Spring Breeds Optimism

Spring Breeds Optimism


April 20, 2017

Chris Perry (image via Mike DeSimone)

 

Chris Evans (image via TheWolverine.com)

 

Something a little different from me this week.  I decided to combine some of my thoughts about the spring game with some recent Michigan Football history.  Hopefully you enjoy.  

Spring training in Major League Baseball breeds optimism.  It doesn’t matter if you root for a team like the Mariners, who haven’t been to the playoffs since their brutal 2001 ALCS loss to the Yankees or the Cubs, fresh off their heroic World Series championship.  The day when pitchers and catchers report to camp is a sacred day on the American sports calendar.  Spring training in baseball breeds optimism because all the teams have the same record, and the stories of the season have yet to be written.  All of the role players from last year could potentially blossom into stars, and the team could take the next step and take control of its division.  

College football is quickly catching up to Major League Baseball in terms of spring-time optimism.  In the vast expanse of months between the last bowl games and the opening of fall camp, college football fans have precious few events to mark on our calendars.  There is so little going on during these months that National Signing Day has grown into a 12-hour extravaganza on the various ESPN networks.  

More importantly, however, each team’s spring game has become appointment television for the devoted fan.  Taking after the idea of spring optimism, I’ve created a short list of my more optimistic thoughts after watching the spring game.

 

  1. The Brandon Peters/Wilton Speight QB battle is the 2017 version of the 1999 Tom Brady/Drew Henson QB battle.  My only caveat here is that I hope Coach Harbaugh handles this a little better than Coach Carr did back in 1999.  In 1999, if anyone told you that Tom Brady would become the greatest pro quarterback ever you’d have to have them checked out by a doctor.  That being said, Brady was coming off of a solid season, and poised to take the Wolverines to new heights in 1999.  Henson was the star up-and-coming recruit, but was eventually beat out for the position by the incumbent Brady.  Both quarterbacks enjoyed much success in the winged helmet.   An optimistic view of the current Speight/Peters mini-QB-controversy would see the competition pushing Speight to greater heights in 2017, with the athletic Peters nipping at his heels in a Henson-like role.  Peters was impressive in the spring game, but there is no substitute for game experience, and the smart money seems to be on Speight to retain his job at the moment.  Still, it would be great to see these two quarterbacks use this competition to have as much success as Brady and Henson had in the Big House.  

 

  1. Chris Evans steps up and is 2003 Chris Perry.  Evans bulked up to 212 pounds this offseason, and if he adds even a little bit of power to his shifty running style, he could really make a leap in 2017.  He didn’t play much in the spring game, much like starter De’veon Smith last year.  This quick hook from the game was likely to protect the talented Evans from injury.  In 2003, Chris Perry ran for a stunning 1674 yards at 5.0 yds/carry.  Now I don’t think Evans will carry the ball over 300 times in 2017 given the depth at tailback, but an optimistic version of Evans could have a similar skill set to Perry.  They can both run in the open field, catch the football well, and have similar builds (Evans is 5’11”, 212, Perry was 6’0”, 225).  I have to admit that watching some of Perry’s career highlights makes me think of a best-case-scenario version of Chris Evans.    

 

  1. The offensive line develops into a better unit than the 2016 edition.  At first glance this may look like a stretch, but I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I wasn’t particularly impressed with the 2016 offensive line.  Therefore, matching or exceeding that level shouldn’t be too tall of a task.  During this spring game this year, I was pleasantly surprised with the line’s output, especially considering some of our defensive line talent (albeit we lack some depth).  Sure, the line got blasted on some blitzes, but Don Brown’s packages can make even seasoned offensive lines whiff a few times a game.  On a positive note, this spring game surely wasn’t the low scoring affair from a few years ago that featured many TFLs.  We have some solid coaches looking at that unit each day in Greg Frey and Tim Drevno.  Hopefully this unit can develop over the course of the year and at least improve on what was a largely mediocre (by Michigan standards) performance in 2016.  Depth may be an issue, so we’ll need to cross our fingers regarding injury issues, but I think the 2017 offensive line can be a better unit by the end of the season than the 2016 outfit.

