Sommy

January 13th, 2009 at 7:17 PM ^

Maybe I missed something, but is this something like the Senior Bowl, or is this what they're calling the Senior Bowl now?

Joined: 07/29/2008

MGoPoints: 1806

Coldwater

January 13th, 2009 at 7:20 PM ^

In Trent's defense, that reviewer was negative on most of those guys. But are we really surprised that he struggled? No. He was not an in your face cover guy. He always played 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and gave up a huge cushion.

Joined: 12/14/2008

MGoPoints: 11234

howarddestroysherbie

January 13th, 2009 at 8:18 PM ^

With the absence of Trent next year, our secondary will be outstanding for the first time since we didn't have a guy named Morgan on the Michigan roster.

Joined: 12/31/2008

MGoPoints: 11

JRC

January 13th, 2009 at 9:18 PM ^

Then again, this writer also said Sammie Stroughter (Oregon State) was having trouble with drops in 1v1 drills. And he's one of the best receivers in the Pac-10. Meh.

Joined: 12/23/2008

MGoPoints: 103

Other Chris

January 13th, 2009 at 9:22 PM ^

Did you read that and say "No fucking way! That just can't be true!" Nah, me either. Maybe he's just taking a little bit of time getting over jetlag. Or bad sushi. Or something.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1219

spartyNO

January 13th, 2009 at 10:51 PM ^

I don't understand why Trent is so hated by 99% of Michigan fans. Is it because he got burned to a crisp by OSU and USC in '06, and ergo he cost Michigan a chance at an NC? Do people just forget that Leon Hall was also on that team and got beaten just as badly in both games? I thought Trent was actually solid in '07, and while he wasn't very good last year I'd say he did better than Warren, who got absolutely abused against Illinois and PSU. I don't remember any specific games in '08 where Trent got beaten badly.

Joined: 07/16/2008

MGoPoints: 5

Magnus

January 13th, 2009 at 11:03 PM ^

The majority of Michigan fans don't know much about football. Oh, the pass defense isn't good? It's the cornerbacks' fault. Donovan Warren was a 5-star? Then it must be the other guy's fault! That being said, Trent was benched for a short stretch in 2008 for a lack of "production" (as Rodriguez called it) in favor of Cissoko, so Trent must have been doing something wrong. However, Trent consistently allowed short passes to be completed underneath him. Unless I hear it from one of the coaches or from Trent's mouth himself, I refuse to believe that he was not being coached to turn his hips so quickly after the snap and, thus, allow shorter passes. I don't know if that's because a) the coaches didn't trust the safeties, b) the coaches didn't trust Trent's ability to cover downfield, c) the coaches overestimated their underneath coverage and tackling ability, or d) a combination of the above choices. Trent was pretty good in 2007. He wasn't good in 2008, but he wasn't as bad as most Michigan fans are making him out to be. He has been made somewhat of a scapegoat for Michigan's defensive struggles because too many fans fail to see the whole picture - lack of a push up front, poor safety play at times, WTF-inducing schemes - when analyzing individual players.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166007

Enjoy Life

January 14th, 2009 at 8:32 PM ^

Magnus, I agree that "The majority of Michigan fans don't know much about football." But I do think Brian does know a thing or two. I believe Brian posted several times that Trent was not good.(Please correct my memory if I am wrong -- not trying to put words in Brian's pen). Plus, I remember personally yelling Goddammit Trent way too many times. My favorite is that I do not recall any time that Trent actually used his hands or arms to tackle -- it was always a shoulder block and missed way too often.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 2658

Magnus

January 14th, 2009 at 8:40 PM ^

Yes, but there are other players who have been bad at times who have not inspired as much anger and venom as Trent. Will Johnson did almost nothing in 2008, but nobody noticed because he's a DT. Ezeh wasn't great in 2008, but other than an occasional "argh takebetterangles!" his errors went largely unnoticed. But when it comes to Trent, it's often, "He fucking sucks!" without taking into account other factors. Other than Steve Brown, I can't think of a single player who has been so roundly criticized for his on-the-field play in the last few years.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166007

Sommy

January 14th, 2009 at 3:30 PM ^

Trent was good last year. The case with Trent, like with a lot of corners, is that fans tend not to notice when a cornerback is playing well (unless if he has played well from day one -- hence DWar) because it's one of those positions where if you do your job, it's a case of "Oh, big deal, he's just doing his job," and if you're getting burned, then people think you're bad no matter what. Trent was a liability in '06 and had a lot to do with why we (a) lost to tUoOS and (b) lost to USC. When he put together a pretty good year in '07, no one seemed to notice because his legacy as "Morgan Toast" had already been cemented from the year before. It's just too bad he ended up regressing this year.

Joined: 07/29/2008

MGoPoints: 1806

jwfsouthpaw

January 14th, 2009 at 8:22 PM ^

We have to remember that the play of the safeties exposed the cornerbacks (both Trent and Warren) during the season. Yes, sometimes wide receivers simply burned the corners, but I think the safeties were responsible for many of the big plays; often, the cornerbacks expected over-the-top help on deep routes that was either (1) late or (2) non-existent. My biggest gripe with Trent was (as others have mentioned) his propensity to give receivers large cushions, even on short-yardage downs. Baffling.

Joined: 01/14/2009

MGoPoints: 1283