September 3rd, 2022 at 10:15 PM ^
Play better and the feelings will be happier again
September 3rd, 2022 at 11:34 PM ^
This. He may have been unhappy while he answered the question, but the unhappiness probably stems from frustration at his own play more than anything else.
If he's elite, and a leader—and we all know that he is—then he'll redouble his efforts and do better. And if JJ still outshines him, let's expect Cade to stay well-prepared while he cheers the younger guy on.
The media loves a controversy, of course. But, I'd put more stock in Harbaugh's view of it than in that of the AP writer. Surely, Jim knows his QBs better.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:41 AM ^
Of course he’s unhappy. He’s a good jj start next week away from losing his job and he doesn’t have a special package to come in for during the first half of the other guys game. On top of that cade is human, he knows the fanbase wants jj because he was a highly rated recruit.
You can’t get more professional than Alex smith and he still left the 49ers after he lost the job to kap. It’s an untenable situation for a football player to just stick around and be happy when they lose their job.
September 4th, 2022 at 7:58 AM ^
I am not a fan of the fans but this constant short-changing of JJ as simply being a fan favorite because of his high recruiting rating is more than disingenuous. JJ is one hell of a talent. To this point in his time at Michigan JJ has had neither the opportunity nor the challenge of being the starter. But neither has he thrown his coaches and teammates under the bus-like Cade did yesterday. Relative to his position on this team, what Cade did in his post-game pressor was more than stunning. Here, there will surely be a "come-to-Jesus" meeting with the head man. I know he is young and it was in the heat of the battle so to speak but the unfairness of the position Cade has placed his coaches and team in is significant-and, you are correct, it may in fact be untenable.
September 4th, 2022 at 8:41 AM ^
I think the coaches should not have put Cade in the position to be available to the media yesterday. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out yesterday had to be a very hard day for him.
September 4th, 2022 at 8:59 AM ^
Sure I understand this but don't you think the coaching staff (and Cade) think he should have to learn how to handle situations like this? That is if there are hopes to play at the next level.
September 4th, 2022 at 9:17 AM ^
He's a captain and they won big. There would be no reason to hide him.
September 4th, 2022 at 9:28 AM ^
That would of also been a bad look considering he's a team captain.
September 4th, 2022 at 1:09 PM ^
Disagree. Cade is going to feel like this regardless. Better to have what everyone already knows out there. Trying to put toothpaste back in the tube doesn’t work
September 4th, 2022 at 12:00 PM ^
I missed anything stunning that he said. Freep quotes him saying this:
“There was some stuff that didn’t go our way but I thought we handled it pretty well,” McNamara said. “Kind of first game stuff, I missed a couple targets, we had a couple drops, it looked like the first game on the offensive side of the ball so we’ve got to clean that up and I’m a part of that.”
Seems totally reasonable to me. Was there something else he said that was throwing the team under the bus?
September 4th, 2022 at 8:40 AM ^
Definitely a tough situation for Cade. He probably felt he should’ve played more. I was surprised how shakey he looked most of the game though. Even though it was an out matched opponent you still need to play well and coaches have to make adjustments and fix things not working
September 4th, 2022 at 8:56 AM ^
Speaking of JJ's start next Saturday - Hawaii allowed Vanderbilt's starting QB to run for 163 yards on 13 carries and WKU's QB to run for 43 yards on 9 carries - this means JJ will get to show off his running ability, something that Cade doesn't exactly have.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:02 PM ^
I’d prefer JJ not run much against Hawaii. We know he can run. We need to keep both QBs healthy, which means not taking unnecessary risks during the non-conference schedule.
September 4th, 2022 at 2:07 PM ^
I agree with this. One of the nice things about having Cade is that we don't have to be so scared about running JJ in games that matter, but there is no need to have him run 10 times and expose himself to injury against Hawaii.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:50 AM ^
I have been a huge Cade supporter because I think he played exceptional down the stretch last year and led Michigan to the Big Ten Title.
JJ looked like the much better player today and it was visible.
September 4th, 2022 at 9:40 AM ^
This.