What parts of Michigan’s spring game made you the most optimistic about the 2017 season?

44 comments

  1. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Apr 20, 2017 at 7:36 AM

    I’m most optimistic about the speed & athleticism on display last weekend. The future if this team is bright. Fix the OL and find a QB, then watch out!

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 20, 2017 at 10:39 AM

      I would agree with this. We’re getting quicker at every position, it seems, and the defense looked like it was locked and loaded. I don’t know if we’ll be better on defense than last year, but I don’t think there will be a huge drop-off.

  2. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Apr 20, 2017 at 7:45 AM

    I’m very optimistic for 2018, not so much for 2017.

    Admittedly without having seen JBB, and as such, with even more incomplete information than one would typically have in the spring, it looks to me like before this is over, we will have two true freshmen as at least part time starters. I’m not sure exactly who, having also not seen Filiaga and Stueber either. But I think that it will be between those two guys and Ruiz because they seemingly have the most college ready bodies.

    I’ll say it again, I don’t think Speight is right. I know that I was the guy touting him when he committed and defending him when he looked like an inexperienced Qb last year, but I don’t think he holds the job. I think Peters gets some starts and takes the first snap against the Buckeyes. Harbaugh has made the mid season change at QB before, I think he does it again.

    Solomon, Dwumfour and one other somebody needs to be able to play or we will have problems late in games against good BIG teams. Wisconsin, Penn State and OSU in particular. Iowa if we have them, I dunno. Florida too. We are smaller than we were last year everywhere on the D line except at the nose, although not terribly so. We will be prone to fatigue late if we can’t rotate at least 8.

    I like Wroblewski better than Thunder, not as much as MGoBlog. I really like all three freshmen LBs. I think we’re fine there barring stupid bad injury luck.

    Our Dbs will be fine, although you’ll see some bonehead every now and again. My concern with the defensive backfield has mostly to do with Brown being backed into balls to the wall in order to stop the run late and costly bonehead from a Db at the end of a close game.

    I think we will run better than we did last year despite a young offensive line because we have better running backs and dominant, senior fullbacks/H backs. You will get to see our Qbs running for their lives more than you would prefer in part because the real reason to have Devion Smith back there was for his pass blocking.

    I think it will be tough to win 8 because in addition to some tough Big teams, I’m thinking that our young kids will go out and blow a game we should win because they think they’re ready to play and aren’t. Grinding through a football season along with taking 14 or so credits is incredibly difficult even for someone who has already done it. There is nothing in an incoming freshman’s experience that approximates it. This includes Ruiz. And of course the crying for the next week will be profound.

    When this season is over, we will be three deep at most every position with very solid, experienced, maturing athletes and be ready to take on the world.

    Oh, and by the way, I think we beat the Buckeyes.

    • Comments: 70
      Joined: 4/4/2017
      umbig11
      Apr 20, 2017 at 4:46 PM

      I have this sneaky feeling JBB loses the RT job to either Runyan, Spanellis, Steuber, or Filiaga. Just a hunch.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Apr 20, 2017 at 5:01 PM

        I don’t find this at all encouraging.

      • Comments: 262
        Joined: 8/12/2015
        Painter Smurf
        Apr 20, 2017 at 10:05 PM

        He better lose his job. JBB did not play like a guy who belonged on the field last year.

