Nice piece on Speight,
who like a lot of M QBs before him--always under the spotlight--is under-appreciated, in my view:
http://247sports.com/Article/For-Michigan-QB-Wilton-Speight-patience-is…
247 is, to my knowledge, a pay site of CBS Sports; but for some reason it opened right up for me. Hope it works for others.
Article notes that Speight was throwing for 62% before Wisconsin; looks to me like he was right around that the other day. There were a few bad passes, IMO, but you tend to get that with college QBs; the INT, OTOH, was a fluke. Guy kept his poise game-long, from what I saw.
October 3rd, 2016 at 10:44 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 10:49 AM ^
That was a great effort play on Cichi's part and then the DB made an excellent reaction catch. Some times you just have to tip your cap to the other team for plays like that.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:04 AM ^
The PBU was a great play, the fact that it happened to bounce right to another Wisconsin player was luck.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^
Agreed - 9/10 times that probably falls for an incompletion - but as someone mentioned in a comment yesterday, that throw probably should have never been made with 4 or 5 defenders in the vicinity. Nevertheless, impressive PBU and awareness by the DB to react to the tipped ball.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:34 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^
What?
October 3rd, 2016 at 5:25 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:28 PM ^
We all know Qb's are under the microscope and usually make or break a team...so when Speight throws into coverage...thank you defense.
Okorn's M.O. at Houston, throws into coverage. Tends to run after 1 checkdown.
Remember Tom MFing Brady sat for 3 years. Think about that while eating your jerky.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^
Nice article. Not related to the article, but Speight seems to be getting Navarre 2.0 type treatment in some corners. Not sure why, but then again I never understood why so many folks complained about Navarre either.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^
There is a certain segment of the fanbase that is going to complain about everything. They are a lot easier to tolerate when they do it after another win during a still-undefeated season..
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
whether you're talking early Denard or Denard-in-the-unhappy-marriage-that-came-later Denard. If with the general drift of your comments and think Speight is a bit of alright as a scrambler, but
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
Speight is better scrambler than Denard. There, I said it.
If you mean "knowing when to scramble," maybe. If you mean "actually running with the football after having made that decision," um, no.
And Navarre was taking all sorts of shit from the fanbase long before this blog's existence.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:02 PM ^
Right, but that speaks more to his decisionmaking ability. I agree that he didn't run enough (if ever) on broken plays. But when he did, hoo boy.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
I'm not sure that's fair. I bet that same audience would be very happy with a Drew Henson type of player. It's more about the outcome than how that outcome is obtained. There have been a lot of positive comments on this site about Speight and his play so far, much like there were for Rudock during his great stretch.
It's an extremely fickle fan base. Always was, even before the spread made it here.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:30 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:32 PM ^
That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:58 PM ^
are fickle.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:53 PM ^
didn't even like Tom Brady when he was UM's QB. Awfully high expectations being lumped by many onto Speight. I think he's getting better every game and that's good enough for me. Soon, I expect the game will start to slow down for him.
October 3rd, 2016 at 5:28 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 10:59 AM ^
about a QB who is adequate to +, and not bitching about a QB who is bad or horribly undercoached.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:02 AM ^
Rabble, rabble, rabble from his own fans.
For me, I'm thinking about the improvement we will see by year end plus how good we will be next year and the year after. Andrew Luck indead.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:07 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
While I agree with you, as far as other's expecting more, there is the case of two HT winners in the past 10 years being RS Freshmen QBs. I think Speight will generally improve weekly, especially if he gets better protection, but I can understand why reasonable people might expect more.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^
In 2018, when McCaffrey and Peters are fighting Speight for starter, I will expect more. Even next year I'll expect more. But I'm pleased with how the 3* Borges recruit is looking halfway through his first season as a starter with two full years of eligibility left.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:15 PM ^
I thought for certain that Peters would be the QB next season.. now I think it is a complete longshot that anyone other than Speight, is the QB the next two seasons.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:20 AM ^
What was apparent to me on Saturday sitting in the stands for the first time this year versus watching on TV, was his timing. A lot of his passes just seemed to be slightly off. Numerous times it appeared Darboh, Chesson, Butt, or Perry would flash open . . . by the time Speight made the read and initiated the pass, the DBs had time to close.
Timing -- and quicker reads -- should be among the easiest problems to correct. The game will continue to "slow down" for Speight with experience. I think he is going make enormous progress in his progressions this month.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
Well said. I also noticed that most of his throws were off when he wasn't able to stand in the pocket. For as big and as lumbering as he is, he actually evades and avoids sacks really well.
However after he escapes I think he's getting a bit excited and the ball is going high. Better that then a sack, though. The 50 yard bomb to Amara - he had time to set his feet and delivered a great ball. Agree, I think a lot of it is correctable and he's shown good decision making.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
This was my first game at the Big House in 6 years, so obviously first time seeing Speight live. What stood out to me was how he stared down his receiver and didn't seem to look for second and third options. He knew who he wanted to throw to and was pretty obvious about it.
I'm not in the doom and gloom category though. I still think he is serviceable and is in a better place than Rudock was this time last year.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:27 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:01 PM ^
issues from the hit in the CU game?
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^
the same ones that once complained about Brady.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^
Speight will be playing on Sundays..... yep....
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:58 PM ^
But, that was one throw he needed to turn up the heat on instead of feathering it in. Had he done that, the ball would have gotten there a fraction earlier and too early for the defender to tip.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
He definitely has things to work on, but I've been highly impressed by Speight's ability to keep a play alive and avoid sacks. He's had a great pocket presence and knows when to throw the ball away.
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^
We havent had a good passing QB since Henne(Rudock is debatable but for my argument). Thats why the fanbase is the way it is. Everyone was ready for O'korn to light it up with Chesson, Darboh, Perry and Butt instead we have an adequete QB who is a "gamer".
I just want to see them win whatever way that is but I was hoping for a better passing game.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:32 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^