Route66

September 23rd, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^

Was that Sharp asking the last question to Denard?  Whoever it was, what a douche!  One of the best talents we have ever seen, of course much if not all of the offense is going to rely on him....he does touch the ball every play.  That is as short as I've ever seen Denard and I thought he handled that stupid ass question with grace.

bdsisme

September 23rd, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^

Who is the douchenozzle who asked the last question?  Seriously he asked two questions trying to get Denard to say that he's the only person on offense.

Edit: Looks like I'm beaten to the punch.  If it is Sharp, why are they still granting him access?

Double Edit: After reading Sharp's game column, it must've been him (not linking it to limit page views).  What a tool.

MGoStrength

September 23rd, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^

This sounds a little counter-intuiative, but when it comes to Denard I really think we have to stop coaching him.  I mean, he's been coached up and coached up on execution, technique, setting his feet, pointing his front shoulder, etc. and he's aware of the issues and has been working on it for years.  The problem is, his natural instinct is and always will be to use his feet to create space and throw on the fly/run.  No amount of coaching in the world will make him stop, that much is clear.  So, instead of calling plays that make him sit in the pocket, and make too many reads and try to teach him about being a pocket passer, lets just stop coaching him.  His natural instincts are his best attribute and we need to capitalize on those.  Just let him bounce around, give him 2 reads at max and if a guy's open, throw it, if not run it...ever time.  Get him out of the pocket and just let him make plays.  Don't try to fix something that will never get fixed and put him in a position to be successful, making plays on the fly and being more athletic than the defense.  At the end of the day any defense that can limit him from runnign will beat us, so lets give up trying to make him throw from the pocket, because even his good throws from the pocket are still with his front shoulder/foot opened up...just let him go.

CompleteLunacy

September 23rd, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^

the Denard interview. The way he apologized to the fans and those who watched and rooted for Michigan yesterday was really touching. I am once again extremely proud to call him a Wolverine, and I hope everyone who has been bashing the guy in the last 24 hours watches it and backs off the guy. He wants to do well, let's not forget that. He HAS done well in the past, against pretty good teams too. We as a fanbase need to rally around him right here, right now. One loss, one bad game doesn't have to define a season.

I really really really hope Michigan gets a B1G title this year. It would be a fitting end to Denard's roller-coaster career here. 

We're 0-0 in the Big Ten right now. Lots of season left to play, and I look forward to every game from here on out. Go blue.

 

M-Dog

September 23rd, 2012 at 1:25 PM ^

At least he knows what he did wrong and how to fix it.  Give credit to ND's defense, they contained him in the pocket as planned.  They then pressured him within the pocket more than anyone else has done so far.

Denard responded to that pressue by trying to rifle off his intended pass quickly to beat the pressure.  He could have sidesteped it in some cases and took off, or just have thrown it away.  

He tried to do too much himslef.  He's right, sometimes he does need to just be a role player and live for another play.

 

SC Wolverine

September 24th, 2012 at 12:31 PM ^

I'm with you.  I wanted to look away, except I didn't want to abandon Denard.  He played a terrible game, but he is a great player and person.  A great representative of Michigan football.  Games like this make we savor what is ahead.  I was also proud of Brady Hoke.  Compare him in defeat to Dantonio in victory or Saban all the time.  Hoke is a class act and a guy who cares about people.  Give me that any day.

BlueSpiceIn SEC.hell

September 23rd, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^

      Is it me or did you want to just shake the jack-a$$ reporter that kept asking Denard about him having the responsibility of being the entire offense?  What part of Denard's response to the first question didn't you get.  Gee I wonder what his storyline for his article was going to be about?   Regardless of the loss, I am confident we will get better - I don't have to point out or talk about my anger and frustrations about plays or play calling.  Both interviews talk about accountability to each other and the team. That is what is most important and they all are doing their best to get better.

turtleboy

September 23rd, 2012 at 1:40 PM ^

Both Hoke and Denard give me a lot of confidence in team 133 moving forward and improving as the season goes on. Especially Denard. He's never been in an ideal situation at Michigan, either without a defense to lean on, or without consistant coaching through the years, or without consistant targets, and generally not being a great pinpoint-accurate passer, but he's absolutely made the absolute most of his opportunities. He has such  a great attitude, and has been a standout leader. I'm always impressed with him, especially watching this interview after the worst game of his career. Respect.

