Channing Stribling (image via MGoBlue)
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HIGH SCHOOL
Stribling attended Matthews (NC) Butler and was part of the 2013 recruiting class. I gave him a TTB Rating of 77 (LINK). Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote about him back in 2012:
Stribling is a pretty physical player, especially for playing his junior season at 160 lbs. or so. He’s a willing tackler who wants to come up and hit, but he gets overpowered a little bit at times. That should change as his body matures and he starts to add weight. Where he currently lacks the confidence to wrap up ball carriers and instead chooses to go low and dive at legs, he should eventually be a solid run supporter. Stribling has decent hips and ability to change direction, but his mental discipline helps him there. He seems to read plays well and recognize developing route combinations. When the ball is in the air, he shows an ability to go after it, timing his leaps well and using his length to disrupt receivers and bat the ball.
COLLEGE
Despite thoughts that Stribling might redshirt, he played a fair amount as a freshman. He made 16 tackles and 1 forced fumble as a freshman, though probably the most memorable play was when Penn State wide receiver Allen Robinson outjumped him for a key reception in the loss to the Nittany Lions. As a sophomore in 2014, Stribling made 7 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in a pretty forgettable season. In 2015 he became a part-time starter (4 games) and made 17 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups while splitting time with Jeremy Clark. With alternating injuries to Jourdan Lewis and then Clark, it’s not clear whether Stribling would have been a starter on the outside in 2016, but he ended up starting every game, anyway. He was named Second Team All-Big Ten for making 28 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 4 interceptions, and 13 pass breakups.
CAREER STATS
68 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 6 interceptions (91 yards), 16 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
AWARDS
Second Team All-Big Ten (2016)
SUMMARY
You can see by reading Stribling’s commitment post that I generally had a fond opinion of him from the beginning. He was a camp offer in the summer before his senior year, and people were worried that he didn’t have much of a recruiting profile, but he’s yet another example of a camp offer working out in Michigan’s favor. I was critical of Stribling early in his career, because he didn’t make some plays that he probably should have – he was an “almost” guy, as evidenced by him not making any pass breakups until his junior season. He even tweeted about me at one point during the 2015 season. Then as an upperclassman, issues with tackling became apparent. He made a particularly feeble attempt to tackle against Michigan State in 2016, and it almost seemed like he was trying to preserve himself. Overall, though, Michigan had some very good cornerback play over the past couple seasons, and the combination of Stribling, Jourdan Lewis, and Jeremy Clark was probably one of Michigan’s top few trios they’ve ever fielded at one time. Stribling graded out as the #2 coverage corner in 2016 (LINK), and he was a key component of Michigan’s win over a good Wisconsin team. This was a pretty darn good career for a scrawny, little-known kid who just happened to camp in Ann Arbor back in 2012.
I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . .
. . . the play that got tattooed on Allen Robinson’s side. Not because it was a terrible play – a true freshman Stribling was bested by a talented, bigger, older player – but because it’s a really lame-ass tattoo:
PROJECTION
Stribling had a fine college career, but where he has always been lacking – even going back to high school – is strength, athleticism, etc., the physical aspects of playing cornerback. Despite having decent height at 6’1″, he was below 180 lbs. for most of his college career, only did 5 reps on the bench press at the NFL Combine, and ran a reported 4.68. Donovan Warren put up some arguably more impressive numbers on a bum leg several years ago, and he didn’t get drafted. On the plus side for him, Stribling was coached by Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown, D.J. Durkin, and Greg Mattison, a crew that has more pull than the guys who coached Warren his final couple seasons. I think Stribling will get picked in the latter half of the draft.
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I remember the excitement when he committed because of his height. We had a string of speedy corners who where short, to say the least. After getting perennially toasted by tall MSU receivers, there seemed to be a lot of excitement about this movement to taller corners.
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One thing that gets overlooked is that Stribling was the starter over Clark in 2015 until he got hurt. Though Clark did hang on to the job when Stribling came back, the injury was big factor.
This write up glosses over the high level of negativity and doubt expressed over the last 3 years on this site. I’ve linked to the comments in other posts. Stribling’s preseason rank posts have been highly negative for 3 years now. Stribling “didn’t have “it””, wasn’t a “playmaker,” and was going to get beaten out by Brandon Watson. He barely cracked the top 25 most important players, ever.
The negativity continues here.
