Lay Off Stevie Brown
Is there any way we could tone down the negative rhetoric around Stevie Brown? Was he really that bad? I remember him making some pretty solid open field tackles. Sure there were a few plays where he was out of position, but the same could be said for every player on that defense.
I know Brian has pointed out Brown's weaknesses and that's fine. But for everyone here to keep bringing it up in every comment is starting to get tired.
There is plenty of blame to go around for last year's poor defense/team. Stevie Brown is one small piece of that discussion. Can we please lay off the kid?
I, for one, am optimistic that he'll be vastly improved this year. Remember all the negative chatter about Mundy a few years ago. The kid was Barwisized and became a 6th round NFL pick. Let's hope the same happens for Stevie this coming year.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:04 PM ^
Most of the time YES. I get tired of seeing replays of other teams TD catches and there's good ol' #3 diving at someones feet, beat yet again on coverage.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^
Can you show me video links to said replays? I'd be interested to see how often he was the main culprit. My memory is that opposing quarterbacks had a lot of time to throw.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:06 PM ^
Brown has very good physical skills, but he just plays stupid...takes unnecessary chances as a safety, most of which fail...most often takes dumb angles and is slow to react on plays... that having been said, occaisionally he does make a big play, which shows potential. IMO, he needs to settle in and be more of a team-player and play his position, rather than being a bit selfish and try to be a 'playmaker' all the time... experience has shown that he gets burned over and over and over when he trys to hard. Can he be coached up? After all the definition of the word 'safety' is not to play like Steve Brown usually does, aka out of control.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:10 PM ^
I just dont no...Believe me, i was a brown supporter, or at least a defender, throughout the early part of the yr. I think we all have seen that he does have some potential. but im just not sure how many times we can forgive his costly mistakes. He had the ol'reliable lack of in-game experience excuse coming into the 2008 season, but 12 games later and hes still making the same mistakes. And keep in mind this is not a true freshman. Hes had two yrs to learn his position on the practice field, and not a full season to work things out.
I do suspect that he will be given his shot next yr; hell more than likely begin the season as a starter. But sooner or later hes gonna hafta prove he can be consistent, or he wont be getting any defense from me anymore.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^
I honestly think he would do better at CB.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:33 PM ^
I guess that's unlikely given Warren and Cissoko, but that's an interesting thought. He'd certainly be physical and has some size.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:23 PM ^
the Defense if you take out Stevie Brown and Insert Marcus Ray.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 PM ^
...I was actually thinking about him when I wrote this post. Ray was a solid player but a lot of people forget his senior year, after Woodson left. He wasn't even close to his performance in '97. But that would make sense given the loss of Woodson and the dominating D-Line of '97. Of course he was left out to dry on a lot of plays and didn't look as good as he actually was.
I guess my point is, that every player matters. Ray was much better with a solid pass rush and better DB help.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:58 PM ^
A defense with a good line, horrendous LB's, two mediocre CB's and only one bad safety?
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:29 PM ^
When I read "Lay off Stevie Brown" I assumed you were going to suggest we bring him into the office, explain that he's not needed any more, and have security escort him out. Needless to say, I was disappointed that was not your suggestion.
January 25th, 2009 at 3:11 PM ^
I thought the same thing! I figured this was like one of Magnus' "Pink Slips" posts.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:37 PM ^
...get the interception off Pryor at the beginning of the Ohio State game? As he was running down the sidelines, I first had to make sure my TV was operating correctly as it was Stevie Brown, but then, sure enough, he tried to outrun Pryor to the end zone instead of cutting back across the field into open space and a touchdown.
I'm not claiming a victory, but Michigan then lost 10 yards and chunked the field goal if I recall correctly. Maybe the game stays a bit closer for a bit longer before the eventual Ohio State pullaway in the third quarter.
And yes, I blame Stevie Brown for that.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:09 PM ^
I thought the same thing when I saw him try to out run Pryor. That play defines his whole career. Instead of taking the smart route (cut back to the inside) he trys to make the big play and out run Pryor. He has done that his whole career. Against MSU when that white WR caught that slant pass he went for the big hit and missed instead of going for the sure tackle. He needs to realize he is our last line of defense and can't be gambling back there!
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 AM ^
Yeah, what an asshole. He thought he could beat the QB down the sideline. Nobody in the history of the world has ever thought that a QB might be a shitty tackler.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:35 AM ^
Was he trying to make the big hit at White's shins?
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:31 PM ^
Even if he cut back, he probably would have been tackled cause the hole wasn't that big.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:46 PM ^
Dude, Pryor was the last man to beat. The "hole" you speak of was the last 10 yards of open field. I don't know if he could have scored, but mos def could have picked up a few more, and gotten in Pryors head a bit more.
