Regime Change and Defections
A large concern of mine is if and when Harbaugh comes to town is the possibility of more defections and transfers. One particular player named Denard Robinson. What happens with him? Stanford has runs the closest thing to "old timey" football. In that O Drob doesnt fit in very well.. Not to say that he couldnt but I believe he came here so he could play QB. I think Drob could go down in the history books as the greatest or one of the greatest wolverines ever and I dont want to see him anywhere else but at the corner of Stadium and Main.
November 29th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
I see very little attrition if we make a move to JH. DB and assuming they actually even make a move, JH will make sure the kids have a place on this team. JH should be excited about the prospects on this team, especially Denard. With Gardner waiting in the wings might I add.
But lets not get ahead of ourselves right........?
November 29th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
How sick would Drob be if we could get him the ball on the edge without haveing to line him up at QB. If he can catch the ball on a screen juke a defensive back and he would be gone. Also you could line him up at reciever in a 5 wide, thus forcing defenses to take out linebackers and add more DBs. Motion him back to the backfield and hand the ball off to him. The more i think about using him in that regards the more excited i get, not to mention he can still throw the ball.
November 29th, 2010 at 7:28 PM ^
I question the comment that Stanford runs as close to old time football as possible, in fact I am of the opinion that they have a more diverse offensive scheme than what Michigan has today. Take a quick look at Andrew Luck's rushing numbers, averaging about 50 yards rushing per game on about 5-6 designed runs per game. Nope - I enjoy Rich Rod's offense, but firmly believe that Harbaugh's scheme would produce far more fruit for both Denard and Michigan. Reason 1 - help the defense! Simply by huddling up beetween plays and developing a solid running back driven ground game it will eat the clock and give our beaten defense a much needed rest between each series. #2 - how crazy awesome would it be to see Denard run a real play action - maybe even a naked bootleg off a power play action with 2 guys in the pattern? Can you imagine Denard against a single Defensive End - oops? #3 - Denard will not take as many hits every game while maintaining more than 100 rush yards per game. Why? Again Harbaugh knows how to create a run game with running backs which will create natural opportunities for bootlegs, quarterback draws and simple scrambles off covered pass plays. Then the occasional power QB run just might be successful like it was early in the season.
November 29th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
I definitely agree with this. He would run the ball 5 times a game, and get 20 yards each time. If Andrew Luck scrambles and gets 10 yards, how many yards does Denard get on that same play?
November 29th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
Old timey football put up 55 on USC last year.
November 29th, 2010 at 7:44 PM ^
When Rich Rodriguez arrived, most of the defections were on offense. And most of those occurred because Rodriguez is very much a “system coach,” and he made very clear from Day One that there would be no compromise to accommodate the talents of Lloyd Carr’s players.
That last paragraph is not a criticism of Rodriguez, just a factual statement of what he did. And it was probably the right thing. If Michigan was going to be a spread team, there was no point in delaying the transition.
Harbaugh (assuming he is the guy) is not a “system coach.” He hasn’t spent 10 or 15 years running one thing. Stanford runs a different offense than Michigan, but there’s no evidence he cannot adapt to the talent at hand. In fact, he did that at Stanford.
I mean, if you inherit the Big Ten offensive player of the year, do you say “F*ck him, I’m running a pro offense?”
November 29th, 2010 at 8:36 PM ^
As we speculate the arrival of Harbaugh, he would surely be tested as a recruiter by his own inherited players. Think of the coaches/recruiters that would be in Denard's ears trying to get him to defect.
I would prefer that RR get the 4th year to prove what he can do with Jr/Sr players. However, if I could get confirmation from JH that he wouldn't pull a RR and reverse our O, then I could live with the change. I just see so much potential on the roster that I hate to see it get wasted because another scheme change. Hell, I'd even consider Miles at this point as I know our current players would fit into his offensive scheme.
November 29th, 2010 at 8:46 PM ^
current coaches cant solicit other teams players to come play for them. IF Drob happens to leave I think he'd end up following RRod.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:24 PM ^
Denard had demonstrated that he is at least capable of being a pretty decent passer once he gets his motion down. Remember, Michael Vick is doing pretty well in a so-called pro style offense in Philadelphia. If Harbaugh is creative he could run something similar. Denard might not run as much, but I have trouble imagining that Harbaugh would just scrap the talents of the Big Ten Offensive POY, or try to get him to move where he is less effective.