“It’s not clear whether Stribling would have been a starter on the outside in 2016”
It’s pretty clear. In fact, Don Brown hyped him up to the point that it was being debated if he was the biggest playmaker on the defense heading into 2016. This space was skeptical of that hyperbole (fairly) but he led the team in INTs by a good bit.
“Then as an upperclassman, issues with tackling became apparent. ”
also elite coverage skills
“He made a particularly feeble attempt to tackle against Michigan State in 2016, and it almost seemed like he was trying to preserve himself. ”
This was the lowlight of his all conference season and there’s no evidence of motive. It’s fine to point out a player’s weaknesses but this is harping.
“Overall, though, Michigan had some very good cornerback play over the past couple seasons, and the combination of Stribling. Jourdan Lewis, and Jeremy Clark was probably one of Michigan’s top few trios they’ve ever fielded at one time.”
This is underselling it. Michigan had excellent CB play. This year, without Clark for most of it, was probably better than last year. 2 all conference players and probably the best combo since ’97.
“Stribling graded out as the #2 coverage corner in 2016 (LINK), and he was a key component of Michigan’s win over a good Wisconsin team.”
True, but are you implying he wasn’t a key component in every other big win?
——————–
For a guy who, as mentioned above, comes from a pretty meager beginnings and was generally thought of as a boom/bust prospect, to end up being an elite cover corner, multi-year starter on elite defenses, and an all-conference player and projected NFL draftpick… this is a pretty luke-warm writeup to say the least.
I get that Jourdan Lewis’ excellence across from him casts a long shadow, but Stribling wasn’t far off Lewis in production in 2016. For all his deficiencies in the run game, he didn’t get beat nearly as often for big plays as Lewis did and graded out better in coverage. Lewis had a great career and if in his goodbye writeup emphasizes how he got beat in losses to FSU and MSU, that would be unfair to his legacy. Focusing on Allen Robinson and a missed tackle against MSU is unfair to Stribling’s.
—————–
Stribling was an outstanding college player as a junior and senior. He was forced into action as a freshman when he should have red-shirted, struggled as a sophomore (and beyond) to match Jourdan Lewis, but nonetheless he became one of the best players on one of the best defenses in the country. His elite coverage skills were critical to the team’s success.
I’d have liked to have seen more of a mea culpa about the last 3 years, particularly because the recruiting write-up was solid (despite 77 being too low.)
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I will almost certainly mention some of Lewis’s deficiencies in his goodbye post, too. It’s part of these pieces to look at the good and the bad. I did so in the Jabrill Peppers piece, too, and he was #5 in the Heisman voting.
I don’t think a mea culpa is warranted. I have given my honest assessments over the years, for better or worse. What I’ve said is out there for everyone to see. You can link it, quote it, etc. if you want. I was wrong about Stribling being behind Watson in 2015. I make about 90 predictions every year in the Countdown; some are bound to be wrong. If you want, you can probably stop by for every single one of these senior profiles and demand a mea culpa.
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Predictions are hard. That’s not the point I’m making. I’d say the things you said in your recruiting post were mostly accurate and that offsets the miss wrt Watson.
Pointing out weaknesses and mistakes is fine too. I think one of the best things you do is strike a reasonable balance that approaches objectivity – offering praise alongside critiques. Objectivity can be difficult for a dedicated fan to achieve. I would not suggest you start looking at the world through maize-colored glasses nor would I suggest you catch a case of the chicago blues and start hating everything about M that’s not Alabama.
That all said, there’s certain guys that get more generous treatment, flaws overlooked, and certain guys that get harsher treatment. I’m not sure there’s a consistent pattern to it. We’ve debated many of them though certainly not all.
What I’m talking about with Stribling is that you’ve gone out of your way to be particularly negative about him. Not only in 2015 but 2016 as well. You were more negative than the average fan, and the average fan dramatically underrated Stribling.
And it continues with this post, which is way more negative than it should be given Striblings production and ESPECIALLY given production relative to recent expectations. Of course there are negative things that should be mentioned with any player, and Stribling wasn’t a great tackler (not uncommon for CBs). But there’s a whole lot more that went very very right that went mostly unsaid.
The playmaking critique got smashed to bits. Stribling was one of our best players, not just a fringe starter. To use Brown’s terminology, Stribling was A DUDE not a guy.
Contrast the tone and number of negative things to say in Stribling’s post vs an inferior player like Jarrod Wilson, Courtney Avery, Jordan Kovacs or even James Rogers. The difference is noticeable. Stribling’s is barely above bust-level in terms of negativity. You didn’t give him the full JT Floyd treatment, but Floyd was not a good player and had off field issues. Courtney Avery’s post is far sunnier even though he all but disappeared as his career progressed.
