October 21st, 2013 at 6:18 PM ^
Good enough to start for the New York football Giants but not Michigan? Crazy man!
October 21st, 2013 at 6:23 PM ^
Came here to post this, staying for the gang-bang. What???
Good for him though. If he plays well he may stick. Andre Brown doesn't come back for a few weeks and Jacobs is basically a week-to-week player depending on matchups. Hope Cox plays well though, great opportunity.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:21 PM ^
rises to the occasion! Go hard, Mike!
October 21st, 2013 at 6:29 PM ^
This makes me change my opinion on Magnus scouting skills. I remember a few years ago he thought Cox would be the starter, but ended up burried deep on the depth chart. Looks like Magnus knew what he was talking about when he thought Cox was the best RB on the depth chart.
October 21st, 2013 at 6:38 PM ^
Stop talking to yourself, Magnus.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
Good try Magnus.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^
Magnus gonna Magnus.
October 21st, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^
at HB. I forgot his issue, ball security or missing the correct hole but they never gave him much of a chance. I have been pretty upset at our HB use after mike hart.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:44 PM ^
IIRC, it was his failure to grasp the play book.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:01 PM ^
I can assure you that a failure to grasp the Playboy was never an issue with Mike Cox
October 21st, 2013 at 9:19 PM ^
Cox never misses the correct hole.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:21 PM ^
In Summary
Mike Cox - Ball Security - Missing the Hole
hehehehehehhe
October 21st, 2013 at 10:38 PM ^
Word is that Cox struggled with the playbook, but I have a hard time buying that as a reason to keep a guy off the field almost entirely. I mean, Dennis Norfleet apparently "can't grasp the playbook" or "isn't the best option" but the coaches still find packages in which to use him. There's no reason the coaches couldn't have put together at least a small group of plays in which to use Cox and then expand that as he got more comfortable. Something else had to be going on there, but I don't know what.
October 21st, 2013 at 6:57 PM ^
Not Mike Jones.
October 21st, 2013 at 6:47 PM ^
no order
Michael Cox
BJ Askew(hb turned FB)
Ian Gold(HB turned LB)
Woodson(duh)
First time I saw Michael in a game I thought he should get the ball more and would start, total shame he never did.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:29 PM ^
Ian Gold was the man at LB.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:47 PM ^
but we were stacked then.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:37 PM ^
What about Alan Branch?
October 21st, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
Askew played some tailback. IIRC, he switched as an upperclassman to FB, but even then he was used as a single back frequently.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:30 PM ^
seeing him briefly at hb he would start. he was big. Ian Gold briefly played hb also as a freshmen.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^
and later for Tampa Bay.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:27 PM ^
already got the win in the bag, and with jacobs out, why not role with bouncestar?
October 21st, 2013 at 7:36 PM ^
Had a small class with Mike. Very nice guy, I'm glad to see him sticking in the NFL.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:40 PM ^
Still so confused as to how he was probably never better than 3rd string at Michigan and now finds himself starting for the Giants.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:53 PM ^
the giants have NO running backs?
Nothing against Mike, but the depth chart is bare bones these days. Hope he kicks ass tonight...
October 21st, 2013 at 8:11 PM ^
He did make the team when they were at full strength - that in and of itself was a surprise.
The Giants have a tendency to go back to schools where they've had success. Victor Cruz probably helped Cox's chances. There was a time when they were on a roll with Michigan backs - Woolfolk, Bunch, Wheatley.
October 21st, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^
Did he make the team as a rb or kr?
October 22nd, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^
Primarily special teams - don't recall if he's returned any kicks. He has been listed as a RB
October 21st, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
Regardless there are many, many backs out there who started multiple years for BCS level programs who cannot sign with anyone. It is a mystery indeed.
