Shea Reportedly Injured In First MTSU Snap. Will Still Start Saturday.
Word is Shea had a minor injury on his fumble but will be fine for Saturday. I do recall him seeming uncomfortable out there. More reason to take the slow start with a grain of salt
September 4th, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
I don't think it was that play, but he was hurt.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
I noticed him wincing and messing with his pads during the 2 min drill more than any other time, so my guess would be the hit he took at the start of that.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
Yes he was, I think he should sit and heal vs Army ?
September 4th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
If you read the link, it wasn't the rib that limited him so much as a lower body injury that meant that he couldn't run much. THEN the rib on top of that limits him in throwing (which we all noticed).
Sounds completely plausible. I just wish that, if true, it wouldn't have gotten out. I don't mind being in the dark a bit if it keeps our opponents in the dark too. I'll find out when I read John U Bacon's next book!
September 4th, 2019 at 11:58 AM ^
He winces after spiking the ball at the 1:11 mark. This is after the blind side hit.
September 4th, 2019 at 2:21 PM ^
More than once, after each play he was going to his left side ribs.
September 4th, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
Those intercostal muscles can hurt like an MFer when you strain them. Just my wild stab in the dark based on where he was grabbing his pads and the fact that is wasn't enough of a concern to pull him.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
He didn't have a slow start. He was terrific for most of the first half. The third quarter was pretty lousy all-around, and I would have liked to have seen more, but "slow start" is just flat contradicted by the data.
I do think he needs to be better than he was against MTSU. But let's not pretend he was sophomore John Navarre out there, either.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
You mean the terrific fumble he had on the first damn play? Or the multiple sacks he gave up due to him not getting his reads early enough. Justin Fields had a terrific first half of football for reference.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:24 AM ^
Fields had a terrific first 9 minutes, and then put up exactly 0 points in the remainder of the first half. I know most people seemingly turned that game off when OSU went up 28-0, but Fields did not look good after the first 4, admittedly excellent, possessions.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
OSU's TDs were the equivalent of the Black TD; absolutely no defender within 10 yards of the guy who scored.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:35 AM ^
They had similar stats and OSU played a team that was worse than MTSU was last year. Not buying your analysis.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
The analysis is when playing top 20 teams, quarterback fumbles and sacks will kill your chances of winning. Its big picture time.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
And Fields had an inaccurate backwards swing pass (lateral) that caused a turnover, was sacked multiple times and looked lost in the pocket on a number of plays. Five great minutes and 55 minutes of "meh" by OSU isn't much better than our sloppy play on Saturday. Fields took the wide open plays that were created for him, made about one really good pass, and had one good scramble. When pressured, he looked easily rattled.
I guess the big picture is that OSU is already out of the playoff picture based on their first game. Thanks for the "analysis."
September 4th, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
Obvious TROLL is ... OBVIOUS.
Go Blue!
September 4th, 2019 at 5:56 PM ^
You obviously didn’t enjoy the game, so next time get up off your cooler and do something else.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
Lol bro. You clearly didn't watch the OSU game or would know that all of Fields passing TDs were to guys WIDE open. Like 10-15 yards wide open. He then did not much after FAU decided to cover people
Shea looked better than Fields
September 4th, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
15 for 20 for 188 yards and 3 TDs in the first half. We can't beat our rivals with that slow ass start.
September 4th, 2019 at 1:08 PM ^
And this is how you get a gazillion points! We faced a better team than Clemson and Trevor Lawrence had a subpar game. First game + New offense = Tantalizing hope for future games.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
I wish him a speedy recovery. With that being said, i would like to see D Caf get a start.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
Just...Why? Let me guess, you've determined:
- He just has "it"
- He's a better natural runner
- His ceiling is higher
- Something feels different when McCaffery is in the game
We actually have a good returning starter for the first time in forever and people like you just can't wait to promote the backup.
Edited to add an actual ridiculous hot take you stated below.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
Yes, his ceiling is higher... and his last name is McCaffrey lol.
I agree Shea should continue to start because he has the upper hand in terms of experience. But Dylan should get more than pure mop up time (which he did last Saturday). I just don't think Shea can ever be the Heisman-discussion type QB that maybe Dylan can.
