My Takeaways from the Spring Game
I have very mixed emotions about today's game. I'm more of an offensive guy so this is definitely biased in that direction, but here are a few of my takeaways:
------Offense---------------------------
Gardner will win the Heisman during his Michigan tenure. For a high schooler (you know what I mean) he looked like someone that Vince Young or Troy Smith wishes he were at that age. He has the most pocket presence and patience out of the three.
Forcier was lost on the field. I know he had to play against the #1s and Denard didn't, but overall I was disappointed with his play. I think Denard will start against UConn and as a result Tate will possibly transfer.
Denard looked solid; he was checking down before taking off and lighting the turf on fire. He looked great on his downfield passes. On his RB wheel route/flat passes, he looked pretty bad. I think (or maybe just hope) this can be cleaned up before September. Overall, I think he gives us the true dual threat angle we're looking for.
Our offensive line is BIG. Taylor Lewan is a spitting image of Jake Long; the number is no coincidence. I think the coaches were giving him a ton of reps today because they know he is legit. People that are talking about Michigan being too small are in for a big surprise this fall.
There were a lot of bobbled balls today. I think much of this was due to freshman jitters (as many of these mistakes seemed to be made by freshmen) and can be cleaned up by UConn time.
The RBs didn't impress me, nor did they disappoint. They did their jobs efficiently. That is all.
Our slot receivers, despite being the best duo (Roundtree, Odoms) in the country, had a couple drops. This is the least of my worries. I hope I feel the same way in November.
------Defense----------------------
Emilien was completely out of position on the 97-yd Roundtree TD. It was very, very, very nice to see Roundtree make that play after the Illinois debacle but I can't help but think this bodes poorly for our defense. (Quote stolen from member romeowolv)
Mouton looked great. He was flowing to the ball well and did that much better than he did last year.
JT Floyd lacks athleticism. Yes, we all knew this, but it seemed apparent today. I'm not overly concerned about this since we had some guy nicknamed D-Dub last year who was a shutdown corner despite having BG speed (which isn't something to scoff at).
Kovacs did what Kovacs does: punish runningbacks. He tackled very well, as he always does, but wasn't tested deep (I don't think). On one play, he squared up, met Hopkins with a full head of steam, and made the tackle. Beautiful.
Big Will is the real deal. He is showing that he is worth the 5 stars.
We need Woolfolk. Hopefully our fall-incoming young DBs can help our defensive backfield, but I'm not banking on it. Woolfolk is crucial.
-------Other--------------
We need "Hang-er-up-there" Hagerup. The Rivas diet is not working out for Gibbons.
Our long snapper was bad (Pomarico I believe).
----Recap--------
Again, mixed emotions. It's hard to gauge our team when it's Michigan v. Michigan. I was disappointed by the defense (which was eerily reminiscent of last year) but I hope this was simply because our offensive is insanely athletic.
Whoever our coach is in '11, whether it's RR or Harbaugh, he's in for a real treat with DG. I think he is truly a special player that can revive the halcyon days.
Let's open this up for debate. I can't wait for Magnus to rip this post to shreds.
Also, I just saw our men's gymnastic team won a NC. HAIL.
EDIT: Apparently I somehow missed a bad Gardner interception during the game. That may knock him down to the Davey O'Brien (though I doubt it).
In addition to however many points you need to make a diary post, you should also have something intelligent to say. This is the worst thing I have read about the spring game yet.
I don't claim to be a football guru, but can you at least list some points of contention?
April 17th, 2010 at 11:53 PM ^
Like others have said, you completely lost all relevance by starting off with Gardner will win the Heisman. I mean, why not step it up a notch and go on to claim he's going to win a couple of national titles too?
