OT? Apparently Milton did connect on bombs in practice...
So Joe Milton posted on IG, a video apparently from a practice or scrimmage. He tagged Tarik Black, who he hit on a deep pass. Obviously we didn't see much of this in game, but the rumor was that he may have been connecting on these in practice. Thought I would share with the board for those interested in rehashing the "what could've beens".
*This is an IG Story post. For those of you familiar with Instagram, they only stay up for 24hrs. This 'Story' is approx 7hrs old as of 11pm EST*
Not saying you're wrong, but ... it's bewildering to me that we have a guy with a rocket arm, and we don't let him use it. And if he does, once, and it doesn't connect ... we put it on the shelf for the rest of the half instead of letting him calibrate and try it again.
I'm not a huge fan either, but if you recruit a guy able to throw the ball 60 yards ... why don't you let him do it? I just feel our coaches are committed to putting handcuffs on their skill position players. But by all means, let's throw a screen or run off tackle again.
We recruited him to throw it 60 yards, but he threw it 80.
... it's bewildering to me that we have a guy with a rocket arm, and we don't let him use it.
Yeah, Joe has a rocket. It's his guidance system that needs work.
I get your general point but (a) you can't make an offense purely out of 60-yard bombs, (b) long throws require additional time and patience by the QB to see if the WR can get separation and Milton may not have felt comfortable doing so, and (c) you do have to be accurate or they just become punts that can easily be returned for scores or lots of yardage.
College football history is littered with guys who could throw a mile but couldn't consistently put the ball where it needed to go. Shea Patterson in his first year threw a good long ball that was also usually accurate and catchable, and that's what you want in a QB. A guy who only throws with one speed and a limited number of angles may complete a deep ball once or twice but will also miss a half-dozen other makeable throws.
April 24th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
I know. I'm not defending Milton, and Michigan looked much better (albeit against Rutgers) when Cade McNamara came in. I also wanted McAffrey. I'm not suggesting Milton was, or even could have been, a great QB. Nor am I suggesting we should have *only* launched deep balls. But the fact is, throwing deep balls is the one thing he could do better than most. It's literally what people were excited about when he was recruited ... and we didn't let him do it. Over the past four years, I would bet we've thrown more than 30 yards downfield less than three time a game. Maybe less than twice. Given the quality of our receiving corps, that's ... well, in my opinion, that's incomprehensible. (And it has allowed defenses to load up against short passes and the run).
I agree the offense should try to utilize more of a downfield threat and that's on the coaches, but just chucking it downfield also isn't particularly efficient use of your offense either. I think they did a good job throwing downfield during Patterson's first year; you read the 2019 preview and it is effusive about his accuracy downfield. You saw the germs of issues that would plague him in 2019 (pocket awareness, reading defenses) that sound not unlike what hurt Milton, though Patterson's floor was higher than Milton's IMO.
I think Michigan's problems throwing the ball are more significant than even scheme. I said this when it happened but not having a dedicated WR coach hurt these past couple of years; McElwain drew ire here, some earned and some seemingly based on his inability to laugh away some meme about him dry-humping a shark, but it's undeniable at this point that the WRs looked best under his tutelage in terms of routes, blocking, etc. I was really excited about Bellamy coming in and helping these guys, and then the move to safeties coach happened. I do think Gattis will have more time to focus on the WRs so perhaps that will help, but we'll see if there are demonstrable improvements.
There’s a difference between having a rocket arm and being able to hit a deep ball. If you need to throw the ball 60 yards and you throw it 80, it’s useless.
Now if the staff can see that the team isn’t able to give the WRs enough time to get downfield before the QB gets pressured, and/or that the QB doesn’t have the pocket presence to face that pressure while maintaining his composure to release a good ball, then it’s best to scrap those plays.
If we keep calling deep balls and watch Joe scramble and make inaccurate throws, then we’d be here complaining about calling plays our QB can’t execute.
April 24th, 2021 at 10:34 AM ^
Because you don’t recruit guys to throw the ball 60 yds. You recruit guys to make good decisions and be accurate. If they can throw 60 yds, it’s a bonus.
He hit Cornelius Johnson on one in a game as well. So yes he could do it, rarely.
Having the worst group of receivers in 20 years didn't help.
Damn. What a shame you can’t win games by throwing TDs in practice.
Obviously we didn't see much of this in game, but the rumor was that he may have been connecting on these in practice.
The problem with practice, unless it's live, but even in those circumstances, they tend to be more of a closed vs open skill. Even in live practices no one is hitting the QB. Closed skills are merely practice. You know exactly what is going to happen ahead of time. WR X runs to a certain place and you hit them with a pass at a certain time. Open skills are much less predictable and require one to process things as they occur. Your plan of hitting WR X may be that he's covered and you have to look for another WR or that the defense blitzes you and you don't have the time you need to make that pass. All sorts of scenarios can occur, but the gist is the defense is trying to trick you or make you make a mistake. This requires much more processing and decision making which makes it much more like a game than practice and is why there is a difference between having good motor skills like a strong arm, a quick release, being athletic, etc. and requires the additional skills of processing, reading defenses, decision making, etc. But, those are equally important and don't often show up until the game is live.
I recall the play early in the Halloween game when it was 7-7 2nd quarter. 3rd and 9 Milton scrambles right and runs out of bounds a yard short. Virtually no contact just angled out by the defender. I’m yelling at Milton through the TV. State proceeds to drive from their 32 after the ensuing punt and goes ahead 14-7.
Early in the game, but I knew Michigan would have to pick up the intensity to get the W that day. We know they did not. But those are plays that are just as important as the ones in the final minutes that decide the outcome.
