Don't Sleep On Joe
Listening to Josh Uche's after practice interview from Tuesday, a couple comments he made about Joe Milton caught my ear (5:10ish mark of interview)
When asked about him, Uche called Milton a "gamer" and said "don't sleep on Joe". I couldn't help but feel like there was something more to that 2nd comment, like Uche was almost acknowledging that Milton has been overlooked, either by the media or maybe (*more importantly) by the coaches. I just found his phrasing interesting.
(Disclaimers)
***I personally am 100% on the McCaffrey train and I wish he was healthy for this week because it'd be a perfect opportunity for him to get his 1st start.
***I'm also 100% over Patterson at this point. Would love to see Milton get a shot at real game action, so... bias
Thoughts on Uche's comments and the QB situation?
https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/2019/09/24/michigan-football-defens…
September 25th, 2019 at 8:23 AM ^
I fear a loss if Milton starts.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:43 AM ^
Same. Still, I'd like to see him get a quarter of playing time, just to see what he can do. Either he sucks and everyone shuts the fuck up about him, or we have a decent backup. It would be nice to know.
September 25th, 2019 at 7:46 AM ^
Well, it’s only Wednesday. At least 2 more days of shit posting.
September 25th, 2019 at 7:51 AM ^
I'm convinced that any reports coming out of practice are not to be trusted, because either Michigan unit will look pretty good playing the other Michigan unit.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:06 AM ^
I don’t give a shit who starts...I just want someone with a cool,calm and collected demeanor out there that can run this offense and not fumble the f-in’ ball every other play.
I don’t care if it’s the zero star 4th stringer that runs a 5.5 40 yd dash. We need someone that can hit an open receiver. A gun slinger. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen wide open guys that Shea doesn’t even see
Shea is beyond rattled at this point. He isn’t seeing the field. Of course with the BPONE Cloud hanging over us at all times..we finally get McCaffrey on the field and he gets taken out by a cheap shot and will be in concussion protocol WTF!?
Can we ever catch a GD break!? I mean how the fuck does LSU roll a new OC in and light the world on fire but we can’t string together four good plays in a row in a quarter. Or screw a drive up with a fumble?
September 25th, 2019 at 8:18 AM ^
Im hoping for the same thing. And expecting him to also get hurt like Brandon Peters, Devin Gardner, Speight, Shane, Dylan... am I missing anyone? God bless we have to be cursed in some kind of weird way
September 25th, 2019 at 8:19 AM ^
Milton might have to play out of necessity. With McCaffrey in concussion protocol, and Shea is either listed as probable after getting hit 19 times against Wisconsin.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:22 AM ^
Well yeah, he says great things about his teammate.
I'm more of this persuasion, with Thunder at Touch the Banner:
https://touch-the-banner.com/2019-season-countdown-55-joe-milton/
September 25th, 2019 at 12:58 PM ^
This take was legit.
September 25th, 2019 at 6:27 PM ^
Agreed. If he ever plays a meaningful snap for M we'll be in deep trouble.
September 26th, 2019 at 5:52 AM ^
74% completion? Why’s everyone so convinced he has accuracy issues? I get the last interception but hell Shea has thrown his own share of WTF passes this year and it’s only the first month with a bye week. At least Milton set his feet and gave the line backer a football shaped bruise.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:29 AM ^
Milton doesn't appear to be ready. The question I'm asking is why? Other P5 teams roll out with freshman QB's and do just fine. Milton is a RS Frosh, already in the program for a year.
WTF goes on in the QB room? Are they sitting around all day playing Madden?
September 25th, 2019 at 9:56 AM ^
Maybe his accuracy is still off. Maybe he doesn't know the playbook well enough. Maybe Ben McDaniels isn't Josh McDaniels.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:03 AM ^
I'm not just talking about Milton. When are any of our 2nd or 3rd string QB's ever ready to go?
September 25th, 2019 at 1:12 PM ^
Speight was pretty good coming off the bench in 2015. Outside of that...
September 25th, 2019 at 10:03 AM ^
Maybe Harbaugh tells them all about the days of Bo.
September 25th, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
Well, for one, the entire structure of the offense changed. Personel, blocking schemes, line calls, everything. So my guess is a lot of learning and film study is going on onbthe QB room.
