Rivals Craps on themselves
Rivals preview of us is a bit laughable.
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=822861
Key Excerpts:
Sophomore right tackle Stephen Schilling will be the cornerstone of a group that must develop quickly
This will be a 4-3 alignment that doesn't figure to have to blitz and stunt often, given the amount of talent and speed. But coordinator Scott Shafer will pick his spots to attack and bring pressure, even sending safeties and cornerbacks.
Everyone in Ann Arbor is jacked about junior free safety Steve Brown.
Overall it isn't too bad, but those three lines and a few others got me to laugh.
Wait. Aside from #3, what's funny about #1 and #2. Dang it. I don't get it....
#2 is just wrong, since Shafer is a blitzing maniac. I think #3 is reasonable if he's just talking about coaches and players, since he's gotten a ton of hype even after The Horror. I thought the preview was pretty spot-on, actually.
Were you drunk when you were reading that or something?
Number 2 is wrong because shafer is a blitz lover.
Number 3 is wrong because I don't recall any M fans (at least the ones that frequent this board) saying OMG Stevie Brown!!1one!
But I fail to see whats wrong with number 1? Schilling (IIRC) the number 1 rated guy on the line, is a returning starter and will probably have to be the leader of the O-Line.
#2 Is wrong for all the obvious reasons posted above. Shafer blitzes as much as possible, and now that he has the most talented defense he's ever worked with he'll probably amp it up, not tone it down.
#1 is wrong because I don't think anyone is counting on Schilling to be a cornerstone. I think it would be awesome if he did, but I'm not sitting here anticpating it after last year's Gholston=smash party.
#3 Because unless they're talking about coaches I don't think anyone is "jacked" about Stevie Brown unless they are playing us and have watched tapes of The Horror.
Other than those comments I thought it was a decent article, but for the most part I feel they just looked at stats and depth charts and didn't watch any film on us from last year. I'll agree that my headline probably was a bit much.
I thought the preview was reasonable as well.
But another thing that caught my eye was the height of the projected starting offense. There isn't a single player on it under 6 feet. The future is going to look a lot different...
In that we will have some slot receivers that are 5'8 -5'10"? Mike Hart was under 6'.
Rivals seems to be one of the few who are saying that Michigan's D will be great this year. Hey, third time's a charm, eh Stevie Brown?
Jason Gingell is back, too. He opened last season as the starter but faded.
That's one way to put...
We need Stevie Brown to come through on the expectations the recruiting gurus placed him coming out of high school.
Did he suck in The Horror? Um, yes. He got benched as a result. What I liked about him was that he did not appear to sulk and began making plays on special teams. And, in nickel and dime packages, he had his hand in big fourth down stops that helped clinch the MSU and Florida games.
I am pretty confident he will be a good starter for us at safety for the next years. We have replacements on the way if it does not work out.
As far as being jacked, well I feel better about the coaches being jacked about Brown than last year when the coaches were jacked about Sears. I never bought into that at all, but Brown's potential is there and whether he can step in or not is a huge tipping point for the season.