Having said that, I do agree that bashing S. Brown constantly does not help.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:42 PM ^
I can't think of any player in the last 20 years at Michigan who has been the recipient of so much criticism.
I think there's some valid reasons for that, though. First of all, he plays a position where one's successes and failures are more obvious. On first glance, do you really know how well an interior lineman, or a linebacker, was doing his job?
Safety is very visible. If a receiver gets behind you for a long bomb, there's 20 seconds of footage that follows where the other team is running toward the end-zone, and our eyes are fixed on the No. 3 jersey behind him.
When he misses a tackle, and that frees the runner, it's visceral: there's Brown on the ground, and there's the runner going by him.
Also, there were a couple moments in particular that the Collective M Universe (including Brian in UFR) blamed a Trent screw-up on Brown. Or other times, Brown would be coming up to fill a hole that was carelessly left open by the QB-Missile Brothers (Marrell Evans and Jonas Mouton) one of Obi-Wan Ezeh's ill-advised voyages in space, and that would open a lane and expose Stevie as way out of position.
That's the life of a safety, or at least a bad one (if you're a good one, you get a lot of highlights of bone-jarring tackles and interceptions). Defenses are different, but in general, strong safety or mack Linebacker is going to be your most important positions on a defense. Our middle linebacker was a sophomore 3-star who played like a sophomore 3-star. The junior 4-star safety with 3 years of playing experience, then, was going to be the crux of our defense.
So the position he plays is one factor in the downing of Brown.
Another major factor, I think, was expectations. Of all the weak points the 2008 team had, he wasn't supposed to be one of them. You can't get that down on a freshman QB who doesn't fit the system, or worse, a noodly-armed freshman former walk-on QB. Or a young, patchwork O-line. Or young linebackers. Or undersized 3-stars. Brown was one of the few guys who were supposed to be on par with Michigan standards. He was a returning starter, an upperclassman, a high-end recruit, a young man more physically gifted than, perhaps, any at his position we faced last year until Ohio. Other guys on Brown's level -- Mathews, Schilling, Minor, C. Brown, the defensive line -- generally held up to expectations.
Morgan Trent and Donovan Warren fell mildly below expectations too (Trent especially), but both were coming off of excellent years, and neither was horrible. The difference with Brown was that he was playing like one of the myriad freshmen on this squad, but didn't have the excuse of being a freshman.
The last, and I think most important factor in Michigan fans' getting on Brown is that there's nobody better than him. It would be one thing if there was a young Jamar Adams or something fans could call for (personally I think telling a coach who to sub should be reserved for basketball). As Brian noted, if there was someone on the roster who was better at playing safety than Brown, RR would put him in. That isn't the case. Thus, while other players who can't play ball are rotated out (McAvoy comes to mind), Brown is constantly put back in, knowing full well that he is incapable of turning in good play.
I think Shafer did try to change the defense to put less pressure on Brown, but that was ultimately a death knell for the season (I'm talking about the Purdue game), and then Shafer's tenure at Michigan.
I don't think all the criticism leveled at Brown is right. But I do think that for the reasons above, it is justifiable. What's the difference? In this case, yes, the guy sucks at playing football, or at least has thus far in his career. But he also CHOSE to play at Michigan. He isn't a locker room cancer or an off-field problem-maker. He represents himself and the University well. He isn't being paid to be here. And who knows, perhaps he'll wake up and be a star next year. I just wouldn't count on it.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:01 PM ^
That was a much longer, and well-reasoned response than I was expecting. I agree that he has not reached expectations and that his play deserves criticism. But I appreciate you pointing out that:
A) It's always easier to blame DBs because their mistakes are so much more glaring and, as you point out, involve 20 seconds of footage of chasing down the touchdown-scoring WR.
B) that he seems to be a good kid who represents the school well
I'm really hopeful that he'll be a major improvement this year. Who knows, maybe some time with the new "player's coach" DC will help give him the confidence (and solid instruction) to be a solid contributor.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 PM ^
Were you around for John Navarre's sophomore year?
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 PM ^
You can thank Henson for forcing sophomore John Navarre into the starting role.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:49 PM ^
I think that made the Navarre hate even worse. Everyone knew what we could have had at QB that year and instead we had the crappy sophomore year version of Navarre who wasn't supposed to be starting yet. That team probably would have contended for a title game appearance.
I was glad when Navarre turned into a beast halfway through his last year, was nice for him finally to shed the hate and be embraced.
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 PM ^
Hey Brian, were you responsible for "John Navarre Blamed For Offense, Defense, Kicking Game, Iraq, 9/11, Everything Else"? Were you still with the E3W then?
