentially more effective than their defensive counterparts. It's one thing to talk about being able to run sustained drives, where you are keeping your d off the field by grinding away 19 play drives like Indiana. No thanks, I'll take the 42 points in 15 or whatever posession minutes ANY DAY. I really hope you didn't mean to say that you want slower players so that we can not score too (notice the proper usage of "too") quickly, because that would be one of the worst strategies ever.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 AM ^
When they come in that type of a situation they are given very vanilla plays defense knows put 8 in the box, always thought we should play action and put it down the field ,ya cant blame the Tater
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:49 AM ^
October 3rd, 2010 at 5:41 AM ^
It's really exciting when Tate straps it on and then just takes it to the other team hard.
October 3rd, 2010 at 10:15 AM ^
I really wanna know how Dee's visit went at Alabama yesterday with the Tide destroying the Gators. You know Saban pitched his "come here and you'll be a national champion" speech and after last night, how could he be wrong? Hopefully Dee realizes though that he fits perfectly into this Michigan offense and he would be more exposed in the nation as a runningback. We'll see how he decides this week and hopefully he becomes a Wolverine. Go blue.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:42 PM ^
You know, if we had a solid running game outside of Denard Robinson, maybe Tate's "drive" would have resulted in a first down...
Yeah, he's supposed to make the right read, but he a) handed off to Vincent Smith who couldn't get the first down and then b) threw a quick screen to a WR who couldn't get the first down, either.
I find it hard to blame too much of that drive's failure on Tate.
Oh, by the way, it seems Tate has "overtaken" Devin for the backup QB role...
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:00 PM ^
Oh you want him to be adjusted to game speed at any moment, without playing? That's not a valid criticism. The fact that our backup QB didn't pick up where Denard left off isn't surprising at all. What was great though was that he didn't incite a meltdown, which is not unheard of out of backup QB's.