September 4th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
Shea consistently grades (PFF) out at the top of the B1G and hasn't even tapped very deeply into his potential yet. I don't mind him getting rest and healing. And, if DCaff were to get a start, it would be good for him to have those reps both just-in-case for this year, and also for the future. But Shea is good enough that he might just have a higher ceiling. MJ's kids had his last name, but their ceiling was the roof.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
Dude needs to gain some weight though. He looks super scrawny compared to Shea unless that's just me
September 4th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
Was just saying the same thing to a coworker this morning. Needs to spend the offseason training with Christian.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
I'd like to see more of McCaffrey too, but I'd like to see him pass more and run less. If he keeps taking hits like he did Saturday in future games, it'll be a repeat of what happened last year.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^
Do you think "good" will win the Big Ten championship. Me thinks not. Do you think a fumble on the first play or taking multiple sacks against OSU will cut it? There is a different feeling when D Caf is on the field. He commands the offense and has a poise that Patterson doesn't have.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
And this is just flat-out wrong. It is VERY clear who has a better command of this offense from watching that game and it is not Dylan.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^
This is the Tom Brady - Drew Henson controversy all over again.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:46 AM ^
It looks a little different to me.
Edit: I should clarify that it's different because both Shea and Dylan ooze talent. Henson came in as the Golden Boy. The other guy, not so much.
September 4th, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
The point is that we have an entrenched senior starter, yet people are already clamoring for the next best thing early in the season. Hopefully, that gets quashed soon.
September 4th, 2019 at 3:21 PM ^
I agree. In both scenarios the senior is the best option.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
So why is it so clear? I believe Dylan went 2/2 and drew another 3 PIs on 5 total throws. Statistically speaking, that's perfection (on an extremely small sample size).
Again, Shea deserves the start based on experience, but Dylan needs more throws and less runs.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Dylan is barely asked to do anything other than run the ball. He's thrown some nice passes of course (and I am actually a believer that a senior DCaf will probably be better than a senior Shea all else equal) but there really isn't much reason to believe Dylan is that close to Shea. The coaches all say Shea is better and I have been given no reason to doubt that
September 4th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
You keep talking about the fumble on the first play of the game, as if that has become some kind of trend for Patterson. Look at his entire body of work since he has been at Michigan, and he is more than capable of winning a big ten championship and going to the playoff. He is arguably the best starting QB in the big ten. I don't think he needs to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony to accomplish this teams goals.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
I like Shea, and think he is better than McCaffrey... but he put the ball on the ground like 4-5 times against MTSU. Only one was lost - but his ball handling in that game was sketchy.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:27 AM ^
Okay, but how many times did he do that last year? From what I can remember (correct me if I am wrong) but this was an outlier from the entire body of work.
September 4th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
He did well last year at not losing fumbles - but there were still a surprisingly large number of mesh incidents where the ball almost hit the ground.
He's no Adrian Martinez fumbling the ball all over the place - but it's a bit sketchy.
September 4th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
Excellent feelingsball post.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
Ah yes, this completely well thought out and informed opinion again.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:37 AM ^
11 is not spelled "B-L-U-E"
September 4th, 2019 at 11:31 AM ^
Lemme guess. You spent the entire 2016 season enraged that Speight was playing because you KNEW that John O'Korn was a secret weapon and that IDIOT Harbaugh wouldn't start him.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:19 AM ^
Yikes. Reminicent of Mike Hart getting hurt on his first carry in the Horror. Frustrating! Fortunately, the team was substantially more ready to play this time around.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:19 AM ^
Slow start?
Shea was dealing for almost the entire first half.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
By slow start I meant the offense in general and the game in its entirety (as the start of the season). I agree Shea performed well but the fact that he did it less than 100% likely means that was not our best.
September 4th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Good point. My guess, based on how quickly he took off on the first play, is that him running the football is much more a part of the offense that we saw after the fumble. Him being hurt on the first play would account for that, but some would the coaches saying "well dude if your going to fumble the ball....."
September 4th, 2019 at 10:24 AM ^
Getting hurt on the first play is the most Michigan thing ever!