Scathing article by Michael Spath on program culture
Take it fwiw.
In the August of 2019, first-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis jokingly references his starting quarterback spending too much time on the golf course during the summer, a comment that carried much more serious undertones behind the scenes. In fact, the players send a message, not electing senior Shea Patterson captain.
"There wasn't a lot we could do because Shea was our starting quarterback, but we wanted to let him and our coaches know we weren't happy with his work in the summer - both Joe [Milton] and Dylan [McCaffrey] outworked him, and then Coach immediately went against our decision and named him a captain," a recent departure shared. "Guys weren't happy."
As a former player noted the beginning of the end for the Brady Hoke regime was when Hoke and his staff began playing favorites and giving leeway to certain players, including Devin Funchess, that they didn't give to the entire team.
"He'd let Funchess get away with stuff in practice and in games ... he wasn't held accountable, and that created a lot of locker room issues," the player shared.
• Within days of the captain announcement, facing speculation in the media and among the fan base of discontent within the ranks, Harbaugh named Patterson and senior safety Josh Metellus alternate captains.
"From the moment Shea arrived, he was treated differently, like he could never do anything wrong," another recent exiting player shared with WolverineDigest.com. "Wilton [Speight], John [O'Korn], Brandon [Peters] would all get chewed out for things that they just looked the other way with when it came to Shea."
January 16th, 2020 at 5:40 PM ^
The game is much more passing focused now. That all would have been great a few decades ago, but now it's Lewerke level. If that's where your expectations are, I can see why you like him.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:56 PM ^
Yeah wow, Lewerke only need 50 more attempts to get there. Crazy.
Shea is 33rd nationally in adjusted yards per attempt (meaning minus throwaways). And that’s with being hampered by a conservative passing game and a subpar completion percentage. Again, having one of the best seasons/careers in school history in terms of yardage.
Once again, Of all the things you could possibly complain about Shea, yards is not one of them.
January 16th, 2020 at 8:10 PM ^
About what you would expect from what you saw on the field. 42nd best QB isn’t going to get you top 5
42. SHEA PATTERSON – MICHIGAN
Preseason Rank: 13; Week 6 Rank: 47; Week 12 Rank: 49
Reaching career-high figures in 2019 across the board, Patterson didn’t quite grade as well as he did in his first season at Michigan, but he certainly brought an exciting brand of football at times. There were three games in which he averaged over 10.0 yards per pass attempt and three games with an elite passing grade above 85.0. He had too many middling passing game grades to warrant a higher spot than he has now, but he still finished his career with a career-high 3,058 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. While pressure really affected him, he was dominant from a clean pocket, even more so than the most as he finished with the 22nd-ranked passing grade from a clean pocket. He whipped out 2,618 yards and 20 passing touchdowns from a clean pocket and combined to secure another 98 first downs for the Wolverines.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:30 PM ^
I'm not going to dredge up some stats on this because fuck that noise, but don't start throwing around Lewerke comparisons. That's just bush league.
She's was a bit of a disappointment but he was better than Lewerke and that should not be a debate.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:00 PM ^
1) UM was never a huge passing team, but they’ve tried since Harbaugh to become so.
2) John Navarre held or was tops of many records. John Navarre was my least favorite QB starter until O’Korn.
3) Shea was able to beat up on poor teams—and 4) he had the benefit of extra games, since the schedule has grow at least two games since the era of decent UM throwers.
Top 5 in last 30 years:
Grbac
Henne
Griese
Brady
Devin pre-WR
5) I’d rather have had Denard, because he was also turnover prone but these most electric “offensive weapon” we’ve had since Biakabatuka.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:24 PM ^
Pre-WR Gardner? He was only a backup at that point and had looked pretty rough.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:43 PM ^
You are forgetting Rudock
January 17th, 2020 at 6:22 AM ^
Grbac but no Todd Collins?
January 16th, 2020 at 5:00 PM ^
He has a noodle arm, couldn't make the correct read, was inaccurate and sucked running yet people seemed to defend him endlessly.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:20 PM ^
Exactly. No way the new OC, whos a first timer at that position comes in and makes that comment publicly if there is not a lot of truth to it...I realize this is a board for fans who are pretty into it but the way people say anything that's not glowing positive as not true, maizen, fake news, ect is just silly. It is okay to be objective towards the program and realize it has some major flaws that need to be fixed.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:31 PM ^
but, but, but Shea is all over the M record books.
/s
January 16th, 2020 at 8:12 PM ^
Exactly! People celebrating just passing 3,000 yards in a 13 game season in 2019/2020 is a sad bar. It was the RPO Athletic podcast that said with Burrows 60 tds thrown this year he almost passed Michigans TD total over a four year period of time (Michigan has 75 td passes the past 4 years).
January 17th, 2020 at 9:05 AM ^
And let's not forget that Burrow had almost twice as many passing yards as Patterson. Kind of puts 3k yards into perspective.
