What happened on "The Fumble?"
Does anyone know what, exactly, happened when Funchess ran into the snap? I was at the game and was watching the play clock run down. It was just about 0 when the ball was snapped. Was Gardner late bringing Funchess in motion? Was Funchess late starting in motion? Did Miller snap on his own because he knew the play clock was about out? It didn't look like Funchess was expecting a direct snap (though that would have been pretty cool). Was it Brandon's fault?
November 10th, 2014 at 11:17 AM ^
welllllllllllllllllllllllll,
we don't talk about fumbles.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
Funchess appeared to have missed the fact he was supposed to be in motion. Gardner was furiously gesturing at him to start moving, and he finally did too late. The timing got off, so when Funchess motioned past, he was behind the center instead of the end of the line when the snap went off. As a result, the snap hit Funchess before it could get to Gardner.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
Yep.
Generally, when a guy does not realize he's supposed to go in motion, you might as well call a timeout. Because that means he doesn't know the play. When I saw Gardner trying to get Funchess to go in motion, I knew the play was doomed.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
I knew we were going to win by 1 point too.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
You thought the final would be 3-2, right?
November 10th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
If that's the case, Gardner should have called a TO.
EDIT: Sorry. Magnus already said that. He's fast.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
I know many expect him to bolt for the NFL, but I question how high of a prospect ranking Funch would get at this point. Besides being a freakish athlete, his on field play has been rather underwhelming for most of this year.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^
I have proven in the past I am not a great predictor of whether a guy should go to the NFL or not (well, none of the guys I thought should have stayed for an extra year actually panned out in the NFL, so maybe I'm not THAT bad), but I think it's clear DF needs another year to try and round into a WR.
The guy only ctaches about 50% of the balls that are thrown right at him. I'm not talking about targets, I'm talking about ctahcable balls. Braylon was one thing, where he would always drop one ball he should have caught per game...DF is something entirely different. If I'm an NFL scout there is no way I draft a guy to play WR who hasn't shown an ability to catch a ball on any kind of consistent basis.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
Funchess has looked off for weeks. And not in a way that has anything to do with injuries. It just looks like he genuinely does not give the slightest of shits. Dropped passes, no blocking, not fighting for the ball, and mental mistakes like this. Wonder how much he's killing his draft stock, because scouts will surely notice.
November 10th, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^
Yep. If I'm watching him this season with an eye toward the draft, I'm telling him to a) step up his game over the last few weeks or b) stick around for another year. I don't think there's any way you can draft him in the first round with the way he's been playing over the past five games or so.
November 10th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
100% agree. However, every mock draft has him as a mid-1st rounder.
Probably because the WR/TE big-bodied pass catcher is all the rage in the NFL and teams are willing to take a risk on the next Graham/Gronk/Davis, etc.
As in the Lions taking Ebron at #10 last year
November 10th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
Especially with the way that some of the other top WRs have looked over the last couple of weeks. I know the media scouts still have him ranked high, but I wonder how much they've really looked at the film lately. Funchess has looked a lot more like a guy you take a flier on later in the draft than a first rounder.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^
I've been saying for a few weeks that his play doesn't merit a 1st round pick. At this point, he hasn't shown much other than being a freak athlete. He isn't a great blocker, has quite a few drops, looks like he takes plays off or in this case doesn't know the play all together.
And what should be a strength, jump balls, just don't seem to get thrown his way. 2 offensive coordinators and almost no jump balls. Borges would just toss it up to Hemingway or Roundtree, but really didn't for Funchess. I actually wonder if he has good "ball skills" while the ball is in the air or if it's Gardner.
November 10th, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^
He clearly has something wrong with his attitude in one way or another. Maybe he's tired of the play calls, or tired of DG's passing accuracy/timing, or tired of manball. I don't know. But I do know I see a lack of care in his play.
Do you recall when DG finally entered the Minnesota game? Did you see the instant effort increase in Funchess? Where is that drive now?
I'm not saying bench him for an entire game. I'm saying to not make him a starter until he improves his on field work ethic.
Edit: I say this while I type on a blog on my work computer during work hours. Maybe I'm not one to speak.
November 10th, 2014 at 4:13 PM ^
Unless you're the Lions. We love drafting unproven tight ends in the first round.
November 10th, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
Count me in with those who think that Funchess has degraded his market value this year. However, I think it is probably due much more to playing with undisclosed injuries as opposed to any motivational failings on his part.
This degraded market value produces one of the year's better sliver linings: I can't see him being projected high enough in the draft to make it worth his while to leave. I think he would profit financially by playing himself into the high first round next year.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
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November 10th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
Hoke said in the post-game presser that the timing was off from the beginning of the play and that he should have taken a timeout. Usually it is Norfleet in motion on that play.
So, essentially, Funchess was late to motion and out of position
November 10th, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^
I don't understand why the "Norfleet" plays were run by Funchess. He is absolutely the wrong player for those plays. With Norfleet sidelined, Devers or Canteen are better candidates for end-arounds and jet sweeps than Funchess. SMH.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
"Usually that's where we use (Amara) Darboh in motion. We got the motion a little late. I should have called timeout. I didn't like the feel and the look and I should have called the timeout. That's on me. The whole play was terribly set up and we should have regrouped."
