Reader71

December 22nd, 2013 at 4:30 PM ^

Lewan's return is a huge reason why we had a winning season this year. The line was bad enough, but if we had to break in 4 new starters instead of 3, we would have had even more MA, more TFL, more sacks, and we would probably have been under .500.

Joined: 08/30/2009

MGoPoints: 22968

Mmmm Hmmm

December 22nd, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^

Even to the extent that Lewan struggled, it is hard to play as an experienced player when the player(s) next to you may or may not do what they are supposed to do (or what you expect, especially with so much shuffling in the interior).

I think the young tackles have a bunch of promise an that they will be good, but there would have been games where they would have been turnstiles dealing with both their own inconsistency and their teammates' inconsistency.

Joined: 09/12/2010

MGoPoints: 5144

TheNema

December 23rd, 2013 at 12:54 AM ^

Do any of us even dare imagine how bad the line would've been without Lewan this year?

True, but I can't blame some who only see that reality as half of the story. While Michigan's youth certainly excused the offensive line not being an asset this year, it will always be hard to see it as an excuse for being THAT bad.

 

 

Joined: 12/18/2013

MGoPoints: 2402

gotohail

December 22nd, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^

He certainly had his ups and downs this season. I won't dwell on the downs and without him the OL would have found even more ways to disappoint.

Thanks for giving the team and school your senior year! Hail!

Joined: 02/26/2012

MGoPoints: 1139

dragonchild

December 23rd, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^

I think a lot of cases where someone blew by him was because he tried to hand off an assignment to the LG or a TE outside him.  He almost never gets flat-out beat; it looks more like he ignores a guy someone else was supposed to pick up (though that could be a miscommunication on Lewan's part -- impossible for us to know).

Meanwhile defenses went out of their way to avoid him; when the pass pro reverted to slide protections he wound up blocking air.  Unfortunately, OL just isn't a playmaker's position.  If you're the best guy on the line, the defense is going to run away from you.  Hence, the endless parade of A-gap blitzes we saw this season.  They sure as hell weren't going to waste their eggs in the edge rush basket.

When defenses threw a guy at him, the results were pretty much what we expected.

Joined: 10/13/2011

MGoPoints: 61310

MGoStrength

December 22nd, 2013 at 5:10 PM ^

I think one of the more important things he did was show the young guys what it takes to be successful.  I was really impressed with how he changed his body this offseason.  He was a great role model this year with taking responsibility all year long while not blaming anyone else for the struggles.  I hope that pays off the next few years with the guys he played with like Bosch, Kalis, etc.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

Perkis-Size Me

December 22nd, 2013 at 6:06 PM ^

This year's O-Line performance wasn't what we would've liked, by a long shot, but it could've been a whole lot worse without Lewan. So having him back was a big boost.

The line showed some decent to good progress in the OSU game. Here's to hoping they can keep improving going into the bowl game, send the seniors out with a win, and get some momentum heading into the offseason.

If this team plays KSU like they played OSU, there's no reason we can't win comfortably.

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105934

WolverineLake

December 22nd, 2013 at 6:35 PM ^

I loved that his message was consistently around how important it is to play four years at Michigan. I hope it leads to the expectation that you spend your full eligibility at Michigan.

Great leader. Great player.

Joined: 07/10/2011

MGoPoints: 2878

MGoGrendel

December 22nd, 2013 at 8:16 PM ^

If I had the chance to go to work full time or stay in school one more year, I would stay in school. Being a kid, hanging out with good friends, partying - good reasons for any kid.

Add to that a chance to win the B1G last year's choice makes sense. The results of the choice may not have been 100% positive, but I bet there was a lot of good.

Some people embrace their choices and live with no regrets.

Joined: 01/21/2013

MGoPoints: 70413

cozy200

December 22nd, 2013 at 8:03 PM ^

So i always have this fantasy that C Wood will come back one day and coach the DBS and Tommy B will run an O and coach qbs. I know players dont always make great coaches. But I know hutch has been hanging around the program a bit. With that said, if one dude for sure would return later in life, its Taylor.

Joined: 01/02/2011

MGoPoints: 2430

A2YpsiBlue

December 22nd, 2013 at 11:22 PM ^

Just before the start of last season. He was crazy genuine and asked more questions about me than I could ask him. Love his passion and wish him nothing but the best.

Joined: 08/29/2012

MGoPoints: 784

Black Socks

December 23rd, 2013 at 2:43 AM ^

Pretty heartfelt stuff from Taylor.  You don't have to be a varsity athlete to feel the M camaraderie.  Let's win one more and best of luck in the future young man.

Joined: 11/30/2009

MGoPoints: 14363

Cold War

March 20th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^

Maybe a reminder of what Lewan did and our take on him not that long ago would give us perspective. Let's take a breath before we throw him under the bus.

Joined: 01/15/2012

MGoPoints: -3144