TuffBammBamm

February 25th, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^

There's an impression that Shea wanted a fifth-year but Harbaugh said no.  There hasn't been anything out of Schembechler Hall that would indicate Harbaugh forced Shea out.  Especially given the speculation that Harbaugh handed the started job to Shea on day one.

Shea's quote is pure speculation.

InterM

February 25th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^

I'm still not following you.  Both the article and quote indicate that Shea would have pursued the possibility of a 5th year if he thought he could get a prompt ruling from the NCAA.  Since he didn't think he could, he didn't pursue it.  Where's the ambiguity?  As far as Harbaugh's concerned, since Shea decided to leave, there presumably was no need to say yes/no to a request that never came.

bhughes81

February 25th, 2020 at 5:18 PM ^

I'm not excited to see him leave. A 5th year senior with 60% complete, 8,800 yards and 68 TDs over 36 games (5,661 and 45 TDs at Michigan over 26 games) isn't exactly Brian Lewerke bad stats. I am excited to see DCaff or Milton, and see if they can surpass those numbers in 2 years. The schedule lines up well for them.

Mgoblue0205

February 25th, 2020 at 5:50 PM ^

12 fumbles last year alone, granted not all were lost. Yes he put up numbers in the last 2 years, because the offense was more pass oriented. I think you'll see QBs the next few years surpass everyone in the record books as far as yards and TDs. The bottom line with Shea Patterson was the inconsistency, and lack of deep ball accuracy. I'm excited to see Dmac and Milton.

curl06

February 25th, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^

I mean, he had no eligibility left outside of suing for the current redshirt rule to be retroactive. The timeline of such a lawsuit would seem to just prove to be a distraction and mess with the timeline of the draft process, which would be a huge risk if it were denied. So, I'm not sure why anyone would think that someone that has used up all their eligibility was pushed out.

energyblue1

February 25th, 2020 at 2:31 PM ^

Impression could be right or wrong that he wanted to return and Harbaugh said no.  That said, your completion percentage dropping 8 points would do that.  It really sounds like there is some addition by subtraction in wanting kids that are putting the work in all off season to be the best team in the conference is wanted and the staff didn't have glowing remarks about Shea when they said he spent way to much time on the golf course and not the football field.  That could have been tongue and cheek but his play made that statement seem very accurate. 

Blue Middle

February 25th, 2020 at 5:45 PM ^

It could also be that the uncertainty around the NCAA granting medical exceptions makes it impossible for someone who needs to make an NFL draft decision to do so in a timely manner.  I read this as Shea saying, "If I could have been given another year by the NCAA before having to make a decision, I may have taken it."

Mr Miggle

February 26th, 2020 at 8:41 AM ^

Shea could have asked a year ago and he wouldn't have been obligated to return for his 5th year.

I know the Michigan Rivals site was pushing this idea but it's just ridiculous. The NCAA would have made the rule retroactive if they intended it to be. We can be certain it was discussed at the time. The rule change was made 18 months ago. No one petitioned to have it applied retroactively after the 2018 season, but now Shea could return if only Harbaugh would take him back? This is 100% them stirring something up. Whether it's primarily to drive traffic or because they don't like Harbaugh is up for debate.

There are simply no grounds to force the NCAA to make the rule change retroactive.

MKen

February 25th, 2020 at 1:19 PM ^

Was time for both sides to move on.  He had hit his ceiling which was unfortunately lower than what we had hoped.  Time to see what they have in DM,JM et al

Carpetbagger

February 25th, 2020 at 2:09 PM ^

I agree with your statement. It's pure speculation to say that either of the 2 QBs vying for Patterson's job will be better than he was. He was a decent, good, not great by any means QB.

However, I'm sure, after watching 2 seasons of Patterson play it's time to move on. Grass may not be greener, but by damn it's time to find out what some full time fertilizer can grow us.

Phaedrus

February 25th, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^

There is no reason to start out any post with "I think" because it's evident that the post reflects the thoughts of the poster. Saying, "I think," is just a way of hedging to be polite in conversation.

