John U Bacon- Denard Article
It's hard to believe we have to be told to appreciate this kid. Yeah, he may not make the perfect pass every time however I can't imagine any M fan not just loving this kid. We couldn't ask for a better face to represent our team, the university, and even our state.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120921/OPINION03/209210313/Some-Mi…rilliance-Denard-Robinson?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
September 21st, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^
I actually append your motion. I maintain that we should start calling dreadlocks "denardicles".
September 21st, 2012 at 8:56 AM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 8:56 AM ^
Denard is the best football player in M history, and for me, it's not even very close.
I'm constantly chagrined by M fans inability to appreciate the once in a lifetime talent we've had the pleasure of watching these last 4 years
Best performance by a Michigan player vs Ohio State? Denard 2011 performance is right at the top with Tim Biakabatuka
Best performance by a Michigan player vs Notre Dame? Denard sits atop the list in competition with himself.
If you listed the top ten all time performances by Michigan player, Denard performances would probably take up half the list.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:03 AM ^
I absolutely live Denard and home this kid ends up rich and happy for the rest if his life. He may not always make the best throw or decision but he makes up for it by making good decisions outside of football.
You never hear about how he doesn't take practice serious.. Or how he stayed up partying before a game.. No legal issues.. No fights.. He supports the other team sports on campus.. And always smiles and is friendly and open to anyone who says hello to him.
I'll take a Denard over a Henne any day.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:06 AM ^
I don't know if I'd say he's the best in UM history. He's certainly up there among the greats, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.
If we're talking about most exciting, absolutely #1, but is he better than Woodson, Howard or Harmon? Not so sure....
September 21st, 2012 at 9:15 AM ^
Don't get me wrong, Denard's a great athlete, really a joy to watch play, and is probably one of Michigan's top 10 players ever, but unless you're 14 years old and either don't know how to research Michigan football history or are too lazy to do so, this statement is idiotic:
"Denard is the best football player in M history...."
September 21st, 2012 at 9:18 AM ^
I'm 30 (ack), I am well aware of the internet, and I have an above-average knowledge of Michigan football history.
I don't find that statement idiotic. Debatable, sure. But not idiotic. Any short list drawn up of best players in Michigan football history has to include Denard.
September 21st, 2012 at 10:09 AM ^
Ehh, your'e still a young pup. Perhaps idiotic was too strong a word (but I would say debatable doesn't go far enough). I don't deny that Denard belongs on any short or long list of M football greats. But remember, this is team 133. Even Herm's not old enough to remember most of Michigan's glorious football history, so proclaiming someone who hasn't yet finished his college career the best in M history without qualification is unwise, highly debabtable, and, of course, impossible to prove or disprove.
September 21st, 2012 at 10:43 AM ^
I've watched the greats of "modern" history and Denard is definitely in the running for best ever. I suspect that we we who saw AC, Desmond, and Woodson will be telling our children and grandchildren more about Denard than those others. If that is the measure, then he is indeed the greatest Michigan player (with the caveat, I guess, that we're talking about "modern" history).
September 21st, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^
Not me....Woodson wins that honor in my household hands down......look at what he accomplished at Michigan .... than look at the encore performance in the NFL.
I was also at Michigan during the NC run and his Heisman so I'm probably biased.
September 21st, 2012 at 3:22 PM ^
I was there at the time as well and got to see his catch at MSU and his great game at PSU as well. Woodson and Desmond were always my two favorites but I'm pretty sure Denard has taken over. Its his personality (and that smile) that puts him over the top. NFL careers don't mean as much to me as the time they spend at the University. But everyone has different criteria for sure.
September 21st, 2012 at 1:03 PM ^
he is just a young whipper-snapper prone to whimsy.
I'm a little over 50, and I am quite familiar with the history of Michigan football. Willie Heston, the Wisterts, Bennie Friedman and Bennie Oosterban, Harmon, etc. were all great, but I for one never saw them play, and the game is so different no than what it was then.
