tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post7858956920069178798..comments2024-03-27T14:21:36.537-04:00Comments on Touch the Banner: Michigan 31, Illinois 14Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-28774532288698955652011-11-14T07:41:04.886-05:002011-11-14T07:41:04.886-05:00@Thunder
The problem that I have with people want...@Thunder<br /><br />The problem that I have with people wanting Denard out of the game is do you really think that Devin is better and gives us a better chance to win? I'm not sure if he does and it's so close that I think that you have to stay with Denard (at least this year). I wouldn't be surprised if Devin took the job next year which relegated Denard to a rb or wr role but doing so this year hurts the team.<br /><br />IMOboujehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07805983595974529612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-5833747857887516542011-11-14T05:14:34.398-05:002011-11-14T05:14:34.398-05:00@ Lankownia 6:52 p.m.
Denard's played pretty ...@ Lankownia 6:52 p.m.<br /><br />Denard's played pretty well the last three weeks? Let's take a look at his statistics:<br /><br />PASSING: 32/61 (52%), 456 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT<br /><br />RUSHING: 39 carries, 148 yards (3.8 YPC), 2 TD, 3 fumbles lost<br /><br />That's a poor completion percentage, a poor rushing average, and a horrible turnover rate. Boy oh boy, you have low standards if you think that he's played well.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-1989500266517731212011-11-14T05:07:17.923-05:002011-11-14T05:07:17.923-05:00@ Lankownia 6:37 p.m.
I see weaknesses in Floyd&#...@ Lankownia 6:37 p.m.<br /><br />I see weaknesses in Floyd's game. They frustrate me. You can argue all you want, but I'm not suddenly going to change my mind on his performance. Like I said, a big reason for his success was the DL putting a ton of pressure on him and Scheelhaase having a terrible day throwing the ball.<br /><br />It WAS a bad throw by Denard at the end of the half. That is a factual statement, not an opinion. It wasn't a bad decision (he should chuck it up there no matter what), but it was a terrible throw. None of his receivers had a chance to catch it. When you see Hail Marys go 10 yards out of the endzone or fall 10 yards short of their target, they're bad throws. There is a way to screw up a Hail Mary, and Denard showed us one way.<br /><br />I'm not being "consistent" because Denard isn't good. That's the bottom line. Every QB suffers from occasional drops; that's no excuse to complete 52% of your passes. You keep making excuses like "Well, his receivers dropped a couple passes" or "It was just a Hail Mary", but every quarterback in the country has receivers who drop balls and most probably throw a Hail Mary or two per year. Not many of them are completing fewer passes or throwing more interceptions. So you can keep making excuses, but I'm going to look at his 52% completion rate, his 13 interceptions, and his 3 fumbles in the past two games...and yeah, that's not very good.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-28897136742129358842011-11-14T04:57:59.255-05:002011-11-14T04:57:59.255-05:00@ David 6:01 p.m.
I'm not sure how much of it...@ David 6:01 p.m.<br /><br />I'm not sure how much of it is on Borges. As much as Hoke says he's "hands off" when it comes to offense, I have to believe that the general offensive philosophy (I-formation vs. spread, run vs. pass, etc.) comes from Hoke. But like I've said before, there must have been a reason that almost nobody wanted Denard as a QB coming out of high school. The inaccuracy and decision making he's shown in college might be a couple reasons.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-46098920153133596192011-11-13T19:12:52.156-05:002011-11-13T19:12:52.156-05:00JT is always okay. He's obviously not fabulou...JT is always okay. He's obviously not fabulous, but he reads the QB's shoulders on short routes and does better than his straight line speed would suggest against deep routes. His performance wasn't a surprise to me because he did what he always does.colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08174892535497307347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-17677739885167066092011-11-13T19:11:26.481-05:002011-11-13T19:11:26.481-05:00I just don't know what to make of Drob this ye...I just don't know what to make of Drob this year. Will htey ever start working to his strengths or just keep square pegging him and when he doesn't fit just pull him? Something has to give here and it seems like Denard has been asked to do all of the giving. This kid can have success in college as a qb, but it seems like he's set up for certain failure here with how they're using him, or not using him.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16110824687189541761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-45457725277015291142011-11-13T18:52:30.664-05:002011-11-13T18:52:30.664-05:00@Worm