Clearly the bar is adjustable. Less clear is why and when it gets adjusted.
https://touch-the-banner.com/goodbye-jarrod-wilson/
https://touch-the-banner.com/courtney-avery-11/
This post makes Stribling sound like a very limited player who eked his way to a darn good little career. Pat on the back for effort little buddy.
I think it would fair of you to say something along the lines of “Channing Stribling turned out to be way better than I thought he’d be after his sophomore year”. Most people did not expect him to be a NFL draft pick, even going back to before this season — even though he was pretty established already by then. Most people though CB was one of the defense’s biggest weaknesses before 2015 — it turned out to be a huge strength. He’s one of the best CBs Michigan has had in the last decade. His production as a player VASTLY exceed his perception from fans after 2014. That’s worth saying.
And to call the Robinson play out as the thing he’ll be remembered for…very harsh.
I don’t think this post does him justice as a player overall, certainly not relative to what expectations were very recently, and certainly not to in reckoning with past critiques that have been disproved emphatically.
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I appreciate your support of Channing Stribling, but I don’t think I’ve gone out of my way to be particularly positive or negative about any one player. I’m positive about things I like, and I’m negative about things I dislike. There were issues that I had with Stribling throughout his career, and I pointed them out. He had a good year as a senior. Before that he was so-so. So it goes.
I didn’t say Stribling will be remembered for that play – I said that *I* would remember him for that play. I pick one thing about every guy that I profile. I don’t know of any other Michigan players who are tattooed on an opposing player’s body. If you choose not to let that thing stand out in your mind, that’s fine. It stands out to me – because it’s lame. It was a fine play by Stribling. I would expect Allen Robinson to beat him in that situation 9 times out of 10. No big deal.
In your case, you can remember him for being #2 in coverage to PFF. Or for wearing the #8. Or for one of his INTs against Wisconsin or something. Pick something. Start a blog about it. I don’t care. But I won’t visit your blog and tell you that you shouldn’t remember him for whatever thing it is that you choose.
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Yeah, I think you know I”m not telling you not to think what you think. I’m saying you should acknowledge how negative you have been and continue to be.
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Great write up
I liked having Stribling because I was so used to the secondary being picked apart the last few years. Thay said, I think we’ll get better guys in the future (can get the TO and make tackles)
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I don’t know that we will have many CBs who play better TBH. I would bet it’s a good while until we have a better CB2.
CB was loaded in the Big Ten this year (King, Lewis, Conley, Lattimore). Stribling ‘s production was on par with guys going in the first few rounds of the NFL draft.
We may end up with more talented players and certainly will end up with higher drafted players.. but we probably will not have another guy who could say he was #2 in the entire country in coverage.
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Of course we dont KNOW if we’ll have better, but I am optimistic
By #2, what stats are you going by? Do you honestly believe he was second best? Even top 10 CB?
Again, I appreciate the improvement, but look foward to INTs and CBs who can actually tackle
GO BLUE
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The stat is from PFF.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/draft-pff-scouting-report-channing-stribling-cb-michigan/
There is a chart embedded here:
https://www.profootballfocus.com/draft-ranking-the-top-10-cornerback-prospects-of-2017/
PFF had Stribling as the 3rd best CB overall — that’s accounting for his run game weakness.
Which seems fair doesn’t it. For how bad he was at run defense, it’s not like any team successfully picked on him (though MSU might have tried).
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Stribling was #1 in the country in comp % allowed. #2 in QB rating allowed. #3 overall.
Lewis was #2, #15, and #21 in the same measures.
Obviously stats don’t tell the whole story but when you come out ahead of an all-american and a bunch of 1st round pick, you are playing at an elite level.
All Stribling could do was cover the man he was assigned to. He did that. Every game.
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Saying that he was “#2 in the entire country in coverage” is a bit misleading. QBs had a rating of 22.7 when throwing to the guy he was covering, which was the second lowest in the country, but with Lewis out there, Stribling was probably not covering #1 receivers very often. Stribling was a quality CB, but this doesn’t in any way equate to his being the 2nd best cover corner in all of college football. He just wasn’t.
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He was graded as the #3 CB overall in the country according to PFF. He led the Michigan defense in both PBUs and INTs. Michigan had an elite defense.
That was his production, not my assessment.
You can say he wouldn’t have been w/o Lewis but he did perfectly well when Lewis was out. Anyway, Michigan didn’t do a whole lot of assignment match-ups. The whole concept of boundary/field CB.