The game was so much fun. Ive attended the spring game the last 6 years (except 2008) and this was definitely the best. The teams progress in my opinion seemed great. Denard really shocked me at how improved he is with his precision passing. Tate and Devin did fine remember Tate has a foot injury and Devin was definitely nervous!! GUYS TATE IS STILL IN THE HUNT FOR THE QB SPOT. THIS GAME DOES NOT MEAN ITS OVER!!! The RBs were okay nothing to fancy but they got the job done with the great blocks and screen passes. Receivers i thought were solid except for the Devin Gardner pass to Odoms that he dropped. Again it was cold and it was just a scrimmage so not too big of a deal. The defense i thought was very solid as indicated by the score. I remember last year, the offense was moving the ball with ease and no TO were committed. Today the drives were much longer and the defense made many stops!!
THE ONLY POSITION OF CONCERN WAS SPECIAL TEAMS!!!!
WTF were they doing. Terrible punting and the only punt that was returnable was muffed!!! I know Will Hagerup comes in the fall but we could be in big trouble if hes not ready. The longest punt was about 30 yds!!! The others were kicked off the side foot out of bounds. Thankfully FG kicking wasnt half as bad with #93. He was pretty solid. i dont think he missed any field goals!!
After watching the game i think the team is solid enough to win 9 games. The mistakes we made (even the punting) can easily be fixed during the summer so get ready for a great season!!!!
GO BLUE!!!!!!!!
If Hagerup isn't ready I'd let Forcier punt
April 18th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
Disagree on the Odoms drop. A 2 year starter going into his 3rd dropping a wide open pass is big.
I, too, was all gung ho about Robinson after the game.
I still am very excited to see him play, but let's keep things in perspective. He was playing against the 2's.
Here's what changed for me: Last year, whenever Denard threw a pass I would hold my breath and prepare for the worst.
Now, Denard looks like a quarterback. I expect him to make some big plays in the passing game.
That said, I judged Tate pretty harshly, but he came around towards the end and made some nice plays. I wish he had improved more (he looked a lot like Tate Forcier vs. ohio state) but you know he is going to compete and make a lot of plays.
And I'd like to reiterate what Magnus said there is NOTHING to gain by suggesting that a player will transfer.
Denard had the benefit of playing against mostly guys who have had little if any significant college playing time. It's great that he looked more comfortable and ran something other then a QB draw, but lets not get so excited until he proves he can do against a real defense who is putting pressure on him and hiding coverages.
Tate was out there with a RB and two WRs that should still be in HS, the second team Oline and was going against the #1 D which is significantly better then what Denard (primarily had all day in the pocket) had to face. Tate was still running around with the ball like it was a loaf of bread (-). The one pitch was a bad idea as he should have ate the ball. For a guy coming off a torn labrum and who is currently playing with a tweaked ankle he didn't look bad.
I wouldn't be surprised if Gardner won the job in 2011 hopefully after RSing this year.
I wonder if the staff is doing themselves a disservice by the way they are handling the QB competition. It's obvious most of the board posters are enamored with Denard with many naming him the starters already yet he hasn't proven he can do it in a game and Tate did last year before hurting his shoulder. Experience does count for something. The real question is are you now going to disappointed if Tate is the starter come September?
I won't be disappointed if Tate is the starter. Last year, he was the starter by default.
If he is the starter this year, it will mean he has beaten out one of the fastest players in the country and the top dual-threat qb in his class.
So, yeah, if Tate starts, that means he will have taken some giant steps forward. I'll be excited no matter who the starter is.
God damn, if Tate was lost in a spring game then what was he in the ND game last year? Its a spring game. Calm down and stop being so dramatic.
I meant to post earlier, and a lot of what I had to say has been said above, but I think that Tate did fine.
As I counted, he had three drives. One went for a touchdown, one good to about mid-field (following a nice pass and run from the 3), and one was 3 and out.
It looked like he had much worse blocking than Denard had as well.
I hope that we have two solid QBs that we can look to in different situations, but I see no reason to declare Denard the obvious starter.
I'm totally drinking the Denard kool-aid. Before going to the game today, I thought the talk about DR running with the 1's was just about sending Tate a message that he's got to work harder to keep his starting spot. After seeing all three QB's today I have a changed opinion.
