If we're gonna have our QB running around like a chicken with its head cut off (i.e. Sheridan). We might as well have that be a fast chicken with its head cut off (Feagin).
Seriously though, you can tell the adverse effect Sheridan coming into the game has on the team. Everybody from the O-Line to the defense plays softer because deep down they know that no matter what they do, they now have no chance to win. Sounds kinda over-pessimistic but tell me you dont see that.
Wow. That youtube profile is gold. Pure effing "Gold, Jerry Gold!". He's 19. Doesn't even go to UM. Hates the constitution but somehow loves the supreme court. Argues that human rights are NOT inalineable. All of this cannot however be complete without the obligatory narcissistic shirtless mirror "look at me, I'm a myspace douchebag" self-shot. He should be summarily executed. Seriously.
PS The only male in the universe allowed to take narcissistic shirtless mirror self-shots is Sex Panther Robinson. Only HE has that right. Everybody else is prohibited from carrying said act out.
I graduated from the B-School last year and consider Zoltan a friend. He's coming back next year. Last time I talked to him about that particular topic (admittedly a little while ago), he was considering getting a MAC if the school would pay for an extra year. He's a really cool, extremely dedicated (try balancing the B-school with football), and very smart guy...
Oh yeah, I forgot that Carty says that all football players are dumb and get "worthless" General Studies degrees.
Let me clarify a bit because I got a little caught up in my rant and didn't explain this well enough. What I was implying (maybe I DIDN"T phrase it the right way) was that a kid can have that toughenes and meanness be undervalued relative to some of his measurables and other more tangible qualities. Odds are that a high 4-5 star LB WILL be tough and mean (that's true) but we don't have many of those on our roster (Fitz maybe, and Mouton who was rated as a safety). However, we CAN have 3-low 4 star guys who ARE mean and physical. Isiah Bell and Mike Jones are two of my binkies for this class. Watch their film.
I know being "mean", "tough", and "physical" might be cliches in this business to some but I insisit that especially for LB's these qualities are REAL, they are IMPORTANT, and they are not taught by coaches in college.
1) Depth- There is simply not good depth. Even if Hill and Witherspoon had stayed, they were NOT gonna be serious contributors at LB this year (Hill was still way underdeveloped and Spoon was more of a pass rushing one trick pony out of HS who looked more like a Weakside DE). The combo of getting only three total LB's between 2004-2005 (with no super talented ones) hurt us badly but then losing Mixon and Patilla from '06 killed us.
2) Lack of talent (not necessarily as defined by stars) at OLB- Ezeh and Thompson are decent to potential to be quite good and serviceable at MLB respectively. Fitzgerald is widely considered to be a potential starter at MLB. That's not bad, lets look at OLB. Mixon, Patilla, and Logan all projected as OLB - all of them are busts. Mouton does have potential at OLB but is still a year away from being solid (I also have SOME doubts about his having a true mean streak but that's another story). Panter (JUCO) is an OLB (SLB actually), Herron (by all accounts a bust in waiting) is an OLB, and Evans who is athletic enough but only a RS Freshman is an OLB. We dont have any seniors/RS juniors at OLB, instead we have projects, journeymen, and a guy (Thompson) playing out of position. Next year our "experienced" OLB's will be Mouton, Evans, and Herron. That's weak and scary.
Wat are we doing about it? Improving OLB depth by recruiting them like crazy. So far, we have 3 OLB recruits in this class (Hawthorne, Bell, and Jones), and one more MAYBE coming (Jenkins although nobody really knows). What do these four guys have that our past OLB's didn't?
- Speed and Athleticism: Bell plays safety, Jones played safety until this year, and Hawthorne IS pretty darn fast despite the "OMG he's a cow because he runs 4.7" listed 40 yard time. These guys have to be able to run to the sidelines and cover is space. The one's we've recruited can do this.