    • Comments: 7
      AjijicGringo
      Apr 21, 2017 at 4:41 AM

      The one thing I do not worry about is Harbaugh screwing up the qb position as Carr did and to which the author alluded. Carr did it in two ways, attempting to install a “not ready for prime time player,” and not recruiting another in that class which gave us Big John for 10 years, which was not all bad. I really don’t know who the qb will be. I saw Wilton run for his life on too many occasions and he had difficulty with accuracy last season when he was well protected. However, improvement is made dramatically between the first two seasons normally. Like Henson, Peters should be a damn fine player and Harbaugh will do one thing right about all others; he will name the starter that gives us the best chance to win, but I think Harbaugh might be a little different than other coaches and would use a “relief pitcher” first prior to making a change unless he knows it has to be done. As to the OL, what I thought might occur did. Getting rid of the remnants of a very under coached unit helped immensely. The coaching all these young men has received has been good from Day One, except for Cole who came in unsullied by Funk and they let him be. That should have told Brady all he needed to know. When a freshman is your best OLman in a unit filled with “can’t misses” your position coach is doing you no favors. I think the combo of Drevno and Frey is proving itself already. When you have two great minds exchanging ideas and then present it to the players, they eat it up. They really surprised me and are ahead of schedule imo. RBs good but receivers will have to sort themselves out with Black and McDoom(be it a healthy one) looking like they’re assured of starting spots but DPJ should find the start button at some point. In the interim, I confess to liking what Gentry offers. With the other receivers we have, this young man can present the same nightmares Collins will when he gets a little experience under his belt. The mistakes by the young dbs look fixable without a whole lot of work, but they are young so expect a few mistakes. CO lit us up early if you will recall prior to their qb going down. No one else during the regular season really hurt us badly through the air. I think you are right to be a bit cautious for the reason you mentionedp youth. However, these players have been around Harbaugh for at least two years and some will be going on year three, like Gentry. They’ve learned far more than most in similar situations and it will show. Defense, and I don’t know how actually looked faster than last season and Bush looks like the best blitzer we’ve had in awhile. We saw Hudson lay the wood and its contagious. Could be 8 as you say. Could just as easily, if we get some breaks be double digits again. There is a lot more speed and athleticism in AA than there has been in awhile. If they don’t set the conference on fire this season, I do believe there will be sparks left next season to take a huge, huge step. Just lot more shit Jimbo can pull off with this collection of players imo and one Don Brown seems delighted. Looking forward to it.

  3. Comments: 10
    Joined: 8/15/2015
    Ezeh-E
    Apr 20, 2017 at 8:17 AM

    I’m also optimistic about the OL. I’m glad we got Frey early–I can see a lot of teams adding a second OL coach with the 10th coach. Good OL coaches will be in even higher demand.

    IIRC, our OL going into 1997 season was converting DL over in Spring/Summer and took a little while to gel before becoming relatively dominant. One outlier does not prove anything, but it certainly can be done.

    I’m more worried about the QB-WR timing. I know this is what gets worked on in summer 7-on-7s rather than in spring when you need to focus on the running game, but you’ve got young receivers and TEs who need to get on the same page with Speight (and Peters).

    • Comments: 34
      Joined: 2/24/2017
      Mike Knapp
      Apr 20, 2017 at 12:40 PM

      I think you’re right to be worried about QB/WR timing. That’s something that takes a ton of reps and chemistry to develop, and most of the WR returning saw limited playing time in 2016.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 20, 2017 at 5:04 PM

      I think you are getting most of that timing down in practice not games. Hopefully Crawford and McDoom got their fair share with Speight.

      As much as I like the idea of repeating the OL situation of ’97, it can not be ignored how special and unique that group was. You don’t see talent like that very often.

  4. Comments: 134
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    AC1997
    Apr 20, 2017 at 8:52 AM

    QB – I like your optimism, but that’s a steep hill to climb to reach the 1999 situation. I would also like the comparison more if Threat were playing well and being chased by Peters.