Devin Gardner is HUGE, and he's a long strider that looks like he's not running as fast as he actually is. I think after his nervous jitters got out on the opening fumble, he settled down. He looks to me like the most comfortable in the pocket. He is the most likely to keep his eyes downfield while running in the pocket. I was really impressed with DG.
Tate looked like he hasn't improved much from the end of last season. My big worry about him is that he's always going to take off when the pocket really hasn't collapsed yet. He runs himself into more trouble than it's worth. Once he starts to scramble, he's no longer looking downfield.
Denard Robinson looks like a starting QB to me. His speed is unbelievable, and it makes RR's offense the potent attack that carved up Defenses for years at WVU. The threat of the QB taking any play to the house opens up the bubble screen, and the slants/posts that the WR's can run off the base. Opposing teams will be so scared that DR will burn them with his legs that the passing lanes will be open to him. I would be happy with any of these three guys starting this year, and I feel great about where this team is headed.
come back strong and challenge for the job. These two guys bring different qualities to the table, and I would like to see them both contribute heavily this year. And I would like to see them both in the backfield, confounding the doodoo out of opposing Ds. I agree that it's premature and possibly counterproductive to speculate about him going, but let's not hammer Wichitan too hard; he's just offering his thoughts.
April 17th, 2010 at 10:25 PM ^
With the enthusiasm of some of these points, I can merely expect for Gardner to win the Heisman, with Roundtree coming 2nd, just ahead of Will Campbell (the obvious heir-apparent to Suh).
Magnus, I really expected you to give us more of that Realism that you are known for.
April 18th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^
Well, I still haven't watched the spring game. Our football program had its annual fundraiser yesterday (we raised over $10,000) and then I had to attend a going away party for a friend who's moving overseas.
I'm going to try to watch it today.
April 17th, 2010 at 11:14 PM ^
is a blog site. I repeat, mgoblog is an internet website where people leave their opinions. This site is specifically a place where people go to speculate about the future of Michigan sports and read others speculations. There are no right or wrong post. Lately people using this site have forgotten this, and as a result, people keep judging other peoples speculations and telling them that they should have not made that speculation. Though I do think the judging is fair, I do not think making a post about how someones post is wrong or pointless. I mean seriously can we treat each other like sentient beings? If you really disagree with someones speculations just share your own and respectfully disagree, instead of posting a comment that cleverly tells someone to shut up.
April 18th, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
There are definitely some that think they are above others in this very busy blog. I think your thoughts are genuine and you will be discounted because of your opinion. The elitists that call themselves Michigan fans are very quick to dismiss and put down others in this website. Why do you think our football coach is having trouble keeping the ship afloat? Two words: Michigan Elitists!
April 18th, 2010 at 12:59 PM ^
There are absolutely such things as "wrong" posts. Saying a kid will probably transfer with absolutely nothing resembling concrete evidence is an example of a "wrong" post.
While this is a place for people to leave their opinions, it is also a website that Michigan athletes and their families visit. It is important to keep that in mind while posting.
April 17th, 2010 at 11:44 PM ^
....at Gardner will win the Heisman. Really? After one spring game against the backups? I mean, I watched the same game and they guy might be good, but slow your roll there man.
I didn't think Tate looked that bad.So much as the 1st D looked pretty damn good(especially up front).
I do think Denard is the favorite to start at this point.Not just based on the spring game.But the spring game seemed to back up what we've been hearing since practice started.
I don't see it as Tates stock dropping so much as Denards skyrocketing.I don't care that Denard was playing against the 2nd team D.He seemed pretty comfortable in the pocket(and did a good job of getting out when needed) and he was putting bullets right into his receivers hands.
...We already know how dangerous he is with his feet.
Denard looked like a QB today.A dangerous QB.
DG was impressive...For a true freshman.He would have definitely competed for the starting job last year.My guess is he would have gotten the job as an EE.
Lewan was able to draw my attention away from the QBs a few times.Probably more than anyone or anything else.I think that says something for an o-lineman.
"Gardner will win the Heisman during his Michigan tenure."