Cade didn’t step up when he needed to. We will find out if JJ will step up this week.
September 4th, 2022 at 10:12 AM ^
Find out? I'm not sure what we can learn from next week, Hawaii is probably worse than CSU, so it's pretty much a lock JJ will play quite well. And if he starts from there on it's fine with me, but one thing I don't like about yesterday from Harbaugh was: if you're doing the alternate start thing, then give Cade the entire game and sit JJ--don't take drives away from Cade, which are chances to prove himself
September 4th, 2022 at 10:25 AM ^
Cade was playing in the third quarter and not seeing wide open players. One play Cade missed All on the right side of the field, who was open by 10 yards. I’m not the best at picking up open guys in real time but sitting in the stands yesterday there was several times that was happening.
Part of it seemed like he was playing scared about losing his job. Those first few bad throws seemed to snowball for him.
September 4th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
I wonder if that was part of it, the psychological toll of learning that the job isn't necessarily yours after thinking (assuming?) it was.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:05 PM ^
When did Cade need to step up? Michigan crushed CSU.
I'm not denying JJ looked a lot better yesterday but very tiny sample size against a terrible opponent.
Cade did step up time and time again when he needed to last year (except Rutgers). He was usually better in the big games than the ho-hum games: Wisconsin, MSU, OSU (he wasn't great against PSU but obviously stepped up when he needed to).
September 4th, 2022 at 11:50 AM ^
I really don’t get the ‘cade played well down the stretch point.’ He had 1 td and 4 ints over the final 3 games.
the team played incredible down the stretch though.
September 4th, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
Of course he's unhappy, he's 13-2 as a starter and at risk of losing his spot because JJ has more flash and the fans have been against him since JJ got on campus cause stars. Likely 14-1 if someone didn't cough up a fumble to force another MSU score.
And he's a competitor so he will of course be angry about his own performance last season.
September 4th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
Don’t blame Corum’s fumble for losing to MSU. I also seem to remember a certain QB having the ball at midfield with a minute left in that game and throwing a pick…
Anyway, he’s not at risk of losing his job because “JJ has more flash.” He’s at risk of losing his job because JJ is objectively a more talented QB and as we all saw yesterday, the offense opens right up with JJ in. Cade went 1-6 in the redzone, led us to 3 field goals and 1 TD in 4 redzone attempts. With the 1 TD coming on a drive where he attempted zero passes.
You can piss and moan about JJ competing for the job all you want. Cade has had every opportunity to shut that down and prove it’s his job. He hasn’t done that. You leave the door open for talent and talent might just bust through.
September 4th, 2022 at 11:04 AM ^
Again, coming into games to throw or run a few times doesn't mean he can get it done all game.
Not sure what else Cade needs to do? Why does a dude who beat osu last season, won the big ten, is 13-2 now, on the hot seat every game? Oh right, cause he's not flashy lol. "Sorry guys, I keep winning, but not winning up to your standards, you can bench me now."
So what happens if / when JJ is named starter and Michigan loses to MSU and OSU again and doesn't make the big ten championship game but heck I bet JJ will have more TDs. Game management is a thing too in football.
Michigan had the lead late in the 4th, JJ comes in and fumbles the ball, short field leads to MSU scoring the go ahead TD. Michigan is forced to try and come back late which leads to an INT which was more of a great CB play than bad throw.
September 4th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
I don't think you can give the guy the job solely based on games played last season. Development continues, especially with younger guys. Cade thinks he has the best camp he's ever had, but are the coaches seeing something else? Do they think JJ had a better camp? Lots of factors here that we don't know about.
September 4th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
Why does a dude who beat osu last season, won the big ten, is 13-2 now, on the hot seat every game?
Because HE didn’t do that. The TEAM did that and he happened to be playing QB when it happened. What we’re HIS contributions to those accomplishments? That’s what matters.
Michigan had the lead late in the 4th, JJ comes in and fumbles the ball, short field leads to MSU scoring the go ahead TD.
