Thoughts on Denard's ball-carrying style
Something has been bugging me for a while -- to wit, the fact that Denard Robinson always carries the ball in his left hand when running. Conventional wisdom would be to keep the ball in the "outside" hand to avoid getting stripped, but when a right-handed QB is running I'd imagine it would make sense to keep the ball in his right hand, to keep alive the possibility of throwing the ball before crossing the line of scrimmage. I noticed on one play during the spring game that he dropped back to pass, began running towards the line of scrimmage with the ball in his left hand, then tried to switch it to his right hand after seeing a receiver break open. That act, having to switch hands, would slow down his throwing motion considerably and could lead to increased fumbles. Is it possible he's been coached to do this? Is it perhaps a product of track relays, when he may have developed a habit of holding a baton in his left hand? Anyway, given that he's likely starting, it's something to watch for this season.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:38 PM ^
I thought this was going to be about some freak injury.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:39 PM ^
Me too.
Motion to a mod to edit the thread title?
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:39 PM ^
from a pretty generic title
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:41 PM ^
Edit dat shit cuz I was worried a little too
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:43 PM ^
No, definitely change the topic name.
When I read "Denard's Carrying Arm", I expect the following:
"....was seen in a sling while walking through South Quad"
I almost puked in my mouth before I clicked on this.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
or don't assume negative things
Hi. I'm MGoBlog, circa 2010. I'm surprised we haven't met.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:39 PM ^
Within 24 hours of kickoff, can you please not make any reference to Denard's limbs in post titles? I read it as "Denard's carrying arm was struck by a meteor and shattered into a billion pieces that fell into a volcano," and shat myself a little.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:40 PM ^
Only 22:20 to go!
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:42 PM ^
The OP's like that one doctor in "Arrested Development."
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
Denard only LOOKS like he's dead. He's got, like, blue clothes on or something.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 PM ^
oh dont worry, denard's "all right"
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:43 PM ^
I changed the title. Sorry for any confusion.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 PM ^
I would have put (don't worry, he's okay) next to the original title.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 PM ^
If not, you're killing me.
How about "Thoughts on the way Denard carries the ball" or "Denard's carrying style" or "When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a player to throw off the bonds of his previous ball carrying arm..."
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
Reminds me of the time I visited the doctor
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
I'm not sure if this is an improvement. I'd change the title to something like "Why does Denard hold the ball with his left hand?"
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
Yea...still not that great for the heart-attack prone, but thanks.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
haha not one comment so far about the actual content
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
You can't start threads about one of Denard's arms so close to the game. I almost started flipping out until I read through your whole post.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:54 PM ^
Denard's ball-carrying style seems to be the fastest on the field. I don't see the problem.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:54 PM ^
I have a feeling that if Denard can simply hold onto the ball, the coaching staff won't care which arm he uses.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
Not to knock on Tate, but it almost seemed like he has smallish hands...
but I love him just the same.
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
Regarding the actual content of the post: I hadn't noticed this, but I agree, that's odd if he's always doing that. It's probably just a habit. But at any rate, if we're noticing it, then staff must also be. So if it keeps happening, it must not be that big of a deal to Rod Smith.
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
And you know what I would prefer not to do now, or at any point during the season? Try to change a habit.
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:12 PM ^
his shoelaces either, which most observers might find suspect. But until he trips, If it works for him...
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
I would guess that once you have tucked the ball in you can't pass it anymore unless it's some kind of atracction pass, and wouldn't matter if it's in the right or left arm, it concerns me the most when the passer runs with the ball on the hand not protecting it whatsoever, if he carried the ball with the outside arm, well, that'd be terrific
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:16 PM ^
When Denard is scrambling around, he really has both hands on or near the ball. Because of that, he can drop it into either arm with relative ease, and it also has the added bonus of helping with ball security.
Now, contrast that with Tate's loaf-of-bread, left-hand-flailing-free style, which scares the everloving shit out of me.
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:27 PM ^
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
As long as he protects it better then Tate I'm fine with it. I don't expected him to have much of a quick release anyway, so whatever keeps him from fumbling.
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
No matter which arm he's using, he's going to have to use both hands to get it ready to throw. The only alternative is to hold it with a passing grip...
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
If he's protecting the ball while running, it's going to require both to get it in throwing position. And none of us would be happy seeing him at high speed running towards defenders gripping it like he's about to pass.
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:13 PM ^
HOLD ONTO THE DAMN BALL applied to the QBs when they run, not just punt returners.