Is Funchess a "1" or just one of many?
I'm going to put a philosophical discussion of where Devin Funchess sits in the pantheon of Michigan receivers by creating a context with some sports memorabilia I own.
A million years ago I had Anthony Carter sign a Michigan football and a year later I had the opportunity to get Derrick Alexander to sign it too. Long story short, I managed to add Braylon and David Terrell to the ball in future years. There obviously were other #1's before Braylon but until Funchess got it, I don't believe there was ever one after him. My question is, assuming both that Devin Funchess finishes this year along the same lines the first 2/3 of the season goes AND assuming he leaves for the NFL, does Devin deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Carter/Alexander/Terrell/Braylon as great #1's? Put another way, presuming I get the chance, should I get Devin to sign that ball?
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
im saying that you cant tell how good he is yet because he hasnt 1. had a legitimate qb to throw him the ball and 2. he isnt going all out because the team sucks. so the jury is still out on how good of a player he is.
when he goes to the league next year we will see if he sinks or swims
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^
I just don't don't really equate success at the pro level to reflect whether or not a wide receiver was properly awarded with the "1." Braylon was pretty much terrible in the NFL but he was exceptional at Michigan so I thought he was rightfully awarded the number. I don't think Funchess' body of work justified him wearing it, but I admit that is kind of 20-20.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:04 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^
So he takes plays off because he's on a bad team, and can't make a shaky quarterback better, but he's going to be the first receiver taken in the draft? Isn't that the profile of most teams in the top half of the draft? Why would they draft a receiver that doesn't make a bad team better?
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:35 PM ^
It's pretty unlikely Funchess will be the #1 receiver taken this year. Most sites have at minimum Cooper ('Bama) and Green-Beckham (now Okla) above him. What will be interesting is how he tests in the combine and what position executives view him at in the NFL.
Personally, I believe he deserved the #1. From his hurdle against OSU last year and his TDs against PSU and App St this year he's obviously a superior talent in the college game. Like others, I think he's a victim of not having time to run routes.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:20 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:36 PM ^
The #2 jersey has been in near constant use by anyone from RB's, to corners, to LB's. It is not a "legends jersey", nor is it retired. I don't know why they had Countess switch, it was pretty dumb IMO.
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:11 PM ^
... Not sure if it is symptomatic or just fits my narrative, but I feel like Hoke just let players do whatever. Want number 1? Sure, it's yours. What the hell had Funchess do to deserve the #1 Jersey?
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:58 PM ^
of agree with you. I mean, OK, I get it, Norfleet dancing is kind of funny just as a stand alone thing, but the in the scheme of things, really? That is OK with his coach? Would that be OK with Saban? Put another way, who else would that be OK with?
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:46 PM ^
From what I remember, he worked really hard over the summer and decided to ask people about it. Asked Hoke, Hoke said ask Gardner and Ryan or some stupid crap like that. They all decided that because of the hard work he put in over the summer, he therefore deserved to wear #1. I don't think that's an exact recount of what they said, but it's pretty close. I remember hearing it and thinking it was about the dumbest logic/series of events I'd ever heard and, in hindsight, was a great precursor for how much of this season turned out.
I can think of at least 15 different Michigan receivers who are better than Funchess, most of which never got to wear the #1. That doesn't mean he doesn't have potential to be a true #1 for Michigan, however, at this point I still consider him as unfulfilled potential.
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^
when he reads this thread.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^
He shouldn't be. The most notable play of the guy's career was a pass that he dropped that preserved the clock and allowed the Scott Dreisbach to Mercury Hayes TD catch, beating Virginia, to happen.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:21 PM ^
he actually had a crucial catch in 1994 against ND to set up Remy Hamilton. I may be mistaken but I don't think I am. I think he made the catch on the second to last play of the game and then had an epic dive out of bounce to preserve the final second or two.
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:50 PM ^
The winning Michigan drive started at the M16 following a touchdown drive engineered by Ron Pawlus (who was just a freshman, on his way to four Heismans at the time).
The drive consisted of:
- a 15 yard scramble by Todd Collins
- a 26 yard completion to Jay Riemersma
- a 9 yard completion to Seth Smith inbounds & TO
- an 8 yard in-the-grasp completion to Seth Smith who dove out-of-bounds
- a 42 yard Remy Hamilton FG
Courtesy of Wolverine Historian:
November 3rd, 2014 at 8:36 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
and personal motiviation. Not to mention a halfway decent QB and OL.
Get the ball signed anyway.
He'll either flame out spectacularly or be a mushroom cloud-laying MF at the next level. I can't tell which.
With only 48 receptions for <600 yards and only 4 TDs after 9 games, it's really not very good. Dropped passes are just not good signs. But with such poor coaching, inconsistent offensive line play and a frantic, perpetually spooked and injured QB, I'm not sure that high expectations of performance are at all rational.
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
Does this show how abysmal NFL scouts think our coaching really is considering how high a lot of them have him going in the draft?
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:47 PM ^
Funchess probably could have been great with the right QB.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:12 PM ^
And more consistent effort on doing the little things to be a great WR.
