What are you doing coach?
No surprise that I'm not the most crazy about RichRod, but I still want him to succeed and do well. But what the hell is he thinking benching Forcier? Devin Gardner looked less than impressive today, and he didn't even arm punt the ball. It's this tough guy mentality of trying to either force Tate to become the man or force him to quit. Not all players respond to that kind of coaching, and a good coach should know that. Sometimes the coach needs to swallow his pride and let his players play. What were you all thinking when Denard went down today? OH SHIT? Yeah that was what I was thinking too. If Forcier is pissed enough to transfer, then what's going to happen when the Big Ten schedule rolls around and Denard gets banged up a bit? This season's success is prdicated on RichRod winning, and the most important factor is not Denard, but having a game ready viable number 2 QB. And with Tate, we can all feel confident that he can come in and play well. Devin may be great, but he's going to have some tough times as saw today. Benching Tate was a stupid move, and we'll see how it affects us in the long run. Tate is the only guy who can throw good long balls, and without that, our screens are much more apt to be shut down by Big Ten defenses.
September 6th, 2010 at 2:32 PM ^
We shouldn't keep score, just let the kids have fun.
Mmm Capri Sun...
September 4th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
Rich Rod basically told our experienced backup to fuck off. I cannot wait until Denard goes down and Gardner gets raped. 3-9 again boys!!!
September 4th, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^
watching your evolution throughout every thread on the board from supporting Tate to eventually hoping Denard gets injured and Gardner gets. . .raped? so that you can be proven right and hemorrhaging points has been truly fascinating to watch.
September 4th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
Why would your root against a team that you're supposedly a fan of? Tate did this to himself, and he knows it.
September 4th, 2010 at 7:29 PM ^
September 5th, 2010 at 6:50 AM ^
There is no evidence suggesting that Gardner did not beat-out Tate fair & square for the #2 spot on the QB depth-chart. The best player should play.
In addition, it is well-known that Rich Rod promised Gardner an opportunity to compete for playing time this season. Gardner enrolled early and had both a good spring and good fall camp while Tate reportedly rested on his laurels. If RR reneges on his promise to Gardner, then future QB recruits probably won't believe him when he makes the same promise to them.
September 5th, 2010 at 10:56 PM ^
FWIW - I believe one of the BTN analysts in the Michigan practice preview a few weeks ago predicted that DG would be #2 and Tate would be #3 based on their observations.
I think people are reading too much into this; it was two snaps. My guess RR wanted to get DG a couple snaps and early experience fully knowing that Denard was going to be back in soon.
And people still seem to insist that Tate earned the right to play from performance last year. I bet that if there were a similar situation elsewhere, such as with Kovacs, no one would show any outrage like they are about this. Get over it.
September 6th, 2010 at 3:13 PM ^
So you want Tate to be rewarded for his performance last year but its ok to look past his actions or lack of action in the offseason and don't bother looking at the work Denard and Devin put in during the offseason since that is meaningless?
September 4th, 2010 at 7:20 PM ^
September 5th, 2010 at 6:02 AM ^
September 6th, 2010 at 6:52 PM ^
he's actually had an excellent camp and that might be another reason for his reaction - deep hopes he had worked his way out of the hole. i'd be very surprised if he's not back in for ND.
all of this seems to be emblematic that the process didn't magically end when he got his wings. he knows his mistakes and i think was just very upset to be kept off the field, whether he suspected it or not. i guess i'm in the rare column that actually can understand him being frustrated - immature but understandable. he's a competitor and doesn't know how to handle that frustration of wanting to be the part of something big. if he transfers i will of course not 'understand' but i 'understand' him being at a boiling point, just now how he carried it.
September 6th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^
he's actually had an excellent camp
This is what Doug Karsch (97.1fm) was saying that Tate was really chasing Denard hard during the fall camp - really making the starting job a competition.
So if this is true, why was he 3rd string? More punishment? Did he screw up somehow outside the practice field?
Tate looked like he didn't want to be there, like he wanted to be anywhere but at that stadium.
If he doesn't see playing time against Bowling Green or Umass, then we know he's deep in the doghouse.