Do I think he was the 2nd or 3rd best CB in the country? Do I think he’s better than Jourdan Lewis? No I don’t. Draft scouts know more than I do. But Striblings performance and production were elite. He’s projected to get drafted on it, despite his limitations in speed and strength that would otherwise have him struggling to get a tryout.
Again, Michigan may find more talented players but they are not likely to see a lock-down CB like Stribling was again anytime real soon. Even if you view him as a CB2 it may be a decade till we are fortunate to have a duo like Lewis/Stribling. Or two.
I’m not sure why Michigan fans want to downplay how great we had it last year. The dichotomy in reactions to Lewis (who is treated as a bit of a hero) and Stribling (just a solid guy we can replace pretty easily) is rather inexplicable to me.
I don’t doubt that Lewis is better, but both were excellent. And Lewis also got beat in some extremely damaging losses, while Stribling did not. Lewis saved the day against Wisconsin with a huge INT, Stribling had 2 that game. I think Michigan fans decided what they had 2 years ago and opinions are hard to change when you don’t have a bunch of easy-to-digest stats.
Opposing offenses rarely shied away from throwing at Jourdan Lewis — the reason for that was Stribling’s excellence.
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Bottom line, if he were a “lock down” cover corner, the NFL would be taking a much more favorable look at him. His other limitations notwithstanding, that type of player does not get pushed down as far as Stribling is projected to.
And frankly, with Long, Hill and Thomas in the pipeline, I would not be that surprised if we had a better duo than Lewis and Stribling next year.
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I agree with this somewhat, but there are very good college players who don’t succeed in the NFL. Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, for example, were great college players and turned out to be bad or just so-so in the NFL. Mike Hart is Michigan’s all-time leading rusher and the NFL didn’t think much of him. I think we’ll be worse off in 2017 at cornerback. I hope that’s not true.
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I do think Stribbling was a fine CB here particularly as a SR, but those SR. numbers were absolutely boosted by an elite pass rush and the fact that QBs were all told all week long that they for damn sure better be getting rid of the football because people in numbers would be coming after them. This is also true of Lewis, by the way.
I think that Stribbling’s advancement from an “almost” kind of a guy to a pretty good playmaker with a very low completion percentage against is mostly attributable to that pass rush. Given a choice regarding where a QB might look to throw one up, that choice was an easy one with Jourdan Lewis lurking over there on the other side.
I don’t know where you go to check targets, but it would be interesting to see how often people went at Stribbling as opposed to Lewis.
Finally, and I’m mildly embarrassed to admit that I don’t know, but aside from Aaron Burbridge, did we flip Lewis/Stribbling to cover a specific guy, or by ball placement and strength of formation?
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They moved the cornerbacks back and forth a little more in 2015, but in 2016, it was mostly Stribling at LCB and Lewis at RCB.
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I don’t dispute that Stribling and Lewis had a lot of help. I would dispute that Stribling’s junior year was in any way bad.
Most teams did not stay away from Lewis to target Stribling. I think that’s one of those things that means more than any stat you can throw out there.
Michigan had 2 elite CB performances in 2016. I really cannot understand why Michigan fans don’t want that to be true.
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Suddenly you’re captain optimism. Will have to remember this one. I would love to make a bet on your claim that our CBs will be better than 2016.
The NFL drafts on potential, not production. Stribling was an elite performer at the college level. There’s a lot of guys like that who have physical limitations that make it so that’s the best that they are going to be. Stribling’s speed is a major concern for the next level – it wasn’t any sort of problem in college.
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Lewis made two killer picks that I’ll never forget (2015 NW and 2016 Wisc)
I couldn’t remember even one of Stribling’s until you brought up the ducks lofted his way against the Badgers)
Again, big improvement over 2009-2015 #2CBs, but getting trucked in the run game as a senior, and the lack of big plays smudge whatever PFF stats put out
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I think this is noteworthy, but I don’t know how relevant it is. Even Lanknows isn’t saying that Stribling is as good as Lewis. I think/hope we can all agree that some of Lewis’s plays on the ball were legendary and more impressive than almost any cornerback we’ve seen who didn’t have “Woodson” on the back of his jersey.
But while we’re going down this road, I’ve said elsewhere (such as on a recent discussion on the message board) that Stribling was gifted a couple of his interceptions. For example, the pick-six against Hawaii was thrown right to him with no receiver around, and the “intercepted” pitch on Florida’s fake field goal last year was a gimme. Those are two of his six career picks. Lewis’s lamest pick was probably his first career INT against Miami-OH, a relatively boring catch near the sideline.