67% (6-9) or 60% (6-10) or 62% (Denard comp...@Worm<br /><br />67% (6-9) or 60% (6-10) or 62% (Denard completion rate last year) is generally considered good for a QB.<br /><br />52% - Denard's percentage this year is not. No one's debating that point and no one think's Denard has great accuracy.<br /><br />Most QBs can't run for 1,000 yards, so Denard gets a little slack for his (obvious) flaws as a passer. <br /><br />What most of us hope for are some improvements. Denard's a square peg in this offense's round hole. But maybe he's getting a little less square and maybe the offense can be a little less round. <br /><br />Denard was awful against MSU and very lucky against ND. He's made dumb mistakes and he's missed easy passes. But he's still runs well and he's been pretty decent the last 3 games IMO. If that's the coaches making it easier for him - I say great. But if he gets the job done, he gets it done. He doesn't have to throw 25 yard timing route lasers to be a good QB.Lankowniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07421144704503213226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-82389386038624699472011-11-13T18:45:05.595-05:002011-11-13T18:45:05.595-05:00Thought Omameh and Huyge had poor games TBH. They ...Thought Omameh and Huyge had poor games TBH. They were getting blown off the ball all game. Particularly Omameh.Chrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-73733889448711579852011-11-13T18:37:17.411-05:002011-11-13T18:37:17.411-05:00"J.T. Floyd was okay..he's slow to cover ..."J.T. Floyd was okay..he's slow to cover underneath routes and come up to make tackles, but he didn't get beat deep...(Jenkins) low success rate wasn't entirely due to Floyd...I was disappointed that Floyd didn't take his pick to the house".<br /><br />That's not a very positive review, it's overwhelmingly focused on negatives. The nicest thing you can say about a guy who made the play of the game is that he was 'decent'. I mean, why not say something to the effect of "I criticize the guy often, but I have to admit he played a nice game and made a great play on the INT." That's not salivating, that's just giving credit where it's due for a nice game.<br /><br />It's your blog, do as you like. I'm just pointing out that it makes it look like you're playing favorites. I'm not the only one whose reaction was 'hu?'.<br /><br />-------------------<br /><br />In statistical analysis of all kinds, it's common to excise outliers, irrelevant data, and special cases that skew objective analysis. This 'weeding' isn't 'rhetoric', it's the right thing to do. <br /><br />An end-of-the-half hail mary doesn't say much more about a QB than a flip of a coin. It's like criticizing a basketball player for hurling the ball at the rim from halfcourt to end a quarter. If Hoke had decided to take a knee Denard wouldn't have had a better or worse passing day. Just like the knee wouldn't have taken away from his rushing day (even though the stat book says so.)<br /><br />If Denard had completed the hail mary you would have minimized it's relevance and chalked it up to luck (which it would have been). It should work both ways if you're being fair.<br /><br />-----------------------------<br /><br />Actually your opinion about the hail mary isn't a fact at all since there is no objective basis for calling a pass good or bad - it's a matter of opinion, for everyone. It was a fact that it was complete. It is your opinion that it was poorly thrown.<br /><br />------------------------<br /><br />Last week, when Denard had WR's drop multiple balls (you claimed it was 3, but Mgoblog's tally was 5) you said 'that's football' but this week when a CB drops an INT it's 'Denard's a bad QB." (paraphrased, maybe, I can't remember) Last week, Denard attempted many long passes and most were incomplete but you gave him no slack for level of difficulty and banged him for his completion percentage. This week the passes were short and complete, but he gets no credit for taking care of business on easy passes, which yeah, most were but not all. Again, it doesn't seem like you're being consistent.<br /><br />The coaches didn't throw the ball much because the run game worked and Illinois has a killer blitz. (If you remember you predicted 3 sacks and 2 INTs - there was 1 of each.) When tasked with throwing, Denard did very well. Level of difficulty may have been low, but he did. He was 6-6 to start the game and 6-9 excluding non-half-ending-prayers. He made decisions about who to throw to, when, and if. Facts, right there.<br /><br />I've said my piece on this subject.Lankowniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07421144704503213226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-13356304279747274902011-11-13T18:01:35.423-05:002011-11-13T18:01:35.423-05:00Magnus,
How much of this falls on Borges, seeing ...Magnus,<br /><br />How much of this falls on Borges, seeing as he's the QB coach as well?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12342230002415073793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-34742609881656744972011-11-13T18:00:15.001-05:002011-11-13T18:00:15.001-05:00@Thunder I agree with you totally! 6/10 is not go...@Thunder I agree with you totally! 6/10 is not good for a quarterback. Sad thing is this isn't a one game thing either. he has played poorly all season.Wormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15324390503254243601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-44347666006156079702011-11-13T17:42:28.535-05:002011-11-13T17:42:28.535-05:00Wind helped every CB on the field to the detriment...Wind helped every CB on the field to the detriment of both QBs.Roanmanhttp://justthinking.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-83196954273129478622011-11-13T17:35:12.538-05:002011-11-13T17:35:12.538-05:00@ Worm 5:32 p.m.
