How far is Peters away from being ready

Submitted by GoBlueInAlabama on
58 passing yards and several missed reads. I would like to think Peters could do this at a minimum. I get that Michigan can still make a run at the CFP with only 1 loss, but let's not try to fool ourselves into thinking they legitimately have a chance to run the table.
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yossarians tree

October 14th, 2017 at 4:23 PM ^

They won't bench O'Korn after a win, but I don't think we'll have that situation for the game after Penn State. At that point I'd say give Peters some game experience. He can't be any worse than JOK was today. If the coaches are afraid to let you throw the ball, then you do not even have a quarterback.

Joined: 08/19/2010

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WolverineMan1988

October 14th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^

The clear lack of confidence from the coaching staff in O'Korn in the second half is reason enough for Peters to at least get some consideration. I'm not advocating for a Peters start at Happy Valley either but it's not crazy to think he might get in that game if/when things go bad. I don't see a scenario at this point where the Penn State game stays close barring an O'Korn transformation or the defense and special teams creating points. The Purdue game was a mirage. I also think it's downright sad that we let that game go to overtime. Why can't we just make plays when needed to make things easy for once. Hats off to the defense for the last stand. I'm not sure we could have survived another overtime. Hats off to Higdon and the coaching staff finally giving him the bulk of the carries. There's no reason it shouldn't stay that way. He was both explosive and demonstrated an ability to pick up some tough yards.

Joined: 09/26/2017

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Bigscotto68

October 14th, 2017 at 4:23 PM ^

My Mom could produce a better offensive game plan than we saw today. The offensive playcalling was down right offensive. Thanks Mr Higdon for huge effort.

Joined: 01/28/2012

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Blue 4 Life

October 14th, 2017 at 4:24 PM ^

Harbaugh benched Speight for a series in that FL game. I know O'Korn didn't throw any pick 6's there but it seems like it would at least give us an idea of what Peters is and maybe light a fire under O'Korns ass. 

At worse he can run a 3 and out just the same as O'korn can.

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RoseInBlue

October 14th, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^

"I know O'Korn didn't throw any pick 6's there but it seems like it would at least give us an idea of what Peters is"

Honestly, this is what it seems to come down to.  Some people convinced themselves that Peters is the answer before he even got on campus, and now they want him to get random snaps because for whatever reason they just can't believe that Harbaugh might actually know who the best QB on his team is.

Joined: 02/21/2016

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WolverineMan1988

October 14th, 2017 at 5:37 PM ^

I don't think it's about wanting to give Peters some snaps. However, if Peters is indeed the backup QB then John's on field performance is reason enough for the next guy up to demonstrate what he is or isn't capable of. It's obvious the coaching staff lost confidence in John in the second half. Their playcalling from the first snap in the second half basically told everyone, "We don't trust John to throw the ball downfield." The entire second half of offense was playing not to lose and it almost happened anyway. Coaching staff seems caught between a rock and a hard place if they think Peters would not do any better. How do you create a winning game plan with a QB that you don't trust?

Joined: 09/26/2017

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gruden

October 14th, 2017 at 6:04 PM ^

One possibility is to introduce some offensive concepts he can run.  For the last week I've thought that adding an option run package might not be a bad idea.  O'Korn has enough athleticism to run option plays and it could put a defense off balance (and O'Korn wouldn't have to throw - bonus).  Maybe worth a shot if they're adamant about not playing Peters.  They gotta do something.  Having no passing game will squelch any other positive aspect of the offense.

Joined: 04/29/2016

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RoseInBlue

October 14th, 2017 at 6:08 PM ^

That should tell you something, though.  If you think the coaching staff has lost confidence in O'Korn and they still aren't playing Peters, then I'd say Peters truly isn't ready.  My point is that people are clamoring for Peters and claiming he couldn't be worse than O'Korn.  Based on what?  He absolutely could be worse.  If Harbaugh thought that he would give the team a better chance to win, Brandon Peters would absolutely be behind center.  But he doesn't and he's not.  Yet everybody wants to play armchair head coach.

Joined: 02/21/2016

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wesq

October 14th, 2017 at 4:27 PM ^

It looks like the young guys on the interior are really starting to develop and could be special. I'm glad they went back to manball, the rbs and line seem more suited for it. Passing game is trash but I don't think they wanted to switch in a tight game. Like others have said you can't start Peters next week, but unless there's some miracle next week I fully expect a new QB vs Rutgers.

Joined: 08/21/2009

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RoseInBlue

October 14th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^

I really don't understand this thinking.  People refused to accept/believe that Peters was 3rd on the depth chart before Speight was injured despite all evidence to the contrary and him never having seen him play a snap of college football.  And now you guys have decided that Harbaugh is sitting a "better" QB out of what?  Spite?  

And this crap about getting Peters game experience for next year.  I guarantee you Michigan is not playing these games thinking about preparing for next season. They want to win now and they're going to play whoever is available that they believe will give them the best shot to do so. 

If they do play Peters as some sort of prep for the future and he shows why he's not ready, you all will still bitch about how much he sucks anyway.  This is pointless.

Joined: 02/21/2016

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stephenrjking

October 14th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^

O'Korn hasn't been terribly accurate, but his biggest problem has been going through his read progressions to the wide open guy. In what universe do we think that Peters, still struggling with command of the offense, can at an age most QBs (even good ones) haven't yet mastered the skill, be an upgrade over O'Korn in this area? He almost certainly won't be. So it will be more telegraphed passes to the first read for a guy who is having trouble making those calls at the line. At least O'Korn knows the playbook and can manage the running game. "Panic to Peters" is just aimless panic. This team has lost its starting QB and there aren't good options to replace him this year. We have to run win what we have. One can hope that people will accept, finally, that the youngest team in the country with a backup QB and missing its top receiver might be a year away.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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taistreetsmyhero

October 14th, 2017 at 4:42 PM ^

IU just ran out a RS freshman QB who played a hell of a game considering he was up against one of the top defenses in the country.

