Denard - Vick comparisons may be inaccurate
However, there IS somebody I am reminded of when I think of Denard playing in a Pseudo Pro-Set West Coast...
Except FASTER, and with a stronger overall arm.
I know that sounds heretical, but just remember the FITS he gave us for years. Denard could be our Troy Smith in a west coast, but so much better. Tell me that would be bad.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^
Faster for sure but I would hold off on the stronger arm for now
January 21st, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^
Not saying he's definitely stronger than Troy Smith, but Denard has an absolute cannon. Just not the most accurate cannon...
January 21st, 2011 at 6:25 PM ^
He has a cannon. Plus look how much his accuracy improved btw his Frosh and Soph years. He is going to get even better QB coaching with this staff. I don't think the Vick comparisons are ridiculous. Vick didn't become a good passer until the Eagles staff coached him up.
January 21st, 2011 at 9:20 PM ^
January 21st, 2011 at 9:42 PM ^
It'll be like the year 1-year 2 leap, but even better because he's an upperclassman now.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^
That name still brings rage to my heart. I do get some consolation when i see him failing spectacularly with the 49ers
January 21st, 2011 at 6:09 PM ^
Haha what happened there? I can't tell if #19 is being a dick, or Smith is just being a baby.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:43 PM ^
Smith came off of the field after an interception, and got into a fight with Singletary. #19 is trying to knock him out of it. To be honest Troy Smith was very good for the 49er's. The only reason they were so horrible was the coaching & awful decisions *coughplayingalexdamnsmithcough*
January 21st, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^
of course he's a dick. i believe it's ted f-in ginn.
January 22nd, 2011 at 12:38 AM ^
It is Ted Ginn.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^
Smith and Singletary weren't seeing eye to eye in the game. Smith comes off the field pissed off and when Singletary gets on his ass, he goes back at him. Then Ginn comes up and tries to cover Smiths face in a towel to get him to cool off.
Pretty damn funny.
January 21st, 2011 at 9:45 PM ^
I'm hoping Jimmy H and that whole franchise go down in a great fiery ball next year. 0-16.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^
FING CRABLE
January 21st, 2011 at 6:14 PM ^
Please don't remind me. Now must drink.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:47 PM ^
I've tried this. No amount can help sadly.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^
Effing referee. He was in bounds.
January 21st, 2011 at 8:02 PM ^
Crable hit him with his helmet. Completely unnecessary. If he had just shoved him out of bounds with his hands, Michigan goes on to lose the NC game.
January 21st, 2011 at 8:20 PM ^
Other than the fact that us winning that game was still far from a given, I stand by the idea that if we had won and faced Florida and OSU played USC then we both would have won. I just think that we matched up better with Florida and OSU with USC. Oh well.
January 21st, 2011 at 8:29 PM ^
We did beat that florida team in the future!
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:35 AM ^
it's hard for Crable to get lower when Troy Smith braced for a hit to deliever a big hit. He would literally needs to crotch down to do it.
January 23rd, 2011 at 1:15 AM ^
If he had just shoved him out of bounds with his hands, Michigan goes on to lose the NC game.
Keep in mind that we still would have needed to score a TD and stop them defensively. There was plenty of time left in the game.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^
Look man - I'd love it if Denard was our version of Troy Smith. But look at what Smith did his Jr and Sr years (after spending all of his time in the same offense):
JR: 2,282 yards passing, 16 TDs, 4 INTs. 611 yards rushing (4.5 YPC) 11 TDs.
SR: 2,542 yards passing, 30 TDs (!!!), 6 INTs. 204 yards rushing (2.8 YPC) 1 TD.
So clearly Smith/OSU went to the air his senior year to prove he could be a [back-up] NFL QB.
Now, I've been on board with Denard ever since the CMU game his freshman year. However, to look at Troy Smith's stats and expect him to put up those numbers passing is ridiculous. I believe the yardage number is in play, but the TD/INT ratio is not (4x-5x), and 30 TDs from Denard passing in one season? No chance.
That being said, there's also no chance he has as bad of a YPC as Smith did in his JR-SR seasons.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^
much of a difference, but it was WMU, not CMU.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:57 PM ^
BOOOM. That just HAPPENED.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:15 PM ^
Soph: 2,570 yards passing, 18TDs, 11 INTs. 1702 yards rushing (6.6 YPC) 14 TD.
Michigan had 35 total rushing TD's this year and that team in Ohio in '06 had 25 so they didn't pad Robinson's passing stats near the goal line.
So the big differences are Robinson had 5 more INT's and 1498 more rushing yds. which was needed since the team didn't have any RB's that played as well as Pittman did for them that year.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:29 PM ^
Yes, furthering my point below that he is just a special kid and there hasn't been anyone like him before.
In fact I'd argue that T. Smith / D. Robinson comparisons begin and end with "it's easy to compare the two because they are both QBs and black".
