The WRs look so much better...
with a strong-armed, accurate QB throwing them the ball.
Now, before Team Butthurt shows up in full force, I'm gonna note that every single Michigan player tabbed as "underacheiving" on this site OTHER than Denard comes in for their fair share of criticism.
Roundtree had 19 grabs last year..obviously he had a "slump". Right? He's making plays left and right now.
Receivers not looking amazing? People ready to critcize them left and right. Denard making mistakes? It's everone else's fault BUT his. Any cirticisms to players other than Denard are acceptable (if you can explain them rationally) on this site.
EDIT: I don't want to come off as a dick, no matter how unpopular this opinion is. Sorry if I've offended you. But I stand by my point.
November 17th, 2012 at 3:17 PM ^
November 17th, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^
rather undistinguished defenses. I'm not about to start a Gardner-for-Heisman campaign. Let's see what he does on the road vs Ohio.
November 17th, 2012 at 3:29 PM ^
I suppose we can take out what Denard's done against Purdue, AF, UMass, Illinois as well?
November 18th, 2012 at 11:23 AM ^
It means you shouldn't jump to conclusions. Wow, what a novel concept
November 17th, 2012 at 3:33 PM ^
What Gardner gives you is access to the full receiver route tree. There were some passes that DRob just couldn't consistently make. DG is much more accurate (small sample size: noted) and is directly contributing to YAC due to better ball placement so as to not break the WR's stride.
So, we love DRob...yep, got it. I never did understand why some board members overracted when his deficiencies were cited. With the exception of losing 4 OL next year I am much more excited about next year's offense than I was about this one.
Now, lost in all of this is just how spoiled we are to have DG as a "back-up" option. Here is to hoping he has 4 TD's passing and DRob has 2 rushing next week in the toilet-bowl.
November 17th, 2012 at 3:39 PM ^
anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain can see that devin is legit. that's not the point. people aren't as upset with the OPs point as they are with the way he presented it. its senior day, denards last day in the big house. be thankful for all that hes done for this program, on and off the field, and let him have his day. we all know that devin is going to start next year (and probably next week against ohio). there's no need to present the point at such an inopportune time and in such a prickish way.
November 17th, 2012 at 3:39 PM ^
I just want to add one little thing. It's been brought up that Gardner has played against vastly inferior competition, which is without a doubt true. But look at it this way: would you happily take Gardner's stats these past weeks with Robinson? To go even further, do you think Denard would have put up appreciably better numbers than what Gardner has? Especially today?
I am not totally on board the Gardner is better thing but the above questions, if answered honestly, I feel most would say Gardner seems to be on par with a Denard performance in a different style. It at least merits a discussion.
I also don't quite understand why so many people have to come to Denard's defense. We all know what he's done, and he's frankly the type of athlete we may never see again. But isn't Devin a Michigan man too? He's endured the coaching changes, he's been through the bad times too, been through gimmick packages and position switches to get him on the field. I don't see this conversation as a slight to Denard but rather a compliment to Gardner.
November 18th, 2012 at 1:16 AM ^
I pretty much agree with you except that I think the "vastly inferior competition" argument isn't fair. Gardner has started against three Big Ten opponents, two of whom have clinched bowl eligibilty. People are talking about Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa like they're FCS opponents. They're not the worst teams we've faced this season; that would be UMass and Illinois.
November 17th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^
I look at it this way, Jim Bob; both players are winners. Each brings something different to the table. It's great to have both doing well.
No need to diss one to appreciate the other.
As far as the opinions on this board, so what if the majority are Denard fans and you're not?
November 17th, 2012 at 3:53 PM ^
This thread was to point out how much better the WRs look now, under a better passer. Because Gardner is a better pocket passer, as Obviously, some people interpreted this as me saying "screw Denard".
November 17th, 2012 at 4:02 PM ^
I think Roundtree especially has just been making better plays on the ball. He's making catches when he has pressure on him and going up strong for jump balls which was something he seemed to struggle with in the past. He even seems more powerful grabbing the ball out of the air which is nice to see.
November 17th, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^
The passing game in general has been much better since Gardner has been starting. A lot of it has been because of Gardner being a good QB, and yes a better passer than Denard. Part of it has been out of necessity, becuase we had to find a way to replace Robinson's production in the running game. The receivers have looked better, I will say that.
November 17th, 2012 at 4:14 PM ^
November 17th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
November 17th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
Many have had this opinion on here and been slammed for it, myself included. We all love Denard, he is not a good pocket passer. This change should have been made a year ago.
Borges did not suddenly become a creative coordinator, and the recievers did not just learn how to run routes and catch in the last two weeks. It's not a coincidence. Unless running the spread read offense, Gardner is a better college QB. Once they committed to not running that, the switch should have been made....I was clamoring for it last year after the MSU trash storm game and of course got slammed.
Gardner is taller, has a better arm, a more accurate arm, much better downfield touch and vision and is more mobile than any of the laser throwing statues we have had over the years. I would even argue he is a better "scrambler" than Denard (IE, he may not be as fast, but has better pocket presence and instincts). Denard, of course, is better on designed QB runs.
Kudos to Denard for being the greatest square peg to our round hole offense any one could be over the past two years, but we really should have had him at Reggie Bush slot reciever/running back role much earlier.
November 17th, 2012 at 5:01 PM ^
Yep. Yet certain folks prefer to get all mad about how Borges didn't run the same Rich Rod offense that did jackshit against good defenses.
November 17th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
I'm very impressed with Devin. And while i love what Denard brings to the game, i'm not one of the people who thinks that he should never be criticized (and i think it's funny that in his defense, people will criticize Devin for some of the same things after three games instead of three years). I think Michigan looks more complete with Devin at QB.
However, this post was very poorly timed. It's senior day. Enjoy the win for the kids, be happy that Denard got to see the field in a meaningful way and contribute ... and if we know anything about Denard, we should know that he didn't care about being the starting QB as much as helping his team, his brothers, and the other seniors win a football game.
November 17th, 2012 at 5:59 PM ^
1.) It's right before the Ohio game
2.) It's during a game
3.) During the SENIOR game
----
4.) But most importantly, it's after BISB stopped being a mod, and therefore he won't get Bolivian'd...
Too soon?
November 17th, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^
Perfect timing.
November 17th, 2012 at 6:31 PM ^
If you're trying not to be a dick, don't set up stupid straw men and don't use terms like "Team Butthurt."
November 17th, 2012 at 9:36 PM ^
I didn't know we were talking about Twilight...
But I do see your point. It is easier to catch a ball that hits your hands. The throw back screen over the defender right to the hands of the receiver is an example. Plus 6 drives 6 TD's??? That's great no matter who you play