General Observations from sUTL thread
DTs rotated a lot. DL looks to be a real strength. Finally.
Peppers with a lot of PT. At NB and CB. Was lost a couple times but has amazing recovery skills.
OL got better later on. Still not good.
Mone schooled some twos. Including Bosch
Mo Ways might not get a redshirt
Funchess fade looks like it is finally in the playbook
Poggi lots if PT and good hustle.
I'll post more when I get home.
August 17th, 2014 at 1:02 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 2:36 AM ^
M believer ends long post with doubt
August 17th, 2014 at 2:17 AM ^
If the OL is getting beat, would a Barwis bootcamp help them improve their speed along with technique, rather than raw strength and bulk? With all due respect to the current S&C coach, I was alway impressed with OL during 2009 despite RR.
I don't know what to say about the tenure of Funk, but perhaps it is too early to say for this season.
August 17th, 2014 at 9:56 AM ^
That link is for pics from practice outside of glick -- probably wednesday. Don't see any yet from Scrim UTL I. I really want to see some since I was on the field and almost got run over by Freddie.
August 17th, 2014 at 10:33 AM ^
As pointed out above, these pics are from an earlier practice, and the scrimmage we're all talking about here was yesterday, Saturday...
Also, you've been here three years and that was your first comment?
August 17th, 2014 at 6:44 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 7:32 AM ^
In general. Darboh was getting a lot of looks. He had some drops, but also a few nice catches. I was hoping to see more Canteen plays. He did make an excellent catch on a long pass though. Looks a lot like Super Mario. Mo Ways is VERY talented, that was obvious. But with the depth in front of him, I don't see him making a big splash this year. Looks like DeMario Jones didn't get any fallout from being with C'sonte York, at least yet. He made a few nice catches.
August 17th, 2014 at 7:35 AM ^
Thanks to all who attended! It is great to hear so much about the team. Since I didn't attend and there was no stream, this was extremely helpful. A few crumbs as we wait for the season to begin. Just a few observations about the thread:
- Man, there are some whiney, crabby posters. Some patience, man.
- sUTL is an interesting acronym. Doesn't roll off the tongue quite right.
- Are we ready for some football?
- This defense is going to be scary. If they can actually score some points, they could single-handedly win some games. I think they will have a massive chip on their shoulder against several teams, including MSU & OSU.
- Back to the patience theme. I still remember something Brian wrote 3 or 4 years ago. Because the OL recruiting had cratered out under RR and Hoke had very little time to recruit in Jan. 2011, Brian was of the opinion that we really wouldn't have a solid OL until 2015. (If one of you mods or someone with advanced search capabilities can find this, I'd be much obliged.) I completely agree with this sentiment. The OL is coming along. They will probably only be mediocre this year. But that's an improvement over 2013. By 2015, the OL should be good, and by 2016, the depth and experience and repetitions by the OL will be such that they return to being a strength. This just takes lots of time, and it isn't something that you can force to happen quickly.
August 17th, 2014 at 8:20 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:43 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 10:22 AM ^
I couldn't sleep after that game. The horribleness haunted me.
August 17th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
under RichRod that got me. The idea that two coaches in a row might have failed was too much to bear.
On an only marginally related note: I can live with the OL being a continuing work in progress this year. But we shouldn't have to live with flailing and ineptitude.
August 17th, 2014 at 8:04 AM ^
I know many are on the fire Funk bandwagon. He is part of the problem, but the bigger issue is Hoke. The tone of what a team is, starts with the leader. I think you can change all you want on the coordinator side, but the results would probably stay about the same. We have talented recruits, but seem to be soft at the line of scrimmage.
August 17th, 2014 at 8:19 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:33 AM ^
Yeah, I expect Michigan to come out and win every single . . . Practice scrimmage?! Wait until the season at least starts before calling for hoke's head.
Also, you do realize that Hoke is responsible for the whole team, not just the OL. So that awesome d-line, the stud secondary, the stacked linebacker group, the insane punting and that nice receiving that we saw - Hoke gets some credit for that so why focus on the one group that is still a work in progress?
August 17th, 2014 at 9:52 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 8:31 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 8:28 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:37 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:39 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:18 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:50 AM ^
The tickets got those with them in at 6:30 instead of 7:00 when they opened the gates to all.
August 17th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^
We will field a top 15 defense and the offense will struggle early in the season, but I firmly believe the O-line will be better than last year. App. St. is sort of down and it could be an excellent chance to get some confidence in the O-line. I will get negged for this, but Mone could be moved to guard. He is ENORMOUS!!!!!
August 17th, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^
August 17th, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^
Despite the O-Line concerns and criticism, the open practice was lots of fun. Next year, I hope there's another night scrimmage with more notice given to fans.