Six Wolverines on ESPN midseason All Big Ten list
October 19th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^
Not nearly enough dudes from the defensive line.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
14 defensive lineman made the first team last year, with only 3 concensus. There is plenty of room!
Edit: All American
October 19th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^
Also Kalis should be on that list above Cole.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^
It has always been hard to evaluate line play for people who are not experienced in playing or coaching the positions. A lot of plaudits are given to players who are "felt" to be good players regardless of their actual performance.
Which is where ratings factories like PFF provide a really valuable service that I hope revolutionizes how people view good players. It would be great if a major broadcasting outlet started using something like PFF ratings in its telecasts to give people an idea of what linemen are performing well; people can then watch line play with a more educated eye.
I know the UFRs and Brian's old Picture Page feature both made me a much smarter football fan. I think the larger public would benefit from this as well.
Makes this call more baffling, IMO. I hope things improve. It is hard for linemen to win important awards like this and I hope that changes.
October 19th, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 5:32 PM ^
Michigan is getting short-shrifted here. This team has outscored everyone and defensively given up 17 points in three league games, and they played Wisconsin and Penn State besides the doormat in Rutgers. This defense will not allow any points unless by accident until Michigan plays Indiana. That's not boast. That is the way it will be. This is the best Michigan defense I've witnessed.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^
The entire D-Line isn't all UM players.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^
I would mostly agree, but Malik McDowell deserves a spot considering he's having success despite the rest of his line being JV football players.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
Admittedly, he is the sole focus of team's protection schemes given how awful the rest of their D-Line is. I've seen him routinely doubled and then chipped by a RB, etc. on a variety of occasions.
That being said, those numbers are surprising.
October 19th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
He has to be extremely frustrated this season with the lack of production from the rest of the line.
October 19th, 2016 at 3:12 PM ^
That sounds like a good reason to go pro next year.
October 19th, 2016 at 3:51 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 3:27 PM ^
I think Indonacious makes important points.
And an interior DL really can't be judged by counting stats. He can still do exactly what he is supposed to and be a force without acquiring tackles. And when the rest of the team is inadequate, a decent gameplan can eliminate him by moving the other way and using double teams.
I haven't exactly watched a lot of film on McDowell this year, but given how bad MSU has been, I don't think it's fair to say that he is overrated just because he can't destroy five offensive linemen on his own every play.
October 19th, 2016 at 7:28 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 10:16 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 4:45 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 3:19 PM ^
McDowell isn't even in their top 4 - but Replogle is.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^
ESPN really gives away their laziness and propensity to go with the most recognizable name sometimes.
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October 19th, 2016 at 2:38 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
Wormley and Taco? Guess they didnt want the D-line to be all UM.
Kalis could arguably make the list.
October 19th, 2016 at 4:06 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^
Taco is third in the conference in sacks
October 19th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^
He has to be the most effective pass rusher in this conference from the DE position. Even in the games where he's played, i.e. Rutgers, 2 sacks in only 2 quarters. If he didn't miss a couple games, he's already lead the conference in sacks. We've also rested our starters in numerous second halfs of blowouts (and will continue to this week and in the future). Taco is a monster.
October 19th, 2016 at 7:26 PM ^
Yup. There's a reason PFF had him graded so highly last year despite only playing in something like 33% of our defensive snaps. His athleticism and lower body power at almost 6'7 is unreal. As the guys here have noted, Tac has always been able to collapse the pocket via pure power rushes. Now that he is adding real speed moves off the edge he has the ability to play himself into a 1st or 2nd round pick. Aside from his inury time he has been even better than expected.
October 19th, 2016 at 7:30 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 2:36 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^
This was my initial reaction as well but they went with 2 safeties and 2 corners. Giving it to Lewis and King is defendable.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:38 PM ^
I stopped reading when it said, "Barrett is a leading Heisman Trophy candidate". Rest of list is automatically invalid.
October 19th, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^
He isn't a top 5 candidate? Sure seems like he is to me. Have you guys watched any of these other players you are complaining about being listed over Michigan players or is it just easy to complain?
October 19th, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
He's a glorified running back in a gimmick offense that works against teams with inferior talent. That's why these types of offenses work for a few plays a game in the NFL, but you can't build a strategy and team around it.
He will be exposed against us. I'm just hoping our offense shows up that day to put them away.
October 19th, 2016 at 3:04 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 2:58 PM ^
OSU's gimmick offense scored 42 points against Alabama in the semi's a couple years ago, it was only because Alabama had inferior talent?
October 19th, 2016 at 3:19 PM ^
I dunno why you put the sarcasm tag there. Cardale brought an element to the OSU offense that Barrett doesn't bring, which is the ability to beat a defense over the top. Barrett is not a good downfield passer.
October 19th, 2016 at 3:24 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 3:27 PM ^
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October 19th, 2016 at 3:38 PM ^
He was benched because he was playing poorly, he was definitely not playing poorly during their playoff run. But OSU hit a lot of big passing plays during their playoff run that they probably don't hit on with Barrett in there, and that opened things up for their running game. I don't think they beat Bama without that big play passing ability.
There's a reason Urbz went with Cardale to start the season last year, the OSU offense had more upside with him and we saw that in the playoffs.
October 19th, 2016 at 10:47 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 7:32 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 3:20 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 8:13 PM ^
OSU also lost Tom Herman that year.
October 19th, 2016 at 10:48 PM ^
October 19th, 2016 at 4:53 PM ^
They won because of an unstoppable gap power run game with Elliot and Cardale was on fire. Cardale was not running the read option. I also think OSU's O-line gelled into a dominant force that year...don't think they are quite there this year.
Once Saban got his players at Bama (NFL quality linemen) the gimmick offense was shut down. Tebow was also a bit different in that he ran the read option essentially as a fullback....he could power forward for 3 yards all day.
I don't see Ezekiel Elliot, Cardale Jones, or Tebow walking through that door and our D-line is legit with plenty of NFL talent.
October 19th, 2016 at 3:23 PM ^
Amazingly this voting and Heisman voting is done based off college football stats and specifically just stats accumulated to this point and not how well it will translate to the NFL.