-Mean streak and physicality: To me this, not "speed" or "size" or anything is what David Harris had that set him apart. This is something that IMHO out current starting LB's lack. Remember Harris in 2006 meeting PJ Hill in the hole and driving through him, putting him down for a loss or no gain? Now think of Ezeh or Thomspon meeting PJ Hill and tackling him but having HIM drive through THEM and fall foward for 2-3 yards more. That little difference says a lot. You need tough guys who give hits more than they take them. It takes guts to decide that you are gonna hit a 240 lb man running full speed at you harder than he is gonna hit you. That cant be taught. Juice is running the option? Rip his f'ing head off everytime he tries it whether he keeps it or not! Its legal, it just takes a little more effort and meanness. We need and I trust the staff is recruiting mean nasty guys who have the I dont give an F and want to hit people mindset and who can move. This is the most important thing for LB's and it is NOT reflected in star rankings.
After we solve this we can talk about the lack of penetration from the DT's but that's another story.
Good point. Your're on the money on that one. He really wasn't meant to be on the list, more like a weak semi-sarcastic, searching for something positive end note (I take responsability) . He wasn't to fault on Juice's red zone td run though. When facing an option tackle each and every option. He took his down while the lb's just stood and stared at him instead of taking out the other option (Juice).
He and Zoltan were our best players yesterday. Did you see the game or his stats? I was pretty pissed with the game myself but post again when you've recovered your senses.
With that track record?
Way to jinx us. I have already scratched off the PSU games as a loss. No more ominous sign than the Knowledge picking us to win.
Really appreciate you putting in the time to write this up. You obviously know your football.
It would actually be interesting to look back and analyze exactly what USC did both on o and d against an Illinois team that by all accounts was better than this year's team.
I saw him play his first game of the year against Chelsea and went back to see some of the subscriber sites videos of him. Not the fastest kid in the world in terms of accelerations, quickness, and shiftiness but does have good straight line speed. However he seemed to run extremely polished routes for a hs junior, seemd to be very smooth in getting open, very athletic in the air, and had GREAT hands (he made a couple of sick catches that I saw). He is a legit deep threat due to straight line speed and jump ball ability. He also towered over the DB's (he really did seem to be 6'3 - 6'4) and made several bad ass catches on jump balls a la Braylon. According to Scout he ran an electronic 4.58 s 40 yd dash which for a change actually seems real for a hs kid and was in line with what I saw on the field. He's still skinny and can handle some more muscle but he nevertheless dominates on jump balls. I didn't focus on him blocking during the game and didn't see that in the film so I have no idea how good a blocker he is (Miller is devastating in this area though).
His hype comes from his: (1) height and athleticism, (2) great hands (seriously good, like Jason Avant good) which is something that is hard to teach, (3) smart and polished, and VERY good fundamentals (I guess bieng a coach's son gives him a leg up here) I think Adrian Arrington is a good comparison although Jeremy does seem to have a little more upside IMO. He seems very polished for a HS reciever and just needs to get stronger. His yards after the catch skills aren't the best (in contrast to Ricardo who in film was obscenely good at yac despite being such a big guy). He runs great routes, gets open, makes great catches, and is usally promptly tackled. The problem for the defense is when he makes these catches 40-50 yds downfield.
His FEET go dead SOMETIMES when he engages and then he starts them back up again. A rather annoying habit that's a pain but quite possible to eliminate according to a certain high school coach who's not gsimmons but is a very knowledgable guy on these things. I'm telling you what I saw (the driving backwards) and what someone with a trained eye saw.
He does bear a bit of a resemblence to Jake minus the nose (kind of creepy actually) and wears number 77.
Just watched his video on Scout. Kid is a monster and plays to the whistle (and maybe a little past it). One mean mofo. He pretty muched bullied a defensive end over 25 yards downfield on one play. Evaluation by somebody who knows more than me: very athletic, VERY quick and explosive first step, intense/play to the whistle/mean streak/insert cliche of the sort, gets to the second level, good knee bend in pass pro... Only significant con is that sometimes his feet go dead on contact (can be remedied).
