QB going forward ...

Submitted by Indiana Blue on

So having traveled to PSU for whatever you want to call that ... I think the question has to be raised about who should QB going forward.  First, I want to add that JOK played up to his abilities vs PSU ... good scrambles, some positive throws and of course we had drops and he still has an issue with not throwing balls away instead of getting sacked ... especially on 1st down.  But be that as it may, Michigan is not going to anything other than a normal bowl game and with our next 3 games being Rutgers, Minnesota and Maryland, I think Peters needs to get game experience starting next week.  JOK is gone next year and Speight is unavailable, and McCaffrey needs to red-shirt so why not let Peters get some real meaningful action?

Next season will likely have Peters and McCaffrey dueling it out (with perhaps WS) but we should be able to win the next 3 games without sensational QB play anyway.  Isn't it time to get Peters some very valuable "real" action as our QB?

Go Blue

sharklover

October 22nd, 2017 at 5:24 AM ^

I agree with the idea that we should give Peters some drives. But I don't think we should be ready to wash our hands of O'Korn, completely. I thought he did a fairly good job against PSU. I was a little concerned that he seemed to be bolting the pocket early, taking delay of game penalties, and failing to read through a progression. But I thought that most of his throws were reasonably accurate, and he didn't seem to be throwing too many balls up for grabs or into excessively tight coverage. I thought drops and poor route running were as much of an issue as any of O'Korn's problems. I'd like to see Harbaugh give him a chance to continue to improve next week. 

If O'Korn doesn't demonstrate improvement, start thinking about Peters. But O'Korn still has a ton of potential. I have no doubt that Harbaugh still has good reasons to keep going with him over Peters. 

Gulogulo37

October 22nd, 2017 at 5:40 AM ^

Absolutely. Not to mention it sacrifices the season for the seniors. Fuck you Hurst, we suck, so we're packing it in the rest of the year. But, to all our recruits out there, we're totally gonna be good next year because of how much more we're gonna suck now.

Remember how RR's awful first season set him up for future success? It didn't crater fan support to an almost unsurmountable hole or anything. Plus, look at how nuts fans are going already. Does anyone here actually think people are going to brush off more L's because "Well, at least Peters was the QB."

Maynard

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

Then how does it make sense to have JOK in when it is 42-13? If he is so much better than Peters, wouldn't it make sense not to risk getting him hurt with a few minutes left and a 29 point deficit? Can't have it both ways. Either he is or he isn't so much better. Which is it?

Commie_High96

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:02 AM ^

I don't know how old you are, but in 1999, UM fans thought Tom Brady was complete shit and wanted Henson in. The only people who actually liked Tom Brady when he was here are the female fans that thought he was hot. Be highly suspect of anyone who says they were Tom Brady fans when he was at UM

M Squared

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:43 AM ^

Sorry, that’s fuckin bull shit. I was in town all of those years. There was a lot of debate among folks about who should play. Henson was a local kid and considered an athletic prodigy. His home run stories were legendary by the time he graduated high school and he came to campus with as much fanfare as any recruit.

There were and are always people who care more about high school star ratings and Henson was a darling to those folks. Truth be told, his on field play however was sub par including a consistent problem of overthrowing receivers and struggling with touch passes. People talked about this all of the time back then. Lloyd tried as much as he could to work with Henson and he favored Henson but the truth is a lot of folks felt that Brady was much more consistent and performed better.

Back then, everyone still remembered the 97 NC team and that we had dominated almost every game with a game managing QB (Griese). A lot of people wanted excellent decision making and consistency at the QB position, and Brady gave us that.

saveferris

October 23rd, 2017 at 7:14 AM ^

I don't know how old you are, but in 1999, UM fans thought Tom Brady was complete shit and wanted Henson in. The only people who actually liked Tom Brady when he was here are the female fans that thought he was hot. Be highly suspect of anyone who says they were Tom Brady fans when he was at UM

I'm old enough to remember Harbaugh to Kolesar against OSU in 1985. Old enough to remember Desmond Howard making The Catch against the Irish in 1991; and I'm old enough to remember that opinions were pretty split as to who was supposed to be quarterbacking in 1999. Your suggestion that virtually every Michigan fan, or at least male Michigan fan, wanted Henson starting over Brady in 1999 is grossly overstated. Myself, I was skeptical of Lloyd's decision to platoon the quarterback position in 1999 and was personally in favor of starting the more experienced guy, an opinion that was eventually borne out by the middle of the season.

cadmus2166

October 22nd, 2017 at 6:36 AM ^

We should be preparing for next year at this point and that means playing Peters.We're likely to get blown out by Ohio St. and Wisconsin regardless of who is behind center, and O'Korn is gone after the season anyway. I can't imagine Peters being any worse that O'Korn if his talent actually measures up to his recruiting profile. Let the kid start the rest of the season so that he actually does have some experience heading into next year. 