All I can say is that since the '70's, teams preparing to play Michigan have had several things to address (massive offensive line, running back, a WR, TE, etc.), but with this team and the 2 previous years, it all starts and ends with Denard. That really can't be said for Anthony Carter, Tom Brady, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson. Yeah, teams had to be mindful of them, but not consumed. And realize, that with most of these player, their success was dependent upon another (Elvis Grbac, Braylan Edward, John Wangle, etc). Who has been the teammate that has contributed most to Denard's success? Any of our average WRs like Hemmingway? Molk?
I'm not sure I agree with Don, but I certainly don't disagree. I guess the problem I have is who would I argue was better than Denard in the past 40 years? To me, there is no one.
By the way, I think that Don is a few years older than I, and is probably more familiar with Michigan football of the '60's and '70's than anyone on this board.
September 21st, 2012 at 8:15 PM ^
Thks for the balance and perspective
September 21st, 2012 at 8:50 PM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 9:27 AM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 9:48 AM ^
I've probably watched this play 15 times or so now and my favorite part every time is "contemptable-look kilt man".
September 21st, 2012 at 10:56 AM ^
I love me some Denard as much as anyone on this board. He is definitely one of the best to wear the winged helmet. But, I don't think that you can call him the best M player ever.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
September 21st, 2012 at 11:06 AM ^
I've seen more than a thousand Michigan players, but only four singular talents: Anthony Carter, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, and Denard Robinson. And that's more than most teams ever get.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^
I don't disagree that he is probably one of the top 4-5 ever (although this type of exercise is always going to be skewed in that it will never include, for example, an insanely dominant OL or DL guy, but that happens in just about every "best ever" discussion).
What I was responding to was the comment that he is the best M player ever to play. Again, I love Denard as much as any one, and I would put him as "one of " the best M players ever, but to me, Woodson was a clear #1. The guy was not only the best CB ever to play college football - he literally shut down half of the field - but he also was one of our better kick returners and a damn good receiver. He excelled at all three phases of the game. And, unlike Denard, he rarely has games in which he looked "mortal" after his first year.
Again, this is not a knock on Denard. Being perhaps the 2nd, 3rd or 4th M player ever is no insult.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^
The guy who might well have won three Heismans if there had been a Heisman then:
.jpg/220px-Willie_Heston_(bentley_image).jpg)
And the guy who won Michigan's first Heisman, doing more on the field than anyone since:
September 21st, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
Well played.
September 21st, 2012 at 1:23 PM ^
from the other 3 is the position he plays and how he plays it. Denard touches the ball every play, and opposing teams have to be consumed in stopping him. Carter and Howard had a better supporting cast and could be (and were) shut down (or not kicked to) by double teams. Additionally, look at the lack of success that the RBs Denard has had in the backfield with him. They are both running behind the same line!
Finally, a passing QB like Tom Brady needs WRs that can get open, even if just marginally. Denard does so much of it on his own. Who has been the biggest playmaker (or asset) that has helped Denard get his yards? Hemmingway? Matthews? Toussaint? Molk?
EDIT: My point here is that someone like Desmond Howard had an NFL QB throwing to him; Denard has not been throwing the ball to any NFL talent . Nor does he have a quality running game (other than his own) to take the heat off himself. /EDIT
The past 2+ years the offense has been fairly prolific. Without Denard, this offense would not be average, it would be at best fair if not poor.
September 21st, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^
True, Chaz was utterly awesome. But, Denard has one advantage over him...he still has the rest of this season to play.
Although I agree that Denard isn't the "best ever" yet, he may well be by January.
September 21st, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 1:24 PM ^
I wonder if when Denard goes for 400 yards passing and 4 TD's and 180 yards rushing and 2 TD's the Buckeyes faithful will give HIM a standing ovation?
September 21st, 2012 at 1:59 PM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 3:11 PM ^
Let's not go crazy here....Charles Woodson might have something to say about the former, and Desmond Howard about the latter. Lets not act like there haven't been a number of great players who have had great plays in big games.
September 21st, 2012 at 8:58 AM ^
What's I find funny is just last night I was thinking to myself "what does Denard have to do to cement his all-time legacy in Michigan history?"
Currently, he doesn't seem to have a place at the top...and he should.
But in your mind...what does he have to do? Does he have to win a national championship?
