November 1st, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
Thanks for posting this. Watched in real time. DG should start a podcast of his own. Many would watch and subscribe.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:16 AM ^
DG is fast becoming my favorite Alum that I've seen play. I would subscribe to his podcast, newsletter, and youtube channel.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
Agree on DG. Him and Sam are a great listen. DG is real. You really need to listen to the whole podcast ( I know it is hard). I am lucky driving to INdy so I have time. I can see why people think DG is blaming Cade. But I don’t see it that way he points out why he expects more from Cade. He has high exactions for a M QB and he should. The key point he made is it was clear that MSU was giving up the passing game and played a very basic defense that was pretty easy to exploit. He really hammered Cade on leaving the pocket early on the offsides by MSU where Andrel Anthony was on a post route that looked like he could get open. Just throw it up there and give him a chance. Instead he bailed with very little pressure. Also he makes the point that Cade has to to be more aggressive in Red zone on obvious man to man. He is not happy with Cornelius Johnson on the drop but he makes the point that he played receiver and it is not an easy job either. Johnson was open by 3 yards, make the throw.
I think Cade played great. No fumble late in4Q and we are not having this conversation. Also DG is tough on McDonald and the tempo problem.
I do think you learn something if you listen to him. Yes he is proud/arrogant but he did it and now he teaches it. So I tend to listen.
November 1st, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
They should invite him to practices and have him give clinics.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:06 AM ^
Can you provide some bullet points? I love the glut of football analysis that is available now, but it just isn't possible to consume all of the hour-plus breakdowns.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
Still listening myself lol. Long video. Will when able.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
yea man (TheCube). Would love a summary.
November 1st, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^
Devin thinks Cade is a B QB Michigan sucks on third down and red zone because of Cade. Michigan lost because of Cade. JJ should be starting. The refs sucked but so what. He thinks walker is the second coming of Adrian Peterson. Play calling was fine. Cade sucks some more everything is cades fault.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:28 PM ^
I like some of DGs insights but he is so arrogant that he needs to be right 1000% and if there is any pushback he yells and repeats his point to the degree of annoyance. "I don't want JJ to get his feelings hurt" he says while he pounds Cade into the ground.
Wished I had passed on watching it today. DG was in a bad mood and I showed.
November 2nd, 2021 at 9:03 AM ^
I'm glad I'm not alone here. Devin is one of my favorite Michigan players ever (I've been following since 2005), but he has been insufferable at times on MMQB. I think he's trying to find his voice in this space, but he's leaning towards the style of big-time FOX and ESPN guys where they just yell over each other the whole show.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:22 PM ^
I might get negged to hell for this but oh well. He bashed Cade a lot, I mean an awful lot. He made it almost seem like it’s Cades fault Michigan lost. In my opinion DG didn’t do shit at Michigan to be bashing Cade the way he did.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:36 PM ^
DG almost beat OSU (if it were not for the moronic 2-point conversion play that they didn't change after a t/o) single handedly on a broken leg.
Come again?
November 1st, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
One game? Out of a mediocre career?
November 1st, 2021 at 1:46 PM ^
John O’Korn almost beat Ohio State in 2017, do you want to praise him too? I didn’t have a problem with Devin until today. Dude was on the radio yelling about how Cade missed some throws. It was a board line temper tantrum over a QB who just threw from damn near 400 yards.
November 1st, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
It was kind of an awkward segment because it did really come across like he was bashing Cade even though he’d backtrack and say that he played a good game, but it wasn’t good enough when Webb would push back.
DG is looking it from the perspective of a football player, and I’m sure Cade and the coaches will agree when they watch tape, that a lot of plays were still left on the field that Cade can improve on.
But, like, this is a segment for casual fans, and not film study. Was just kind of odd that most of the plays Gardner chose were critiques and very few were some of the very clutch 3rd downs that Cade converted.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:29 AM ^
DG's criticism of Cade not doing more in the MSU game is legit... as is his criticism of Gattis, the defense, receivers, JJ, etc.
If this team, this program, wants to elevate to championship level status, doing the obvious "you're supposed to do that stuff" has to be the floor, not the ceiling. The stars on this team have to show up & play like like stars until the final whistle & the team as a whole has to physically/mentally (coaches) play sound football especially in big games, especially in the big moments.
