Mandel has Burning Questions About B1G FB
Mandel obviously has to lay off the chili as it keeps him up all night writing moronic articles like this - pass the pepto.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/03/07/big-…
Michigan: Can Brady Hoke adapt his offense for Denard Robinson?
Hoke and coordinator Al Borges -- a West Coast devotee -- plan to run a drastically different offense than Rich Rodriguez's spread-and-shred attack. "To a degree ... we're blowing a lot of it up," Borges told the Detroit News. Hoke's goal is a balanced attack that features a two-back, downhill rushing element. It's admirable, but it remains to be seen whether the smaller, speedier personnel Rodriguez recruited will fit that vision. Thus far underutilized tailback Stephen Hopkins (6-foot, 227 pounds) could get more carries. But the biggest question: What will become of the electrifying Robinson? "I don't see Denard rushing for 1,700 yards, and I told him that," said Borges. "But I could see him rushing for 1,000 yards, and I could see him throwing for that 700 or 800 he didn't rush for."
Michigan's burning question is DEFENSE. Not if DR gets 500 yds less or more rushing yards.
EDIT: OOPS never mind, delete this
Meh, Mandel is a shit leopard that can't change its shit spots. Same shit different day.
An imagine of a shit leopard made me HALOL! at work.
+1 to you sir.
Don't be stirring up no shit-storm Jim.
Good or bad, Mandel's the same guy that thought U-M scored a "home run" with the hiring of RR.
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<br>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/football/ncaa/2007/12/michiga…
Meh, not a big Mandel fan but what's so UNACCEPTABLEZ about this? I'm certainly curious about how Denard will perform under Borges and a lot of other fans are too. He was one of the most exciting players in the country last year, and he's playing in a new system. Can't win if we don't score, so it's an important question too. Plus, "will the defense get better" is a boring question, since we already know the answer - it certianly can't get worse, unless Mattison plans to deploy the "carry opposing RB to the goal line and place him gently in the endzone" formation.
Is that the formation where Roh plays NT?
Vinopal.
to get under your blocker with stumpy legs.
Actually I think this is the burning question. Most people want to know how DRob will be used and if the offense will still be potent.
I think the defense is more of a given. We were god awful and I think most people expect us to get better under Mattison's tutelage.
ball, but the D could be decent and the offense struggle mightily. I'm curious whether people will be able to keep their cool for several years; Hoke might need the same kind of widown RichRod did.
Ok. I know anything's possible, so you are slightly correct. How can you think that our offense could be bad this year? Denard is an amazingly accurate passer. He almost set the record for completion percentage at a game I attended last year (the missed pass was in the 4th qtr after the game was wrapped up). Denard won't be running QB ISO or QB Sweep plays over and over, and will therefore be healthier. How many games did he finish last year?
Our returning offensive line is solid. Our WR's are all experienced, and I think Roundtree, Stonum and Hemmingway are the best WR three pack in the B1G this year. Our running back spot is not certain, but we have tons to chose from, and this offense will actually pound the ball a bit. We have 2 TE's that are athletic and have good hands.
I see no reason that the offense won't continue to amass tons of yardage and points. The difference this year is that our D won't suck donkey balls.
but slight Mandel FAIL:
Thus far underutilized tailback Stephen Hopkins (6-foot, 227 pounds) could get more carries.
He says this despite SDSU's most recent tailback being almost a Vincent Smith clone. Mandel's also buying the "undersized" meme that's bullshit with the exception of the slot receiver replacing tight end recruiting. Pretty sure this article's content has already been written and published over a month ago and the general tone and points of this article reside somewhere on Bleacher Report.
Sportswriters are going to write about the guy with the cool nickname and the ridiculous speed/stats who finished 6th in the Heisman race last year. An article that reads: "A group of players you've probably never heard of will likely go from 'really bad' to 'just okay' thanks to a new coordinator (an old bald white guy you probably aren't that interested in reading about) and the return of nearly every defensive contributor" just doesn't attract readers' attention.
The fortunes of the defense are certainly more variable (the offense is almost certainly going to be at least "real good" no matter how it looks) and will have a bigger impact on how the season turns out, but only Michigan fans want to read about what position Troy Woolfolk will end up playing or who will play where in the new 4-3 defensive line. Mandel and his ilk want to interest casual fans/readers, they aren't there to provide in-depth analysis (even if they could, which is doubtful).
Denard is a star, and if he's struggling and/or not doing as well as he did last season, the perception in the media will be that Michigan is struggling, Hoke doesn't know what he's doing, etc, etc.
the haters will look at his stats and declare failure if we don't rack up 50 pts a game in the 1st half of the season.
They will say we haven't proved/done anything until we play a "real team" which won't be until November until we play Iowa/Neb/OSU.
While the haters probably won't talk about them in September, I feel like they're going to be pretty good next year.
Mandel has other burning things as well. I heard there are lotions and ointments for that type of thing.
Somebody had to do it! +1
D (Denard): If he progresses this year anywhere near his improvement from Freshman to Sophomore year (backup to Offensive Player fo the Year), then there is no reason to worry. He needs to stay healthy for the second half of the season, when the going gets tough and the games get bigger. T Pryor can dominate with his mouth, but Denard dominates with his performance, his attitude, his heart, and . . . that smile.
D (Defense): Can only get better. The only question is by how much. If there was a lot of "misutilization" and under-coaching from the prior staff, then Greg Mattison will have a significant impact, since he obviously understands how to coach and run a defense. It would be just a giant kick in the @#$%^#$%@ to see MM and WC clean some clocks next year.
Because I just don't see a hate-laced hidden Anti Michigan Agenda with the snippet provided by the OP, and frankly, don't understand why it is even noteworthy.
I'd love to see Denard NOT have to rush for 50 million yards and end up on like he did too many times last year: watching from the sidelineswhile nursing another injury.
As for the defense--who the hell knows what is going to happen? The BIG speculation HAS to be offensively because of all the alleged weapons RRod left at Hoke's disposal. There are a lot more known options there. AND of course, there is Denard, who is one of the more popular players in the country.
Sheesh. Lighten up already. We've had three long years of scouring the intranets for Those Who Say Bad Things About Michigan--ENOUGH!
that he was saying bad things. Just that he hadn't reallly put thought into/didn't understand the picture, which is true. But it's also a silly thing to get upset about.
Mandel writes about the entire nation, in several sports. The only way he'll ever get anything done is to be topical.
I think that Mandel's question about the offense is legitimate. But I also think there is another facet beyond the "can Borges adjust" and that is can they players adjust to the new system? Denard & company have spent their entire careers breathing, eating, sleeping the Rodriguez system. How quickly will they be able to adjust? They've been taught how to drive a Ferrari and now they are being handed something more akin to a pickup truck.
Keep in mind that these are not professional athletes who can practice around the clock. They have a limited amount of time that they can use for practice before the season starts. We all saw what a disaster the last transition was and even though M has more talent this time around, the offense may get off to a sluggish start this year.
And, worst case scenario, if some of the players start to question the new system then it might even be a minor disaster this year (although certainly nothing on the scale of 2008).
Defensively, it would seem obvious that everyone will be happy to discard the old ways and embrace the new regime. They will certainly be better this year. It probably just a question of how much better.