September 25th, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
Milton had and has a beautiful arm. His arm strength is probably past Morris and there with Mallet. The problem with Milton is so fucking obvious i don't get how pissing dumb 20% of the people are on here.
I hate to piss on a good kid. Milton was recruited because he had an amazing arm/ceiling. He cannot recognize plays, fails to see even part of the field let alone the entire field, and cannot throw with touch. On a scale of 1 to 10 his decison making has increased from 1 to 2.5 in 2 years. And i am being nice.
It does not take professional coach, amatuer coach, MGOBLOG member with connections, or MGOBLOG member with 100k points to see this.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:23 PM ^
He was an extremely raw prospect, not even close to a sure thing.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:31 AM ^
If we looked half as good during games as they must look in practice......we would be Clemson and Alabama combined.....oh and New England too!!
September 25th, 2019 at 8:34 AM ^
“...Uche was almost acknowledging that Milton has been overlooked...”
Seems solid. Ricardo Miller, Freddy Canteen, Mike Sainristil say hi.
Ok. Tongue removed from cheek, Milton has not shown anything resembling the ability to lead the offense yet. Harbaugh isn’t afraid to let the best man win. He showed that with Speight beating out Morris and O’Korn, and then benching O’Korn for Peters. Here’s what we know—he’s big and can throw the ball 100 mph, but Milton doesn’t beat Wisconsin.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:41 AM ^
We are driving from the middle of the godforsaken state of Kansas...taking our 10 year old, die-hard fan grandson to his first Michigan game. I don't give a damn whose name is on the back of the jersey of whomever is playing QB...I just want to see competent play. I would be happy to see McNamara turned loose.
I don't know what the hell is going on with this team and this QB position. Their woeful play indicates systemic failure. Something is wrong in this room. I am a big supporter of Jim Harbaugh-but this is on him. Right this ship...against real, quality opposition.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:07 AM ^
Players talk should be taken with a grain of salt at this point. They haven't done much to earn our trust.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:16 AM ^
I'm psyched to see him on the field. You just never know who's going to find their stride.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:16 AM ^
I'm psyched to see him on the field. You just never know who's going to find their stride.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
I have thus far seen zero live practices of Joe Milton (and every other player. I live out of state). I assume he is talented. I anticipate he will play when ready.
But the reaction is the same as preseason Sainristil, Jeter, and Mason the DT. Sometimes hype does not translate immediately. Takes time.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:31 AM ^
That is a hell of a "statement". I'll believe it when I see it....
September 25th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
Rivals Board...
Hearing some rumors of a few starters being sat. Anyone?
September 25th, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
Am speculating but I have a feeling that Harbaugh hasn't been happy with the interior OL. especially when he said awhile back that Runyan needs to play inside. Sounded like a veiled threat to onwenu who seems to go half speed. He should be on the DL anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if Ruiz or onwenu sit, and runyan go inside with Hayes going to LT or swapping with mayfield (who also played poorly)
September 25th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^
UMBig11 posted that on this exact thread on the first page so I'll assume there's truth to that.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
I was looking for Mgo confirmation, but I guess I'll just post the scuttlebutt from Rivals. Black and DPJ might be being sat Saturday. Probably discipline related. Just passing along what I've heard, looking for confirmation here.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
Spielman mentioned that he saw players walking onto the field during the Wisconsin game instead of running. He didn't say who though.
I imagine whomever that was will sit.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:53 AM ^
If Joe Milton was the real deal (at least at this point in time) he wouldn't be the 3rd string QB.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:09 AM ^
The problem is (and why there are threads like this) we'll never know.
Harbaugh says it's a meritocracy but clearly it's not. Shea was promised the job to come here... and in the meantime, I'm not sure the other QBs are getting coached up.
September 25th, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
so many idiots.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
Devin Gardner on Inside the Huddle's MMQB was emphatic that Milton be given a shot in an offensive scheme designed to throw open all that WR talent. He thinks Shea is too banged up to run the offense effectively - can't take the hits and his overthrows are indications he is physically not right or is just not playing well enough. Not sure the coaches are this aggressive, but Devin thinks they should be and test it out on Rutgers. Team needs a spark is basically his thesis and Milton may have the highest ceiling of all the QBs.