November 10th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
...but contrast this comment to what Brian Kelly said about his QB a couple threads below. This is why I hate the personal crap thrown at Hoke. Things are a mess, yes, but Hoke deserves better than character assaults about how "stupid" he is etc. Criticize the performance, not the man.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
I don't want him retained at seasons end (not even close), but the guy is a class act as far as I'm concerned. A genuinely nice man who cares about his players...If he could just coach we'd be all set. Regardless how this all plays out I will always consider Brady Hoke a good person and wish him nothing but the best.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^
the WRs were moved around a bit, it seemed. Obviously, all that hard practice didn't pay off with good timing on game day. Someone should have called a TO and someone should have chewed Funchess' ass off about not coming in motion on time. Dropped balls and an obvious mental error deserve that treatment. Because the Michigan sideline was on the opposite side of from where I was sitting, I didn't get to see if anyone said a word to him when he got over to the sideline.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
That was a play that Norfleet would usually run. Since he was out they elected to have another play maker, Funchess, run the play. Either not enough reps in practice or didn't recognize the play call made him confused about what should have happened.
EDIT: Looks like I don't need to guess.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^
This team might have hit bottom (MSU) and started to climb it's way out of the hole (Indiana), they start digging (NU).
Yeesh. I like the comment elsewhere about sludgefarting our way to a bowl game. Couldn't have said it any better.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
This is fantastically depressing.
November 10th, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
between Funchess and Gardner. Gardner should not have signaled for the snap when Funchess was almost right behind Miller. Or if the clock was running out (don't remember) then he just should have called a TO. And Funchess either didn't know what the play was or left go go in motion too late or who knows. It does seem though that Funchess didn't have his head in the game. Normally, I'd say one of the coaches just needs to give him a big-time butt kicking (figuratively of course) to get his attention. But, with the offensive coaching cluster-f that we have now, I don't know if that would solve anything. That play was just another indicator of how disorganized and clueless Michigan is on offense.
November 10th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
Can we bench this dude already? Starts are just a stastic, man.
November 10th, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
A stronger coach would have benched him a while ago. Funchess has been giving minimal effort for weeks. Sit his ass down and send a message to the rest of the team. Not like the team has anything to lose anyways. And I'm sure we have plenty of other people can not block people or drop passes.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^
I have been away hunting most of last week so I didn't hear why Jake Butt didn't play against Indiana. While watching the game one of the announcers says it was a suspension for not giving enough effort in a previous game....I couldn't believe it. Not that someone got sat down for not giving enough effort, but that it was Jake Butt and not DF....
I love all the players on this team and want nothing but the best for them in their futures, but he has really been f*ing the dog a lot on the field lately IMHE.
November 10th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^
It's just a statistic, but also, if I do, then I have to run, which becomes another statistic, and someone tackles me, maybe even hard. Statistically, I really don't like getting hit hard, so isn't it better to just not catch the damn ball?
November 10th, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^
it was devin's fault
November 10th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^
November 10th, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
are making too many mistakes over and over and over. That is coaching. If a guy can't do his job, then put someone in who will at least put in the effort. They are losing anyway so give someone a chance that WANTS to play. This team takes a lacidasical attutude to games. There is very little fight or effort in general. They may work hard in practice, so they make a great practice squad, but there is no sense of urgency. Certain individuals seem to fight hard hard some times, but not all the time. It is a proviledge to wear the winged helmet and it seems many of these players treat it like it is their right......Well, come next season things will be different and the entitlement willbe gone. Cuz if it isn't there won't be any fans showing up to watch.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
But that wasn't Brimley's point. He wasn't questioning why people want BH fired, it's why people continue to make personal attacks against a coach who is clearly a genuinely good man and undeserving of those attacks. Be critical of his coaching all you want, but his character should be off limits IMHE.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^
Timing was off, as has been said earlier.
I see a lot of parallels between Funchess and Jadeveon Clowney from last year. Both are/were projected to be first round draft picks. Both got dinged up earlier in the season. Both had flashes of brilliance followed by extended stretches of apparent lack of effort.
I really hope Funchess is just suffering from a mental issue, similar to the yips, where he's just over thinking everything and it's causing him to play tentatively and make mistakes. If it's lack of effort, I'm not sure what to do other than bench him, suspend him, and if that doesn't work tell him that he's off the team. Hopefully it won't come to any of that.
November 10th, 2014 at 1:22 PM ^
Who can even sort out the blame?
November 10th, 2014 at 1:33 PM ^
Had to be moved from TE position because he can't block.Becomes a WR where he can't catch.Maybe he's just overrated?
November 10th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^
I don't think it is as much "can't" as it is apathy. Some believe his ankle sprain may be distracting him...maybe, but Tai Streets played with two broken fingers during the 1997 season and nobody could come close to accusing him of taking off plays.