Denard Post Game Comments
After tonights game it is good to see that Denard has become a leader on this team. I always hated the Tebow post game "no team will try harder" speach, but I like what Denard had to say following tonights loss.
"I want to say sorry to everybody who watched football, watched Michigan football and whoever follows Michigan football, I want to say sorry and it won't happen no more. I am going to be accountable for the rest of the season. I'll tell you that much."
Most disappointed I've been in I don't know how long, the 22 years I've been living, this is the most disappointed I've been in myself.
http://espn.go.com/colleges/michigan/football/story/_/id/8415193/michig…
I hope we can put this behind us and move into B1G play and get a big win two weeks from now at Purdue.
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:09 AM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
This year is it is your first year on here.........GO BLUE
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:14 AM ^
He has not proven at all that he's gotten the turnovers under control. In fact, it looks like he's gotten worse than last year.
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^
Yes, he is the most exciting player in CFB. For both teams.
We are going to be soooo bored when he's gone.
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:16 AM ^
Denard has had problems with interceptions, we all know that. He's still on of the best QB's in the country and everyone here knows when he gets in the open field and takes off something fantastic is about to happen.
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 11:22 AM ^
Denard is an amazing human being and largely responsible for this loss. These two thoughts are not incompatible, people. And the former is a lot more important than the latter.
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
is it more important? because coaches get fired regardless of how good of a human being their qb is if they dont win enough games. wrs who have potential but have a shitty qb end up not being drafted and losing out on millions. Plus, there are qbs who a good people and good qbs, its not like they are mutually exclusive. People are losing sight that he is a qb and his job is to win games, not a nobel peace prize.
September 24th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
Last night's game was frustrating and disappointing, yes. But after the past few years I no longer think it's the end of the world when Michigan has a bad game, even one that was this bad. I think 2008 permanently knocked some perspective into me. Time to focus on the Big Ten schedule.
As for Denard, my appreciation for what he's done for this team and this university far outweigh any frustration I feel about his performance last night or during any other game. He had a bad night (it happens). He took responsibility for it. That's all he can do. I, for one, am still glad to have him leading this team. I've had to stop reading other fans' comments in places like the Michigan Football Facebook page because the level of vitriol against Denard is getting out of control and embarassing. If only certain portions of the fan base could show the same maturity and class as our quarterback...
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
i wish he would own up to his bad gameplans like denard did his poor play. imo, borges is directly responsible for 3 out of the 4 losses since these coaches took over.
i won't even complain about the smith INT (that wasn't a bad call. that's on the player). but it's the overall game plan of making denard a pocket passer. hell, even the first series, we ran misdirection and hit the edges and moved the ball...until denard missed a 3rd down pocket pass in ND territory.
we are at our best when we get our playmakers to the edge: denard, fitz, even gallon.
work the goddamn edges borges!!! all game every game.
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:52 PM ^
Why is it that when Michigan loses, every "arm chair OC" comes in here and tries to tell Borges what he should, or shouldn't do? Sure, attack the edges, all game every game! That is flipping brilliant -- until the opposing defense shifts and you cannot get anything on the edges. C'mon man, use your head!
The issue is very simple. When Michigan's offensive staff is game planning, and when they're practicing their game plan, Denard is fine. In fact, I'd be willing to be that he is down right great. Problem is, in the heat of battle, with blitzer in his face, he tries to do too much and forces bad throws. Personally, I think the issue is his height. If he were taller, like Vince Young, he could "stand in" the pocket and deliver the ball effectively. I am not making excuses, just point out the facts as I see them. I guarantee you that Borges & Co. are CONSTANTLY drilling Denard to evade, side step, pump-and-go, hell even take the freakin' sack. But, for whatever reason, he just doesn't do it.
Again, no excuses, it was a pathetic display of QBing, and Denard himself knows it, and owned up to it. The odd thing is that Denard went from looking very solid, calm, and efficient, to looking completely lost. What caused it? Pressure straight up the middle, right in his face. When the protection was there, he looked fine, even good. I know the same can basically be said about any QB, but a 6'3' guy has a much easier time than a guy that is barely 6 feet tall.
