January 1st, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
It will 100 percent JJ. It won’t even be close. There’s a reason JH kept inserting a true freshman QB and that was to keep him happy and let him know his time is coming. It’s coming in September, and it,s obvious. The only question is whether Cade stays or leaves.
January 1st, 2022 at 1:46 AM ^
That laser JJ threw to All in the second half by itself got me pumped for next season.
Also, the way he avoided sacks was a lot like what Bryce Young did vs Ga. Too bad we didn't throw deep early and often like Bama did
January 1st, 2022 at 2:34 AM ^
Well said. JJ's scrambles today didn't amount to much, but that speed will probably pay dividends down the road.
January 1st, 2022 at 7:36 AM ^
Our O-Line gave up way more pressure than Bama's OL gave up... This game is one where we needed a center like Oluwatimi or Ruiz. As much as I like Vastardis - and he played very well all year, that poor guy was just plain abused all night long. I don't think that happens against a legit Lombardi Award finalist.
January 1st, 2022 at 9:16 AM ^
That throw to All as well as his dart to Wilson in the Iowa game are throws Cade can't make. Imagine game planning for a qb who can make every throw AND scoot when a play breaks down....as well as be a legit threat to keep it when the read is there. They playbook would change dramatically if JJ started.
He should have every chance to start, it's on him to take it
January 1st, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
And J.J. can keep on zone reads and pick up a lot of yards.
January 1st, 2022 at 9:18 AM ^
I couldn't believe JJ broke that tackle in the backfield to get out and scramble. Those Georgia linemen were unbelievably strong.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^
They were as advertised. Zero shame losing to that team
January 1st, 2022 at 1:46 AM ^
That laser JJ threw to All in the second half by itself got me pumped for next season.
Also, the way he avoided sacks was a lot like what Bryce Young did vs Ga. Too bad we didn't throw deep early and often like Bama did
January 1st, 2022 at 1:47 AM ^
There's no situation. JJ #1, Cade #2.
January 1st, 2022 at 1:49 AM ^
I favored Cade as the starting QB all year, but I think in 2022 it has to be JJ. You saw out there today that he has the potential to make plays against an elite defense that I just don't think Cade has. Maybe I'm wrong. Cade certainly played a big role in defeating Ohio State, although he had the benefit of the run game dominating the Buckeye D Line.
Cade was the better starter in 2021. We may have lost to Nebraska, Penn State, or even Rutgers with true freshman mistakes from JJ as the starter. But assuming JJ puts in the work in the next 8 months, he should progress enough to earn the starting job.
January 1st, 2022 at 7:37 AM ^
This is how I feel. Cade was the guy this year. He gave us a solid floor and JJ needed time to get worked in and without Cade we would have lost a few more games.
But man. You look at what JJ was able to do and how he slings the ball, it's hard to justify keeping him off the field
January 1st, 2022 at 11:42 AM ^
Agreed and wish Harbaugh had went to JJ for the entire 2nd half
January 1st, 2022 at 1:52 AM ^
Only if he wins the qb battle.
JJ did a great job of avoiding the sack only to over throw his receiver by 5 yards on the majority of his plays against 2nd and 3rd string Georgia defense. He had a few nice throws but still only completed 7 of 17 against those backups where cade was 11 for 19 against starters.
January 1st, 2022 at 1:55 AM ^
Neither left me excited for the QB position next year..JJ reminds me a little of our last 5 star QB recruit... Shane Morris.... but Cade has his own limitations as well.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:59 AM ^
Shane Morris? Come on man youve did you watch Shane play? Seriously?
January 1st, 2022 at 7:47 AM ^
LOL!! Sleep in this morning, dude. Sleep in for a good, long time...
January 1st, 2022 at 8:45 AM ^
I dont know if you're being serious or not with that statement. If you think JJ looks like Shane Morris out there then you clearly need your head examined...or you literally have zero football knowledge and just went on 247 and looked up our last 5 star ranked QB recruit. You should be banned from here for life with that a statement.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:11 AM ^
In the words of Jim Mora: Shane Morris?! Are you kidding me?, Shane Morris?
January 1st, 2022 at 10:12 AM ^
In the words of Jim Mora: Shane Morris?! Are you kidding me?, Shane Morris?
January 1st, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
Wow. Less than 2 hours into 2022 and I think we have the winner for dumbest comment of the year.
January 1st, 2022 at 1:55 AM ^
Not even a question
January 1st, 2022 at 1:55 AM ^
JJ has huge potential, and could very well be an electric/elite college QB, but he could also not meet that potential. The ideal situation is he wins the job in the fall and continues to develop throughout the season the way Stroud/Young did.
In the scenario it is likely that Cade transfers, which would be completely understandable, but also puts a lot of JJ to live up to his potential. I could see a Mertz situation where the good but limited QB transfers after losing the job off potential, but that potential is not met.
