Scared for Denard

Submitted by Shakespeare on

Is anyone else really scared that Al Borges is going to ruin Denard? I have this awful feeling that Denard will be a shell of his former self this season. I know the coaches all have been blowing smoke out of their asses about "utilizing talent" and such, but I have a feeling  Borges will stubbornly try to turn Denard into something he isn't - much like squeezing a square peg into a round hole. Any thoughts?

chitownblue2

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:52 PM ^

Any thoughts?

Find a new hobby to occupy your time rather than obsess in minutae beyond your control

chitownblue2

March 23rd, 2011 at 1:17 PM ^

It is.

That's why I really only object when it clearly manifests itself in negative feelings for people (the poster described himself as "scared"). If this is just giving you fear, agita, nausea, etc...why not find something else?

Most of us can say "Man, I hope Denard kicks ass next year" and be content with that hope. Clearly, Banksy cannot do that.

UMdad

March 23rd, 2011 at 1:50 PM ^

I was a well known Denard skeptic going into this last year.  I questioned his ability to be more than a glorified RB.  Although he didn't suddenly become Tom Brady in the pocket, he more than impressed me with his improvement as a passer.  With that kind of desire and work ethic, I have decided never to doubt him again.  I believe he will continue to improve mechanically, that he will take less of a beating scrambling than he did as a straight runner, and that he will be great as a junior in this offense and a phenom as a senior.

Blazefire

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^

Denard is a respected QB.

Borges is a respected OC.

Borges says, "Throw ball here." Denard throws. Everyone is happy.

Now, will he get the most out of him possible? I dunno. He may be better under Borges for all we know. But ruin him? He's not going to try to turn him into a statue.

justingoblue

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^

FYI, this shit is about to get real. And by real I mean really nasty.

FWIW (and that means not much), I'm in the middle. Denard will not put up the same yards, but there is a chance he will be a better quarterback. Honestly, I think you need to look at the RB corps to see what type of season we're going to have. If Denard doesn't run it as much and the RB's don't step up, we're in big trouble.

Dreisbach1817

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^

People shouldn't vilify this OP.  Just like when we were 5-0 last year, people shouldn't have vilified the "here we go again second half swoon" OPs.

Bottom line the system adjustment means uncertainty. 

 

michgoblue

March 23rd, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^

I agree that nobody knows how it will turn out. 

But, I suspect that the OP is being villified because this exact topic has been discussed to death, and since (as you point out) nobody has a clue, what more is there to say. 

If something coming out of the spring practice led to this thread (as in, "reports out of practice indicate that Denard is [excelling / struggling] with the new offense"), I could see it.  But this is just the same discussion we have seen countless times.

MichFan1997

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^

super excited about Hoke/Borges (though I'm a huge fan of Mattison), Denard is an all-American. His naturual abilities are enough to where he's still gonna make a huge impact on the team and its games. PERIOD.

WolvinLA2

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^

Totally.  Borges is all like "Sure Denard's good but I think it would help me do my job better by making him less good so I'll do that" and Brady Hoke is all like, "Yeah whatever Borges" because Hoke is the head coach but doesn't really care what goes on on his team. 

GOOD THINKING.

Shakespeare

March 23rd, 2011 at 1:02 PM ^

Coaches are some of the most stubborn people in the world. They don't have that "by any means necessary" attitude. They want to win their way and that's what I'm afraid of... yet another transition in scheme that will be jarring and not utilize our talent the right way. I don't get why everyone negs everyone for simply bringing up a serious concern. If you disagree you don't have to neg bomb me - you can simply respond using words.

justingoblue

March 23rd, 2011 at 1:09 PM ^

I would recommend you go to YouTube (or look on here for BoyzindaPahokee's post with the video) and watch the SDSU/Navy game. Borges ran the read-option in the first half, and took something like ~50% of snaps out of the shotgun. There's a post on the board somewhere with these statistics from that game.

Borges truly runs multiple sets; he isn't RR or Carr.

Edit: Upvoting your own post is not a classy move at all. You know it never counts, right?

MrVociferous

March 23rd, 2011 at 1:24 PM ^

Thanks for the snarky asshole response.  There certainly wasn't enough of that going around.  Its shit like this that pisses me off about this site.  The OP had a legit question, posting a fear/thought/concern that's certainly held by others, but rather than try and answer or contribute in a reasonable way, you have to be a complete fucktard about it.

A simple "Yes, he'll be fine, because of these legit reasons..." or "No, I'm also concerned because of..." would have been fine.  But no, you felt the need to lambaste the OP because you are a fucking superior fan.  Good job dickbag.

El Jeffe

March 23rd, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^

1. You need to calm down.

Well, in his defense, his handle is "Mr. Vociferous." If it were, say, "Mr. Laconic" or "Mr. Indifferent," then you'd have a point. But no false advertising there, nosiree.

mmiicchhiiggaann

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^

Maybe I am overly optimistic but I feel like with this type of offensive system Denard can be even more dangerous. I feel like hes most effective when he is rolling out of the pocket and scrambling not necessarily on designed runs. And as effective as Denard was-having running backs gaining the yards instead of him sounds great to me. The pace of the offense last year was detrimental and I refuse to believe Denard can last 2 more seasons taking that many hits. 

Maize and Blue…

March 23rd, 2011 at 6:33 PM ^

Jason Campbell rushed for more yards last year as a Raider then he did at Auburn with Borges as his O coordinator.  Campbell had the benefit of having to top 5 draft picks in the backfield with him for the D to key on.  I'm pretty sure that's not the case here now.

chitownblue2

March 24th, 2011 at 9:17 AM ^

I can think of one thing that Robinson and Campbell have in common that dupes many people into thinking Campbell must be mobile.

Hint: it probably makes the same people think Robinson and Campbell must be good dancers and basketball players.

saveferris

March 23rd, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^

Denard is 6'0, so unless Borges is a complete idiot, he's going to have plenty of plays where Denard will roll out of the pocket to better see downfield.  This play has been in the Michigan playbook long before Rich Rod or Brady Hoke ever showed up on campus (see:  Brian Griese to Jerame Tuman).  The cool thing about this play with Denard is he could also tuck it and run if things look good.