October 22nd, 2013 at 11:38 AM ^
I don't think it applies so much to Cox, who for the moment is RB-by-attrition, but I think starting multiple years in college is probably a disadvantage. Backs only have so many carries in them and the RBs getting heavy usage in college don't fare as well in the pros, it seems to me. I don't think it's an accident that among the great Michgan backs the one that had the most successful NFL career (cut short, sadly, by an injury that had nothing to do with wear-and-tear) was the one who had the fewest carries at Michigan.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:46 PM ^
Maybe we should realize that Fred Jackson's day is gone. He should probably retire.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:50 PM ^
Somebody please put up his model pic. Okay, thanks.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:07 PM ^
Thank you. + 53
October 21st, 2013 at 10:43 PM ^
Just looks like a normal photo to me...which creeps me out because it's not funny, there are no half-naked jugs shaking in my face and there isn't a block M anywhere in the picture.
October 21st, 2013 at 7:51 PM ^
Fred is a better RB coach than I could ever aspire to be but this is a serious ding on his evaluation skills. Cox is starting in the NFL . . . and was ignored out the door
October 21st, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^
he had every chance to succeed at michigan just never put it all together. also its not like he was the giants choice to start they have had like billions running back injuries and cox is last man standing basically since he was playing special teams i think, maybe practice squad. hopefully he will take this chance and run with it.
October 21st, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^
Ya that's just dumb on triangle m. The guy got a start in the NFL who knows how he'll do or if he'll stick.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:09 PM ^
Ok, to the numbers . . . .
Michigan has had one 1000 yard rusher at the position Jackson coaches since 2007.
Other teams that have more 1000 yard rushing from running backs during that same time frame:
Nebraska (2), Wisconsin (5), Ohio State (2), Penn State (6), MSU (3)
These numbers of course are in a bit of a vacuum because of Robinson, but that's still pretty unimpressive and we are in the company of Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern during the same duration.
Honestly, who here can say that they are content with RB production in the last 5 years? Anyone? Jackson has been a good coach for Michigan but his status as a sacred cow here ignores the numbers.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:24 PM ^
Yes we do ignore the numbers. Our team is better for it. Fred Jackson is an excellent running backs coach. Wheatley, Biakabutuka, Thomas, Perry, Hart. Think he just forgot how to coach? How do we explain Touissant in 2011, then? Is it possible that his backs haven't been very good since 2007? McGuffie has still never broken a tackle, Vincent Smith had a nice career but was never going to be a feature back.
You could make the argument that he isn't good at coaching backs in the spread, but that won't be a problem for long.
October 21st, 2013 at 9:39 PM ^
So what metric do you suggest we start using for evaluating position coaches then? I think production is the best one in this instance.
October 22nd, 2013 at 3:51 AM ^
None. I think fans assuming anything about position coaches is entirely futile. You just don't know enough. Its like me suggesting you should be fired from whatever job you may have, and basing my suggestion on a hunch.
October 22nd, 2013 at 4:55 AM ^
Well that would be entrely different if you watched the product he helped produce every saturday for 20 years. i heard Coach Jackson was thinking about retiring after Jeremy graduated anyways who knows if it's true but i guess we'll find out after this year. Reader71 I'm not saying this is the same case but no guys don't forget how to coach but the game does pass coaches by ( see Bobby Bowden and a few hundred others who coached too long). I'm not saying that about Coach Jackson at all but i just wanted to make that point
October 22nd, 2013 at 11:30 AM ^
Not that I want Coach Jackson to leave, but if he did, I wonder if that would open the door for Mike Hart or Tyrone Wheatley?
October 22nd, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^
That's a fine point. I don't believe the game has passed him up, as running the ball and blocking as a back haven't changed much. Like I said, you could say he's not good at coaching the spread, and id probably agree.
The problem is the "Fire X" movements kind of ignore the fact that the people that the uninformed desire to see fired are people. They have families. They aren't just a part of the team you root for. Calling for ones termination should be backed by some strong evidence, which is impossible for a fan to have in the case of a position coach.
October 22nd, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^
Just to be clear, I didn't say fire Coach Jackson. I said he hasn't done anything lately, to paraphrase. I'd like to see more production out of our RBs.
October 22nd, 2013 at 2:59 PM ^
Me too. Great minds think alike.