Steve Brown vs. Williams/Smith
So last year everyone was wondering how bad Wright and Lopata must be for that fuck Gingell to be starting. Lloyd eventually made the switch for Lopata, and lo and behold, he was way better than that fuck Gingell.
I think a few days ago, someone was wondering the same thing about Michael Williams - if Brown is this bad, how bad must Williams be to not see any playing time. I seriously doubt that they could be that much worse than Steve Brown. I know this is some idiotic logic, but I really would love to see either Brandon Smith or Michael Williams get significant playing time in place of Brown with the hope that they'll prove the speculators wrong just like Lopata.
Anyone with inside knowledge care to shed some light on this situation?
September 14th, 2008 at 12:59 PM ^
September 14th, 2008 at 3:44 PM ^
September 14th, 2008 at 3:52 PM ^
I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard Brandon Smith has appendicitis and is going to redshirt this year.
Williams had a knee injury last year, not mono.
September 14th, 2008 at 1:16 PM ^
Stevie Brown was unanimously praised throughout the entire off-season and pre-seaso, so I'm not sure if it's a matter of everyone being crappy, but one of the fact that the staff thinks Brown is a good player.
For the record: Brown had one single fuck-up yesterday - he missed a tackle on that slant that went for like 45. For the record - Donovan Warren missed the tackle at the start, and Brown missed it 25 yards further down field. That's all Brown messed up. He didn't mess up against Miami, really, and he got roasted once against Utah. Both of Michigan's corners had worse days yesterday than Brown.
September 14th, 2008 at 6:52 PM ^
I agree.
Every bad things he does seems to get so magnified. It can be a bit over the top. We're also just assuming that he's the one making those bad plays. The whole secondary seems to be confused every week over their responsibilities. Brown has become the fan's whipping boy, but I have not been impressed with anyone back there. They're not on the same page with each other or this new system on D.
I might call them them weakest unit on the team right now!?!?!?
September 14th, 2008 at 11:50 PM ^
September 15th, 2008 at 12:18 AM ^
Dude, I don't think that's the case at all. Yeah, Brian constantly piling on Brown doesn't help, but I can't remember seeing a player who was so obviously responsible for so many big plays by the other team. He may not be that bad most of the time, but Brown has a way of really being apparent when he fucks up.
So far, Brown has been a starter for 4 games if I'm correct (the horror, and the three games this season). Out of those four, has there been a single game where he didn't once fuck up on a huge play?
And in this case, what's wrong with pointing out the same 20 year old repeatedly fucking up? I'm not calling into question anything other than his football abilities. If anything, this is more a criticism of the coaching staff for not giving Williams or Smith more of a chance (though I guess Smith may be redshirting due to illness).
September 15th, 2008 at 12:23 AM ^
For one, Brian isn't a casual fan by any definition I can think of for "casual". So whatever you read, odds are you're getting a very thorough evidence based +/- eval. It's on the readers with poor comprehension around here that gather and create their own memes within the community. Thanks collective misapprehension!
September 15th, 2008 at 8:51 AM ^
Colin - granted, "casual" was probably not the correct word-choice.
Anyway, my point wasn't that Brian doesn't do a great job, or I don't like the UFR (those aren't true), but merely that an observation that Brian makes isn't an infallible, unassailable truth. I've read opinions of at least two people on Brown that clash with Brian's - two people who, on a strictly X's and O's standpoint, I'd tend to put more belief in. So, at the very least, it is not a 100% given that Brown is the giant hole of suck that everyone blames him for. At this point, if something goes wrong, and Brown is in the camera shot, people freak out.
For instance - was that long slant more Brown's fault, for missing a tackle 25-30 yards downfield (he was one of three people to miss a tackle on that play), or Warren's for giving Tate the inside, allowing him behind him, AND missing the initial tackle for a gain of 9? In my opinion, it's probably much more Warren's, but everyone is silent about that, choosing to pile on Brown.
September 17th, 2008 at 11:22 AM ^
I guess I'd be one of the people "trashing" Stevie Brown, but it has nothing to do with the UFRs (I usually don't have the time to read them). It's because of what I witness in games, not Brian's opinion. Maybe it does stem, as gsimmons posited, from a misunderstanding of the scheme. Brown's made some good plays (the first that comes to mind is a forced fumble against ND), but I still fell that he's a liability in pass coverage. He is certainly not the only problem in that area, but I can't say I'm comfortable with him playing safety yet. Unlike others, I still think he can and probably will improve, and maybe someday that comfort will come, but for now we just have to trust the coaches. There's not much else we can do.
September 17th, 2008 at 11:22 AM ^
Obviously, not every criticism of Stevie Brown is based on Brian's UFR. I did not mean to contend that. What I meant to say is that people are now so hard-wired to hate Brown that even when he's not the main culprit on a play (the slant to Tate) or culpable at all (the bomb to Tate), people get on him merely because he's in the camera shot.
Our linebackers have been far, far, far worse than Brown this year, but no one is starting "Fire Jonas Mouton" threads.
September 17th, 2008 at 12:58 PM ^
What would makes us "hard-wired to hate" him? I don't hate him in the least. I do think, however, he's at fault for the bomb based on the fact that he drifted over to Tate but failed to slow him down or cover him. Trent looked like he was expecting Brown to take him. Maybe I'm wrong, time will tell.
On the slant, clearly Warren and Thompson (I think those were the two, at least) should have made the tackles, but so should Brown have. I can't blame him for all, or even most, of that one, but he's supposed to be the last line of defense. Warren gave up the catch and first down, Thompson gave up another 10 yards or so, but Brown gave up the last 40.
Mouton didn't start the Utah game (which was the linebackers' worst showing), Panter did (along with Evans and Ezeh). The LB play has been markedly better, but not great, with Thompson and Mouton taking over exclusively.
September 17th, 2008 at 3:41 PM ^
September 17th, 2008 at 11:40 AM ^
September 17th, 2008 at 6:36 PM ^