Denard Robinson's Play in the Spring Game
This thread used to be the "go easy on Denard" post. I'm taking it over because some of the responses and discussions were on a level far above that of the argumentative original post that started with "Give me a break," ended with "get a grip" and in between had a laughable amount of spelling and grammatical errors. Please continue sharing your thoughts, remaining respectful to those who may disagree with you.
OP's main points enhanced and summarized thusly:
- Getting a hand on Denard counts as a tackle in the Spring Game, but Big Ten linebackers get no points for touching The Great Denard with one hand, except points for touching pure awesome amirite?
- The accuracy was off but other than the one interception his reads were good.
- Denard's rushing stats will come down when he's no longer the feature back, but that's a good thing so long as his legs and arm are opening up the running back running game.
- In the Spring Game, you're supposed to see the defense look better than the offense (Ed-M: why?)
Discuss...
The coaches know what they have in Denard...they have said so since day 1 and repeated it in the post game presser today. Give him until September and things will improve immensely., I saw several good runs today and it seems that the coaches are starting to think they have running backs to reduce Denard's load, something that is essential if he is to survive the season.
And to anyone thinking that the O was hunky dory, last year, well it wasn't. It was a work in progress with a lot of room for improvement. Touchdown totals went way down once we started playing better B1G competition last year as did turnovers. Bottom line, let's wait until September to pass judgment.
Im not worried at all. D Rob's timing is not there yet with the receivers in the new offense which relies much more heavily on timing patterns than the old "run around until the defense sucks up and then hit the open guy" offense that he had last year....
also...his mechanics need fine tuning, he needs to plant that front foot and follow through more to avoid those passes to Taco Pants
He will be OK it is early....
Denard did not showcase his trademark smile today, I have first hand knowledge that Hoke's secret weapon will be Denard smiling on every single play. No one will be able to tackle him.
For everyone who missed it after the game, Borges specifically said that he knows DR can run the ball, so he's working more on the other pieces. There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to assume that the play distribution in a spring game will be the same as what is used in an actual game. I have enough faith in our coaches' common sense to believe that if Denard goes for 40 yards like that in an actual game, they may, in fact, run that play again. I would prefer that we have more options and keep defenses guessing. Why is everybody in full panic mode?
prior to this, first in '09 with Tate, then in '10 with Denard, we saw encouraging visions that they both had the potential to be really good QB's. And both those glimpses turned out to be true the following fall. So people fear we saw a vision in reverse this time, and that the QB's will struggle in this offense come fall.
How about that Gardner guy, ehh? He may have thrown 2 int's, BUT he sure as hell has an arm!
Not today though.
I'd worry about Denard if the season started next week. Right now, he is just learning the offense. But it remains to be seen whether Borges calls the types of plays that will allow this team to succeed, not just ones that work within the philosophy of the team.
DR or DG. However, what's with all you folks that feel we all need to agree on everything? If a person has an opinion on DR or RR or BH, so what?
He will come through. They've had what, 15 practices so far with the new scheme? It takes time. As far as the offense goes, will we put up 700 yards on Illinois this year? No, we won't. But I don't think we'll give up 450 yards/game either. There were a couple of good open field tackles from the defense, and Martin & Co. looked pretty beastly. It'll be interesting to see how the defense looks when J.T. Floyd and Woolfolk aren't being held back anymore.
The most important thing is for our defense to actually learn the fundamentals of the game. All I want to know is; will they actually learn how to tackle by October 1st? Everyone here is freaking out over how the new offensive scheme will work out; who cares? Rich Rod has spent his entire career fine-tuning his offense, to no avail when he went up against the Big Boys of the Big Ten. Bo, on the other hand, never bought into all those fancy, gimmicky schemes. His main priority throughout his entire career was teaching his players the BASICS of the game, and making sure they could block and tackle better than any other team in the Big Ten. THAT, is Michigan football.
Brady would never amount to much.
I naturally assume that the offense is going to be dissappointing to watch this year, mostly because of what we saw last year. Like him or not, RR is an offensive genius and much of our offensive success was a direct result of his ability to mix tiny little things up that most people wouldn't notice. He's gone and so is a lot of our dynamic offense.
But, I've read way too many (really more than 0) comments where people are actually saying they wouldn't mind seeing the reigning B10 Offensive Player of the Year ride the bench in favor of Devin Gardner. It makes me want to shoot myself in the head.
Come on. I wouldn't bench Sonic just because when he smiles, world peace doesn't seem so far off.
The way I see it, the "bench Robinson" brigade goes hand in hand with the despicable offensive utilitarianism mindset promoted by Rich Rod and his cronies. So what if Denard doesn't look absolutely stellar 15 practices into the new system? So what if he's not as tall as your average pro-style QB? Denard is one of the hardest workers on the entire team, and I have no doubt he will get it done when September 3rd rolls around. That's what REAL Michigan football is all about. When you start over analyzing things, you always miss the forest for the trees. People need to stop glossing over the fundamentals.