I'm glad to know that a P5 QB once completed a downfield pass in practice. I assume the other half-dozen times when he zinged a pass 100 miles past his WR or turfed it 3 yards in front of his guy are also going to be posted to IG; I assume he's figuring out a better angle for recording from his TV.
Anyway, I hope Milton is happy where he winds up but trying to show off that he was competent once at doing something most good HS QBs can also point to seems a bit unnecessary.
How many times does this need to be stated - he injured his thumb on his throwing hand in the MSU game that required surgery after the season. Up to that point he was doing a great job running the offense he was given - after that point is when he became more inaccurate. His thumb is taped in the Indiana and Wisconsin games.
Here is the MgBlog narrative (Not mine):
1) Milton inaccurate throwing in HS = Always will be inaccurate
2) Milton is given the starting job not based on performance but 'other' factors
3) Milton is solely responsible for Dylan McCaffrey transferring (see above)
4) Milton is 'not impressive' in Minnesota game and then despite performance is responsible for MSU loss
5) Milton responsible for all losses - inaccurate - why did he win the starting job?!!!!
6) Cade comes in and does well in the Rutgers game = see point 2
7) Injury becomes known = Milton at fault for continuing to start because he must have not told the coaching staff.
So he transferred - and no one should blame him for that because of the fanbase (not only here) singling him out for last years demise (see 1-7) despite playing through a painful injury on his throwing hand that got worse as the season wore on - to the point when they had to bring in Cade who then got injured in his only start. And people are STILL bashing him here.
A guy that didn't complain, worked as hard as anyone to get better, stayed in AA to work with the receivers last summer and was then the only QB with any experience after McCaffrey bolted - started and then injured his throwing hand and continued to play through the injury and did not use it as an excuse while they tried to get Cade ready to go.
Oh and now the transfer also cost us Giles Jackson and Xavier Worthy.
April 24th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
Most people are aware that he injured his thumb against MSU, but he also benefitted from playing perhaps the two worst defenses UM saw all year in early-season Minnesota and MSU. And even before he got injured he was still throwing passes with limited touch, and his penchant of trying to throws passes between multiple defenders certainly can't be ascribed to his thumb.
Listen, I agree Milton got blamed for too much last year at times. But Shea Patterson had an oblique injury that just as likely hurt his performance all of last year and this placed reveled at time shitting on him. Joe Milton had a good game against a Minnesota but even before the injury against MSU he was missing throws and barely escaping getting picked off a couple of times on bad throws. Milton was better than he looked in HS, and it's a credit to him that he made such a leap. But this place also overreacted to a couple of hype videos/quotes and that Minnesota game to an extent that it was inevitable he'd have faltered even without the injury. If anything, it felt like people continued to overlook his non-throwing issues for a long time.
As for his departure leading to Worthy and Jackson leaving, the fact Jackson went to Washington, Worthy seems destined to Texas, and Milton is either going to Tennessee or Wash St. seems to work against the idea they all totally missed playing with each other.
April 24th, 2021 at 12:46 PM ^
I don't really blame "the fanbase" for him transferring. I doubt the players read MGoBlog and feel the criticism, and I don't believe other teams' fanbases are all unicorns and sunshine. Most fans cheered Milton when they saw him. Being the starting QB at Michigan is a pretty damn awesome thing to be -- it's simply silly to suggest the vibe on this blog reflects their daily reality.
But also, I don't know what to do with the thumb injury story. Are you saying he was too injured to be a competent quarterback? Isn't that the exact same thing we heard about Patterson his last year? Either that's a really nice excuse for the players to have when they play badly, or are our coaches *uniquely* unable to recognize when their quarterbacks are too injured to play well!?
Unfortunately, after the past few years, I worry it's the latter. What in the world does that say about our coaches? "This guy seems to miss all his receivers in practice. Let's keep playing him in actual games and see what happens!"
Milton vs Minnesota
Milton vs Rutgers (brace now on right hand)
Milton after surgery (Image is flipped cast is on right hand - notice nike swoosh)
He must have been good at practice I guess, was possibly the worst qb I have ever seen in a Michigan uniform. Rick Leach was the first I followed. He is destined to be a tight end...book it.
April 24th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
I mean, idk...John O’Korn was pretty bad in games too
April 24th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
Did you sleep through 2008?
Milton was worse than Threat, which is saying something
April 24th, 2021 at 10:17 AM ^
Is this one of those stories that is supposed to be on the level of "Local Man Allegedly Makes Midcourt Shot, But No Evidence Thus Far"?
April 24th, 2021 at 10:43 AM ^
Joe Milton can undoubtedly throw a football further than Tom Brady ever could. Not a major determinant success at the position.
April 24th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^
Last season we lost Nico, Tarik, and DPJ... We also lost Mccaffrey... Any school not named Bama, Clemson, OSU would have had a hard time.
Milton will be successful.
April 24th, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
Wasn't this kinda what we thought? Our defense was shit last year and Milton was just throwing bombs over our terrible corners in practice?
April 24th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
I once got a birdie on the golf course.
Me too!
But then it died and I felt bad.
he threw that ball 70 yards
that counts for like, at least double
Shea never threw them, completely missed DPJ wide open. Cade will hit them
Doing it when it counts is what separates being a game winner from merely being talented.
Some of y’all on this board have already theorized this, but I’ve always assumed he lit up over the summer & in practices, but he did that against OUR defense. That setting probably highlighted his strengths (rocket arm), minimized his weaknesses (decision-making, touch), and it didn’t materialize in-game. It’s unfortunate, but it was his first year starting in a very unique circumstance. Hopefully he can put it together at his next stop.
Too bad he still stunk at actually playing quarterback. But he’d be fun in a game of catch.