newtopos

October 30th, 2012 at 11:37 PM ^

What does a good D have to do with Nebraska this year?  Other than their success defeating the Borges WCO No Bubble Screen Everyone Was Prepared I Wouldn't Do Anything Different Offense (TM; (c) 1998), Nebraska has allowed Ohio State to put up 63, Wisconsin 27, Northwestern 28, UCLA 36, and Southern Miss 20.  Southern Miss is 0-8, in Conference USA, and their third highest point total this year is against Nebraska.  Even Rice held Southern Miss to fewer points than Nebraska did. 

Our offense, like nearly all Al Borges offenses throughout his career, is regressing.  Even from his first year under Gerry DiNardo at Indiana (2002 -- 3-9 record, 258 points of offense) to his second (2003 -- 2-10 record, 178 points of offense), his offense regressed.  I do not see anything in his long history to suggest that his offense will improve -- the great weight of history suggests strongly the exact opposite.  Heck, Greg Robinson had more impressive historical successes than Borges.  

 

 

joeyb

October 30th, 2012 at 4:09 PM ^

With Nebraska blitzing like crazy and receivers dropping passes left and right...I don't think DG would have done better than Bellomy. DG would probably run back 25 yards trying to avoid defenders, like we've seen him do before, and then eventually get sacked. His throwing motion was horrible in the spring game and almost assuredly hasn't improved since then.

jlcoleman71

October 30th, 2012 at 4:08 PM ^

that we didn't see Bellomy and Gardner in the backfield at the same time.....we did it with Denard and Gardner last year several times......it would have given the defense something to think about and maybe buy Bellomy a little extra time to make a play.

mGrowOld

October 30th, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^

I think this news, coupled with Brady's earlier comments about "if you dont practice you cant play" speaks pretty clearly that if Bellomy plays on Saturday but is ineffective like he was at Nebraska they'll make the change at QB.

Our coaches may be frustrating sometimes but they're not stupid.  They saw wat we saw on Saturday and my guess is they were more unhappy about it than we were.  

willywill9

October 30th, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^

I bet if Denard couldn't go on Saturday, that Bellomy would at least get a few snaps at first.  I think that's how Borges rolls (I don't think that's a bad thing, I think he genuinely believes in Bellomy.  Remember, we're not in practice.

That said, I still think DG will be getting snaps at QB should DR not be available.

A_Train32

October 30th, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^

why Devin wasn't already taking snaps in practice. He should have been spending at least 30% of his time in practice there. I hate to say it but the coach's poor planning cost us a very meaningful game.

Sten Carlson

October 30th, 2012 at 5:19 PM ^

A_Train,

You're making some HUGE assumptions here.  First, you're assuming that DG was able to take snaps as QB.  Second, you're assuming that Bellomy looked terrible in practice.  Third, and most important (not to mention unsupported) you're assuming that DG coming in gave Michigan any greater chance of beating Nebraska.  I've said it several times...if Hoke & Co. thought that DG game the team a better chance to win, you can rest assured that we would have seen DG come in the game when Denard went down. 

Hoke and Borges said that moving DG to WR had a great deal to do with their comfort level with Bellomy.  Again, I think we can rest assured that if Russ wasn't anywhere near where they thought he needed to be, they wouldn't have made the move.  Russ just had a bad game, after being thrust into a tough situation.  He'll be a better QB for having gone through that.  It sucks for us fans, but in the long run, the program is going to be stronger for it as it will me that next season we have at least one semi-experienced QB.

Glen Masons Hot Wife

October 30th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^

And you dont know the real story of why hoke & co made the move regardless of what they said to the media.

Yes we are all just speculating. Some people disagree with you p.o.v. on DG and how he has or hasnt been utilized.

Cant you just fucking accept that without jumping all over every opinion to the contrary?

I see arguments for both sides. Some people myself included think that it was a fuck up. Let it go.

Sten Carlson

October 30th, 2012 at 7:01 PM ^

Cant you just fucking accept that without jumping all over every opinion to the contrary?

No Glen Mason's Ugly Wife, no I cannot. I'll tell you why. I do it for 2 reasons. First, I enjoy debating the subject. Secondly, I think that there are a lot of people in our fanbase that have irrational expectations of everyone and everything associated with Michigan football. Further, I find these people annoying. I love Michigan football, but I also understand that things rarely, if ever, go as planned. But, despite the fallibility of most things in life (especially sports), Michigan fans FREAK THE FUCK OUT and speak as if THEY know better than the coaches themselves what plays to call, or which players should play where, and when. YOU think it was a fuck up, but YOU know FUCK ALL about why. I don't know any more than anyone else, therefore, I defer to the guys that ACTUALLY KNOW, and are paid to make the decisions.

IMO, as a fanbase, we should be rallying around Bellomy, and supporting the coach's decision to play the kid that is likely starter next season to get him some valuable real game experience. Instead, we get a bunch of "Monday Morning QB/OC's" in here throwing their lame ass opinions around and generally making our fanbase look like a bunch of whining, know-it-all d bags.

UMaD

October 30th, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^

The first assumption:  We don't know that DG couldn't take snaps at QB.  He's taking them this week, he hasn't missed any game action, and no injury has been disclosed.  Assuming he is hurt is the HUGE assumption.

The second assumption:  not true.  Bellomy doesn't have to look terrible in practice for Gardner to be the better QB.  Gardner won the backup job ahead of Bellomy the last 2 years.  It seems doubtful that would have changed over the last weeks, even with Gardner playing another position.