It is hard to accept on principle that our coaching staff can't have our highly recruited RS freshman prepared to do better than this trainwreck we've seen the last two weeks.

Any level of explanation is a harsh judgment on the coaching staff, which is even harder to digest because we considered it to be best at QB development.

1) The starting QB is down for the year, yes. But the starting QB was playing horribly:

2) Peter's inability to pick up the offense reflects poorly on coaching in every possible scenario:

  1. Recruiting miss
  2. Coaching woof
  3. Offense is overly complicated

None of these makes me warm and fuzzy moving forward. The fuzzies definitely won't be fuzzier if there are no coaching changes made in the off-season.

 

Joined: 08/08/2012

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stephenrjking

October 14th, 2017 at 4:54 PM ^

RS Freshmen lighting it up are exceptions, not the rule. When they do play well it is usually with limitations and relies on athleticism to make up for deficiencies. Speight was underperforming this year, but unlike Peters and O'Korn he had proven to be capable of making decisive reads and throws in multiple live games. A bye week or even a couple of weeks off couple well have given him a chance to reset and improve. At the very least, he would be better suited to Michigan's ultra-conservative gameplay as currently deployed. He can hit those occasional big PA plays, as seen against Florida and in other places, for example. So we are playing a backup QB right now. And around him we have a lot of young talent. There are no experienced guys that can reliably perform at a high level to fall back on. No dominant junior or senior a QB can chuck it up to and rely upon to make a play. No side of the OL stacked with seniors that unfailingly plow inferior defenses under. No gamebreaking athlete that can turn the game on his own consistently. The guys are in place to develop into these players. But we're not there yet.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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gruden

October 14th, 2017 at 6:09 PM ^

Texas played a freshman against USC in a big game a few weeks back and he did pretty well.  There are programs out there that have successfully played freshman QBs.  Yep, they'll make mistakes, we get that.  Their mistakes are infinitely more understandable than those made by 5th year seniors who should know better by now.

Henne started as a freshman.  Maybe it's time to reconsider.  If it's truly a meritocracy, then it's really about who performs the best, not the age.

Joined: 04/29/2016

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RoseInBlue

October 14th, 2017 at 10:55 PM ^

The only people who have claimed Peters isn't starting because of his age are screen names on internet forums.  The coaches and insiders have stated that Peters has a poor command of the offense and leadership issues.  That has nothing to do with his age.  It IS a meritocracy.  Peters simply hasn't won the competition.

Joined: 02/21/2016

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gruden

October 14th, 2017 at 6:12 PM ^

McDoom had the incredibly bad drop last week, and there was a throw today Perry probably should've caught.  It happens, but I don't think that's the big problem here.

That being said, I've seen all I care to see of Crawford this season. 

Joined: 04/29/2016

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BroadneckBlue21

October 14th, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^

As a Bears fan, I've had to endure Glennon for a quarter of the season. The idea of protecting a QB from shell shock is a weak one. Trubisky did not somehow grow tremendously in one month to outperform Glennon. do we have a Bears situation, or is Peters struggling with something that we do not know about since he lit up the spring? Peters looked more talented in spring, so either he is or is not better. Yet, Walker was a beast and has how many carries? Peters needs to meritocracy himself a start. The one key reason we got in fall practice pressed: Peters is not assertive. The kid. We'd to get loud, if that's his deal. I think Harbaugh would start him if Peters had moxy and was louder.

Joined: 01/12/2015

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RoseInBlue

October 14th, 2017 at 4:40 PM ^

People who go on about the Spring game need to go back and re-watch it.  Peters did not "light up" that game.  He had some good plays but he also had some terrible ones and made some really bad decisions.  People cling far too hard to the spring game and it's crazy because he looked like exactly what we've been told he is.  A young QB with a lot of talent who isn't ready to command the offense.

Look, if Peters gets the start at some point this season and he lights it up on the way to his Heisman campaign next season, I'll gladly admit I was wrong and enjoy the ride.  But as of right now, there's really no reason for anybody to think he's better than those ahead of him on the depth chart.

Joined: 02/21/2016

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Franz Schubert

October 14th, 2017 at 6:04 PM ^

He was a top rated QB in high school who possesses a great and accurate arm. Watch his HS film or the spring game and you will see he can make throws WS or JOK could never make. Peters has elite talent. Peters could not be worse than the brutally bad play of late.

Joined: 07/20/2009

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RoseInBlue

October 14th, 2017 at 6:12 PM ^

Yes, he could.  He absolutely could be worse.  High school and college are completely different games.  Being awesome in high school does not guarantee that you can helm a D1 P5 offense.  I think if the coaches thought Peters was the better option, he'd be starting.  He's not.  You want to start a player the coaches have said isn't ready based on "He couldn't be worse"?  Ok.  But you don't know that either.

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deejohn

October 14th, 2017 at 4:35 PM ^

I firmly believe Peters will start the rest of the way when we lose to Pediphilia State. Harbaugh is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. U can't give up on the season as long as they're winning.

Joined: 11/18/2009

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VAWolverine

October 14th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^

Peters will start in Happy Valley next Saturday at night during a white out. That is probably the craziest and most daunting environment for visiting teams in college football. If JOK is healthy he's playing. If Michigan's defense can keep it close anything can happen. The Friday night movie I would show the team is the entire 1997 M-PSU game.

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