We didn't go 6-18 in the Big Ten the past three years because we didn't have the right players for the offense. We went 6-18 because our defense couldn't tackle or make decent reads. As far as Denard goes, the only things I care about at this point are: Is he still fast? Yep. Is he willing to put in the effort over the next four months in preparing for 2011? No doubt about. So seroiusly everyone, stop worrying about how he will do in the new offense. At this point, the most important thing is that Lewan and Molk get healthy as soon as possible. Also, it'd be nice if our receivers learned how to catch the ball.
Devin certainly didn't look any better
April 16th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^
Looked like a free for all open scrimmage. I don't see how anyone got one thing from that. I love devin but honestly he looked like Tate today.
April 17th, 2011 at 12:55 AM ^
I don't want Denard benched. I just want him to learn his foot work.
Let's break it down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTnhYnc_q0o&feature=feedu
00:46 dropped back a little too far with 3 steps out of the shot gun which cuts down on the time he has to throw. Notice DG doesn't do that.. however DG is pretty flat footed.
At 3:13 he scrambles a bit and then throws before setting his feet. The result is a pick. Not to mention the throw is across his body.
If he just slows down half a click and sets his feet he'll become very dangerous.
Devin looked worse. He ran an offense Against the worst defense ever barely. He tossed two licks ( int ) and pretty much heaved the ball into broken coverage for most of his day. I watch football , a ton of football, and we are in trouble. I'm talking nick Sheridan trouble.
Devin's problems are different. Devin isn't making reads like he should. Devin has the potential to be like the Mizzou QB... basically the best there ever was... based on his ability to throw. However, Devin is greedy and still used to the spread option where you get one on one match ups.
April 16th, 2011 at 10:17 PM ^
I like rich rod. Ten wins just turned to seven wins.
April 17th, 2011 at 12:49 AM ^
And even with all the pieces in place, the offense couldn't do jack against the above average Big Ten teams. There was absolutely NO REASON to believe anything would have improved from the last season. RR's signature Big Ten win during his 3 year tenure? The fluke against Wisconsin in 2009, a game that was won soley by the remnants of Lloyd Carr's defense.
At least now, we've got competent coaches who value Michigan's tradition. Hopefully they'll teach the defense how to tackle and make reads, because THAT'S what's most important. As for the offense, they've had 15 practices. Let's see what the summer brings.
April 17th, 2011 at 12:57 AM ^
You're way off base. If we had a kicker that would have been the best offense in college football.
Please tell me you're just trolling...
You don't. Be realistic.
Hey... the troll was deleted so now it looks like we were arguing with each other D=
ONE REASON: increasing wins with each season. There's plenty of reason to believe Michigan would have won 9 games this season under RR. We'll see what Hoke can do.
Better than this pressed shit.
then I'll let you do it. The defenses and special teams were an utter embarrassment under RR, and the head coach is ultimately responsible for everything. And BTW, NO WAY we win nine this year unless RR would have hired a serious DC and LET HIM RUN HIS OWN SYSTEM. You can nibble on Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Indiana (barely), but never get by the better teams without D and special teams.
One more thing...the offense FAILED against better defenses, especially in the red zone. If you can't agree with that, then you weren't watching. How many points did we score against the juggernaut Purdue last year? Our team SUCKED against good competition.
Dream's over dude...wake the fuck up and support the current team.
statistically that you are wrong when you say the offense SUCKED against better defenses, but you can keep saying it if it makes you feel better.
Purdue was played in a swamp right?
Did we play OSU and Miss State in a swamp?
We scored 76 points in our last four games in 2010 (19 ppg). And that included a defensive TD.
and just comment on box scores and recaps?
Let's review why RR got fired: because his defense was abysmal. No question about that.
On top of this, our special teams set a new record for incompetence.
Do you not understand how this attributes to our offense?
Our defense put our offense in position to fail. Lack of turnovers, long fields, the inability to get a momentum changing stop, etc.
Our lack of a kicker ensured that we continuously had to go for it in situations most teams would not have. Missing easy field goals is devastating. You drive all the way down the field against a good Wisconsin team and then miss a chip shot? Then they drive all the way back and score, resulting in a ten point swing? It puts you on the back foot.
Look at how Ohio State, a top team, took a 17-7 lead against us. They three and out their first two drives. Our first two drives result in a 4th down we have to go for because our kicker will miss and a routine turnover caused by the OSU defense. Then they drive the length of the field, but a holding penalty is called (because the longer you have to drive, there is more chance something can go wrong) and kick a field goal.
3-0.
After a drop, we are forced to punt. It is an 18 yard punt that ends up at the 35. OSU scores a touchdown. 10 - 0.
We get one back on another long drive. 10-7.
OSU proceeds to return the ensuing kick-off for a touchdown, taking a 17-7 lead, yet our offense has outgained them and led the more impressive drives thus far.
