David Molk Appreciation Thread

The player he reminds me of is Jim Otto, first-ballot HoF center with the Raiders under Madden. Both were undersized at 6' 2" -- Molk at 280 is heavier now than Otto ever was (he played at 250 in the NFL), but that just reflects today's more sophisticated weight and conditioning regimens. Otto never missed a game due to injury, but times were different then -- he had nine off-season knee surgeries during his career. He wrote a book titled The Pain of Glory. Molk did play part of a game with a broken foot last year. But the most important thing about Otto, and the key similarity to Molk, is that he was the undisputed leader of the O lines he was on. When the center is the leader, the tackles can focus on their jobs on the outside, which are hard enough without having to worry about what everyone else is doing, and the guard-center-guard unit is tighter. It all starts with the center. Note: Otto also played middle linebacker in college (UMiami), going both ways. Paging GERG! [Just kidding...]

I am horribly biased because I like to remember myself as a tough, smart, mobile, but undersized Illinois center. Molk is what I would have wanted to be if I was Michigan-worthy. The Indiana game was interesting mostly because of his absence. Even aside from his blocking, the inability of others to accurately deliver consistent shotgun snaps was one more thing that began to rattle our QBs. I also think the attitude of the person calling the huddle is important in addition to the QB who then takes charge and calls a play. It sets the tone for the huddle. With a young QB this seems even more important. He was indispensible, and losing him was a tremendous blow. We also half-lost Tate a few weeks later when he injured his shoulder and then had the Iowa concussion. He was not quite the same afterward. Our biggest problems may have been defense but I think many of those issues can be attributed in part to waning confidence that started to fall through the floor when we lost Molk and partially lost Tate.

Molk came back against PSU, and Michigan drove the ball against them pretty easily. He got injured again, and they stopped moving. That was when I realized how important he was to the team.

to pull a Mr. Miagi on his knee for this year. I worry about his rehab.

The ultimate complament to David Molk is that when he got hurt our o-line became shit and the center downgrade was very noticable.

When rating how a football team performs offensively, the importance of positions falls as follows. Center QB Left Tackle Right Tackle L and R guards interchangeably RB TE WR That does change some for the spread, but overall, it is what it is. That center/QB exchange and then the C's ability to hit the line fast is the most critical thing. Without that, you have nothing.

I agree that David Molk is very important to the offense. However, I would submit that it's more important to have a good QB than to have a good C. How do I know this? A couple reasons. First, Michigan scored 36 points against Purdue, 63 against a soup can, and 28 against Iowa without Molk. Second, I lived through 2008 Michigan football.

Am I the only one who thinks of this when I hear Molk's name?

Molk was/is the best lineman on the team, and we sorely missed him.

Molk's one of the most key players on the team because his presence and subsequent absence changed the whole feel of the offense. It just didn't gel as well when he wasn't there, you could just see/feel it.

Fans will always focus on the skill players on Offense. But you don't win the Championships without great play in the trenches and on D, regardless of who lines up at QB, RB, and WR.

While the majority of keys for success for next season probably center on the defense, the one key on the offense is getting Molk back healthy and keeping him that way. Almost as important is to have somebody step up and position himself as an adequate back-up and then hope we never need him until Molk graduates.

M-Dog and SaveFerris - I agree with both of you. However, when you think of who is vital to the Michigan offense in 2010, just ask yourself this question: Who would you rather see taking snaps on the field this fall: Rocko Khoury, or Nick Sheridan? Yes, Tate/Denard is more important in 2010 than Molk.