Missing Denard
So now, Hoke is 20-4 with Denard and 12-11 without him as our QB. I remember back when it was senior day vs Iowa and a friend and I were talking about Denard. He said that 10-15 years from now Michigan fans will say "remember when we had Denard Robinson, that guy was special." Obviously we both expected to have better 2013 and 2014 seasons and therefore thought that Denard wouldnt be missed much. However, 2 years later, I already miss Denard.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^
Dude, kids graduate from football programs every 4-5 years, he was here, he played, he graduated. Stop lamenting in the past, that seems to be one of the main obstacles that this program has/had for almost a decade now.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
He'll try better next time for you.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
Yeah, the fans are what's holding this program back.
Has nothing to do with the dipshits in the administration who fucked around with coaching searches (twice), pissed all over the last coach and refused to give him $ for a DC worth more than two bags of rice and a PlayStation 1.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:39 PM ^
Didn't say it was just the fans holding the program back, but good job putting your own spin on things.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
Well you did tell a fan on a blog to "stop lamenting the past" and his (the fans) lamenting is one of the main things holding this program back. You will have to excuse him, me and others from interpreting that as blaming the fans for some of the struggles of the program. Even if you claim that its not "just the fans" holding the program back, it is not at all the fans holding the program back. Try to be more clear next time, or not be so defensive when your vague statement on a message board isn't interpreted the way you want it to be.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
Is it too late to give up cronyism?
September 21st, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^
Scott Shafer was a pretty good defensive coordinator...
September 21st, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^
Under RR, the guy was unstopable. 2012 was rough, mostly Denard chucking the ball 400 ft in the air toward hemmingway and hoping for the best. Similar trajectory for DG; they're forcing a round peg into a square hole. Guy's not a pocket QB, and never has been.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^
So true, sad but true. How two OCs in a row cannot see this is amazing.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
I miss 2011 Denard, not 2012 DenardUnder RR, the guy was unstopable.
RR wasn't here in 2011.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^
Just reflecting on all the "bench Denard" loonies over the years.
I have something for you:
September 21st, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
Obama's presidency would have been more successful had he grown dreads and refused to tie his shoes.
September 21st, 2014 at 6:07 PM ^
he has velcro golf shoes
September 21st, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
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September 21st, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^
That was a 6-6 Ohio State squad. Care to try again?
September 21st, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^
How many wins does Michigan have against Ohio State since 2003? Care to try again?
September 21st, 2014 at 1:47 PM ^
A team that is .500 is a quality opponent? It doesn't matter how long when you consider that.
September 21st, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
lol. well we can't even beat Utah or score a fucking point against Notre Dame. Hope you like 3-9 version 2.0, homie.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
No. Just Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Notre Dame...
September 21st, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^
Let me preface this by saying I think Denard was an exciting and very good college player. I think if he had a RB like Pat White had at West VA (and the UM administration did not f*** RR with no budget for a DC) he could have made UM a very good top end Big 10 team.
That said a sober analysis of these major wins are
- That was OSU's worst team in 15 years, led by a coach of Hoke's coaching acumen.
- That was MSU's worst team in 5 years, led by a guy at QB who was not a gamer and a very bad OL. And it required some big breaks at the end of the game to drive the field just to win. That said Denard found a way.
- That ND win was a friggin miracle. But Denard made plays and thats why we won, it was a pretty horrid first 3 quarters. Likewise if Denard played average rather than very Devin Gardner like in the 2nd quarter in SB we'd have beaten them - so he tooketh and gaveth.
- To this day I have no idea how we beat VATech. We were so outplayed. But kudos.
Also even with all those caveats I dont see the current offense winning an of those games. So that sucks.
So let's celebrate Denard but honestly threads like this I agree with the second guy on the thread who got downvoted - its what we get made fun of a lot by other fan bases. We are stuck in the past so much and romanticize is. Teams lose great players and move on and find new great players.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^
And these have been some of the worst Michigan teams in ages too, so don't act like Denard had some heightened advantage by playing for Michigan from 2009-12.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:21 PM ^
- That was OSU's worst team in 15 years, led by a coach of Hoke's coaching acumen.
Agreed. We should totally downplay the program's only win over OSU in the last 10 years. Denard in that game had arguably the best performance by a Michigan player in the game since Biakabutuka in 1995.
September 21st, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
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September 21st, 2014 at 3:13 PM ^
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September 21st, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^
2011 was the year that Rich Rod was finally going to get to coach a team that was predominantly upperclassmen for the first time in his tenure. Enter David Brandon: exit reason.
If Rich Rod had been given $1 million to hire a DC instead of $350,000, Michigan may have gone 14-0 in 2011.
September 21st, 2014 at 2:24 PM ^
Hypothetical Rich Rod always seems to be far superior to the real Rich Rod for some reason.
September 21st, 2014 at 2:49 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 2:48 PM ^
Serious Question. Did RichRod attempt to bring in a quality DC at a respectable salary but was rebuffed? Or did he mismanage the hiring process? Is there evidence for this or is this just speculation? I didn't follow the issue closely at the time.
September 22nd, 2014 at 5:42 AM ^
he tried to bring in Jeff Casteel (his DC at West Virginia) but the university wouldnt pay him what he wanted, and I remeber it being some small difference (small in the sense that we are dealing with a many million dollar budget.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
I am pretty sure this morning's Threads-Per-Minute rate is the highest it's ever been.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
Isn't that what the Nazi priest guy said in Raiders of the Lost Ark, right before his face got melted off?
September 21st, 2014 at 1:01 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
because he was French. The regular Nazis melted or got electrically dong punched
September 21st, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
I believe it was the person who was actually officiating the opening of the Ark who said it, and to be fair, the Nazi dude was looking at something rather pleasant that turned out to be not so pleasant. I can't say that this hasn't nearly happened when reading a few threads in the last 18 hours or so.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
Well ofcourse when it comes to being a prototypical QB, Brady, Navarre, Henne are much better and Denard did have his 2010 MSU, 2012 ND games when everyone would be like WTF are you doing. However this guy had like 5 games in which he was over 90% of the offense, and one game when he was 102% of the offense. The think i miss most about him especially with the way the teams of 2013 and this year was that he never gave up. Like ND and NW in 2011 when he would throw 3 picks and the game looked lost and somehow he would bring it back.
September 21st, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
You might as well make a missing Borges thread too. When Denard was here, there was a huge part of the fan base that couldn't get rid of him fast enough. It funny how quickly people forget the threads calling for Gardner to play QB and moving Denard to RB.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^
the most frustrating thing about not giving Rich Rod a 4th year (prefably with Casteel) against that weak schedule. I think Denard would have won the Heisman and put up incredible numbers. That he singlehandedly was our offense for 2 years under Hoke really is a testament to him.
September 21st, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
September 21st, 2014 at 1:07 PM ^
2011: Denard/Borges fusion cusine. Put up gaudy numbers, DRob gets to run around.
Passing: 2173 YDS, 20 TDs/ 15 INTs, Rushing: 1176 YDS, 16 TDs
2012: Time to start installing MANBALL, regardless of roster. DRob must stay in pocket because we don't want him to get hurt.
Passing: 1319 YDS, 9 TDs/ 9 INTs, Rushing: 1266 YDS, 7 TDs
In 2011, Hoke knew that he basically had to work with what he had...a spread offense. In 2012 they decide to be stubborn, and the offense falters. Point being, when coaches run the scheme that best fits their players (and the most important player, the QB) things generally work out better than when they try to force their system onto a guy that wasn't recruited for such a purpose.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^