The kid needs bulking up but he seems like the prototypical lineman for RR's offense. Count me in as officially excited. We all know how OL is the position where stars matter less. This kid with proper effort and commitment can be great regardless of the 3 stars.
BTW Saw him own Roh during spring practice on a couple of clips. Guy's no joke.
The only problem is 5'8 vs 6'3-'6'4. That still qualifies as a mismatch. He wont outrun Harrison but he can simply out muscle or out jump him. That's the power of the hybrid living breathing mismatch. Too fast for a typical Lb, too big for a safety (let alone a small safety). Granted, it'll probably be a team effort and the best remedy is probably to pressure the qb.
Beckum is like one of those nfl nightmare hybrid match ups. We need to scheme around him, especially on third downs. He is not, however, IMHO the monster blocker Spaeth at Minmy was. Trying to beat him up when they do run might be recommended. Hopefully Mouton (probably our most athletic LB at this point) or whoever has to take him will fair better and get plenty of help this time around.
Dude, if you think that was a bad Chris Graham moment... I still have nightmares about being in Columbus for the 2006 game and standing next to Morgan Trent's family. His dad and brother were great neighbors. They both knew football and gave great insight into schemes and such. I still remember them screaming NOOO!!!! before a snap. I quickly asked them what was it. They pointed. OH GOD NO! Ted Ginn in the slot covered by Graham. Touchdown OSU. As if that wasn't enough that match up kept resurfacing.
Holding them to three td's or less will definitely help but remember that they play good ball control and right now if our offense is to have a good game, they must be the ncaa fb version of an nba volume scorer. We can probably put up enough points given enough shots. We are a lot of things on offense right now but efficient and methodical are not two of them. Thus, we'll probably need a good number of chances to score. I'm hoping everything finally comes together on that front but if Wisconsin can hold the ball it will definitely affect our offensive rhythm and they'll most likely (but not definitely) win even if they score only 14.
I agree that this is a rather worrisome game for our defense. Taylor should be good to go and Jamison has improved in this department. The other DT spot and Brandon Graham should be the questions. As good as B-Graham is, I distinctly remember him being put off his game last year when power teams ran straight at him. This slowed down his pass rush and he wasn't a good run stopper (remember the discrepancy between his number of sack with his very low number of tackles last year?), Has he progresses physically and mentally enough to become a Woodley type of beast against the run? We'll see I guess.
Also, Jamar Adams is missed more than people give him credit for, especially in run support (at which he was above average). Stevie and company better not miss any tackles.
Oh yeah. Travis Beckum = Oh my god, we're all gonna die!!!
Keep Hill's ypc low, give them 3rd and longs, and stop Beckum on third down and we'll have a chance.
It seems like a lot of UM fans (judging from other boards) have had
whismical nostalgic thoughts of Les Miles this weekend. That's fine. He
is a damn good coach, a Michigan man still, and could very well have
been ours. Howeva....
-He's not our coach.
-He will NOT be our coach in the foreseeable future.
-There's
nothing you can do to change that and nothing the Athletic Dept. can do
about it even if they wanted to. Thus, what we or anybody thinks about
this is irrelevant.
-Hence, what's the point of starting a thread reminiscing about him other than talking to yourself out loud?
I
do however disagree that "true" Michigan fans must always suppport and
never criticize the program. Depends on what you mean by "program". I
always have and always will support UM. That does not mean that I was
not VERY VERY critical of Carr, Herman, Martin, and co. over the last
years. It all hinges on being rational. No rationale human being can
rightfully criticize RR justy yet given the facts: (1) completely new
offense, (2) completely new program philosophy (dont underestimate
this), (3) lack of experienced players, (4) lack of good players among
the experienced ones, and (5) only four weeks inro his first season.
Give him a chance before making judgmnents. Carr was fair game because
he had plenty (maybe too many) chance, RR should get his.
