Unverified Voracity Goes Fast
Praise to all available deities. I know it's 50/50 whether this is real or "we want to be aggressive" annual offseason pablum, but I'm storing my cynicism because I need it to be the former. Devin Gardner:
"Practices are really fast, we get a lot of reps. This was probably the fastest practice I've ever been a part of ... I feel like, right now, there's a lot of energy in practice. I'm happy with it. ... Coach Nuss definitely pushes tempo, makes sure we get to the ball fast, get the calls out, do everything you need to do and then get the ball hiked. He's pushing that a lot. And sometimes we just go hurry-up to get more reps."
It was as if a million botched two-minute drills cried out, and then were silent. [Ed-S: ...were suddently silenced! ARGH YOU ALWAYS DO THIS!] If you have not wandered on to this site straight from the maternity ward of the local hospital still covered in amniotic goo you are aware of the author's tendency to engage in spittle-flecked rants when it comes to the idea that you must slow down your offense to protect your defense.
(I MEAN WHAT DOES THAT IMPLY ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEMPO?! YOU'RE FLAT OUT STATING THAT TEMPO IS DIFFICULT TO DEAL AND INSTEAD OF COMING TO GRIPS WITH IT YOU PREFER TO JUST NOT THINK ABOUT IT ARRRRRGH. I put this in parens so that you can't blame me for this spittle-flecked rant. I am invulnerable in here.)
So. More tempo means more reps, means more ability to go fast without sacrificing your ability to go slow, means the defense is better prepared to deal with teams that go fast, means less shoe-throwing as Michigan spends the last two minutes of the half imitating a newly-hatched sea turtle trundling towards the sea. All praise to modern football thinking.
…but I don't believe you for a second. While it appears that coaches are talking to the press when they talk to the press, they are in fact talking to their players. This one insight explains every bit of coachspeak ever: they speak in motivational parables designed to get people to try hard no matter how tenuous their relationship to something interesting or accurate.
Thus:
So, when asked how he's evaluating his quarterbacks at this point, his answer was hardly surprising.
It's ongoing.
"We're going to evaluate everything, just like every other position on our offense," Nussmeier said. "We want to create competition, we want guys to go out and compete."
Articles about the "spring QB race" result. This space already had a spittle-flecked rant on this subject, so let me just reiterate that I will consume a rack of hats if Devin Gardner is not the clear starting quarterback.
Perpetually entertaining. If the Ed O'Bannon case does nothing other than bring to light internal NCAA emails that plainly admit that the NCAA is profiting off the likeness of their players, it will still be a worthwhile endeavor. (And it seems likely it'll do much more than that.) The latest quotes would be astounding if they weren't part of an ever-expanding genre:
Leeland Zeller writes back to the LSU official that an NCAA rules interpretation "clearly addresses" and prohibits "the use of the DVD as 'premium' in conjunction with a subscription. ... Regardless, SI does this every year. If the school asks about it, they are advised to send a cease and desist letter, which preserves the eligibility of the student-athletes. SI ignores the letter and we all go on about our business."
In other news, it was not a coincidence that the play by play guy could pronounce "Tebow," and EA was trying to weasel the names and faces of players into NCAA because it was just like television.
What was that? Episode two in "Brian crams Big Ten basketball talking into his UV because his other platform was stolen": what the hell was Iowa doing last night? They ended up losing 93 to 86 in a wild 83 possession game at Indiana.
Everyone knows Iowa likes to run and that's fine as it goes, but Iowa played directly into the hands of the Hoosiers by employing a half-assed 1-2-2 pressure that turned Indiana possessions into transition possessions, which is the last thing in the world you would ever want to do. And then several times they just did not run back on defense, leading to a parade of Will Sheehey layups. I was shocked that the combustible Fran McCaffery didn't throttle various players. It was thoroughly gross.
This one probably doesn't end like the Dr. V putter story. Everyone on twitter recommends this profile of Caris LeVert, because LeVert just put this out there in a press conference:
“Caris, have there been any defining moments in your life?”
He looks around an empty room, considering the question and the door it leads to.
“Well, on Easter of sophomore year of high school, me and my brother found my dad dead on our living room floor.”
Wow. Read the whole thing, as they say.
Help wanted. Hockey picks up a commitment from NAHL defenseman Sam Piazza, who had an interesting path to his commitment. It's not often you see a guy who was committed to Boston College for 2012 end up in the NAHL two years later. In Piazza's case a severe concussion held him out for at least five months in what was expected to be his final season of junior. Hockey DB shows just 18 games played for Piazza from 2010-12; BC deferred him, reasonably, and he ended up playing 25 games for Chicago before dropping to the NAHL level.