Sept 23 podcast, clip 06 ... 38 minutes long but a great session with Devin / the Milton discussion starts at about 22 minutes into the podcast ...
http://www.wtka.com/2018/03/28/wtka-podcasts/
September 25th, 2019 at 10:22 AM ^
Well if there's a QB who knows a thing or two about being too banged up to play, it's Gardner.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
Gardner was a champion vs ND that one game.. what a performance. But I do think had he started at WR, he'd be in the NFL right now.
September 25th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
He also nearly beat OSU, by himself, on a broken foot.
It's just a shame he wasn't 2 years younger. It would have been great to have him in 15 and 16.
September 25th, 2019 at 1:17 PM ^
And I think if he had competent coaching and a non-suck-ass OL would've been a QB in the NFL. Now, you could make the argument that his NFL upside was higher as a WR, and wouldn't necessarily disagree, but he also could've been (and was until he slowly got broken) a damn good QB.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
I’m on the give Milton a chance train. Shea is broken. He’s been Devin Garnder’d. I don’t think that all of it happened at his time at Michigan I think he had scars from Ole Miss and gained more here and now he sees ghosts every time he steps back in the pocket. I don’t think Milton should immediately start. Shea like Devin still has talent. Like Devin he could rise up and win a big game, but against Rutgers I think Milton should at minimum be given a half. Hopefully early playing time too.
Milton doesn’t have top end speed but he is elusive and big enough to run the zone read effectively. Also he’s big enough to stand in the pocket and absorb shots without folding like a chair. The question is how accurate is he now that he’s been learning from Harbaugh for a couple fall camps. In terms of raw arm strength and size he was always the most NFL shaped of our quarterbacks. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with seeing what we have early when McCaffery is injury prone and Shea is haunted by past sacks.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:28 AM ^
Word is that this gattis offense needs to throw players open, and apparently Shea isn't good at that, and he is waiting too long for the player to GET open, and its causing him to tunnel on one guy like Bell. And if true that DPJ and Black be benched, I wouldn't be surprised, but hardly blame them for being miffed, when we should be throwing long to these guys, and not Ronnie Bell over and over.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Where are you hearing DPJ and Black may be benched? That would be idiotic if that happened.
As far as the thread topic, Milton is clearly not ready, physically has a great arm and size, but his accuracy and decision making still need a ton of work before he is starter material. Patterson looks way off, but we still have a season worth of data on him from last year as being an efficient passer. I don't think it is time to throw in the towel on Patterson despite how off he has looked in the first three games.
September 25th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
I agree that Patterson can win games and I wouldn’t abandon him casually but he is seeing ghosts. And honestly I think he has been since he got here. It’s just taking more and more of a toll as his career has worn on. He’s fumbled in every game, has already been injured and is missing open receivers. While McCaffery is clearly injury prone to begin with. While I agree that it would be ideal for Milton to not be part of the competition this season. I would contend that it’s necessary to begin to get him real reps as the other two quarterbacks are dealing or dealt with injuries three games into the season and are preforming at minimum sub par. Milton hitting the field early doesn’t mean he’s taking the job, but his performance after he does could dictate that. Against Rutgers it’s a good opportunity to give him experience whether that be a real shot or not.
September 25th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
Well Patterson and McCaffery are your best options for this year regardless, so I can't agree with taking away potential reps from those guys to give them to Milton unless it is complete garbage time. Even then I would argue what Patterson desperately needs right now is confidence and seeing something go right. I think you give Patterson as many reps as you can against Rutgers so he can see as many positive things as possible happen.
September 25th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
When we’re talking about getting reps for a 5th year senior it’s too late.
September 25th, 2019 at 8:52 PM ^
None of the three are fifth year seniors.
September 25th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
It was me, just repeating what some Rivals people are saying, that because of Black's #Fireharbaugh Tweet like he is sitting a game, and that DPJ reached out to NFL friends to inquire about leaving UM Football to prepare for the Spring draft, and the staff is also sitting him Saturday.,
Not my words, I heard this second hand, brought it here for confirmation.
September 25th, 2019 at 12:37 PM ^
Black was not the one who liked that tweet it was Collins and I am sorry but that thing about DPJ is too dumb to believe. I don't think he is even in a high enough draft position right now to do something like that. Sounds like something an opposing fan troll made up to try and rile people up.
September 25th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
It was Nico that liked the tweet. Did Black also or is this just an error?