It's not like you started your post with "I think you should have. . ."

Michigan4Life

February 25th, 2020 at 6:18 PM ^

There is evidence that DMC has better mental processing speed than Patterson. Patterson has not shown that he can read defense and is stuck at one read to the point where the coaching staff has to simplify his read so he can get the ball out. Films don't lie.

DMC has shown that he can get the ball out quickly and process a lot faster plus he throws with anticipation. He showed that more than Milton who has yet to master that which is why I think DMC gets a huge edge over Milton. Milton has stronger arm but his accuracy is erratic.

bronxblue

February 25th, 2020 at 2:42 PM ^

Neither of those two claims have substantial evidence behind them, but sure, optimism abounds.

I like McCaffrey and think he has potential, but I swear Michigan fans (and I guess CFB fans generally) constantly assume the depth chart is not, in fact, a reasonably objective analysis of a player's ability to perform the job relative to others.  

MKen

February 25th, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^

He was trending up until osu and bama.  seemed to make the same misreads/mistakes as before.  Again, jmho but time to move on.  DM seems to have the raw tools but as someone said, we have basically no evidence that he'll be better than Shea.  Is it DM or JM?  Or, could CM steal the job?

I'mTheStig

February 25th, 2020 at 2:42 PM ^

Hard to have that evidence you mention when one QB is promised the starting job no matter how hard the other 2 QBs work.

But, by the limited sample size of data on the field, and using the eyeball test, yes, Dylan has better a better arm than Patterson.  I don't forsee Dylan either throwing short to open receivers or aimlessly chucking the ball downfield when he has to go deep. 

Dylan's biggest fault is he needs to learn to protect himself.

WestQuad

February 25th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^

Who knows how good Shea could have been with another year.  It's a moot point now.  

After the disappointment of Speight's 2nd year, the O'Korn/Peters mess, and the dashed expectations of Shea with the DPJ/Black/Collins/Martin class,  that DM and JM will be set up to be all time fan favorites even if they are just decent.  I'm hoping they end up being monsters, but constant drops and over throws last year were really frustrating.

jsquigg

February 25th, 2020 at 4:01 PM ^

Regardless of who is Michigan's next QB, I disagree with the idea that bringing him back would be a good idea. The installment of the offense for whatever reason cost the team early, and Patterson repeatedly seemed to muff the reads in the offense. There's no doubt he was a talent who peaked before the OSU game, but his lack of attention to detail cost the offense as a whole.

Whether McCaffery or Milton, it's not unreasonable to think a QB with less talent who simply makes the right reads the majority of the time will take this offense to the next level. Shea always struck me as someone who was talented and tough, but only did enough work to maintain his position. That may be unfair, and if the same patterns hold this year the coaches will have to take even more blame.

RockinLoud

February 25th, 2020 at 1:33 PM ^

I don't blame him. College is an amazing time for many people, especially being a part of a team. Time stops for no one, however, and it's time to see what DMac and JMil can do.

Bodogblog

February 25th, 2020 at 1:56 PM ^

Sam Webb has said he didn't want to go through the process again, like he had to coming from Ole Miss.  He actually states that in the quote above ("... to be sure about another year...") - if he were sure that he would get a 5th year, then he would have been much more open to it.  But the prospects were uncertain, and that along with everything else a player goes through in deciding whether to stay, pushed him to move on.  

If you're going to go pro, you have start training and participating in Senior Bowls and everything else right after the season.  If the NCAA/B1G could have given him an answer right away, then I think it's reasonable that he may have thought about more.  But faced with 1) an uncertain appeal, and 2) a likely lengthy wait to get that decision, it makes sense that he just moved on. 

It can be both here - he would have liked to have stayed, but also wanted to move on.  Life is like that sometimes. 

Special Agent Utah

February 25th, 2020 at 2:06 PM ^

I know I wanted to go back to UM for a 5th year (and a 6th and a 7th...) after I started to have to work for a living.