Problem with blitzes is that you never really know when they're coming, so you cannot really scheme around them. To beat a middle blitz you need a QB that knows, instictively, what to do with the ball, and receivers that can break off their routes to help the QB out. What surprises me, is that as mobile as Denard is, that he isn't more comfortable bouncing outside.
This game made me think two things. 1) I feel really badly for Denard. I know he's disappointed and feels that he let his team and Michigan down -- and on his birthday to boot; and 2) How much a wish Denard had been redshirted in 2009. I think these issues will diminish by the end of the season, and would be gone completely if he had a 5th year. I know what many of you are thinking, that he's had these issues since the beginning and they're never going away. Well, I disagree. When he's given the time he needs, he is 100% a better passer than he was in 2010, and 50% better than he was in 2011. The progress is there, there is not debating that. He just has to lean how to evade the blitz. Remember that little spin thing that Tate would do? That was instilled in him at a very young age by his private QB coaching. Denard didn't get that, and doesn't have that skill in his game.
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
if you think denard is too damn small, then that makes even more sense to roll him out doesn't it???
he's not a very good pocket passer. how many pocket INTs does it take to get you to realize this?
it's quite obvious the D flows to denard, that's what makes misdirections or even trap plays more lethal. but borges rarely calls them.
if you think denard is being utilized to the best of his abilities (or the teams') then there is no use to continue any discussion.
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:17 PM ^
Way to be a dismissive d bag!
If Borges isn't calling something, I promise you, it's because he doesn't like the way Denard and the rest of team execute that play in practice. You, and others like you, seem to think that an OC who doesn't call the play that YOU think is obvious is doing so out of ineptitude or negligence. They see the team in practice, they run the plays, and they decide which ones are likely to work, and which one the team cannot execute well enough to put into the plan.
This blog has repeatedly discussed the fact that Denard is FAR less accurate on the move than he is in the pocket.
He's a fine "pocket passer" when he's not being blitzed up the middle. There are several factors at work here. One, his height. Two, the OL and RB's inability to pick up those blitzes. Three, Denard's own lack of evasion techniques, coupled with his penchant for trying to make a play rather than living to play another down. Someone ranted about Denard's vision, wondering if he needs glasses. No, he doesn't, but he cannot see over or around the blitzer.
As I said, Borges needs to teach him that little backwards spin out move that Tate did so well.
I don't know whether Denard is being used to the best of his abilities or not, I am not in practice constantly watching what his abilites are. I know that the coaches are, however, and if they have him doing something in a game, you can be damn sure that it's because he was able to execute it in practice. Unlike you, I don't pretend to know more than the OC and his staff. What I do know is that Denard, like any QB, has limitations, and that opposing DC's do their best to expose those limitations. All that we can hope for is that Borges and his staff coach up Denard how to get better at countering the schemes the opposing DC's come up with.
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:05 PM ^
do you watch the games?
i don't watch the practices but i will bet dollars to donuts that borges came in here and said, "ok denard, we are going to make you into a west coach QB". and that's what they ran in practice. they did not focus on an offense or elements of an offense that enhanced denards (and the other small/speedy players) abilities.
now, when borges' O wasn't working against any D with a pulse, he went "oh shit". then he started mixing in some zone read/denard running plays, zing zing the offense started clicking.
we win that damn iowa game last year if borges' stubborness didn't waste that entire first half. and our chances at msu would have been better too. he wasted that first half as well. ditto NW and alabama (ya, i know we weren't going to win that game regardless).
borges forces his system until it stops working then he reverts back to what denard does best, usually.
and if you think a denard spin move is the saving grace, then you must think these coaches are also really dumb for not figuring that out.
and it's funny you brought up vince young, a guy who won all those games at texas with his arm, right?