McGuffie in itself is pretty darn sweet last name. It should suffice in and of itself. What should vary is how it is pronounced. Everytime somebody refers to him, they should be obligated to not merely say his name but exclamate it. McGUFFIE!!!!!!!!!!! "Starting at tailback today for the Wolverines is freshman Sam MCGUFFIE!!!!! who has so far been excellent. Last week again ND, MCGUFFIE!!!!!!!! gained...."
Recent Comments
The Chicken Theory
If we're gonna have our QB running around like a chicken with its head cut off (i.e. Sheridan). We might as well have that be a fast chicken with its head cut off (Feagin).
Seriously though, you can tell the adverse effect Sheridan coming into the game has on the team. Everybody from the O-Line to the defense plays softer because deep down they know that no matter what they do, they now have no chance to win. Sounds kinda over-pessimistic but tell me you dont see that.
Wow. That youtube profile is gold. Pure effing "Gold, Jerry Gold!". He's 19. Doesn't even go to UM. Hates the constitution but somehow loves the supreme court. Argues that human rights are NOT inalineable. All of this cannot however be complete without the obligatory narcissistic shirtless mirror "look at me, I'm a myspace douchebag" self-shot. He should be summarily executed. Seriously.
PS The only male in the universe allowed to take narcissistic shirtless mirror self-shots is Sex Panther Robinson. Only HE has that right. Everybody else is prohibited from carrying said act out.
Let me clarify a bit because I got a little caught up in my rant and didn't explain this well enough. What I was implying (maybe I DIDN"T phrase it the right way) was that a kid can have that toughenes and meanness be undervalued relative to some of his measurables and other more tangible qualities. Odds are that a high 4-5 star LB WILL be tough and mean (that's true) but we don't have many of those on our roster (Fitz maybe, and Mouton who was rated as a safety). However, we CAN have 3-low 4 star guys who ARE mean and physical. Isiah Bell and Mike Jones are two of my binkies for this class. Watch their film.
I know being "mean", "tough", and "physical" might be cliches in this business to some but I insisit that especially for LB's these qualities are REAL, they are IMPORTANT, and they are not taught by coaches in college.
End of second rant.
I dont know about looking TOO closely at stars...
There are two more important factors IMO:
1) Depth- There is simply not good depth. Even if Hill and Witherspoon had stayed, they were NOT gonna be serious contributors at LB this year (Hill was still way underdeveloped and Spoon was more of a pass rushing one trick pony out of HS who looked more like a Weakside DE). The combo of getting only three total LB's between 2004-2005 (with no super talented ones) hurt us badly but then losing Mixon and Patilla from '06 killed us.
2) Lack of talent (not necessarily as defined by stars) at OLB- Ezeh and Thompson are decent to potential to be quite good and serviceable at MLB respectively. Fitzgerald is widely considered to be a potential starter at MLB. That's not bad, lets look at OLB. Mixon, Patilla, and Logan all projected as OLB - all of them are busts. Mouton does have potential at OLB but is still a year away from being solid (I also have SOME doubts about his having a true mean streak but that's another story). Panter (JUCO) is an OLB (SLB actually), Herron (by all accounts a bust in waiting) is an OLB, and Evans who is athletic enough but only a RS Freshman is an OLB. We dont have any seniors/RS juniors at OLB, instead we have projects, journeymen, and a guy (Thompson) playing out of position. Next year our "experienced" OLB's will be Mouton, Evans, and Herron. That's weak and scary.
Wat are we doing about it? Improving OLB depth by recruiting them like crazy. So far, we have 3 OLB recruits in this class (Hawthorne, Bell, and Jones), and one more MAYBE coming (Jenkins although nobody really knows). What do these four guys have that our past OLB's didn't?
- Speed and Athleticism: Bell plays safety, Jones played safety until this year, and Hawthorne IS pretty darn fast despite the "OMG he's a cow because he runs 4.7" listed 40 yard time. These guys have to be able to run to the sidelines and cover is space. The one's we've recruited can do this.