As I’ve explained to you multiple times, CORUM fumbled the ball. Harbaugh explicitly said so already. JJ did everything he was supposed to on that play, Corum didn’t. That caused the fumbled exchange. Harbaugh’s own words.
The rest of your post is just your continued nonsense about better QB play equaling more losses that you’ve been peddling for weeks. Nice to see you continue to double down on that BS narrative.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:05 PM ^
Fans want a superstar at QB. Cade will never be that, as good as he can be. JJ has superstar potential.
September 4th, 2022 at 1:05 PM ^
McNamara is a good quarterback who did good things for us last year. To say he 'won' the Big Ten is a stretch when Michigan had a defensive end picked 2nd in the draft and another in the 2nd round and also Dax Hill. Let's be real, the offense ran through H2 and Corum. It's not like McNamara is an all-Big Ten guy. He's not Stetson Bennett, who beat out higher ranked QBs to win his job. McNamara is really limited to short completions because of the lack of arm strength. He lacks the pin point accuracy on short throws you'd like to make up for that. A big part of the offense is the zone read--except McNamara isn't a runner and either isn't asked to run or refuses to. He's essentially a drop back quarterback who lacks elite arm talent. So the seeming belief that he's owed a starting job over a competitor with All-Big Ten upside because of past accomplishments is bizarre to me. Whatever...
September 3rd, 2022 at 10:18 PM ^
He should be. He's a competitor.
September 3rd, 2022 at 11:21 PM ^
And may have lost the starting job
September 4th, 2022 at 12:18 AM ^
Just think how unhappy he’s going to be when McCarthy is named the starter for week 3 and the rest of the season.
September 3rd, 2022 at 10:18 PM ^
Id be unhappy too if I played like that.
September 3rd, 2022 at 10:20 PM ^
Cade's quotes were definitely interesting. Honestly, his feelings are pretty natural and understandable. Hopefully he can rise above it, but I get feeling burned or unhappy.
I definitely side more with Craig that this QB battle could turn out to be an issue. Seth's take that they're a team and will work it out / get along always felt a little naive to me.
September 3rd, 2022 at 10:22 PM ^
Cade’s comments on the the QB competition this summer have been kind of bitchy, to be honest. The “I’m a Big Ten Championship-winning starting quarterback, and that’s how I see it” comment and this. You don’t deserve anything dude. Earn it.
September 3rd, 2022 at 11:45 PM ^
He beat OSU and won the Big Ten. What more could he have done? Few bad plays and that counts for nothing? JJ will probably beat him out down the line but the guy deserves some respect. Who had a better season this century?
September 3rd, 2022 at 11:59 PM ^
One last mgoheuristic
Cade + Hassan >>> Cade w/o Hassan
The whole team won the Big Ten last year, Cade played a role just like everyone else. We don't have to pretend that one guy (other than Haskins or Hutchinson) put the team on his back and carried them anywhere.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:18 AM ^
What's wrong is he came off as pouty, entitled, and resentful, even though he was clearly the inferior QB today. Let your play do the talking.
September 4th, 2022 at 9:39 AM ^
If you're a leader on this team, this is not how leaders behave.
September 4th, 2022 at 4:52 AM ^
What more could he have done? Bluntly, be a better qb. One we could actually rely on to win a game thru the air when needed (like Georgia). Cade was absolutely a member of the 22+ starters of a big ten title team, but he probably held that team back if anything
September 4th, 2022 at 7:24 AM ^
There's validity to both; his consistency and the results of last year should count for something, despite fans' fickleness/attraction to the shiny new object. At the same time, he can't think that he gets to rest on his laurels now and coast... that's not how sports/life works. Achievement should earn you some grace and patience on an off-day, but if an off-day turns into an off-month, you're out. He's young, though, I get the frustration. My only concern would be if the coaching staff wasn't honest with him and made him think he had it locked up in a way he didn't, that feels like a problem.
September 4th, 2022 at 7:31 AM ^
You might have something there about the coaches...the coaches would certainly not want either JJ or Cade to enter the portal. So you would certainly not tell Cade that 'we are going with JJ' during fall camp, or whenever it was decided (if it was) because there would be a high chance he transfers out, then you only have 1 qb with some xp.