    RB – I hadn’t thought of the Chris Perry comparison. That’s interesting and Perry was a great workhorse late in his career. But what jumps to my mind more is the Moeller era teams that were stacked at RB and would mix and match guys sort of like a basketball coach playing the hot hand. (89-Hoard/Boles/Jefferson/Bunch, 90-Vaughn/Powers/Bunch/Jefferson, 91-Powers/Johnson/Wheatley/Legette)

    OL – I like that we have new faces that don’t bring the baggage that came with Kalis/Braden/Mags. I like that they’ve had one coaching staff for their careers. I like that Frey is here to help and Harbaugh identified an obvious area for improvement in his staff. I like the versatility with some of the guys. But I just don’t see it…..there wasn’t even a true offensive tackle on the field for the spring game. We’re shuffling the lineup, we’re young, we’re undersized, there is zero experience outside of Cole, and we run a blocking system that requires them to be in sync. We’re not running zone blocking and quick passing offenses. I think it is going to be bad this year and we’re going to be happy when we sustain a drive. I don’t think we have a home-run hitting offense with our skill players right now and I don’t think the OL is good enough to sustain 10-play drives without getting us way behind the chains.

    DL – I think everyone has been correctly worried about the DT depth. But I’m optimistic that Solomon and Dwumfor will be rotational pieces there and mitigate the concern somewhat. I’m a little more worried at DE where no one has talked about back-ups. Kemp gets the occasional atta-boy and probably can handle a few snaps behind Gary. But who else is rushing the passer?

    LB – I think we’ll be fine barring injury. In another year this will be a strength. For now we need to survive with the starters playing 90% of the time….cross your fingers.

    WR/DB – I think these two groups are similar. I think there is more depth and talent at each position than in a long, long time……but it is raw. I think you’ll see great plays and bone headed plays mixed all season and I think the coaches are going to rotate more guys through these spots than would be typical as they try things, coach things, etc.

    • Comments: 134
      Joined: 9/13/2015
      AC1997
      Apr 20, 2017 at 8:53 AM

      WTF is wrong with me? How did I type Threat instead of Speight? WHERE’S MY COFFEE???

      (I think I was going to make a joke about Threat and got distracted….sure, that’s my excuse…..)

      • Comments: 359
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        GKblue
        Apr 20, 2017 at 9:33 AM

        No prob, the Threat thing made me laugh! I like to laugh, thanks.

        Nice post, I agree most with your WR/DB comments and I hope like hell you’ve under estimated the OL, especially by B1G play.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 20, 2017 at 10:49 AM

      The offensive line situation is befuddling. I mean, we’ve seen it all take place over the years, but the inability to recruit/retain offensive tackles has been odd. We can’t keep Devery Hamilton committed, we can’t get Jake Fruhmorgen to transfer here from Clemson, etc. One of our solutions at OT is Juwann Bushell-Beatty, who seemed to be a bit of a throw-in with Jabrill Peppers…but what if that spot was used for a different offensive tackle?

      • Comments: 1863
        Joined: 1/19/2016
        je93
        Apr 20, 2017 at 11:44 AM

        Worse, he was the only other OL we took in ’14

      • Comments: 134
        Joined: 9/13/2015
        AC1997
        Apr 20, 2017 at 2:29 PM

        It is baffling for a school like Michigan and a coaching staff like this to struggle to even get a viable tackle prospect on campus. This isn’t even a debate about star-rankings, coaching, injury, etc. We simply don’t even have any true tackles on the roster with Newsome hurt!

        One thing you made me think about is this – could the hiring of Greg Frey not just be for coaching purposes but also for recruiting purposes? Is is possible that Harbaugh identified an area of weakness where we weren’t even getting the time of day from OTs?

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Apr 20, 2017 at 5:09 PM

        It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. You go back to the Boren fiasco and the whole late Carr to Rodriguez to Hoke decade and there has been a ton of attrition all over the Michigan OL not just OT.

        The consistency of the problem is why I have argued Michigan needs to recruit more OL. The definition of insanity is….