6/10. He was 6/10. Don't l...@ Worm 5:32 p.m.<br /><br />6/10. He was 6/10. Don't let the rhetoric fool you. You can't just weed out statistics that you don't like, which is what Lankownia is doing.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-71395034275251124282011-11-13T17:33:17.828-05:002011-11-13T17:33:17.828-05:00@ Lankownia 5:09 p.m.
Yes, Floyd had a decent gam...@ Lankownia 5:09 p.m.<br /><br />Yes, Floyd had a decent game. Which is why I mentioned him in the post. You're criticizing me for pointing out that he had a solid day, when in fact you apparently want me to be salivating over him. It's not going to happen.<br /><br />If expecting a Hail Mary pass to be within 5 yards of three wide receivers is such a high expectation, then yes, I guess my evaluation is "unfair" and I should set my sights lower. The last I knew, a Hail Mary pass was supposed to give at least one receiver a fighting chance at catching the ball. It didn't. It was a bad throw. Maybe not a bad choice, but a horrible throw. That's not my opinion. It's a fact.<br /><br />I can't believe you're touting his decision making. He wasn't allowed to make decisions! The coaches were avoiding throwing the ball! He was indecisive when running the ball, he chucked up a duck that should have been picked, and he tried to throw the ball when he was getting hit, which turned into another turnover. Out of 11 dropbacks, TWO of them (22%) were bad decisions.<br /><br />But never mind, he's clearly making good decisions with the ball, right? Hell, if he stays in for the entire game, he would have been on pace for 4 or 5 turnovers. Ridiculous.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-81712097349146798642011-11-13T17:32:13.924-05:002011-11-13T17:32:13.924-05:00I don't care if Denard or Devin starts I just ...I don't care if Denard or Devin starts I just want the best guy but to make a case that Denard was 6-9 for 90 yards is a good thing is crazy! I'm sorry but I want more out of my QB than 6-9,90 yards and 3 tournovers! His regression has been awful and his "arm punts" are killing us!Wormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15324390503254243601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-17582032578044581542011-11-13T17:09:20.911-05:002011-11-13T17:09:20.911-05:00@Thunder,
We're talking about the Illinois ga...@Thunder,<br /><br />We're talking about the Illinois game right? Not if Floyd is an NFL corner or if Denard is a Drew Brees? I just don't see why you'd harp on the established negatives the day after a guy exceeds our expectations. <br /><br />You and I and everyone else on the planet have agreed that Floyd isn't real good, but sometimes bad players have great games and sometimes great players have bad games. The rejoicing was over him containing a big-play WR largely by himself (which Michigan hasn't done all year) and on top of that making an enormous game-altering INT. At the time, the Michigan offense was stumbling under Gardner and IL was threatening to drive again after a TD score narrowed the lead to 10 and Michigan punted. Momentum seemed to have turned. The play that Floyd made was the biggest of the game by far and, unlike big plays from Herron or Hawthorne, he was actually responsible for it. We stopped a stud WR - and Floyd played a big part in that. It wasn't just bad throws, Floyd blanketed him many times. This is a kid with moderate ability stepping up and playing a big game. <br /><br />I'm not saying the guy is a 1st rounder all the sudden, but what he did in this game should be celebrated. I think if Countess had done the same things, you'd have been all over praising him and wouldn't have tried to credit the DL for it.<br /><br />Floyd draws the toughest WR matchup every week (over Countess). He now leads the team in INTs and broken up passes and he has a forced fumble on top of it. These are stats you repeatedly cite - but not for him. Gordon gets to be Mr. Just-Makes-Plays because he's recovered 4 fumbles and Countess is a blog favorite and comes in for praise almost weekly. Not that I disagree with either assessment, it just seems like you're willing to throw stats out there selectively to support your biases. (In fairness, so have I, but usually to counter one of your assertions).