Also: seriously, who pays Drew Sharp? Who actually spends money to support his career? He has absolutely no credibility, and very little, if not zero, integrity. Whenever I see him on ESPN I wanna punch something. It's like he hates the sports teams he covers.

inthebluelot

September 23rd, 2012 at 6:43 PM ^

He makes some crazy athletic plays, and then he drops a sure TD pass late in the game that would have put us in position for OT. I'm not sold on him as a #1 just yet, but he does belong on the field. Hope his shoulder isn't totally screwed since he is still a QB option if Denard goes down.

jmblue

September 23rd, 2012 at 9:04 PM ^

If you're talking about that deep ball, that would not have gone for a TD.  There was a safety behind him.  That would have been a sensational catch if he'd reeled it in - it was not an easy play to make.  Regardless, we ended up driving past that point in the field anyway.

If you're talking about the fade in the endzone, he didn't have a chance - the ball was overthrown.

 

Decatur Jack

September 23rd, 2012 at 2:51 PM ^

Especially Denard's. Man, it was his birthday too. And he said that this is the most disappointed he's ever felt in his entire life. It's just so hard not to feel bad for the kid, even though he made the mistakes.

I remember feeling so angry when I watched the game, and then I watched this interview, and now I just feel terrible for Denard. I just want him to succeed.

We still love you, Denard.

Go Blue!

Sideline

September 23rd, 2012 at 5:23 PM ^

That interview reminds me of that Tebow one a few years back when Florida lost to Ole Miss... Tebow pretty much had a similar message as Denard's... It's on him, he's taking accountability, I bet this is used as Motivation, and us beating ourselves shows me this team is better than I thought.



This Hoke hire is just reinforcing itself in my mind... These kids have heart- whether they are RichRod's or Hoke's, they have one thing in common- they are Michigan Team 133 and I love how Hoke has these kids believing in that. Denard is going to lead us to some big wins this year, the Big Ten is still able to be won... No one is good enough to be a clear cut favorite

Captain

September 23rd, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^

During the Denard interview, there's a guy with a tiny notepad, furiously scribbling notes; another with a 1990s style tape recorder, and then someone who just shoves an iPhone in his face.

The evolution of journalism, captured.

goblue85

September 23rd, 2012 at 6:48 PM ^

even though we lost...   i still looking forward to the every snaps and torrents for it...   The d played its best game by far tthis year.

Space Bat

September 23rd, 2012 at 8:02 PM ^

It's been a while since I have been that pissed after watching a Michigan game. Mostly because I was watching with ND fans who kept proclaiming their defense was the best in the country after all the turnovers they "caused," as well as me knowing that we are a better team than ND, and we should have won that game easily. However, watching Denard's interview made me feel good about the rest of the season. We have two weeks to get our shit together before big ten play, and I have every confidence that we will. It's time to nut up and get this team to the Rose Bowl. We just had our one annual game where we play like shit and lose to a team that is worse than us. The only teams left that worry me are Ohio, since anything can happen in that game, and Nebraska, because we are on the road and they will be looking for revenge. I feel like we will handle MSU at home and take care of business in the other games. I believe in our players and our coaching staff, and that they will prove to us throughout the rest of the season that they will not let that game define their season. Denard's interview also reinforced to me why he is my favorite Michigan player of all time, regardless of the poor decision making he shows on the field at times. Beside being a excellent human being who is a tremendous ambassador for the game and the university, as well as obviously being an amazing football player, he cares a shit ton about this team, and he will do whatever it takes to make the rest of the season a sucess. 

Aequitas

September 24th, 2012 at 11:09 AM ^

I've been a critic of Borges, but I'm not laying as much blame on him as I did for some of the games last season and the Bama game.  I think he's trying to flex his system to incorporate Denard, but it's not quite there.  If you pressure Denard, and he tries to make more than one read, games like this can happen.

All of that said, Denard's role in recruiting future Wolverines is hard to overstate.  He is one of the finest ambassadors that we've ever had, and he leaves his heart and soul on the field.  I can't ask for more from a player, and, after watching that interview, I feel worse than I did after the game.

I know there are a lot of people out there that despise Tebow, but I don't, so I mean this as a compliment - I think we saw Denard's "Ole Miss" on Saturday.  I think the rest of this season is going to be very special, for Denard, and for Michigan.

Go Blue.

rmic2

September 24th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^

but he answered tough questions like a professional. That says a ton about the type of person he is. Looking back, if I was 22 and played a bad game, I would have stormed out without answering questions. I especially would have blew up on Sharp.