-Mean streak and physicality: To me this, not "speed" or "size" or anything is what David Harris had that set him apart. This is something that IMHO out current starting LB's lack. Remember Harris in 2006 meeting PJ Hill in the hole and driving through him, putting him down for a loss or no gain? Now think of Ezeh or Thomspon meeting PJ Hill and tackling him but having HIM drive through THEM and fall foward for 2-3 yards more. That little difference says a lot. You need tough guys who give hits more than they take them. It takes guts to decide that you are gonna hit a 240 lb man running full speed at you harder than he is gonna hit you. That cant be taught. Juice is running the option? Rip his f'ing head off everytime he tries it whether he keeps it or not! Its legal, it just takes a little more effort and meanness. We need and I trust the staff is recruiting mean nasty guys who have the I dont give an F and want to hit people mindset and who can move. This is the most important thing for LB's and it is NOT reflected in star rankings.
After we solve this we can talk about the lack of penetration from the DT's but that's another story.
End of rant.
Way
I saw him play his first game of the year against Chelsea and went back to see some of the subscriber sites videos of him. Not the fastest kid in the world in terms of accelerations, quickness, and shiftiness but does have good straight line speed. However he seemed to run extremely polished routes for a hs junior, seemd to be very smooth in getting open, very athletic in the air, and had GREAT hands (he made a couple of sick catches that I saw). He is a legit deep threat due to straight line speed and jump ball ability. He also towered over the DB's (he really did seem to be 6'3 - 6'4) and made several bad ass catches on jump balls a la Braylon. According to Scout he ran an electronic 4.58 s 40 yd dash which for a change actually seems real for a hs kid and was in line with what I saw on the field. He's still skinny and can handle some more muscle but he nevertheless dominates on jump balls. I didn't focus on him blocking during the game and didn't see that in the film so I have no idea how good a blocker he is (Miller is devastating in this area though).
His hype comes from his: (1) height and athleticism, (2) great hands (seriously good, like Jason Avant good) which is something that is hard to teach, (3) smart and polished, and VERY good fundamentals (I guess bieng a coach's son gives him a leg up here) I think Adrian Arrington is a good comparison although Jeremy does seem to have a little more upside IMO. He seems very polished for a HS reciever and just needs to get stronger. His yards after the catch skills aren't the best (in contrast to Ricardo who in film was obscenely good at yac despite being such a big guy). He runs great routes, gets open, makes great catches, and is usally promptly tackled. The problem for the defense is when he makes these catches 40-50 yds downfield.
LOL. Same here.
His FEET go dead SOMETIMES when he engages and then he starts them back up again. A rather annoying habit that's a pain but quite possible to eliminate according to a certain high school coach who's not gsimmons but is a very knowledgable guy on these things. I'm telling you what I saw (the driving backwards) and what someone with a trained eye saw.
He does bear a bit of a resemblence to Jake minus the nose (kind of creepy actually) and wears number 77.
Just watched his video on Scout. Kid is a monster and plays to the whistle (and maybe a little past it). One mean mofo. He pretty muched bullied a defensive end over 25 yards downfield on one play. Evaluation by somebody who knows more than me: very athletic, VERY quick and explosive first step, intense/play to the whistle/mean streak/insert cliche of the sort, gets to the second level, good knee bend in pass pro... Only significant con is that sometimes his feet go dead on contact (can be remedied).
The kid needs bulking up but he seems like the prototypical lineman for RR's offense. Count me in as officially excited. We all know how OL is the position where stars matter less. This kid with proper effort and commitment can be great regardless of the 3 stars.
BTW Saw him own Roh during spring practice on a couple of clips. Guy's no joke.
The only problem is 5'8 vs 6'3-'6'4. That still qualifies as a mismatch. He wont outrun Harrison but he can simply out muscle or out jump him. That's the power of the hybrid living breathing mismatch. Too fast for a typical Lb, too big for a safety (let alone a small safety). Granted, it'll probably be a team effort and the best remedy is probably to pressure the qb.