January 25th, 2009 at 3:42 PM ^
I never managed to shed that hate (and still haven't). His senior year was no exception, even with the Minnesota comeback and OSU win. I liken it to living in the US for the past eight years: I love my country (but mainly because without it Michigan would cease to be); there was just no way I could talk myself into supporting its inept leader (Bush / Navarre); the 'era' is over and, while some feel 'sorry' for the departed leader and others search for ways to craft a positive legacy, I am left with a foul taste in my mouth that no amount of Brite-Boy could soap away. That's about where the outlandish analogy ends, but I'm on a roll so what the hell: Because of the faith put into said leaders by their enablers (Republicans / Lloyd Carr), both systems have undergone a sea change and now find themselves fighting uphill battles to reclaim their rightful place at the top of the heap; both systems are now being guided by 'outsiders' who rose up from small beginnings and left volatile situations (Illinois Politics / WVU)--men with somewhat radical new ideas that draw the ire of the old guard; and both systems will only succeed if their constituencies show patience and resolve. I could go on for a while, but I'm getting tired...any liberal Navarre-haters want to jump in?
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:17 PM ^
Yep, there is no comparison. Navarre, by a mile, received more criticism than any other UM football player. Stevie Brown gets criticized by hardcore internet freaks like us, but the average fan probably has no opinion of his play one way or the other. With Navarre, everyone had an opinion and (for most of his career), they were mostly negative. The QB can't hide.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:06 PM ^
Yeah, I was Drew Henson's year, so I remember the Navarre hate very well. You're right, it was brutal. However, that other dude was wrong in saying the "average" fan doesn't notice Brown. My father couldn't name last year's quarterbacks, but he knows Brown and makes fun of his arm tackling.
(My girlfriend doesn't care about M football one iota, and she knows Brown's deficiencies as well, but that's more 'cause of me.)
I guess Navarre slipped my mind because I was in a small circle of Navarre semi-supporters, even his sophomore year. The guys our age and a bit older remembered people dissing Brady in '98 and '99, and didn't want to make the same mistake. Navarre's nickname to us was "Lurch." His deficiencies were obvious: doesn't look off receivers, throws to Tacopants. But he showed he could beat the crap out of bad teams. Brown is more infuriating to me, personally, because the worse the team is we're facing, the worse he plays.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:04 PM ^
Well said. I agree that Brown's biggest failing is that he makes highly-visible mistakes at a position that basically has two speeds - horribly Bad play and euphoric Good play - and he lacks the inexperience/limited talent/new system/injury(?) excuses most of the other weak parts had this year. That said, I think what bugs people the most about Stevie is that he makes dumb decisions out there, not just unfortunate plays or even mediocre ones. When he gets beat on a play, as many of Brian's UFRs showed, it was due to a rather obvious and massive mistake by him. When there are only two receivers on the play and you still allow your man to absolutely fly by you (like during ND), that will infuriate the Internet to no end.
More than that, though, is that Brown didn't make nearly enough big plays this year to offset the number of bad ones his aggressiveness caused. Toward the end of the season, of course, he was pressing and that probably led to even more mistakes, but for every good play he made (the Pryor INT, his play against Wisconsin), he had games like he did against MSU and ND. If you are going to gamble as a Safety, you need to pay out more than 2 or 3 times a season. That's why Brown gets so much ridicule, and I hope GR can help reign that in a bit.
Finally, if the Internet has existed during the Navarre era, MGoBlog would have ass-sploded most Saturdays.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:43 PM ^
I don't think the defensive schemes helped either. Many times you would see Stevie being the only man covering the other team's top receiver, and always end in disaster.
I feel bad for the guy. His play is being scrutinized to the point that nobody seems to notice the other players on the field making mistakes of simliar quantity and magnitude, and all the blame gets put on him.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:04 PM ^
I don't know what kind of teacher Schafer was, but I've gotta believe GR will be a better communicator. I think we'll see a much more cohesive defense this year.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 PM ^
how bout the weather? Is it gonna rain on my parade?
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 PM ^
This is going to sound really vague, but I have unimpeachably credible evidence that Stevie had a pretty massive family crisis going down last year.
To the extent that it explains or excuses his mental errors last season, I don't know. Take it for what it's worth coming from an anonymous MGoBlog poster who isn't going to say specifically what the problem was. It's possible though that his head wasn't in the game at all.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:18 PM ^
I guess this is my my main point. It's so easy to criticize some kid that we've never met within the safe confines of a blog comment board. But the truth is, none of us (or at least very few of us) can relate to the life of a Michigan football player. We have no idea what the factors are for any player's success or failure.
So fine, criticize the kid's play on a given week. That's cool. But please stop bringing him up in every negative comment about last season. There are so many factors that contributed to last season. Some of them we know about and others we are completely in the dark about (Shafer's relationship w/ players, unreported injuries, family troubles, etc...).