<br /><br />----------------<br /><br />If you're going to fault Denard for a desperation hail mary...there's just no point in expecting a fair evaluation in this space. Regardless of accuracy, Denard made good decisions yesterday. He hasn't always done that. <br /><br />Look, everyone knows he's not an accurate passer. If you're going to focus on that every week you'll be negative. But - duh! What we need from Denard is good decision-making, limiting mistakes, and some big plays - through the air or on the ground - it doesn't really matter. If he can do the above we're going to win games and he's a good QB. The big plays have never been an issue with him, but yesterday he didn't really have any. What he did show, was good decision-making. <br /><br />He's still turning the ball over too much (this week it was fumbles), but the decision making is, two weeks in a row now, very good. Yes, he threw one really bad ball that should have been picked, but besides that he was nearly flawless in making decisions about where and when to throw. I see signs of improvement and him gaining comfort in this system.<br /><br />On the flip side, I think Denard ran the ball pretty poorly, despite the TDs, and that's 2 weeks in a row. Denard's still a weapon with his legs, but he seems to have regressed from what he was. I don't know if it's comfort with the system, health, or just how things have come out in the last couple games, but he's not as productive as he's been. I'm not seeing the same loss of speed as others, but maybe that's part of it. Last year he ran for over 100 yards in just over a half vs Iowa, 191 yards against PSU. This is an area where I wouldn't argue with you if you criticized him and/or Borges.Lankowniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07421144704503213226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-21458768093238468502011-11-13T16:59:17.042-05:002011-11-13T16:59:17.042-05:00@ Anonymous 4:54 p.m.
Yes, it was a Hail Mary. A...@ Anonymous 4:54 p.m.<br /><br />Yes, it was a Hail Mary. And the only people anywhere close to it were wearing orange jerseys. It was a crappy throw from a quarterback who has been making crappy throws all seasons, as evidenced by his 52% completion rate. Why is it hard to believe that this would be another one?<br /><br />You're not aiming for a spot in the endzone. You're trying to get the ball to one of your wideouts. Speaking of "absurd"...Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-41160373459421147442011-11-13T16:54:19.719-05:002011-11-13T16:54:19.719-05:00I'm sorry, but describing the interception as ...I'm sorry, but describing the interception as "just another of his many overthrown deep balls" is absurd. It was a HAIL MARY from the point on the field that he couldn't even reach the endzone. There is no point in trying to hit your WR's on that. You wind up and throw it as far as you can, and hope your wide receivers get there and something lucky happens. You're not so much targeting a streaking WR as on most deep balls, but aiming for a spot in the endzone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-20277991117503817802011-11-13T15:55:01.129-05:002011-11-13T15:55:01.129-05:00Everyone seems to want to praise Floyd for the Int...Everyone seems to want to praise Floyd for the Int, and a few pass break ups, but if Michigan wasn't able to get pressure on the QB, Jenkins could have easily had a few long touchdown catches. Even with an 8 yard cushion he was still beating Floyd deep. Floyd seems to have decent instincts and awareness as evidenced by his interception and pass break ups, but he lacks the speed and athleticism to be very good. Unless he jams a receiver pretty well at the line he has to give a good cushion and can still have fast receivers fly past him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-16576542293030656612011-11-13T15:34:41.060-05:002011-11-13T15:34:41.060-05:00I am thrilled with improvement of the D, as it sur...I am thrilled with improvement of the D, as it surprising the team is legitimately an above average defense, but let's not get too carried away: Illinois has a terrible offense. In their last four games, they've scored 7, 14, 7 and 14 points.<br /><br />Again, I think Mattison and the players deserve a ton of credit for putting together a legit defense but I thank goodness we play in the Big 10 - I watched Oklahoma State and then later the Oregon/Stanford game. Frightening stuff.