-
Beckum is
True that.
Beckum is like one of those nfl nightmare hybrid match ups. We need to scheme around him, especially on third downs. He is not, however, IMHO the monster blocker Spaeth at Minmy was. Trying to beat him up when they do run might be recommended. Hopefully Mouton (probably our most athletic LB at this point) or whoever has to take him will fair better and get plenty of help this time around.
Obligatory obnoxious announcer comment that was ingrained/burned into my head and is now an irreperable mental scar:
*after a third down stop. Going into commercials with a slow motion replay of Thompson making a tackle*
Announcer: "The Machete, with another slice of defense!"
OMG The humanity...
Holding them to three td's or less will definitely help but remember that they play good ball control and right now if our offense is to have a good game, they must be the ncaa fb version of an nba volume scorer. We can probably put up enough points given enough shots. We are a lot of things on offense right now but efficient and methodical are not two of them. Thus, we'll probably need a good number of chances to score. I'm hoping everything finally comes together on that front but if Wisconsin can hold the ball it will definitely affect our offensive rhythm and they'll most likely (but not definitely) win even if they score only 14.
I agree that this is a rather worrisome game for our defense. Taylor should be good to go and Jamison has improved in this department. The other DT spot and Brandon Graham should be the questions. As good as B-Graham is, I distinctly remember him being put off his game last year when power teams ran straight at him. This slowed down his pass rush and he wasn't a good run stopper (remember the discrepancy between his number of sack with his very low number of tackles last year?), Has he progresses physically and mentally enough to become a Woodley type of beast against the run? We'll see I guess. Also, Jamar Adams is missed more than people give him credit for, especially in run support (at which he was above average). Stevie and company better not miss any tackles.
Oh yeah. Travis Beckum = Oh my god, we're all gonna die!!! Keep Hill's ypc low, give them 3rd and longs, and stop Beckum on third down and we'll have a chance.
It seems like a lot of UM fans (judging from other boards) have had whismical nostalgic thoughts of Les Miles this weekend. That's fine. He is a damn good coach, a Michigan man still, and could very well have been ours. Howeva....
-He's not our coach.
-He will NOT be our coach in the foreseeable future.
-There's nothing you can do to change that and nothing the Athletic Dept. can do about it even if they wanted to. Thus, what we or anybody thinks about this is irrelevant.
-Hence, what's the point of starting a thread reminiscing about him other than talking to yourself out loud?
I do however disagree that "true" Michigan fans must always suppport and never criticize the program. Depends on what you mean by "program". I always have and always will support UM. That does not mean that I was not VERY VERY critical of Carr, Herman, Martin, and co. over the last years. It all hinges on being rational. No rationale human being can rightfully criticize RR justy yet given the facts: (1) completely new offense, (2) completely new program philosophy (dont underestimate this), (3) lack of experienced players, (4) lack of good players among the experienced ones, and (5) only four weeks inro his first season. Give him a chance before making judgmnents. Carr was fair game because he had plenty (maybe too many) chance, RR should get his.
McGuffie in itself is pretty darn sweet last name. It should suffice in and of itself. What should vary is how it is pronounced. Everytime somebody refers to him, they should be obligated to not merely say his name but exclamate it. McGUFFIE!!!!!!!!!!! "Starting at tailback today for the Wolverines is freshman Sam MCGUFFIE!!!!! who has so far been excellent. Last week again ND, MCGUFFIE!!!!!!!! gained...."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OtFr9EiP0o
This is similar to what I had in mind. Specifically the McGUFFIE!!!!! training ground scene. True artists these kids...
*hurdle*"MCGUFFIE!!!!! Eat my shit Josh Smith!" *hurdle* "MCGUFFIE!!!! Here I come Michigan!" *hurdle* "MCGUFFIE!!!!! Girls like my....!!!!"