My favorite position to watch has always been running back, and my favorite running back so far is definitely Evans.  He's got the quickest quicks, and he breaks tackles he shouldn't.  I'm mega-excited about what he's gonna show us these next few years.

I'm not a huge fan of how Speight has performed so far, but I don't see any basis for saying he is "increasingly unlikely to take off a la Rudock last year".   

1. At this point last season Rudock was much worse and we had no reason to believe he was going to take off.

2. Speight obviously has far less experience so in theory he should have much more room to improve.

3. Speight could  have an injury as his play has dipped right after the Colorado hit..   Bye week could prove helpful.

4. Illinois.   Lol

That all four RBs  appear to all be vastly better, tells me that it is actually the improved OL.  Now, if only say one of the four RBs were much improved, only then can you say its that RB.

So I've seen a lot of comments on Speight that are something like "I know his stats are fine, but he doesn't pass the eye test". Well, maybe our eye test is too harsh - on the stats, Speight is a decent to good QB, especially for a young first year starter. But, you say, look at the bad reads, the inaccurate easy throws, the near interceptions...

How many non-Michigan games are we watching with the level of scrutiny we apply to Speight? Because when I watch a college football game, almost every time, I see some bad reads, missed easy throws, and balls that coulda shoulda been picked off. So maybe the reason Speight's stats look decent are that his flaws are actually pretty common in college football. This isn't the NFL - not every ball is going to be on target, not every signal caller can reliably make 3 or 4 reads, and not every WR is going to make his QB look good.

Brian predicted 60% completion, ~8YPA, and 2:1 TD:INT. Well, that's about where he is. How exactly did you expect him to get there? 60% means a lot of throws are going to be missed or dropped. 8YPA means not every pass is going to be a DO bomb. 2:1 TD:INT means... well actually it means Speight would have to put up several more balls for grabs than he has.

Speight is not robo-Henne. It would be nice if he were, but it's not really fair to expect him to be. For the most part we didn't preseason, but now we're faulting him for basically meeting our middling prediction.

"Michigan has a spate of average-or-worse P5 passing defenses coming up"

*Speight

I'm surprised that there are so few comments relating to Speight's obvious problems with mechanics. He has an inordinately long windup, similar to Tebow's, which allows defenders to close in on receivers he is targeting. He also tends to aim and guide the ball, as if he's thinking too much about the throw, also very similar to Tebow. I think this is the reason that he has virtually no completions into tight spaces this year, preferring to target an open Jake Butt crossing or trying to go over the top to Darboh or Chesson, or hitting a back on a swing pattern.

in Michigan's pursuit of an NC. But I'm not nearly as down on him as most of you. The reason? He gets better as games progress; the guy still has serious potential for better. In the first couple of games he got rattled a few times; since then, whether throwing well or not, I have seen nothing from him but calm.

Buncha games for him to really find a groove now.

Major upgrade at RB but slightly downgrade at QB?

Do not agree. 

Feelingsball and all, but 62% completion, 11:2 ratio, escapability, and a couple long balls on the mark is a hell of an upgrade to last year's first six games. Meanwhile, our running backs are knifing through dead seals behind an OL comprised of THREE(!) 5th year seniors, a 3 year starter, and a guy who was so good he played as a true freshman. 

I'm firmly entrenched in the Team Speight and think you nailed it on the head when you said we're just looking for things to nitpick since there's little else to choose from.

 

Is that he's a very average QB in a program that has had a lot of good QBs. So most Michigan fans have seen other good Michigan QBs and when they watch other games, typically are watching good games, which likely means they are seeing a lot of other good QBs.

Speight isn't at that level right now. He's very average. He makes some great throws, he makes some really bad throws, and he makes a bunch of throws that are somewhere between good and good enough. That's who he is right now. An average college QB. He's within the one-sigma of college QBs.

And that's fine for the vast majority of games. What I've seen from him shows the capability of being a good QB (though I don't know if he has the tools/potential from what I've seen to be truly great), he can improve consistently to be a good QB, and certainly has the capability right now to have single games where he is in that "good" category.

So I agree with Brian's take. It's a bit disapointing that he isn't better, I'd say, but he's pretty close to what is expected, with maybe a bit more swing in his game that most thought would happen. And the RBs are certainly looking at worst solid to good, with very good depth. I don't think any of them have been great, and all have strengths and weaknesses, but it's hard not to see them as being a strong component of the team right now.

QB for a team that is 6-0, 11TD to 2 ints, 60%+ comp. 

I doubt he will lose the starting job unless he starts costing the team games.  Wilt missed open receivers, it happens, remember Chad Henne?

 

As long as Wilt isn't costing the team games and is moving the ball, its his job to lose.  Injuries happen, hopfully O'Korn does as well if he gets his shot.  I imagine if he was as good or better, Jim would probably be starting him.

 

 

but man do I like Higdon. That dude looks like a different back this year. He has a great combination on running with power and speed. He breaks tackles and can run away from defenders.

I'm actually optimistic about the running game and think that could be the key to the season ending up special.  While the offense had to rely on the pass last year, seeing improvements in a running game that's already been borderline impressive could allow Speight to be even more efficient and allow Harbaugh to put him in better situations.  I actuallhy thought we got away from the running game on a few critical series against Wisconsin.

that O'Korn and Morris have both looked pretty ok in their playing time. Not enough to pull Speight but if things degraded severely or if Speight got hurt, it would not be an extincltion level event for the offense. In fact, I thought that Morris has looked a bit better than O'Korn. That assessment would probably also fit the staff's preseason expectations, that there would not be much of a drop off. 

He's doing great.  Everybody chill out.

No reviews for the fullbacks? I for one did not expect an UPGRADE from Houma and Kerridge. But holy crap has Hill been amazing!

The fancystats that ignore garbage time have Michigan 21st as a rush offense.

What percentage of the Rutgers game was "garbage time?"

could run through those holes. Sure. It would take awhile. Wilton will be fine. For a guy who hadn't seen much game action. I think that he has handled himself quite well. He is not perfect. He will improve.