How the other two aspects of the team perform matter. Nebraska's 2009 was good enough to win a national championship, but their offense was abysmal and cost them 4 games. Our 2008 defense was not nearly as bad as their numbers indicated, but when you have an offense that specializes in the 3 and out, they are going to look worse than they are.
When you add in the fact that Denard was playing his first year of REAL quarterback, not a running gimmick, you start to realize that Michigan's offense was very good, but got no support from the rest of the team.
It's unfortunate that RR could not deploy a halfway decent defense the last two seasons. We would be having a very different conversation right now, but he did not.
Now, its up to Hoke and Borges NOT to ruin the the one good part of the team that RR left behind while improving the two disasters he did.
Fool.
You're a fool.
You.
Idiot.
April 17th, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^
with turrible red zone efficiency. Couldn't score from the 1 vs Illinois in 4 tries. Couldn't score in the second half against Miss St. Who thinks V Smith is a better goal-line RB than man-sized-bowling-ball Stephen Hopkins. Toledo. Etc etc.
Forgive me if I'm not convinced. I hoped for the best with RR but he failed. There is a lot of delusion going around.
I will continue to expect to be dissappointed with the offense this year, simply because last year left me prone to inflated expectations for this year. I will also continue to judge RR by my own personal standards and assess him as an offensive genius.
I get it. Everyone who disagrees with you is "wrong" and "delusional." It must be a terrible burden to be right all the time.
I was saying that a while ago too, but then I looked up their actual redzone efficiency, and this past year it was better than Lloyd's in terms of touchdowns.
So in 15 practices the 105th nationally ranked D improved to super-duper awesome level
but the O just hasn't had time to put in the new system.
OK...
be it negative or positive. All one has to do to know this to be true is to look back on last year's spring game where he couldn't miss a throw.
Kid is still growing, and once again learning a new offense. His misses today can be attributed to some tiny miscues in footwork - basically length of stride transfering to front foot- and in some cases nothing more than a little extra adrenaline.
I'm far more concerned with Big Will than Little DR. He still, despite two years of preaching about pad level, has an inbread(it appears) desire to stand almost completely up prior to moving forward. This is the guy on d that could be a huge, huge difference maker when(not if - I'm an optimis)he gets it. Black is going to be good and so is MRob. Both are football players in the same mold as Cam.
April 17th, 2011 at 10:00 AM ^
No kidding. Everyone freaking out needs to take a giant chill pill and gain some perspective.
Pot heads are always saying I need a new perspective.
April 17th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
and it stands to reason that, since this was a PRACTICE, they would focus on areas that need improvement. Which is obviously obvious.
April 16th, 2011 at 10:16 PM ^
As I am of the plays he was asked to run. That was bad. Like driving a fast car in neutral.
April 17th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^
Are people concerned that Hoke may be in over his head? He only has 3 winning seasons in 8 years at low level schools so there is no evidence so far to suggest that he is a good coach and now his offense seems to have turned a first team All-American / Big Ten MVP into a very mediocre quarterback. Is he going to take us back to the "glory" days of Lloyd Carr (1-6 vs. Ohio State in his final 7 years) and Braylon Edwards (1-3 vs. Ohio State)?
Last year, we were amazed at the transformation that Denard made from his freshman run-only plays to a few months later throwing great passes in the spring game. This year, under Hoke, Denard seems seems to have regressed tremendously.
You better take it back before you're smited by the Michigan football gods. It's comments like this that just make me sick to my stomach. Even after all we've been through, people STILL haven't learned? Go read "Bo's Lasting Lessons," please. Then you'll have an idea of what made our program great, and why this spring game means NOTHING in the long term.
For the record, you ARE aware that RR was 6-18 in the Big Ten over the past 3 years, right? That "prolific offense" we saw in the spring game last year sure did us a lot of good, - not... You're judging Hoke on the basis of a glorified scrimmage 3 months after he took over? Sorry, he deserves better than that.
I can tell you right now, all I care about is that Michigan is in the hands of a coaching staff that understands what REAL Michigan football is all about. They won't ignore the defense, and refuse to pay attention to fundamentals like tackling, holding onto the ball, and making reads on DEFENSE. The offense will be fine. Denard has proven that he's a hard worker, and he has the whole summer to improve.
Is the dumbest thing, people who don't know how to explain what they want to say post. There is no such thing.
Was Gary Meoller calling real Michigan football when he opened things up after Bo? Was Lloyd calling real Michigan football in our shootout win over Florida? Or was real Michigan football getting trounced by USC? I forget! No wait. Real Michigan football is Yost football?! Maybe that's it?! ....
The game changes people. There is no such thing as REAL Michigan football. Just winning and losing. If RR had won more games, I guess that would be real Michigan football.
April 17th, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
It's about the culture. If you're not a part of our family first you're not going to know our traditions. Brady is a real inbred Michigan man. RR was just inbred.
I kid I kid
Thanks for the laugh!