      • Comments: 262
        Joined: 8/12/2015
        Painter Smurf
        Apr 20, 2017 at 10:16 PM

        I think it is ok going forward. Drevno took a year or so to get his recruiting act together and he ended with a thud last year. But i still think they wind up with 10 good OL prospects between the ’17 and ’18 classes, including five OT’s. Just wish he could have revved up the OT recruiting in ’16.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Apr 21, 2017 at 10:46 AM

          Most have been saying it’s going to be OK going forward for the last 5 years. Just wait till Magnuson, Braden, Kalis and Kugler have a little experience and so on.

          Still waiting.

      • Comments: 10
        Joined: 8/15/2015
        Ezeh-E
        Apr 21, 2017 at 4:53 PM

        I’ve got this feeling that someone all the shenanigans, weirdness, and supporting of Gibbons that has been attributed to Taylor Lewan might have made him a solid negative recruiting tool against being an OT for UM. That or the 27 for 27 game even though that wasn’t on the tackles as much.

        Then again, we still have/had Newsome…

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 20, 2017 at 5:00 PM

      Good thoughts here AC. My additions/quibbles.

      QB – I think people are sleeping on Speight’s ceiling. Given the injury and being all conference as a sophomore, I see a lot of room to grow. Fans will read too much into the spring game, while insiders and coaches continue to say Speight’s the clear #1. With O’Korn and Peters around, it’s not by default.

      RB – Those were some quality backfields, but their success was almost certainly driven by the OLs. It didn’t matter when they went down or out in college, and none did anything notable at the NFL level. These were the last Bo OLs.

      OL – All these points are valid. But I think the comment about lacking HR players on offense can be disputed.

      DL – I see no reason to worry with that starting unit and Mattison molding the backups. It may be a case that some on-field development occurs with young players early in the year, but by October we’ll have a quality backup crew.

      Great points on DB/WR but I think the difference is that bone-headed mistakes at DB tend to lead to TDs for the other team, while on O it’s an incompletion in most cases.

  5. Comments: 191
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    crazyjoedavola
    Apr 20, 2017 at 10:48 AM

    Chris Perry will forever be my favorite UM RB. Him carrying the ball against MSU to a point where he could no longer stand up was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen.

    • Comments: 1863
      Joined: 1/19/2016
      je93
      Apr 20, 2017 at 11:43 AM

      I was there! One of only two UM games I’ve been able to get to

      GO BLUE

    • Comments: 34
      Joined: 2/24/2017
      Mike Knapp
      Apr 20, 2017 at 12:41 PM

      That performance was insane. 51 carries (!!!). Perry was just a legend that day.

      • Comments: 191
        Joined: 8/13/2015
        crazyjoedavola
        Apr 20, 2017 at 1:18 PM

        I’ve always felt that Brandon Minor could have been what Chris Perry was, but injuries , fumbleitis, and RR’s offensive schemes slowed him down. Jim Harbaugh would have loved to have Perry on the roster. The guy was the definition of a workhorse.

        • Comments: 34
          Joined: 2/24/2017
          Mike Knapp
          Apr 20, 2017 at 1:24 PM

          I agree. Minor’s career was both full of promise, but ultimately felt hollow (in part because of the marginal teams he played on). It’s crazy that Minor’s career high in carries for a season (103) isn’t that much more than what Evans got last year (88).

          If I remember correctly, Perry had some early struggles with fumble issues, but obviously sured that up as his career matured.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Apr 20, 2017 at 1:38 PM

          Brandon Minor love? Now you’re speaking my language.

          • Comments: 191
            Joined: 8/13/2015
            crazyjoedavola
            Apr 20, 2017 at 3:54 PM

            Absolutely, I think he was easily the best back we had since Hart… it’s really unfortunate how his career played out.

        • Comments: 262
          Joined: 8/12/2015
          Painter Smurf
          Apr 20, 2017 at 10:21 PM

          Minor was fun to watch but dang, talk about a RB who did not protect his body. Most of his runs ended in a major collision. Dont think his running style lent itself to frequent usage.