The third assumption is extremely likely....IF Gardner has been practicing at QB instead of WR.

 

FWIW, I dont think Bellomy is a bad QB, but the immediate future for this team (2013) is Gardner at QB.  The coaches sacrificed marginal benefit in 2012 (Gardner adding to WR depth) for 2013 (Gardner developing at QB).  Michigan fans will complain bitterly about Gardner's 2012 WR-adventure next season - book it.

TyrannousLex

October 30th, 2012 at 7:02 PM ^

But if DG has been working some at QB this season and spends the offseason working at QB full time, he may benefit from the WR experiment. If nothing else, he should really understand the routes.

If he's got what it takes to QB Div I football, he'll be alright.

UMaD

October 31st, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^

That's an optimistic view to take.  I think he'd get more from taking QB reps in practice than the snaps he takes in games at WR.  Understanding the routes is good, but probably less of big deal than reading coverages and making decisions quickly.  But maybe...

I think it's pretty important that he spend the practice time between OSU and the bowl game on working at QB full time.  Whatever benefits he gets from learning WR would be diminishing returns by the end of the year.  It's time to start preparing him for being next year's QB.

 

Sten Carlson

October 30th, 2012 at 7:21 PM ^

I never assumed that he was hurt, and couldn't take snaps at QB.  I said the poster was assuming that he COULD.  But, as it turns out, he's NOT been taking snaps at QB for many weeks, injury or not.

Garder didn't win the back up job the last 2 years.  In fact, one could argue that DG didn't EVER win the back up job -- last year Bellomy wasn't in the lineup, he was redshirted, and this year, the coaching staff moved him to WR.  So, it would appear that Bellomy has, in fact, looked better than DG in practice.  If he didn't, I seriously doubt that the coaching staff would have felt comfortable with Bellomy, and move DG to WR.

By saying something would be "extremely likely...if..." is "stacking inferences" and is most decidedly NOT factual evidence of anything.  Nobody knows what DG would have been capable of if he'd been practicing at QB instead of WR.  You might THINK you know, but your assumption about something that hasn't occurred is whole and completely irrelvant, sorry to say.  That's why I said it was a HUGE assumption on the part of the poster to whom I responded.

Bottom line is, as Hoke and Borges said, DG wasn't practicing QB, as such, Bellomy was the backup and gave Michigan its best chance of coming back.  You can assume anything you want, but that doesn't make it fact.

UMaD

October 31st, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^

I take them at their word.  It could be a ploy to keep him from transferring, I guess, but I think these coaches are generally honest about things.

The assumption your making is that Devin's move to WR was motivated by his QB play, when the coaches have explicitly said that he is still a QB and that they did it in an effort to get him more playing time.  He has said he is a QB, the coaches have said he is still a QB. He is sacrificing for the team.  That is not an indictment of his ability as a QB, it just means he is not better at playing QB than Denard Robinson.

My assumptions regarding the QB heirarchy are based on statments.  It is a fact that these statments were made.  They may or may not be truthful.

The argument about red-shirt is a huge stretch- clearly this coaching staff is willing to play freshman.  Outside of OL (where it is almost mandatory to take RS) - if a guy is red-shirting it means he is not better than the people in front of him.  AT least if those people are playing - as Gardner did.

LB

October 30th, 2012 at 9:14 PM ^

Gardner is a better QB, therefore the coaching staff elevated Bellomy?

If Gardner was capable of taking the job, he would have the job. Now, that doesn't mean I don't think he should have the opportunity to compete, but I seriously doubt that he is catching passes because he was the best backup QB.

Blue since birth

October 30th, 2012 at 11:08 PM ^

By "appropriately" I assume you're not including trying to make something out of nothing, in a last ditch effort, with the game on the line and 4th and 22?

I'm really sick of the bullshit Devin gets over "yakety sax" and throwing one stride/in stride over the LOS. It comes across as (and was born from) knee jerk and over zealous attempts to defend Denard (who was taking heat at the time)... And it stuck.

Pretty sure I've seen some of the same people who trashed Devin, now defending Bellomy (because Bellomy isn't seen as a threat to Denard I'm guessing). What a joke.

B1G_Fan

October 31st, 2012 at 3:17 PM ^

 In his defense atleast he didn't throw an illadvised interception that got ran back for a TD. Granted an arm punt would have been better than running 5 yards past the LoS and then 15 yards behind it.

 The thing that bothers me most about this video is the fact i see 7-8 MSU defenders in the screen at any given time during his "run" and yet only see our offensive linemen with DG. Where are the wide receivers

hoota122

October 30th, 2012 at 5:13 PM ^

Will Devin be going back to quarterback next year? Or will they go with Bellomy? Or Morris? I personally believe that Devin should start and that Morris should redshirt.

Seth

October 30th, 2012 at 5:14 PM ^

Didn't the ESPN thing just get this from the press conference on the main page that said the backup spot is going to be a competition this week?

DefenseWins

October 30th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^

This is what I expected Borges to say. He's not going to throw a player under the bus. That isn't this coaching staff's style, which is pretty refreshing these days. Privately, I'm sure he's not feeling the same way.

WMU81

October 30th, 2012 at 7:28 PM ^

Fact: DG is better than Bellomy.. I had high hopes for the kid from Texas, but last wk proves that the kid is not ready.. The games is to fast for him right now.