Cmon Beano Cook. The rest of your post is ok but I almost stopped reading right there. That is just a slapcock statement and it takes away from the rest of your post.
that, barring injury, Tate will start this Fall. I think Denard will see an increase in playing time, however, and will eventually take more snaps than Tate as the season progresses (as long as he makes the right reads in actual games).
What if the impressive play of our QBs yesterday is not so much a testimony to their talent but more of an indictment of how bad our LBs and DBs are?
Just askin.
Thats the million dollar question.. When you play the offense vs the defense it is pretty damn hard to decifer which is is good or bad. My guess is they put tate in to play against the 1's def and the 2's off to give him a challenge. Can he excel with less talent (experience) on the field. and vice versa for denard. They probably wanted to make Denard look good because of all the jibberish coming out of the other practices about his improvement. But Denard in with the best offense we have against the second string defense on a team were the first string defense is horrible and what do you think is going to happen.
Trying to make an illusion on the field is what you saw!!!!.
Is there reason for hope? Maybe, but I am not so thrilled our coach is a robot when speaking about the team. Every sentence is generic and meaningless. If he grew a set and actually gave truthful insightful and accurate descriptions about what is going on in the program, people might not dislike him as much. (well those that do not particularly like him).
That is just my thoughts tho.
I was impressed for the most part with the defense today. Kenny Demens and Cam Gordon lived up to the hype. Also I thought J.T. Floyd looked much improved.
April 18th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^
Anyone who says Denard will not start is a racist.
Sincerly,
Barack Obama
April 18th, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^
and I say this based on the following observations:
1. Tate has a full year of running the Offense against live competition (our D is still suspect until proven otherwise)
2. The coaches have consistently said they plan on moving Denard around the field once he gets more of the playbook down.
I just think RR is trying mind games with Tate to push him to reach his max potential. Could be dangerous with a kid who has been groomed and primped his whole life.
April 18th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^
because after watching the spring game, Denard has definitely made it a competition. He did a lot of good things out there; looked like a field general, threw the ball competently and confidently, and of course ran when necessary instead of running about as soon as he got the ball. He did do much of his stuff against the "two" unit, so we need to take his accomplishment with a grain of salt. Tate was hurt, I'm sure he can do better then how he did, but unless the "D" has really picked it up-and of course the D practices against the "O" so they have that advantage-Tate really didn't have a good practice. Your point about the mindgames makes sense; we were able to see some of Tate's body language off the field and it didn't look particularly inspiring.
April 18th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^
Mouton looked great. He was flowing to the ball well and did that much better than he did last year.Unless you mean he was doing this from the sidelines, I think you may be mistaken. He has a cast on his right hand, (which was broken during practice) and also has a dislocated finger on the same hand.
April 18th, 2010 at 12:57 PM ^
Players play with casts all the time. He was definitely in the game.
But Mouton played the entire scrimmage.
my bad, I saw him in a cast beforehand and assumed he didn't play, then didn't bother checking. was not aware it was the +20 cast of grittiness
that mgoblog diaries were reasonably high quality.
I watched that touchdown pass to Stokes, and while it definitely shows Tate's athleticism and accuracy, does that pass get intercepted against a more athletic secondary?
I hope I'm wrong, but if Tate does not learn to stay in the pocket, the offense will continue to be inconsistent. Broken plays are fine, but you can't sustain an offense on them. What we want is for Tate/Denard to be execute plays most of the time and move the ball, and yet also be able to break a defense's back when the play breaks down.
Both have work to do.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:57 AM ^
WORST. EVALUATION. EVER.
you thrive on being rude. btw, way to upvote yourself on a post nobody has visited in 2 days except you.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^
Too many starters out to really accurately judge this spring. Didn't Forcier hurt his foot or ankle a couple of days before? Couldn't that plus playing the 1st team D affect his game. His passes were still crisp. I don't see a definite QB answer until fall. D Rob looked good but it's only spring.
I just now am reading this and its pure gold jerry.
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