January 1st, 2022 at 7:59 AM ^
Milton also had that potential. But better the devil you know. Cade has shown how well he plays under duress. Is what, 13-1 ? This was first time he played talent like that. And he will adjust. But McCarthy looked like the best player on field for brief moments.
January 1st, 2022 at 11:53 AM ^
Very good comment. Composure and decision making is very underrated in these comments and analysis. We all see the arm talent, and mobility of JJ. It is yet to be seen if the composure and decision making are things JJ has when under fire of elite opponents. You wish you could melt the 2 guys best attributes into 1 as you'd have a special type of player there right now. Still he was just a freshman this year - the stud RS freshmen (or true soph) now go out and light things up at QB so he has the platform to do so. Think we all agree he has the higher ceiling but there is something to be said for not making game breaking mistakes which only really happened to Cade in 1 game when he was under severe duress.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:01 AM ^
If you can get consistency and good decisions out of him, it's JJ. Like if you consistently get that throw to All, well holy shit combined with his ability to run with/away from Dean.
If you get his various other overthrows and four yard bullets that are nearly uncatchable because they're on the WR too fast, then you're in for a real bad time and Cade is the superior option.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:10 AM ^
Are those overthrows and bullet passes really that much worse than Cade throwing into coverage or five yards behind his receiver? He didn’t throw a lot of picks, but the ones he did were ugly as sin
January 1st, 2022 at 2:07 AM ^
Let spring ball and fall ball decide. As of right now, JJ has higher potential but needs work. Cade is polished but has a lower ceiling than JJ.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:11 AM ^
Here is what worries me with JJ and this offense. When/if JJ becomes the starter, do his reads stop becoming keepers that make him so dangerous like every other Michigan qb the last several years? Patterson had mobility but he didn’t run either. If they cut that out of his game for fear of injury it limits one of the things that makes JJ so dangerous.
The other thing is, we have to start using our weapons more than we do. I’m hoping whomever is the starter next year that they open up the playbook more for him. I think some of the limitations were because of Cade and the others were the coaches desire for ball control offense. Don’t get me wrong I’m not expecting 5 wide out there, the offense this year worked and could’ve worked even better with some more openness and experience, but you have Wilson, Anthony, Corum, Edwards, Henning, Sainristil and the tight ends out there as mismatches and we don’t utilize them enough. Next year add Bell to this list. Harbaugh has a tendency to want to win with ball control offense and a possession limiting defense. Hopefully tonight showed him that you need to bring some more offensive fireworks to the game against elite competition.
Despite what Cade did for us this year, imo the higher ceiling for this team is with JJ. We aren’t recruiting at a level where we can trot out a Stetson Bennett who was a walk on and win a CFP game. We need a McCarthy type gamer on the field. If Cade is better than JJ heading into next season I’m fine with Cade because that will tell me that Cade is getting ready to tear it up.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:14 AM ^
I mean Harbaugh picked Milton over Cade initially, so I’m not sure it’s really a talent over seniority type deal
January 1st, 2022 at 6:10 AM ^
Harbaugh may have learned his lesson in picking talent (Milton) over consistency (McNamara).
January 1st, 2022 at 11:01 AM ^
At no point did Milton's talent remotely resemble JJ's.
January 1st, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
Agree.Milton looked the part but was just window dressing. No substance. Is he still at Tenn?
January 1st, 2022 at 11:58 AM ^
No offense to Milton - I know the blog make him out to be the next Cam Newton - but he was a 51% completion type of guy in HS was he not? Not sure what "talent" we are speaking of. He had potential of course but that's different than high end talent. Throwing the ball 70 yards doesn't mean much other than you have a hell of an arm if you can't do much else the position requires.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:23 PM ^
I think the anti-Milt contingency is the overwhelming majority on here. His UFRs were pretty good with less talent around him. cade's accuracy has been under 54% on passes over 9 yards. Someone else mentioned his 1 td 4 ints in the last three games. The talent was there, it just didn't work out.
January 1st, 2022 at 7:54 AM ^
Uhh, Michigan had more explosive plays (20+ yds), plays over 50 yds, and plays over 70 yds than any other team in college football this year. You say they didn't use the 'weapons'? Bullshit! There a lot of them, and none is targeted with frequency because they're all really good. This season, more than any other of Harbaugh's Michigan teams, you cannot say he didn't use the talent he had available.
I'll completely agree that he didn't use his talent in previous years. But you cannot say that this year.
January 1st, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
I’ll agree that it’s not all on the coaches but I’m not just talking about explosive plays, im talking about utilizing them more in general. Especially in the bigger games. Harbaugh tends to turtle more in bigger games, which will work against Iowa, but it won’t work when we are talking about the Georgia and Bama’s of the world. Last night was a perfect example, where were the crossing routes and passes down the seams or passes out to flat when they got aggressive? Most everything we ran the whole first half was something behind the line and lateral, which fit right into their speed. some of the play calling all year has been based on Cade so some of this may be on him and his limitations.