I'm tired of Stevie Brown being the answer to question about why Michigan's D was so bad last year. It's boring, unoriginal, and misses the bigger picture problems.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^
This I agree with. The defense's failings did not start and end with Stevie.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:53 PM ^
Oh yeah. Mouton was terrible early in the season, but he got a lot better. Ezeh was pretty maddening as well.
Some of the coverage issues almost had to be scheme. We gave them 7 yard dinks to their outside receivers an awful lot by the cushion the corners gave.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 PM ^
I had high expectations for Stevie, dubbing him "My Wolverine" at the beginning of the season. Perhaps his poor play is my fault. In any event, I hope he can improve because we need him this year.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:20 PM ^
Was that some cautious optimism about Stevie Brown? I think we're starting to make progress! One fan at a time...
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:32 PM ^
While I'm not for heckling college kids, I don't see any fault with noting their failings, as they apply to the football field, within the confines of discussing said game. Listen, I'm sure Stevie is a decent kid, but "Stevie beaten again by his man" may have been the most-common phrase during some of those liveblogs. The guy has a chance to be a solid safety, both in college and in the pros. But as was said earlier, he needs to stop making dumb risks for the sake of the "big" play when a logical play would be far better. Maybe GR will make this happen, but until Brown starts to make strides forward, he should expect to receive some blame for his faults.
Also note, there are always certain UM players who draw the (rational or irrational) ire of the general fan. This blog didn't exist back during Navarre's time, but if it did his treatment would have dwarfed that currently being received by Brown.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 PM ^
Yes, Navarre certainly earns the award of Most Irrationally Abused Michigan Player Ever (MIAMPE?). The quarterback position is always a lightening rod.
I also agree that it's fair to point out the failings of a player during a liveblog or game recap. That's why I don't mind Brian's comments in UFR. I'm just tired of people still bringing him up in chat boards about completely different subjects. He's become a scapegoat for all UM failings and that's just getting tired.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:06 PM ^
Yeah, I agree that putting the blame for this season on any single coach or player is both myopic and irrational. Brown played badly, but the same could be said for everyone not named Zoltan.
January 25th, 2009 at 5:10 PM ^
Well, come on, how could anyone in the world possibly compare to a guy named Zoltan?
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:45 PM ^
I think Stewart was so much worse than Brown. At least Stevie made plays to counter his monumental screwups. I don't remember Stewart ever making plays. And some of the times that you saw Stevie being left in the dust were because he was coming over to cover for Stewart's mistake. Stevie just fails in monumental proportions rather than the small increments of perpetual suck that Stewart laid out.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:07 PM ^
Jacob Stewart made a big play against Minnesota IIRC. Oh, not that Stewart?
January 25th, 2009 at 5:12 PM ^
Charles, actually.
I think nobody expected Charles Stewart to be a big contributor. Him being out there was a symptom of the talent deficiency at the position, almost like the defense's version of Sheridan.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:55 PM ^
If you watch the Ohio State game, it was the other safety who repeatedly missed the running backs on the long running plays. He did what we tell little kids not to do in soccer: he "committed" before he knew where Beanie and the other guy was going. It is crystal clear on TV. This was a terrible defense for which Stevie has become a symbol. He is not the explanation. I hope he will improve, as he certainly has been deficient. But who past the line of scrimmage was better. This is my first post, as I am really ticked off by so many of you nitwits picking on a kid. Apparently you cannot watch ABC film without having Brian tell you what happened. Final word: our team is deficient all over and a one year turnaround is so unlikely that it would be the coaching job of the new century. Having said that, GO BLUE!
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:40 AM ^
And which safety was it that got beaten on the long TD pass?
Still Brown.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^
Yes, he did get beat, but what the hell was a safety doing in one on one coverage against the other team's top receiver? Most other safeties would have been beat as well.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:27 PM ^
I'm not sure, but I don't think he was matched up with Hartline at the snap. I think a corner had him initially and then gave up deep responsibility to Brown. It may be that the corner shouldn't have released him, but OTOH, Brown isn't supposed to let the receiver get behind him. The DBs need to be on the same page and communicate to each other who they're covering.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:57 AM ^
Stevie Brown has played poorly with minimal signs of improvement. If you look for bad plays from him, you will find them. My point is that there were very poor plays from the other safety, I think Harrison, and serious problems with the whole linebacking and secondary units. If you don't focus on that, you will be in for a letdown when GR is unable to produce a championship defense quickly. This team is bad, and patience is needed. It would still be a bad defense if Stevie were replaced by Jamar Adams.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:43 PM ^
and anticipating where to be and when.
That is not one of Stevie Wonder Brown's qualities.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:10 PM ^
In fairness, Brown did make two outstanding interceptions in the last two games of the season (Northwestern and OSU). He perfectly read the QB on those plays and broke on the ball. Maybe he's starting to figure it all out?