November 1st, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
But yet he brags about how many yards they got. … but cades the issue he contradicts himself which makes listening to him hard.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:10 PM ^
He bragged about the yards in response to someone criticizing the play-calling, not to negate his criticism of Cade leaving potentially 100+ more yards on the field along with other scoring opportunities.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:19 PM ^
No, it actually supports his point. Sam is arguing (and it is a defensible position) that Cade played well, even though we didn't win. Gardner's counter is that playing well is the floor for him in this game, given that MSU didn't bother defending the pass, and argues further that Cade's inability to pick the game up off the expectation floor is the reason we lost. He then argues from a position of authority, because he himself was a QB who did a Cade against OSU - he played well, but OSU didn't defend the pass, and although the effort was valiant it was also insufficient.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:33 PM ^
Sam was saying that they need to put DGs critique into perspective. Garner said sure then continues to dish on Cade. To Sams point, "On a scale of 1 to 100 cade was and 80! DG responds, We needed a 90!
We needed a 90 on many of DGs games. He had zero fairness today. He deserves the same treatment to his career
November 1st, 2021 at 9:43 PM ^
"80" is fine if we're accepting also-ran status for this program, but, I think expecting "90" or better from the QB of one of the most high-profile power 5 schools in the country is not asking too much... whether that be DG, Cade, or whoever QB's the UofM footbal team.
The same can be said for 5-star guys like Dax, All-conference & potentially All-American players like Aidan, and on down the line. Doing more than just "average" is what separates the Alabamas, Ohios, etc., & if UofM wants to join them it has to expect/demand more from their players or keep settling for 2nd, 3rd or worse in the B10.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
I'm sorry, but we can't compare DG's performance against OSU in 2013 to Cade's performance on Saturday. Thematically similar, I suppose, but DG's game was just so, so much better, on so many levels.
It seems pretty clear that DG gets down on Cade because he sees the chances that the guy gets (the good O-line protection, especially) and he knows he could do better. Probably it's just sour grapes from a guy who might have a hard time admitting that he's not a stud football player anymore.
So maybe DG is a bit mean and spiteful, but he's still on point. Cade did so many good things on Saturday, but once again, he didn't do anything with deep passes, and he was 1 for 5 in converting drives into TDs in the redzone. Some of those red-zone throws were just not good, clearly missed opportunities. So Cade had a career day, but we needed a truly great day. Why shouldn't we hope for that from a Michigan QB in a big game?
November 1st, 2021 at 1:14 PM ^
His criticism of Cade is both legit, and a little misleading. Every QB misses opportunities ever game. Every QB. When a guy throws for almost 400 yds 2 tds and only throws 1 pick at the end of the game what's the issue? Yeah he missed some stuff, but he was way more on, than off. This was his best game. Hitting receivers in stride, and putting the ball where only the receiver can get it. Gattis called a perfect game. The defense lost the game, and it's because we have an issue at LB. No depth and young. Your second paragraph is dead nuts. I've been saying this for 10 years. We have to have our best players make plays when they have the opportunity. Blake dropped a td, Cornelius Johnson dropped a td, Moten dropped an int, Dax has to make a play that your 5 star safety should be able to make.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
The good news is most of this team is going to return next year that is if Harbaugh stays.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:42 AM ^
I will say, Johnson definitely did not play his best in this game (the DROPS), however, his holding flag seemed really ticky tacky considering it didn't affect the outcome of the play. Holding calls go unflagged all the time, I can't remember who was running with the ball when CJ got flagged at the very end of the play. But he was grabbing a guy as our runner was going out of bounds. It's not like he held him and our guy scored or he prevented the State player from making a play. It's like throwing a PI flag when the WR has absolutely NO SHOT to catch the ball, cough cough. I thought that was an absurd flag, not the worst one of the game by a long shot, but that really killed a ton of momentum.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
You have it the other way around. Andrel Anthony got flagged for holding when cj almost got to the goal line.
It pushed us backwards and we had to take a fg instead of being on the 3 yard line
November 1st, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Yeah, it went from 1st & goal inside the 5, to 3rd and long from around the 20. A complete drive - and momentum - killer, and an utterly bullshit flag. Both Anthony and the DB were engaged with each other, and they both let go at the same time - and none of it affected the play.
It's possible UM kicks a FG from 1st & goal inside the 5, but not likely... That was another 4 point swing.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:31 PM ^
Thanks for the assistance gents, this is the play I am referring to. Utter bullshit...