    • Comments: 134
      Joined: 9/13/2015
      AC1997
      Apr 20, 2017 at 2:31 PM

      I enjoyed that game more at the time when I watched it live for the effort he put in than I did after when I realized our offense consisted of asking our RB to slam into the line for 4 yards a carry. That was truly an exhibit of Carr’s coaching wheelhouse – run it up the gut and play defense.

      My favorite RB was Tim Biakabatuka and when I watched him torch OSU and their Heisman running back for 300+ yards I knew I’d never see quite the same thing again. It was a shame that his NFL career was so short.

  6. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Apr 20, 2017 at 11:14 AM

    This is an enjoyable read. I like thinking of spring battles (and the team in general) in historical context. I’ll offer a couple of alternative comps.

    Speight/Peters:

    To me the Brady/Henson battle is too unique. We’re never see the greatest QB of all time pushed by the top QB recruit in the country (and maybe of the decade).

    It’s important to remember what a big deal Henson was at the time. He was the equivalent to Jabrill Peppers as an overall prospect — but played QB. On top of that he was a 2-sport star. Peters is nice prospect but he isn’t anywhere near that echelon as a recruit. Henson was BMOC from the day he arrived. Fans couldn’t wait to see him. Furthermore, Brady was both older and less accomplished than Speight in 1999. I

    n short, the 1999 battle was a lot closer from the outset than in 2017.

    The Michigan comp I think of with a highly regarded QB prospect making some noise to push an entrenched started is 2003. That’s when fans weren’t too keen on Jon Navarre’s middling performance and were excited about the prospects of Matt Guttierez – a pretty highly regarded recruit but not quite a top 5 national prospect like Henson. Gutierrez ended up being a quality player (and made the NFL) but his Michigan career was derailed by injuries and Chad Henne. But at the time (spring/summer of 2003), Michigan fans pretty excited about Mr. Gutierrez and were wondering if he might be able to pass over a big-bodied veteran who it appeared might have reached his ceiling.

    Of course Navarre kicked into a higher gear and had better QBR, TDs, and YPA than before and Michigan fans ended up appreciating his senior season a good bit. Navarre got better because his job was threatened.

    I would guess we’ll follow a similar path with Speight, though I hope his ceiling is higher and that the 2016 season was just the baseline for 2 better seasons to come.

    Evans:
    Anthony Thomas’ freshman season is the comp that comes to mind. Thomas showed more talent as a runner than the unexceptional veterans ahead of him, but his role was limited to a piece of the rotation. On a team led by it’s elite defense it made sense to have vets who wouldn’t fumble and could pass protect in a ahead of him. His sophomore year was still a time share but he emerged as the top guy. His junior season he was THE primary back and a clear star.

    Perry had a bit of a smaller role his freshman year and was a clear downgrade from the dominant starter in 2000 (Thomas’ senior year). His expected ascension in 2001 didn’t come to frution and it wasn’t until his senior season that he really emerged.

    Evans looks like he’s on the stardom track to me.

    OL:

    Hard to think of a comp here because there really is no clear path for this OL. It could turn into a solid unit or it could turn into a disaster like 2008 or 2013. I do appreciate the optimisim coming from different sources. I do appreciate the young talent and the excellence of Greg Frey. There is reason for confidence here but it’s hard to know if the offense is a year away from being mediocre or ready to ascend to mediocrity in 2016.

    Worth remembering that it took Frey a year to cobble together a decent OL last time he was here. Granted he has much more to work with this time in terms of young talent.

    • Comments: 34
      Joined: 2/24/2017
      Mike Knapp
      Apr 20, 2017 at 12:49 PM

      I agree with a lot of what you wrote. You’re probably right that the ’17 QB battle is more similar to the Navarre/Gutierrez one, but my post was rooted in optimism, and I can always hope that these two end up the the Brady/Henson categories, even though signs point against that right now.