September 6th, 2010 at 11:24 PM ^
punishment. not to mention it pushes the 3rd string to be better the same way the 2nd string pushes devin to be better, etc
September 4th, 2010 at 7:25 PM ^
Totally embarrassing that a grown man would do that to a college kid.
What are you talking about???? You are not promised or are you guranteed playing time when you play at Michigan!!! How did he humiliate him? by taking his wings? by playing Devin ahead of him? He got his wings taken away because he didn't show up to summer workouts or practiced with the team like Denard did. Denard put work in the summer and showed dedication and it obviously shows. It wasn't just Twolf, it was other seniors also calling him out so he obviously Tate had a problem. Tate thinks he should be guranteed playing time, like it's owed to him and shouldn't have to work for it. You can't have a QB that your team has no respect for. Yes I don't agree with him putting Devin in but he did and Tate showed the lack of maturity and lack of class that Rich and the seniors were talking about by crying on the bench by himself. If he had any heart he would have cheered the team to A WIN and think to himself wow I need to step up to earn some PLAYING TIME. It's obvious you have never played football ever so get out of here with your weak stuff and leave the grown man talk to people that know.....
September 4th, 2010 at 7:50 PM ^
I have played football.....not at the college level but I have played. And what RRod did goes completely against what he and the players were saying earlier in the week about how hard Tate has been working to gain respect back.
Why would you need to teach him another lesson if you have acknowledged he is working hard to gain respect?
September 4th, 2010 at 7:28 PM ^
Totally embarrassing that a grown man would do that to a college kid.
What are you talking about???? You are not promised or are you guranteed playing time when you play at Michigan!!! How did he humiliate him? by taking his wings? by playing Devin ahead of him? He got his wings taken away because he didn't show up to summer workouts or practiced with the team like Denard did. Denard put work in the summer and showed dedication and it obviously shows. It wasn't just Twolf, it was other seniors also calling him out so he obviously Tate had a problem. Tate thinks he should be guranteed playing time, like it's owed to him and shouldn't have to work for it. You can't have a QB that your team has no respect for. Yes I don't agree with him putting Devin in but he did and Tate showed the lack of maturity and lack of class that Rich and the seniors were talking about by crying on the bench by himself. If he had any heart he would have cheered the team to A WIN and think to himself wow I need to step up to earn some PLAYING TIME. It's obvious you have never played football ever so get out of here with your weak stuff and leave the grown man talk to people that know.....
September 4th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
Have you gone over to his family's website and looked at his wall of shame where he posts articles about how his teammate Denard looked really good?
Did you see how he pouted in the Iowa game last year?
Did you hear that he didn't attend the majority of off season workouts?
Did you see how he pouted today in front of everyone?
I like him, but he just seems like a "me" kind of guy and that isn't being a good teammate.
September 4th, 2010 at 7:46 PM ^
September 4th, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
September 4th, 2010 at 11:45 PM ^
See ya.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:00 AM ^
Have you considered the possibility that Rich Rod knows Tate better than you do? I mean, he does see him every day in practice.
September 5th, 2010 at 11:43 PM ^
"It is better to be thought a fool than to post on a blog and remove all doubt".
As we all have known since Tom VH posted his diary "Mike Forcier on Tate and Transfers" on September 4th, Tate has done something (I will NOT speculate!) more than just miss some voluntary practices and is being disciplined. It is not just a motivational thing.
Tates Father: "We knew some disciplinary actions were coming down the pipe, so we kind of saw some things that others didn't. Not everyone knows and sees everything that goes on on the inside."
Tate is being disciplined by the coaching staff and this is why he did not play. Once you decide on disciplinary action you can not just forget about it when the starting QB gets hurt.
The coaches and Tate are keeping this internal and that is the way it should be.
September 7th, 2010 at 7:46 AM ^
Devin Gardner looked less than impressive today, and he didn't even arm punt the ball.
For... two plays? One of which was a perfectly executed hand-off?
Warning to Michigan Players:
Don't be anything less than superhuman on every single play. Ultimate Quizmaster will have none of that "effective" shit.