So Michigan's getting a guy who had a significant level of talent at one point before getting derailed. He's played 46 games this year without incident and Michigan hopped on him quickly…
“Michigan had called me about two weeks before the Top Prospects Tournament, so I knew they would be watching,” the defenseman said. “After Top Prospects, they invited me to tour the campus. I was not expecting much, but they wound up offering right there.”
…so there's more expectation for success here than there would be with your usual 20-year-old late NAHL skater pickup. And this is of course excellent because Michigan needs defensemen badly. Coach quote:
“Sam is a powerful skater with great on-ice vision and stick skills. In the years I have been coaching junior hockey, I have not seen anyone with his vision on defense. When you couple that vision with his high-end stick skills, that is a tremendous combination for a hockey player,” Baxter said.
Center Ice has more.
Etc.: Joba Chamberlain scar smiley face zoom in. Needs "SOON" in last panel.
February 28th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
Never* a great sign when the kid you're offering is surprised that you're giving him an offer.
*Jordan Morgan being the obvious exception. I'll chalk that up to Beilein brilliance.
February 28th, 2014 at 5:12 PM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
I will never forget how stunned I was about ten years ago when I created Michigan's roster and lo and behold, Brad Nessler could pronounce "Henne." As common as a name that was, I was always a little suspicious.
February 28th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
when Brennan Quinn left Knoxville to follow the Wolverines. He's a terrific writer and, by all accounts, a terrific guy. The Caris LaVert story is good.
February 28th, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^
Is that really Kovacs? Seems like it based on his comments. Would have to be an epic troll if it was not him with what he shared about meeting Caris' family.
February 28th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
Cue up more fumbles and turnovers. Seriously, didn't we try uptempo before and it didn't work out?
February 28th, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
You serious Clark?
February 28th, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^
Seriously. I tried to get a job 5 years ago and they said I didn't have enough experience for the position. I said to hell with that interviewing stuff, and now I just live in my mom's basement.
February 28th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^
is this a serious response
February 28th, 2014 at 2:43 PM ^
...and the new fangled jersey materials rip too easily. We're going back to hand-loomed wool sweaters.
February 28th, 2014 at 3:08 PM ^
We need to slow it down and protect the ball. Use the full clock every snap, then just kneel it.
February 28th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^
Wait, speedy Indiana only had 12 fumbles and 14 interceptions. By contrast, slow Michigan had nearly twice as many fumbles (22) and only slightly fewer interceptions (13). Michigan played one more game but Indiana ran more plays.
I realize that's a small sample size but CUMONG MAN.
February 28th, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^
That is a very good point, but I do worry about the sample size. I remember having a similar discussion a few years back, with people claiming Rich Rod's offensive style was to blame for the high level of turnovers in the Rich Rod's years, but we did have a lot of turnovers last year as well.
February 28th, 2014 at 6:59 PM ^
Looks like they've had 12, 7 and 13 fumbles in the years since he's become head coach at Indiana. (I wish I had the time to look at this in more detail.)
When do turnovers happen? Either at the beginning of a play (bad snaps, mishandled ball exchanges), when the ball carrier is hit by the defense (tackle by defensive player, sack, etc.) or when the quarterback throws it to a defensive player.
Arguably tempo could make the first more common, but that certainly doesn't seem to be the case at all for Indiana. I don't see how tempo by itself is more likely to make a player drop the football when tackled, or to make a quarterback make bad decisions.
One thing those Rodriguez teams definitely did badly was handling kick returns. I don't even want to think about how many punts they fumbled.
February 28th, 2014 at 2:10 PM ^
Paren Invulnerablity ACTIVATE!
(Fire Borges! Fire Brandon! I want more pasta at the Big House... I like Jim Harbaugh's competitive drive... looks like it works)
February 28th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^
pretty much strangles the competition baby in its bed anyway. His praise for Devin says it all.
Do I detect a worrisomely atavistic streak in the calls for Morris after Devin broke all kinds of records despite our broken line and broken body parts last year? No, I'm just imagining things.
February 28th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
What's worrisome is that despite the OL issues, our offense found a way to break those records under Borges, yet he became the scapegoat for the 7-6 season instead.
There may be truth in the fact that Borges was a scapegoat. But there was a toxic air surrounding this team and it was only building. Borges just could not continue as the OC of this team.
