Football speed - Is Braxton faster than Denard?
If I was better at computers, or for that matter, if I did not still refer to things like this as "computers," I would post some side by side images of their runs or do something else awesome like that. Since the best that I got is "computers" and nothing more, I am just going to ask the question without some failed link or anything else. Has anybody else noticed that Braxton Miller appears to run like a 3.6 forty? It may be that he is just better at putting himself in the position to show straight line speed or that his offense does so for him, but he seems to accelerate faster than Denard and when he tops out I am not sure there is anybody faster in the country. I knew he was quick but I am watching the second half replay of Nebraska v. Ohio and I be like dang. Denard may be a more consistent and reliable runner, but he may be the second fastest quarterback in the conference.
October 7th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
Not faster but he's a hellof al lot bigger and harder to tackle when he's hit.
FWIW both are somewhat less than wonderful when asked to use their arms instead of their legs but I'd have to say that Braxton is more less wonderful than Denard when it comes to passing.
October 7th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 1:40 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 1:05 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 1:07 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^
The only reason Braxton may look faster is that he is in an offense that takes full advantage of his skills now. With that said, Denard looked pretty awesome yesterday now that Borges has compensated. Denard is also faster upstairs than Braxton.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^
know about that last part. Denard seems to be improving in terms of deciding when to run and his decision making, but Miller looks ahead of his time in terms of decision making.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^
No, but Braxton doesn't need to be. Braxton is a lot more elusive, has better vision, and is a stronger runner than Denard.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:26 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^
I obviously haven't watched Denard as much as I have Braxton. However, from what I've seen in terms of elusiveness, it seems like Denard runs in a straight line and doesn't really try to juke defenders. Braxton will shift directions and has much better moves. It might be that Denard is fast enough that he can pull that off, but I think that, in traffic, Braxton is better at making guys miss.
October 7th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
I've watched a lot of Denard and a good amount of Braxton. No Denard does not make large juke moves like Braxton, but that's not his style. He has the subtle elusivenss where he uses his speed combined with little moves to slip by people. There's a reason why Denard so often gets positive yards even out of crappy situations. Braxton looks flashy, but he also stops/slows significantly a lot to make his moves, but his size helps him from getting brought down when he stops. Obviously both seem to work pretty well.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:36 PM ^
Hmmm, Robinson, Randle El, I don't see a Miller listed. Check back when he has a body of work.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^
I think Braxton is a better quarterback, but in terms of pure speed, I think Denard would wreck him in a 40 meter dash.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^
There is no way Braxton is faster than Denard.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 3:15 PM ^
taking half the defense for 5 yards during the Sugar Bowl, no?
October 7th, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^
Denard hits the hole with more speed and decisiveness than i've seen in awhile. He is an absolute rocket. He doesn't have the same start/stop ability as others in the game, but as far as both acceleration and speed... few match him. Braxton would not be amongst those few. Denard can fly and we won't see many like him.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:33 PM ^
stop/start is what I am identifying. It seems pretty clear, it I trust my fellow Mgoers, that Denard is faster than Braxton, but there is something to me that seems more threatening about Braxton's running style than Denard. With Denard, there always seems to be "that guy" or two that is in position to put Denard out of bounds before he really gets his stride, he seems to be one burst and if that is not enough to get him to the house there is nothing left in terms of a second gear (not that the first gear is not effective enough). Just saying, Braxton is much more dangerous with his legs than I would have guessed this time last year.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:28 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 2:35 PM ^
Also, I did t know that rr made Denard faster.
October 7th, 2012 at 9:00 PM ^
After last years under the lights ND game (I'd say at least a 20 rub game for me) I had to see a specialist for the extreme chafing. 30 would have hospitalized me for sure!
October 7th, 2012 at 1:39 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 2:00 PM ^
This was actually covered in a post a few months ago comparing the mobile QBs of the Big Ten.
Braxton Miller has elite change-of-direction ability. He does not have elite speed. He has crazy shake-and-bake moves that make people look stupid.
Denard doesn't use tricky moves. He merely changes direction faster that most players can. Denard is unquestionably faster; Miller can just fake people out.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:14 PM ^
Not faster. But looks more dangerous in his current situation than Denard in his. However, against a real defense (MSU) they only put up 17 points, so let's not crown the kid yet.
I would say overall its a wash as a runner, but Miller looks more comfortable making decisions in the pocket and has a more accurate arm.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^
I think Miller is every bit as dangerous as Denard because he has crazy moves in traffic for such a big guy. He may not be quite as much of a threat to bust one for the distance as Denard because of pure speed, but his ability to make people miss is really outstanding.
Vince Young was a freak because no 6-6 guy in college has ever had his speed or his elusiveness while being deceptively efficient at throwing the ball.
I don't think any QB in college has Denard's pure speed, but I've always thought that Pat White was a bit better pure runner than Denard, at least in terms of broken-field juking. However, that might be an artifact of White playing four years in an offense that was built exclusively to his skills, something Denard has not had the last two years.
I wouldn't trade Denard for any of them regardless.