January 21st, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^
2 of those interceptions are especially painful in my mind... MSU back of the endzone. Hopefully the west coast improves our short passing skill and opens up more running oppourtunities in the endzone so I don't have to mentally rewatch those picks.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:52 PM ^
Blaze, i typically subscribe to your ideas... but, you're right, this is heretical. Denard... is our Denard.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:52 PM ^
I think we should just think of Denard as Denard as he continues to improve and lead Michigan.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:54 PM ^
couldnt have said it better myself
January 21st, 2011 at 11:44 PM ^
Now that seems like an unfair comparison. How can you expect him to live up to that?
January 21st, 2011 at 5:53 PM ^
Forgot to mention this in my other post but the morale of the story is "Denard - ANYONE comparisons ARE innacurate". He's an original.
January 21st, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^
I hate Ohio State as much as the next Wolverine, but I respect what Troy Smith did. I think that guy's a winner.
That said, f*** tsio.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:03 PM ^
/Guinness reference
January 21st, 2011 at 6:08 PM ^
while at the Bowl game one thing I noticed that I never was able to watching on TV, was that Denard had recievers running down the middle of the field wide open (because MSU was blitzing there lb's on almost every play), but he was never able to see them.....I'm sure there are reason's for this that people a lot smarter than me could point out, like: scheme, youth, height, ect.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:02 PM ^
...Drew Henson??? RACIAL BARRIER SMASHED.
January 23rd, 2011 at 1:17 AM ^
Except that he's five inches shorter and much, much faster.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:02 PM ^
Troy Smith was amazingly accurate. I remember watching the 2006 1 vs. 2 game holding my breath every time he released the ball because I knew he wasn't going to miss his receivers. At this point, Denard doesn't have that type of accuracy - and to be fair, that's arguably the most important trait of a west coast quarterback.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:08 PM ^
but Smith got to redshirt and was in the same system and school for 3 years before starting full time in the '05 and '06 seasons. He dealt with a position switch, but I'm not sure that switch (in the same offense) means much more than the potentially radical shift Denard may see between Rodriguez and Borges...
Might not be any worse than the other comparsions to Pryor or Vick or whoever.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:15 PM ^
smith was recruited as an ATH and was considered a RB his first season or 2, but i dunno how much that would affect his QB skill set
January 21st, 2011 at 6:45 PM ^
Denard hasn't done time in the slammer for dogfighting...
January 21st, 2011 at 10:25 PM ^
January 21st, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^
Vince Young-Devin Gardner comparisons.
January 21st, 2011 at 6:58 PM ^
...and even many categorized as "dual-threats," Denard LOVES to run. You can just tell. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
January 21st, 2011 at 7:31 PM ^
Denard's first instinct is to throw instead of run. That's why he threw some bad interceptions when he could have easily scampered for a 1st down. This is a good thing.
Watch some Vick film late in the year with the Eagles. He's back to being a runner that throws occasionally. one read and he's pulling it down to run. It's the reason his productivity fell off at the end of the year.
I like the comparisons to the kid from that other school.
January 21st, 2011 at 7:23 PM ^
The "this running QB is just like this other running QB" meme is almost as annoying as the "Running QB can't throw because he is able to run" meme.
Denard is Denard.
January 21st, 2011 at 8:04 PM ^
do you think they are inaccurate.Shoelace might be faster and his arm strength is not far behind.He has 2 more years to get better. GO BLUE!!!
January 21st, 2011 at 8:17 PM ^
he will be even more dangerous, and harder to defend against.
He has a very strong arm, but has a few issues with QB mechanics in his throwing. Denard is a learner and is anxious to take the next step and will soak the teaching up like a sponge - knowing he will only get better as a quarterback. He will work hard in the offseason and will be unlike any other quarterback we have ever seen wearing the winged helmet.
If he tweaks just a few things in his throwing motion, he will become a deadly accurate passer. He is very accurate at short throws, but he will soon be accurate anywhere on the field, instead of just lofting one up for grabs.
He has proven he will stay in the pocket to make a throw - and take a shot standing in there. If the pocket collapses from the outside, he will immediately have space to take off in front of him. His running will only get better in this new offense because he will have defenders collapsing in BEHIND him, instead of ALL11 waiting for him at the line of scrimmage with the spread. If you thought he was fun to watch this year, you will be blown away at what you will see him do in the next two.
He will begin to see the whole field for the first time - and be able to check off on his reads faster. His timing will quicken up and he will know when guys are going to break free on the long ball. I don't believe he will continue to have problems overthrowing those guys by ten yards once the mechanics and vision have been taught properly. I am also confident he will learn to run for the first down when the third down passing lanes are taken, instead of forcing a throw (pick) that isn't there.
The strides this young man made from his first season to last season were remarkable. What we are about to see this year is going to blow your mind.
Have no fear that the old Lloyd offense will be finding it's way back on the field. Lloyd never had Denard Robinson as his quarterback.
January 21st, 2011 at 10:29 PM ^
6 to 12 right there. Hokefully this is exactly what happens.