November 1st, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
The money quote was within the first 5 min of the clip: settling for FGs instead of TDs finally bit us in the ass.
November 1st, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
I’m sure we are just saving the good red zone plays for OSU
/s
November 1st, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Peppers is going to throw for all the yards against OSU!!!
November 1st, 2021 at 12:46 PM ^
This is a logical fallacy that gets debated too often. There is nothing wrong with "settling" for field goals provided that 1) you keep getting them and 2) your defense holds serve.
In just about every case *this* game, it was the correct decision to take the "easy" points rather than roll the dice. There were four field goals (most early in the competition): with Moody, an almost guaranteed 12 points. If you try for the conversion or TD, what is the chance of being successful *realistically*... maybe 50% at best (more likely less)? That's almost the same outcome at 14 points - and without giving your opponent a big momentum boost with a turnover.
We still scored 33 points despite "settling" - that should have been enough to win, but the defense fell apart late (and even then, we were fine until the JJ turnover). It's a shame, but it happens - the only thing to do now is improve (both individually and schematically) and prevent it from happening again.
Note: this is not to say I approve of all of the play calls in the red zone. Much room for improvement there.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:02 PM ^
The point isn’t kicking a FG the point is the conservative nature that leads to the kicking of the FG.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:22 PM ^
The problem isn't that we're "settling" for FGs, the problem is we CAN'T score TDs while in the red zone. While in the RZ, we score a TD only 56% of the time. Of those TDs, 18 are rush while 4 are passes of the 39 times in the RZ. It's clear that scoring on the ground is a priority when in the RZ and other teams know this and adjust accordingly. The play calling obviously needs to be better at that end of the field
November 1st, 2021 at 11:37 PM ^
I would agree that the RZ playcalling is baffling. On the Wolverine podcast RVB pointed out that Eric All needs to get some targets down there. Why he doesn't makes no sense. How hard would it be to split him wide and throw him fade?
November 1st, 2021 at 1:46 PM ^
I think I think two things:
1) Assuming a 50% conversion rate on 4th down inside the red zone, getting TDs instead of FGs this past Saturday means converting 4 scores into 2, but netting +2 pts. A FG is basically a +4 “win” for the opposing defense.
2) The play calling inside the red zone reflects an acknowledgment of the “automatic” 3 pts if the running game doesn’t get into the end zone. So, the coaches are trading off variability in scoring drives for the “safe bet” of getting at least some points.
It’s a point I’ve made before, but while Michigan scored 7 times on Saturday, only 3 of those were TDs and 1 TD was on a 93-yd play. 12 pts from FGs is great, but that’s still less than 2 scores to make up for a talented opponent with offensive weapons. It was bound to catch up with us, and it did.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
If we're being honest, everything needs to be better. This teams mantra is "Is it good enough to beat OSU?" and if they're being honest with themselves the answer is "No!" It's not good enough offensively or defensively, it's not good enough individually whether players or coaches. Play like that against OSU and it's 63-33 final score. 33 points isn't good enough, ever. DG wasn't good enough to beat OSU or MSU and he knows it, but I do feel like he can be critical of Cade for that reason. If Cade is being honest with himself he knows it wasn't good enough too.
November 1st, 2021 at 1:49 PM ^
DG is great. He's offering his commentary and it's ok to criticize. I think he's very fair. It's called Monday QB, not Monday morning sunshine blowing.
I absolutely start laughing when you can tell Mr. Sam Webb is getting nervous because DG is criticizing something. Lol and DG is not having it he will even call Sam out!
For instance Sam was pumping Cade up and saying he was 'knifing' the defense and DG cut Sam off and said it's not exactly knifing a defense when there is no defense. Basically Cade did what any half way decent QB should do against an awful secondary. Again Kudos the DG for being real.
November 2nd, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
At the end of the day, we all say the goal is to beat OSU. DG’s takes aren’t wrong in that regard. Cade can’t miss any play if we want to beat OSU. He needs to be at a 100, not 80 or even 90.
November 2nd, 2021 at 4:15 PM ^
DG has a bias against Cade (who he is still calling Shea on occasion) which he can't seem to shed. He only grudgingly gave him props for his 383 yards passing against MSU. I really enjoy DG and appreciate his insights as the Monday Morning QB, but much of criticism of McNamara in this last installment seemed unwarranted.