<br /><br />The good thing, Nebraska's offense is OK at best, and OSU is not very good, so I expect two more sub-21 point performances from this group. I hope they do it - Van Bergen, Martin et al (and yes even JT Floyd) deserve it.Rob Pollardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-59798720646227874042011-11-13T15:26:56.090-05:002011-11-13T15:26:56.090-05:00Running away from Mercilus certainly helped the gr...Running away from Mercilus certainly helped the ground game, I thought. Huyge could NOT handle him at any point, which probably contributes to your stance on the O-line performance.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12342230002415073793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-76561672196143200452011-11-13T15:20:40.923-05:002011-11-13T15:20:40.923-05:00Koger almost had a touchdown on the underthrown ba...Koger almost had a touchdown on the underthrown ball anyway because he's MANtastic. It wasn't quite Webb-vs-Johnny Adams, but great to watch, especially wearing my #86 jersey.<br /><br />I agree with you about Floyd. I like when he has good games, but Jenkins was wide open multiple times only to watch the ball sail over his head. The interception was pretty sick, though.<br /><br />I'm getting continually more aggravating with Borges. I hate making coordinators into goats, and there are progressive problems with execution, but he's also the quarterbacks coach and they look terrible most of the time.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12342230002415073793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-39117063280376144802011-11-13T15:06:33.048-05:002011-11-13T15:06:33.048-05:00@ Lankownia 12:56 p.m.
Another bad throw: when Ko...@ Lankownia 12:56 p.m.<br /><br />Another bad throw: when Koger was running alone down the sideline, Robinson badly underthrew the ball, which Koger had to stop and wait for. Hit him in stride and it's an easy touchdown. Instead, he got tackled at the 2-yard line.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-32741175404937372942011-11-13T14:59:05.526-05:002011-11-13T14:59:05.526-05:00@ Anonymous 2:20 p.m.
If you want me to agree wit...@ Anonymous 2:20 p.m.<br /><br />If you want me to agree with you 100% of the time, then you might be in the wrong place. I like to think that I'm pretty fair when it comes to analyzing games. That doesn't prevent me from being wrong sometimes, which is obviously up for debate. You're entitled to your own opinion.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440694009017367434.post-50836002069083901532011-11-13T14:57:40.458-05:002011-11-13T14:57:40.458-05:00@ Lankownia 12:56 p.m.
Yes, I decided that Floyd ...@ Lankownia 12:56 p.m.<br /><br />Yes, I decided that Floyd was not a good cornerback before this game. I decided it a while ago. And I have yet to be convinced otherwise. I'll admit when I'm wrong (I was wrong about Kovacs, for example), but I haven't been proven wrong about Floyd. He had a decent day, and it shows how bad he's been that a decent day from him seems to warrant rejoicing.<br /><br />When did Denard throw the ball well? No, I'm not giving him credit for this game. He wasn't good. He hit a bunch of short passes to wide open guys over the middle (Hemingway, Odoms), completed a screen to Gallon, and threw an "overthrown" bullet to Hemingway that was an amazing catch. In other news, he missed a wide open Odoms in the endzone, threw a duck to an Illinois DB that was blatantly dropped, and his INT was just another of his many overthrown deep balls. If it was a jump ball that the other team came down with, I'd shrug it off. It wasn't. If I remember correctly, there were three Michigan receivers running streaks down the sideline...and the ball wasn't within 4 yards of any of them. That's an INT. He wasn't 6/9. He was 6/10. <br /><br />And you're right that he ran the ball well at times and scored 2 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he's also asked to pass the ball, and he turned the ball over twice (the INT and the fumble when he was sacked) in about 11 dropbacks. I'm not going to praise him for that performance.<br /><br />I'm not overstating Morgan's performance this year. When he has deserved criticism (like last week), I have criticized him. When he has performed well, I have noted that, too.Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708792562446136381noreply@blogger.com