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^
for anyone missing the sarcasm, Butterfield caught all of 4 passes in his career at UofM.
I don't think Funchess belongs with the top receivers who got the #1 jersey for the simple reason that he is not a home run threat (whatever the cause.)
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
He's definitely not 7 of 9....
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:55 PM ^
Assume he leaves for the NFL? Like we assumed Taylor Lewan would leave, and Jake Long and Brandon graham and Lamar Woodley? Literally the entire offense less one guy will return and I would imagine he will be tempted by a last chance to win a Big Ten championship and have a chance for greatness.
And besides, does he look like a 1st round draft pick out there to you?
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:34 PM ^
he has the body of calvin johnson. speed to match, and he has pretty reliable hands.
he doesnt make it passed the 20th pick if he goes. however if he comes back and has a good senior season then he could easily jump up to the top 5 or 10.
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:05 PM ^
he has the body of calvin johnson. speed to match, and he has pretty reliable hands.
Calvin Johnson(at the combine):
6'5", 239 pounds
4.35 40 yard dash (in borrowed shoes)
42.5" vertical
11'7" broad jump
Funchess has the size/height.
Funchess isn't going to run 4.35, it'll be more 4.55.
Funchess isn't going to have a 42.5" vertical.
Funchess isn't going to broadjump 11'7" ("best broad jump I can ever remember an NFL prospect having," - Gil Brandt)
Calvin Johnson was widely regarded as the best athlete in the draft, the best receiver in the draft, and a candidate for the #1 pick. Devin Funchess isn't even considered the #1 receiver prospect. That would be Amari Cooper. Mock drafts are putting Funchess in the 15-30 pick range and the 2nd-4th WR taken (Amari Copper, Dorial Green-Beckham, Kevin White, Devante Parker, Jaelen Strong)
November 3rd, 2014 at 6:21 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:00 PM ^
It depends, I guess. Statistically, he isn't in that group, though I'm not sure they would have done THAT much better in the offenses Funchess has been part of. But in terms of a dynamic playmaker, he deserves to be up there just in terms of ability. And for those saying he drops too many routine balls, Braylon had a case of the dropsies a couple of times, and I remember Terrell not always holding onto the ball as often as you like.
If you put Funchess on the offenses Braylon or Terrell played on, I think he'd have similar numbers.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
binarily. He is probably just 1 "1".
Wouldn't be fair to say otherwise and call him a 0 "1".
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^
To me he'll always be the guy that failed at his primary task and was promoted because of it.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
So sayeth the troll.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:42 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:07 PM ^
You realize its possible for guys to changes positions because they are better suited to that position right?
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^
but i find it maddening that guys like odoms and gallon were better blockers than funchess. it's all about effort. and it's obvious that this coaching staff doesn't demand max effort for its WRs in route running and blocking.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^
Very nice player with a lot of ability. But he is not even a Braylon-level One. To compare to the standard that number will always mean to me (Carter), the thought is laughable. Of course, Countess is wearing Two.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^
Funchess is rated as a 1st round talent, but by the time the NFL gets done judging this season he will fall to the 3rd or 4th round. Lack of focus, inconsistent hands, not a great blocker, not overly fast(the Megatron comparisons were always ludicrous)..dude isn't a first round receiver at this point.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:08 PM ^
Hopefully someone tells him this so he hangs around a year.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:06 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:07 PM ^
If you're basing someones quality on their potential then sure Devin Funchess is worthy of signing that ball.
If you're looking at production then I would argue Jeremy Gallon deserved to sign more than Funchess does at this point.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
I don't think that, from a production standpoint, Funchess is going to hit Carter or Edwards levels at this point, so if we're ranking the #1 jersey into tiers like this, I don't know that Funchess is in the top one. That being said, he's been playing in an offense that is not exactly all there at times, so there are certain mitigating factors - I actually have a feeling that if Gardner had a better line and were a little more confident in reading the field, the Funchess possibly has a lot more receiving yards than he does at the moment and we could be having this discussion.
That being said, get as many #1 as you can on that ball, even Gregg Willner just for contrast.
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^
had steve smith throwing to him his senior year. gardner >> smith as a passer.
November 3rd, 2014 at 7:23 PM ^
And junior year. Wangler's last year was Carter's sophomore year.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^
On paper, he's a '1'. On the field, I haven't seen more than a couple plays during his career against good teams that deserves a '1'.
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:11 PM ^
What I don't get is why the OP gets negged for the post. It's a fair question, isn't it?
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
in the Context of Funchess avoiding the block against Clowney much to the detriment of Vincent Smith, or the context of Clowney taking the 2013 season off?
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:07 PM ^
That wasn't Funchess. It was Mike Kwiatkowski.
Stop trolling.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
November 3rd, 2014 at 2:20 PM ^
He isn't going to be remembered like Anthony Carter or Braylon Edwards. He's probably like a Derrick Alexander. A guy who made a lot of plays in college that went on to a long, productive NFL career but was never truly great.