January 17th, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
Burrow won the Heisman though... kinda of an edge case to compare that freak season to Shea.
Look at this sobering stat if you want to see what Shea "accomplished" from @mitchewr in https://mgoblog.com/comment/243731023
Take a look at the stats of Tanner Morgan at Minnesota vs Shea Patterson
Tanner Morgan 2019: SO, Cmp: 210, Att: 318, Pct: 66.0, Yds: 3253, TD: 30, Int: 7
Shea Patterson 2019: SR, Cmp: 214, Att: 381, Pct: 56.2, Yds: 3061, TD: 23, Int: 8
Then compare their recruiting profiles: Tanner Morgan vs Shea Patterson
January 16th, 2020 at 4:54 PM ^
Nonsense about Peppers not being used to showcase his talent! They played him in all three phases of the game, and he wound in in New York because of it.
January 16th, 2020 at 9:04 PM ^
Exactly what I thought. He left early after a great junior season and was a first round pick.
January 16th, 2020 at 9:33 PM ^
Eh, he was never really used on offense besides the wildcat. I think that would equate to "not quite used to potential".
January 17th, 2020 at 12:19 AM ^
He was a lot more dangerous in the slot than in the wildcat
January 16th, 2020 at 4:56 PM ^
Water is wet. Pretty obvious he was treated differently, he started the whole season. I’d be shocked if a “you’ll start every game if you come here “ deal wasn’t made 2 years ago.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:37 PM ^
How dare you sir. You think the family of a 5 star high school QB, who originally committed to Ole Miss and Hugh Freeze, would make a “deal” to transfer to Michigan. Blasphemy!
January 16th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
Talking about culture ... Did anyone else listen to the 'In the Trenches' podcast after the Indiana game? Jon Jansen asked Dax Hill about the upcoming OSU game and Dax replied "it's just another game". I have to believe Jansen was about to jump out of his skin. Dax is a sharp kid and I think if the coaches emphasized the OSU game the way OSU emphasizes the TTUN game, Dax wouldn't have answered the question that way.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:46 PM ^
Meh. I've said this before, but the winning team sounds believable no matter what they say
If Michigan super emphasized OSU and OSU said 'it's just another game' people would be saying OSU is a more mature and level headed team and Michigan lets emotions get in the way and they play erratically and they need to have a more business-like approach
January 16th, 2020 at 5:51 PM ^
What team/coach has ever come out and said their rivalry game is "just another game" and actually won?
January 17th, 2020 at 5:52 AM ^
Well..assuming our outlook is the same all season, Michigan blew out MSU and Notre Dame this year. Maybe MSU needs to take a more business like approach instead of relying on emotions....or maybe there's more to winning football games than that
January 16th, 2020 at 8:23 PM ^
Completely agree.
Pete Carroll's USC teams were known for taking each game equally seriously. Competing in practice, always loose, etc. They didn't emphasize one game or another, they were professional.
They won. A lot. Because they had great talent and great coaching.
BTW Michigan's emotions did seem to get in the way this year; a number of boneheaded penalties that seemed to be caused by over-excitement.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:03 AM ^
They didn't emphasize one game or another, they were professional.
True.
Kind of.
After Carroll lost to ND the first time he was on public record saying he would never do anything special for any (rivalry or any other) game ever again.
Where I say "kind of" is Carroll did emphasize every week was championship week.
If Michigan is going to say ohio state is just another game, fine -- but by the same token does Michigan treat every week like it's the championship???
Hmmm...
January 17th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^
Yes they would, but what the hell kind of logic is that? "If doctors said that smoking makes you healthier instead then everyone would smoke. So doctors opinion is bullshit?"
January 16th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
I remember saying "Harbaugh must have promised Shea and his family the job" in the Army gamethread and was ripped for it, specifically by Bando.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:26 PM ^
Going to have to show your notes on that one, because I have absolutely no recollection of that whatsoever.
January 16th, 2020 at 10:34 PM ^
To be fair, you do post a lot of stupid shit in defense of this program so I’m sure it wasn’t anything memorable to you.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:16 AM ^
Shit... the interwebs are a bitch.
January 17th, 2020 at 9:21 AM ^
Damn Jimmy! Bando has a family man!
January 17th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
One vague response on a hot take in a game thread and this dude remembers it like I ordered a hit on his family?
Good lord. This place is stupid.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:30 PM ^
It's a game thread exchange. The idea that you would forget such a nothingburger response to a game thread hottake is... totally sensible.
I have no beef with either of you, though obviously Bando and I don't always see eye to eye. This is not a big deal and I'm not sure why UMxWolverines hung on to this.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:02 PM ^
This is a bad article and a bad post. There may be some issues there, but are we going to pretend this is stuff that isn't common at all the top programs? You really think Joe Burrow gets treated the same as everyone else at LSU? How about Percy Harvin? Was he treated equally when we assaulted a coach? Aaron Hernandez? Even Cardale Jones?
