Scrimmage Observations
I had the opportunity to speak with a parent of one of the players who attended the scrimmage. Here were his observations:
-Rashan Gary was limited due to his ass kicking abilities. He is that good.
-Patterson, Peters and McCaffery all were given an opportunity with the one's and all had impressive plays. Peters command is a big positive.
-Tarik Black and DPJ should be the two best WR's at this school since Braylon.
-Oliver Martin doesn't drop balls and his get off at the line of scrimmage is impressive.
-K. Hudson's arms have their own zip code.
-It was fairly striking the speed in which this defense plays with, even compared to last year's team.
-For how good the defense is, the OL looked much improved over last year.
-There is a sense of "pissed off" and "we are going to prove doubters wrong" with this team.
Some of these items have been discussed, but we need all the football talk we can get.
Please get September 1st here quickly! Go Blue.
April 26th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
He's the spirit of an RB trapped in the body of a WR. I have no evidence with which to question his want-to but when your best plays as a WR involve your blocking, you're not staying on the field.
what you're looking for, but Partridge mentioned Perry returning punts in spring practices. Sounds like he's healthy.
I'm 100% supportive of the team, and Harbaugh, and the coaching staff. But as so many others have said, I'll believe it when I see it.
- Strength and conditioning? I remember all the exciting over Barwis some 10 years ago. I hope they really are stronger and better, but we'll see.
- OL improvement? I have been pessimistic, doubtful, and concerned about the OL for many years. I am not sure I completely blame the coaching. It goes beyond Drevno. Still, Warriner makes me very optimistic.
- QB & WR? I really am hoping that between Patterson, Peters, and the WR Corps, we are going to be better. But an awful lot of this goes back to pass protection being crummy.
- OSU. I hate it, but Meyer and OSU are not sitting still. Even if Michigan improves significantly, they have to get over the hump and start actually beating OSU. The final score is what counts.
Loved reading this. Really want to see the defense be dominant. But they can't do it alone. You need every part of the team to be good. You need the OL to make a way for the RB group. And to protect the QB. And to give QB time to pass.
In a sense, the football team is the reverse of the basketball team. For years, the bball team was great offensively, but crummy defensively. They had to be good on BOTH offense AND defense. Our football team is good defensively, but until the offense is at least competent, we aren't going to beat the best teams out there.
You're spinning the narrative here. He wasn't speaking to team talent. They have obviously recruited better than us recently. The comment was about coaching, and was spot on correct.
The thing that has me optimistic about the line is a couple things
1) clearly there were issues with Kugler getting the line calls correct at times last year
2) clearly there were issues by trying to run multiple schemes and be all things to all people
From comments by players and coaches, and looking at the later parts of last season when they finally went away from Frey's scheme, #2 is no longer an issue - they have simplified things and focused on execution. Frey is gone, Warinner is here.
and for #1, Kugler is gone and Ruiz is going to be much much better.
All we need is mediocre/average tackle play, particularly in pass protection, and we're going to be in business. I think we can achieve that
No insider info but he's wearing an O jersey in a photo posted from the last practice.
Matti mentioned him developing at DT earlier this spring so don't know if he's doing some of both or if they just needed another body for the day.
He was thought of as a possible guard out of high school, but it has been said that he is having a really good spring. Should be pretty decent down the line on that defense.
I cannot wait to have dominant receivers, and a dominant pass game in general. Especially with receivers like Tarik and DPJ who have a swagger to them. Appreciate the run game - but something so satisfying about deep ball completions and contested endzone grabs by big wide outs!
Empty promises til proven otherwise. Prove it on the field.
Well since they can't actually do that for another 130 days why don't you just go fuck off and work on your stamp collection until then?
Cool buddy.
April 25th, 2018 at 10:04 PM ^
April 25th, 2018 at 11:43 PM ^
Wake me up when this team is surprisingly good rather than unsurprisingly mediocre or surprisingly bad.
I want to believe.
The key things I want to believe that might actually be notable here:
1. That the OL really is improving. That alone can pivot this team to a playoff contender.
2. That the receivers really are that great. Martin having sure hands would be a big asset given issues the team had last season.
3. That the defense is even scarier than last season.
I want to believe in the QBs in the worst way, but I don't think the OP actually tells us anything that we can apply to the season.
But bring as much of this stuff as we can get.
I could write this stuff all day...
Here's more
1.) Karan Higdon looks bigger and faster and is the clear #1. He had a run that wowed the defense.
2.) The interior of the OL is good. Bredeson, Ruiz & Onwenu were all holding their own and then some. Big Mike looks like he lost 3 lbs from last year.
3.) JBB & James Hudson are battling it out at LT. There doesn't seem like a big separation or clear leader at this time, but Hudson updated his twitter photo, so that could mean something.
4.) Runyan is the clear leader at RT. Filiaga was running with the 2's, then Steuber.
5.) Rashan Gary has 10 more lbs of muscle and is a beast. Ditto Chase Winovich.
6.) Uche will contribute, especially on 3rd down.
7.) LB is loaded with young talent. Singleton, Hudson & Anthony may all see the field.
8.) Ambry Thomas is fast.
9.) Coach B was watching practice and signed a few autographs for some parents and friends of the program.
10.) Don Brown dropped a couple of F bombs when Patterson mad the D look silly on one play.
11.) Harbaugh was wearing some prototype Jumpman khaki's.
No offense op.
Not that it is your job, Matte, to answer this, but I am wondering.
How does JBB go from ineffective in pass protection at RT last year to battling it out for 1st team LT this year?
Also why would we want to move JBB from RT when he was awesome as a run blocker?
Curious to hear some opinions.
April 26th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
I thought it was obvious that I made all that shit up.
Good to hear some positive comments about the offensive line. I'm not surprised the defense looks great, but sometimes that dominance can obscure some improvement from other sections of the team.
I am also not surprised that Peters has a strong command of the offense. It does sound like he's gotten back into the groove after what sounded like a shaky start to camp.
April 25th, 2018 at 11:22 PM ^
You seem pretty willing to judge Peters after the first six games of his career, all of which were played with a receiving corps that was starting its first season.
It's pretty rare that a QB will come in and immediately light things up.
You're right for several reasons:
a. We are only 4+ months from the first game; we need to give all the reps to the #1 even if he isn't eligible.
b. I was hoping the the challengers suck so there is no pressure on #1.
c. I was hoping the challengers suck as there is no reason to believe the #1 will stay perfectly healthy for the whole year
d. I was hoping the challengers suck so that we know now we can't look for them to contribute mightily next year.
April 26th, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^
If Patterson is eligible (as some are saying it's already been reported) he's the one.
The battle is for 2nd place at this point.
April 26th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
Thats a bit harsh. I think Peters did a good job last year to not hurt the team, which is basically how our last 3 QB's have played, although some better than others. When he had to play against serious competition, he struggled to improvise and it was not enough to simply not make mistakes.
I still believe that Peters has the potential to be a great Q.B. He just needs to get more experience and comfortable enough to make plays and safely improvise. When he does, look out, because he's physically got the tools.
Lastly, We make too much out of the QB competion. Nowadays, you need two good QB's to make it through an entire season. I cant think of when the last time was, when we didn't need at least two QB's to finish a season. With that being said, we dont want a dramatic drop in quality from 1st to 2nd to 3rd string. The top 3 QB's will likely get an opportunity to play, during the course of the season. If you are great when they call your number, the coaches might decide to ride the wave and let you keep playing but most importantly, be ready.
Even if hearsay, they are welcome when posted with credible foundation as these were, particulalrly this time of year.
Hopefully they look this good against ND. I'm not giving out any offseason Heisman awards.