Denard appreciation thread

Seeing what happened without Denard sorta rendered most criticism of his play null and void.

But next year, whoever is at QB, won't be as hapless as the offense this year was in the second half without Denard.



Anyone hear word on his status?

It's certainly going to be a transition to whoever follows Denard.

That said, before academics became a factor (they always do...) our friend Tate Forcier had a pretty good year as a Freshman. If study hall had mattered...

I'm looking at you Shane Morris.

Sometimes I wonder if Denard is a crutch for coaching staffs.  Is it possible that having him has stunted the growth of the rest of our offense?  Maybe I'm just numb and bitter and incredibly disapointed.  Nope.  No maybe about it.

I hope Denard gets better soon.  We need him.

I'll miss Denard so much. We'll never see his like at Michigan again.

Nobody ever talks about the possibility that we have the worst group of wide receivers in FBS history.  They cant block, they certainly can't catch unless the ball is buried into their stomachs, and Im sorry, but if you're 5'9" you should have flawless hands, and if you're 6'5" and there's a jump ball, you should not be getting outlept and picked off by a 6'1" corner.

So with this, I ask: What in the hell did we recruit between 2008 and 2010????  We know we didnt recruit either line, linebackers, secondary, but our RBs and WRs are abysmal as well.  We literally have 2 good players on offense (Denard and Lewan), 3-4 good players on defense, and no sort of depth.

I've been arguing about this with my father every week since we turned around after ND. I asked him what he thinks our offense will be next year. He talks about the scheme, and I simply ask, no, where are the yards going to come from? He never has an answer for that.

Denard isn't perfect. In some ways, his flaws are as notable as his strengths. But he is a magnificent athlete, a special QB and we will miss him frightfully, especially next year. I don't care how many INTs he throw from now until his last day, I will never, never forget what he is done for this program. It would have been a dark few years without him.

I don't even want to think about next year without Denard. I hope he gets well soon -- our chances to watch him play football in a Michigan uniform are dwindling, and I'll take as many chances as I can get.

who thinks Denard with NO arms would be better than Bellomy?

MODZZZZZZZZZ!

I think we have another RDT thing going on in the Michigan-Neb Remaining schedules thread...

I am sorry Denard. I took you for granted and was too hard on you. Please get better.

I realize I'm going to get negged to hell, but this thread is ridiculous. Without Denard (and  Richrod) we would've recruited a QB who had some semblance of an arm, with a downfield threat. The reason our offense can't function without Denard is because we have no downfield threat whatsoever. Whoever we play can simply stack the box and stop our offense with ease.

Once we have a seasoned Shane Morris with a reasonable back-up, we'll laugh on these days.

GO BLUE

I think it's odd that we have a QB shattering offensive records and at the same time being called awful (by some on this board). It seems like everyone is arguing polar opposites.

Denard is a wonderful athlete and ambassador for the Michigan program; however, he has become too critical to the team's success. When the outcome of a game rests solely on one man's shoulders, the weight will eventually become too much to bear. I love Denard but his particular skill set has pigeon holed the offense into a manner in which it must revolve around his skills. when he cannot play, this comes back to bite us as evidenced tonight. Furthermore, his skills, while amazing at times, can be nullified by higher end defenses. We now have had three games in one season without scoring a touchdown. Neither Threet nor Sheridan can make that claim. Let us hope that he gets better and we can dance with the girl we brought to the dance for the remainder of the season. Next year brings a new hope and a new set of challenges, but rest assured, our hopes will rely on the entire team and not the shoulders of one young, courageous man.

I got blasted for saying "I'll take Shane" on a Bellomy appreciation thread. I'll still take Shane. 

DG at qb tonite. I'm not a football coach, but that's what I would've done. I thought this game was a loss as soon as Denard went out. So I went to a Halloween party and stopped watching. It was a good decision so I've heard.

I think we'll appreciate him most next year, when he's gone for good.  The new starter (whether Shane or Bellomy) is bound to have significant growing pains next year.  I was hoping that Devin would be the guy stepping in with some experience to run the offense while Morris developed as his backup, but that doesn't seem likely anymore.

Gardner was a 5-star coming in, and we were set up to have a much smoother transition than what we're likely to have now.  

a new day..A day closer to a B1G championship. Denard will be back Saturday, and I have faith in this coaching staff to do what it takes. I just thought we would of had a better backup plan. One thing is clear, if Bellomy is the number two guy, he needs to be more involved in practice. Not saying he isn't more involved, but from what I see, It isn't transferring to the field..Like I said, I love this coaching staff, and I know Michigan is headed for greatness. " Those who stay will be champions ".

Denard has played two full games without a TD this year and half of one last night.  I don't blame Denard for any of it.  You have to look no further than Borges.  He has the most exciting player in college football and he runs the most bland offensive scheme of anyone.

but denard was throwing balls last night that were accurate, risk averse, and well timed. if chad henne had thrown those balls there would be a million posts of WR hand-wringing. roundtree (oh Roy...not good buddy), Hopkins, and the erstwhile backup QB spring to mind immediately.

Please get better soon Denard!