Right now in my mind, pure talent wise, he's at the top with Woodson and co. But in terms of his "Michigan Legacy"...I'm not quite sure. A B1G Championship is the first thing.
Currently in my mind, Denard sits at a table with Tom Brady...great, but not "legendary." It's a shame, because when you look at what he does and how he does it, he should be sitting with AC, Chuck and Des. With that said, beat MSU...win the B1G Championship, and that just may be enough. Get invited to NYC and that could be what does it for me.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:33 AM ^
Denard needs either a picture or video of him with a rose in his teeth. How many times have you seen Charles Woodson's shot of him with a rose in his teeth after the '97 game? I want that video to exist (preferrably from Columbus) and I want to see it before the Ohio game every year for the next 50 years in the pregame montage
September 21st, 2012 at 9:42 AM ^
I want that video to exist (preferrably from Columbus)Won't happen until Indy, and Denard's not arrogant enough to do that before we've actually secured our trip to Pasadena
September 21st, 2012 at 6:47 PM ^
point
September 21st, 2012 at 9:34 AM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 3:26 PM ^
Win a Big Ten championship. If every player who didn't win a National Championship here wasn't great we wouldn't have many in our lifetimes. People are stuck with the teams they play on, but truly great players elevate teams too. (And the Big Ten sucks). no one holds it against any of those other guys that they didn't win 3 or 4 Big Ten Championships. But you probably have to win one.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:04 AM ^
There seem to be two separate critical components to the fanbase. The first is the neanderthal segment who expect football to be played like it was in the 1930's, and that other teams should be tackling dummies and blocking sleds while Michigan marches up and down the field, encoutering only futile resistance.
The other is the segment who just want to whine about everything. Ann Arbor has always had more than its share of those kind of people, but they exist in every fanbase. Many of the same people who whine about Denard will figure out a way to whine about Shane Morris.
There's a fine line between being an intelligent fan with an analytical mind and being a whiner. Some people cross the line on a regular basis. C'est la vie.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:10 AM ^
September 21st, 2012 at 9:20 AM ^
Love Bacon. Took his class last Winter and absolutely loved it. With regards to Denard, I think he really hits the nail right on the head. Does Denard make some bonehead decisions with the ball sometimes? Yeah. But there's no way in hell we would have won as many games over the last 2 years as we did if we didn't have him. Without Denard, we don't make a bowl for 3 straight years under R-Rod, and we are a fringe bowl team last year. Robinson's negatives are vastly outweighed by his positives. Regardless of whether he wins a Heisman, a Rose Bowl, or becomes an All-American, he will forever go down as one of the greats here.
The Iowa game this year is going to be bittersweet. I'm sure Denard will put on a great performance, but it will be difficult knowing that its his last game at Michigan Stadium. The stadium will erupt when his name is called.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:22 AM ^
I'm just thankful that we have a player who CAN be the entire offense when he needs to be.
September 21st, 2012 at 9:30 AM ^
"When other schools offered him cars, and money to pay for his sister's tuition, he decided instead to go to Michigan, where he was offered a scholarship, a chance to compete for the starting quarterback position, cold weather, and long, expensive flights for him and his parents. He took it."
Man it pisses me off that this stuff still goes on and the NCAA is either too weak or too disinterested to do anything about it. Are they just afraid that having a level playing field in recruiting will hurt the league's bottom line?
September 21st, 2012 at 9:35 AM ^
"Enjoy this young man being on your campus and in your stadium while you can. You might not see another one like him the rest of your life." - the last sentence
He is such a unique athlete and, more to the point, unlike anyone Michigan has ever had at the quarterback position, that this may very well be true. It is interesting, in a way, that the spectacular with Denard has almost become the expected, and people will find things to discuss where there perhaps is not much to really, well, discuss. As others have mentioned, from a holistic standpoint, Denard Robinson may not be the best quarterback or player that Michigan has seen, but he is the most dynamic and exciting player in recent memory and is probably on the short list of the best players to date to don the winged helmet. Denard has represented this school and this team extrordinarily well, and I am proud to have watched him play here.
Good read, and thanks for sharing!