Richard75

October 22nd, 2017 at 7:24 AM ^

Peters should definitely play vs. Rutgers, but (amazingly] it’s not like that game is in the bag. They did just beat Purdue. With a couple of first-half turnovers, this game could easily be tied or worse at halftime. Seems logical to start JOK and work in Peters as circumstances permit. As limited as JOK is, you can’t even take for granted that Peters is going to execute the snap properly, given that he’s never taken a meaningful one.

UMForLife

October 22nd, 2017 at 7:53 AM ^

If we can't play Peters to get some experience against Rutgers after two years under Harbaugh, then it will be very hard for him to play here ever. That is Rutgers. We should be able to just run the ball and win. If he doesn't do well, then you always have JOK.

Perkis-Size Me

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:18 AM ^

Might as well play him just to see what you’ve got. Whoever starts between him and McCaffery next year is playing the first game of the season at ND. Who looks every bit the part right now, and it will more than likely be a night prime time matchup.

Do you really want one of them walking in there having never taken a meaningful snap in college?

uncleFred

November 4th, 2017 at 8:39 PM ^

"Might as well play him just to see what you’ve got. " The coaches see him play in practice all week. I'll go with the assumption that they already know what they have in Peters. Further every in game snap is precious and pretty clearly the current offensive starters need as many as possible. There remains the possibility that Speight will fully recover, elect to continue to play and win the QB competition to start next year. Brown was able to rotate this season's starters last season because they were good enough to play. Harbaugh has a better understanding of the importance of exposing backups to game snaps as part of their development than virtually anyone here. If Peters is capable of the necessary level of play you'll see him in the game more.

UM Fan from Sydney

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:42 AM ^

Up vote the thread because I agree with you but come on, don’t try to be so insightful with your deep thoughts. Everyone knows that Brandon should start to see what the kid has. At this point, we’re looking ahead to next season. Sure, we’d like to win the rest of our games, but we ain’t beating Wisconsin and OSU with O’Korn at QB. Might as well prepare Brandon.

trueblue262

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:42 AM ^

After watching that last night, then you probably don't know football all the well. Dropped passes, missed assignments, wrong personnel coverage,etc. we lost to a team that was clearly the better team. Harbaugh knows that throwing Peters or McCaffrey out there right now would do nothing but ruin them for future. And just to please the fan base???
The complaining on this board is pathetic!

Rochester Blue

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^

If you don't give the QB a chance to execute, you are ruining him. Bad habits, messing with his internal clock, breaking his confidence. Having to step up in the pocket or scramble on every play is not running the offense. It's trying to survive and somehow cobble together a win. You don't want to put a college-inexperienced QB in a situation where he cannot execute what you give him.

Rochester Blue

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:04 AM ^

If you don't give the QB a chance to execute, you are ruining him. Bad habits, messing with his internal clock, breaking his confidence. Having to step up in the pocket or scramble on every play is not running the offense. It's trying to survive and somehow cobble together a win. You don't want to put a college-inexperienced QB in a situation where he cannot execute what you give him.

greymarch

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:48 AM ^

The goals for this season are over.  FINISHED.  Time for UM to look towards next season.  O'Korn is in his final year of eligibility.  Peters needs real-time game rep, so he and McCaffrey can push Speight for the starting position next season.

 

Start Peters versus Rutgers.  If Peters is awful, put O'Korn back in.  O'Korn is a high-school QB in the body of a 22 year old man.  Peters cant be worse.  Peters wont be worse.  Peters will probably play about the same as O'Korn, but since the goals of this season are over, playing Peters is the smart move...the common sense move.

Webber's Pimp

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:57 AM ^

I've said all along that the minute UM lost its second Division game would be the time to usher in any one of the freshmen QB's on the roster. For all intents and pruposes our season is over and We need to weigh whether to play for an 8 or 9 win season (at best) or preparing a productive QB for the future. Brandon Peters has zero game experience right now and we cannot count on Wilton Speight to take any snaps at this point. Starting the 2018 campaign with a redshirt Freshman or Sophmore QB who has never taken any snaps is a recipe for disaster. Better to take our lumps now.

SD Larry

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:58 AM ^

last night.  Sadly, for whatever reasons, our passing game seems most effective when JOK is successful in evading a pass rush or standing in to take hit right after he throws.  Higdon and Isaac show talent, Higdon continues to run very hard.   While I think Peters will get some meaningful  snaps this year, not sure the team is ready to protect him as much as he will need unless we call simpler developing routes and better blocking.

Mcguffie717

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:58 AM ^

Coach Harbaugh knows what mr Peters has.... that’s why the media asks Harbaugh about him. That’s why he’s trying to win with John O’korn. The offense is what it is this year but they looked more coherent last nite. Just lots of mistakes by young kids. Changing Qb again would compound that problem.

Maynard

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^

Then Peters should transfer because he will never play if he can't get snaps now. If he is that bad that you would risk your starting QB by leaving him in at 42-13, then he would have to be the most terrible QB ever who couldn't even take a snap and hand it off to a RB. That doesn't square with common sense.