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PFF addressed the run game deficiencies. In their view it’s not as big of a factor as to some others. A CB’s primary job is to cover. Stribling did that job just about as well as he possibly could have.
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No one here is saying he wasn’t good, or even very good
But elite? How many top WRs did he cover? (None)
How many good QBs did he go against?
As stated earlier, did Brown ever say, “put string on their #1” No
He was good as a senior–bettet than we’ve had in the last had decade–but not quite elite, and I think we will get better (more balanced) CBs
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His performance was elite. It is nearly impossible to argue otherwise unless you want to talk about your feelings.
All objective data and frankly, logic, indicate that he performed at an elite level. It doesn’t mean you have to feel he is an elite player at the next level.
Stribling was asked to do a thing and he knocked it out of the part. (Again, except for the run defense part, which is bad, but a relatively small part of the job – which is why he played ahead of better run defenders on the roster.)
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Godwin was completely shut down by Stribling. His 1 reception was on a screen vs Jeremy Clark, Peppers and Kinnell. Stribling gave up zilch.
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Stribling does not control who Michigan plays, and these same critiques apply to Lewis. But Stribling didn’t get burned en route to loses to MSU and FSU.
Chris Godwin is the only elite WR I can think of that Stribling played against. He locked him down. Which elite WRs did Lewis shut down?
There is a double standard going on here. I am curious about why.
Here is Stribling against the best passing QB in the big 10 and the highest projected WR in the nfl draft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZUMtsE0aUY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhcM-_3x7Ag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78yQl9wqoS4
In the closest thing Michigan had to a matchup with an elite QB/WR duo it was Stribling who was the primary defender and he excelled (though he was called for 2 PIs, 1 quite dubious, and he screwed up in run defense).
Brian Cook’s review:
“More important than the two sketchy flags was Stribling’s overall performance, which was excellent. He did blow a “crack replace”* on one of PSU’s big chunk runs; in coverage he was impeccable. He broke up a hitch, and he was the catalyst for the sad field goal with a great contest on a well-thrown fade. Godwin is highly legit—CBS has him a top ten WR prospect for next year’s draft—and couldn’t do much of anything. That was largely Stribling. PFF had him the top CB in the Big Ten prior to this game and he’s probably still that. Preseason hype gets one point for Stribling; he’s rounded into the excellent corner he’s always almost been. “
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I can’t argue the point about level of difficulty. This is a matter of variance that I was talking about before. Stribling didn’t get any easy ones thrown to him in ’14 and ’15 and was criticized for it. This is luck.
He had more INTs and PBUs than Lewis. Maybe they were all lucky. I don’t think so. The bottomline is that when QBs tried to throw at Stribling they failed. And there’s some pretty strong circumstantial evidence that they threw at him rarely because he was doing his job so well.
Stribling did his job about as well as possible, save for the run game weakness. A critique I see as only a small step better than criticizing Tom Brady for not being a better runner.
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One mistake I think you’re making when you talk about Stribling is minimizing his deficiencies in the run game. Tom Brady’s job as a QB is generally not to run the ball, so he does his job of identifying defenses, making calls, throwing the ball, handing off the ball, etc. Running the ball is not a large part of his job.
A cornerback’s job is to help stop the run 50% of the time (or however often other teams run the ball). They don’t have to do anything else. They need to cover and they need to stop the run. Along with the poor tackle attempt on L.J. Scott (IIRC) that allowed a long run, Stribling was also a major culprit on UCF’s 90+ yard touchdown run. In fact, one of the coaches specifically stated that the cornerback setting the edge (Stribling, though he wasn’t mentioned by name) needed to be more physical on that play. Mike Zordich said in the spring of 2016 that Stribling needed to be more physical and was less involved in stopping the run than Clark and Lewis. Stribling was listed at 6’1″, 175 lbs. on his senior roster (though 188 at the Combine) and only did 5 reps on the bench press at the Combine.
You think Stribling was very good, and that’s fine. I have no qualms with that. But it’s perfectly okay for other people not to gloss over the things you have. Stribling had his issues, as did Peppers, Lewis, and others.
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There’s no such thing as “run-stopping corner”. There is no equivalent to an “in the box safety”.
Stopping the run is no more 50% of the job for a CB than blocking is 50% of the job for a RB. Being bad at it can preclude you from getting a job. Being great at it doesn’t get you on the field if you don’t bring the primary/differentiating ability (running the ball or covering).