Denard has been our offense for a while now, which is why we are so hit or miss.  If he gets off we put up big numbers.  If he can't, we struggle mightily.  And, if he's out, we flat out can't move the ball in a forward direction.  This makes me very scared for next year.  I hope Gardner comes out next week (assuming Denard is out) and puts that to rest with a good performance, but right now I'm worried about a lof of positions next year.

Offensive Line

LT - If Lewan goes will Magnuson be ready?

LG - Barnum graduates, will Burzynski or Kalis be ready?  My guess is Kalis gets the nod

C - Mealer graduates, will Miller be ready?

RG - Omameh graduates, Who plays here Burzynski?

RT - Schofield back...not sure how I feel about that

So we go Magnuson, Kalis, Miller, Burzynski, and Schofield...yikes.

RB - Toussiant is back, but what has he done?  Does Rawls or Hayes get a shot, Smith?  Rawls seems powerful but not that fast, Hayes seems good, but small.  Heck lets throw Thomas in there...he may be our best athlete and RB seems to be a position a freshman can come right in and play.  Green we need you now.

QB - Well, that's the big question, Garder or Bellomy, or does Morris step right in?  I don't want hate on Bellomy, he deserves credit for gettting thrown into a tough situation.  With the tools around him (or lack thereof) and the many drops by the recievers and some bad breaks with the weird pop-up Smith interception etc. many things happened that could have had a better result without him doing anything different.  BUT, from what I saw Bellomy doesn't have the tools to be a FBS starting QB, sorry.

WR - Gallon, Dileo, Jackson, Darboh, Chesson, Gardner...yikes again.  No real proven player maker there.  Maybe Darboh and Chesson come in and provide playmaking, maybe we get Treadwell, maybe Funchess becomes a viable every down pass catching threat at TE.  And, Gallon & Dileo is and will continue to be a solid, reliable guys, but not #1 type recievers.

Defensively I don't have as many concerns despite losing some key guys I think our secondary and linebackers will be just fine and I am actually looking forward to seeing some guys get in there like Pipkins & Bolden/Ross.  I wonder if Wilson will come or if Robinson will be our SS.  Either way, not overly concerned about most of the defense.  The one position I am worried about is DE.  We have no pass rush.  

DE - Roh graduates.  Do we play Heitzman, does Clark/Beyer move over, can Taco Charleton step right in, can Wormley recover and be ready?

DE - We get back the Clark/Beyer/Ojemudia combo back but what have they done this year?  Do we all of a sudden expect one of these guys to make a big jump?  Ojemudia seems most likely, but can he put on enough weight to be effective?

So, ulimtately our O-line makes me go YIKES.  Our QB makes me go YIKES (only reserving Gardner judgement until he plays longer).  Our RB situation seems ho hum.  Our WR situation seems ho hum.  And, our DE situation seems ho hum.  I see a frustrating year coming next season.  We need our very talented young/incoming offensive lineman ASAP.  We need playmakers at WR and RB fast (Green and Treadwell please).  And, we need development of a pass rushing DE, like now. 

Anyone wishing that Bellomy would get his shot got their wish last night and it was an utter disaster. I'm not ready to jump on the "Bellomy sucks" train by any means, it just shows that next year this could get messy on offense. I appreciate Denard and everything he's done for this program and if anything came out of those three dark years he's been a shining beaconand he's a great kid. Anyone knocking Denard should be very silent after today. We as fans have been absolutely spoiled watching him and I will hate to see him go. It's not his fault that his receivers can't catch a damn thing. He was dealing last night and the drops just can't happen like that. If Denard stays in this game we win hands down. What concerns me most is the run game. Yet again no Rawls when Fitz is struggling and the run game itself can't gain any traction outside of Denard.

Agree that if Denard goes out again Gardner should come it at QB, Bellomy looked nervous and unsure of himself last night and the WR's certainly weren't helping him any.  Why they can't catch a ball that hits them in the hands is beyond me.  I know Bellomy was charged with 3 INTs last night, but the one on the pass to Smith, was Smith's fault not Bellomy's. How a player can catapult a ball directly to a defender, after he hit's the ground is beyond me.  

I love Denard as much as the next guy but we still only put up 6 points in a half against a bad defense.  No bueno

At this point, I don't care if Denard can throw on 3rd and 10 or not.  He stood by us when he could have left for an offense more suitable to his strengths (can you imagine him at AZ?).  

So I'll stand by him, period.

I remember when everyone was complaining about Denard...Funny isnt it

after he left the game all he did was stand on the side wearing a jacket.  No vocal leadership  or encouragement to Bellomy.   My neighbor was watching the game with me, he is not a UM fan, and he said Denard looked more cold than injured.  

The game clearly showed that he can manage a game as a QB. Regardless of his throwing technique he still gives us the best chance make it to the title game. 

writing off Bellomy after his first significant playing time of his career - and that was on the road, against a very capable Nebraska team, and the team behind.  Granted it wasn't a good performance, but I will reserve judgement until I see more game experience from him after he's had a lot more snaps with the first team offense in practice too.  

Still, I think the coaches will need to turn to Gardner as our backup in case Denard can't play. He's more ready to play QB now than Bellomy, if nothing else but having a lot more experience.  And next season, I can't see going into the season with Bellomy and a freshman as our only scholarship QB's.  That's asking for trouble.