For me and alot of others the problem with the offense was that it was wildly inconsistent. They looked like world beaters at times and other times they looked just plain terrible. No consistency and even when they were moving the ball and scoring the run game was still bad.
There are probably valid reasons for the offensive woes but something needed to be done to shake things up. I think Hoke finally saw this and I also think he knows his name may be next on the list if positive changes do not happen.
February 28th, 2014 at 5:10 PM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^
...can someone explain the "his other platform was stolen" thing to me? i usually get the references, but i got nothin' on this one.
February 28th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
You should really go read that if you haven't already.
February 28th, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^
Gardner saying that's the fastest practice is ever been part of is interesting, considering he had a year under Rodriguez who supposedly ran practice really fast.
February 28th, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
I can't believe Iowa is now 8-7 in league play. They were alone in 3rd place for what seemed like a month. What a tailspin.
ahead of us on kenpom. They have more losses. We split with them but we have a better record and have a tougher schedule. I'm assuming I'm missing something.
February 28th, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
"I will consume a rack of hats if Devin Gardner is not the clear starting quarterback."
Just keeping that here for evidence later. I didn't see any asterisks or qualifiers on that statement.
February 28th, 2014 at 6:10 PM ^
I think there are a lot of people that are fooling themselves. Gardner will be the starter. I thought Morris showed good arm strength during the bowl game and potential, but not much else. I never felt like he was going to lead them to victory at any point. It's not Morris's time yet.
Gardner had plenty of ups and downs, but his talent is undeniable. Don't ignore the numbers, they were fantastic for someone that started a handful of games at QB the year before. That was while practicing at WR for most of the prior year. His experience last year will help him with his decision making this year.
Griese was not very good before the 1997 NC season. I was actually disappointed that he was named the starter during the NC year. In 1997 he was a different QB. There is no substitute for experience.
This is year 3 for Gardner with experience at QB and I expect big things.
February 28th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^
I expect him to be first team all big ten and maybe a honorable mention all American.
This is what everyone was saying last year. Honestly, I think Devin is our best choice, but his decision making needs to improve, and he needs to find a way to get rid of the ball faster. He does have a pretty long wind up for a quarterback though.
I guess Brian could have said unless he is injured. Otherwise there is no way anyone other than Devin Gardner is the Michigan quarterback this year.
February 28th, 2014 at 7:19 PM ^
Barring Gardner's arm being bit off in a sharknado or some other injury, I find it improbable that he is not the starter. Make it a rack of sweaty Ohio hats?
February 28th, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^
I swear, I don't even know how to handle the "Morris for starter" loonies. I mean, you watched the bowl game, right? And you watched the second half of the season where Gardner played hurt, right? And yet you still think it's even close? And are you SERIOUSLY saying that Gardner's ONLY advantage over the other QBs is/was knowledge of the offense?
It's like trying to explain dividing by zero. You either get it or you just don't.
Also, citing a dude (Wilson) who runs around like a headless chicken EVEN MORE than Gardner does, regardless of the fact that he's excellent at it, is a little funny.
I think Morris has the better arm. Do I think he should be made the starter for that? No. But I do want to see them compete with each other for the starting position and whoever deserves it, will earn it. But I do agree with what others have stated that unless an injury happens to Devin, he will be the man.
It doesn't matter who it is. People were screaming at Manning in the Super Bowl.
Part of the value of being an upperclassmen is the time in training getting in shape, seeing what opposing defenses do and eventually the games slow down for you. Gardner showed huge leadership playing half a game on a broken foot in the Ohio Staate game. You think they are going to tell him "Thanks a lot for that but you are sitting your ass on the bench."? Absolutely ridiculous. There is no way barring injury that Devin Gardner is not the starting quarterback.
are a tough issue to deal with in players, hate to see someones potential career derailed because of it. Hopefully the college hockey level will likely have less of a chance of further incidents for Sam P.
Interesting that Nuss is using up tempo, probably saw how much Saban detested that trend, as it makes it much more difficult to platoon players on defense. I think with Michigan's seemingly offensive deficiencies this might be an interesting strategy to create mismatches that the offense can exploit.
Overall Hoke and the staff are executing a great strategy in change management. By shaking up the status quo across the board, everyone has something new to focus on. The best way to get away from negative thoughts (losses, infighting, injuries, animosity, etc.) is to give everyone new challenges and focus that have the common goal to "Win the Game"s.
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