We also need to stop telegraphing plays by player next year. Henning needs to run other stuff other than a end around and JJ can’t just come in to be a read option guy. Felt like Georgia had a pretty good idea of what we were gonna run with certain personnel groups. We will know more next year when either JJ takes over or Cade goes into year two. Primarily all the same receivers will be back again.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^
This year Michigan went 5 wide more than I've ever seen, so I question your comment on not expecting 5 wide. We did that a lot! - because Cade is great at pre-snap reads and 5 wide is going to put someone in man / mismatch he can read pre-snap.
We also led the country in # of explosive/big plays.
The offense was pretty wide open IMO - with tons of gadget plays too.
What it lacked was a consistent intermediate passing game aside from some TE over the middle. Cade does lack the zing to get some of those balls there.
I'm excited for next year. I think it's JJ but if Cade can improve his post snap reads in spring practice - he'd take a major step forward and be hard to beat. On one hand, he's been well coached and smart for years so maybe that won't come. On the other, spring ball is where players make those concept leaps. I'm trusting this blog and UFR for this opinion - it's been repeatedly mentioned he doesn't make many post snap reads.
I don't think Cade is draftable but if he develops that capability, I could see him as a UFA and become a NFL QB3 because his overall IQ can help a QB room and WR group. One comp is Kellen Moore - who had some better stats in a different offense - but similar physical limitations with high IQ and leadership traits.
January 1st, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
Are you serious? There are none so blind as those who will not see.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:12 AM ^
Pretty easy, the guy that got us to the playoff vs the unknown. It’s his until he performs poorly or someone else is that much better in camp or something.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:20 AM ^
11-19 for 106, two picks (and a recovered strip sack) and no touchdowns while scoring 3 points. 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions in his last three games with at least one pick in each game. What exactly has JJ done that makes everyone think he’s gonna turn it over more than Cade and put up similarly unimpressive numbers?
January 1st, 2022 at 2:30 AM ^
Fans are funny. Neither pick was on him today so there’s that. He didn’t have to throw during the OSU game so there’s that too. He could have folded after the terrible pick in the OSU game but didn’t. And who are the standout WRs he has to throw to this year?
I know we got to the playoff and all, but let’s ditch the QB that got us there for the shiny unknown thing cause he sure has a strong arm as evident by all his overthrows.
Again, not sure why it’s even a discussion. It’s Cade’s to lose in camp.
January 1st, 2022 at 2:43 AM ^
Cade did just lose it. No need to wait until camp.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
Because they put JJ in garbage time?
January 1st, 2022 at 11:05 AM ^
But they didn't just put JJ in in garbage time. JJ has been inserted in key spots all season. JJ is the QB with the better arm, yet JJ comes in to provide keep options on zone read because Cade can never actually keep and get solid running yards. JJ played more early yesterday as well...to provide the downfield threat that Cade just couldn't deliver.
January 1st, 2022 at 11:33 AM ^
Cade's time was garbage time.
January 1st, 2022 at 9:03 AM ^
JJ is far from a "shiny unknown thing". He stood in there against what some have called the best CFB defense in the last 10 years with speed all over the field, avoided sacks and make some great throws and runs. Against mortal teams, without that speed and who can't stuff our running game, he will be incredibly efficient. I was amazed he did as well as he did when he was just playing a couple of plays at a time during the season.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
But he is? Lol
One QB beat OSU and won 12 games this year, the other did not. To say JJ is better is to say that he can do better next season soooo go undefeated and win a championship without actually starting or finishing a game at Michigan yet? Lol
All based on hype and stars but not actual results seems crazy to me. If JJ is that much better he’ll win in camp anyways.
It would be different if this team went 7-5 or something.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:24 AM ^
Come on. Michigan had the most dominant rushing attack in the game this season. At no point was McNamara called on to win a game. Until last night. I love Cade's spirit. Confidence is...very sexy. But he just doesn't do anything well enough to keep a more talented player on the bench. He can't keep on zone reads because he isn't fast enough to run it or stout enough to take the hits. He doesn't exactly have a rocket arm out there--we know this. And hey, you can talk about J.J.'s accuracy issues all you want, but Cade is not an accurate thrower AT ALL. There's the bad launch angle when he's only 6'1" to begin with. Last night was a prime example. Throwing late, missing open WRs, too quick to check down: all of it. He's not Tom Brady. Stop trying to make him something he's not.
January 1st, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
Stop giving QBs credit for team accomplishments. It’s ignorant as hell. The team carried Cade. Cade was just asked to not give games away. Cade didn’t beat OSU, Haskins rushing for 5 TDs and the defensive performance beat OSU. Cade just happened to be the QB when we played them.