September 21st, 2012 at 10:07 AM ^
I have missed one home game since Denard showed up, and he is one of the reasons that I have only missed that one (Delaware State). As was pointed out, he is a unique talent that doesn't come along very often and I will be there for every home game this year to further etch memories of Denard into my database of great times at Michigan Staduium.
It is not only his skills as a player, but what he brings to the table as a person, that endears him to so many of us.
Come on Denard, work some of your magic tomorrow night.
Go Blue!
September 21st, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^
Denard might not be the best player in the Michigan history, but in some ways he might be the most important in the past four decades (you could make a case for Carter, for entirely different reasons that I won't go into here).
Denard kept Michigan relevant in a positive way during the most tumultuous era in the program's history. He nearly saved one coach's job and then ensured a smooth transition to the next one -- in many ways at the partial expense of his own athletic fortunes.
Denard detractors, whatever their motivations, should acknowledge this: He is one of the few Michigan football players who has given more to the program than he has gotten from it.
That's not an indictment of anyone or intended to be inflammatory. It's also not to ignore what Denard has gotten from the UNIVERSITY in terms of an education or leadership development. It's merely recognition that without his commitment to the program, Michigan football would be facing a far greater hill to climb back to prominence.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
I love RichRod.
+1?
September 21st, 2012 at 11:35 AM ^
Lets not start down that road. This is supposed to be a Denard love-fest posbang thread.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
Always, always, always.
I want to thank statestreet for once again proving the point.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^
I was as anti-RR as you get (as you know from our many debates), and I 100% agree with you on this. Absolutely no need for that shit in 2012. RR is gone. We are coming off of a 11-win season that included a BCS Bowl win. We are playing ND tomorrow. Let's focus on that.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
You hit the nail right on the head. Whether he is the best or not can always be debated, but what Denard has done for our program cannot be matched, especially when compared to what he has had to endure here. Denard is the single reason that Michigan was even mentioned on ESPN and other programs (other than the whole RR coaching hot seat fiasco). He was a positive face of the program and kept us relevant during a time when we would otherwise have been ignored.
September 21st, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^
My own "cool story bro": My 5-year old son has some minor sensory issues, and he hates marching bands. They just scare him. During 2010, when he was 3 - before he develped this phobia - he loved watching the replays of the M games with me and my wife on Sunday mornings over breakfast because he loves watching Denard - the "guy with the hair in the back of his helmet who runs faster than the other players" - play. He insisted on dressing as Denard for Halloween and wore his #16 jersey to school at least once a week, even when the weather got really warm. In 2011, he really developed a strong phobia of hearing the marching band, and just stopped watching Michigan games with us - he liked seeing Denard highlights on sportscenter, but just did not want to watch the games, even on mute.
Before this season started, he heard me and my wife talking about how this is Denard's last year, and he questioned us on why Denard was leaving. After discussing it, he understood that college players play for only a few years and then "graduate" to the NFL. This discussion happened in mid-August. On 9/2, after the Alabama game, he came down for breakfast and asked us if we could put on the Michigan game that he knew we watched the night before. We were shocked, and asked him why he suddenly wanted to watch the game. His answer was: I am still a little scared of the band, but if this is Denard's last year, I don't want to miss it - he is my favorite player. We watched the whole Bama game with the volume turned down fairly low, Air force on medium, and Umass at normal volume. This past week, we re-watched last year's UTL game at full volume because he wanted to see the "denard game" that he missed last year. Today, he proudly wore his Denard jersey to school, and plans to tell his teacher - a huge ND fan - that Denard is going to beat ND tomorrow.
My son's obsession with Denard has basically gotten him to overcome a pretty strong phobia and has allowed him to once again enjoy M football. Sorry for the long post, just thought it fit here.
September 21st, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^
Not a cool story, bro. This is a great story, bro. Thanks for sharing. I have a 4-year-old that loves Denard too. He's not a big sports guy and doesn't really know anything about football yet, but he always looks when I mention that Denard's on TV. Denard is my "in" that I'm going to use to craft his love for Michigan. And I love Denard for it.
Its amazing to see the extent of how one person who plays a game can touch so many lives in so many ways. I wonder if these guys think about things like that. If any of them do, Denard seems like he would be one of them.