Wolverine Devotee

August 5th, 2013 at 9:02 PM ^

Fitz probably has developed a chip on his shoulder.

Fans and the media assuming Green is going to waltz right in and be the starter. 

Undefined

August 5th, 2013 at 11:13 PM ^

I honestly have a good deal of faith in Fitz. I don't think that last year adaquetly showed off his talent as a back. The interior line was an absolute disaster. I think we see a performance from Fitz similar to two years ago, he is a good back. I know our interior line is all brand new, but it really couldn't be much worse.

Ali G Bomaye

August 6th, 2013 at 10:31 AM ^

Remember, Borges's best year as an OC came when he had Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown splitting carries pretty much equally at Auburn.  It's probably just coincidence, but Fitz is similar in style to Williams and Green is more similar in style to Brown.  If both prove themselves worthy of carries it could be an awesome backfield.

I would take these numbers any day, particularly the one at the top of the page.

PurpleStuff

August 6th, 2013 at 1:17 AM ^

Here are the rushing numbers from the games Fitz played in last year:

Air Force: 214 yards gained, 6.9 ypc

UMass: 294 yards gained, 6.8 ypc

Notre Dame: 161 yards gained, 3.9 ypc

Purdue: 304 yards gained, 5.6 ypc

Illinois: 353 yards gained, 6.9 ypc

MSU: 163 yards gained, 5.4 ypc

Nebraska (with no QB for more than half the game): 95 yards, 2.6 ypc

Minnesota: 155 yards, 3.8 ypc

Northwestern: 133 yards, 4.2 ypc

Bitching about the way the o-line played last year is one of the dumbest and oddly most long lasting memes to ever exist on this website.

Undefined

August 6th, 2013 at 2:30 AM ^

Sorry, but I don't agree.

 

You can see the huge difference after Denard gets hurt. The majority of the prior yardage was him. Once he swapped to RB the number becomes much less. When Denard ran. the numerical difference of the defense dissapeared. That's why the numbers prior to Nebraska looked good, but this was not a good line.

jsquigg

August 6th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^

This is false unless the play is a read option in which the QB makes the right decision.  Denard didn't run option much or have much success with it.  When he was running it was usually a straight run which doesn't give the offense a numbers advantage.  I think what hurt the non-Denard run game was running from the I and not zone blocking more.  As Brian documented last year it was a mixture of bad line play and indecisiveness on Fitz's part.

snoopblue

August 5th, 2013 at 10:19 PM ^

He really looks like he's grown up since he's came to Ann Arbor. I think he'll have a great year, he just looks like he has this new found fire in his eyes. The best part is that he recognizes that he's the leader of a position with a lot of depth/talent and he's not just going to be a jerk to everyone else.

maizenblue1971

August 6th, 2013 at 1:03 AM ^

All about the o-line.  If they block well, Fitz and Green will be a great 1-2 punch. 

Fitz will get the start each game, but the hot hand will get the majority of the work.  If Green gets up to speed with all he has to do, and plays better, he will earn the majority of the plays.

But seniors, and especially those who fight back from an injury, get to have their PT too.  If Fitz plays even ok, he will get some carries.

Prince Lover

August 6th, 2013 at 5:25 AM ^

I hope Fitz does come back strong with a great freshman campaign from Green. Its been a while since we've had multiple studs in the backfield.
Thunder and Lightning, baby!!

LSAClassOf2000

August 6th, 2013 at 6:27 AM ^

"There's more motivation (for me) to push (Green) to his full potential, because I know he's young," he said. "(But) I worked really hard throughout the offseason. I watched a lot of film. I lifted a lot of weights. I'm ready to go."

I will be excited to see Toussaint back out there again, and it is great to hear his confidence in this article as well. There were several articles throughout the spring and summer that talked about how well the rehab was going, but now that camp is here and we can see the results, it is great to hear "so far, so good" even if we're not terribly deep into fall practice.

Like someone else said, to read the words "the cupboard is full" was nice - looking at the names involved in the competition at RB, I would imagine that the staff likes their options immensely. 

latson3146

August 6th, 2013 at 6:51 AM ^

I think the best thing for the team would be for fitz to return to his former self with green still getting action to relieve fitz. If both those backs are on WATCH OUT!! Can't wait to start seeing some practice film

Jmilan

August 6th, 2013 at 9:33 AM ^

Hear this every single offseason. Show up for the real season and then ill get excited. I know he got hurt last season but he struggled in games and blaming the o line is not a complete excuse. With that said I hope he can remain the starter, but at the same time there is done serious competition behind him. So if he is having a bad year my faith in the teams running game will not fade away

timot

August 6th, 2013 at 10:12 AM ^

Fitz with Devin as QB in 2012:

34 carries 193 yards 5.7 YPC.

The lack of a passing threat from Denard, rather than O line play, may have been the primary reason for  Fitz' inability to run effectively early on last year.  Also many running backs play better when they are the primary running option.