bronxblue

February 27th, 2020 at 11:15 PM ^

Samuel was also 3 inches shorter and about the same weight.  He was also more productive in college, though DPJ wasn't "bad" by any means.

I agree 4.48 is perfectly fine, but if DPJ has trouble getting to that speed quickly (apparently his first run was bad because he started poorly out of the blocks), that's an issue.  I'm pulling for him to make a mark in the NFL, just noting that "sorta slow to get going, solid top-end speed" was his rep coming into the combine.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171849

ERdocLSA2004

February 28th, 2020 at 12:42 AM ^

Starting from blocks is completely different than starting like he will at the LOS.  He can certainly learn and improve his first step and how to get out of those jams.  I’m not sure how good his coaching was here and/or how receptive he was to it, but I see nothing here that makes him any less attractive to NFL teams.

Joined: 01/08/2011

MGoPoints: 16139

kurpit

February 27th, 2020 at 7:27 PM ^

I feel like they just don't utilize their talent on offense. There have just been no offensive skill position players of real note under Harbaugh. Plenty of good players (Darboh, Chesson, Higdon, Smith, DPJ, Collins) but only good within the context of the team. None of those guys were anywhere close to being the best in the conference.

Joined: 02/25/2009

MGoPoints: 9237

I Like Burgers

February 27th, 2020 at 11:21 PM ^

I mean...DeVonta Smith, Jeudy, and Ruggs are all much better than DPJ.  That's kinda obvious.  But even Bama's fourth WR, Waddle, looked better than DPJ.  Similar stat line too, but gets a lot more out of his catches.

DPJ: 34 rec, 438 yds, 12.9 ypc, 6 TD

Waddle: 33 rec, 560 yds, 17.0 ypc, 6 TD

Joined: 10/06/2012

MGoPoints: 30575

ldevon1

February 28th, 2020 at 5:24 AM ^

And this is the reason we haven't won the big game yet. Bigtime players make bigtime plays, in the biggest games. Same OC for 2 yrs in a row, with a more aggressive approach and getting the speed demons he wants. Let's go. The one thing everyone complained about was the inability to create separation by our WR's. That should change soon. 

Joined: 09/09/2015

MGoPoints: 36887

rockydude

February 27th, 2020 at 10:46 PM ^

Misusing WR talent implies it is some kind of issue with how the WRs are coached. That doesn’t really explain Rashan Gary or any of the others. For some reason, when we get those very top guys, we don’t seem to get the most from them. Hopefully we right the ship before elite prospects aren’t as interested  in the program. 

Joined: 05/06/2011

MGoPoints: 5862

I Like Burgers

February 27th, 2020 at 11:34 PM ^

Part of that is for a school like Michigan that rarely lands high-end recruits, when they get on campus, they are immediately "the guy".  We saw that with both Gary and DPJ.  But there's no equivalent talent behind them pushing for their playing time forcing them to become truly elite.

Meanwhile places like Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, etc are rolling in high-end recruits year after year who are constantly pushing for PT.  And if someone like a DPJ or Gary doesn't pan out there, its not a big deal because they've been passed by someone even better, so no one really cares.

Joined: 10/06/2012

MGoPoints: 30575

outsidethebox

February 28th, 2020 at 7:52 AM ^

I agree with this point. And this is why Michigan coaches hold great responsibility for the underperformance that takes place. It seems as though Michigan players are allowed to believe that achieving starter status is the ultimate goal-and it ends there. It certainly appears as though it takes an act of God to lose your starting position once it has been assigned to you. Michigan demonstrated, against both OSU and Alabama that the actual physical talent difference was not that significant. For my eyes it appears as though the great difference between Michigan and the elite teams is in scheme and adjustment and the mindset of the players. Elite teams and players make plays at critical junctures-here, Michigan struggles mightily...on both sides of the ball. (Everyone wants to talk about the infamous 4th down play at OSU-the play of the game was actually the one preceding it...and also on the kickoff return where Michigan should have made a play at about the 15. You have to make your own "breaks" to win these games and Michigan sucks in this regard.) Where does the buck stop???

 

Joined: 01/23/2017

MGoPoints: 18818

I Like Burgers

February 28th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^

Totally agree. And that's where I'm kind of out on this staff.  They seem to have what it takes to be good, but not great.  And that's also where you see a lot of the criticism against Michigan compared to Ohio State and how they "just get it."  People can do the tired bagman, blah, blah, blah argument, but the programs that are continually in the CFP are the ones that really do all it takes to make sure their players are getting better every day.

Like, do you really think Shea spending a bunch of time in the offseason playing golf would fly at Bama or Clemson?  LSU's WR group was lauded for spending the summer catching 10,000 passes to fix their drop issues.  None of that kind of stuff happens at Michigan.

Joined: 10/06/2012

MGoPoints: 30575

stephenrjking

February 27th, 2020 at 8:14 PM ^

Not really.

Some people are saying this is a referendum on the coaches for not trying. That is probably not the best way to apply blame, since the coaches were perfectly willing to make sure that Nico and Bell got passes that used their height. If DPJ didn’t get as many opportunities, it’s probably because he hadn’t demonstrated an ability to make use of them.

Now, player development? That is absolutely a fair question. Why, with this immense physical talent, wasn’t DPJ ever the dominant multi-tool receiver that we thought he would be? Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t mediocre. He was quite good. But we saw a dominant receiver on New Year’s Day and DPJ was never on that level. And I think player development was per is the problem. 

Joined: 03/15/2012

MGoPoints: 20143985