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:27 PM ^
I agree with you, I thought overall Borges called a good game. On plenty of those INTs Denard missed open receivers, and obviously the fumble has nothing to do with Borges. Guys were getting open, we moved the ball on the ground, and graded out OK vs. a really good D. Don't think this one's on him..
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:51 PM ^
isn't that the point? denard's decision making in the pocket isn't very good, which causes the INTs. i give denard a ton of credit for improving his accuracy. he's just not a very good pocket passer overall.
i just think this offense would be much better if denard/fitz ran more early. then, denard could burn them with the pass.
the problem is that borges seems to try to move the ball too much with the pass first, then tries to mix in the run when the passing game isn't working.
this offense would be much better if denards carries approached his pass attempts; like 20 each per game.
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:14 PM ^
Here's an idea. Get in your car, drive from Chicago to Ann Arbor, go to Schembechler hall, knock on Hoke's office door, and tell him that YOU have it all figured out. That you, some alum who does who the fuck cares in Chicago, know how best to use Denard. Get back to me and tell me what Hoke says.
Honestly, nobody gives a fuck what you think Borges should or shouldn't do. I'd be willing to wager that the extent of your football knowledge comes from 4 years as a Michigan fan while you were in school, some frat league flag football, maybe Xbox Madden/NCAA, and the arrogant entitled Michigan alum persona.
If Denard does the right thing, if he evades, throws the ball away, runs, or takes a sake even two less times, we win the game easily. He didn't execute, not because the plan was wrong, but because he didn't execute. Simple as that.
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:40 PM ^
read your last paragraph. THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT!!! Denard is not a very good pocket passer, hence the INTs. You can have the greatest fucking plan in the universe but if you don't have the guy to execute it, it fails.
if borges would have kept mixing it up like he did the first drive, we win that game easily, because that style fits denards' (and this teams') strengths.
and when an argument fails, attack the person right?
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:53 PM ^
My arguement didn't fail, I am correct. Denard was moving the ball no problem early on. ND blitzed up the middle, and he made a terrible mistake. Do you think Denard makes that mistake in practice? Do you think he evades, throws the ball away, or takes the sake. I don't know, and you don't know. All we know is that Denard was, in fact, passing (from the pocket) very well, far better than we've ever seen him do. Why? Because they've been coaching him on that. Obviously, he hasn't yet leaned how to deal with the blitz in his face. But, he's fine passing when he has the protection. I am sure we'll see him simply take off when a blitz comes from here on out.
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:26 PM ^
we were moving the ball well early to a tune of 120 yds in the first half. ya, that was awesome. and to say that denard was playing great while inside the pocket, oh but for those 4 INTs. how ridiculous is that?
i believe we had one good drive that was pass-focused. i think denard was 4-5. take that drive out of the equation and his #s look even that much worse.
take out the sacks and this offense was running the ball pretty well. when denard runs more, it opens it up more for fitz and guys like gallon. and it sets up the big pass gainers.
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:42 PM ^
You're aware that Denard also threw an interception on a rollout pass, aren't you?
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:46 PM ^
let's make a pocket passer out of the greatest running QB ever. even lou holtz said, the way you stop michigan is to keep denard in the pocket. he was practically laughing after the game. he said ND didn't have to keep denard in the pocket, because Michigan did it for them.
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:54 PM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:58 PM ^
lou holtz is just a talking head? you obviously don't remember him as a coach that won a national championship and also has a pretty damn good knowledge of running quarterbacks. so i will let your stupidity stand.
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:11 PM ^
Lou Holtz isn't taking into account that when Denard wasn't throwing INT's, or before ND started blitzing up the gut, Denard was, in fact, passing from the pocket VERY WELL. In fact, he was doing it so well, that ND's defense was forced to adjust. They dared Denard to pass, and he did. Blitzing as they did was a roll of the dice. If Denard was able to evade, or hit his receivers, ND would have been hurt badly -- the roll of the dice worked out. But, that is NOT an indictment of Denard as a "pocket passer," nor of the Borges' game plan, it's an indictment of Denard evading/dealing with blitzes. Have you noticed that they never blitz him off the edge, only up the middle. Why do you think that is? Might it also have something to do with the fact that Michigan doesn't have the nation's #1 center any longer?
