Denard Scrambling
I didn't get to see the game (only highlights) so correct me if I'm wrong but it looked like 4-5 of Denard's runs came on pass plays were he saw nothing was open and took off. If Denard can consistently do this he would become even more dangerous than he already is.
GO BLUE!
September 18th, 2011 at 1:50 AM ^
There were designed run plays for Denard, but he had some scrambles as well. I agree though, that when he gets the hang of making good decisions about when to run as opposed to when to pass, he's going to be even more of a headache for the defenses of the world . . . .
September 18th, 2011 at 1:50 AM ^
I bet Denard loves scrambled eggs covered in cheese. I know I do.
September 18th, 2011 at 1:58 AM ^
Especially from Waffle House. With sausage and hash browns, besides the namesake waffle . . . .
September 18th, 2011 at 2:17 AM ^
that just sounds exquisite right now. maybe some toast and jam on the side?
September 18th, 2011 at 2:21 AM ^
it seems like denard can do some things with this feet. this will be something to monitor in coming weeks.
September 18th, 2011 at 2:43 AM ^
It's like Troy Smith, except faster. Hopefully we can show OSU our pain from 2006 this year in November.
September 18th, 2011 at 9:07 AM ^
I love Denard, but only if he can throw half as decent as troy smith.
September 18th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^
Is that you, Fred Jackson?
September 18th, 2011 at 7:06 AM ^
Yes, and now with his Allen Iverson head fake he is even more elusive.
September 18th, 2011 at 8:51 AM ^
Watching the head fake, two plays come to mind. the first was Barry Sanders' head fake on Rod Woodson which caused Woodson to tear his ACL. The second was a bounce pass fake by Jalen Rose against UD-Mercy. It doesn't need to be stated, but Denard's pure athleticism is amazing.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^
at what point in the game did he do the headfake?
September 18th, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
...is that they are referring to one scramble where Denard was sprinting to the edge and twice stutter stepped to trick the would be tackler to alter their good angle, to their chagrin. They were pretty quick stutter steps, such that it may have looked like he was just moving his head.
September 18th, 2011 at 8:53 AM ^
If Denard can consistently throw accurately to his receivers he would become more dangerous than he already is.
I love loved that they finally threw back in the Denard fake run to drop back pass play that destroyed teams last year one of the greatest ways to either make a defense stay honest or catch them cheating up and throw for big yardage.
I haven't heard much on mgoblog (though I could have missed it) talk about Denard's running style changing this year on many plays in that he will now often follow a blocker tentatively moving laterally before trying to burst through a hole. This play has often resulted in 3 yard gains and sometimes in a TFL.
This works against Denard's strengths which are his speed and shiftiness and allows the defense to stack up against him. It's a bit disheartening when Borges calls that play and then when last year's RR plays go in that's what ends up getting the big gainers.
September 18th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^
It seems like we do the same thing every game...have the intention with running with the backs and throwing the ball, until it doesn't work, then revert back to just letting Denard create. Denard is such a good runner and creator. It just makes me nervous when I see him in the pocket. He consistently makes bad reads, throws into coverage, and pre-determines where he's going with the ball before reading the defense. It's great that he can create, run, and scramble. But, man I'm nervous when we face a dominant front 4/7 that forces him to throw. I hope I'm wrong and that he devlops as a passer. But, IMO he still makes the same mistakes and mis-reads that he's always made, which leads me to believe he "is what he is" and won't develop much in this area. Love the kid, amazing athlete, but can't see him as a great QB.
September 18th, 2011 at 10:25 AM ^
Already happened; Denard threw for 4 touchdowns and 370 yards.
September 18th, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^
September 18th, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^
both answered the best they could, but the reporters were looking for something more. My hat goes off to Denard for handling 10 minutes of reporters asking why his passing sucks so bad. He answers every one with a smile saying he just has to go to work and get better.
I do think that it"s crazy to expect the RB's to have any sort of consistancy when they get 4 carries one week and 2 the next week. Smith, Shaw , and Fitz combined thru 3 games don't even have 50 carries. And WR's? 27 combined receptions thru 3 games. Part of me is hoping the coaching staff is looking to win these non conference games being "vanilla" as possible and then pulling out the playbook for the Big ten games. Because if we go into bigten play as unbalanced as we are now it could get ugly real quick.
September 18th, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^
Probably a dream but would be cool if it were true. I think it is possible that with the countdown clocks and all that M does spend more time on preparing for MSU and TSIO but maybe not.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:39 AM ^
The tailback use has been odd. I don't know why we called so many QB runs when the tailbacks were doing fine. Smith and Toussaint combined for 164 yards on 20 carries. I didn't see any particular reason to rely so much on Denard's legs.
September 18th, 2011 at 3:17 PM ^
Both backs got a lot of production, but using Denard so heavily as a runner yesterday is puzzling. Perhaps Borges and Denard wanted to find out if he could still carry the ball 20+ times a game and be productive without injuries.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:40 AM ^
I'm curious if Denard has some minor injury to his right hand. Many of his passes are sailing on him, which usually is a sign of not gripping the ball properly. (Of course, that's not the kind of info they'd go public with.)
September 18th, 2011 at 12:32 PM ^
I don't remember which hand it was, but he had a pretty nasty abrasion on one of his hands in the ND game. I noticed yesterday that it was still there (albeit scabbed over). Could be the sign of some more extensive trauma, I suppose.
September 18th, 2011 at 12:41 PM ^
I noticed as well that he was always carrying the ball in his left hand when he ran - although I think he did that last year as well, so it may not mean anything.
September 18th, 2011 at 10:33 AM ^
Fellas UM will continue to be unbalanced until Denard can start consistently making throws. He has a cannon for an arm but lately he has no idea where the ball is going when he throws it. Makes u wonder about that 70% passing during practice.
On the flip side, those things are all correctable and hopefully he gets it down this week or at least by the Conf opener
September 18th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^
tevo that shit son
September 18th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
Denard's scrambling is different this year. I can't count how many times last year he'd be sitting int he pocket for way too long on a pass play and I'm yelling at the TV, "Run! RUNNNN!!! You have rockets for legs, the first down is right there, and the field is WIDE OPEN!"
But either he'd been coached to run only on designed run plays or he'd determined that for himself (Tate certainly had no problems scrambling). So the result would either be a sack or a forced throw into coverage, often picked off. It was really frustrating.
This year is different. He sees green and nothing open, he takes off. This does make him more dangerous, and I think it cuts down on our turnovers too. Makes the difference between TO or sack and first down. That's HUGE.