Deon Sanders was a notoriously horrible tackler…and a hall-of-fame CB, perhaps the greatest ever.
PFF’s evaluations indicate that run-stopping is a pretty small part of the job. So does common sense.
12 of the top 30 CB NFL prospects listed by PFF got deficient grades in the run defending. The NFL will agree with their assessments, more or less.
When you say stopping the run is 50% of the CBs job, there is no other way to put it. You are wrong.
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Please don’t try to compare Stib to Neon Deon
I don’t expect a run stopper, but do hold a grudge against a defender getting run over, or letting himself get blocked and giving up a huge play. Strib did both
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Stribling is a better run defender than Neon Deon. Skip the first minute and watch this highlight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSLkcdzYzlE
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It’s a cornerback’s job to help stop the run whenever it’s a run play. I’m not going to bother looking up the run vs. pass statistics, because it’s irrelevant, since I stated in my last post that it’s whatever percentage of time the offense runs the ball. Whether it’s 50/50 or 60/40 or 70/30, the cornerback has to get the job done.
The funny thing is that by arguing all of this, I feel like you’re making me (and others) come across more negative than the post was originally intended. You say that it’s too negative, but by continuing the argument, you’re forcing me (and others) to come up with more and more evidence for why we found certain issues with Stribling.
Considering the above paragraph, I don’t think it’s beneficial to continue down this road. I’ll leave this portion of the conversation with this: watch the following video (the MSU game trimmed down to less than 30 minutes) and take a look at how disinterested Stribling is in coming up to tackle, whether it’s against the run or the pass. There are numerous – numerous! – occasions where he decided to back off, stand around, shy away from contact, make weak tackle attempts, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN_7D8PfFKs
I’m not a fan of that style of play. I’m fine with it if you disagree.
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No evidence has been offered.on the substance of the debate. Everyone agrees Stribling is bad at run defense. The question is if this is meaningful or a nitpick.
I’m certainly not ” forcing anyone to come up with more and more evidence”.
You’d have to come up with some evidence for that to be the case. I’m not asking for any because I don’t think it’s possible to produce evidence to suggest CBs are on the field for tackling ability just as much as pass coverage. CBs would look more like LBs and Safeties if that was the case. It’s like arguing blocking is 50% of the game for WRs. It’s not. If it was they’d look like TEs.
If Stribling had 4.4 speed he’d be a 1st round pick, even if he couldn’t tackle worth a lick.
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The comparison I would make is Ron Dayne or Toby Gerhart or many many other system RBs. They had elite production, but they weren’t elite talents. They were good players who performed like greats. They benefited greatly from their supporting case.
So did Stribling. Michigan had an elite DL that consistently distrupted passers. They had a nickel-LB who destroyed screens. They had an elite DC who made it hard. They had an elite CB opposite Stribling. On top of that, Michigan faced a lot of QBs who weren’t very good at passing.
Still – you can’t take elite production away from someone. Gerhart did what he did. Dayne did what he did. Stribling did what he did. Elite performance, regardless of how you want to access their talent and ability.
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The results speak for themselves. Anything else is opinion and speculation. Happy to engage in hypotheticals, just as long as we agree there is no definitive answer.
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In summary, the facts say that Channing Stribling was a multi-year star on an elite defense. He was an all-conference performer in a conference loaded with high NFL draft picks. The stats say his production was elite: the #1 and #2 in coverage stats and the #3 CB overall player, even accounting for his very bad run defense. In every other measure available he performed better than Jourdan Lewis, all american. He is projected to be drafted by the NFL, but not very highly due to physical limitations. His draft stock is based almost entirely on his elite performance as a college player.
Despite this, Stribling is viewed as easily replaceable and mostly forgetable. Whatever he did was because of teammates. He’s an OK player but because he defended the run poorly, he won’t really be missed.
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Sir, not one poster has said strib will be easily replaced
I think he was good, others think really good. Just because PFF stats haven’t replaced memory and redefined what happened on the field, it doesn’t mean anyone is hating on the young man
For example, you brought up Godwin’s stats, but I’m that pennst game, our front7 killed mcsorley; his QBR was “12” No one catching a pass was going anywhere on our D that day… McSorley was fortunate to even get rid of the ball
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I guess the people in pro football focus a little more on tackling than Pro Football Focus would have you believe.
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Stats are good for reference, but better in baseball than they’ll ever be in football
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