      I agree that Evans is on the stardom track. I picked Perry as the comparable player not because of career arch but more because of style of play. While Thomas wasn’t much bigger than Perry or Evans (the weight I found for him was 221), he was taller, at 6’2,” and felt more of a traditional style (and I hate the term, but…) “smashmouth” style runner than I think Evans ever can be. Evan’s receiving talents and open field moves remind me of Perry.

      I hear what you’re saying about the offensive line, but I think (hope?) they’re floor his higher than the 2013 unit. That unit was dreadful not simply because they struggled with technique and assignments, but also because the offensive play calling highlighted their inefficiencies. At very least I think Harbaugh will put them in a position mask some of their weaker areas, unlike Hoke/Borges.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Apr 20, 2017 at 5:22 PM

        I agree with you that Evans is a very different back than Thomas. I mean moreso about his role on the team. Thomas was the same ‘make a play’ guy as a freshman but, like you said, in a smashmouth sense of running hard, straight, and fast while Evans is going to juke. I hope you are right about the pass-catching, I just haven’t seen enough of it yet.

        Perry is somewhere in between but I agree he was the complete package – probably moreso than any other back Michigan’s had in recent memory. Hopefully Evans gets there.

        That’s a good point about Harbaugh vs Borges but I’m not all the way sold that solves everything. It still feels like Harbaugh/Drevno working to put in their Stanford vision and just not having the pieces to make it work. You have a more finesse guy like Cole on the outside and a power guy like Onwenu on the inside and mostly patchwork around that. I’m not sure how much you can systematically mitigate their deficiencies. Maybe there is something to the 5-wide talk…we’ll see.

        Looking back on the 2013 OL – the talent was actually very good: Lewan, Schofield, Glasgow are NFL starters and Magnuson might not be far behind. Borges and Funk were trash.

  7. Comments: 1364
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    WindyCityBlue
    Apr 21, 2017 at 6:54 AM

    Re: Speight and Peters, the whole “no substitute for game experience” meme just doesn’t hold water. As I’ve pointed out a number of times here, there have been two recent Heisman trophy winning QBs who were redshirt freshmen (Manziel and Winston). In other words, they were playing at an All-American level despite having had no game experience at all up to that point. As those two (and others) prove, there ARE substitutes for game experience. They’ve just been seen far too rarely on this team, and the Michigan fanbase has become used to settling for seeing default starters whose only reason for being at the top of the heap is having hung around long enough.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 21, 2017 at 10:15 AM

      I agree and disagree with this. There are always going to be outliers and players who succeed at different paces. There is a substitute for game experience in the form of talent and/or luck, and that happens in every sport. But Tom Brady – the greatest QB of all-time – wasn’t great at Michigan from the beginning.

      But you’re also talking about Manziel and Winston, two guys who were notorious for their off-the-field issues. And sometimes that’s what comes along with getting those guys who have success at an early age, where fame and notoriety rushes at them from out of nowhere. Or because of how they grew up. Whatever the reason, I would rather root for a 10-3 type of team without any scandals than a 15-0 team with a crew of douchebags. I would say a better argument for a young guy coming in and reaching the top early is Tim Tebow…but he was a situational player as a true freshman before taking over the QB job full-time as a sophomore, so he had some game experience.

      Either way, you’re catching lightning in a bottle. TAMU came out of nowhere with Manziel, and they haven’t been the same since. Nobody could have predicted that level of production and success from a 3-star QB at TAMU. Michigan might catch lightning in a bottle at some point, but that’s the thing with lightning – it’s unpredictable.

      • Comments: 1364
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        WindyCityBlue
        Apr 21, 2017 at 5:36 PM

        Saying that “there is no substitute for game experience” is the same as saying that if Player A has more game experience at a position than Player B, Player A will always be better. I suspect you know that isn’t true. There ARE things that can take the place of game experience, and even outweigh it. Not with every player, no, but not just with guys who have off-the-field problems, either. The fact that it is sometimes unexpected doesn’t mean that it always is, or that it isn’t real.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Apr 21, 2017 at 6:50 PM

          Well…that’s not quite my interpretation. My interpretation is that if you take two kids with equal talent and treat them differently (play one in games, while letting the other one watch lots of film and lift lots of weights), then the guy with the game experience is going to come out ahead.