September 4th, 2022 at 10:51 AM ^
He could have a better QB? Look, by virtually every metric he was a middle of the pack starting QB in the Big Ten. Pick your metric, QBR? YPA? TD/INT ratio? That was good enough with that team we had last year to beat OSU and win the B1G.
You don’t get evaluated based on what the team did. You get evaluated based on your individual contributions and abilities. At the end of the day, his individual contributions and abilities aren’t enough to earn him a spot as the unquestioned starter. He still has to prove he’s the right guy for the job. 15 TDs in 14 games isn’t going to do that. 159 yards and a pick against OSU isn’t going to do that. Meaning he has to fight for his job in camp and now into the season.
As for who has had a better year, Cade had a QBR on 141.9. QBs right in that ballpark or better in this century:
2019 Shea (139.4)
2018 Shea (149.8)
2016 Speight (139.8)
2015 Rudock (141.5)
2013 Gardner (146.1)
2012 Gardner (161.7 in half a season)
2011 DRob (139.7)
2010 DRob (149.6)
2006 Henne (143.4)
We’re really only saying Cade had an amazing season because the TEAM had an amazing season. Cade had a pretty comparable season compared to past QBs that have been pretty heavily scrutinized by this fanbase for their play. Michigan drops a game to Nebraska or Penn State and Haskins doesn’t run for 5 TDs against OSU and we finish 9-3 again, then nobody has a higher opinion of Cade than they do Shea, Speight or Rudock. The fact that he played on a better team than those guys doesn’t make Cade a better QB.
September 4th, 2022 at 11:11 AM ^
Cade was asked to do less than any of the other qb’s save possibly Speight in 2016. And that’s a heavy possibly. That 2016 team was absolutely loaded.
Denard and Devin had to carry their teams. Rudock was nuts down the stretch. Devin had the gutsiest performance I’ve seen when he led against osu on a broken foot.
Cade put up a similar qbr without any of the weight
September 4th, 2022 at 11:22 AM ^
Right, and with QBR being an efficiency metric you’d think a QB that has to put less of the workload on his own back would be able to be more efficient that QBs who had to carry their team and drive the offense with his own play.
I’m not going to say Cade was worse than those guys, but I’m damn sure not going it sit here and pretend he was better simply because he played on a better team when the numbers simply don’t back that up.
We’re evaluating the abilities and the production of an individual. Who is the better QB? Who gives this team the better chance to win games moving forward? What happened last year is completely irrelevant to right now, especially in the case of Cade where his production from last season wasn’t phenomenal to begin with. Nothing about HIS play puts him in unquestioned starter territory.
September 4th, 2022 at 12:16 AM ^
September 4th, 2022 at 7:19 AM ^
I disagree. He brought the program back, is essentially undefeated in Big ten play, so it's hard to do more than that. I don't like this general dissing of him, and Gardner got more respect at the time than Cade is now.
September 4th, 2022 at 7:37 AM ^
He didn’t “bring the program back.” The most accurate description would be that he was one of many significant contributors to the best Michigan football season in a long time.
September 4th, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^
15 TDs in 14 games didn’t bring the program back. No matter how many times you try to say it, Cade didn’t have near the impact on the success of that team as you try to imply.
Gardner got more respect because Gardner, as an individual, was doing more. He was putting the team on his back and carrying them as far as he possibly could, and taking one helluva beating in the process. You’re damn right Gardner gets more respect for his 460 yard, 5 TD performance in a 42-41 loss to OSU than Cade does for 159 yards and a pick.
September 4th, 2022 at 8:12 AM ^
He should feel that way about himself. He’s part of a team that won the big ten though. I was mad when Dak took over for Romo. Cowboys won 12 games that year but I was barely excited for the playoffs. Clearly that was a good team though. Romo gracefully bowed out mid season because he saw there was no turning back from Dak. That’s likely where we are headed. But JJ has to play a real team first for this to really matter. And Ohio state was held under 30 last night. As was the case last year when our defense won us a big ten title as much or more than Cade did.