This is straw-grasping of the highest degree. I'm not saying Shea didn't get some special treatment. I'm saying that has very little if not nothing to do with Michigan's inability to beat OSU.
Hoke didn't lose the locker room because Devin Funchess took some reps off in practice. Hoke lost the locker room because he was losing games.
The recruiting stories are much more damning that Shea not working out like he could/should during the summer. Trevor Lawrence could spend the next since months shotgunning beers and snorting coke and he'd still start (if he even plays) for Clemson in September.
Move along. Oh, and Spath--you can suck it.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:17 PM ^
Look, I'm not gonna defend Spath or claim to know things or not, I can only go by what I saw on the field as a football fan since the early 70's.
But are you seriously comparing Shea to Burrow and Lawrence? I know Lawrence had a bad game on Monday but shit FFS, if we had either of those guys I'm pretty sure there would have been very little complaining and much more convincing winning if not a very special season.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:08 PM ^
No. I’m comparing the situation. Shea is a very good player. He’s not a superstar. But that’s not the point. The point is that the better players on nearly every team get different treatment. Jimmy Johnson admitted it was part of his coaching. It was part of my experience as an athlete, and I’d bet everyone else’s too. Claiming that’s the reason the program is struggling or can’t beat OSU is stupid.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:48 PM ^
Very good player is really stretching it
January 16th, 2020 at 6:47 PM ^
Precisely. We were right there. With a top QB and it gets us over the top.
January 16th, 2020 at 6:22 PM ^
The difference is that it’s very obvious by on field performance and the way Burrow and Lawrence are treated by teammates that they work extremely hard and lead by example.
With Shea, there is ample evidence from his on field play and off the field comments made by others that he didn’t put in extra work and clearly didn’t maximize his talent. Not being voted a captain as the senior 2nd year starting QB, whether a transfer player or not, is also somewhat indicative of a lack of respect amongst his own teammates.
Like it or not, lack of accountability within the program is not hard to see with or without direct quotes from “insiders.”
January 16th, 2020 at 8:39 PM ^
I agree with all of this. I’m not suggesting it’s good that Shea didn’t work hard enough or that he was treated differently. Neither of those are good. I’m saying it has little or nothing to do with the program’s inability to get over the hump. And I’m saying it happens everywhere.
If people want to pretend this is the reason the team isn’t meeting expectations, that’s fine. There’s nothing better than having a nice story to explain why Michigan football isn’t elite.
Unfortunately, I believe the truth is much more complex and much harder to fix.
I’m not a Harbaugh apologist and I’m not on board with the “this is as good as it gets” crowd. I’m not pleased with the state of the program. I don’t think Harbaugh should get to keep his job much longer if he can’t beat OSU. But I’m not going to pretend a bullshit article by an anti-Michigan writer is the reason we’ve been missing about why our team is under performing. Recruiting (and JH’s approach to it), coaching changes, constant tinkering, failure to develop QBs, a failure to develop star skill players...there are lots of reasons Michigan football isn’t where we’d like it to be. Shea Patterson’s treatment is way, way down the list if it’s on it at all.
January 16th, 2020 at 9:31 PM ^
Who’s got it better than us. Enthusiasm unknown to mankind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/s
January 17th, 2020 at 12:16 AM ^
Every player you mentioned won a NC in college. I certainly wouldn't connect Shea's off-season behavior to a couple names on that list, as those are apples to oranges comparisons. It may not be right, but results form the lens through which we look at a person's behaviors. Burrow won a NC and a Heisman. Nobody cares if he spent every free moment last summer on the golf course, given his results. Shea played poorly, ergo his off-season decisions will be viewed as poor and detrimental to the team.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:02 PM ^
Anonymous player sounds like a pure tabloid article you read while waiting to get checked out at Wal-Mart.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:03 PM ^
This says something about SI, too. Does Rosenberg select the topics for their "Michigan" page? :)
January 16th, 2020 at 5:04 PM ^
IW nothing
January 16th, 2020 at 5:04 PM ^
I’ll get negged into Bolivia for this, but this is 100% the truth. I know players on the team and Shea was always treated differently. I won’t get into the academic piece but a lot of SHADY stuff went on with Shea. I won’t post anything publicly because it’s a look that I don’t care for. There are issues with JH and the way he treats players. There is not a meritocracy on this team PERIOD. JH sold his soul to get Shea and got burned.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:18 PM ^
Which shoe did Jim Harbaugh sell to get Shea? Are they some kind of special Jordans or something?
This is worthy of some keen investigative reporting right there.
January 16th, 2020 at 5:26 PM ^
Meh, what’s the price per pound of sole anyway? Now if you told me Harbaugh sold a Chilean Sea Bass, that’d be another story.