Tate's job may not be that safe

Submitted by mikefromaa on
I just read an update on this week of practice on mgoblue.com http://mgoblue.com/football/article.aspx?id=182882 I am not sure whether to be stoked for Denard Robinson of really scared for the defense. Apparently Rodriguez runs some live scrimmage at the end of every practice. The highlights: Friday Denard rambles 58 yards for a touchdown Thursday he hits Kelvin Grady for a 23 yard TD. Wednesday he runs for a touchdown and throws a 45 yard TD to Greg Matthews Tuesday he rambles 68 yards on a broken play Monday he scrambles 72 yards for a touchdown, runs for another TD, and passes for two more. One thing is for sure: this guy is going to be fun to watch. It sounds like we may be watching him for four quarters.
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Tate Forcier
Denard Robinson

JTwolverine

August 22nd, 2009 at 4:53 AM ^

Tate is a better passer. They will both have a chance when the season starts. Who knows who will end up being the man. But I can say this with confidence, Both will play a lot this year. Honestly I dont care who becomes the starter, as long as they kick ass!

Joined: 08/09/2009

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JimBobTressel-0

August 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 AM ^

I see that Turner grabbed a pick...two weeks until the start of the season, and no news yet on Witty? This isn't good.

Joined: 08/27/2008

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The King of Belch

August 22nd, 2009 at 5:45 AM ^

I'm guessing Witty won't be in this class. Hopefully he gets tucked away at a Juco for a year or a prep school and comes in next year. Did he have one of those ACT spikes or something? I thought the ACT was his issue?? On Sheridan: I have a couple buddies who get to watch practice from time to time and both of them are adamant that Sheridan is handling himself very ably thus far. They say the difference is night and day, and they don't feel too bad if Sheridan has to start the season off as the #1.

Joined: 07/21/2009

MGoPoints: 8

tomhagan

August 22nd, 2009 at 6:37 AM ^

looks bigger and stronger in the videos (220 on a 6.1 frame is pretty big)...and more decisive... he still is not going to beat you with his arm...but having a QB on the roster that knows the offense well and is a decent enough athlete to run it is a good thing... Sheridan v2.0 should be a nice asset to the team this year and 2 years to follow. That having said...you gotta go with the playmakers...the kids with the skills and the futures. Personally...Id love to see a passing-spread offense at Michigan, and really stretch the field and utilize the WR talent that we have and that is coming in... But a Banging running game, and a running threat at QB is fun to watch too... IMO, the one thing we can gather from these camp reports is that the kids are developing and there will be some options available to make plays that were not there last year. We will probably get a mix of 2 QBs this year, and provided they dont turn the ball over much, it will be fun to watch.

Joined: 08/30/2008

MGoPoints: 105

ScoobyBlue

August 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 AM ^

Well said about stretching the field. Sheridan will never be an elusive runner, so can he stretch the field with his arm? Last year he couldn't throw downfield, so defenses played up, making it tougher to run the ball or throw short passes. Has his arm strength and accuracy dramatically improved? Have these practice visitors seen him throw some longer balls on the money? I'm still guessing he will be third string half way into the season.

Joined: 05/05/2009

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Don

August 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 AM ^

If we were hearing that he was struggling to make plays in practice, that would not be a good thing. Having two QBs who can get it done is a vast improvement over last year. If nothing else, it's highly likely that at least one QB is going to get dinged, and it would be nice to not have a steep dropoff with the replacement. Add in a much improved Sheridan, and it's possible that QB might go from a position of great weakness to one of substantial promise. To do that in one season is a significant achievement. It's not really Tate's job to lose yet, though. I've thought it likely that he will be the starter against WMU due to his throwing ability and head start learning the offense, but RR will start whoever he thinks deserves it. Sounds like Robinson's running ability is in the impossible-to-contain-forever category, and if he can hit the open receivers well enough he could get the nod to start. Regardless of who starts, I would be very surprised if both Tate and Robinson don't get lots of snaps once the season starts. As for the defense, it sounds like it hasn't been a total collapse: • The defense won the last play of the game situation for the second straight day, stopping four of the six offensive possessions from the six-yard line. • The defense stopped the offense on 5-of-6 final plays of the game from the 11-yard line. • The defense stopped four of the six offensive possessions in skelly (what the hell is skelly?). • The defense stopped the offense on four of six possessions on end of game situations where the ball was spotted at the 12-yard line with 14 seconds left and the offense had to score a touchdown. • During the team’s overtime drill, the offense scored three touchdowns with the defense collecting two stops. A third scoring chance was thwarted on a blocked field goal attempt.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148358

Goblue89

August 22nd, 2009 at 12:10 PM ^

Skelly is basically everyone but the offense and defensive lineman...a lot like 7 on 7. With regards to the defense, it's important to note that while RR wants the QBs to get hit a little bit I am sure guys are told not to tee off on them. So on some of those long runs, there may be a play here or there where the D could have gotten him but maybe didn't hit him as hard as they would in a live game. Also, the new thing to do in drills/skelly/scrimages/etc. is to run out the play through the end zone. So to some reporter writing for mgoblue.com it may look like a long play when really the player may have been tackled but just kept running.