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:51 PM ^
drive #1 - we move the ball to ND 43 then punt. Denard was 0-3 passing.
drive #2 - Denard gets sacked twice then we miss FG
drive #3 - Denard is 5-6 for 59 yds. 19 team rushing yds. Then Smith throws INT.
drive #4 - Denard throws INT on 3rd down
drive #5 - Denard throws INT on first play
drive #6 - Denard 0-1 with INT
drive #7 - Denard throws INT on first pass after running for 22 yds on 2 carries
end of first half
i'm not seeing any significant passing success that would suggest that ND needed to blitz more to stop the pass. in fact, i could suggest they blitzed denard more to perhaps prevent his chances of making a big play by running.
September 23rd, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^
Drive #3 was what scared ND because they weren't getting to him and the Michigan OL was giving him all kinds of time -- as was the case on the other two drives. After that, the middle blitzing coupled with Te'o sinkning started. You don't always have to complete the passes to make the defense adjust.
You don't blitz the middle to stop a running QB. Sorry dude, you're wrong. Denard was passing well, moving the ball, and ND was nervous. Just accept the fact that you're wrong and move on, god knows it's not the first time and won't be the last.
September 23rd, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^
you've never heard of run-blitzing up the middle. yes, ok, i will stop now.
September 23rd, 2012 at 4:34 PM ^
You should have stopped a long time ago.
Of course I've heard of run blitzing, but what ND was doing wasn't run blitzing, it was pass blitzing. A run blitz is designed to clog up the gaps with LB's and/or a Safety. This was straight center blitz to get after the QB, nothing more.
Good lord is right. Take a look at the numbers my posts are racking up, versus your posts. I am getting 2's, 3's, and 4's, while your only getting 0's and 1's. No big deal, except, I think the people reading agree with me, and think you're just lashing out and whining. Jus sayin'
September 23rd, 2012 at 5:09 PM ^
Denard is a great pocket passer. He struggles at decision-making in the pocket and it gets even worse when pressured up the middle. More evidence of a good pocket passer. He was very successful too all those times in the past when he went under center to drop straight back to pass.
The fact is, Denard is a fantastic football player and this offense does not take full advantage of his best skills and forces him to make decisions/plays in situations which he is not best suited. and it becomes glaringly apparent when we go against decent defenses.
i know offenses struggle against good defenses. but i don't buy the excuses that when opponents key on stopping denard from running, we are going to throw early and often to mitigate that.
ted williams didn't start bunting toward 3B when they shifted the D on him.
if all it takes is blitzing up the middle to stop this offense, then we are in big trouble. i would rather lose with our best player trying to make plays at which he is best at making.
i mean if blitzing up the middle was the cause of all our ills that game, why not a shovel pass, bubble screen, or quick-hitting pass to the TE to make the blitz look silly? a few of those plays would slow down any blitz, but it didn't happen. there is much more to the problem then blitzes up the middle.
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:32 PM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^
you assume a lot.
September 23rd, 2012 at 5:40 PM ^
but FUCK LOU HOLTZ!
That is all.
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:16 PM ^
September 23rd, 2012 at 2:30 PM ^
but he was also flinging the rock better than I've ever seen him. When he had time to set his feet he was throwing some nice routes. That drive before Vincent threw the pick was beautiful. And the two longer drives (leading to the fumble and FG) were also pretty great.
I fully expect Denard to absolutely light up the terrible B1G this year
September 23rd, 2012 at 5:34 PM ^
Dude had a bad day. I still love him.
Go Blue!
September 23rd, 2012 at 8:26 PM ^
he has 12-14 opportunities to showcase what he has been doing 351-353 days. It sucks one of his bad days came during one of those 12-14. Happens to all of us! Big Ten season awaits. He'll be ready. His apology video made me think back to the Tebow-Ole Miss promise and that ended well for UF.