          I think it’s a given that talent can outweigh game experience. That aspect is implied. Tossing me in as QB against Ohio State this November isn’t going to make me more ready than Trevor Lawrence to play big-time college football.

          • Comments: 1364
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            WindyCityBlue
            Apr 21, 2017 at 7:31 PM

            Well, in the OP you said, “there is no substitute for game experience”. I said that’s false. Now you’re saying that talent can substitute for game experience and make you just as good if not better than someone who has more game experience. Which is it? Are you conceding my point and admitting that your claim in the OP was wrong?

            • Comments: 3844
              Joined: 7/13/2015
              Apr 21, 2017 at 8:12 PM

              I didn’t write the post. This post was written by Michael.

              • Comments: 6285
                Joined: 8/11/2015
                Lanknows
                Apr 22, 2017 at 10:26 AM

                LOL. Is it Magnus or Michael – pick a name already!

                • Comments: 3844
                  Joined: 7/13/2015
                  Apr 22, 2017 at 11:03 AM

                  You appear to be joking, but everyone can see that Mike Knapp is the author of this post (“Spring Breeds Optimism”), right? Am I taking crazy pills?

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 21, 2017 at 10:50 AM

      Most development happens in practice.

      The idea of “playing favorites” and “default starters” was popular during each coaching transition — then the new head coach mostly played the same guys.

      Crazy theory: the coaches play the better and more deserving player in the vast majority of cases.

    • Comments: 34
      Joined: 2/24/2017
      Mike Knapp
      Apr 22, 2017 at 5:37 PM

      Re” “no substitute for game experience.” I stand by this, but I like your criticism. There isn’t any substitute for experience. Players without experience can still be better than those with lots of experience, but players get better with more experience. Peters might be better than Speight this year, but he would be even more prepared for the 2017 season if he had started 12 games in 2016.

      That said, I think Speight will start over Peters because he is a more complete player. Part of the reason he is a more complete player rests in the experience he gained in 2016.

  8. Comments: 3
    Joined: 4/17/2017
    Grand Lake
    Apr 21, 2017 at 9:35 AM

    Optimism:
    -The floor at QB seems very high – assuming Speight is over the injury that held him back at end of season, UM will be playing either WS who everyone raved about until Iowa game or Peters who shows enough to surpass WS.
    -RB and WR are about as deep as recent history and with the ability of players like Evans and Isaac to split out I think UM runs a more spread out, wide open offense esp considering that it takes some pressure off the OL. Don’t think JH will abandon his love of power football but he does seem willing to adapt to personnel and 2017 doesnt seem to have the looks of an OL that can shove a ball the defenses’ throat.
    -Addition of Frey. It may take a little time but a guy who can produce high rd NFL OL at Indiana and has proven himself at UM should be able to turn OL into a strength in a relatively small amount of time. Also think its good to have him focused purely on OL as it does constitute almost half the personnel on offense.

    Pessimism:
    Depth defense esp on DL. Mone has history of injuries and starters are likely to need to play a lot more snaps esp if team doesnt get a lot blowouts like last yr where starters get to rest (think there were 5 or 6 games that were basically over at half) . Not sure we ever see DL depth like last yr where a guy as talented as Hurst is a sub and Winovich is also backup and one injury upfront and there is going to be a lot need for Soloman/Dwumfor/Hudson to perform at high level.

    Overall I think 10 wins is very achievable (OSU will be a struggle and hate playing at Wisc. PSU is night game but I think people are extrapolating way too much from the Rose Bowl game which basically was 4 qtrs of just heaving ball downfield and hoping Godwin would catch it plus UM D seems good matchup and Franklin is still coach) Maybe the reason for most optimism is 2018 when team will be absolutely loaded.

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