Joined: 08/28/2008

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PeterKlima

August 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 AM ^

Do you know what defense he is going against? Even if its the same defense, do you know if the D uses more complex looks for Tate since he has worked through more of the playbook? You can't take much of anything out of the "Camp Notes" on mgoblue.com. But, I know how you feel, I just want to know how good these guys are..... 14 days.

Joined: 08/24/2008

MGoPoints: -313

wildbackdunesman

August 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 AM ^

I don't know what defense he has been going against. However, he has gotten most of his time with the 2nd string offense and a little bit of time with the 1st string offense. Great point about which defense he is playing against, but he is probably making most of these plays with the 2nd string Oline and supporting cast as well.

Joined: 07/16/2008

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scat_back

August 22nd, 2009 at 11:57 AM ^

McGuffie was solid before the injuries and Shaw showed flashes of explosiveness, but last year at this time they were both being built up as the two of the greatest freshmen running backs to come to Michigan in recent history. http://blog.mlive.com/jim_carty/2008/08/fred_jackson_cant_stop_raving.h… I'm not saying Denard won't be great (I hope he is)...I'm just saying we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves based on what we hear from fall practice. Still a lot of football to be played.

Joined: 04/14/2009

MGoPoints: 54

Tater

August 22nd, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^

Mac and Shaw might have been "hyped up" by the media last year, but with no true QB, they really didn't get an opportunity to show what they could do in a competently run spread option offense. Thus, Mac has scrambled eggs in his cranium, and Shaw is still a "back with lots of potential." Let's see how the team does this year with a better grasp of the offense and actual major college quarterbacking.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

UMFootballCrazy

August 22nd, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^

Robinson will play some and perhaps will even throw some just based on his athleticism and speed, but from the accounts that I have read, he has to improve on his footwork and as of last week did not know enough of that offence to know when he was making mistakes. Perhaps if everything stood still in order to wait for him to catch up, maybe; but by the end of the the year Tate will have a whole year's worth of game time experience under his belt. I beleive at this time that Robinson is still third on the depth chart and I do expect that by the end of the season he will be the go-to back up and an active part of a 2 QB rotation that will keep defences hopping.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 489

Blue boy johnson

August 22nd, 2009 at 11:42 AM ^

If Denard's passing improves greatly over what? He has not played a game at this level. Same with Tate, they both seem impressive in practice, we shall see who can do it better live.Not trying to downplay either QB, just saying we don't know.

Joined: 03/15/2009

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Tater

August 22nd, 2009 at 12:10 PM ^

In the spread option, you don't really have to be a pure passer. All Robinson will really be asked to do is to hit open recievers enough to keep the defense honest. Since he is a threat to run, the recievers should have a lot more seperation due to mismatches and the weird defensive breakdowns that seem to happen with great frequency against the spread. I hope to see both QB's often this year.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

a2bluefan

August 22nd, 2009 at 12:11 PM ^

Tate's job has not been safe and won't be until he's named the starter AND performs well in games. RR has said repeatedly that THREE guys are competing for the job. I'm taking RR at his word on this one. I also think it's his subtle way of preparing us all for the possibility that Sheridan might be the starter, at least in the beginning.

Joined: 12/29/2008

MGoPoints: 2758

Blue Balls

August 22nd, 2009 at 12:23 PM ^

Tate has the early jump on Denard because of his early enrollment. Tate has also been coached up since an early age. Denard on the other hand, has more athletic ability than Tate. I also know that the competition Denard faced while in high school was very good, Tate I'm not so sure. Tate is the better choice to start early on but Denard will get his chance. With both players being freshmen and limited time to learn the system, Denard's athleticism will be well noted. What really got my attention early on with Tate was his ability to roll out and pass(OMG!-understatement). From watching the offensive line he played behind in high school and Tate not being that tall, someone (Dad, brothers-coaches) spent alot of time with Tate developing this skill. Doug Flute like ability is what I think of when I see Tate roll out. With his laser arm, Tate is one great player. Denard on the other hand has God given abilities that most of us will never experience(include Tate here). The question really is will Michigan be able to coach this player up and if so how long will it take? With both players being true freshmen, I would hope, that Coach Rod has them learning a few different plays based on their unique skills. This would give Michigan a chance to open up the play book a little more especially when Bucknuts enters the big house.

Joined: 07/02/2008

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jmblue

August 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 PM ^

Given that Tate's a freshman, maybe we shouldn't be talking about him having the job in the first place. Neither one of these guys has ever played a down of college football.

Joined: 11/07/2008

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