"Meet the Most Exciting Player in College Football"
So the Kool-Aid has officially been put out for the mainstream media, and they are officially guzzling it down, as per this Dienhart story on Rivals.
What does this mean? It means two things: We'll get voter attention, we'll get media love, and we'll get front pages, all because of Denard. There is no other player out there with more hype attached, and yes, it is warranted. He is the de facto breakout star of the country two weeks in.
It also means that the media is already setting us up for the fall, sensationalizing things so that they can pull us down into the mud if and when we fail. Denard is putting up herculean numbers, and if we lose, or if he even has an average day, they're already planning to shred him for it. We all know his numbers will come back to earth in the next two weeks, and it's likely his lack of OMG SHOELACE will become some sort of story.
In truth, to keep his title as Mr. Excitement, he doesn't have to put up 500 again and again; he just has to do something magical every week. Ask Charles Woodson how that works...
September 12th, 2010 at 7:58 AM ^
Every kid in America who watched that game wants to wear the winged helmet and be the next Denard Robinson. There's nothing wrong with that kind of hype.
September 12th, 2010 at 8:37 AM ^
I enjoy hype as much as the next person, but I would have preferred this team stay under the radar for a bit longer. Hype and expectations are a hard thing for a young team to live up to IMO.
September 12th, 2010 at 8:45 AM ^
Hype and expectations are a hard thing for a young team to live up to IMO.
It might be hard, but not impossible....and as we all know, Impossible is Nothing.
Go Blue!
September 12th, 2010 at 2:53 PM ^
I'll take all of the positive vibes, stories, attention, coverage, fluff....ANYthing, after the past 2 years.
Time for all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears to pay off. These kids and this staff deserve it. Awesome weekend....
September 12th, 2010 at 8:47 AM ^
is under the radar
September 12th, 2010 at 9:51 AM ^
it is very tough for kids to handle that sudden onslaught without relaxing and believing it.
September 12th, 2010 at 8:43 AM ^
September 12th, 2010 at 8:45 AM ^
The last three years have made me uber paranoid.
September 12th, 2010 at 8:43 AM ^
seems to be very level headed, at least from what I've seen in his interviews. Hope he keeps that and has a good structure around him that will keep him "grounded" throughout the season. Stay happy, stay healthy and GO BLUE!!
September 12th, 2010 at 9:17 AM ^
Yay Denard!!!
As for Dienhart, he's a hack. In case you're not sure, notice that he couldn't resist including a "RICHROD NEED X WINS OR ELSE HIM FIRED" line. No surprise that he was once employed by The Sporting News, which, with the notable exception of this 'blog's owner, has normally had a roster of second- and third-rate writers.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:34 AM ^
He also gives absolutely no credit to the scheme, the rest of the offensive players for their superior execution, or to Denard's ability to read and make ridicuously quick decisions. It's all about Denard's physical gifts - he's really damning Michigan's offense as nothing but the result of a physically gifted player, ignoring the fact that Denard did not have these kind of results last year.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:38 AM ^
...on point. In spite of all of the evidence to the contrary (Brandon's statements of support that Dienhart quotes!), the clear improvement from 2009 to 2010 and the obvious momentum for a momentous 2011, he still wants to say there's a specific number of wins that are required.
Also this is quite douchetastic:
Honestly, Michigan really doesn't seem to have much of an offense. The plays called were ordinary: read options, quarterback keepers, draws. But the guy running the plays was extraordinary. It was a brand of football usually reserved for the backyard, recess and the front lawns of fraternities: Just give the ball to the fastest and most athletic person -- and stand back and watch him run.
Great analysis, Tom. Certainly no other successful CFB team features its "fastest and most athletic person". I mean, OU sure was stupid handing the ball to Adrian Peterson all those times. And the Texas and WVU reliance on Vince Young and Pat White sure was simplistic and made those teams less impressive.
September 12th, 2010 at 10:00 AM ^
I think this highlights something very important: most of the supposed "opinion makers" are very ignorant of this offense and what goes into it. It's literally one of the most intelligent (and out of the box) offensive schemes in all of football, but because it's run from a simple base offense, people who don't have the intelligence to understand it don't understand it. The first Michigan touchdown is a perfect example of this. What went into making that play happen is pure football genius.
September 12th, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^
He don't get no respect. I agree with your statements and think that RR is obviously still a whipping-boy for the press. Dienhart is saying RR has no impact on DRob's performance. While I appreciate the type of player he is, DRob still owes his success to being well-coached. I wish the media would pull their heads out of their 4th-point of contact.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:24 PM ^
This is right - it's inherent complexity is what makes it look simple to the ignorant. To use a somewhat overused phrase - this offense, when properly executed, is "profound simplicity".
September 12th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^
I don't buy that media hates us nonsense. We are the story of the first two weeks, no other major football program is as intriguing as ours right now and fans want to hear about it so the media is delivering.
September 12th, 2010 at 10:03 AM ^
to turn on the very people they've pumped up. Our society loves to build up an image of celebrities and athletes and then punish them for not living up to that image. You know the first loss we get you'll see a shot of Denard fumbling the ball or something on every single sports page and/or web site in America.
Like grandpa once said... There's no such thing as an innocent good-looking woman... don't ever trust 'em.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:27 AM ^
"Robinson already is better than White. And he's just a sophomore."
I'd pump the breaks a little on that one. I love Denard as much as the next guy, but I think we need to see a few more games before we start throwing that out there.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:30 AM ^
Read: Tate Forcier as the leading Heisman candidate after 4 games last year. We REALLY need to keep the hype down on this team. DRob has been sensational, and very level-headed it seems. But at that age, all this attention is going to eventually cause some overconfidence down the line, either for him or the team by proxy, and it could hurt us. RR seems to be keeping the guys humble, and they should be humble given the last 2 years. If everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon (I almost typed bangwagon, that would've been great), excellent, just hope the team ignores most of it.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:51 AM ^
is that Denard will somehow come "down to earth" in the next two games. Did you notice that Baby Seal U, and not so much of a Baby Seal U are the two next teams we play? You think they can stop Denard? Their DCs are shitting their pants watching film today.
September 12th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
are a great place for other parts of the team to get plenty of reps. Look for every running back to get touches next week, and less non-zone read designed quarterback runs.
I'd also bet we see all three quarterbacks play the next two weeks, especially if they get ugly early. So no, I don't see another 400-500 yard game by Denard. But that's just my take.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:59 PM ^
Speaking frankly, if Denard were to sustain this level of play all season and be a Heisman contender, one hopes that not running up massive stats against an FCS team wouldn't be a strike against him.
Throw up a flashy performance against a bad Big 10 team? Fine, that should count. But one hopes that the good people at the Downtown Athletic Club know padding stats when they see it.