October 7th, 2012 at 4:51 PM ^
Pat White was ridiculously good at running the zone-read; something Denard has never been great at. But then again if RR was still here, maybe the extra time getting coached on the intricacies of zone reads would have brought him to that level. But I still think Denard was a better pure runner. I don't remember White getting as many stright called runs for him as Denard did.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:26 PM ^
I don't think Miller is faster than Denard north and south, however I do think he is just as good at changing directions on a dime at high speeds as Denard is, which is what makes them both so hard to defend in the open field and/or one-on-one. The big advantage Miller has over Denard is that he is 6'3" 220 and Robinson is 6'0" 197 (although he looks more like 5'10" 185 to me). So Miller is the size of a linebacker and makes it harder to bring him down with one guy.
Now, the burning question, who is a better thrower...idk I've gone back and forth on this one. I've seen Robinson look much better in some situations and Miller in others. I think Miller makes better decisions and forces the ball less. I think Miller also throws a better deep ball. I think Robinson throws a better intermediate ball like the crosses, slants, outs, etc. I think they both struggle sometimes on the short drop offs, which makes no sense to me...that should be the easiest ball.
But, they are both incredible athletes, D-Rob is faster, Miller is bigger, they both have an insane ability to change directions at high speeds, they both struggle throwing at times. I just hope defending D-Rob in practice makes us better when we play OSU, but I am very concernred with our ability to contain Miller based on what I've seen from our contain thus far. Hopefully our best defender (Ryan) will be able to basically spy him all game.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 2:44 PM ^
"Has anybody else noticed that Braxton Miller appears to run like a 3.6 forty? " - from the OP
Braxton Miller's listed 40-time is 4.47. I believe the fastest published time for Denard Robinson was 4.32, although his old recruiting pages at Scout and Rivals list a 4.44 time. If I am not mistaken, Bradley Roby and Devin Smith actually have better 40 times than Miller, so he's not even the fastest person on the team by that metric.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:44 PM ^
Denard is 1-0 against Braxton
October 7th, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^
I think both guys accelerate just as fast as each other, but Denard definitely wins in the top speed category. De'Anthony Thomas is probably the only player currently that could challenge Denard for "fastest player in college football."
Braxton's running game is more heavily dependent on his elusiveness, which he has in bunches. It literally looks like a video game when he makes defenders miss. Also on Braxton's 73-yard run last night where defenders caught up to him, I think it was more because he twisted his ankle a bit on a cut. Miller pulled off the run a little gimpy and had to sit for the rest of the drive.
October 7th, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 3:10 PM ^
Denard has the quickest first step of any college football player I can recall seeing. No firm idea about top speed, but I'd be surprised if Braxton is faster.
October 7th, 2012 at 3:43 PM ^
He has an insance first step, but I remember a man named Vick that was beat him in the eye test.
October 7th, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^
Some still don't see a difference; probably what the OP is mixing up.
I think Braxton is quicker; that's the "east vs west" and "elusiveness" that many reference.
Denard doesn't possess elite level "quicks" like a Tavon Austin or Stephon Diggs. Those are the guys who will make you miss in a phone booth. His is still above average relative other football players.
He does have elite level straight line speed, though; he's one cut and GONE (ND 2010).
Gallon is another example of someone who is pretty quick but not exceptionally fast.
October 7th, 2012 at 3:52 PM ^
Did you ever see the Sport Science with Denard on it? He deccelerates to zero in less than 0.2 seconds and cuts at angles only matched by Arian Foster in their testing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5LvLPoNWYU
October 7th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 3:19 PM ^
Denard is without a doubt faster than Braxton. HOWEVA, Braxton is definatley the more powerfull runner and MAYBE has a little better vision.
October 7th, 2012 at 3:21 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 3:29 PM ^
I heard someone say once, "When you have Denard, you can have everything."
October 7th, 2012 at 3:34 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 3:47 PM ^
Denard is most likely faster than Braxton when focusing on track speed. But football speed plus vision with the ability to juke and take angles and fend off defenders? There is no doubt that Braxton is FAR superior than Denard,imho. Braxton's vision to avoid and juke defenders is simply outstanding. Michigan is going to have to seriously work on their tackling ability for the OSU game because if Michigan falters, Braxton is going to make fools out of the Wolverines.
Let's look at yesterdays game stats.
Denard: 24 rushes for 235 yards. 9.8 y/c 59 yards longest run/ 8-16 105yds passing
Braxton:16 rushes for 186 yards. 11.6 y/c 72 yards longest run/ 7-14 127yds passing
You can decide but putting teams aside, I'd take Braxton over Denard in a heartbeat.
October 7th, 2012 at 5:56 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 7:44 PM ^
October 7th, 2012 at 8:55 PM ^
How can you make that comparison without accounting for the difference in the quality of the opposing defenses?
October 7th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^
Does anyone think Miller will break Denard's rushing record? He may, but he will be a full time 4-year starter and Denard was only a 3-year starter if my memory serves me correctly Tate started most of 2009.